s aunts

J...

traumas”, aeaasat, also eeaaaactzat. ativaactssa.

ltlsitlbllsned L823.

. atsronrcat. A, sauna! OF THE llUSSl.l.‘l W_A't. raoir rrs coitxsscexssv to rat: eaerzsr rnrir.

’ Omer Pacha had been. diligently employed in or- rtizing his wild troops since the early put Of _§?ily_;U and, with the aid .of.-sonte.European oﬂicers (chieﬂy French), ltzloiiging to the Artillery, biogr- users, ‘and other military’ dlasses and denominations, he soon saw'hitns‘elf at the head of attarmy in w‘iich he could place co'ilidetict-.,-and which'pro- vol itself .aqual' to all tlte exigences of-the war.’ Tlfd ‘Tttrks are patient and hardy in the ﬁeld; their courage.—where tltey ltave not reason either to distrttst orvto despise their o\vii.CQmt,t1UItl(‘-I-35 rriverhial, and his been proverbial firmire tliati o.tr,hntidred years. But since they first broke iii- to E~.tr.ipe, many improvements in the material in- strurne-its of war ltave necessitated corresponding changes in the tactics of an array. Mahmoud. -the late Sultan, perceived this; and he deterntiited to revoltttioiiizoliis military establishment, and to sail»- stitttte the “F‘raiik” weapins and the “ l<‘r.-uik" discipline for the arms and system of his people. Afar he had destroyed the Janissaries, and Iiofure he could supply their place with his new troops, came the last Russian invasioti. How absurd it woitld be to draw any criiiclusioii respcctiiig the c:_imp.1rative efﬁ:ietit-.y ol' Turkish and Riissiatt sol- diers, from the events ofthat war, may be perceived at a glance. A regular Russian ariii.y encoituteriiig, n it a regtilar Turkish army, lint :1 rahlile of armed Turks. who ha Ijust ab iuslmierl their national mode of b ttlle (mi /u I not ac7m're.'lfumi1i1rit_t/ with even the rulrlmmls of the new system, cannot by its ex- loits, give us any criterion whatever by which to ju.i.;e whether such ati army of Russians might, or ought tint, to defeat a proportionately numerous Ttiririsli force, well disciplined, well equipped, and well conirntiided. tie problem was soon to be solved in a manner which astonis'te'l all Europe. Omer Pach.'t,'liav- in; tiny received notification that war was declared, gra:tte.l yet three weeks to a|l_tteittral flags to pass to and lie on the l)anube, and reclaimed that this licence would terminate on tie 23th of the m inththeu ctirrettt, October. All Russian subjects resident in Turkey were plgced under Austrian pr.itection. Tue election of the monk Antliiuos to the Patriarchate of Constantinople—altbough he had two competitors of the ussiait party, who would have given 60.000 pissters for the post- shows the feeling which at this date, revailcil iii the capital. There was no necessity or our flvets to remain wltere they titiliappily did remziin :tll that car. he Russians were diligently using the Blac. Sea as a highway fortlte movement of mi ups, the re-arrangement of strategic posts, arid the transit of provisions, arms, and atniiiiiiiitioii. For ex- ample, 5,00'J Russian soldiers, whom the ﬂeets might have intercepted, were laitded in October at’ Redout Kaleb to sitccour the army of the Uaucasiis, and to attack Batoiuu; and many op-.-.rations which have since ent:tile.l severe lighting atid great lilood- sbel, in Asia as well as in Europe, were by our supitieness and hesitation (for we cottld have para- lysed in a moment all those movements) allowed to be uietly accomplished. On the lstl\'ovem1ier, M. de (la Cour was recalled. and General (now Mar- shal) Btraguay d‘Hilliers appointed Atnbassador at Constaittinople on the part ot the French Emperor.

BA1'l'L2 or 'ot.ritst'rza.

