THE RUSSIANS IN SERVIA.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2503, 13 January 1877, Page 4

THE RUSSIANS IN SERVIA.

an englishman's opinion of their NUMBER AW> • MEBIT3.

Bei&bade, October 25.—Much has been said against the Russian volunteers to this country. I never joined in extravagant praise cf them when it was the . fashion of the Servians to laud them to the skips. I-decline to abuse them now, ■when they have become objects of popular antipathy. They have fought on Servian soil w'iih the very greatest valor. But for them tho-.Turks would long asjo ; , have been at Belgrade. But, it may be * asked, why have they done no more than hold the enemy back ? Why have they not won battles and driven him from the Timok and the valley of the Morava? The answer is now obvious. They have never been here in sufficient force, considerable as their number has been. The Servian officials and some members of the Committee of deception have been deceiving the Belgrade community with regard to the Eussiau emigration. Great as it undoubtedly has been, they, for the purpose of frightening 9 the Turks and making Europe believe that they had much more strength within their reach than was at all available, have been magnifying it. Beturns received from Eussia as to the number of volunteers who had entered their names have.been treated as representing actual arrivals; but the defeats near Deligrad have revealed the truth. The jiussian reinforcement have not turned * up there in anything like the number expected ; while, as I mentioned in a former letter, the Eussian list of casualties in the recent engagements has been exceedingly heavy, and many Russians have retired from Servia thoroughly disgusted with the campaign. As I stated in my letter of the 22nd, I was that dry assured by a Serviansympathiser—whotold raehe had seen the list, with not only the numbers, but the names—that from the pommencement of the war up to that date 22,000 Russians had entered "Servia. I am now ■ satisfied that the gentleo an in question, who, though enjoying high official confidence, is not a Servian, could not himself have gone through the list, for the ■ statement as to numbers was a gross exaggeration. I am certain that the statistics furnished to your Tienna correspondent, showing what the Slavonic Committee of Eussia have being doing towards the emigration, both by men and money, enable us to form a tolerably accurate opinion of the subject, and that about 10,000 Eussian volunteers in all is the number which has come into this country to go to the field of battle. Cons:denng the character of the Servian troops, this was a most important addilion ; the more so as it contained so many able and determined officers and' sui-h a mass of trained soldiers. Owing to circumstances already adverted to, and to the tact that portions of the contingent are with the other armies, aud that arms have nol been forthcoming for certain detachments, the number now in the Uorava valley does not probably amount to half the total arrivals, and this will

account for the disasters sustained there 1 by the Servians. Though difficulties are thrown in the way ot desertions from the army by Slav and other volunteers, they cannot be ..forced to' remain, and desertions of such men are numerous, and. every day are becoming more so. Many of the deserters are begging about for money to take them home. There is considerable animosity here against the Kussians, which is at the least remarkable, as the Turks would be in Belgrade to day but for these same Kussians. who h«ve fought bravely in defence of their allies. The Itussiaus have suffered fearfully in the late battles owing to their desperate courage in endeavoring to make up for the deficiency of backbone Iv the bulk of the Servian infantry.— London Times.