In that case they would have cleared a new line of advance to Constantinople farther to the east, and made the possession of Plevna of little worth.

Its value always lay in its nearness to their main line of advance, but they were not tied to that line.

It is safe to say that, if Moltke had directed their operations, he would have devised some better plan than that of hammering away at the redoubts of Plevna.
In fact, the Russians made three great blunders: first, in neglecting to occupy Plevna betimes; second, in underrating Osman's powers of defence; third, in concentrating all their might on what was a very strong, but not an essential, point of the campaign.
The closing scenes of the war are of little interest except in the domain of diplomacy.

Servia having declared war against Turkey immediately after the fall of Plevna, the Turks were now hopelessly outnumbered.

Gurko forced his way over one of the western passes of the Balkans, seized Sofia (January 4, 1878), and advancing quickly towards Philippopolis, utterly routed Suleiman's main force near that town (January 17).