It was the next day (November 2d) that Omer Pacha began to cross the Danube. He had been ordered by the Turkish Govemutent to break down all the bridges. That this alone would have been a. very inadequate precaution, the ﬁnished soldier who waachamed with the. protection of Turkey, perfectly-well linew.. Bttt it is very freqtietitly pos- sible to do more towards defeiidiiig a river on the e'nenty‘s side of it than on your owti—on the fur- ther, in fact, than oti the hither hank. A long line of river cannot, with eqital- forces, be so guarded as to hinder the enem from somewhere crossing it in strength; but, ﬂrst y, such a position may be taken as to place him at a. disadvantage when he does cross; and, secondly. the defender of the river may ltimselfcross, and strike it heavy bloiv against the enemy in_ some: nugttarded and vulnerable point, and then return, to watch: for another chance. Omer‘Paeha adopted both these plans. -Establisliittg securely his coniiniitiioations with the sea tlirongh Varua, and rendering Sclinmlti, at the distance of thirty; miles inland,'impregtinble, he collected such a-force easy reach of that powerful basis, that by always rcfttsing, asttnilitary men say, the right win ofliis

position, and ,thrn\v.iug.,the,.left forward, w rich it _

will be soon he dtdtbrou hottt, he was sure,.at Ms ogryttlsud, of fiiltilling his trust, and of defettdirlg the remainder of Turkey effectually. I-‘or of two things. one—eit|ier the troops tliits thrown diagon ally_1'orward and outward tram his left hand would succeed in,defeatiugU,ie Russiuis, in which use all was well; or the more-advanced iving _would have to retire. lutthis oaseiifwes diagonally°drnwni back had been thrown -forward, pining more and more strengthen the Russians retained less and less, and pa itapproacbed the powerful‘ basis of the ositton, via, the ‘fight Iank resting oti Schtntvla, ants, and t sen. ' thlow either the Russians

Id,‘ tl t ‘t’ .-tl rs . tbttl‘( d’ "°" diet? oo"§'ti'3t i'."t.tt§§"§l3...?t u1‘su"iy~

1', ,

oflnfittttry‘ and artillery around and withiti -

such a proeeedin on their part), or they would re- treat to secure t eir subsistence. To turn Omer Pachds position by their right, which would be the furthest itemov front their magazines and sup- ports, and then, while his army lay unharmed and co-tiplete in their rear, to venture by a lar circuit, first towards the west, and subsequent y south- wards, would be to allow him to destroy them at his leisure-ewhich would probabl be, before they had arrived, starving, at the foot of the Balkans.

Having taltetrthese defensive precautions and havingcollected a disposable body suﬂicient for his purpose, be determined to divert the Russians from passing the Danube, by passiu it himself. His sudden presence would compel t e ettemy to much tntrehing and countermarchiug, perhaps even to a great couceiitration of troops—operations not per-

med without serious fatigue, or without. distiirb- ing the comblnatioos,and arresting the In »re general designs of the hostile comttiander. Besides all this, he might inflict some direct attd severe loss on the enemy. But the greatobject, was, by abold move- niont, to animate and cheer his own troops, aitd to dis tel the delusion of Russian superiority.

' ‘he arrogance of Prince Gortscliakoﬂ favoured Outer Paclta's project, in two ways; first, to defeat him after he had assumed so high a tone, and after ..he had spokeuof “annihilating the Pagans,” would pmdiice only the greater moral effect, if it could be dotie; and secondly, that very arrogance and over- security of the Pritice and his Lieuteuauts, made it more easy tobe done. Omer Pacha’s first move- meiits perplexed the Russians; and this effect, which was certainly obtained, may excuse a rather too bold extension and projection of that elastic left wing wliiclt we have described. Tlte Crtreniity of that wing stretched westward far beyond the junction-of the Aims, and hovered metiacingly aroriud lesser Wallachia: and, if Prince Gortscha- kotT's commissariat had allowed him to collect the mass of his troops against the centre of so long a litre (upwards ot'200 miles). he mght at once have split it ittto two, and forced the Danube. But in war, time is of as much importance as space; and Diner Pacba was perfectly well informed of the state of the Russian preparations. Add to this that the enemy‘s position was itself so straggling as to make it less unsafe and less strategically incorrect to diffuse and scatter his own, in pursuance of any objects then in view.‘ Accordingly, he proceeded to seize an island far up to_ the Danube, between Widdin and Kalafat, wheres. strong body belougitv to his left wing intrettched themselves ﬁrmly. Prince Gortscbakotf could not conceive what was uitettded. He adjourned for the moment his owti ptssage of the Danube, and eveti took meastires to protect his right from beittg turned, and a disaster iticitrred in Lesser Wallacbia. Takiti some troops, lie. on the lst November, litirried to littina on the Alitta. aitd suspended or altered all the plans of his campaign. Omcr Pacha, tranquil and firm, saw that amongst other things, the effects of a diversion were produced. Since the l9th ofUctober he had busily littt secretly collected 200 gun-boats at Rntsclttik, and with these he ﬂttiig two or three tlioitsaiid men across, who intrenched themselves near Giurgevo. While the Russians were assem- bling to storm this position, which was certain to cost them it greater loss than they cottld inﬂict, the sword ofOiner had but dazzled their eyes. Every push told indeed, but the first few passes were only the bewildering play ofa good weapon in a firm and skilfitl-baud, and were intended to secure the opetiiiig fora more fatal thrust driven hctne with greater vigoitr.

