THE EXPEDITION TO KHIVA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 230, 24 September 1873, Page 2

THE EXPEDITION TO KHIVA.

The following very interesting article on the Russian expedition to Khiva is from the Times of 9th July :— The story of the expedition to Khiva, as told in the official reports we publish elsewhere, will, perhaps, remind the reader of another narrative, strangely contrasted it is true, and yet in some points strangely similar. Substitute cold for heat, snow for sand, and winter for summer, and the description would do for an episode of the retreat from Moscow-. Happily for the Russians there was"no enemy, or rather they succeeded without difficulty in keeping the enemy at a distance; but so terrible were the difficulties of the march that one of the invading columns was compelled to retrace its. steps, and to resign, all hopes of reaching Khiva. There was little or no fighting, but that was owing to the discipline maintained by the Russian troops and the excellence of their arms. Long, range' rifles, mountain guns, and rockets, sufficed to disperse the disorderly swarms/of Turcomans, and General Von Kauffmanu, indeed, ie candid enough tQ speak of the Khivan army as a '« hostile mob:"' Such., mobs, however, might have been dangerous enough to a demoralised or ill-conducted force, aod it required all the endurance ot the invader,*, to surmount the obstacles placed,by nature in; their way. M. Vambrey told ua the other day, that in crossing these steppes he was carried almost lifeless on a camel, and his words are exactly repeated in the account of the advance from Krasnovodsk. " The horses," aays the report, " were constantly falling, and could hardly rise again; the exhaustion of the men reached its extreme limit —some unable to sit on their horsed, fell off in a kind of. swoon, others on foot could not walk any further." This distress was caused by the intense heat of the air and the peculiar nature of the soil. We cannot give ihe exact temperature, for the thermometers burst under the sun's rays, and the record was lost,-but the description of the steppe is enough. The ground was loose burning sand. "High sandhills were replaced by.. • still higher, and still steeper hills which were composed of the finest hot lime-dust in which men and horses sank up to their knees. In the absence of the last breath of air this dust remained stationary in tbe air, rendering breathing difficult, atfd covering the horsemen with a thick layer." Most significant however^is the, mortality among the"ca__els. These creatures of the desert found the Khivan deserts too dreadful for them, and they died by thousands. General Kaufmaun on bis comparatively practicable route lost 1550 put of 2805 in a few. days, and the loss- was I in many ways embarrassing. These cameto carried provisions, and when the camels died their loads had to be left behind, so that the columns found themselves with supplies for days instead of for weeks. Nevertheless, so ample had been the preparation, and so large the margin prudently allowed, that Khiva was reached at last.

For remainder of news see fourth page.

The numbers of the expeditionary force were probably calculated on the chances of such a misfortune as befell the Krasnovodsk column. If only a single division could arrive at Khiva, the object of the war would be achieved, and it appears that all the divisions arrived there, with the exception of Colonel Markosofis. But, besides this, the Turcomans were terrified by the presence of the invaders in so many quarters at once, and even theKrasnovodsk column produced tbe effect of neutralising what might have been a hostile district. Altogether the force was none too large, nor were the subsidiary arrangements in excess of what were required. The commissariat was well managed, and the troops were rarely without water. Medical aids had been provided in abundance, and it is impossible to read the reports without remarking the care taken by the officers of their men. Scarcely a single straggler scams to have been lost, for, although numbers dropped down exhausted, parties were always sent oat to search for them and bring them in. When the Krasnovodsk column faced about to retire, a hundred Cossacks and as many foot soldiers had to be carried od camels, but they got safely through the retreat with a loss of only two men. Indeed, when the accounts of the campaign are made up, we suspent the smallness of its cost in this respect will appear surprising. There were very few casualties in the field, and, though there was much suffering, there was little mortality. General Kaufmann tells us of his own division that it reached the Amoo with scarcely a man on the sick list, so well the troops " knew how to take care of themselves;" but this column seems to have had the easiest route. It was surrounded on its arrival in Khivan territory by about 3,500 Tartar horse, but the dispersion of this enemy was the easiest of tasks. Skirmishers with their rifles kept them at a respectful distance, and a single shell or rocket sufficed to put them to flight. In fact, the military strength of Khiva was contemptible, and the Russian Commanders frankly tell us co. The real enemy was nature as seen in the Bteppes, and the battle with the foe was bravely and successfully fought. The demands upon the patience and steadiness of the troops must have been heavy, but they were characteristically met. An officer present with the force is i reported to have Baid that the mere march through such a country, though free from disturbance, and unattended with danger from an enemy, was incomparably more trying than the hardest work of the last campaign in France. The scenery itself caused distress, and if the privations were not severe, the labor waß excessive. We cannot, in short, but see that the Expedition, bloodless as it has proved, required both good troops and good ftenerals, and that there was little exaggeration in the measure which had been taken of the work to he done. With fewer columns or inferior armaments the Russians might have failed, and failure might have brought unknown enemies into the field. Russian journals are now remarking with a certain candor that the conquest of this miserable Khanate was do great exploit for a mighty Empire; but the truth iB the Khan might as well be left out of the Btory altogether. The real exploit consisted in plunging into these torrid and trackless deserts, and maintaining discipline and spirit throughout a march of a thousand miles. Students of military history know well how the best troops have occasionally succumbed in such trials; but even the Krasnovodsk column, unsuccessful though it was, retired in good order, and without loss. The credit which was bestowed upon ourselves after the Expedition to Magdala is now fairly due to Russia in her turn. It may be admitted, in looking at this campaign from a political point of view, that it wili establish the renown of the Russian arms in Tartary, and practically place Central Asia at the command of the Czar. There is no longer, indeed, an independent state in those parts. Khiva was the Jast which could pretend to defy the Russians, and Khiva, we may ba sure, will make no such pretension again. But what is to follow ? We ask this question in more perplexity than ever after reading the description of the country as given by the Russians themselves. Another march to Khiva would cost them just as much, even if there were no Khan in the city. The sandhills and the sun of the steppea will be as formidable as ever, and the troops, indeed, may find it as hard to return as it was to advance. Burning sand and choking dust will still be there; in fact, the case will be even worse, for the most favorable season of the year is now past. The Russians have found, and have shown to the world, that the Deserts of Tartary cannot stop their march, just as we found, after many trials, that we could open a north-west passage in Arctic seas. But, no sooner was the passage discovered than its utter useleseness was ascertained, and it would now puzzle anybody to imagine the utility of Khiva. These, however, are speculations which the Russians must be presumed to have entertained for themselves before deciding on the expedition. They determined to march upon Khiva, and they had great cause for doing so. They have now accomplished a military feat not less creditable than a victorious passage of arms, but beyond this glorious accession to the national honor it would not be easy to see what they can gam.