The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-09-01

vofPs 81 nussaa0 skaters who should venture with
not skaies, that the alarmists mean. Either way.
men VINO nave pot the free use Of their feet hays
mde cnaace.whatever be their numbers-on tho
hind wall, standing the soles Of their own fsex.
and with ground under them which wlll not brinS
them down on their noses after every shot who'll
sund and the Alaud islands can be held all the vin-
ter If it be wise and desirable to mold them
SITUATION OF TIE ALAND ISLANDS
CHANCES OF A WINTER OCCUPATION
BY THE ALLIES.
The group Of islands lying about twenty-five
miles from the coast Of Sweden and fifteen from
to the Firms by the name Of Ahvennanmaa 1t con-
sists Of no less than eighty inhabited aud two hun-
dred upinbabited islets the largest of which y
about eighteen miles in length BY fourteen !.
has been constructed by the Russians within tho
last twenty years, and It Is here that the French
army Of the Baltic, supported by the marines II
portsnt operation of the war; The fortress itaeK
Is said to be large enough to shelter an army
Of 10000 men within the range Of its guns,
AMI we are assured that 10000 laborars were
emplo, es in the construction Of the works during
that POI ti0n Of che year when it Is possible TO build
IN so severe climate. We cannot, no wever, veuch
for the accuracy OF these numbers; but II Is cor
tain that the place is one OF consider able extent
and strength, capable Of sustaining largo garri-
son, and mot likely to be taken without the opera
tons Of regular siege. The principal fortress Goa
ssts Of double tier OF semisrcular casemated bat
teries fronting the sea, mounting at least eighty
heavy guns; but this fort does not appear to be
armed on the side of the land. At . distance Of
from the shore are three mounds or hillo ks two of
which are fortified as detached works, mounting
about twenty guns each Tnat to the north is called
Fort and 70 $50 feet high; that to the south
is called the Tee Fort the central mound is used
for Q telegraph station. These works bear almost
the relation to the main fort Of Bonn arsun as
the forts Of Arab Tahaa and Me5jdj,e b,rs 10 tho
town OF Silistria To attack those works it 10 sup
posed that the land forces will advance ia two d.
visions. The brigade from the north will consist Of
1000 French infantry, 100 sappers and miners, 600
marines l6 heavy 81 pounders four field pieces and
one rocket company, being the force destined to
attack Fort Nottich in the hrst instance. The br-
gade from the south will consist Of 5000 Fren h In
fantry and 80 heavy siege gums. under the command
attack the Tee Fort. Toe interest o. the position
of the enemy and of the siege consists in the reduc
ton Of those detached forts, and in this operation
the ships can take no active part.
This fact establishes two points OF consideratle
interest to our maritime operations In the Baltic.
1t is clear in the first place that in the shallow waters
deckers can hardly b. brought sufficiently near
to the enemys w0t ks to bear upon them with effect.
The bl0ek-ships and heavy fngateG are alone able
to g into harborS Of this description and i was not
expeditions Of 1900 and 1907 all the ships selected
for that service were second or third rates. The
use Of such ships as the Duke Of Wellington, the st.
Jean dAcre and the Neptune In the Baltic Is TO
keep the Russian feet in check, and the manner In
which these huge vessels have been handled by our
masters and pilots Is suca as TO- call forth the
Varmest euloQiums from the RuSsi ans themselves.
But secondly, Admiral Napier has very wisely ab-
stained from measuring the brosdsdes Of any OF hs
ships against the batteries Of grauite Fortress and
in spite Of all that has been said on this subject tho
result of the experiments made In this Is decid
edly favorable to land Notifications against maroe
artillery. The opinion Of the Duke Of Wellington
is thus confirmed, who said In tho )use Of Lords.
after the successful alta on st. Jean d. Acre, In
ls4O, that IL must not be supposed that ships we're
I match for well defended batteries. The admirah
appear to have resolved to act upon this principle
and although hollow shot AID she'll will be thrown
against BomsTsupd at q long range, IL cannot be
their intention to attempt the reduction Of the place
by preaching the sea front. We have no doubt this
resolution Is perfectly consistent with sound judg.
| ment and with the rules of war.
| The operation IL therefore converted into Q dege
/ by land, and that this was the intention Of the
allied governments Is shown by the fact that fro0
10000 to y goo iniantry ana arslnesymen wsr s.
! two Of the ablest engineer officers Of the French
and Engish armies were reserved for this service.
| The troops were Ill landed ON the 9Th inst, On .
part of the island distant about three miles from
the fortress. The Russian garrison, which il sup
posed to consist OF $500 meg, made no attempt to
defend the adjacent coasts but retired withia tho
] wa L., having first set fire to the woods, which
might otherwise have supplied the enemy with
| timber, and to the villages, which might have
| furnished provisions. Toe islands, however, ere
said to contain about IA 900 head Of cattle. aad
| fish IL most abundant in the creeks or bays. The
French train of siege artillery arrived at Led
Surd some days after the troops, aud, In addition
to these pie ces Of ordnance, some Of the loSer
asck guns Q. the snips have nav been furnished Win
done with effect ct the siege Of st. Sebastian. We
expect, however, to learn both from Bomarsuod
and from Sebsstopol (when the attack on that
place has commenced) that the nature Of the sou
viii in both instances be found extremely unfsv0ra
BILE to ordinary siege operations The Alaai Islands
are nodues Of granite, barely covered with seanty
itself is built on foundation Of natural rock and
the detached forts on rocky mounds At any rata
the ground Is supposed to be too hard for the p
to be easily approached BY open trenches covered
have recourse to the imperfect shelter Of SAID
and sbattis, end tie place will not be sken vithout
serious loss we are correct In these data, II may
NC qurs..on for the engineers directing the siege,
mander in.chief, whether an attack on one Of tns
forts BY eecala ie is not more likely to prove suc
cessful than protracted siege.
The popularity Of places In 80 northern tat-
tude and 30 cold region Is, that they cauuot be
permanently invested. and the garrison koow that
II they can hold out for certain number OF
months, the approach Of winter must compel
nsse 70 h 70 Iass ~ s
be held during the ensaing winter That Is 8
question TO waich We eau give no positive ans xeg.
eometlmes happens, though not every year.
that the Sound Of Wattuskiftet, which divides thu
Alsnd Isles from Finland, IL comlletely frozen over
a. It WAS In 1909, whom Baxhovden's army or ,ssed
and ut their bivouac fires on the eolid q. Tho
| Russians, moreover, are better prepared than We
can be for winter campaign because they are used
TO The climate, and wouli be within . few miles
o. their base Of operations. To hold the AlanA
lAes with security during winter We ought - b
assured Of the 90 cooperation Of Sweden, Il least IN
81 r - that possession s concerned which 90 naoe-
" sheets the safety and Independence Of her own
| capital; for whatever be tie ultimate eject n
that The capture and possible destruction Of "a i'm
poTtant fortress, erected at vast exoeuse for tbs
purpose Of securing the dominion OF Russia not oulV
over Finland and the Gulf Of Bothnis but in nsS-
ner, over stockholm Itself Il an event Of the deopcst
interest TO the Seeds, nation. We are unwilling