[1] In this battle, the Russians were led by Nikolay Mikhailovich Kamensky, who by this time had already gained a lot of high command experience by achieving several successes over the Swedish army in the Finnish War.

In 1810 hostilities were resumed, and the Russians put Count Nikolay Kamensky in command of the Army of the Danube with orders to drive the Ottoman Turks out of the Balkan peninsula.

He therefore left his brother Sergei Kamensky with 30,000 men to control Shumen and led the rest of his army to attack the more important Danubian port of Rustchuk (now Ruse).

In the meantime the Ottoman Turks had amassed a strong force in western Bulgaria and were advancing towards them along the south bank of the Danube.

However he was taken irrecoverably ill in February 1811, dying in May, and was temporarily succeeded by Count Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron.