TURKEY. [From the Home News, November 26.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 899, 15 March 1854, Page 4

TURKEY. [From the Home News, November 26.]

Notwithstanding the vague and contradictory rumours from the seat of war in the East, we may believe that the campaign on the Danube is now fairly opened, and that the result of the war has for some time been on the side of the Turks. "Until within the last few days the news consisted of little more than telegraphic announcements of the crossing of the Danube, accompanied by confused and contradictory statements of the success on either side. But these doubtful reports are now changed to brief but authentic accounts. The Turks crossed the river in four places, between the 28th 'October and the 4th November. Having made good their position at Kalafat, they threw forward their forces, and the Russians retired towards Slatina ; between which place and Krajowa the corps of General Daunenberg, said to be 30,000 or 40,000 strong, occupied a positian en echelon covering the road to Bucharest. The Turkish force in Lesser Wallachia, thus established on the right flank of the Russian army, is said to amount to 12,000; and it was iutended that additional troops should cross the Danube at Kalafat from Sophia. Lower down the river, another and smaller division of the Turks, 2000, crossed from Rustchuck to Giurgevo, and bombarded the town, making good their footing ; but we are not certified whether this body has only established itself on the island opposite Giurgevo, or whether that fortress has been " taken by storm." The most formidable movement of the Turks, however, was at Oltenitza. Here they crossed over from Turtukai, 18,000 strong — a Turkish account says 12,000. On their landing, General Perloff, at the hoad of 9000 Russians fell upon the Ottomans. The combat is said to have 'lasted, skirmishing included, for two days; but the Turkish account says " three hours ;" and it adds that the combatants came bayonet to bayonet. The Russians fled, leaving 700 killed and wounded on the field. The Turks have also established 4000 men in Kalarache, opposite Silistria. Thus they possess the four most important points on the left bank of the Danube. A later statement is that the army in Lesser Wallachia encountered General Danuenberg ; that a " battle" ensued ; that the Russians left fourteen superior officers dead on the field : and that they retreated on Bucharest. As the force of General Dannenberg was stated at the lowest to be 30,000 men, this victory would amount to a complete defeat of the Russian left wing ; and as their centre had been driven in at Oltenitza, it is assumed that Prince Gortschakoff is by this time defeated. There has been a good deal of discussion respecting the relative and actual force •of the belligerents. It is estimated that the Russians have, on paper, 55,000 men in the Principalities; but that, allowing for 12,000 sick, and for some regiments which have not their full complement, the effective force only reaches 30,000. This is probably too low an estimate ; but it must be remembered that hitherto we have only Russian reports. On the other hand, the Turkish corps on the left bank of the Danube are estimated at 43,200 now probably raised to a higher figure. An anecdote of Russian proceedings in Wallachia reaches us through Paris. Immediately after Prince Stirbey had abruptly left bis embarrassing position, under the bullying of the Russian generals, by departing for Vienna, Prince Gortschakoff, irritated by the departure of the Hospodar, summoned the Secretary of State who presided over the Executive Council, and in a few sharp words communicated his orders to him, directing him to repeat them to the Council. This the Secretary immediately did in the following words ;—"; — " Gentlemen, lam directed by Prince Gortschakoff to say to you that he requires you and those under you, to attend strictly and simply to administrative duties. If any man from the band downwards to the deputy-major, quit his post, or meddle with politics, or say or do ought hostile to Russia, the Prince will hang him without trial." It would seem that the Russian army in the Principalities have to encounter not only the Turks, but also a native guerilla force which has sprung up in Wallachia. The Patrie gives an account of this foree — " It appears that General Gorlschakoff having wished to incorporate the Wallachia militia into the ranks of the Russian army, a great number of young \\ allachians belonging to the best families in the Province, and who have never taken any part in any insurrection, refused to take up arms against their country, and in order to withdraw themselves from the vengeance of the Russian general took refuge in the Carpathian mountains, where they have organised themselves as guerillas. Omar Pacha has sent them arms and ammunition. At ths date of the last accounts their number was every day increasing, and they shewed, the greatest devotedness for the cause of the Sultan, their legitimate sovereign." Continuing the narrative of the campaign in the East, wefind positive statements, certified by reports, both via Constantinople and Vienna,

