CAPTURE OF ARADHAN BY THE RUSSIANS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 167, 17 July 1877, Page 4

CAPTURE OF ARADHAN BY THE RUSSIANS.

E^qm various sjdea details come of *be taking of Ardahan by tha Russians. Firsjqf all tb,ere ia the official report of the Commander ia Chief of /the array in the Caucasus, which says : — "I have the honor to congratulate your \ Imperial Majesty on the "taking of Ardahan. I receive at this raomeot . tbs Callowiag despatch from General; Lpria Melikqff : r -* The advanced works' of Ardahan, its fortifications, (JQ guns,; an immense mass of provisions, thecamp of the H battalions of Turks, and the citadel are at the feet of your, Majesty. On the 17th May, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m , the admirable fire of! our artillery effected a breach in the ■ walls. At 6 pm. the place was assaulted by the Erivao, Tifiis, and Baku . regiments, and by the Sappers . The j -enemy coaid not resist the attack, and -fled, leaving a great number of tbe i dead behind! In' spite of the .darkness I j .the enemy was pursued by the cavalry. ; .At 9 p.m. the troops marched through . the town and the fortificatioaa to the! 'music 'or the National Hymn, and j '^ele^rated their victory wilh great j! enthueiaem. Tbe Sasaian flag waa : hoisted on all the fortifications. Our 1 losses are not yet exactly agcertained, j I>u6 it^is beHeved an officer and 50 ! soldiers v were killed, and. 4 officers and 80 men wounded. I cannot find wdrda ; sufficient lo praise the coolness and ' bravery of our young soldiers,' and' the I excellence of the dispositions made by the 4}ffiderß. j Solemn Divine service [ will fbe beld to-day ' : it foe center of t&e fortificatjons. ; ' '.'•'•' A later official feiegram from Tiflis states that 82 guns' have been taken, among, them many Krupp guns," and io tbe town as well as in the saDJak of Ardahan, Russian authorities have been iastalled. t fHB MOVEMENTS, IN TfJBKEr IN EUROPB. , 1 , Concerning the progress of hoatili.ties on the Danube, the Times correaWrites from. Bucharest an May, 13, as follows :— ; ' ; '• *' The Russian troops are marching steadily along the Roumanian highways, and the brigades' of cavalry with them. The batteries of horse artillery which have passed Bucharest indicate heavy masses of infantry to follow, should the usual proportion of the different arms of iha service be main- j tatqed. Occasionally the men start one of their wild martial songs, which they sing in chorus with a precision thjat w.suld not discredit the chorus of aa opera troupe. There ia an air of quiet dogged ness about these Russian soldiers whyih augurs ill fpr the Moslem host aaeemb Jed on the other side otfiheDaoybfrTbey have tie appearance of men who, will hammer aw&y at an objept until it is worn down bysheer friction j while at the aame time the energy with which they join i«: their occasional war gongs ahowa thai there ia t latent fire under the doggei exterior, w.hieh shows apparent iddifference to surrounding circumstances The boreesand equipmenta of these, men do not show any evidence of the • bankruptcy' which Russia is accused of suffering from, and, whatever may be the financial condition of the Muaovite Empire, there haa been no lack of expenditure upon the outfit of its armyi Toe men are all furnished wUh stout boots "6if Russian leather, end this will go far towards preserving their health in the campaiun. Their uniforms are well made, and those of the hussHtregiaieuts especially are' handsomely oraameated. The artillery wtich paeaed here was of two kincTfi'—a steel gun and a brass one", both however breechloaders. The caissons, limbers, and 8 ammunition " waggons are well made, end strong enoggh for rough roads and ' bard Wpqk.3.' The cavalry. 1 co'nßist8 x 'of; three varieties — the Cossack, Uhlan , and Hussar. The Cossacks are aruied with^ a Fance about fifteen feet loog, endhavfj a tnaDkular. bayoQet-.. shaped, pouch about Bin in length 8 .' 