History Question, Russians?

Well, you're probably not going to find much on that. The army of the Russian Empire was one of the best in the world. During the Russo-Turkish war 1877-1878 an army of 8,000 Russians defeated a Turkish army of 25,000 at Shipka pass. The Imperial Russian army was at the gates of Istanbul but then due to foreign pressure a peace treaty was signed creating Bulgaria. Russian Cossacks swept through central Asia easily conquering Central Asian khanates. They were often outnumbered yet the cossacks. The Border between the Russian empire and British India was only 20 miles. How could an ineffective army create the 3rd largest empire in history? Not to mention the Imperial Russian Army gave Napoleon a severe beating. Hope that helped.

Russo-Turkish War 1877-78.

The main problem was with the senior command of the Russian army.

Commanded by Grand Duke Nicholas (brother of Czar Alexander II), the Russian army expected an easy victory over the polyglot and poorly equipped Turkish armies.So, complacency was a problem from the very beginning.

Following general Gourko's breakthrough in Bulgaria,all the Russians had to do was to continue an advance in force to end the war and win a decisive victory.However,rather than suport Gourko and fully exploit his breakthrough,Nicholas got sidetracked into besieging Plevna,ably fortified and defended by Osman Pasha; he held out for 5 months, gaining the admiration of much of Europe and preventing a much swifter and comprehensive Russian victory. Grand Duke Nicholas could easily have contained the Turkish garrison at Plevna,using the majority of his forces to instead push home the advantages gained by Gourko early in the war.

So, the Russian army during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 was not as effective as it might have been because of failures in the high command,which displayed indecision and ineptitude on several ocassions.