Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1877 — Estimate of the Fighting Forces of Turk and Russian. [ARTICLE]

Estimate of the Fighting Forces of Turk and Russian.

- ——From-the-Kett York Tribune. In Turkey the army has been organised under regulations issued in 1871. Its ranks are entirely supplied from the Mohammedans, except iu certain privileged districts, such as Albania and Bosnia, which furnish special corps of their own. In the rest of Turkey every able-bodied Mussulman of 20 years and upwards is bound by law to serve in the standing army, but not withstanding this law a young Turk of the wealthier classes can always obtain exemption from the service. The period of service is nominally twelve years; that is, four in the Nizam or standing army, two in the Red.if or reserve, and six iu the militia, but practically the soldier remaius iu time of peace only three years under the colors, and then sent on an unlimited furlough. The number of recruits levied yearly is from 30,000 to 40,000 meu, about 20 per cent are supplied by European Turkey, and 80 per cent by Asiatic Turkey. The total forces of Turkey, exclusive of the ‘*sedeutary” army formed of those who have served twelve years, are as follows: Kegi- War Peace meats, footings. footings. Infantry 36 117,3t>U 100,300 Cavalry 24 22,416 17,280 Field artillery 6 7,800 7,800 Artillery in fortresses 4 6,200 5,200 Engineers 2 1,000 1,600 Detached corps in Candia, Tripoli, and Tnnis 8 16,000 16,000 Total ...80 170,376 148,680 Reserve 148,680 Auxiliaries - 76,000 Irregulars 87,000 Total of forces 459,360 The best portion of this army ot nearly 460.000 men is the artillery, which contains many young aud intelligent officers, and obtains the most efficient of the recruits. Every regiment of field artillery is provided with sixteen batteries of six guns each; all the guns of the horse artillery are rifled Armstrongs, but the mountain artillery has only small guns, of which a whole battery produces less effect than a single Armstrong. The fortress artillery consists of six regiments, Prior to the outbreak of war, the number of the Turkish troops iu Bulgaria was estimated at 115,000 infantry, 3,000 artillery, and 216 guns. Iu addition to this force there are 5,000 gunners in the fortress of Yarua, Shumla, Kustchuk, Silistria, Nikipoli and Widdin. The army in Bulgaria was distributed as follows: In Tultsha, 7,000; Silistria, 18,000; Rustchuk, 10,000, Varna, 8,000; Shumla, 18,000; Trinova, 5,000; Nikipoli and Sistova, 2,000; and in and around Widdin, 55,000 and 114 guns. Since Saturday last considerable changes have occurred in the distribution of this force, several regiments having been sent down the Danube from W iddin. The war fleet of Turkey consisted, at the end of the year 1875, of twenty ironclad ships and seventy other steamers. The greater number of the irodclads were built in Great Britain. The two largest are the sister ships, Mesondive and Mendouhije, launched in 1874. These two ironclads are each a burden of displacement of 9,000 tons, and 332 feet long, with extreme breadth of 59 feet They are built on the broadside principle, and have on the main deck a battery 148 feet long, containing 12 18ton guns, throwing 400 pound shot. The bow is strongly fortified and fitted with a ram of great strength, adapted to pierce an opponent below armor in the most vulnerable part The armor is from 10 to 12 inches thick throughout There are six 20-pounders on the upper deck. Among the other ironclads the largest is the frigate Ostuanish, a ram, armorplated from stem to Stem, 309 feet long. 56 feet broad, and a burden of 4,200 tons. Two other notable ironclads are the twin screw steamers Aoni Blah aud Muiu Zaffer. Each of these vessels is £3O feet long and 36 feet broad, and of a burden of 1,100 tons. Both are dad ip heavy armor, of an average thicknes of five and a half inches, and carry four twolye ton rifle Armstrong guns, in a central battery, the construction of which admits of the guns being fired ahead and sftarn without the aid of a turret. These twp ironclads *re stated to possess the highest spedd of Iny vessels of war of the same tonsge. The Tatkish navy was manned In 187$ by 30,600 sailors and 4,000 marine troops. The tinje of pervbe i? the navy j# ejgfit

Divided into three classes, the Turkish ironclad fleet is as follows: At’ge horse Number. Guns. power. Frigates 7 114 , 971 Corvettes 8 86 862 Oua beats -10 10 160 Great program has been made in the strength aud efficiency of the Russian navy. It consists of two great divisions, —the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. Each of these two fleets is again subdivided into sections, of which three are nsually stationed in or near the Black Sea The Mediterranean section is now in American waters. In March, 1866, the strength of the Russian navy was returned os follows: 1. The Baltic fleet 77 men-of-war. 2. The Black Sea fleet, 9 men-of-war. 3. The Caspian Sea fleet, 5 paddle-wheel steamers and 3 dispatch boats. 4. The Siberian fleet, 11 ships. The total comprises 108 men-of-war, 1,477 officers, and 7,217 seamen, exclusive of small squadrons in the White Sea and Sea of Aral. The ironclad fleet (including the foregoing statement) comprised in March, 1876, the following vessels: Num- Hone- TonIronclads. ber. Guns, power, nage. Moat less turretship 1 4 1.300 9,662 Frigates 8 76 4,600 86,185 Corvettes 8 10 600 6,161 Turret monitors. 14 20 1,600 18,600 Float’g batteries 3 74 1,110 10,286 Total 29 184 9,210 74793, The most powerful Russian ironclad is the mastless turret-ship Peter the Great, built at Cronstudt aud launched in 1874. It carries two turrets, with an armament qf four 35-ton guns, made of Krupp steel. Next to this great ship, the largest of the other ironclads are the three armored frigates, the Sevastopol, the Kniaz Pojarski, and the Duke of Edinburg. The Sevastopol is 300 feet long aud 52 feet wide. Her plates are four and a half inches thick, fastened to a double coating of teak of from six to nine inches thick. In view of war, changes have been made in the distribution of the fleet. According to a receut account, the Russian fleet in the Black Sea now consists df two circular monitors, four screw corvettes, seven paddle steamers, and four gunboats with an armament of 102 guns. This naval force, of course, is considerably below the strength of the Turkish fleet, each vessel of which is afloat in or near the Black Sea-. In the Baltic the Russian fleet, according to the same report,' consists of twenty-nine ironclads, eighty six unarmored steamers, aud a number of smaller and weaker vessels, representing a total of 223 ships, with 50,000 men and 561 cannon. This fleet, or part of it, has received orders for putting to sea. There are also other indications of an intention to send at least a part of the Baltic fleet into Mediterranean waters. The.organization of the Russian army is simple and efficient. Under the law which went into force five years ago, there is an annual conscription to whioh all meu over 21 are subject. The period of service is fifteen years, six being spent with the regiment and nine m the reserve. The men remain with the colors only as long as may be required to keep the force at its full complement, and during the remaining period they are seut on furlough. It follows from this system that every man in Russia capable of military duty is a soldier. After acquitting themselves of the six years’ service, the soldiers pass into the reserve for another period of nine years, daring which they are liable to serve only in time of war. The law does not apply to the Cossacks and other irregular troops, numbering about 129,000. Last year the strength pf the Russian army, on a peace looting, was as follows: Battalions, 852; squadrons, 281; guns, 1,422; officers, 33,043; rank and file. 732,829; making a total force of 765,872 men. Placed on a war foot ihg the strength of this army would be 1,213,259 men, including 39,380 officers. The strength of the various divisions of the Russian army, according to an official returu, was as follows in 1874. The same relative proportions still probably exist between each arm of the service: I. —REGULAR ARMY. Peace War . footing. - footing. Infantry ;......364,422 693,611 Cavalry 88,306 49,188 Artillery - 47,631 48,773 Engineers 18,418 16,208 Total 456,872 808,670 It. —ARMY OF FIRST RESERVE. Troops oftheline 80,466 74,561 Garrison troops in regts..._ 80,455 28,740 Garrison troops in bating... 19,830 28,892 Total.,. 180,740 129,923 111. —ARMY OF SECOND RESERVE. Troops of all arm5..,,..207,812 286,664 General t0ta1...„..846,424 1,218,257 In preparing for the present war the Russian government called out or “mobilized” only part of the reserve. According to trustworthy reports, the army organized for the conflict consisted recently of 275,000 men, 20,000 cavalry, and 900 guns. Prior to the order to enter Roumania, these troops were distributed as follows, in proximity to the seat of war: The seventh ana twelfth corps, numbering 60,000 men, 4,000 cavalry, and 288 guns, were at Odessa had Sebastopol. The eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh corps were at and mound Kischeneff; the numbered 120,000 men, 8,000 cavalry, and 432 guns. The army o( Caucasus, intended to invade Asiatic Turkey, numbers 65,000 men, 8,000 cavalry, and 180 guns. This distribution of the army enables Russia to begin hostilities with a much greater force than in the Russo-Turkish war of 1853, when only 74.000 men crossed the Pfuth at the beginning pf the campaign,,