5 'Ihey also, carry sabres, carbinee, «nd some of them revolvers. "The Russians are occupying the various atragetic positiona along the Dapube id a mauuer suggestive of an" intention to make a thorough campaign, land of immense masses of troops available for the purpose. They are extending their right up the river as fast ; as the troops coma down from their former position on the right of the line along the Prutb, sud the occupation of every {.oint of importance must prove intenaly perplexing to the Turkish Commander-hi. Chief, obliged as he is to defend the same length of line with aa infer for ,/arce. This disposal of the Russian Army does not suggest a desperate effort to paea the river, with heaVy Idas, at one of the traditional orossiug- points; but oa the contrary, it rather indicates an intention of utilising the superiority of numbers possessed by the Russian Grand Duke, to quietly convey forces across the Danube at points totaliy or, perhaps, practically undefended, and in this way gaining v footing on the right batik, and turning the strongly-fortified places like fcjitistria aad Rustchuk. " Tbo Roumanian army is being concentrated on the Oheniiza and Kalaiat positions, a heavy corps of Russiao. cavalry, with Horea Artiller, is already between these; ißotiGianian corps d'armeeSf extending along the Giur^evo and Turn-MagureU lies, so that fiUa

Russian and Roumoniaq armies, are already, as it were, interlaced with each other. The position of the Roumanian general's head-quarters, is not yet made known, and the. way in^wtycb^he iwo corps ol the Principality are mingled with tbe Russians readers ifc rather dif r ficult for Prince Charjes even to, have a headquarters, or to use Ms army id anything like an independent manner! It looks at present {as though the Ruesiana had quietly and dexterously ( placed the Roumanian troops where they should be practically bjended With their own, as previously suggested by j the Grand Duke Nicholas, but strenuously objected to by the Roumanian Prince and his Government — an ohjactit}n perfectly natural in the circumstances. The effect of the Turkish policy j has apparently b'eetfta strengthen the 1 hands of the war party in Bucharest, and to force the' Government of the Principality to make Qommoa cause with, the Russian invaders. The repeated incursions of marauding bands of Turkish soldiers; into defenceless Roumanian villages has, of course, had its natural result in placing Turkey and the Principality in : a'etate of actual, though as yet unde-'. dared, warfare. The artillery } duels ; at ftjilafafc and Oltenitza have certaiqjy : % shaken any linger jug hopes of the neutrality professed .at.^Q. tnent of. the Rusinan movjse } aj:,\, ; aj&d j the formai;deelar»iifl^ | Turkey and her nominal vassel may ; be, . excapted ,,a;s any moment. It is' possible that hostilities may be con- \ tinned, as they have commenced, without any formal declarations! by either Government. The Roumanian Treag. ury is nearly enipjty, ancj, in present circumstances, it to ace how it ia to be replenished ; but tbe history of the Eastshowa that, lisa t people can fi^ht out in this part of tbe world whether they have money or not. therefore, it ia useless to base' calpalatione upon treasury 'statistics Wli'en the probabilities of the future are being estimated. • The Rotatnahians are accused of want of military, order by foreign' critic^ j bus fiaeir b'rethern in the Austrian ■; armies > fou»hl desperately during the- campaign ok 1866; They are men of finephysiqufe, are, well armed and equipped, 'and th'bre is iio reason why they should not do credit to their country in the field, i The senseless depredations of the I Turks on tbe southern side of the ; Danube havesupplied a good deal' of the necessary disposition * 60 take" up : arms which: waa Wanting' at the begiujning of the campaign, 1 and, 'as the full militia forces will probably be added j to the present regular and reserve corps,, j the Roumanian contingent will be & ; formidable one in numbers; L '*-" ' . i FIGHTING ON THE DANUBE i The Daily Telegraph publishes the following despatch, dated Isakca, May 5:- — "A brilliant engagement has token pi.wice between Turkish gunboats and jthe Russian batterieSrat Toutora; fra, b6---;!ow (salatz, to-dayi- At early morning two Turkish guuboats moved "dpwn the river; They proceeded very carefully, 'taking the utmost precautions against the torpedoes that were understood t0... underlie the water for some, distance. Having obtained a favourable position immediately opposite the batteries, the two guuboats opened a heavy and. destructive fire. The batteries, beiug heavily, armed, replied vigorously. For some lime the light was kept up, the Bring beiug well sustained: on both Gradually the gunboats steamed (I way, having demolished a portion of the, battery in front of which they 1 took up (heir position, and dismounted one of' ( , the tfeavy guna. They also burned Jhe Russian camp with shell, wtiioh they in with destructive precisions, driving the Russians bjickj.in greafi (ii&«~ ord'ex. ' The boa is were.qui.te. uninjured.., bjy the tretne.ndqUß,.