THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5113, 13 August 1877, Page 2

THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR

(DATES VTA SAN FRANCISCO TO JULY 18.) (FEOlt OUE OWN CORRESPONDENT.) . ’ San Francisco, July 18. The campaign in Europe has definitely opened at last, as yeur advices by telegraph will doubtless have informed you briefly, but long before you receive this communication.’ The delays in forwarding supplies and material of war, which, as I noticed last month, had as 'it were “ hung up” the Russian forces in Roumanian came to an end, and during the last days of June . THE RUSSIANS CROSSED THE DANUBE in force from Simnitza to Sistova. The following account of the crossing, from a correspondent who was an eye-witness of the important event, has been published :—With darkness General Dragomirofi: began his dispositions. His first work was to plant a row of field guns all along the-edge of the flats liningj the river, to sweep the opposite banks.; This was done, while infantry was being marched over , the flats under cover of the willows. The darkness and natural obstructions of the ground were so great that all was not ready until-the first glimmer of dawn. There;was no bridge, but a-number of river boats, I capable of holding from fifteen to twenty men each, were used. These were dragged on carriages through the mud/ and launched in the darkness. Boats ■ put off singly, l rowing across for a little cove on the Turkish shore, and later the services of a small steam tug were; brought’ into requisition. The’ Turks! immediately opened fire both on the boats and the troops which were waiting to cross. ; The leading boat contained MajorGeneral Rolfiur. The Turkish riflemen were in s position about fifty yards from the shore. The Russian general landed his handful of men, and bade them lie down in the mud, and then opened a skirmishing fire to cover the landing of the boats that followed. oh e by one these landed their freights, who followed the example of the first boatload. At length enough men had, accumulated, and among them were General Skobaloff and his son. General Yolchine bade his men fix bayonets, stand up, and follow, their officers. There was a rush, and the troops of the Tsar made for those of the Sultan with cheers. The Turks fired one effective.volley, but did not wait to,fire a second. General Yolchine’s skirmishers followed them some short distance up the slope of the river bank proper, but for a time could not press on far from their base. Meanwhile ’ the' Russian guns from across the river and the Turkish artil'ery were firing brisklyl Turkish shells kept fallingiu the waiter, whistling through the willows and bursting; among the columns on the flats. One shell from a mountain gun fell into a boat containing two, guns, their gunners, and the commandant of the battery. The boat was swamped, and all on board perished. This was the only serious casualty- in crossing ; but many Russian- soldiers were falling on both sides of the river. The Turkish gunners clung to their guns with wonderful staunchness, amid clouds of dust thrown up by the shells which burst iaround them. A Turkish monitor, which smight have disputed the passage, had been hemmed" in by a cordon of torpedoes within the channel south of an island opposite Wadim, and the . Russian 'battery on the Roumanian side shelled her vigorously. After their first repulse from the landing-place the Turks irallied and concentrated on the upper slopes of the river 1 banks in front of.,their batteries, and then came down on the pickets of the Russians and made them give way; but only for a moment. Soon after noon the Rus-. sian infantry had' crossed the heights bordering the river on the Bulgarian side, and a Turkish infantry detachment tried to work around’ and .come down upon Sistova; but this was thwarted by .an 1 intercepting skirmish. The loss in crossing was estimated at 1000, but it is probably much greater. Bridges will be laid at Simnitza, which will be the main thoroughfare -for -the Russian army. 1000 men will march in the column which is now crossing. The Russians wiselyjirew a thick veil around" their movements, at the last moment' placing sentries on every road, and ■infferiug no man to pass. Theypasaed higher up the;river than was expected. The Russians also crossed at Pretoceni upon rafts, a son of. the Grand Duke. Nicholas, going over on the first one. The' Grand Duke Nicholas crossed, at three7o’6l6dk in the morning at Pretoceni, and officially stated that there were ; ; s / fifty Thousand Russians on the southern , ! ■ SIDE OF THE , DANUBE; - - : oh the’27th, opposite the, Simnitza and.Petroceni line. The Russians were surprised at the