Oti the id of November, and ‘on the 3rd and 4th, be forced his passage ﬁfteen miles lower down from 'l‘urkutia to Ulteuitza, with 13,000 men. The Russians were numerically mttch stronger. Bu: they had been, in- part, perplexed respectin the designs, and even respecting the presence 0 the Turkish Generalissimo; in part, they were out- manaznvred duritig the actual operations, and in part they.were beaten fairly on the ﬁeld. The

‘tirks -forced the passage with artillery, held it tnanfnlly by thebayonet, and then secured it with spade atidpickaxe. The conﬂict lasted, omitting the intervals which interrupted it, for three-and- twentyhours; andwill ever be memorable under the name of the Battle. of Oltenitza. It was at the very time during which it was contested that Mcltolas was exclaiming in his distant capital, ‘ “ rromconjundar in catenmm.”

'l‘lte combat, and the manner of it, deserve a special description. At Ttirtukai, or just below it. the,Danube is "about 1200 yards across; but there is an island between the twoshores, which island is 000 Yards distant from the south, and 200 yards distantfrom the north bank. Now, as the Russian t tirgin of the river descends almost to the water's digs, wlicreas the Turkish shore rises to the im- mouse lieiglit,of600 fast, it is qttite evident, that the Riissiaus, had.-they even occupied tbatisland, could -not have kept it for half an hour against the Turk- lsh artillery from the opposite eminence. Bttt they attempted not to occupy it; and Omar Pacha, taking .it withperfect security and sensible advantage, planted thereon a stron _bsttery; for the island, though cotntniirtded by t e south shore, commands the ttt’il‘llt, aitd cotrtmattds it irresistibly. All these operations of Outer were managed with the calm- ness and precision of an able. aura of chess; and the step wohsve just deecri was thesdrst im- it run move. As it wuof decisivovslue to put

fat in tltll battery on the tutuid. tie it rm sqttauy

t._s

Cliatlottetown, Prince Edward . Island, Wednesday, December 20, 1854.

desirable that it should not play over the d.seuibnrk- ing,'l‘urks——nt aim which, if it can be avoided. is too nice and critical for a chance-inedley and hand- to-hand encounter. sttch as was certain to ensue. For this reason, the landing.point was chosen not directly in front of the island, but lower down, and to the right, so that the battery mentioned slioitld effectitally protect the ’l‘tirkisli left, by enﬁlading its assailants. To protect the Turkish right, the largest guns which Oiner possessed were placed by him in battery on the south shore still lower dowtt. They had to cleara range of 1200 zirds. The Turks tltus protected, and at first only 3000 strong, crossed one river, bitt landed from the watersof two. A little stream, called the Argish, ﬂowing from the north, seems to refuse the Danube just asit is about to fall into that great river, and, taking a sltort parallel swee to the east, then titrus again to the south fora cw yards, and effects its cotiﬂtience. Here the 'l‘iirks landed, and spreading sotttewliat to the left, bad, (if course, on that flank and in their tear the bending stream of the Argish. lti

frotit oftheir left and of their centre, the ground-

was full of copscwood—iu front of their right it was open. They had intreuclicd tliemselves by teti o’cloclt in the morning of November 2d.

At eleven o'clock, a cloud of Cossack skirmishcrs attacked them, atid were followed by four colutntis ofinfanlry and tweiiiy cannon. Large masses of cavalry immediately afterwards appeared against the right of the Turks, the only part of the field where horse could manoeuvre. We need say no more; the nature of the position speaks for itself. 'l‘be Russiutis could oit that day collcct but 8000 men, and these were with case repulsed ; for, though the occupants ofthe ititrcitchments were but 3000, that number was siiﬂicieitt, with the advantage of their ﬁeld works; and there was the protection of the river batteries besides. Next day the Russians were in greater ttnntlier, bttt the Turks lind also been reinforced incessantly, and, moreover the itttrenclinietits were stronger. Umer Paclia gained asecond victory, precisely like the first. (hi the fllll of Noveinlier, the third and greatest attack was made. The Russians were tiow 3,000 strong, while Outer had flung itito this vcntnresome and forward outpost all the men he could spare, amount- ing to 18.000.

