New-York tribune., 1877-09-19
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN IN BULGARIA.

THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN IN BULGARIA.
Rarely has the history of any campaign run
so counter to the general expectation az that
of the Russian Army in Bulgaria. When war
was declared on the 2Sth of April last, even.
the most ardent sympathZers with Turkey, in
England or elsewhere, scarcely hoped for
more than a desperate and prolonged defence
on her part, terminating in defeat which
the superior weight of her antagonist must of
itself make inevitable The delay III the Rus
sian advance Only tended to strengthen this
impression; for it hinted at a preparation so
thorough, and a plan of operations so care
fully considered, as to bear down resistance all
the more speedily. The Danube was finally
crossed, at SistOva on the 9th of June; on
the evening of July 13, Gen. GhOurkO crossed
the Balkans; and in the meantime Rustchuk
had been fercely bOmbarded Biea occupied,
and even Rasgrad, on the Varna Railway,
threatened. Neither Mohcmet Ali on the east.
nor Osman Pasha on the west, bad cOncen-
tratcd sufficient force to check the tide of
triumphant invasion. From the LON to the
Vid, Bulgaria was occupied, Gen. Ghourko
was marching toward Adrianople, and Sultan
Hamid-fOr two days-senously Thought OF
transferring his government to Broussa, In
Asia Minor.
The two most favorable months of the season
have passed since then, and what is the situ-
alton of the Russian armies Losing, at last,
their heroic hold on the Shipka Pass, driven
back from the line Of the LON, held at bay
by Plevna, weakened by the terrific slaughter
of a dozen defeats and one victory, they
gather the best military strength of the
Empire from all other fields of the
war, and still wait for $4,000 Guards and
three more modified corps before ven
turing to resume the offensive! 1t seems
scarcely credible that the whole aspect of the
campaign should be so suddenly changed but
every recent movement of the Russians betrays
extreme caution, if not uneasiness, and every
movement of the Turks exhibits an energy and
confidence which, now that they have meas
ured their strength, can only be born of the
consciousness of victory. Add to this state of
affairs in Bulgaria the inaction in all other
ouarters,-the quiet in the DObrudia, the re-
linquishment of the campaign III Armenia, and
the absence of any operations in the neighbOr
hood of Widdin,-and it becomes evident that
the whole strength Of Russia has been cOncen-
trated within the diminishing triangle south of
the Danube. And here, although the three
Turkish armies, facing the apex and sides,
collectively contain no more men than the
Russians have massed in the interior position,
the latter are not able to engage either of the
three, separately, with any promise of success.
They have the very position which Frederick
the Great or Napoleon most desired: why is it
that they do not, or cannot, use its adj
vantages3
There is but one explanation. The Russian
officers in the field now say to one another:
"If our Generals were half as good as our sol
"diers. the war would be over already" 1t is
not probable that much real command is ex-
ercised by the Grand Duke Nicholas or the
Czarewitch but it is difficult to say how far
the mere fact of their commands interferes
with the authority of their executive officers.
That the latter are utterly incapable there Is
no longer any doubt. Mr. Forbes the unsur-
passed war correspondent of The London Daily
Aelrs, declares, in one of his last letters, that
during the advance from the Danube to the
Balkans, there was no reconnaissance Except
two or three hundred Cossacks) sent out along
either flank of the army; that Gen. GhOuFko
was allowed to push onward without being fol-
lowed by any supporting corps; that Plevna
and Lovatz instead of being Immediately oc-
cupied, were not even visited-in short, that
the invasion was conducted without any tech
meal military precautions being observed. In
the battles which followed, the Turks, instead
of being met upon an open field, where their
tactical inferiority would tell against them,
have been attacked from the front in earth
works, which the introduction Of breech-load-
ing rifles now makes almost impregnable.
Over and over again. the Russian soldiers
have been hurled against those walls of death,
only to prove themselves heroes, and to die.
Plevna, first left free for the Turks to possess,
was assaed in this way on the 29th of July,
and the Russians lost 5000 men. Their Gen
erals could devise nothing better than to re-
peat the same bloody experiment, and to-day,
after losing 12,500 more, they stand sullenly
and hopelessly at bay before the bitches of
Osman Pasha. Meanwhile, all their remaining
lines of occupation are weakened for the sake
of the attempt. Mehemet Ali is lowering along