The siege of Varna (July–September 29, 1828) was a battle during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829.

History

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

was held by the Ottoman army. An approach to Varna by Russian forces was first attempted on June 28, but the Russian avantgarde was met by significant Turkish forces, and the siege was postponed. By the end of July, the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

under the command of

Aleksey Greig Aleksey Samuilovich Greig (russian: Алексе́й Самуи́лович Грейг) (6 September 1775 – 18 January 1845), born into the noble Greig family, was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. Born in Kronstadt, he was the son of A ...

approached Varna and delivered the

landing forces A landing operation is a military action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious forc ...

. In mid-August the Guards Corps arrived at Varna, with Emperor Nicholas I. Th
siege
was put under the command of

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

Menshikov, with total forces of 23,000 personnel and 170 artillery pieces against the 20,000 garrison of Varna. When Menshikov was wounded the siege was entrusted to General Field Marshal

Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (russian: Князь Михаи́л Семёнович Воронцо́в, tr. ; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic wars and most famous for his participati ...

. In an attempt to relieve the siege of Varna,

Omer Vrioni Vizier Ömer Pasha Vrioni (in Greek spelling: Ομέρ Βρυώνης, ''Omer Vryonis'') was a leading Ottoman- Albanian figure in the Greek War of Independence. Early life Omer Vrioni was a Muslim Tosk Albanian from the village of Vrioni near ...

brought an army of 20,000 but was successfully held off. At the battle of Kurtepe the Russians under Prince Eugen of Württemberg attacked but they were defeated and retreated. However the Turks did not follow up this victory and waited 11 days at the place. In the meantime Varna capitulated. Eventually Varna was taken with 6,900 prisoners and 140 artillery pieces. The town was surrendered by Yusuf Pasha. However, the Russians suffered big losses during the summer-autumn campaign and withdrew from Varna and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

to resume the campaign in the following spring. The Russians had lost 6,000 men in the siege from battles and disease.

References

* Kersnovsky, Anton, ''History of the Russian Army'', Belgrade, 1933–1936, reprinted by ''Golos'', 1992-199

Battles of the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29), Varna

History of Varna, Bulgaria {{Ottoman-battle-stub