comparatively little resistance they met with in crossing. Nothing is known of the Turks’ disposition of their troops, except that the head-quarters remain in Shumla, where Eedif Pasha, the Minister of War, has joined Abdul Kerim, and a council of war was established, under whose direction the campaign will be prosecuted, possibly with more vigor than heretofore, as the only good quality generally conceded to Eedif Pasha is'energy. , THE TURKISH DANUBE FLOTILLA remained inactive during the crossing and afterwards supine, whileasingle pontoon bridge, suh-, sequeutly thrown across the river at Sistova, was permitted to supply the large Eussian force on the south. bank with provisions and war material. The bridge is reported to be so weak that it has broken of its own weight several times in a week, One ironclad in determined hands might place the Eussiahs in a desperate strait, % for the country along the Turkish side of the ; Danube would not maintain them many days %. if deprived’of their commissariat. It was reparted that Hobart Pasha contemplated an operation of this nature on the Danube under his personal direction, but was restrained by jealousy on the part of Turkish Pashas. The military and civil commandants of Sistova, Tirnova, and Osman Bazar, were summoned' to Constantinople for trial by court, martial. Abdel Kerim Pasha demanded sixty thousand more 'troops. It was anticipated that he and Byoub Pasha would be superseded; The next step in the waf 'Was • THE CAPTURE OP NICOPOLIS. A New York Herald special correspondent, giving an aecqunt of this says “As soon as the Eussians came within effective range of the Turkish position, they were met by a severe artillery fire, which, however, did not check their advance, and to: which they replied with a still more formidable fire. The Turks being posted on a commanding position, had a considerable advantage, and as the 1 Eussians approached frightful gaps were made in their ranks by the Turkish artillery. With surprising valour, however, they continued to approachtheheights,and as soonasthey came within rifle range they opened a terrible fire on the Turks, and for half an hour this mill- . tary duel was continued with unabated vigor. About mid-day on Sunday an order for an assault was given, and the whole of the Eussian line, supported byseveral batteries of artillery, stormed, the heights occupied by the Turks. During the awful climb, in the face of a deadly fire, the Eussians - suffered terribly, while the Turks, stubbornly defending their position, sustained an equal, loss. After ob-. taining possession of the, heights commanding the town at terrible cost, - the Eussians vir- . .. tually bad Nicopolis at their mercy. The Turks, finding their line of retreat threatened, abandoned the town, which was filled with Turkish dead. Mapy wounded were found in the streets and in houses, where they had been abandoned by the Turks in the haste of the retreat. One- correspondent.says “Nicopolis ■: was occupied by a garrison of 6000 men and forty guns, who surrendered, with their commander”; but all other accounts represent that ‘ the Turks evacuated'the-place before the Eussians entered it. After this, THE ALMOST UNOPPOSED ADVANCE OF THE 1 RUSSIANS 1 in Bulgaria was at first almost unaccountable. Despatches from The Times correspondents at Shumla and Bucharest describe the brilliant on ward movement, of the invaders in Europe, which were tarnished by atrocities committed by the Bulgarians, unhindered by the Eussian -troops. Like the famous Uhlans of the r Franco • German war, the cavalry pushed .their, way ; ahead, their sabres flashing in the defiles of the Balkan mountains, far beyond the main body of the army. “They spread terror in every direction in the country through which they pass.- 'Mussulman families fly before them-terrified and panic-stricken, and savage'Bulgarians fall- on the helpless crowds of these fugitives, - and massacre them in - cold’ blood. Fugitives are. pouring' into Shumla and Varna, with terrible tales of death and suffering. The country is alive with Eussian troops. Hill and dale echo to the noise of the martial hosts. They hold the road from Yieia to Tesliniki They are marching by the way of the Eemir Capu Pass to Aidos and Jamboli. They threaten Easgrad, where the Turks are posted. They are, while I am sending this despatch, in the midst of A DESPERATE ENGAGEMENT with ; the. Turks at Drenova, battling fiercely for the possession of the road to Kesanlik by way of the Shipka Pass. The Turks have fled before the victorious standards of their enemies at Biela, and the latest hews places the eagles triumphant on the fortifications of Nicopolis.” In fact everything seemed to go oh swimmingly for the Eussians, who speedily had a flying column through one of the defiles of the Balkans. A Eussian official despatch giving an account of the CROSSING OP THE BALKANS, and dated from. Tirnova, says ; —General Gourka, with -an advance, guard of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, crossed the Balkans, and oh July -14 surprised and defeated the Turkish battalion which guarded the outlet of the pass near the village of Khankhi. General Gourka is now marching upon-Kesanlik, in the rear of his enemy, who occupy the fortified Shipka, Defile. The Cossacks have arrived at Yeni Saghra and cut the telegraph line between that place and Constantinople. On Sunday an engagement was fought near the village of Orzazarare between the Cossack force and some Bashi-Bazouks and Circassians, supported by Turkish infantry. 