Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

the necessity of keeping open, uninjured and uninterrupted, the communication between Europe and the East by the Suez Canal. An attempt to blockade or otherwise to interfere with the Canal or its approaches would be regarded by them as a menace to India and as a grave injury to the commerce of the world. On both these grounds any such step -which they hope and fully believe there is no intention on the part of either belligerent to take would be inconsistent with the maintenance by them of passive neutrality. The mercantile and financial interests of European nations are also so largely involved in Egypt that an attack on that country, or its occupation, even temporarily, for purposes of war, could scarcely be regarded with unconcern by the neutral Powers, certainly not by England. The vast importance of Constantinople, whether in a military, a political, or a commercial point of view, is too well understood to require explanation. It is, therefore, scarcely necessary to point out that her Majesty's Government are not prepared to witness with indifference the passing into other hands than those of its present possessors of a capital holding so peculiar and commanding a position. The existing arrangements, made under European sanction, which regulate the navigation of the Bosporus and Dardanelles, appear to them wise and salutary, and there would be, in their judgment, serious objections to their alteration in any material particular. Her Majesty's Government have thought it right thus frankly to indicate their views.

In answer to this communication, Prince Gortchakoff, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote to Count Shuvaloff on the 18th of May, saying:

The Imperial Cabinet will neither blockade, nor interrupt, nor in any way menace the navigation of the Suez Canal. They consider the Canal as an international work, in which the commerce of the world is interested, and which should be kept free from any attack. Egypt is a part of the Ottoman Empire, and its contingents figure in the Turkish army. Russia might, therefore, consider herself as at war with Egypt. Nevertheless, the Imperial Cabinet does not overlook either the European interests engaged in the country or those of England in particular. They will not bring Egypt within the radius of their military operations. As far as concerns Constantinople, without being able to prejudge the course or issue of the war, the Imperial Cabinet repeats that the acquisition of that capital is excluded from the views of his Majesty the Emperor. They recognize that in any case the future of Constantinople is a question of common interest, which can not be settled otherwise than by a general understanding, and that if the possession of that city were to be put in question, it could not be allowed to be long to any of the European Powers. As regards the Straits, although their two shores belong to the same sovereign, they form the only outlet of two great seas in which all the world has interests. It is, therefore, important, in the interests of peace and of the general balance of power, that this question should be settled by a common agreement on equitable and efficiently guaranteed bases. Lord Derby has alluded to other British interests which might be affected by the eventual extension of the war, such as the Persian Gulf and the route to India. The Imperial Cabinet declares that it will not extend the war beyond what is required for the loudly and clearly declared object for which his Majesty the Emperor was obliged to take up arms. They will respect the British interests mentioned by Lord Derby as long as England remains neutral. They have a right to expect that the English Government will, on their side, in like manner take into fair consideration the particular interests which Russia

has at stake in this war, and in view of which she has imposed such great sacrifices on herself. These consist in the absolute necessity of putting an end to the deplorable condition of the Christians under Turkish rule and to the chronic state of disturbance provoked by it. This state of things, and the acts of violence resulting from it, excite in Russia an agitation caused by the Christian feeling so profound in the Russian people, and by the ties of faith and race which unite them to a great part of the Christian population of Turkey. The Imperial Government is the more obliged to take account of this, since it reacts both on the internal and external situation of the Empire.

The situation in Constantinople during this period was of a very critical character. Dissensions arose between the Parliament and the Ministry. Early in May the impeachment of Redif Pasha was threatened, and dissolution was significantly hinted at on the one side, and threats of revolution were heard on the other. occasioned considerable alarm. On May 24th a demonstration of the Softas A body of them, numbering about 2,000, followed by a rabble, probably again as large, proceeded to the Chamber of Deputies to demand the dismissal of the ministers. The Chamber received a deputation of five Softas and discussed their petition. The debate became so stormy that the President was obliged to suspend the sitting. The Softas then marched to the Palace. The Sultan, however, had fled to his Asiatic castle across the Bosporus. Feeling somewhat reassured by the reports of his ministers, he returned to the city the following morning, protected by a strong military escort. Five of the leaders were exiled. The immediate result of the demonstration was the creation of a Council of War, under the presidency of the Minister of War, Redif Pasha, or, in his absence, Rauf Pasha. Among the members were Mehemed Rushdi, a former Grand-Vizier; the Minister of Marine, Senator Uamik Pasha; Halim Pasha; Said Pasha, aide-de-camp to the Sultan Mahmoud Damad, Grand-Master of the Artillery; Uazif Pasha, and other high officials.

