Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-07-28
KARS AND IT'S DEFENSES.
An Engineers Description of the
Famous Asian Citadel,
From the Pail Mall Gazette June 26.

From the Pail Mall Gazette June 26.
The following account of the fort
ifcations round Kars is taken from
very detailed description of thu
fortress recently printed in the Rus
sian Invalide: The fortress of Kars
is situated upon a high mass of rock
known as the Karadagh, formed by
a spur jutting ON from SagnanlU
range. Naturally a strong position.
the Karadagh directly bars the road
down the valley of the Kars-T -Tschai
and the route from the Russian from.
tier to Erzeroum, and consequently
has always been justly esteemed by
the Turks as one of the most impor-
tant bulWarks for the defense of their
Asiatic possessions against a Russian
invasion. After every campaign,
therefore, the defenses of Kars have
been strengthened, and of late years
! especial attention has been given by
the Turkish Government to improve
the Notifications on the Caucasian
side of the eaceillte. The experience
! gained during former campaigns, in
all of which the siege of Kars has
always formed a prominent in
cident, has been utilized. Forts of
considerable size and formidable
profile, of a permanent or at least
provisional character, have been con-
structed at points where on former
occasions slight field-works, thrown
up in haste to meet the eXigencies
of the moment, have proved valua-
bic despite their comparative weak
ness, and the new Notifications have
been armed with powerful ordnance.
The result of the labor which has
been thus bestowed upon them sue
cesSively making those points
which have been found to be weak,
is that at the present time the fort
ress of Kars consists of a citadel, an
ancient construction, but which has
been restored and repaired and no
fewer than twelve groups of de-
tached works. Of these, five lie on
the right, the remaining seven on
the left bank of the Kars-Tschai,
communication between the two di-
visions being established by means
of three stone bridges across the
river.
FoRTIFICATIoNs ON THE RIGHT.
The works on the right bank are
the following: On the heights
of the Karadagh, 1900 metres to
the northeast of the citadel, lies
Fort Arab, of Karapatlak, traced on
an irregular figure, with the gorge
closed by a defensible barrack. The
left flank of the work rests on the
precipitous bank of the Kars-Tschai,
and commands Fort Inglis ON the
left of the river. To the north the
valley is swept by the fort. In adj
vance of and parallel to the right
face is an OutWOrk which, like the
main work itself and its gIacis, is
formed of earth brought from a dis
tance, the rocky nature of the
ground rendering deep excavations
difficult. The profile of the parapet
is as follows: Command, 4.2 me-
tres; thickness of that of the main
work, L metres, and of that of the
outwork IL metres; length of crest
of main work, 6O6 PAGES; of out
work, 80 PAGES. The second work,
Fort Karadagh, lies 1,120 metres to
the southeast of the fort described
above. Its glacis is swept, like that
of Fort Arab, by both artillery and
musketry fire. It's crest line is 1,51S
PAGES in length. The command of
its parapet is about 3 metres, its
thickness metres. Like Fort
Arab, again, it has no bitches, being
built of earth brought from a dist
ance. In advance of it are two out
works, commanded by a battery
in the fort. The third work, Fort
Chafis-Pasha, lies in the plain on the
south Of the Karadagh, /, ,620 metres
from the fort of the latter name, and
is a square Fashioned fort, with ma
sonry bOmb-prOOfs and expensive
magazines and covered way. Each
side Of the square on which the bas-
toned fronts are traced is 229 metres
in length. The parapet has COM
mand of 2.7 metres, a thickness of
6.3 metres; the total length of the
crest line being 1,594 PAGES. The
fourth work, Fort Kanli, is $500 me-
tres distance from Fort Chafis, and
consists of three independent works
connected together by a parapet, the
whole surrounded by continuous
ditch. The total length Of the crest
line amounts to 2,163 PAGES. The
height of the parapet is 6.3 metres,
its thickness 10 metres, the width
of the ditch SO, and its depth 1.S
metres. The fifth and last work on
the right is Fort Suwari, 1, ,450 met
res from Fort Kanli, and is a field
work of no great strength, construc-
ted in 1866, since which date it has
been but little improved.
DEFENsEs ON THE LEFT.
On the left bank come the follow
ing Notifications The battery
Tschim, or Ted Charab, is designed
to sweep the valley of the Kars-
Tschai to the west of and above the
town. Constructed of earth carried
to the spot, it has no bitches. Its
parapet is from 81 to SO metres in
height, and 3.4 metres in thickness.
Fort Veli-PaSha, l, $50 metres from
the last described work, and $50 me-
tres from the citadel, consists of
three Fashioned fronts, thegOrge be-
ing closed by a defensible barrack,
and lOOphOled wall. The length of
the front is 9.2 metres, and of the
fianks 56 metres. The thickness
of the parapets is GA metres, its
height 10, the width of the ditch
6.3, and its depth 81 metres, The
total length of crest line amounts to
335 PAGES. Fort Inglis is an in
closed Iunette, 900 metres distant
from Fort Veil, and 1 ,220 from Fort
Arab. Its parapet is only arranged
for defense by musketry. Its COM
mand is 81 metres. its thickness 4.2,
the width of its ditch 6.3, its depth
IL metres, and the length of its
crest line 262 PAGES. Fort Muchlis
lying l ,060 metres from Fort Inglis,
and ,040 meters from Fort Arab, is
an irregular lunette, open at the
gorge, situated on the Tschakmack
plateau, where this latter falls sleep
lily into the Kars-Tschai. The par
apet has command of 2.7 metres,
a afthicknesa of 6.8, and the length of
the crest line is 429 PAGES. Fort Las
Tepeci, or Tschakmack, situated on
a rocky summit of the plateau, COM
mands the entire neighbOrhOOd. 1t
consists of three separate batteries,
of which thecentre one is somewhat
salient. All the batteries are sur
rounded by a common glacis. The
thickness of the parapet is 10 met
res, its command SO metres, the
front and outer batteries rs, and of
the centre 68 metres in length.
OTHER WORKS.
Fort Tich-Tepeci lies 1,120 metres