Siege of Plevna in the context of "Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)"

Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914), nicknamed the King of Independence (Romanian: Regele Independenței), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (Domnitor) from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d'état. In May 1877, Romania was proclaimed an independent and sovereign nation. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire (1878) in the Russo-Turkish War secured Romanian independence, and he was proclaimed King on 26 March [O.S. 14 March] 1881. He was the first ruler of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, which ruled the country until the proclamation of a socialist republic in 1947.

During his reign, Carol I personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo-Romanian army during the siege of Plevna. The country achieved internationally recognized independence via the Treaty of Berlin, 1878 and acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in 1913. In 1883 the king entered a top-secret military alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, despite popular demands against Hungary. When World War I broke out he was unable to activate the alliance. Romania remained neutral and in 1916 joined the Allies.

Pleven (Bulgarian: Плèвен pronounced [ˈplɛvɛn]) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest economic center in Northwestern Bulgaria. At the 2021 census its population was 89,823.

Internationally known for the siege of Plevna of 1877, today it is a major economic centre of the Bulgarian Northwest and Central North and the third largest city of Northern Bulgaria after Varna and Ruse.

Osman Nuri Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: عثمان نوری پاشا‎; 1832, Tokat, Ottoman Empire – 4 to 5 April 1900, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire), also known as Gazi Osman Pasha (Turkish: Gazi Osman Paşa), was an Ottoman Turkish field marshal. Being one of the most respected and decorated Ottoman pashas of all time, many songs have been written for him, and many places named after him. This is mainly because he held the Bulgarian town of Plevna for five months against superior Russo-Romanian forces in 1877 during the Russo-Turkish War, though the city eventually fell.