June 22d at Galatz and Braila. The Russian The passage of the Danube took place on troops crossed early, meeting with no opposition until they reached the village of Zatoca, which, after a brief contest, was abandoned by the Turks. Another body of troops having crossed from Braila, the Turks abandoned Matchin, Tultcha, and Hirsova, which were then occupied by the Russians. On the morning of June 27th, after several days' continuous firing between the opposing batteries on either bank,

the Russians crossed in force at Simnitza. The passage was opposed by the Turks, and after several hours' severe fighting they were driven back with considerable loss. An attempt at crossing made at Nicopolis was unsuccessful. During the passage of the Danube firing was kept up along the whole line of the river between the opposite batteries. It was particularly terrible between Rustchuk and Giurgevo. Rustchuk was almost completely destroyed by the Russian fire, while Giurgevo also suffered

considerably. At Nicopolis, the Russian fire was also very effective. The crossing continued very slowly during the last week of June, owing chiefly to the partial destruction by a storm of the bridge at Simnitza. The Russian headquarters were transferred to Simnitza. The Emperor at the same time issued a proclamation to the Bulgarians, in which, after stating that the aim of Russia now, as formerly, was to protect the co-religionists in the Turkish Empire, he said: "Henceforth Russian arms will protect all Christians from violence. No injury shall be done them or theirs with impunity. All crimes shall receive punishment." As soon as the Russians had established themselves in the captured city of Sistova, strong detachments were sent out on the road to Tirnova, which was captured on July 3d. The Russians immediately established a civil government, with Prince Tcherkasky as provisional governor. Biela was occupied on the 5th. On July 6th, about 120,000 Russians had crossed at Sistova, comprising about 20,000 cavalry and 250 cannon. This army was divided into three columns, the principal one of which, under the command of the Czarevitch, marched on Rustchuk, and the other two toward the Balkans and Nicopolis respectively.

GALLIPOLI.

The Russian army in the Dobrudja by July 6th had cleared that section of Turks as far as Trajan's Wall, extending from Tchernavoda to Kustendje, and prepared to commence their advance to the Balkans, so as to cooperate with the army operating west of the quadrilateral. On July 15th they occupied Kustendje, and on the 17th Medjidie. In the second week of July the Turks retired from the line of the Jantra, and the Russians occupied most of the territory between the Jantra and the Lom. On July 16th Nicopolis, one of the strongest points on the Danube, was surrendered to the Russians after a severe bombardment, leaving the town little more than a heap of ruins. The Russians on this occasion captured two pashas, 6,000 men, 40 cannon, and two gunboats.

The retreat of the Russian army in Armenia, and the raising of the siege of Kars, were admitted in an official dispatch from Alexandropol, dated July 4th. The dispatch stated that "General Melikoff, being apprised of a movement of Mukhtar Pasha toward Kars, in order to place the troops besieging Kars in a position to move with greater readiness, suspended the bombardment, sent the siege artillery to Kurukdara and Alexandropol, concentrated the greater part of the cavalry at Hadji Vali to protect communications, and stationed the infantry at Zaim." The Russians had hardly retired when the Turks appeared in their place. Comparative quiet, however, reigned along the entire lines until the close of July, when the Russians again assumed the offensive. General Oklobjio, commanding the Rion detachment, had occupied since his retreat from Batum a position beyond the river Tchoruk, forming the boundary between the Russian and Turkish territory, and had been left unmolested by Dervish Pasha.

In the Caucasus, the revolt among the natives had rather increased than decreased during July. With the exception of Abkhasia, where it had been aided by Turkish troops and the Batum naval squadron, the revolt

was in all cases limited to small territories, and was readily suppressed by flying columns. In the Terek territory the disorders were, according to Russian dispatches, of an alarming character. The Abkhasians were opposed by the Ingur Corps under General Alkhasoff, which had originally consisted of the Luchum and Kutais columns. This corps gained but little ground, being harassed in its flank by the Batum squadron, and had merely guarded the road from Kutais to Tiflis, and the railroad from Poti to Tiflis.

On July 12th, General Gourko, with ten regiments of cavalry and some mountain batteries, preceded by Cossacks, left Tirnova, moving east as far as Helena; thence he turned to the south, leaving his artillery behind, and crossed the mountains by a secret pass on July 13th, debouching from the mountains at the village of Hainkoi, whence he sent his Cossacks to cut the railway and telegraph line at Yeni Sagra, between Yamboli and Adrianople. On the next day, moving westward, he carried, on July 17th, the village of Kasanlik by assault with small loss. Thus he had turned the best pass in the Balkans-the Shipka Pass-through which there is a very good road for Turkey, over grades for the most part easy. On July

[graphic]
[graphic]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

VOL. XVII.-47 A

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

18th, he gained possession of the village of Shipka, while at the same time a regiment, coming from the north by the main road from Gabrova, attacked the Turkish defenses in the narrow defile of the pass. This attack was renewed on the following day, the 19th, with complete success, leaving the pass in the hands of the Russians.

