Ellsworth American., 1877-08-02
Granite Hall, Augusta, Thar-day. August
9th, 1872 af IL A. N,
The Wsr-Eonclusiops.

Il i now about Va weeks since the Rus
slams began TO file across she pontoon
bridges at Galatz and Sistova They have
invested Rusichuck aud Silistria, the for
tresses on the water { ont OF the Bulgar-
iau Quadr.ateral. They have captured
Nik0poli, and Tirnova, and have driven
the Turks out Of the Sbipka defiles in the
Balkan. They command tAe shortest
load from Danube to Adrianopre. 90 one
flank their advance has been checked at
Pieyna, but on the other they have occu-
pied Osmau Bazaar, and in front they have
beaten back SuleimAn's army. Although
there has been no decisive battle, the Rus
slams have gained many strategical advan-
tAGes. Without referring TO these opera
lions in detail, we may draw the following
conclusions:
1. The Russian staff are adopting the
German tactics Of massibg their forces.
They have concentrated seven army corps
on their direct line OF operations between
Danube aud the Tundja Valley. The
Ninth Corps, which formed the extreme
Sistova, and is now operating against the
Turkish left wing. The Thirteenth Corps
which was concentrated st Galatz when
the first passage of the Danube was made,
and the Eleventh Corps which was in
camp between Olteuitza and Hirsova, are
now investing Rustchuck. The Fourth
Corps, which at that time WAS crossing
the Pruth, has Joined the Eighth, Tenth
and Twelfth Corps on the main road, be-
tween Sistova and the Balkan. The re-
serves are the Fifth and Sixth Corps and
4 portion of the Seventh Corps, The only
isolated column is the left wing, which
has been marching through the Dobrudjs
and is now laying siege 10 SIistria. This
force consists OF the Fourteenth Corps.
and possibly a portion OF the Seventh
Corps. IL now draws its supp lies from
Roumana, and will be able to cooperate
with the main army after the fall of Sllis.
trIa. We have shown that seven of the
eleven army corps are now massed on
direct line Of operations 100 miles long,
- the crow flies. This main army has an
available strength OF at least 24O. 900 men.
II forms great wedge dividing the Turk
ish camps at shuml4 and Widdn. The
columns at Rustchuck, Osman Bazaar
Pleyna, Tlrnova anG kasanlik have COM
mon base of supplies, and can be concen-
trated IN any emergency. Iu taking q
REV road to Constautinople the Russian
STAFF have adopted the system of massing
their forces and crushing tie enemy By
sheer weight.
III. There is a lack OF energy at the Rus
sian headquarters. The motive force,
which brought every cog and wheel of the
German military system into play and IN ade
the army the most tremendous as well as
the most complicated machine in the an.
mails Of var. is wanting at Tirnova. The
troops march well, but there is a lack OF
ego" at the centre. Metz was invested on
the day after the battle of Gravelotte, but
il was three weeks after the passage of the
Danube before Nikopolis fell and still
another week before land-batteries were
constructed behind Rustchak. The DELAYS
GdCA eluC VI bauuUt al sitDplS III
explicablc. The staff have learned the
modern tactics, but not the German science
of war. They do not know how to feed
and move large masses of troops.
III. The efficiency of the Russian caval-
ry is very noticeable. The most brilliant
movement Of the campaign has been Gen.
eral Go1rkho's dash across the Balkan,
his raid upon the railroad, and his subse-
quent attack upon kssanlik, at the south
ern gate of the Shipka Pass. The Co.'S
sacks have secured the country south of
the Balkan, and thrown Adrianople and
Constantinople into a panic. In every
previous war the Turkish cavalry has been
superior to the Russian. The first battle
ia the campaign of 1928 was a cavalry en-
gagement, in which the Russians were
routed. They had mounted heavy men on
big horses. while the Turks had put light
weights on small. well-broken Arabian
stations Mighty cuirassiers like Keller
mann's were not adapted for operations in
Bulgaria. and the Turkish lighthouse hung
upon their tanks and soon was worrying
their rear-guard. Since the Crimesn war,
the Russians have reorgsnized this brancn