that the Turk» sustained three desperate attacks at Oltonitza ; victors in the last. We subjoin two accounts of thfli» battles ; the first from Vienna, tho sooond from the Paris Monitcur :—: — "Tho Inland In the vicinity of Turtukai forms a natural baulo ground. The troops with which tho Turks mado a beginning on the 2nd, after a corps of about 15,000 men had been concontiated between Teohnialflha nnd Turtukai, remained conxtaled in tli§ liualiest favorod by the fog, On the Old, about 8000 men wero posted on the island* 8000 were on bonrd of bargp« ready to be oonveyed to ihe opnoaua flliore, and about 4000 or 8000 mm had already landed on the left bank. During the night, from tho third to the fourth Instant, (he passage wa» attempted over the smaller arm of the river, nearOltenitza, and was also carried out by forco of arras. The 2000 troops on board the barges tailed round the island, and ! wero tho first to reach the Wallacbian shore. The Russian pickets were posted along the Danube. One of these pickets was at Oltenitza ; the reserve were posted at the distance of a shot behind this place, amounting altogether to about 5000 men. During the combat, reinforcements arrived. The engagement commenced at dawn of day. On both sides the troops fought with bravery and perseverance. The cannonade lasted unremittingly for eighteen hours. Towards noon the contest seemed to draw to a close, by the re« treat of the Turks to their vessels, but was soon renewed. In the evening the Turks were established along the river side, and the Russians behind Oltenitza. The conflict is described as an exceedingly murderous one, and the losses on both sides must have been very considerable. The Russians performed all that could be expected of them, considering the disproportionate numbers of the enemy. But the Turks also fought with a bravery inspired by an extraordinary degree of fanaticism, which is likely to destroy the illusion which many have hitherto indulged in with regard to the military prowess of the Turks." The Moniteur continues the story ;-*- " The Government has received the following details of the rencontre of the 4th between the 1 Turks and Russians, at Oltenitza. It is in the triangle formed by the Argis, the Danube, and the village of Oltenitza, that the sanguinary combat of the 4th took place. The Turks were only 9000 strong-: they occupied the quarantine building situated in the plain near the Danube and the village. This building and an old redoubt, were fortified with materials brought from Turtukai. The Turks made use of the batteries of that fortress with great success. They threw across tbe Danube, which is here about 2QQ toises in width, shot and shells, which reached the Russians at the foot of the village, situated on an elevation. General Dannenberg, who directed the 1 operations, was at a short disiance from tbe vil- . lage wiib his staff. The loss of the Russians is 1 estimated at 1200 men killed or wounded. Al- ' most all the chefs de battallion were wounded, ' as well ns several colonels ; the great majority of , the wounds were made witb conical balls. Prince Gortschafcoff hasi left for Oltenitza. It is intended to attack the Turks with 24,000 men today or to-morrow." Some light is thrown upon the Russian losses by a letter of an army surgeon at Bucharest, dated 4ih November :—: — '* In utter ignorance of what is going on a few miles from this place {for all communications and reports are stricily forbidden), I write these few lines just to say that we are quite overdone with sick and wounded. BesMes Bancovan, Kolxa (formerly a prison) Kaduwoda, Michaiwoda, ar>d Sueuta Postulni, are full, and many other tempoiary hospitals have been opened, There is a great want of surgeons, for already we have wounded soldiers from Oltenitza, Kalarasch, Giurgevo, Kalafat, and from before Krajowa. Judgiog from the transport of sick and wounded, there must have been very hard fighting at those places. It is especially noticed that a large proportion of the men have sword and bayonet wounds, as if they had been engaged in hand-to-hand conflict. The cholera has found victims in all detachments of the army, but us malignity is abated. On the other hand, typhus is very prevalent. Otic of the great evils of the Russian army here is the practice of lodging the men in huts partially excavated in the earth, and not sufficiently protected against the weather. The men cannot stand against its injurious effects, especially in the absence of fuel, of which there is a great lack. The present state of things cannot long cominue without leading to endemic and epidemic diseases : from which may Heaven preserve us, in whose memories the horrors of war and plague in the Balkan, in 1820, are still fresh !" Accounts from Vienna, of the 22nd insr., announce that the Russians had attacked Tuhsch3, the last Turkish fortress on the Danube. They finally withdrew, after a sharp cannonade on both sides. The Turkish Government had allocated a department in the arsenal for the repairs of tbe steam-vessels belonging to the English and French squadrons. A letter from Odessa, of the 15th instant, states that, since the 9ih, affairs have assumed a more warlike aspect. General Luders, whose corps amounts to ten thousand men, had returned to Odessa on the 12th inst. He had inspected the port and castle, together with Ibraila, Galatz, and Reni. Galatz had been transformed into a fortress. Sebastopol is regarded as impregnable. The war manifesto had been read publicly in the churches from the pulpit ; it was well received