1 'The enemy held their ground "until " the arrival of dragoons and a battery of artillery, which were sent by General Gourka, aud then they fled. The flag, several standard- - bearers) and a quantity of arms were captured. AS REGARDS 1 THE RUSSIAN SUPPLIES. During their advance they apparently left nothing to chance.’ Bucharest is the .great centre of their base and'their principal depot. It contains stores of meat, to which the supplies of rice for the relief of the Bengal famine ■ were a mere bagatelle. Sistova will be the in termediate.and Tirnova an advance depot. - : A RAPID ADVANCE ON RUSTOHUK does not seem: imminent. Cavalry outposts extend from a - point on the Danube twelve miles west of ' Eustchuk: to forty miles inland facing the Turkish foremost position on ■ the river Som. Small reconnaissances are pushed forward, but the mass of the division has been stationary for about a week. : A 3 THE RUSSIANS ADVANCED into the districts of Bulgaria quitted by the Turkish troops they found the country desolate and waste, the corn crops not ready to be i gathered, and all the grain storehouses deserted. Every -head of cattle, had been seized and run off by the-retreating Turks. So complete And - widespread was the: devastation in Bulgaria that every Russian train sent to the' front bad to convey stores or biscuits and other supplies not only tor the army, but also for the starving ■ population. The advance guard of another Russian corps at Ployesti. .It was reported that - a camp: for 80,000 men was prepared at Ployesti. Many Mussulmans, with their wives and children, who were fleeing before the Russians, had been killed in the. defile between Tirnova and Kesanlik. - The - Turkish troops' which !were-to-have garrisoned -the- Greek —- frontier were ordered to : join the array in Bulgaria, An Adrianople special reported that the Russians from'Tirnova had advanced to. Gabrova, their force being estimated at 90,000. In the meantime all sorts of rumors were plentiful as to • THE CONDrciON OP THE TURKS. Letters from Constantinople give - alarming pictures of the distress prevailing there.'Government had wrung from the people theirlast: piastre; and was still penniless. -.The streets • were full of respectable people begging for , foOd. ! Thousands werAsUbsisting on scant _. supplies of dry Efea S',7 and absolute; starvation stared multitudes of Christians in the face, as well as: the families of Turkish conscripts gone' to the war.’ Unless speedy relief comes from some quarter, such as the world has seldom-witnessed migpt be expected to.add its horrors to the existing, situation.A decree it ‘ was said had been famed ordering the.creation of-a-national guard at Constantinople, six battalions 1 of .which were, to be.formed immediately. Railway communication on the

Adrianople line wasuuspcnded' for ' everything except the passage of troops. Coimt - ;;YoH:rMoltke7"^ was ".quoted ‘as," an authority for the statement that the Balkan mountains may be passed without serious .difficulty by an invading force whose cavalry already holds 'Tirnova, fi-bm which lead three of six roads available to an army. The only serious obstable .is the- entrenched camp of Shumla, lying in front of the Balkans, which, it is thought, must be either taken or masked before any force can safely pass the mountains: The Cossacks were seen within a few hours’ ride of Eustchuk. A Pera despatch: said that Biela ’ was evacuated - by order of Abdul Kerim Pasha, A despatch from Varnaannounced that |the • town was, declared in a state of siege. The EussiaßS at Medige have, cut the Kustendge railway, and threatened Kustehdgo. A detachment of fresh Eussian corps, to reinforce the Danube army, passed'through Bucharest, and Prince Tcher Kassi was sent in all haste to Tirnova, pro, bably to establish apro visional government. All, in fact, seemed to argue a speedy and com, plete triumph for the Kussians, when suddenly , THE WHOUS POSITION CHANGE!}, and the vanquished of yesterday became the victors of torday. It . was made plain that the, Turks had been playing a deep game, and had permitted the Eussians. to overspread a portion of Bulgaria with ease, confident that with the unmasked fortresses behind them and the troops ready to fall upon them at the proper moment, when scattered and divided, the consequence must be : : f , ~ "'■* A BEPCLSE Off; THE INVADERS. A telegram dated, duly 17, the day before the mail steamer left, reported ai Turkish victory over the Eussian forcea south of the Balkans. The New York ITerald’s cable correspondent at Yeni Saghra reported that on Monday afternoon the Turks, under the, command of Sulieman Bey, had an. engagement with the Eussians, defeating thebe and thriving them hack into the Balkans, with heavy loss. The battle-ground was - at Febitch, twelve miles from-Yeni Saghra. - -At first the Eussians seemed to be successful; but the determined fighting of the Turks afterwards appearedto promise ■ a Turkish - victory. The Eussian forces consisted of infantry and cavalry, outnumbering the Turks, whose first attack was ■ repulsed, and a flanking column of a_ force of dismounted dragoons greatly imperilled the Turkish position. The Turkish artillery was splendidly bandied, raking the columns of the Eussians," and thinning them at every discharger Peroeiving tho terrible