A very protracted and desperate engagement etistied. There ivas, what even Freticlititcit and ldtiglisltmeii wotild call, real fighting. 'l‘l:e Turk- ish left was imprcgpialile, and as it was both very univiting, and had in front ofit covered ground and brushwtiod, where the enemy lay, the carnage was was here not great. But on the Turkish tight, which was assailedover an open atid level space, a fearful slatiglitcr ensued. The Russian infantry tri to stortit this side. When first advancing. they were mowed down in whole conipatiies by the Turltish artillery from the south batik; oit their nearer approach. the ﬁre of the 'l‘itrkislt mitsketry, and evcit pistol shots, discharged from belilnd a cover tvlticli forbade any effective retaliation, cott- tinued to shake their array attd lliin their ranks. But -“they would not be refused.” They reached (in some disorder, it is true, and much weakctied, littt still they reached) the foot of the earth-works.‘ At this time the, Usntanlis Inid liaidly lost a man since morning. A sudden shout arose among them, they leaped over their own iiitrcncltmcitts, and charged the astonished, decimated, and already lialf-broken assailants with the bayonet, routing them completely. The movement could itot extend far, oti accotint of the Russian cavalry, which pro- hibited all pitrsuit. In many respects, it was a very peculiar contest : and we can accoittit for the small- ness ( fthe ninnberslain, on the side of the Turks. It is stated to have been iitider twenty. The Rus- sians losta thousand men. Onier Paclia all this tinte. showed the temperament of a Turk, instcad of that of a German, which he is. He is an Aus-

'trianof'tlte. naiuc of Lultas, a soldier of fortune,

who has become a great beiieral, atid has secured to himself already, aconsiderablc place in history, I)itriii the engagement, he remained on his own side 0 the river. He had taken every measure in his power. He had doite what he coitld do to ensure victory; and he itow watched the varying phases of the action, while smoking his pipe. He was quietly seatet_l oi) the high grotitid, with a celebrated stranger, who was present tlirtitiglt motives of rofessional curiosity——-(.t‘eiieriil Prim. the Spaniar ."l‘licy gazed on the scene through tt-lescopes, seated with their feet comfortably stretch- ed towards a large wood lire. 'l‘hcy saw the test light of an army hitherto untried, and they saw its victory.

Otir endeavour has been so to describe the operations of_thls memorable day that’ a civilian might iiiidt-rstatid them. We wish ottr readers also to apreciate wiihdiscrimiuittiott the aliiliiies ofOiner Pacha. Histnilitary genius is solid, rather than dazzling.

Aftertltis event, the Turkish position seemed to be. for sortie time, that of assailants, much more than of lDt'Il ttctiti on the defensive. They occupied both sides of the aunbe, in the most important places. We have seen how they stood at Tnrtukai t1ItdUllenltla. These Turks were btit part ofthe saute division which held Rustclttlk and Giurgevo, and were led by Omer in person. Sistova, Nicopolis, and Rahovu were nlnu in their hands. 'l‘ltey luid. under the contmantl of Ismail I’achtt, crossed the river at Widdin,Vand ttot only had seized Kalafat, but bad eutorcdlialamch with 6000 uteri. They

. T I y ‘ ' new Series. A0. 198-.

had Plﬂed two thousand Vlllﬂl on an’ island, as though they would hold both the banks and like-

wise what lay between. ’ ' _ l\_tne days elapsed before the Rttssisns venturrd “8“'"_ to attack the Tnrkisli rcdoubt bctwcrn Oltenttza and tl.e river. They were waiting for reiiiforcements. The season was now growing lute; but-as rapidly as its rigottrs would allow. large rettifor_cernettt_s_ \\'( re 1[t0l'tlCd from Besssrnbia into ‘he P""'°'P3'"|08- » liese were not the reinforce- l'l)e‘lliS to which we allude, and which the Russians at Jltenuza were awaiting; they expected strategic "'°°"""5 WW9". which they couldcommand by tile rt-callof their scattered divisions, and the reparation of Prince Gortscliakoffs mistakes. Oti the Lib, zltcy again attacked the stubl:orn_ ititrenclmetits. xeneral bngelhardt had arrived with the reserves. hey were repulsed with_l_os. They lhen,_rn- deavourcd to mask the position; and, by getjjng

