The Battle of Slobozia was fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire as a part of the Napoleonic Wars during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. The primary battle occurred on the left bank of the Danube River near the small village of Slobozia in Wallachia. Four miles to the southeast on the right bank of the Danube was the Ottoman fortress at Rusçuk. The siege of the Ottoman forces at Slobozia including the final battle lasted approximately two and half months from 28 August to 14 November 1811, ending when Russian Commander Mikhail Kutuzov ultimately accepted the surrender of the Ottoman forces commanded by Ahmed Pasha.
Background
In 1810, Russian forces crossed the Danube and invaded Ottoman Bulgaria. Numerous Ottoman fortresses along the Danube were attacked and captured including those at Silistra and Rusçuk. In the spring of 1811, Tsar Alexander became concerned that war with Napoleon would be renewed and prepared for a conflict by moving five of the nine Russian infantry divisions in Wallachia to northern Europe. Tsar Alexander also put Mikhail Kutuzov in command of the Russian forces along the Danube and ordered him to end the war as soon as possible.
When Kutuzov reached Bucharest and took charge of Russia's armed forces in April, he immediately moved the bulk of his troops out of the Ottoman fortresses along the Danube and retreated back across the river into Wallachia. The fortress at Silistra was completely evacuated and the fortress at Rusçuk was vacated of everyone with the exception of a small covering force of 12 infantry battalions.
Prelude to the battle
Induced by the retreat of the Russians, Ahmed Pasha set about that spring assembling an army of close to 60,000 men. In June, he then set out to attack Rusçuk. Before Ahmed Pasha arrived in Rusçuk, however, Kutuzov re-crossed the Danube with his army of 18,000 and took a position three miles south of town. When Ahmed Pasha attacked the Rusçuk fortress on 22 June, Kutuzov attacked the Turks from the rear and successfully drove them back. At the end of the day, the Russians suffered 800 casualties but maintained control of the fortress. The Turks suffered 1,500 casualties, but still held a substantial numerical superiority.
During the days following the battle, the armies spent time consolidating their forces and recovering. Kutuzov moved his army into the Rusçuk fortress; Ahmed Pasha organized a fortified field camp. Then on 27 June, Kutuzov surprised his adversary by razing the works of the fortress and moving his entire army across the Danube back into Wallachia. After vacating the fortress and assuring that all his men were on the left bank of the Danube, Kutuzov destroyed all the nearby bridges. For the next two months the two armies entered into a prolonged standoff during which they called for reinforcements and built their armies for an expected battle. The only offensive maneuver during this time was a failed attempt by an independent Turkish detachment of 20,000 men commanded by Ismail Bey to cross the Danube and flank the Russian lines.
Battle
On 28 August, Ahmed Pasha finally initiated a direct confrontation with the Russians when he sent his forces to invade Wallachia by crossing the Danube two miles upstream from Rusçuk. Upon reaching the left bank of the Danube, the Turkish forces established a small bridgehead along the river in the vicinity of the village of Slobozia. Fortifications were begun and Russian defenders were fended off. Within a week, 36,000 men had crossed the Danube to the bridgehead where they were joined by Ahmed Pasha. The remainder of Ahmed Pasha's army, some 20,000 men, stayed on the right bank of Danube at their fortified camp near Rusçuk. Ismail Bey and his detachment were not a part of Ahmed Pasha's initiative and remained on the Bulgarian side of the Danube with a continuing objective being to cross the river and flank the Russians.