Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1878 — HOW PLEVNA FELL. [ARTICLE]

HOW PLEVNA FELL.

Graphic Fen Picture of the Attempted Sortie. [From the London Daily News.] Osman Pasha had during the night abandoned all his positions from Grivica to the Green hill, and concentrated the greater part of his army across the Yid, over which he passed on two bridges, one the old and the other the new one lately constructed. He took part of his artillery, some three batteries, and a train of about five hundred or six hundred carriages drawn by bullocks. He succeeded in getting his army, the artillery, and part of the train over by daybreak. The Russians say that to have started with so large a train is a proof that he was deceived with regard to the number of the Russian forces, and that he believed the Russian line, owing to the absence of Gen. Gourko, was very weak on the Sophia road, and thought another road along tho Vid was virtually open. It does not seem possible that he could have been so badly informed, and I am inclined to think the train was taken to serve a special purpose in the fight. Indeed, the first thing the Russians perceived when daylight broke was a line of wagons drawn by bullocks advancing upon them in close order across the plain. The smooth open level offerred every facility for such a maneuver. The Turks were behind these wagons, which, piled full of baggage and effects of various kinds, afforded very fair protection from bullets.

The attack was directed against the positions held by the grenadiers, north of the Sophia road, whose lines extended from the road to a point opposite Opanes, where they were joined by the Roumanian curving line through Susurla. It is said the attack was made with 20,000 rren, but I doubt this, as there was really not room for so many to deploy unless they had descended from the heights of Opanes and taken the Roumanian positions, and I have not heard that they did this. Nor did they even attack the Russian positions south of the road, as they would probably have done had they attacked in suen force. At any rate, the attack was a most brilliant and daring one. The Turks advanced as far as they could under cover of their wagons, while the Russians poured in a terrible fire on them from their Berdan breechloaders, scarcely less destructive than the Peabody, and opened on the advancing line with shell and shrapnel. The Turks then did a splendid deed of bravery, only equaled by Skobeleff’s capture of the two famous redoubts. Probably finding their cover beginning to fail them, owing to the cattle being killed or getting frightened aud running away, they dashed forward with a shout upon the line of trenches held by the Sibrersky or Siberian regiment, swept over them like a tornado, poured into the battery, bayoneted the artillerymen, officers and men, who with desperate heroism stood to their pieces to nearly a man, and seized the whole battery. The Sibrersky regiment had been overthrown and .nearly annihilated. The Turks had broken the firot oirole that held them in. Had they gone on they would have found two more; but they did not have time to go on. The Russians rallied almost immediately. Gen. Strukoffjjof the Emperor’s staff, brought up the first Brigade of Grenadiers, who led by their General—l forgot his name, but the Russians will remember it—flung themselves upon the Turks with fury. • A hand-to-hand fight ensued, man toman, bayonet to bayonet, which is said to have lasted several minutes, for the Turks clung to the captured guns with dogged obstinacy. They seem to have forgotten, iu the fury of battle, that they had come out to escape from Plevna, and not to take and hold a battery, and they held on to the guns with almost the same desperation with which the Russian dead around them had shown a few minutes before. Nearly all the Turks in the battle were killed. Those ia the flanking trenches open to the Russian had, of course, very little shelter, and were soon overpowered, and began a retreat, which, under the murderous 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 banks of the Vid, where they found ample shelter from the Russian shells and bullets. They formed here behind the banks, and instantly began to return the Russian fire. It was now about half-past 8, and the Turkish sortie was virtually repulsed, but the battle raged for four hours longer. The losses inflicted from this time forward were not great on either side, for both armies were under cover. The Turks were evidently apprehensive that the Russians would charge and drive them back in a mass into the gorge. The Russians were resolved to prevent another sortie; and so both sides kept it up. Indeed, there seemed at first every probability that the Turks would try it again, though it was evident to any one who knew the strength of the Russian lines, and had seen this affair, that escape was hopeless from the first, even though Osman Pasha had had twice the number of men. For four hours the storm of lead swept on as 100 guns sent forth flame and smoke and iron. During all this time we were in momentary expectation of seeing one side or other rush to the charge. We could hardly yet realize that this was to be the last fight we should ever see around Plevna, and that when the guns ceased firing it was the last time we should ever hear them here. It was a strangely-impressive spectacle. Behind us the plain, stretching away to the horizon, dark and somber under the dull, lead-colored clouds of the black November day. Before us the gorge leading up to Plevna, flanked on either side by steep, high cliffs, and between us and them the smoke and roar and fire of battle, filling the air with its mighty thunder, a battle on which hung the fate, not of Plevna—for the long-be-leaguered town was already in the hands of the Russians—but of Osman Pasha and his army. _ About 12 o’clock the firing began to diminish on both sides, as if by mutual agreement. Then it stopped entirely. The rolling crash of the infantry and the deep-toned bellowing of the artillery were heard no more. The smoke lifted, and there was silence—a silence that will not be broken here for many a long year, perhaps never again, by the sounds of battle. The firing had not ceased more than half an hour when ft white flag was seen waving from the road leading around the cliffs beyond the bridge. Plevna had fallen, and Osman Pasha . was going to surrender. 'Die white flag being hoisted,, some of the Turks on the bridge walked forward and came to us, some with guns hung over their shoulders, others with guns in their hands. They walked about us and examined us curiously. Thousands of them are on the cliffs, not more than fifty yards distant, looking down on ur with composure,