According to the original plan of the Russians, General Gourko was to attack the pass on the 17th from the rear, while Prince Mirsky was to attack from the front. But General Gourko was delayed, and Prince Mirsky undertook the attack alone on the 17th, while the former did not come to his assistance until the 18th, as stated above. It was considered very strange that the Turks did not offer a greater resistance, as their position was certainly a very strong one.

The Balkan Mountains, forming the second line of defense for Turkey, are crossed by numerous passes, of which, however, only six are available for the passage of an invading army. These naturally divide themselves into two groups, the eastern radiating from the central point of Shumla, the western from that of Tirnova. The first in order is the Shipka Pass, connecting Tirnova and Gabrova in the north with Kasanlik in the south. A good road across it was begun by order of Midhat Pasha, but has never been completed. It is, nevertheless, the easiest pass of the Balkans. Its height is 4,500 feet at the summit, and the green valleys seen from its southern slope present a most beautiful view. Next comes the Tvarditza Pass. This is reached from Tirnova by a road through the valley of the Saltar to the old Bulgarian town of Helena and thence by a path over the mountains, debouching in the valley of the Tundja, 30 or 40 miles east of Kasanlik. Between the Shipka and the Tvarditza Pass is a mountain path leading to Hainkoi. It was this pass that General Gourko used in crossing the mountains, it having been pointed out to him by Bulgarians. A little beyond the Tvarditza Pass, the Balkans branch off into three distinct ranges. The southern or main ridge runs almost due east to Cape Emineh on the Black Sea, and is therefore called Emineh Dagh. The central range, called by the Bulgarians Stara-Planina, or Old Mountain, follows the same direction, with a slight bend to the north, as far as the junction of the two branches of the Kamtchik River; and the northern spur, called the Kutchuk, or Little Balkan, passing Kasan, ends in the vicinity of Smadova and the Great Kamtchik; while beyond it, still farther to the north, lies the crescent-shaped outwork formed by the Binar Mountains, the heights around Shumla, and the rocky ridges through which the Pravadi flows downward to Varna and the Black Sea. In the hollow between the Kutchuk and Stara-Planina branches of the Balkan, surrounded on every side by steep hills, lies the town of Kasan, called by Bulgarians Kotel or Kettle, from the peculiar

shape of the gorge inclosing it. From Kasan two roads branch off, one crossing the Balkans to Slivno and forming the Demir Kapu Pass, the celebrated Iron Gate, and the other going to Karnabad and forming the Kotlenski Buaz Pass.

The

The rapid and unobstructed advance of the Russians in Bulgaria, and the crossing of the Balkans, had created a decided panic as well as great dissatisfaction with Abdul Kerim, the commander-in-chief, in Constantinople. It was therefore determined to make a change in the command; and on July 19th Abdul Kerim was removed, and Mehemet Ali, who had brought his forces from Montenegro, was appointed commander-in-chief. At the same time, Suleiman Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief of the Turkish forces in Roumelia, after having effected a junction with Rauf Pasha. effect of the change was soon perceptible. Renewed activity was imparted to the Turkish movements, and a general advance of their lines was determined upon. On July 19th, the Russians sustained their first check in Europe. General Shilder-Shuldner, with a weak force, was sent against Plevna, a town southwest of Nicopolis. He was, however, defeated and driven back, a Russian official dispatch from Tirnova giving the Russian loss at two colonels and 14 inferior officers killed, one general, 36 inferior officers, and 1,878 men placed hors de combat; while the Turks admitted a loss of 1,200 killed and wounded. In consequence of this defeat the corps of General Krüdener, stationed south of Plevna, and the 11th under Prince Shachovski, which was marching on Widin, were united, and the headquarters of the Grand-Duke, which had been established for a short time at Tirnova, were withdrawn to Biela. Fresh troops were ordered from Roumania, and even a Roumanian corps crossed at Nicopolis, the first Roumanian troops to cross the river. Mehemet Ali at Shumla and Osman Pasha at Plevna were seeking to effect a junction at Tirnova, and to crush the Russians between them. The Russian force under General Krüdener was strengthened in every possible way, until it reached 60,000 men. During the time spent by the Russians in gathering their forces, the Turkish commander also increased his forces and strengthened his positions, so that when the Russian attack came it found him strong, with fully 50,000 men. The attack was made on July 30th. Baron Krüdener began the battle about half-past nine in the morning, attacking the Turkish centre at Grivitza, and the northern flank of the intrenched position over Bahora, while Prince Shachovski attacked Radisevo, and General Skobeleff, Jr., held in check a strong Turkish force at Lovatz, which was the extremity of the Turkish line. A series of hotly-contested engagements, extending over July 30th and 31st, resulted again in a decided Russian repulse with very heavy losses. The army of Prince Shachovski, which had consisted of three brigades, was completely

