Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1877-05-12
A REVIEW OF THE SITUATION.


Russian aud Turki.h Military Re- ourcs
ConlpMrcd..Reintlvcs strength Of the llO'
tile Arnlrs.-Navai supremacy Of III
Tmrks..The Present and the Past.
Since the destruction of tho janis
saries there have never been wantin
foreign officers to give the Turks tn
benefit of their science. The army no'
contains Germans and Hungarians i
high places and the fleet is commando
by IN Englishman. But even the ser
vices which these strangers are able +
render are of small Importance in com
parison with the aid which moderl
science affords to the Turk. II is char
ncteristic Of the present ago that NOR
scientific skill, rarcr qualities OF scien
tifc invention, have been applied to tn
destruction of mankind in war than h
any other purpose whatever Turre
ships and gunboats, artillery and rifles
shells and cartridges, are marvels OF in
genuity and workmanship; and so grea
has been the consumption that not onl,
governments produce them, but private
firms and companies amass fortunes b.
supplying them to belligerents. The
Turks have had their share Of the advan
tage. England has furnished them witt
iron-clads; in double sense, indeed, fol
English investors found the money, ant
then Abdul Azz ordered the vessels in
English dock yards. Arms and mate
rails of war have been supplied from
every side; the great Krupp arms the
Turkish fortresses with his guns, the
Americans send rifles by the hundred
thousand and cartridges by the hundred
million. The consequence is that the
two armies stand in material respects on
military equality. In regard to the
number of their troops, the two powers
will enter on the war with no great dis
proportion; and if everything is to be
finished in single campaign, then Tur-
key and Russia may be said to be evenly
matched. The difference between them
is that Turkey has her whole force in
the field, the Mahommedan population
is in arms, and there is nothing behind,
while Russia, with population outnum-
b ,ring her enemy many times, might
bring reinforcements into the field sea-
son after season, surprising no interior.
ence from without.
But the most important change in the
military relations of the two powers
arises from the present superiority Of
the Turks at sen. The destruction of
Sebastopol has proved to be heavy
blow to the Russians. Their Black sea
feet has not only never recovered it's
former Importance, it has hardly renewed
its existence. The Russians are said to
have two Popoffkas, circular iron-clads,
and some small vessels, but nothing that
can keep the sea before Hobart Pasha's
powerful fleet, which consists Of nine or
ten large iron-clads, and is ready to leave
the Bosphorus at Il days notice. The
conditions of the war will thus be essen
TALLY changed. In the war OF 1928 the
Russians had the command of the sea,
and their vessels could bring reinforce
ments and supplies to Kustendie> Varna
and other Turkish ports on their line of
march. In the present war the advan-
tages arising from naval supremacy will
be on the other side. The Turkish fleet
may, perhaps, not achieve much against
the Russian towns on the coast; it may
fire into one OF two of them if not pre-
vented by torpedoes, but the Turks will
have too much employment for their
land forces to be able to make diversions
The superiority Of the Turks at sea,
however, will force the Russians to
transport everything by land from the
Pruth to the successive points of opera
ton, and drag Mt each remove length
ening chain. We ME quite prepared to
find that the measures Of the Russians
have been carefully taken they have
not been planning this war so long for
nothing; but when everything, from the
shot and shell to the soldiers daily IA
ton, has to be carried on carts there is
n real hindrance to rapid operations Oh
the part OF so vast n force. We assume
that the superiority of the Turks in the
Black sea will not be endangered by the
appearance of any other Russian fleet
The naval forces of Russia in the Baltic,
if brought to the scene, would probably
be able to turn the scale, and we may
certainly expect to hear that the car has
fleet to the Mediterranean.
This might find shelter in the ports of
friendly Mediterranean power, and oper-
ate against the Turkish coasts, but it
would be daring enterprise to attempt
the passage of the Dardanelles. -London
Times.