The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-27 00:00:00

THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

At the present moment Prussia has disposable
under arms about
Guards Infantry 10,660
Line ditto 73,350
Guards Cavalry 3,560
Line ditto 18,890
Guards Artillery
Line ditto 13,500 =396 field-pieces.
Guards Sappers
Line ditto
Total combatants,.. 123,940

By calling in the reserve men, so as to complete
all battalions to 1,000 men, and squadrons to 150,
this force might be augmented to nearly 200,000
bayonets and sabres, and at least 100 additional
guns, and this without calling out the first-class
laildwehr. Whereas, if the latter were mobilised
generally, the total effe,-...tives would stand thus :
Infantry
Cavalry

Total 299,000

with 792 field-pieces, but exclusive of artillerymen,
sappers, and train, which would swell the general
total combatants to about 343,000, and these not
only of as fine troops as any in Europe, but admi-
rably armed and equipped in every respect for
active war.

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE EAST.
We find the following in 'a Varna letter of June

9 :
" VARNA, Friday, June 9.—On Monday morning, at
three o'clock, the Light Division of the British army,
commanded by Sir George Brown, and consisting of the
7th, 19th, 23d, 32d, 77th, and 88th Regiments, with
part of the Bth Hussars, the 17th Lancers, and a por-
tion of a battery of artillery consisting of four guns at-
tached,rcommenced its march from this by striking tents
and getting baggage in rend.iness, and after breakfast
proceeded on their way to their new encampment be-
tween Kojuk and Devna (called in some of the maps
Dewnos). The infantry halted on a plain about. nine
miles and a half from the town of Varna, close to a fresh-
water lake, but the cavalry and artillery continued their
march, and pitched tents atthe village of Dovna, which is
about 18 milts from Varna, the route being through a rich
and fertile country, perfectly deserted and lifeless—not a
house, not a human creature to be seen along the whole
line of march. A thick scrub, said to abound in game
of various kinds, covers the country towards Devna, and
the district is rich in v tried scenery of a sober agricultu-
ral character. The vicinity of the lake insures a supply
of water, which can be rendered available by boiling and
other processes for daily household or tent use, and the
labours of the military anglers have been already re-

warded by sundry fine dishes of perch. Altogether,
the station is excellent, and as the corinnissariat is not
deficient in supplies of all the essentials of bread and
beef there is no need of complaint, though many of the
Sybarites walk into town and back again when they can
get time, to procure salt, pepper, tobacco, and vegeta-
-ales. - I mauls 'fear there will be a scarcity of legu-
:ruinous food, arid that the health of the men will
suffer. in consequence. The fleet, which is close to
-us-- (in Baltschik Bay), has felt the evil effects of
such scarcity already, and the Britannia and several
other ships have been visited with scurvy. On Satur-
day last the Spitfire paid a visit to BoUrgas, which is a
town of importance south of Varna, in the Black
Sea, .and. brought up between 20 and 30 tons of onions
for the use of the fleet, and 50 head of country cattle,
but as some complaints have been made of these little
interferences of the sea service with the commissariat of
the land forces, Omer Pasha had issued strict injunctions
all along' the' European coast of the Black Sea that no
ships be provided in future with such stores or provisions
under any pretence short of that of absolute want. Our
commissariat has a hard task to play here. It is so tied
down with orders, and so cramped by surveillance, that
its'eriergies are; greatry diminished. It treats-and con-
tracts, where the French commissariat demands and takes,
and in .no department has the effect of our ill-judged eco-
nomy been so painfully manifested as in the operations of
that which is above all others essential to the progress
of an army. Mr. Commissary-General Filler has, I
understand, succeeded in entering into contraots with
certain Armenians, for a supply of 2,800 head of c ittles
a month:: - These Armenians have given satisfactory
securities, but as their race is essentially Russian in feel-
ings and sympathies, they will be required to be well
looked after in every way, for as this country is_situated
just now,-it would be difficult to feed us should the con-
tractors failin their undertaking. A great benefit has
been gaited by_ttlis advance from the neighbourhood of
the town of Varna. The slough of the camp, the extra
weights, &c., are cast off, and, above all, the supplies of
drink are cut off. Drunkenness at Gallipoli and at Scu
tari has been the bane of our men, French and English.
With us flogging seems the only cure, and even that is
not:a good or certain one. Sir D. L. Evans is particu-
larly opposed to the practice of the lash, but something
must be done if the mischief continues. A "hell" has
been established near Scutari barracks by certain enter-
prising persons from the neighbourhood of St. James's-
street, but hitherto the worthies have been very un-
lucky and have met little custom, and none of it
lucrative. An Italian. has erected a very comfortable
casino, an eating and smoking room, in the same place.
Our commissariat has got 40 days' bread in advance for
the army; the French have not got 20 days' bread.
The 74th Regiment of the line (French) has arrived at
Bourgas, to lay out camps and break ground for the
French columns which are now marching up there. • In
a week they expect to have 25,000 men in the place, but,
except in grain,, the supplies are deficient. There has
been a serious scuffling fight at Gallipoli between the Ist
Royals and the 30th Regiment, in which all the men on
both sides were engaged. Only broken heads were the
result, and the combatants are now as good friends as

