RUSSIA (HISTORY OF). 



of the horses could not be immediately repaired. 

 The prevalent diseases had greatly weakened the 

 army. At last, a severe winter eaiue on, and put 

 an end to the campaign in hoth countries. Its re- 

 sults, however, were important. In Europe and 

 Asia, Russia had taken possession of two Turkish 

 principalities, and three pachalics, fourteen for- 

 tresses and three castles, besides commanding a 

 long line of country, and four passages over the 

 Danube. The Russian emperor had repeated, dur- 

 ing and after the campaign, as well as before it, to 

 the British ambassador-extraordinary, lord Heytes- 

 bury, his inclination for peace with the Porte, on 

 the terms of indemnification for the expenses of 

 the war, and security against future injuries and 

 violations of treaties; but the Porte had rejected 

 all mediation on the basis of the London treaty, 

 and refused to send envoys to negotiate with the 

 ambassadors, of the three powers, and the commis- 

 sioners of the Greeks. On the contrary, Mahmoud 

 had announced a new campaign, with the words, 

 " Honour and independence are worth more than 

 life." Hitherto the negotiations had been carried 

 on in Constantinople, with the reis effendi, by the 

 minister of the Netherlands. He had delivered to 

 the reis effendi the manifesto of France, Great 

 Britain and Russia, of August 11, 1828, which 

 made known to the Porte the motive and object of 

 the French expedition against the Morea. The 

 Prussian ambassador, Canitz, likewise advised the 

 Porte to yield, but, till January, 1829, without 

 success. The sultan had even banished to Asia 

 many of the friends of peace among the ulemas, 

 on account of their sentiments. Still he showed, 

 on several occasions, an unexpected regard for the 

 laws of nations. He did not close the Bosphorus 

 against the trade of neutrals with Russia until the 

 13th of September; the Russian prisoners were 

 well treated; the Russians settled in Constanti- 

 nople were protected, and the irritated Turks were 

 kept in unusual restraint. On the other hand, Jus- 

 suf Pacha of Seres, for surrendering Varna, which 

 had till then resisted all attacks, was banished, and 

 his estates confiscated. The grand vizier, Meh- 

 med Selim, was deposed for his delay in relieving 

 that fortress, and banished to Gallipoli. At length 

 a strong body of cavalry from Asia, under the 

 command of the brave Tshapan Oglu, joined the 

 forces, to open the campaign of 1829. 



February 21, 1829, general Diebitsch* was ap- 

 pointed commander-in chief of the Russian forces ; 

 but even previous to that event, and in the midst 

 ot winter, the Russian forces had not been reduced 

 entirely to inaction. The fortresses of Kale and 

 Tourno, on the Danube, were taken at the end 

 of January, with eighty-seven pieces of cannon, 

 while the thermometer of Fahrenheit was at zero. 

 February 18, a flotilla of thirty Turkish vessels, 

 frozen up near Nicopoli, was destroyed. February 

 25, the fortress of Sizeboli, beyond the gulf of 

 Bourgas, east of the Balkan, was taken by a Rus- 

 feian fleet. The garrison, consisting of about 

 16,000 Albanians, retreated, and joined the main 

 body under Hussein Pacha. But it was in Asiatic 

 Turkey that the serious operations of the cam- 

 paign commenced. On the night of March 3d, a 



* Diebitsch was the son of a Silesian officer in the Prus- 

 sian, and afterwards in the Russian service. In 1813, he was 

 lieutenant-general and ciuarter- master-general, and, subse- 

 quently, adjutant-general to Alexander. In the battle of 

 Austerlitz he was wounded in the hand : at Dresden hn re- 

 reived a severe contusion, and had two horses shot under 

 ii:m ; and he distinguished himself in the actions of Eylau and 

 ' 



Turkish force of more than 20,000 men mnde an 

 attack on Akluikich. General Pa^kewitseh imme- 

 diately sent a reinforcement to the relief of the 

 place, and on the 16th the besieging force retreated. 

 June 14th, a body of Turks, who had been drawn 

 down, by the movements of the Russians, from the 

 mountains of Adjar, were attacked in their in- 

 trenched camp by generals Mouravieff and Bourt- 

 soif. The camp was carried by assault, and large 

 stores of provisions and ammunitions, nearly 400 

 prisoners, &c., were taken. An army of 50,000 

 men had been collected by the seraskier of Erze- 

 rum, and divided into two corps, one commanded 

 by the pacha of three tails, Hagki, an officer of 

 high renown in Asiatic Turkey, who, \vith 20,000 

 men, was stationed at the passes of the mountains 

 of Saganlon ; the other, of 30,000 men, under the 

 seraskier of Erzerum himself. These two corps, 

 by the manoeuvres of general Paskewitsch, were 

 separated from each other, and successively totally 

 defeated, at the beginning of July. July 3, Paska 

 witsch took possession of Erzerum, the centre of 

 the Turkish power in Asia. The seraskier, coi 

 mander-in-chief of the whole Turkish army, and 

 governor of all Asiatic Turkey, was taken prisoner, 

 together with four principal pachas, and 150 pieces 

 of cannon. The sharpest contest of the Asiatic 

 campaign was occasioned by the attempt of the 

 pacha of Van to rescue from the Russians the for- 

 tress of Bajasid. The attack was made with 7000 

 infantry and 5000 cavalry, aided by the fire from a 

 battery, on a range of rocks, which swept the 

 Russian troops on the flank and rear, and the fire 

 of musquetry from the inhabitants of the Tartar 

 quarter of the place. After thirty-two hours of 

 incessant fighting, the Turks retreated. The 

 career of Paskewitsch in this campaign had beep 

 one of continual success; and such had been his 

 preceding campaign in Persia. In the European 

 provinces, the campaign commenced by the renewal 

 of the siege of Silistria, under the immediate 

 direction of Diebitsch. May 17, a detachment of 

 the Russian army, posted near the village of Eski 

 Arnaoutlar, was attacked by the Turkish army 

 commanded by the grand vizier from Choumla, at 

 three in the morning. The battle lasted till eight 

 in the evening, when the Turks retired. 'June 11. 

 the battle of Koulevtcha, or Prawodi, took place 

 between the army of Diebitsch and that of the 

 grand vizier. It was contested with obstinacy, 

 and the victory displayed rather the superiority of 

 European tactics than of courage. June 30, Silis 

 tria surrendered, and the garrison of 10,000 men 

 became prisoners of war; 220 pieces of cannon, 

 eighty standards, and the whole Turkish flotilla, 

 fell into the hands of the Russians. Immediately 

 after the surrender of Silistria, Diebitsch com- 

 menced his preparations for the passage of the 

 river Kamtchik and the Balkan mountain. He left 

 his camp before Choumla July 17. July 22, the 

 Russians had made such progress, that the general 

 head-quarters of the army were removed lo Ei 'ketch, 

 on the summit of the Balkan, after considerable 

 opposition from the Turks, at the passage of the 

 Kamtchik. Mezembri was occupied on the 23d, 

 and fifteen pieces of cannon, and large quantities 

 of warlike stores, were taken. Arriving on the 

 shores of the Euxine, the progress of the army was 

 aided by the co-operation of the fleet under ad- 

 miral Greig, consisting of three ships of the line, 

 three frigates, and some smaller vessels. After the 

 successive occupation of sundry villages from day 



