Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-02
Incidents Retold of the Turko-
Russian War.
A GREAT FIGHTER AND AN IN.
VENToR ALSO.
How Two Generals Put Down a Boxer
Uprising - Plugs Char
acteristics.

| sian Officer.
| There is hardly one of the Russian MILL
| tary leaders now on the field of war. or pro-
ceeding thither, who mas not won his spurs
| In battle, or distinguished himself remark
| ably by his technical knowledge. The I'm
preston that kissing goes by favor" In the
Russian service is wrong. There is no serv-
Ice In which all subordinate officers have a
falrer chance of promotion. The officer who
| displays initiative In a marked degree is
! practically certain to advance to the highest
ranks.
| AlexfeH, Kouropatkin Makarofr and their
principal heutenants have all won their
| leading positions by sheer force of merit. by
distinguished bravery and ability. Nobody
| In the Russian service denies their right to
| lead
Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makaroff, the
new commander Of of the Port Arthur fleet,
is generally considered to be the best sailor
IL the cars service. He has won two great
and distinct reputations-the first by his
nerofsm and skill during the Russo-Turkish
war, ana the second by his invention of the
Yermak and other ice breakers.
When the war with Turkey broke out he
was a lieutenant and was given command
OF small merchant steamer of 1 500 tons
called the Grand Duke Constantine" This
was his flagship. and he collected a lotilla
v. SA.t~Al VESSELS, Will WHICH ne ASSAULTED
the Turkish ironclads that were trying to
hide away In the harbors of Batoum Sulina
Nikopolis and Sukhum Kale
torpedo work had never been done before,
practlcatiy speaking, and Makaroff had to
invent his own tactics and find out by ex-
perfence the best way to fight ironclads with
Combs. His men had to tow the torpedoes
IN little boats and explode them against
the sloes OF the battle ships. for the destroy
er and the automobile torpedo were un-
dreamed or. Makaroff was Obliged to think
out for himself every detail of his torpedo
warfare even to inventing the armament
and equipment of his ships and the mechan
ism for firing the torpedoes.
In the Thick of It.
Dozens of attacks were made upon the
enemy, and several ships were blown IN
Makaroff was in the thick of the fighting
all the time and it is marvel that he and
MS daring followers escaped alive AS q
matter af fact, only a few of them perish
ed, but the peril to which they were ex-
posed was certainly greater than that in
modern torpedo warfare
| Night after night they dashed into the
turkish harbors lowered their boats. rowed
| up to the ironclads with muffied oars. and
tried to explode their torpedoes either
by actual contact with the ships side-the
torpedo being fixed to a long pole-or by
vessel and igniting time fuse Three
times out of four they were detected By
the Turks long before they could reach
their objective and were driven back by
heavy nre Of cannon and musketry.
One dark night two of Makaroff,s boats
attacked his own ship, the Grand Duke
Constantine, by mistake, and were on the
point OF blowing her up when he shouted
10 them and convinced them that he was
not a Turk.
Makarof was well rewarded for his des-
perate bravery and conspicuous ability by
the car. He was given the Cross of ST
GeOrSe-mOSt priced of all RmSSian
tions-a gold sword of honor and the rank
of captain. After that he was marked
out for distinction and was rapidly pro-
NOTED through various important offices I'M
til he commanded successfully the Baltic
Mediterranean and Pacific squadrons.
MakaroH comes Of distinguished naval
family, his father having been a flag cap
| tain. Throughout his long career he has
shown remarkable professional ability and
great skill in the handling of fleets He
is also famous in all the navies of the
world as an inventor of naval appliances
of which at least a couple of dozen are
now in use aboard Russian warships He
made two trips to the Arctic circle to test
| his ice-breaker 'Yermak' against the eter-
nal ice of the Polar zone. That is a good
illustration of his character. He leaves
nothing to theory or chance.
Admiral Makaroff was commander at
Kronstadt, the Russian Gibraltar, before he
was ordered to the far east, and had held
that post for many years. Unlike many
Russian naval officers, he takes the keenest
interest in the welfare of the enlisted men,
and can be approached by them with Pc
titions and grievances at any time. At
Kronstadt he used frequently to pay sur
prise visits to the ships in port and eat
some Of the dinner served to the men. in
order to make sure that the pursers and
cooks were doing their duty.
In person Makaroff is a TALL finely built.
broad-shouldered man, with bushy gray
beard and whiskerS. He looks ten years
younger than his age. which is fifty-six.
His manner is genial and friendly whether
he is talking to officer of his own rank
or to an ordinary seaman,
Admiral Skirdloff the pre- mt commander
of the Black sea feet WIN Is expected to
take out the Baltic feet to the far east
was junior officer under Makaroff in the
torpedo campaign against the Turks and
has risen along with him to the highest
ranks in the Russian service. He has copied
his old commanders methods to a great
extent, and. like Makaroff. believes firmly
in taking the initiative in warfare when it
Is possible.
The Fighting Romanoffs.
The Romanoffs - the Russian imperial
famiiy-were always fighting house, and
every one of them is trained almost from
infancy in the profession of arms. They
receive honorary rank as matter of cour-
tesy, but they do not receive commands of
practical Importance until they have been
tested even more thoroughly than the aver
| age officer. In the Russo-Turkish war no
fcWer imam Twelve members OF the Imperial
family, not counting the car, held positions
at the front, ranging from commander-in-
chief to captain ON the staff, and every
one OF them more than justified the posi-
ton.
The royal family will be well to the front
in the present campaign. General Kouro-
patkin was accompanied on his journey
across Siberia by the Grand Dukes Michael
Nicolaievttch, Boris, Alexis Alexandrovitch
and Nicholas The Grand Duke Vladimir
may go later. He is at present in COM
mand of the military district of st. Peters,
burg and il practically cOmmander-in-chief
of the Russian army under the car. A
well-known American general has said of
him: 1.-THE Grand Duke Vladimir is an
ideal field marshal and very able general,
in whom evidently the emperor has great
confidence"
The Grand Duke Michael Is an old war
horse. He commanded the army of the
Caucasus with great ability during the Rus
so-Turkish war, and Is now seventy-two
years old. He Is president of the commit
tee of ministers. He is going to the front
probably to review conditions on the spot
and he will then return to the capital, bet
ter able. by reason of first-hand knowledge
to cooperate with Gen. Kouropatkin from
that point during the spring campaign.
The grand duke has great reputation in