The storm of the Troyan Pass on December, 26, 1877 and the Bulgarians: Historiographic myths and the reality

Abstract

The article focusses on the successful capture on December 26, 1877 of the Turkish fortification “Eagle’s Nest” or “Kurt Hisar” (in Turkish “The Wolf Fortress”), built on top of the hard-to-reach Troyan Pass, leaded by the Troyan detachment under the command of Lieutenant General P. P. Kartsov. A scrupulous study of the complex of published sources reveals a more complex picture of interactions between Russians and Bulgarians than the one presented in the Marxist historiography. The promises the Bulgarian population has made to provide significant assistance to the Russians (to provide 200 packhorses, 400 workers, etc.) were presented by Marxist historians as a fait accompli, but in fact, even for a high fee, the Bulgarians did not fulfill their obligations responsibly and in full according to the agreement reached. Hopes for real assistance from the Bulgarian armed units during the battle of the Troyan detachment with the Turkish garrison turned out to be in vain: with the exception of a few brave men, the overwhelming majority of the Chetniks stayed in the rear. Kartsov, as a pleasant exception among the Bulgarians, named only two persons who rendered invaluable services: Archimandrite Makari, the abbot of the Troyan Assumption Monastery, and George, the foreman of the Troyan district. Gratefully mentioned should be those Bulgarian guides that in the most difficult conditions, did not refuse to lead Russian troops along the snow-covered paths of the harsh Balkans, as well as those Bulgarians who, together with Russian soldiers, harnessed to raise cannons to the Troyan steep.