"A detailed account of the Siege of Plevna and the ‘Plevna Delay’ is not necessary here. But what cannot be eschewed is a rebuttal – no matter how brief – of a growing tendency in some modern literature – especially ‘on-line’ sources – to down-play the role of the Peabody-Martini in the defence of Plevna in favour of emphasising the use at close range by its infantry garrison of an allegedly 8-12,000 or so rapid firing Winchester repeater rifles they were armed with. This is to ignore contemporary accounts such as the memoirs of Osman Pasha, along with others, stating quite categorically that the Turkish infantry at Plevna did not use the Winchester Model 1866 Rifle. The Winchester carbine was, of course, issued to mounted units or elements thereof: but as there were no more than 1500 or so cavalry of all kinds at Plevna, the maximum number of Winchester carbines available for its defence was probably nearer 1,000. Quite simply, aside from how contemporary records indicate clearly that the Winchester was not thought of very highly of as a service weapon, the rapid and devastating fire that decimated the Russian infantry attacks on the place was the ease of loading and reloading of the Peabody-Martini together with its capability for long-distance and plunging fire and – in particular – an abundance of ammunition. Indeed, so effective was the rifle in this way the Russian commander, General Skoubeloff, ordered the re-arming of one company in the Russian 63rd Regiment with captured Peabody-Martini Rifles for an attack on one particularly well-entrenched Ottoman position at the decisive Battle of Shipka in January 1876."
(с)"The "Aynali Martini": the Ottoman Army's first modern rifle" by J Bennett

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