Siege of Silistra (1854)

Significance

The Siege of Silistra was a significant engagement in the early Danube theater of the Crimean War. A Russian force of up to 90,000 men with 266 guns failed to reduce the Danubian fortress after six weeks of operations, sustaining roughly 10,000 casualties against an Ottoman and Egyptian garrison of 12,000 to 18,000. The failed siege checked Russian efforts to outflank Ottoman defenses along the Danube and pre-empt an Allied landing at Varna. The outcome demonstrated that the fortress line could be held against a substantially larger attacker, limiting Russian strategic momentum in the Danubian Principalities at a moment when British and French forces were preparing to enter the conflict.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)