Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-02-05
THE STORY OF THE WAR.
Leading Incidents of the StruycIe
Which Has Just Reen l'O,rcl udeG


which Has Just Been COsrcl uded.
The RuSso-TurkSh war of 1878 is properly
only the development of the troubles of lS76,7
N the hheT1Se sg and Serbia year ago
the ConStantlnope Conference had begun its
labors. On the 18th of January il submitted
IT'S .Irreducible minimum" which required
small addition of territory TO Montenegro.
peace with Serbia on the status quo ante, the
nomination by the Porte, in concert with the
powers, OF Governors of Bosnia Herzegovina
and Bulgaria, and the appointment by the
powers of commissioners to Superntend the
| carrying out of the reforms. These proposals
Inconsistent with the independence, integrity
and dignity of the empire" and on the 2Nh
| the conference was declared to be at an end.
Mr.. Layard succeeded Sir Henry Elliot at the
Porte and Turkey Welded to the powers
in the matter of the peace with Serbia
The conclusion of this peace was Midhat Pa
~ he was banlshed, and Edhem PaSha, the
mask OF MahmOud Damad, succeeded him i'm
| the Grand NiZierShip. On the same day Prince
GOrtschakOff inquired of the powers what ac-
| ton they intended to take because of the
Porte's action, provisional declaration of
war, since no other power was prepared to
| ION IN The coercion of Turkey. On the 3lst of
March protocol was signed at London by the
representatives of England, Russia, France
Germany, Austria and Italy, with an addition
by Lord Derby withdrawing his signature
should Russia declare war, an event hardly
doubtful despite the vague phrases of the pro
tOcol This protocol was Immediately trans
lultttu W Dy tOTlScnak0G, who made
an ultlmatum of it, On the 10th of April the
Turks rejected it, on the sd the Russian
troops, crossed the Roumanian frontier and
| next day war was formally declared by the
Gar, who had already maSsed large army i'm
BeSsarabla, in the Immediate Heighborhood of
| the frontier. At the same time an army in
Vaded Armenia. On the 29th ROumania ap-
proved the convention already concluded
with Russia by her Prince, and on the Both
England issued her formal proclamation of
neutrality.
On the 5th of May Earl Derby's dispatch de-
| claring that England neither concurred i'm nor
| approved Russia Is action, was received at St
dressed note to Count SchouyaIof defining
| the british interests, which England must
defend II they were affected by war. On the
tlan 1ne russians t We're reRulsed with loss at
! OIlilOn on the Eastern question was defeated
| by S54 to 223, and the other four were with
| drawn: On the 10Th the Circassian risings be-
| gan, and on the 18th the Russians Stormed Ar
| dahan. On the Both Prince GortSchakoff re-
| piled to Lord Derby that the Emperor would
not extend the war beyond what was required
| Tor the declared object for which he took I'D
| arms.
| ON the 18th of June Suleman Pasha sue
Nicsics ON the 2lst Fagi Pasha defeated Mel.
| ikOtf with severe loss and the Russians retired
on kars. On the I'D the Russians crossed the
| later they crossed at Simnitza July 18th their
cavalry, under Gourko, occupied TfrnOva On
the 10Th. though they relieved Bayazid, for
compelled to raise the siege q Kars.
The removal of Abdul Kerim and Redif Pa
sha July ID preluded more active operations.