"News has reached us that the Military Governor of
Silistria was killed the other day by the bursting of a
shell into the mosque where he was at prayer.
"In Varna-bay- the London, 90, the Bellerophon, 78,
the Arethusa, 50, as well as the French Henri IV.,
with several steamers and transports of both nations,
are lying waiting for orders and assisting in any opera-
tions of debarkation which might be required. Admirals
Dundas and Hamelin had also come down to assist at
the conferences between the French and English officers.
A new Pasha has arrived here, who is supposed to be
better fitted to the exigencio of the times than his pre-
decessor. He was received with all honours by the
Turkish garrison yesterday, but lie landed without any
ostentation beyond that displayed in his numerous and
rather dilapidated followers of swordsmen and pipe-
bearers. By the Sang steamer Colonel Bohlen, of the
United States army, arrived here, for the purpose of
attaching himself to the allied armies, so as to be pre-
sent during the operations of the war, and probably
with a view of reporting to his government. He has
served in the French al my, and took a part in the Mexi-
can campaign. Mr. Lloyd arrived on Monday in the
Carnac, and proceeds at once on a secret mission to the
Caucasus. Mr. Tufnell, of the Medical Department,
Dublin, and several other gentlemen, came out by the
same vessel to take a glance at the scene of operations."

PROSPECTS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE
EAST.