all with arms in their hands. One welldirected volley would thin our Russian cadres this side of the Yid very appreciably, for bv this time there mast have been a hundred officers gathered here, and capitulation was by no means arranged as yet. On the heights to onr right we see the Russians moving up to the redoubt on one side while the Turks were leaving it on the other. Presently Gen. Ganetsky arrives, and then the way is blocked with wagons, dead horses and oxen. The men have all been carried off, bnt besides the wagons, near the bridge, I see one young fellow lying, badly wounded. He has lain himself carefully down there, with his cloak wrapped around him and his rifle and knapsack under his head. He evidently takes pride in his gun—a Peabody—for it is very bright and clean, and he has put it carefully under him so that it may not be taken away. He did not think to part with it so soon. He is scarcely 17, and the doctor who has dressed his wound says he will not live till night. We thread our way cautiously over the bridge, through broken carriages and dead bodies of horses and cattle, and find ourselves among the Turks. There are several dead lying in the ditch beside the road. Some wounded are limping along with us, going heaven knows whither, and there are two sentinels standing in a trench overlooking the river, keeping their watch as though they were looking for an attack at any moment. As we advance the crowd gets thicker. The Turkish soldiers, with gun 3 and bayonets in their hands, men at whom we have been shooting, and who were shooting at us two hours ago, some with a savage expression, gaze at us with a scowl, but there are pleasant, intelligent faces also, who look at us with* steady, clear, inquisitive eyes. Gen. Skobeleff, Sen., recalled an episode of the Hungarian insurrection resembling this, where there was an armistice, and a great number of Austrian officers crossed over the bridge to the Hungarians, as we did here, when the Hungarian commanding officer opened his ranks and fired his cannon, charged to the muzzle with mitraille, on the Austrians. Let us hope the two incidents will not resemble each other in all respects. When the, General is about a hundred yards from the bridge t!ie crush is so great that we can advance no further, and indeed we do not wish to, for it is in this little house overlooking the road that Osman Ghazi lies wounded. Gens. Ganetsky, Strukoff and some others have gone to see him. I was unable to get iu jwing to the crowd. The conference did not last more than a few minutes. The terms of capitulation were easily arranged. The surrender is unconditional. Osman consented at once. If surprise be expressed that it shduld have been so suddenly agreed it is only necessary to state that he could do nothing else. In order to attempt a sortie, he had to abandon all the positions in which fie had defied the Russians so long, and to concentrate his army down on the Yid. These positions once lost were lost forever, because the Russians occupied them almost as soon as he left them. He was down in the valley; they on the surrounding hills, witfi an army three times as large as his. He had to surrender without delay, for they were drawing tne circle tighter every moment. His position was like Napoleon’s at Sedan. The disparity in numbers was greater, and he had not even the shelter of the village. So Osman surrendered unconditionally the gallant army with which he had held this now-famous stronghold for so long, and with which he upset the whole Russian plan of campaign, and with which he defeated iu three pitched battles Russia’s finest armies.