Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-01-03
WAS osmAH A GREAT eEnEsAL7

Gen. hIcClella" Hints that lie Was Not.
Consequences OF the Fall Of Plevna.
In article OH the Capture Of Kars and the
Fall Of Plevna," in The North American
Review Gen. George B Mcclellan says:
Oman was treated by the car with de
gree Of courtesy and consideration justified,
perhaps BY his ob-tinate courage, but ce,-
tainly not BY the inhuman brutality which
constantly characterized the conduct of his
troops toward the wounded Russians who
Tell into their hands.
We do not yet know with efficient a,cu-
racy the means of Orman's disposal, or all
the circumstances which surrounded him, to
Justify a final judgement upon the merits of
his defense from a professional point Of view.
He certainly deserves Il e credit of o,.tinate
sallantry, but it nov appears more like the
conduct Of a wild beast at bay than that Of q
skillf,ll general. He selected his position
we'll and fortified it with skill, but it does
not appear that he took advantage of his
successes, which we're due more to the blum,
ders Of his a%ntagonists than to his "
merits.
This much is certain: from tine moment
operations. when Imeretinski becsme chief
If the stof. when SkohelnF received ar
important command, and Gnurko was
placed 10 charge Of the operations on the
Sophia road-from the moment, in fact.
when knowledge and skill dire,te the OF
erations Of the Russisns-Osman became
helpless as q chilli in their hands, and his
fate was sealed. Plevna had no such value
In itself rs to justify the loss of an army In
holding It q few weeks longer. If Osinan
had been q great or even q good general. he
would have abandoned his position tho mo.
Eent he found the Soph,a road seriously
endangered, for his army would have been
Of infinitely more use elsewhere. With
P'evna and the army which held il, the line
Of the Balkans has fallen. The weather
usually encountered at this season will, M
doubt, offer serious obstacles to the Rus.
sians, but they are not insuperab.e, and +:
Is net probable that active operations will
he suspended. The army of the czarowi,z
has shown itself fully capable Of masking
the quadrilateral. 1t is not only possible.
hu, probable that we will soon hear of the
fall vt Sophin, the occupation Of Phillip.
popol,s. and IN advsnce in force on Adrian
ople. This will oblige Suleiman Pasha
tn move with at least a potion Of bis
f"rce to the succor of Adrianople snd the
capital. in which case the whole Of The
S'llIuSuu6 WI tuC tLdtuWHZ AOu Il Nmef-
man will not be required for the reduction
Of the fortresses north Of the Balkans. and
4 part can reinforce the active army in Ru.
melia. The nature Of ,be fo,tresses Of the
quadrilsteral is such that armies, not mere
earr!sons If moderate strength, are pecessa.
~ to defend them.
II a large Russian army advances into
Rumelia. as it readily may, the fate of Tur
key must be determined under the wallis ot
Adrianople or in front of the lines of Blu.
| vuk Chekmedje. and. in the present coudi.
ton If the once formidable empire Of the
Osmanlis. it need surprise no one to hear of
the virtual abandonment IF all the region
north of the Balkans. in order to concen.
trate 10 Rumelia for a last desperate effort
to hurl back the invaders.
Should events prolong the war into
another summer campaign, the Turks have
not much to gain by the delay. Their re-
sources are nearly exhausted. while those
1T Russia are net. The Servians. the
Montenegrins. and the Greeks
will occupy them so fully on the west that
the Russians and Roumanians can devote
the entire strength Of the main army to the
direct operations against ~Constantinople.
From their vantage ground in Armenia, il
will be perfectly practicable for the Rus.
slams to conduct a campaign in Anatol,a,
which. even ifit does not actually lead to
Scuiari, will at least completely p~araly.e
the Turks in that quarter, and deprive them
Of the large resources with which tina,
region ha. always furnished them. 1t nov
seems probable that nothing short of foreign
interference-and that in the shape ef very
numerous and strong battalions and a form.
liable navy-can save them. There is only
one power,, ifthere be even one, that has any
deposition to interfere, and it is doubtful
whether other and stronger powers will
permit that interference. Ii would appear
to he wise for the Turks to make peace
promptly, and on the best terms they can,