The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-09-01
OAKLAND MD, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER /, 1877.
The Situation in Europe.

European drama of war. With the
retreat of the Russians behind the
Balkans closes the first phase of the
attempt to settle the Eastern queS-
ton by the desperate resort e., physi-
cal force. Tins is a convenient point
Tor rap d retrospect. let us briefly
recall the events as the action Of the
bloody drama has gone on since the
Is24th OF April. On that day the Rus
sian army began to cross the Pruth,
and in fortnight Russian troops to
thenunlber of something like 200, 900
were encamped on ROuman;an soil,
bcitherMtstlfe line of the Danube, or
between that and the Bpssarabian
frontier Little or nothing was heard
of TurkishnovementS. Six orspven
weeks elapsed, when the news came
that The Russians bad crossed the
Danube; anon they We're atTirnova;
then, finally, Nicopolis was taken,
and General GOurka made his gallant
advance through the Balkan Mount
aims to Kasanlik. OF Il suddenthe
tide turned. Kerim Pasha was dis
missed from the command of the
Turkish forces; Redif Pasha ceased
to be SeraSkier; Mehcmet Ali was
promoted to the chief command, and
the energetic and plucky O5man Pa.
sha and Suleinan Pasha appeared
upon the scene. \ bloody and de
cisive series of battles was fought at
PleYna; Osman won a great victory.
From that time the Russians We're
fated to submit to fast-succeeding dis
asteTs. They were forced to retreat
from Tirnova and Kasanlik. to raise
the seige Of Rustchuk, and to replace
offensive by defensive tactics.
In Asia, their discontinue was
even more rapid. They invested
Kars and Batoum, they took Aida
han and Bayazid, and they very seri-
Ously threatened Erzeroum and Trcb
izOnd. At first it seemed as if the
Nluscovite hosts were about to sweep
unresisted and triumphant across
Asia Minor. But here, too, Turkish
generaiShip was too much for them.
Mukhtar Pasha, who was at that
moment being threatened with a
cOurt-martial at COnstantinOple.
.&CGittruly showed himself to bpufnan
of genius. Awaiting himself of the
sore embarrassment caused to the
Russians by the Circassian revolt in
their rear, he swQoped down upon
the invaders, compelled them to re-
treat, reopened communications with
Kars, and with some difficulty re-
duced Bayazid, repulsipg the enemy
to the foot Of Mount Ararat.
Thus the situation is, that both
the Russian campaigns have been
failures, Ola magnitude only to be
estimated in the future. The army
in Europe has fallen back to the vicin-
ity Of the Danube. The army in Asia
is rather in the attitude of defending
the frontier Of Russian Tran-cauca3ia
than ofattempting to penetrate again
to ErZeroum.
1t is result which has naturally
taken the world by surprise. Every
body expected, and none more conf
IDENTIFY than the Russians themselves,
that the war was to be rapid and de-
cisive-another campaign like that
Of 1866. The amazing apathy of the
Turks at the beginning, the confusion
that reigned at Constantinople, the
divisions in council and the emptj-
ness of the Ottoman treasury, served
tostrengthen this general impression.
Why has it been so signally falsifed?
We apprehend that two prominent
causes have operated, with others,
to bring about the Russian defeat.
The power and pluck of the Turks
were under-estimated the ability of
the Russian generalship was Over-es-
tinated. 1t seems now clear that
the Grand Duke Nicholas committed
the error of suppOsing the Turks in
capable making a vigorous defense,
and the other error of being in too
much of hurry to get beyond the
/ Balkans, before the Turkish quadri-
lateral was captured in his rear. In
nearly every case where the Turks
have been victorious they have pre-
vailed over superior numbers. The
moment the Turks won a decisive
victory in Northern Bulgaria, it was
certain that not only GOurka's line
of retreat would be threatened, but
the very existence of his army. OF
the frightful atrocities which have
happened and are still happening, it
is impossible to speak without horror
and Indignation; and there is too
much reason to believe that the
weight ofthis mighty guilt weighs
with equal heaviness upon the Rus
sian and the Turk. Wholesale mas
sacre is desolating fair lands meant
by the Divine maker to be the fruit