Thomas W. Knox

“ On the 5th of June General Diebitsch quitted Silistria with the second corps d'armée, leaving General Krassowski with twenty battalions of infantry, a few squadrons of cavalry, and two battalions of sappers, to carry on the work of the siege. The besieging army did not now number more than ten thousand or twelve thousand men; the besieged were doubtless in greater force. The Russians could hope to win only by concealing the scarcity of their numbers, and by pushing the work with the utmost speed, in order to keep the Turks within the fortress, and to prevent any new sallies. ”

“ Though brave enough behind defences, the Turkish troops were too recently organized to enable them to be satisfactorily handled in the open field, and especially under fire. The Russian artillery was moved by horses, while all the Turkish cannon were transported by oxen. Diebitsch rightly calculated that the Turkish guns, though greatly superior to the Russians in numbers, would be of slight efficiency in the field, when their motive power was by means of oxen only. ”

“ Turkey had increased the garrison of her fortresses on and near the Danube at the same time that Russia had massed her armies on the frontier. General Diebitsch was appointed to the command of the army on the Danube, while General Paskievitch conducted the operations against Asiatic Turkey. At the beginning of April, the Russian army on the Danube mustered on paper something more than 108,000 men; it never contained more than 100,000 effectives, and did not at any time bring more than 80,000 men into the field. ”

“ The Russians retreated to their main body, the Turks pursuing, but halting judiciously and retiring when they found they were facing great odds. The Russian stand was made at Kouleftscha, where Diebitsch immediately concentrated all his forces and drew victory out of defeat. As the battle continued, the superiority of the Russian artillery told heavily against the Turks, who were thrown into disorder, and lost heavily in men and guns. The grand vizier took a circuitous route to Shumla, where he arrived with eighteen thousand men and twelve guns ”

“ General Roth found himself besieging Silistria with an insufficient force and almost no artillery; only one battering train having been provided for carrying on a campaign in which four sieges had to be undertaken. The Turks were defeated in several sharp fights in which they engaged the Russians when the latter were approaching Silistria. General Roth's first position was strictly defensive, his soldiers being posted on the high ground in front of the fortress and beyond the range of its guns. ”

“ The Turks lost about five hundred men. On August 10th a fleet of thirty-six Russian ships appeared before Silistria, but without engaging the fortress. The besiegers were considerably reduced in numbers by the withdrawal of two divisions, who were ordered to Shumla on the 15th of September. The troops suffered from disease, and besides they were poorly fed. There was no ammunition, and the one hundred and twenty guns which the Russians had were useless. Winter was near, and the siege was raised on the 10th of November, after a desultory cannonade lasting forty-eight hours. ”

“ On the bastions were placed ten guns, four on each front, leaving only one on each flank; and the lines of the ditch, which were very short, were poorly defended. There were four gates, two opening on the land and two on the river. There existed no way of filling the ditch with water, as its bed was higher than the level of the Danube, and there was no water running into it. Around the front facing the land, a lunette about nine feet deep, but quite dry, had been dug in the ditch as a safeguard against Russian mines. ”

“ The Turkish provinces to the north of the Danube were to be practically independent of Turkey, and the Porte engaged not to maintain any fortified post or Mussulman establishment within their boundaries. A small tribute was to be paid to Turkey by the principalities, but every Moslem subject of the Porte north of the Danube was to sell his property and leave the country within eighteen months. Russia was to have the right to interfere in the affairs of the Danubian principalities in case of any violation of the treaty on the part of Turkey. ”

“ His idea was to overwhelm the Russians in detail, first by recapturing Pravadi with its garrison, and then moving on the force investing Silistria, together with the covering army, which was commanded by General Diebitsch in person. With this object in view the grand vizier on the 28th of May marched out of Shumla at the head of thirty-six thousand men, leaving only a feeble garrison to hold the place. General Roth, who commanded the Russians at and near Pravadi, strengthened the garrison with two battalions, and then retired about twenty miles to the northward with ten thousand men. ”

“ The 9th division of infantry, two regiments of horse and three field batteries were in position on the right wing. The centre was held by the 1st brigade of the 7th division of infantry with a single field battery: stationed on the left were three regiments of horse, two brigades of the 6th division, and three field batteries. ”