Litchfield enquirer., 1878-01-10
The Fall of PlaTna.

\ siay and night. division and regmentai com uEaaiers were advised to De on the alert, and all the posts were doubled and trebled, These measures were taken on Friday night, but Sat urxsay passed without any movement being dis cernfh1e among the Turks. Osnan Pacha had, koxever. resolved upon a final effort to break - the coils rhsf surrounded him. Sunday pas sed in the same way. The Russians were aaxiOusiy on the watch with the usual amount Of artillery fire, to which the Turks have ncS replied for long time. For the last three CT four days the weather has been damp and cold with heavy broken clouds threaten ing rain. and about noon on Sunday the clouds thickened and the dark masses discharged theuaseiees in the first snow storm of the sea- $sa. By o'clock the ground was quite white, and the appearance of the country had con- pIstely changed I rode around the lines be- tween the h0ursOf3 and 5from Grivica, through RadisOya. to BrestOvec, on the Loftcha road. The sky wxsdark and lowering, but the atmos- phere. white with thickiy falling snow, through winch could becanght giimpses of Plevna, with many little columns of blue smoke rising over it. t. Hing of cooking dinners, and giving It wzrn- cosy, look, much unlike that ot a be- Eeawured city. The huts ofthe Russian soldiers zeTe soon white. the soldiers themselves going about iovousiy. some cooking their dinners, others gathered in groups, singing at the top ot ther v0ices a welcome apparently to the hrst EaowfaII Now and then the boom of gun, nuffief and indistinct like low growl, broke the s1iIE1ess as # came throug h the snow-laden air
 crossed the ravine at the foot of the Green Hill. where Skobeleff has built an excellent pIaak bridge connecting his lines with Zotoff's and Radis0vo. and proceeded up the little lat erzI rzvine, along which good artillery road has been constructed soon found myself on the Lortcaa road, near Brestovec ln the midst of a violent gust of snow and wind. The lights If BrsstOyec werebarely dscernable through the gloom. and had considerable difficulty in finding my way through the storm and the ob- scsIrity to OzndOI, Skobeleffs headquarters. A spv had itrss comein with the news that Osman had issued three days ratiOns to the troops, l5O cartridges a new pair of sandals to each man, and 10 all appearances the concentration would begin al once. i curious detail which he cited Mas that each soldier received small portion of oil for keeping his gun in order. At 10 o'clock another spy came in who reported that Osmag was concentrating near the bridge over the Nid The spy had come direct from Plev- nz and having given this information he dis appeared again i1 the darkness. 4 few mln- ufes laier there was a telegram stating that from the other side great many lights were seen moving abOot in Plevna,a an unusual thing. Evidently there was some movement on foot, and the spies were right
 Al three o'clock another brought news that the men of SkobelefTs command had posi- ton on the side of the Green Hill, and that the EriShina redoubts were being abandoned. He was very sure. he said, that all the positions zE0nz osIr side would shortly be abandoned Would he 20 along and lead the way into the kTiShina redOubts a: the risk of being bayonet- sd If his words should not prove true: Yes, he would. and orders were given by Skobe Eeff f0r the troops to begint to move cautiously fnEWari and feel their way with care. Sko- ssIefT ooiered the captured positions to be in- sszryrIv placed in a state of defence, in case the Turks repulsed and not yet ready to sur rensier should attempt to recapture them. The eTzv light If morning came. IL was cloudy and threatened more SHOW. Suddenly there there was the booming of thirty or forty guns spxzking almost together, followed instantly by that steady. crashing roll we have learned t0 kEsJw 90 well The battle had begun. The giAzf- after defending himself four months, huFiiaS shandeTiOli after thGnderb0lt upon his e1>1ieS, was now struggling though the mesh rs he had allowed 10 Oe thrown around him, and was tn his turn attacking the trenches and earthworks which he had taught his ene- mieS So well 10 defend IL was in the direc- Jioa 0f the bFi1ge over thc-Nid. on the Sofia nal and half an hours ride brought us in sS-hf 0f the conflict
 \ terrible and sublime spectacle presented Its-If tO OgIr view. The country behind Pev- Ha IS ! wide. open plain. into which the gorges lszIflng up tO Pievna opens out like funnel. The pIzirs Issin,led on the Plevna side by steep ruckg bluT or cliffs. along whose foot fiOxs the Nii From these cliffs. for a dis Sa8cr of two miles. burst here and there in quick irregular succession, angry flame that 3aSflef and disappeared and flashed out again ft Eas the artillery fire of the Turks and Rus SIzES. which from our point of view, appeared iasermiasiesI The smoke, running aroun in a circle toward the Vid. rose against the heavy clouds that hung right upon the horizon siIiie low ol the ground burst forth continuous tzIIS Of flame that rent the blackness of the clouds like flashes of lightning. Through the covering Ofthe smoke could be seen angry epits If fire thick as frvfiieS on tropical night Now and then through an irregular curving stream of fire We had indistinct glimpses of b1sfieS of men huTying tO and fro, horses, cat tie. caTTia-eS running across the plaln,. and ssuye all the internal crashing roll of the in- fAntry fire and the deep booming of more than I hundred guns
 Os1ian Pacha had during the night abandon e,l all his positions from Grivica to the Green Hill and concentrated the greater part of his =Fgny across tie Nid, over which he passed or two bridges one on the old and the other on the new one lately constructed. He took part of his artillery, some three batteries, and train Of about five hundred or six hundred car Tiages drawn by bullocks. He succeeded in getting his army, the artillery and part of the train. over by daybreak. The attack was di- rected agaius: the positions held by the grens- diers. nor h If u. So il road, wh )se line; ex- tended from the Coad to point opposite Op- Rnes where thsy were joiBe l by the Rou nan ian curving line through Susurla. It is said the attack was made with 20. 900 men, but dSu5t this. as there was really not roo Il for so many to deploy unless they had desce aded frum the heights of Opanes and taken the Rou- Inanian positions, and 1 have not heard that they did this At any rate the attack was a most brilliant and daring one. The Turks ad- yancct as far as they could under cover Of their wagons. while the Russians poured in a terrible ire on them from their Berdan breech- leaders. scarcely less destructive than the Pea body. and opened on the advancing line with shell and shrapnel The Turks then did a splendid deed of bravery, only equalled by SSOheleffs capture of the twofamous redoubts. They dashed forward with a shout upon the line of trenches held by the Sibrersky or Si- berian regiment swept over them like torna- dO. poured into the battery, bayoneted the ar- tillerymen, officers and men, who with desper- Ste herOisEn stood to their pieces to nearly a man, and seized the whole battery. The Si- breTSky regiment had been overthrown and nearly annihilated The Russians rallied inn glesiiatelv.
 General StrukOff, of the Emperor's staff, brought up fhe First brigade of grenadiers, Eao. led by their general-I forget his name, but the Russians will rememberit-flung them- selves upon the Turks with fury. A hand-to- hand fight ensned. Nearly all the Turks in the battle were killed Those in the flanking trenches open to the Russian fire had of course very hftie shelter and were soon overpowered and began retreat which, under the murder osEs fire sent after them, instantly became a flight Some took shelter behind the broken wagons. and returned the fire for a time; but the majority made for the deep banks of the Md. where they found ample shelter from the Russian shells and bullets They formed here behind the banks. and instantly began toreturr slle Russian fire
 It WAS now about half past 6, and the Turk ish snVtie was virtually repulsed, bat the bat tIe raged for four hours longer. About 1s o'clock the firing heyau in deminish ou hntl