Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-01-02
RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.
Their Piety, Bravery, Discipline, and FL
deity TO Duty.
fUarner


fatherland, attachment to the fatherland.
unlimited confidence in his chiefs. very
strong esprit de corps, and faculty OF en-
during payly and naturally the great
est privati0ns-such are the most marked
characteristics Of the Russian soldier.
To these traits must be added re-
markable bravery and a rare contempt
of death, combined with naive kind
heartedness and gentle and indulgent
disposition. The Russian soldier is distln-
guished by good humor that never aban-
dons him, even in the most difficult mo-
ments. by his brotherly understanding
with his comrades. and by his gay and con-
tented way of facing all the DEGREES OF
fate. Obedience is so deeply rooted in the
mind of the Russian soldier that during
my thirty years experience Of the army
do not remember to have witnessed one
single case Of insubordination, either III
times of peace or in times of war.
The Russian soldier dies at his post. |
| have seen him III winter on sentry duty on
| the heights of Shipka die standing sur
rounded with snow. and transformed
| literally into statue of ice | have seen
| him die on the march strlding over the
sandy desert. and yielding up his last
breath with his last step; / have seen him
| die of his wounds on the battlefield or In
| the hospital, at q distance OF three thou
sand miles from his native village-and IN
these supreme moments ] have always
| found the Russian soldier sublime.
Although a child of the plain, where his
| eve rarely describes the most modest hill,
| we see HIM boldly scale the topmost sum-
mits of the Caucasus and climb the rocks
| and glaciers Of the Thian-Shan. fighting all
| the time He feels at home everywhere,
whether in the steppes OF the fatherland
| in the tundras of Siberia, or the mountains
and deserts of Central Asia. He has an ex
| e.. ..f hfmCGlf a
| ease wherever he may be, even III places
where others would die of hunger and
| thirst.
have seen the Russian soldier at home
| in time of peace. or during truces IN the
enemy's country. rocking the peasants
child in the village where he was stationed;
have seen him bivouacking in the desert,
with his tongue parched and burning, re
! ceiye his ration of a quarter of a liter of
salt water; have seen him in heat and in
cold. in hunger and in thirst, in peace and
in war-and | have always found in him
| the same desire TO oblige. the same abne-
cation of self for the sake of the safety
and the good of others. These special
| characteristics of the Russian soldier-his
seIf-denial, his simple and natural self
sacrifice-giye him peculiar powers as q
| warrior.
The Russian infantry is remarkable for
its frmness and its stoicism, rs the wall of
| Sebastopol and the intrenchments OF Ship
| ka bear eloquent witness. Never. up TO
now. has a Russian troop. large or small,
Welded arms in hand. But how many ex-
] amples are there where handful OF men,
surrounded by stronger and more hume
rous hostile force, have resisted aud fought
until the last man has fallenl The attack
of the infantry is vigorous and rapid:
| When it rushes upon the enemy, its united
"hurrah." drowning all other sounds, has
| carried many rampant and often put the
foe to confusion without the aid OF bayo-
nets.
| Of late the Russian infantry has achieved
remar kable precision in shooting. During
| Encyclopaedia in peace time 1t IS consider
ed nothing extraordinary if GO or 10 per
cent. of the bullets hit the mark. The
firing discipline, too, even in the most
critical moments, is very remarkable. To-
ward the end of the famous Khiva cant
paign small troop of eight battalions, two
J batteries, and thousand Cossacks was
| sent to establish order amongst the 1urko-
man tribes dwelling in the parts to the
west of the oasis. These Turkomans re-
| fused to fulfil the conditions of peace ac-
cepted by the Khan of Khiya.
| On the night of July 18th (27th) the little
troop was encamped in a square IN the
neighborhood of the village Of Tchandlr.
| not far from the fortress of Halle. On one
side was a stretch of gardens following the
| line of the irrigation canal of Schah-Abat;
on the other three sides was plain inter-
copied by innumerable canals, and dotted
| here and there with sand hills. 1t was
decided. without regard to the darkness,
that we should break up the camp at
| O'Clock in the night, in order at daydawD to
attack the Turkomans, whom We believed
| TO be gathered at distance OF about
| ten miles. The start, however, was de-
layed until o'clock. The cavalry opened
| the march, which was a mistake. The IN
fantry had already left its quarters and
was advancing irregularly toward the
starting point, where, mingled Win the
artillery, 1t stopped, waiting for the Cos
sacks to pass, SO that it could take its
place in the column. In word, the troop
was in a position where it was least pre-
| pared to meet an attack, and that, too in
the middle of the night and in darkness
such rs no inhabitant OF the North can
| conceive. -,
Hardly had the first squadrons, with
! Prince Eugene de Leuchtenberg at their
head, started along the road, then sudden
ly the air trembled with clamor, bowls,
and savage warcries from q crowd OF seye-
raj thousand men, and seven Turkoman
tribes, men and women together. fell upon
our troop. Our squadrons were flung back
upon the rest of the cavalry by force OF the
shock upon the infantry. The confusion
was terrible We could not see the contu-
sion. for it was too dark, but we felt 1t: No
more could we distinguish friends from
enemies. At this moment was crowded
in the midst of a group of Cossacks. and
my horse was pushed gently and slowly, as
if by waves, first one way then the other.
| AT first not single shot was heard,
but only the dull thud Of sa-
bres striking human. bodies and the
lamentable cries of the wounded. Sud
denly there was fash and a glare in front
of us, and q violent explosion, then Sc
cond, and third. The rocket battery,
being amonst the first squadrons, had sue
ceeded, thanks TO the darkness, in placing
its stands right in the middle OF the enc
nv. Unfortunately the rockets burst with
! out rising. Probably they had got wet and
the heat had split them. However, the ex-
blossoms frightened the Turkomans and
| had the result of forming for q moment .
| little opening in the mass of the combat
ants. Then I heard behind nae an ener-
getic voice, MAKE wayin and two COM
panies of the second battalion OF Turkistan
| rihemen passed through the midst OF tue
Cossacks, and dashed TO the. spot where the
battery had taken its stand. joined the
reechoed the word Of command. and
q discharge was heard so uniform that Il
sounded iike single shot. . Fire! heard
Immediately alongside: and another SIM
lar discharge followed. FIRE." little
further. and vet further. and then further
still, 10 the right OF where ives, one volley
! after another; and 1t last IN the distance
| near the Rnrdens. We heard the rolling OF
the cannon. Eight successive rounds were
| tirAd By ths companies near which ! wnss
and n pseee time: duF,ng reviews: n tSs