Sheinovo

Sheinovo 

a village in Bulgaria, south of Shipka Pass, the scene of a battle on Dec. 27–28, 1877 (Jan. 8–9, 1878), during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78.

The Turkish forces of 30,000–35,000 men, commanded by Vesel Paşa, occupied positions in the mountains on the approaches to Shipka Pass and in a fortified camp at Sheinovo. During the winter Russian offensive, the Southern Detachment of General F. F. Radetskii (54,000 men), located in the region of Shipka and nearby passes, was assigned the mission of crossing the Balkans and advancing on Kazanluk and Adrianople. Two detachments were to cross the Balkans: the left column, under the command of General N. I. Sviatopolk-Mirskii (about 19,000 men, including one Bularian unit, and 24 guns), and the right column, under the command of General M. D. Skobelev (16,500 men, including five Bulgarian units, and 14 guns). They were to advance through Triavna (Tryavna) and Imitli passes, respectively, and envelop Vesel Pass’s main forces (23,000 men) from the flanks, near Sheinovo. Part of the Southern Detachment was to pin down the Turkish troops by attacks from the direction of Shipka Pass.

The offensive began on December 24 (January 5); the troops advanced slowly, especially the right column, because of the difficulty of traveling on narrow mountain roads deeply covered with snow. On December 26 (January 7), the left column assembled to the south of Triavna Pass; the right column was delayed, and its advance party did not take Imitli until the night of December 26 (January 7). On the morning of December 27 (January 8), the left column attacked the Sheinovo camp from the east, took the first line of fortifications, and repulsed a Turkish counterattack. The right column, which had not had time to assemble, limited itself to feints. On December 28 (January 9), the Turkish troops attacked the left column twice but were driven back. The Russian troops occupied the village of Shipka (northeast of Sheinovo) and one eastern redoubt, approaching the Sheinovo camp from the east. Soon after, the right column, which had approached the Turkish camp from the west at a quick march, passed to the offensive and seized one western redoubt. The surrounded Turkish troops surrendered at 3 P.M.

A total of 22,000 men, under the command of Vesel Paşa, were taken prisoner, and 83 guns were captured. The Turkish losses were 1,000 dead and wounded, while the Russian losses amounted to 5,000. As a result of the elimination of the strong Turkish grouping in the Sheinovo area, the enemy line of defense was breached and the road to Adrianople lay open.