The Battle of Shipka on September 17, 1877 at 3 a.m. was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Central Ottoman Army to capture the Shipka Pass, defended by the forces of the Shipka Detachment.
This is recalled by "Infospravka".
Suleiman Pasha's main goal was to capture the Russian positions on Mount Saint Nicholas. The attack began around 3 a.m. On the front line were three camps of volunteers, called "camps of the doomed". The fiercest battle was for Orlovo gnezdo. Here 75% of the defenders died and at about 5 o'clock it was taken by Ottoman forces. Russian forces repelled three attacks against Mount St. Nicholas.
From 10 to 12 o'clock, after a counterattack by the 56th Zhytomyr Infantry Regiment and fierce hand-to-hand fighting, Russian control over Orlovo Gnesto was restored. At the same time, three Turkish attacks on Mount Kyuchyuk Yesiltepe were repelled. By 14 o'clock the fighting subsided. Both sides switched to a strategic defense, known as the Shipka Stand.
A stage of the defense of the Shipka Pass from September 18, 1877 to January 9, 1878. It was carried out by units of the 24th Infantry Division from the 93rd Irkutsk, 94th Yenisei and 95th Krasnoyarsk Infantry Regiments. It was characterized by artillery duels and cannon fire. Due to the command positions occupied by the Central Ottoman Army, the personnel of the Shipka Russian detachment moved mainly at night.
The Russian positions were expanded and fortified with dugouts, bunkers and other earthworks. The supply of winter clothing was very difficult. With the onset of winter, losses from disease and frostbite sharply increased – 9500 sick against 700 killed and wounded officers and soldiers.
The daily report of Lieutenant General Fyodor Radetsky to the Headquarters of the Russian Army in Action
“Everything is calm on Shipka“ became a catchphrase. The extremely difficult winter conditions were recreated by the artist Vasily Vereshchagin in the triptych “In the Trenches of Shipka“ and “Soldier in the Snow”.
In early January, the offensive of the Russian Southern Detachment and the Battle of Sheinovo led to the defeat and capture of the Central Ottoman Army.
Lieutenant General Fyodor Radetsky would later write about the importance of the defense of the Shipka Pass – – Shipka – this is a locked door. In August, it withstood a heavy blow, with which Suleiman Pasha tried to break through it in order to pass into Northern Bulgaria, to unite there with Mehmed Ali Pasha and Osman Pasha, to tear the Russian army into two parts and inflict a decisive defeat on it. For the next 4 months, Shipka pinned down a 40,000-strong Turkish army, diverted it from other points in the theater of operations, and thus facilitated the success of our other two fronts. Finally, this same Shipka prepared the capitulation of a second enemy army, and in January it served as an open door for the victorious march of a part of our army to Constantinople.
Honour, heroes!