Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829

Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1828 amid the international crisis created by the Greek revolt and the destruction of the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at Navarino. Russian forces campaigned in the Danubian principalities, Bulgaria and the Caucasus, while Ottoman armies defended fortified positions and attempted to relieve threatened garrisons.

The first campaign was slowed by disease, supply problems and strong Ottoman resistance. In 1829 Russian forces renewed the offensive, won at Kulevicha, crossed the Balkan Mountains and occupied Adrianople. The Treaty of Adrianople ended the conflict and strengthened Russian influence while advancing the settlement of Greek independence.

This context supports fiction about military observers, Russian and Ottoman armies, Balkan campaigning and the strategic anxieties of Britain during the early Great Game. On His Majesty’s Service sends Matthew Hervey from St Petersburg to the war and into the Battle of Kulevicha.