TURKEY. 



733 



4,000 Circassian cavalry, commanded by Mous- 

 sa Pasha, were ordered to proceed toward Kars, 

 entirely unsupported by artillery or infantry. 

 They rested for the night at Bekli- Ahmed, a 

 small village north of Kars. The Russians 

 secretly organized a powerful force, and during 

 the night surrounded and surprised the village. 

 Almost the entire force of the Circassians was 

 massacred, and Moussa Pasha himself was 

 among the missing. In the early part of June, 

 the Russians, having effected a junction of their 

 left and centre, concentrated their forces around 

 Kars, while their outposts had previously ad- 

 vanced as far -as Olti and Kisil Kilissa. Sub- 

 sequently the centre also succeeded in estab- 

 lishing communication with the right, so that 

 the eastern heads of the passes between the 

 Soghanli and Kiretch ranges were in their 

 hands. In the second week of June they re- 

 tired from Pennek and Olti, and concentrated 

 all their available forces around Kars, with the 

 intention of striking a decisive blow at that 

 point before proceeding any farther. Accord- 

 ingly, several attacks were made under the lead 

 of Grand-Duke Michael in person. The first 



points attacked were the forts Tamaz and Kara 

 Dagh, erected in 1855. The fights lasted three 

 days, but did not result in any advantage for 

 the Russians. The losses on both sides were 

 considerable. On June 25th, the Russians at- 

 tacked the Turkish positions at Zewin. The 

 battle was v ery severe, and both armies fought 

 with great bravery. The Turks under Ismail 

 Pasha, the Governor of Erzerum, had seven- 

 teen weak battalions, while the Russians had 

 fifteen battalions, with twenty-four guns. But 

 the Russians were completely routed, and fell 

 back to Mellidoz. The result of this victory 

 was chiefly due to Feizi Pasha, the chief of 

 staff of Mukhtar Pasha. On the 29th they were 

 again severely defeated, and were forced to re- 

 treat. In the latter part of June a Russian 

 corps of 1,000 men penetrated as far as Van, but 

 were defeated and driven back to Bayazid. 

 This town was then again occupied by the 

 Turkish forces, composed chiefly of Kurds, 

 while the Russian garrison in the citadel con- 

 tinued to hold out. General Tergukassoff, al- 

 though hard pressed by the enemy, succeeded 

 in driving away the Kurds, and in relieving the 



BUTUKDKBEH. 



garrison. These reverses of the Russian centre 

 and left wing forced General Melikoff, in the 

 beginning of July, to raise the siege of Kars, 

 and to retreat to Russian territory. 



On May 29th the extreme right of the Russians 

 again attacked Batum. but were repulsed with 

 considerable loss. In June, Dervish Pasha was 

 appointed to the command at Batum, receiving 

 considerable reinforcements at the same time. 

 He immediately took up the offensive against 

 the Russians, and succeeded, on June 24th, in 

 forcing them to abandon the position held by 

 them since the beginning of the war. They 



then took up another along the Russo-Turkish 

 frontier, between Fort Nicholas and Orzugeti. 

 On the shores of the Black Sea the Turn 

 were effectually assisted by a squadron. In the 

 latter part of April it bombarded Fort St. > ich- 

 olas (also called Shefkatyl), situnted immediate- 

 ly beyond the Turkish boundary, and which 

 had been dismantled since 1854. A Russian ser- 

 geant, who happened by chance to be in the 

 fort, was killed. The squadron then went on 

 to Poti, which it also bombarded and t 

 fire On May 13th it bombarded Sukhum 

 Kaleh. Afterward it landed a number of sol- 



