‘Russo-Turkish War, 1877. Operations in Asia.’ [‎50r] (33/42)

103
e ^bfth nr tirh" u t he sate,y ° f ws p° sition ’ ai ’ j *
The plateau, neve theless hid been u ! ■ T™ " ,an 6 " eak battalions,
infantry no less than Lt.w* ansucces f ull y attacked by the Russian
concentrated fire from a hre-e numb Im ®. s ’ ant *. was now subjected to a severe
was also a mamelon on U,e £ht “f Ihe rnnd 98 "" % UnS l? the P lain bcI ™ as
plateau referred to - the 1.,h,.,’ i,,. C roa< ’ con SKlerably in advance of the
carried. ’ h ° Wever > " as Ilot a «acked until the plateau was
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. proceeded ^ ' m f° rC t Mulhtar
2 battalions held in reserve ^dnfor ° tb ^ ° rilured for "' ard
asr^Ar irrsrrs^ s; r, r ' 1£ ?“ *' !
support soon became mingled with the’fugitives ; tLy rliCdTowe
neck of land separating the plateau from the road, and commenced firing-
hough somewhat wildly, at the Russians on the hill above. The latter showed’
however, no inclination to press forward; had they done so they would
thTTmMshTead nrrter a cl Ured ^ / 2 , field gUnS ' in P° 9itio " in front of
: ’ rp 1 Klst ? head-quarter camp, and, at the same time, cut off the retreat of
he Turks holding the mamclon. These, seeing the plateau in the left rear
taken, at once retired towards the 12-gun battery and P got safely away The
hars\ r en m and 1 insteadot ai>Pear t0 fi*™ be f u ‘ ter ^ dehioralized "by what they
<2 i ^ / A instead of opening fire on the Russians— within easy rano-e and
ciouded together on the plateau-limbered up and retired. These ^uns were
saved, but the 6 siege and 12 field guns on the plateau, together with 6 field
fh^nZlso^the Russians! a "T ^ ,he head - ( l ual " fer ca “P> fed into
~ fraSft ?,Z&SlJttg£jg£ T "'“ ■
f h # e Russian skirmishers, who had remained inactive for half an hour or so
after seizing the plateau now descended slowly to the foot of the ravine slope
and a large body of Russian infantry (some 5 or G battalions), that had
remained stationary at about a mile from the mamelon, advanced; after the
Lurks had abandoned the latter, and moved straight up the road towards the
I urkish head-quarter camp. The two unbroken Turkish battalions remained
howevei, steady and even made a forward movement towards the advancing
Russians. Any attempt, however, to seriously attack such overwhelming odds was
of course out of the question, and they slowly retreated after the other fugitives
A striking contrast to the general debacle was the conduct of 2 companies of
Turkish infantry held in reserve at head-quarters, with 2 heavy field guns,
he former, led by a stafi officer, moved down a slope of the ravine in rear of
the plateau to check any forward movement of the Russians; it was a timelv
and judicious movement, steadily executed, and formed a pleasing contrast to
the scene around; the guns also were well and coolly handled by a mounted
artillery officer retiring to fresh positions as the Russian skirmishers advanced
and doing all they could to check their progress. They were eventually saved.
1 he rout of the Turkish centre was complete. Some of the artillerymen
detached the traces to abandon their guns, but on being quietly remonstrated
with, hooked on again and made no further attempt to leave them. It was also
a remarkable fact that in the general debandade no Turkish soldier was without
ins arms nor was there any running or riotous conduct.
About sunset the troops on the right of the Turkish left which was under
the Capitan ” Mehemet Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , began to quit their posts and retire to
2 D