havoc caused by the-Turkish fire. General Gourka ordered the Eussians to charge. A fearful haud-to-hand conflict ensued. The Turks formed a hollow* square. After losing several guns, the Kussians attacked the Turks desperately, and fearful carnage followed. The Eussian flanking movement.and its. desperate onslaught threatened to,-exterminate the Turks, when, suddenly brisk firing on the left announced the arrival of Turkish reinforcements under the command of Eaouf Pasha. The Kussians had no artillery, and the rapid advance of the Turkish reinforcements compelled them to face a new enemy, thus affording' their opponents an opportunity to abandon their hollow square, throw forward the flanks, and renew their attack vigorously; The Eussian line, thus held between two rows of bayonets, was completely overwhelmed.* The Cossacks made a splendidresistance, fighting with,the utmost but unavailing bravery. The Turkish charge was made over heaps of dead’bodies, driving the Eussians back the mountains. Their flight was precipitated. The Turks pm-sued the flying Kussians until the mountain pass was recovered... The’’Eussian advance column consisted of Circassians'and Cossacks, commanded by Colonel Judomin. ; ’The main body was commanded by General Gourka. They were in light flying order,without waggon transports or artillerjr. r It is impossible to estimate their ■ loss. The Eussian main body intended to cross the Balkans'at this point, the Eighth Corps leading. It is not known what effect this repulse of GourkaV flying column will have on the main advance.;,

THE WAR IX ASIA Too, was not without its 1 records of deeds of daring, endurance, and .bravery on both sides. The New York Times’ correspondent -sent-an account of the Russian' defence, and relief of Bayazid in advance of the Russian left wing toward Erzerum about a month ago, which advance, as yon know, was afterwards repulsed. This small garrison was cut off from the main army, and surrounded-,by a force of regular, Turkish troops,' reinforced by a large body of wild horsemen of the warlike Turkish - tribes that inhabit this mountainous region of Turkey. The besieged army numbered about 1300 men. The defensive works were weak, provisions were shorthand'the supply of' water little, and of the worst 'quality. The small garrison was compelled to be under arms day and night to guard against - surprises ;■ and night attacks. Fortunately for them, the'besiegers were not very strong in artillery, but still had sufficient of a siege train to keep fatigue parties of the garrison continually employed in! the work of repairing the damages to their works by the. enemy’s fire. The constant vigilance demanded from the small force, their sleeplessness, and the grinding fatigue of incessant labor, were aggravated by a burning thirst, oppressive heat, and clouds of flies that swarmed about their camp day and night.In this- painful condition it was necessary to bring water from outside their works, in the face°of the besieging army.' Volunteer parties , were daily called on to engage in this'perilous duty, which-became at last complete self-im-molation, in-which the volunteers sacrificed themselves to enable their comrades to-prolong the defence. Notwithstanding their sufferings they were determined to~resist to the last man. On the Bth.July General Turgakoff arrived at Ingir. From this point he started once more in a direct route to Bayazid, with General- ‘Kalboliskhan’s column as an advance guard. On the following day the beleaguered garrison espied the Russian flag in the distance, which they welcomed with a vigorous -fire on the besiegers from all the guns in their works, in order;to divert their attention from the approaching force. The advance of the-relieving force was soon made apparent by the roar of artillery and a musketry fire. The Turks for some time held the Russians in check. The fight continued for several hours, With uncertain results, the losses on both sides being very heavy. At length the Russians made a terrific onslaught, advancing their whole line, with a well, directed fire, tinder which the Turks were compelled to fall back. When the regulars yielded to this last attack the horde-of Kurds broke and fled in every direction, and at the close of the day the brave defenders of Bayazid were enabled to embrace their , equally brave deliverers. At present the position in Asia Minor is tolerably clear. Mukhtar Pasha is at Kars with about 40,000 men all t<*ld, including the Kars garrison. General Melikoff , is at Zaira with' about 33,000 men, but superior to the Turks in cavalry and artillery. The garrison 'at BatunT has: made ho important; movement, as far as has been reported, since its attackers retired. The , Russians still, hold Ardahatf. '' ' ■ ITEMS. _ : The British Cabinet has officially informed the Vienna Cabinet,that the fleet was sent to Bessicai Bay for the protection of British interests and the Christians in Turkey,, , Sir Stafford Northpote made a similar statement in the House of Commons, and also denied that Mr, - Layard had. informed'the Sultan that it might bo necessary for English troops to occupy Constantinople, At an interview Lord Odo Russell informed Prince -Bismarck that England would under no condition suffer the Bosnian , occupation of, Constantinople. Prince Bismarck replied that he considered the , occupation,, of Constantinople the heft way to obtain 5 the purposes for which the war commenced. The -Admiralty hare strengthened the Mediterranean squadron by the addition of the Shannon and Temerairo. The latter is the most formidable sea-going irenclad in tho service, carrying four 26-rton guns. The Admiralty also seem to intend to despatch either the Thunderer or Dreadnought, should hydraulic gear for loading the 'guns of these vessels , prove satisfactory. The Daily News states that the British fleet in Bcssica Bay, with the additions