by the lower classes. A portion of tbe Russian fleet, consisting of three shifts of tbe line, five frigates of the first class, and several steamers, bad sailed from Sebastopol. The latest accounts from Bucharest announce that the Russians have organised a regime of terror in that capital. Letters irora Bosnia, of the sth of November, state that a body of 12,000 troops, forming the contingent of that province, were on the point of proceeding to join the army of the Danube, but the commandant of the division thought it necessary to ask the reigning Prince of Servia for authority to pass throngh his territory, in order more easily to reach the post in Bulgaria appointed to him by Omar Pacha. At tbe date of the last news, he had not yet recsived an answer; but he was resolved, it was said, to pass whether he got the permission or not. All the Bosnians are full of ardour for the Government of the Sultan. — By a telegraphic despatch, published this morning, we find that the Fort St. Nicholas,, which commands the southern coast angle of the Russian provinces in Asia, and which had been

captured by the Turks, has been attacked five times by the Russians, both by land and sea, who on each occasion were repulsed. Of the loss they sustained we have no particulars, beyond the fact that a steam-frigate, with a crew of 1500 men, was stranded and fell into the bands of the Turks, and that twenty-five of the crew, who survived, had already arrived at Constantinople as prisoners of war. General Baraguay d'Hilliers arrived at Constantinople ou the 15th instant. The weather was boisterous. A letter from Bucharest, dated November 17, states that perfect traoquility prevails there. The Russian army lias taken up positions which effectunlly protect Bucharest against all accidents of war. On the day before, the Turks made an attempt to cross the Danube at Nikopoli and Sistowa. They were unsuccessful. An armistice cannot be thought of, as the winter does not prevent the carrying out of military operations. A letter from Constantinople, dated 14th inst., says that George Klapka, the Hungarian General, is in that capital. It is also stated that a corps of cavalry composed of Christians, is being organised, and placed under the command of Mohomet Radik Pacha, a Polish renegade ; and that a j foreign legion has been formed at Krass, in Asia. A Marseilles journal has the following from Constantinople : — " The English Admiral Slade, called Muchaver Pasha (the foreign Pasha), has left to cruise in the Black Sea. He has taken with him the ship of the line, Medjidieh, five frigates, and a steamer. His object is to drive , the Russian cruisers from before Anapa ; it is the only port of the Caucasus for a space of eighty miles. He is accompanied by Seffer Bey, the Circassian Cbiei, who was so long detained at Adrianople, and he is to supply ammunition and arms to the Lesghians, the Laghes and the Teherkesses. The expedition is of the highest importance. If the Turks succeed in taking the fortresses which defend the passage into the Cau- I casus, they will put an end to nil communication by land between Russia and the Transcaucasian provinces acquired by the treaty of Gulistan. Numerous Russian and Polish deserter from the army of Woronzow have reached the Turkish advanced posts in Asia. Aides-de-camp of Bern and Dembinski have undertaken to organise them. 2000 men have, it is stated, already been collected, but the number is probably exaggerated. Desertions, however, are very probable, as the army of the Caucasus has received all the soldiers condemned, and the officers and even the generals who were dismissed and ordered to serve in the ranks." On the 25th November the Turks advanced from Kalafat, twelve English miles towards Krajova, and formed an intrenched camp for 8000 men. Large bodies of Turks at the same time passed up and down the Danube. On the 26th the Turks constructed a bridge between Rust'huk nnd the Island of Moknan. The whole of the Polish army marches to the Principalities. Invalids out of Russian iortresses and part ot the Imperial Guard will garrison Poland, Servia has demanded of the Porte the return of the Russian Consul General, and that his ezequatur shall be grained to his. The Bassar'abia has taken a' Turkish steamer. Bucharest, Nov. 19. The Administrative Council has entered a protest against the incorporaiioii of the Wallachun militia with the Russian regunenis. The Turks have lor some nights past been bombarding the Russians to expel them from their position below Ilirsova, nt the confluence of the Tdloniiza and the Danube. Letters lroru Galaiz state that the fourth and filth Russian I reserve corps are in movement. They have ■left Bessarabia, and are about to enter Waliachu. Advices from Bucharest of the '29th ult. state that the Russian war-steamer VMadimir, on a cruise in the Black Sea, had returned to Sebastopol with two prizes — a Turkish passenger steamer, with a cargo of pepper, and the Egyptian 10-gun steamer, Pervazy-Bahri. The latter offered a desperate resistance. Tbe Russians bad two killed and two wounded. This is authentic. Advices received from Trieste state. that the Ottoman forces in Asia have followed up their successful defence of fort St. Nicholas by tbe capture of the fortresses of Usurgheti and Son-cboum-Kaleh. The Georgians, it is also stated, are favourable to the Turks.