Serbo-Montenegrin-Turkish Wars of 1876–78

wars fought by Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. The wars coincided with an upswing in the Balkan national liberation movement.

After the Ottoman Turks had refused to allow Serbia to extend its control over Bosnia and Hercegovina, Serbia and Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire in June 1876. Both countries were ill-prepared for war, and in the course of the fighting Turkish troops occupied several Serbian towns. A Russian ultimatum presented to the Turkish government in October 1876 compelled the belligerents to conclude an armistice, and in February 1877 Serbia negotiated a treaty with the Ottoman Empire confirming the prewar status. Montenegro did not sign the treaty.

With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Montenegro resumed military operations in April 1877. In December 1877, Serbia again entered the war, which had become part of the Russo-Turkish War. In the course of the military operations, Serbian and Montenegrin troops attained considerable success. Serbia liberated the cities of Niŝ and Pirot and several other areas in the south and east. Russia’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War was a decisive factor in Serbia’s and Montenegro’s struggle for independence. By the decision of the Congress of Berlin (1878), Serbia and Montenegro acquired their independence and considerably enlarged their territories.