{"id":1081,"date":"2010-01-01T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-01T08:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/?p=1081"},"modified":"2026-07-24T09:25:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T07:25:54","slug":"on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 3 places side by side the exhaustion of the Ottoman garrison at Pleven in 1877 and the final preparations of the Balkan League before the First Balkan War in 1912.<\/p>\n

October 3, 1877 \u2014 The Pleven Garrison Is Running Out of Supplies<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Inside besieged Pleven, Osman Pasha\u2019s Ottoman garrison faced critical shortages of food and ammunition. Despite its desperate position, the garrison maintained discipline and held the city\u2019s formidable earthwork fortifications.<\/p>\n

The battle of attrition around Pleven became one of the most closely watched military operations in Europe. Foreign correspondents and military observers from across the continent followed its course. The siege showed how long a fortified position could resist when its command maintained order even as basic resources became scarce.<\/p>\n

For Bulgaria, the fighting at Pleven belonged to the war that changed the political future of the Bulgarian lands. The date should therefore be read not only as a military episode, but also as part of the road towards Liberation.<\/p>\n

October 3, 1912 \u2014 The Balkan League Stands on the Eve of War<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On October 3, 1912, Bulgaria finalised its war plans together with Serbia, Greece and Montenegro. The Balkan League was preparing to declare war on the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n

Years of diplomatic groundwork and secret military conventions stood behind this moment. The alliance was days away from launching the First Balkan War, a campaign that would transform the map of south-eastern Europe and drive the Ottomans from nearly all of their remaining European territory.<\/p>\n

The preparations show that a war does not begin with the first shot. Before it come negotiations, plans, the allocation of forces and political decisions. October 3 brings that hidden work together with the visible tension of besieged Pleven in 1877.<\/p>\n

This double perspective gives the date its particular meaning. One event is a story of exhaustion and endurance; the other is a story of preparation, alliances and expectation of change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-this-day-in-bulgaria","latest_post"],"yoast_head":"\nOn This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BRONICABLE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tsarevets-fortress-veliko-tarnovo-cc-by-sa.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4318\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bronic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bronic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bronic\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be\"},\"headline\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":313,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"On This Day in Bulgaria\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/\",\"name\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1151,\"caption\":\"Fighting at Pleven on 27 August 1877 during the siege. Artist: Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. License: Public Domain (PD-old-100). Source: Wikimedia Commons \u2014 https:\\\/\\\/commons.wikimedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/File:Dmitriev_019.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"BRONICABLE\",\"description\":\"Discover Bulgaria & Beyond\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BRONICABLE\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png\",\"width\":3181,\"height\":1291,\"caption\":\"BRONICABLE\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be\",\"name\":\"bronic\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"bronic\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/bronic\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History","description":"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History","og_description":"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.","og_url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/","og_site_name":"BRONICABLE","article_published_time":"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":4318,"height":1840,"url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tsarevets-fortress-veliko-tarnovo-cc-by-sa.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bronic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bronic","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/"},"author":{"name":"bronic","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be"},"headline":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3","datePublished":"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/"},"wordCount":313,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg","articleSection":["On This Day in Bulgaria"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/","name":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3 History","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg","datePublished":"2010-01-01T08:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T07:25:54+00:00","description":"On October 3, 1877, the Pleven garrison faced shortages, while the Balkan League prepared for war in 1912.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/october-1-siege-of-pleven-1877.jpg","width":2048,"height":1151,"caption":"Fighting at Pleven on 27 August 1877 during the siege. Artist: Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. License: Public Domain (PD-old-100). Source: Wikimedia Commons \u2014 https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Dmitriev_019.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-october-3\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On This Day in Bulgaria: October 3"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/","name":"BRONICABLE","description":"Discover Bulgaria & Beyond","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization","name":"BRONICABLE","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png","width":3181,"height":1291,"caption":"BRONICABLE"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be","name":"bronic","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"bronic"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/author\/bronic\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3087,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081\/revisions\/3087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}