The Story of the Campaign

ARRIVAL IN THE BOSPHORUS-HALT AT SCUTARI-SILISTRIA-CAMP AT VARNA --INACTIVITY-CHOLERA IN THE CAMP-PREPARATIONS FOR AN INVASION OF THE CRIMEA-GEVRECKLER-THE LANDSCAPE AROUND VARNA-SCENES IN THE CAMP.

DURING the months of April and May the Allied Army continued to arrive by installments in the Bosphorus. On their way they had most of them halted at Malta. Those who came in steam-vessels made a swift and pleasant voyage, surrounded by every luxury a traveler can hope for. The visits to the palaces of the Knights, and the churches of the city-the novel and striking aspect of the harbors and fortifications-the subsequent voyage through the Egean-the view of the plains of Troy, dotted with the sepulchral mounds of classic heroes-the passage of the Dardanelles-and the gay scenery of Constantinople, contributed to give the expedition rather the air of a pleasure excursion than of the advance of an army.

The halt at Scutari, so far from the scene of action, was rendered endurable to all but the most impatient spirits, by the curious scenes of the Turkish capital, and the magnificent land

scapes disclosed at every bend of the Bosphorus. A vast quadrangular barrack, capable of accommodating a small army in its numerous chambers, and of affording ample space to assemble the occupants on parade within the oblong enclosed by the four walls of the building, was made over to the English. The regiments not lodged here were encamped on the grassy plains behind. A steamer plied across the strait every hour for the convenience of the troops; and those who happened to miss it found means of passage in the numerous caïques which, gaily carved and painted, and of peculiarly graceful shape, danced everywhere on the clear water, propelled, some by one, some by two, handsome Greeks in red skull-cap and white tunic. The background to these graceful figures was especially pleasant to the eye, whether formed by the white buildings of the city, gleaming amid the dark clumps of trees, or by the banks of the seariver, covered with the soft feathery foliage, amid which black cypresses stood stiffly up, varied by the pink blossoms of the peach and apple, and the purple clusters of the Judas-tree: while close to the water's edge extended a line of red-roofed, painted, wooden houses, many of them decaying, but picturesque in their decay.

In the mean time the Russians had crossed the Danube and laid siege to Silistria, which was expected to fall, for the fortress was neither regular nor strong, and the besieging force was disproportionately great. Consequently, the original plan of the campaign remained as yet unchanged. This was, to fortify Gallipoli, in order to prevent the Russians (who might, after turning the left of the Turks, have advanced to the Chersonese) from closing the passage of the Dardanelles; and to intrench the neck of the isthmus on which Constantinople stands, so that, should the Russians defeat the Turks south of the Balkan, the capital might still be saved from the invader. As the end for

which these works were designed has never been fulfilled, and they have ceased to be objects of interest, a detailed account of

them is unnecessary.

Contrary to expectation, Silistria continued to hold out, and, at the request of Omer Pasha, an English division was landed at Varna early in June. The Russians being checked in their rapid advance, the line of the Balkan might now be held, and the fortresses of Shumla and Varna covered, when the enemy should turn upon them after taking Silistria, which, though marvelously defended, was still considered as doomed to fall. The rest of the English army, including the greater part of the brigade left in Gallipoli, followed the Light Division to Varna, and was distributed on the heights south of Varna Bay, and at various points on and near the Shumla road, Devna, Aladyn, and Monastir; places which, though surrounded by landscapes picturesquely grand, will long live drearily in the remembrance of the British army in Turkey.

Foiled in their repeated attacks on Silistria, and suffering terribly from disease and want, the enemy made one final grand assault, and, when repulsed, withdrew across the Danube. It was now expected that the Allies would push on; but for this they were not prepared. Overrating the resources of the enemy from the beginning, an advance into the Principalities does not seem to have entered into their calculations. Various reasons for our inactivity were circulated; the commissariat could not supply us on the march; there was no transport for the reserve ammunition; we were waiting to see what Austria would do. Leaving diplomatists to attach a value to the last reason, I may say, that the commissariat would probably, if they had been called on, have found means to supply the army, but that the want of animals to carry the ammunition formed a more serious obstacle. The French, indeed, sent a division into the Dobrud

scha, but it rejoined the army without other result than a fearful loss of men from the malaria of those pestilent swamps.

A new and terribly prominent feature of the campaign now disclosed itself. Toward the end of July the cholera broke out at Varna, and in a few days the hospitals were filled with cases. Some of the transports lost many men in a few hours, and were ordered to cruise outside the bay, in hopes of evading the pestilence. Changes of site seemed of no avail to the troops, and not a day passed, in any quarter, without the ghastly spectacle of many men, victims either to cholera or fever, being borne through the camp, sewed in their blankets, to be laid in the earth. At this time the troops were busily employed in manufacturing gabions and fascines from the brushwood which every where covers the face of the country. Huge piles of these were collected on the south side of Varna bay; the sappers were busy running out temporary piers; the transports remaining in the Bosphorus were ordered up; and every thing pointed to the speedy fulfillment of what had become, since the repulse of the Russians at Silistria proved the Turks capable of holding the line of the Danube single-handed, the true strategical object of the campaign, viz., the invasion of the Crimea. Stores were accumulated-rumors of speedy departure were every where repeated, and the 14th of August was even confidently named as the day of embarkation. However, the 14th passed without movement; and though the preparations still continued, yet all, except the most sanguine, began to despair of an active campaign at so advanced a season.

The First Division, consisting of the Guards and Highlanders, and two field batteries, was now encamped at Gevreckler, a dreary common on the heights to the right of the Shumla road going from Varna. The soil was stony, and covered with short wiry grass, such as geese feed on in England; trees were thinly

« Vorige Doorgaan »

Boeken

The Story of the Campaign: A Complete Narrative of the War in Southern ...