The following is from the Constantinople corres-
pondent of the Times :
" CONSTANTINOPLE, JUNE 13.—We are now in the
middle of June, in another week is the summer solstice,
and then shortening days and parched fields will an-
nounce that the summer of 1854 is drawing to a close,
and that the rains and mists of another winter are slowly
approaching. As the season advances the prospects of
the campaign become more definite, and it is easier to
see how far nature will limit the operations of armies.
Among a people like the English, long unacquainted
with war at home, and accustomed to turn their atten-
tion to Indian campaigns only when the news of actual
strife arrives, it 19 natural that there should exist a no-
tion that the declaration of hostilities is always followed
by sharp and decisive encounters, and that if the Czar
be vulnerable at all, the blow can be struck at once.
But military men, and those who are brought into con-
nexion with them, are aware that for a war like the
present great preparations and consummate caution are
necessary. Residents in this couniry also know how
small is the portion of each year which can be devoted
to campaigns on the old battle field of the Turkish fron-
tier. Such a climate as that of the Danube, where in-
tense cold alternates with choking steamy heat, and
where armies are only delivered from the pestilences of
autumn, by the benumbieg frost of the early winter,
only allows a few months of spring and summer for the
operations of an army opposed to a resolute foe. Eng-
lish generals, also, like the English public, are careful
of human life, and dread to expose the troops they lead
to such fatal enemies as fever and small-pox, unless
there be a certainty of a brilliant campaign and an en-
during peace. Should the Russians remain in their
defensive position behind the Danube, it is the opinion
Of all that operations for their expulsion must be left
until the ensuing spring. If they persevere in their
attack on Silistrui, the allied troops will, no doubt, push
on and force them to raise the siege. In such an event
some encounter of a decided nature will probably
take place ; and the superiority of English and French
soldiers is too decided to leave a doubt as to
which side victory would incline to. But there is
every reason to believe that the presence of the allies in
force at Varna, and a successful resistance of the Turkish
garrison at Silistria, will be sufficient to cause the Rus-
sian General to give up this undertaking, and await the
attack of the three armies behind the barrier of the
Danube, or even to retire beyond the Pruth. It is in
such a case as this, with the foe in unknown strength
and positions in the of a mighty river, that the trial
of generalship will begin; and general consent seems to
allow that the enterprise of clearing the provinces .can-
not be attempted in our present state of preparation,
and at so late a season of the year. A campaign on the
Danube should be begun with the first bud of spring. As
soon as the melted snow has sunk into the rich marshy
earth, and the roads are tole7ably hard and firm, the
army should cross the stream, and its success must be
decided if it can hope to reach the Pruth victoriously
at so early a period as to look without anxiety to
the 500 miles it has traversed and will have to
tread' again. In April, if the season be ono of
average temperature, the pontoons may be laid
across the -streams and in September the violent
rains descending like a flood make the roads im-
passable, and the invading force must be ready with
its supplies, and prepare to pass the winter on the
plains where it is encamped. Our army and that of the
French cannot hope for any such state of readiness as
will allow them to occupy Wallachia' during the present
year. July must be far advanced before the allied troops
can be brought in force to the Danube. The fevers of
this month and of August are so deadly, that even
Russian generalship, prodigal as it is of human life, will
feel it necessary to abandon the swamps through which
the river flows, and concentrate at Bucharest, or in the
ridge which runs like a backbone along the Dobrudecha.
An offensive campaign, if commenced late next month,
could not be carried on for more than six or seven weeks;
it could lead to nothing but barren victories and pre-
cipitate retreat, and would be purchased by the de-
cimation of our ablest troops, the discontent of the
nation, and the discouragement of an army, acted
upon by that superstitious terrer, and that insane
recklessness which are the result of a pestilence. It
requires no great military skill to see that if the ex-
pulsion of the Russians is to be effected without the
aid of Austria it must be by the whole force of the
allied Powers, in their fullest state of prepara-
tion, with a better knowledge of the country than
exists at present, and with six months of favourable
weather before them to carry on offensive operations.
Prudence therefore dictates that no rash enterprise
should be attempted, and it is to be hoped that no im-
patience on the part of the public at what may seem the
tardinese of those in command will urge on statesmen
or generals to attempts which are contrary to their bet
ter judgment.

"Something similar are the position and prospects of
the fleet. Unless the enemy leaves Sebastopol, it is
difficult to see what can be done in that quarter, except
to watch the harbours closely and distress the empire by
the destruction of its maritime trade. every means has
been used to draw the Russians from the security of
their batteries. First, the fleet approached, leaving be-
hind two of the three-deckers, which were stationed out
of sight of the Russians, but sufficiently near to come to
the assistance of the squadron in case of need. It was
thought that the appearance of a diminished force would
tempt the enemy to a sortie, but the Muscovite Admi-
ral remained immoveable. Next the fleet lay off, and
two steamers went in close to the mouth of
the harbour, but with no better success.. A
sailing frigate was next sent, which might inspire
a hope of a capture with a short chase. All these expe-
dients have been equally unavailing, and the Russian
fleet is no doubt furnished with explicit instructions not
to venture out, except in case of some great misfortune
befalling the allies. An attack on Sebastopol itself is no
doubt impracticable, except with the assistance of a land
force. The ships must enter singly into the narrow
mouth of the harbcur; where the fire of 800 pieces of
cannon can be directed on each in turn. Naval officers
say that even the smoke caused by so tremendous a fire
would be sufficient to make the entrance impossible, ex-
cept .to those who know the harbour well. Many per.
sons here look to the Crimea as the vulnerable point of
Russia, and consider that its conquest should be the
first enterprise of the war. There can be no doubt of
the feasibility of such a plan if properly conducted.
Whatever may be the Russian force in this peninsula,
it is impossible that it can long resist tie attacks of
enemies who hold the sea, and can cut off all corn-