! GOurkO crossed the Balkans by the Hahn Bog
haz Pass. On the 18th NikopoliS fell into Rus
sian hands. On the 18th the Shipka Pass was
occupied fss After some ghng NeS day how
| check in the defeat of Gen. Schilder Schuld
ners attack on OSman Pasha'S position at
Plevna with heavy loss, while on the 3lst Kru-
! assault nf
| aUOU men. NeNtday august ID, the Russians
after defeating Reouf Pasha at Eski- Sagra,
sha This series of reverses induced them to
send forward the whole Imperial Guard on the
| 18th. but matters did not mend materially, as
| on the Esd the CeSarwitch'S army after two
| days engagement had to retreat to the left
| bank of the LON. Suleiman PaSha. however
was now engaged in his desperate ten days
Asia Loris Melikoff, en- the 2sth inflicted a Sc
we're defeat on Muktar Pasha at Kill Tepe
| The ROumanian forces had Joined the Russians
before Pleyna, and on the 3lst two days at
| thence, ended i'm the retreat of the asSailantS,
| while the 0esarewitch's advanced guard
fought warm but indecisive battle with Me-
September did not open inauspiciouSly for
the Gar, as on the Sd his troops took Loftcha,
while on the Sth Nicscs the oft revictuaIled
| surrendered to his plucky and effective allies,
| the MOntenegrinS. But three days later the
Russo R0umanlan forces butted their heads
| again hurled back with tremendous slaughter.
| After this the besegers were content to in
| woke the genius of TOdleben. and surrounded
the army of OSman Pasha with earthwOrks to
wait for famine TO do its work. Fighting stiil
| continued in the Shipka Pass, where on the
| 18th Fort st. Nicholas fell 1t was, however,
| retaken Immediately 10y the Russians. On the
2lst there was a keenly contested drawn bat
| tie fought at TcherkOvna, near Biela. On the
| Path Mehemet Ali began his retreat from the
! Banlcka LON. He was removed ten days
later, and Sueiman Pasha placed in command
| of the Army of the Danube. October %,
| Mukhtar Pasha was hOtly engaged at Kill
| Iepe; on the S;h he abandoned his position
there, and fell back to the Aladja Dagh,
| whence he was driven with great loss on The
| 18th. GourkO, at the other extremity of the
| long line of operations, was also successful,
| for on the 2ith he took strong position near
| GOrni Dubnik, on the Sophia road, and on the
| 2Sth at Telieho. Mukhtar Pasha was being
Der his position at Devil oyun. near Ere
rOum, was forced, and on the 18th came the
beginning of the end with the fall of Kars,
| stOrmed by the Russians, and taken after
| twelve hours fighting.
This great success was followed by some
| minor ones. On the 2lst the Roumanians. who
had all through the war displayed a courage i'm
/ the field and an energy in council that were
| cOnspicuously lacking in the Serbs and Greeks
took Rahoya, and on the 2ad EtroPol fell into
| the hands OF the Russians. The efforts OF the
army for the relief of Plevna, Of which Me-
| hemet Ali had taken command November 10,
proving Intellectual, Osman Pasha, who made
| the fatal mistake of shutting himself up i'm
| Plevna, from which he might perhaps have eS-
| capped even so late as the end of October, made
| on the 10th of December SOrtie i'm force and
| an Intellectual attempt to break through the
| Russian lines, the fight ending i'm the Surren
| der of his army. This second blow was re-
| garded by the Sultan as decisive and on the
| 18th he issued circular letter to the powers
| requesting their mediation. Two DAYS later
| the Serbians, at last gaining courage, declared
war and crossed the frontier, while Suleiman
Pasha fell back, allowing the Russians TO reOc-
| cupy Elena On the 18th the Serbians ear
ried st. Nicholas Pass by assault; on the
24th they took Ak Palanka, and on the 2sth
PIrOt, the last place, after two days stubborn
| hghting. GOurko'S advanced guard turned
the Turkish left flank on the Etropol Balkans
| on the 18th, the last noteworthy operation of
| the year. On the same day England announced
| that at the Sultan's request she had consented
| ito approach the Emperor of Russia with the
| view of bringing about negotiations for peace"
| On the LIST of January England addressed a
| note to Russia that met with an unsatisfactory
| reply on the 4th. On the 9Th the Turks pro-
| posed a truce with view to discussing the
| conditions Of peace, but the Grand Duke
| Nicholas replied two days later that he should
not treat till he was in Adrianople. On the
| 18th John Bright delivered speech still IA
| y0ring nOn-interyention. On the 10th the first
definite news as to the position of Austria was
made public in the declaration that she would
inSic In iosv tn.