Siege of Calafat

1854 CE.

Shown on the map at 43.996°, 22.931°.

The siege of Calafat took place in 1854 during the Crimean War. The Russians unsuccessfully besieged the Ottoman army at this place for four months before finally withdrawing. In July 1853, the Russian army invaded the Principality of Wallachia, which was an Ottoman vassal. Their army had some 91,000 men under the command of Prince Gorchakoff, with some 240 field artillery and 90 siege guns. In response, war was declared by the Ottomans and they assembled an army of some 60–70,000 under the command of Omar Pasha. The Ottomans had several fortified fortresses on the southern side of the Danube river, of which Vidin was one. The Turks made several plans to advance into Wallachia. On 28 October their army in Vidin crossed the Danube and established itself at the village of Calafat, and started building fortifications. Another army crossed the Danube at Ruse on 1-2 November in a feint attack to lure the Russians away from Calafat.

Text from the Wikipedia article Siege of Calafat, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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