' ordered by the Admiralty, : w^'Vesent^on aogrigate of twenty-four vessels,jvith IJjOguna and 70flJoF8000 men. v--1 Mjuch uneasiness is felt with rega »d Mabometan'population of India. Ihe famine had the. effect to rbnderthe Indian population unsettled. • It is f eared-that this, in connection with) the demands of .the. Sultan, may lead to widespread outbreaks. ■ T. Aj despatch .-from Plymouth .says the new gun vessel Condor will be fitted, with torpedo appai-atus and sent to. the Danube withi her .'sister vessel the Flamingo, under orders of the British Ambassadors at Constantinople and , Vienna, for the protection of British interests. Twenty Turkish steamers, arrived at the mouths of the Danube .to, hamper comraumcationi between the Eussian., troops in the Dobrudscha .and. prevent them from advancing.. TheTEussian Governor -of • Tulfcha.laid down torpedoes ;ia the estuary. , Two Eussian gunboats have left to endeavor to blowup the Turkish monitor which has gone; ashore at the, Sulma mouth of the General Targkasoff * returned. .to Eussian. territory HU/ force marched. 40 kilometres daily, and is believed to have lost all its war material. . " . , - . The Servian Government has. concluded in Paris a loan of 2,000,000 ducats, partly guaranteed by Eussia,-and aub’.eot to ratification by the Skuptseluna. - The' St. Petersburg Golos that frauds were. discovered In' the-commissary department of the Danube army to the amount of 200,000 roubles. , .., The Turkish monitor ashore at the mouth of the Danube remains firmly fixed. Her crew have been taken off,* and .she is now in the possession of two Eussian vessels. ; , ■ A special from Asia states’that-in theArdauudsch district on June~2S the Eussians pillaged eleven villages, and killed fifty people on the protest that they hftd ‘ fought-against them. ... . ... , . The Eussian telegraph agency issued a statement admitting an alliance between Bourn an i a and Servia as not exactly (impossible. It asserts, however, that such an alliance could not in any way affect the good relations between Austria and Eussia. ‘ _ A 1 correspondent says the Turks, in Bosnia are committing shocking atrocities, murdering inoffensive villagers in several places, and carrying off. their heads as trophies.. A correspondent declares that he has seen the bodies of persons so maltreated. The Wieser Zeitung, of Bremen, which is not unfriendly to Eussia, says —“ On the eve of war it was discovered that 0n1y.30 per cent, of the Eussian navy was seaworthy.” . ; The ‘London Times, in a leading article commenting on the. recent .reports of movemints of the Austrian troops, says the Austrians can scarcely delay much longer .their inevitable occupation of Bosnia.: There is every reason* to believe the Turks would withdraw from, tbe province rather than drive the Court of Vienna into the position of an open foe, Keiuforcements for the .Caucasian army are much delayed,' because only five out of ten steamers of the CaspianflotUlaarein a serviceable condition. The lawlessness of the irregulars has caused almost a panic in Pera. The Italian viceconsul has been forcibly robbed of .his horse and severely injured by Circassians. Two attempts were*-made to force an entrance into the English consulate by some irregulars who were soon to have been sent to the seat of war upon the representationsof Lay ard.. ■ Wounded are daily arriving atßueharest from Simnitza. An American surgeon who is inspecting the hospital arrangements at Bucharest pronounces them everything that could be desired. He expresses surprise .at finding all modern improvements. Accounts from the Turkish side show* that the Turkish arrangements at Eustchuk are shockingly mismanaged.: *. . The Ragsllatt of Vienna publishes shocking accounts of the: atrocities committed by OirCircassians and Bashi-Bazouks after the regulars had evacuated the Dobrudscha. At Kores every Christian house was pillaged. Many persons were wounded, including some clergymen. ; At another - place ’ the mayor of a German colpny named Balzer was killed before the eyes of his wife and child. Several other German Protestants were killed, and the murderers sacked the. Protestant Church. Three colonies are entirely deserted. Another pretext for war has been found by English journals in the establishment of a provisional government in Bulgaria, add in making,' Eussian the official language. , This is regarded as, fresh evidence that Eussia is bent: on the/ complete subjugation and annexation of Turkey.