The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-01
RUssIA's DEFEAT IN ASIA.
Mukhtar Pashas strategy, and the Causes
Which Made IL successful.


A correspondent OF the Philadelphia
Press writes from Constantinople:
When the Russians entered Asiatic
Turkey the country outside Of the from
tier fortresses was in defenseless
more than six months. Tt is place Of
great strength, and would, no doubr,
have held out for that period. Bayazid.
Ardahan, and other strongholds, were
weak in garrisOns and armaments. but
they were capable Of holding an enemy
in check for some time il properly de-
Tended. All, however, proved too weak.
to Withstand the Russian onset except
Kars. 1t was the aim OF the Russians
to decoy Mukhtar Pasha into general
battle before the walls of Kars. Had
they succeeded in this they would have
undoubtedly defeated him, owing
to their superiority of numbers and
airy. In the latter he was
very weak, and with the former he was
lily supplied. AS the Russians advanced
he retired. determining not to deliver
battle until he was reinforced. His
army was badly handled at Delibaba
and other points, but he wisely with
drew his shattered columns toward Err
zeroum. Soon after reinforcements be-
gan to arrive, and then he threw out his
forces in such way that the Russians,
fearing they would be outfanked and
their line OF communication broken,
slowly fell back. When it was known
that their invading march was arrested,
and that they were turning on their
heels, the confidence of the Turks re-
vived. Troops from Bagdad, Mossul,
Diarbekir, and Aleppo and neighboring
provinces marched to Erzeroum. That
place. which before was incapable of
standing siege, was in a short time
surrounded by solid lines of ramparts,
and supplies were thrown into it in pro-
fusion. Now its walls are mounted with
one hundred and twenty cannon. Eng
lish officers have directed the construc-
ton Of the new Notifications. Next to
Kars, Erzeroum has become the strong
est place in Asia Minor. In addition.
all the mountain defiles have been for
tilted, and from Kars to Trebizond every
important point has been strengthened
to such a degree that it would require
an immense army to make any sensible
impression on the Asiatic lines. The
Turkish army Of Armenia is now two
hundred and fifty thousand strong, 1t
is unfortunate for the Russians that
their campaign in Asia has been SO
badly conducted. They had great OBJ
stacles to contend with-lofty eleva-
JULIE, SuOW-ClttO SlOpG6 dusl SuuWlJS, d
desert country without fuel, sterile, wide
tracts uninhabited, and no regular
roads. In a days march often not
human being was to be seen. At one
time the army was in a deep valley;
the preeipitous sides Of 's thss
mountain ranges, rising to plateaus air
thousand feet above the sea level, and
afterward descending to the bottom Of
dark ravfnes, into which the mountain
torrents poured their foaming waters.
It was a continual ascent and descent,
and alienation Of temperature from the
burning heat OF the low levels to the
freezing atmosphere OF the mountain
SUBMITS. Sometimes the hostile armies
met in deadly conflict in the region OF
the clouds and battled in the midst Of
the warning elements. As many men.
almost, fell from exhaustion and sank
to their last sleep in the mountain soli-
tudes as were killed in battle. Had the
Russians been able to hold the country
as far as Erzeroum, they could have laid
claim to it by right OF conquest in the
treaty Of peace. AS it is, they have not
gained a foot Of ground in Asiastic
Turkey. Unless they can raise new
army Of at least three hundred and fifty
thousand men, strongly supported by
field artillery and cavalry, it will be
useless to attempt another invasion of
Turkish Armenia.