Battle of Kurttepe

While General Bistram prepared an assault, Omer Vrioni launched an attack on 28 September 1828 with 15,000 troops. Simultaneously, the Ottoman garrison of Varna launched a sortie against General Golovin's forces, inflicting casualties. Finnish regiments counterattacked, stabilizing the front.

On the same day, a Russian unit under General Nikolai Sukhozanet conducted reconnaissance from Hacıhasanlar and mistakenly reported that the Ottoman force at Kurttepe consisted of only 8,000 troops, recommending a double-flank assault. Prince Württemberg planned to attack at 14:00 on 29 September but postponed when realizing the Ottoman force was around 26,000. Tsar Nicholas I ordered the reinforcements not to move until the Ottoman army near Varna was engaged.

On 30 September at 10:00, 11,000 Russian troops attacked and captured a redoubt 1 km west of Kurttepe, followed by an artillery bombardment with 10 guns. Ottoman counterattacks halted several Russian advances.

Prince Württemberg continued the assault with General Nikolay Durnovo’s Azov regiment. Despite initial Ottoman retreat, reinforcements under General Simanski, including the Dnieper regiment and a Ukrainian battalion, suffered heavy losses. Five Russian battalions near the forest were threatened with destruction and retreated. Prince Württemberg withdrew to Hacıhasanlar, with 1,400 Russian casualties. General Bistram’s forces lost over 500 men, and General Durnovo was killed.

Following the engagements around Kurttepe, the Russian forces abandoned the positions they had previously captured and withdrew northward. Despite this development, Ömer Pasha did not exploit the situation and remained in the area without undertaking further offensive action. The Russians did not launch another attack against Ömer Pasha’s forces.^[1][3]

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