possession of the island for even an hour, to force‘

this out-garrison, on their own bank, to lay down its arms. All these attempts were ttnsttrcessfttl; ﬁnd. oit the 14th of.l\ovrmber, they were even forced to look more to defence and less to. attack; for, oti that day, the Turksliadthe spirit and strength -to make an outburst; atid, having fallen upon Ullellllzﬂ itself, and ravaged its suburbs, retired witlioiit loss. On the 26th, Umer Pacha established a bridge between the south shore and the island of llrlokait or lilokaiinon, higher tip the Danube, not tar front (itnrgevo; (llid, about the sonic time, he withdrew the troops wliiclt were in position on the further batik in front of Tnrtukai, and under Olienitza; and tlionglt retaining also the islatzd of Raittadan, lie was obliged to concentrate his soldiers rather more, in the face of the ever-increasing tiumbers of the enemy.

A GENERAL SURVEY.

This was the true situation of affairs when an absurd rumour, which arrived on the 17th No- vember, threw London atid all England ittto com- motion, after having terrified Vienna and excited the Contitient. It was reported that, by a series of

most brilliant victorics—tlte details of which were"

at present wanting, but likely to_(-ome by the next tnail——tlte ’|‘tirks had driven tl.e "Rut-siaits with great carnage be_t,-rmd Bucharest. which was on ﬁre “in three places ” The Cll‘CllHt§l8Illl8l appearance of this start-merit reflects credit oti the judgnietit of its llI\’(’|Ilt)l‘$—Wll0 had doubtless their motives for paltering so shamefully with the public anxiety. Similar fabrications, such as that the Turks had advaiiccd towards Krajova, offering a battle which Getternl Fisliback declined, sustained the wonder of distant cities, while the Turks were very prudently drziwiug more together, and evacuating Oltenitza, Giurgevo, and Kalarscli. In reality, Omer_ Pacba was redttcitig the length of his line; bitt he took care both to conceal the movement, and to strike wl-at- ever blows fortune permitted. He still held Kalafat, while, at a distance of nearely three hundred miles frotii that position by the convex road which he was obliged to use (though at a mttch shorter distance iltrongh Wallachia), he gave the Russians a severe check at Matcliin, in the north of the Dobrudscha, facing Brailow. The enemy began to respect a mati, to wlrbm they ascribed the endow- ment of tibiqitity. Ubiquity, however, is not trite generalsliip; and the quasi-uliiqnity of retideritig it impossible to tl.e Russians to guess where they should meet him iiext,——tliis, with what might restilt front rapidity of movement was the only ubiquity to which Umcr Paclia aspired.

The Russians imagined that t ey had built I

house, where theyindeed had but itched a tent; and, as if they were permanently fix in the Principali- ties, General Budbergh was now nominated by the Czar, President of the Civil Administration of Mel- davia. The appointment was worth one year's pur- chase. . A little incident occurred on the 17th, in which we think we recognise Russian agency; we allude to the reconciliation, at Frohsdorf, between “ Henry the Fifth" on the one part, and (in the name of the whole Orleans family), the Due de Nemours, on the other. The reconciliation took place seven years too late. We doulit., if it could ever have revented the reign of Napoleon 111.; but ee ' y it has not sliul-‘en his throne. «

Fora fortnight nothing of importance happened ; though it. is worth while to mention, that the Rus- sian war-ship, Vladimir, wb<_iee daring and sk' sully afterwards from Sebastopol ( when we supposed that ort to be securely blockaded by the Anglo- Frendli squadrons) extorted the admiration of En: ope; that same ship l’ladi'rm'r on the 20th November, 1853, spread terror along the Bulgarian coast, iv she captured and carried away a Turkish pep vessel and an Egyptian war-steamer of ten guns.

‘

Sour.-rtiiso S1'ri.ixor..—Htilf the evil in this world comes from poo. le not knowing what they do like, not tlt'llltel'lI|t‘ly no-tting tlu-met-lvss to find out ubrttthey really enjoy. All people enjoy giving away rnonryﬂttr intmutro, they don't know Ilutl--tltey rather tliuk they like keeping it; and they do keep it under this hllo iinprt-in-inn, often to their grt.-II discomfort. Every- body like: to do good. but M1 on! in u but find: n.'.'om. Mtiltittidt-u ottnii they tut. ituinuit; stun man ever really enjoyed evil since God ml 0 00 world. _

Swettriog.—He who swell tells II till! hilt)‘ wordiuottobsersditod. -M

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