TURKEY. 



739 



destroyed ; and the remains daring the night 

 gathered at Bulgareni, where the corps of Gen- 

 eral Krudener was met, who, although he had 

 not suffered as severely, had also been com- 

 pletely defeated. All accounts agree in prais- 

 ing the bravery of the Russian soldiers, but 

 the same mistake was made on this occasion as 

 on the former, that the Russians had under- 

 estimated 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 re- 

 ported to have been received with great en- 

 thusiasm in Russia. On August 7th, a Russian 

 force, consisting of 8 icfantry divisions and 8 

 squadrons of cavalry, attacked the Turks at 

 Lovatz. The latter, however, were reenforced 

 in time by 5 battalions of infantry, and some 

 cavalry from Plevna, and repulsed the Rus- 

 sians, whose loss was reported at 800 dead 

 and 600 wounded. Lovatz, situated about 40 

 miles from Selvi, seriously threatened the Rus- 

 sian 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 ac- 

 cessible to larger vessels became impassable. 

 This measure met with severe opposition from 

 some of the Powers, Great Britain dispatch- 

 ing several men-of-war to the Sulina mouth, to 

 protect British interests, while Austria con- 

 tented herself with a mild protest. Prince 

 Gortchakoff issued a special note on the sub- 

 ject, in which he stated that Russia would re- 

 move 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 partici- 

 pating 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 hos- 

 tile 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 re- 

 enforcements before resuming active opera- 

 tions. While both sides, therefore, were watch- 

 ing 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 reen- 

 forcements 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 

 th e Czare vitch , while the 1 Oth Cor ps 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 in- 

 tended 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 head- 

 quarters 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 forti- 

 fied camp. The new Serdar Ekrem, Mehemet 

 AH, who had spent considerable time on reor- 

 ganizing the forces at Shumla, had concen- 

 trated large masses of troops at Eski Djuma 

 and Osman Bazar, and began to advance slowly 

 toward Tirnova. On the Loin River, Mehemet 

 All'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. Ned- 

 jib Pasha, starting from Eski Djuma, crossed 

 the Black Lorn near Yaslar, and drove the Rus- 

 sians from their positions at that point. At 

 the same time Fuad and Salih Pashas advanced 



