Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the 1877 - 1878 Russo - Turkish war , following which Romania , fighting on the Russian side , gained independence from the Ottoman Empire . On , Romania and the Russian Empire signed a treaty at Bucharest under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory , with the condition that Russia respected the integrity of Romania . The mobilization began , and about 120 , 000 soldiers were massed in the south of the country to defend against an eventual attack of the Ottoman forces from south of the Danube . On , Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and its troops entered Romania through the newly built Eiffel Bridge . Overview . On , in the Romanian parliament , Mihail Kogălniceanu declared the independence of Romania as the will of the Romanian people . A day later , the act was signed by Prince Carol I . The next day , the Romanian government canceled paying tribute to Turkey ( 914 , 000 lei ) , and the sum was given instead to the War Minister . Initially , before 1877 , Russia did not wish to cooperate with Romania , since they did not wish Romania to participate in the peace treaties after the war , but the Russians encountered a very strong Turkish army of 50 , 000 soldiers led by Osman Pasha at the Siege of Plevna ( Pleven ) where the Russian troops led by Russian generals suferred very heavy losses and were routed in several battles . War . Due to great losses , Nikolai Konstantinovich , Grand Duke of Russia , asked Carol I for the Romanian Army to intervene and join forces with the Russian Army . Prince Carol I accepted the Duke ' s proposal to become the Marshal of the Russian troops in addition to the Command of his own Romanian army , thus being able to lead the combined armed forces to the conquest of Plevna and the formal surrender , after heavy fighting , of the Turkish General Osman Pasha . The Romanian Army won the battles of Grivitsa and Rahova , and on 28 November 1877 the Plevna citadel capitulated , and Osman Pasha surrendered the city , the garrison and his sword to the Romanian colonel Mihail Cerchez . After the occupation of Plevna , the Romanian Army returned to the Danube and won the battles of Vidin and Smârdan . On 19 January 1878 , the Ottoman Empire requested an armistice , which was accepted by Russia and Romania . Romania won the war but at a cost of more than 10 , 000 casualties . Its independence from the Porte was finally recognised by the Central Powers on 13 July 1878 . Aftermath . The peace treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed at San Stefano , on 3 March 1878 . Russia did not keep its promises of the 4 April 1877 treaty ( signed by the Russian consul Stuart Dimitri ( and approved by the Czar Alexander II and the Romanian Prime Minister of the day Mihail Kogălniceanu ) to respect Romania ' s territorial integrity . However , the treaty was not recognised by the Central Powers and the 1878 peace conference in Berlin decided that Russia would give Romania its independence , the territories of Dobrogea , the Danube Delta and access to the Black Sea including the ancient port of Tomis ( Constantza ) , as well as the tiny Snake Island ( Insula Şerpilor ) , but Russia would nevertheless occupy as a so - called " compensation " the old Romanian Southern counties of Bessarabia ( Cahul , Bolgrad and Ismail ) , which by the Treaty of Paris of 1856 ( after the Crimean War ) were included in Moldavia . Prince Carol was most unhappy by this imposition of Russian occupation of Romanian territories that seriously breached the Russo - Romanian treaty of 4 April 1877 ; he was finally persuaded by Bismarck ( in now - published original letters exchanged at that time ) to accept this compromise with Russia in view of the great economical potential of Romania ' s direct access to the Black Sea and its ancient ports at the expense of Bulgaria .