The Battle for Shipka Pass

After heavy fighting in southern Bulgaria, the Russian command decided to withdraw and organise the defence of Shipka Pass. The 36th Oryol Infantry Regiment, 35th Bryansk Infantry Regiment, and 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Bulgarian Volunteer Battalions were assigned to this task. The defenders had a total of 7,500 men and twenty-seven guns. In August 1877, Turkish forces advanced with a substantial numerical advantage: 27,000 soldiers and forty-eight guns. The decisive fighting took place on 9–14 August Old Style, or 21–26 August New Style, 1877. Amid exceptionally difficult conditions, relentless attacks and shortages of ammunition and water, the defenders prevented the enemy from carrying out its plan to cross the Balkan Mountains.

The heroism of the Russian soldiers and Bulgarian volunteers made possible the continuation and victorious conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which brought Bulgaria's liberation.