destroyed; and the remains during the night gathered at Bulgareni, where the corps of General Krüdener was met, who, although he had not suffered as severely, had also been completely defeated. All accounts agree in praising the bravery of the Russian soldiers, but the same mistake was made on this occasion as on the former, that the Russians had underestimated the strength of the enemy, and had proceeded to the attack with insufficient force. The Turks, however, did not follow up the advantage gained. The Russians immediately retook the positions held by them previously. At the same time they made great exertions to retrieve their disaster. Four additional corps, which had been lying in Roumania, were hurried forward. The entire Imperial Guard, which was partly stationed in Poland and partly in St. Petersburg, received orders to march to Bulgaria; while an Imperial ukase, dated July 22d (August 3d), ordered the mobilization of 188,600 men of the Landwehr, which was reported to have been received with great enthusiasm in Russia. On August 7th, a Russian force, consisting of 8 infantry divisions and 8 squadrons of cavalry, attacked the Turks at Lovatz. The latter, however, were reënforced in time by 5 battalions of infantry, and some cavalry from Plevna, and repulsed the Russians, whose loss was reported at 300 dead and 600 wounded. Lovatz, situated about 40 miles from Selvi, seriously threatened the Russian line of communication, and consequently the Russians considered it essential to take this city.

In the latter part of July, the Russians closed the Sulina mouth of the Danube, by sinking vessels and then filling up with stones and sand, so that the only mouth of the river accessible to larger vessels became impassable. This measure met with severe opposition from some of the Powers, Great Britain dispatching several men-of-war to the Sulina mouth, to protect British interests, while Austria contented herself with a mild protest. Prince Gortchakoff issued a special note on the subject, in which he stated that Russia would reinove all obstructions at the end of the war, and would leave the bed of the river in the same condition as it was before the war. With regard to the British complaints, the note said that after the Czar had promised not to attack Egypt, it was but reasonable to expect that the British Government would use its influence with the Khedive to restrain him from participating in the war. This had not been the case, for in the recent battles the Russians had been opposed to Egyptian troops. If England then wished to secure her interests in Egypt, she was requested to use her influence with the Khedive to restrain him from any further hostile steps, which Russia would perhaps be forced to resent.

Beyond the Balkans the Russians continued on their victorious career for a short time only. After defeating Suleiman and Rauf Pashas at

Karabunar, south of Yeni Sagra, and pushing a body of Cossacks as far as Kirk Kilissa, 30 miles east of Adrianople, General Gourko was forced by the Russian reverses north of the Balkans to retreat to the passes of Shipka and Hainkoi, and thus secure his communication with Bulgaria. In the middle of August he was appointed to the command of the Imperial Guards ordered from St. Petersburg to Plevna, while the command of the Balkan Army was given to Prince Mirsky. During the following weeks comparative quiet reigned on the seat of war in Europe. North of the Balkans both the Turks and Russians were waiting for reenforcements before resuming active operations. While both sides, therefore, were watching each other in strong fortifications, the operations were confined to small engagements at Rasgrad, Osman Bazar, and Eski Djuma, an advance of Prince Hassan beyond Bazardjik, an ineffectual attempt of the Turks to land troops at Kustendje, which had been occupied by General Zimmermann, and the movements of Suleiman Pasha, south of the Balkans. In the mean while, the Russians hurried their reënforcements forward as quickly as possible. The 7th and 10th Corps, stationed on the shores of the Black Sea, were ordered forward early in August, and by the second week in that month parts of the 7th Corps had reached the army of the Czarevitch, while the 10th Corps was ordered to join General Zimmermann in the Dobrudja, who held Trajan's Wall. The strengthening of the left wing was deemed necessary, as the Turks had withdrawn those troops from the Caucasus which under Fazli Pasha had aided the rebellious tribes in that district, and intended to land them at various points in the Dobrudja. At the same time the Egyptian corps under Prince Hassan, backed by a body of reserves under Rashid Pasha, was advancing against Trajan's Wall, in order to force the Russians back from the line of Tchernavoda to Kustendje. The Emperor Alexander and the Grand-Duke Nicholas had taken up their headquarters at Gorni-Studen, between Biela and Plevna, while the left wing of the Russian main army continued in an observant position before Rustchuk, and before a portion of the Turkish Army of the East under Achmet Eyub Pasha. The latter occupied a strong position at Rasgrad, which he had changed into a fortified camp. The new Serdar Ekrem, Mehemet Ali, who had spent considerable time on reorganizing the forces at Shumla, had concentrated large masses of troops at Eski Djuma and Osman Bazar, and began to advance slowly toward Tirnova. On the Lom River, Mehemet Ali's troops had several small engagements with the Russians under the Czarevitch during the last week in August. Finally, on August 29th, the Turks began a forward movement. Nedjib Pasha, starting from Eski Djuma, crossed the Black Lom near Yaslar, and drove the Russians from their positions at that point. At the same time Fuad and Salih Pashas advanced

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »