Osman Nuri Pasha

Osman Nuri Pasha

(ōsmän` no͞orē` päshä`), 1837–1900, Turkish general. He fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 and in Lebanon, Crete, and Arabia in the 1860s and 70s. He was made muşir [marshal] for his successes (1876) in Serbia. In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 he gallantly defended Pleven in Bulgaria but was ultimately forced to surrender to the Russians. He served almost continuously as war minister from 1878 to 1885.

Osman Nuri Pasha

 

Born 1832 in Amasya; died Apr. 14, 1900, in Istanbul. Turkish pasha and mushir (field marshal; 1876).

Osman Nuri Pasha graduated from the military academy in Istanbul in 1852. He served in the Crimean War of 1853–56 and in the suppression of the national liberation movement in Crete. He commanded an army corps during the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. By shifting his troops from Vidin to Plevna in July 1877, Osman sought to halt the advance of Russian troops from the Danube to the Balkans by striking at their right flank. However, he was blockaded in Plevna. For about five months, from July 8 (20) through Nov. 28 (Dec. 10), 1877, Osman commanded the defense of Plevna. His forces repulsed three Russian assaults of the city and tied down the main Russian forces for a long time. For his defense of Plevna, Osman was given the honorary title of Ghazi (“victorious”). After an abortive attempt to break through the blockade, he was forced to surrender the 40,000-strong garrison of Plevna.

From 1878 to 1885, Osman served as Turkish minister of war. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, he was commander in chief of the Turkish Army.