\fir.e of tj*e batteries. This iiitrepi/l act of their ironclads and ' the —extent of its success has greatly rilajjed, the ..ij'Ujr^s,; performed, aa. [it,., was/ despite 1 the danger. ojL jcoming into collision with the Rtißßian torpedoes." § \u - ■•■■>■■• ' • ■t-t '■ l.'jr /.',!■ ;. ■ (DESTRUCTION OF .A $tl frtlS^ ijipx • £ . . . i clad. '.. ' *'"' " ""' I T.be.'Ruasian Agency has published' l itjie- followiog telegram, dated" Sfcr Petersburg,. May., ; 2£> T : 7n: T.he ;i : Qm fl ai D| uke' Nicholas, telegraphing yesterday, says : — " I have decorated the Lieutenants Dpubassoff a_nd,CJi£B a&jflp'wiiib ■< , tlie Cross of (Sfc. George.'- l^hese'-t^o l j ojlicers, along witbJ'-Eaeutehant Petroff, "Ensigns 1 1 ersine and Bahl, and Major iSjOUtriain. went to almost certain death. At the first shot' fired by DoubassofF fclje gunboat Czarewifcch was filled with r wate'r:; at the second shot, by ' Gheafca lkoff; which finished the monitor, tbe g£ o boat Zenia was 1 quite riddled with b(jmbs and shells. Three monitors firing at once close upon our men, the,. Z^uia. was enveloped in the confusion,^ and her screw got entangled, with the monitor 1 Soirierau, but she never ceased to fire. The guiiboat "Djighirie, commanded by Ensign Persine, had its pdop broken by a ball, and filled with water. ■Ultimately a ball in the prow disabled the vessel, and. it was 'forced tojgo over to. the enemy's shore, to save the (vessel and have repairs made; The C^arena, under the^comraand of Ensign Bahl, always exposed, held itself in readiness to Bave the Czarewitch^whicli " threatened to sink. Mourjeako ; and Lieutenant Petvor actively 'seconded DoubassofF and : Chestakoff. Although the men had been under fire for twenty, minutes, they were all saved. The other Turkish monitors h.aving steamed off, Doubassoff, Perainfe, "and Bahl returned to carry off the flag of the foundered monitor. The conduct of the sailors was heroic ; they remained

as calm and silenfc aa if they had beeri engaged in their ordinary drill. The; crew of our four vessels amounted in all to only forty." ' A review was held recently afe Ploy jesti. When the troops were .in line' the Grand Duke Nicholas called in a! loud voice for Souß- Lieutenant Rotnan-j ofsky. The young officer stepped for-! ward in mute surprise, when the Grant! Duke embraced him, and placed upon 1 his breast the Cross of St. George. 1 This was the youthful hero who pointed the gun which blew up the Turkish monitor at Ibraili. BUSSIAN TACTICS. The Russian plan of operations in; Europe is beginning to develop itself in; such a way as to afford some indication' of the probable course of. events. At present the intention seems to be tci threaten the line of defence generally from east to west, but especially at Silistria and Hirsova. The latter post-; tion is advantageous for crossing the Danube, inasmuch as the left bank isat this one point loftier than the right,, while the river has only one deep; stream^iustead of being spread out in! .^marshes as at most other places. It isi possible, however, that the demonstrations &b both, of these points areintended to draw off the Turkish forces from the left of their line at Widdin. ' If the invader could cross higher .up the river he would be in a position to enter Bulgaria without threading the Balkans by turning that formidable position. Certain political considera- ! tions connected with the jealousy of ' Austria may perhaps militate against the adoption of this base of operations, which, apart from its lengthening the Russian Una of, communications, seems to present the greatest strategical advantages. Looking at the attitude of the defence, it is becoming clearer every day Abdul Kerioa Pasha has determined to mass the chief part of his army on the central portion of his extended line, so as to be in a position to bring it to bear upon the enemy at any point that may be attacked in real force. Eustchuk seems likely to become ihe centre of his line, as Ployesti is that of the invader, unless the Russians should develop an attack in force. towards Widdin. In this event the Seraskier would have to shift posi- ; tion westwards, co as to prevent its I being. turnefL : .