738 



TURKEY. 



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 Rus- 

 sians, General Gourko was to attack the pass 

 on the 17th from the. rear, while Prince Mir- 

 sky was to attack from the front. But General 

 Gourko was delayed, and Prince Mirsky under- 

 took 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 nu- 

 merous 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 cen- 

 tral 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 pre- 

 sent 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 Tvar- 

 ditza Pass is a mountain path leading to Hain- 

 koi. It was this pass that General Gourko 

 used in crossing the mountains, it having heen 

 pointed out to him by Bulgarians. A little be- 

 yond 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 north- 

 ern 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 be- 

 tween 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 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, Sulei- 

 man Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief 

 of the Turkish forces in Roumelia, after having 

 effected a junction with Rauf Pasha. The 

 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 Jiors 

 de combat ; while the Turks admitted a loss of 

 1,200 killed and wounded. In consequence of 

 this defeat the corps of General Krudener, sta- 

 tioned south of Plevna, and the llth 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 Rou- 

 mania, and even a Roumanian corps crossed at 

 Nicopolis, the first Roumanian troope to cross 

 the river. Mehemet Ali at Shumla and Osman 

 Pasha at Plevna were seeking to effect a junc- 

 tion at Tirnova, and to crush the Russians be- 

 tween them. The Russian force under General 

 Krudener 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 Krudener be- 

 gan the battle about half-past nine in the morn- 

 ing, attacking the Turkish centre at Grivitza, 

 and the northern flank of the intrenched posi- 

 tion 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, ex- 

 tending 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 



