The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1877-10-13

AN often cited authority for the strategic aspect
and military view of the Passes of the Balkans is
General Count Won Moltke-a good authority we
should think, and much on this sub
ject. may be extracted from the Counts History
of the Russian campaigns against Turkey in
1929. In the work in question, the Count says
that the Shipka Pass is easier to force than any
other on the range. This may be very true, as
far az the Passes on the direct route from the
Danube to Hadrianople are concerned. But, we
think it will subsequently transpire that the long
est way round is often the shortest way home, and
that the Russians made o great mistake in not
crossing the Danube much higher up, below
Rahova, with the river Isker on their left flank,
and the river of VratZa on their right flank, thus
advancing between those two rivers to Sofa, there
turning the broken Balkan ranges, where the
ground is much more practicable for the march Of
an army, than al the Shipka Pass, or any other, in
that part Of the ranges, and pushing on from Sofa
to Samakova on the South side Of the Balkans,
from which place there is only about 50 miles
march down the valley OF the river Karasu, to
Tatar Bazar1ik. the terminus of the Railway to
HadrinOple, and thence by railroad to CONSTANT
nople. OF course, we do not know the plans of the
Russian Commander, but, when he met with his
terrible defeat at Plevna, he seems to have been
marching straight for Sofia, but too far from the
East. Osman Pasba came from the Upper Danube
with troops from Widin and Kalafat fortresses to
meet him at Plevna. And a sad and bloody meet
ing il proved for the Russian Commander, since
more bloodily repeated, The Times says that " Of
course, every Russian officer reads Moltke'sr so
that 1t seems tnat Aoltke's Balkan plan Is the STRAIT
<gic guide OF the Russian COMMANDERS. If this be
true, Moltke's Balkan strategic topography seems
to have got his Russian scholars and General
RadetskY into an ugly cA de sdcg To explain
some references to Passes of the Balkans in
telegraphic dispatches, we may remark that the
same Pass has often two or more names,
at different places. Thus the Kazan Pass, so
called from a village of that name, is a de6le
leading into the Dobrol Pass. The Helena Pass
is so named from a village called Helena, midway
between Turnova and the Demir Kapu Pass.
Again, the Kalofer Pass, so named from the viii
lage ef Kalofer on the Tondcha river is o con-
tinuation Of the Shipka Pass. The LON river
flows down from the Balkans by two main forks to
the Danube at Rustohuck. Shumla stands
between the head waters of these two forks, the
most western Of which forms what is called the
Turkish line Of the LON while Rasgrad stands
on the eastern fork, about half way between
Schumla and Rustchuk, with which 1t is connected
by railway. In conclusion we may recall that
long centuries before Moltke wrote about the
Balkan Passes, a mighty army made up Of the
ancestors of the old IriEh and Scotch Gaels, Cam
brians, Rritons aud their kinsolk in Ganl-
marched from western Europe to Byzantium and
the Hellespont crossing the Balkans or HBmus
mountains it Is supposed by some writers near
where Sofa now stands, and passing over into
Asia founded a mixed race of Gauls and Greeks,
called the Gallo -gr@ci, subsequently, named Gala
tians, to whose descendants st. Paul wrote his
Epistle. The ground about Sofa is undoubtedly
the easiest point for any army marching from the
Upper Danube to Constantinople to get through
the Balkan ranges.