BOOKS.
DUNCAN'S CAMPAIGN WITH THE TUBES IN ASIA..
Esz volumes contain an account of a winter residence at Erze- roum, a sojourn with the Turkish army at Kars, including the short campaign which ended with the battle of Kurekdere, and the to and fro journies from Constantinople via Trebizond. The time oc- cupied by Mr. Duncan in his expedition was from January to August 1854; he was charged with a mission which is not distinctly stated, but it was connected with the office of "our own corre- spondent." Indeed the substance of parts of his book has already appeared in the columns of a morning paper. Like most other travellers of the present day who deal with in- cidents and description, Mr. Duncan is given to over-particularizing, without sufficient skill to select or sufficient genius to animate mi-
nute details, BO as to endow them with life and interest, except as mere news. This fault induces a slowness in parts of the book,
especially in the earlier portion. The hardships of the winter journey from Trebizond to Erzeroum—the novelty of the residence in that city, Kars, and the camp—the various characters, native and European, which the author encountered—the picturesque sketches of the Turkish army, and the solid information which is scattered through the hook, redeem the error of overdoing, and render the volumes interesting. They have, moreover, a prac- tical utility in reference to "the way the money goes" in the hands of Turkish dignitaries, when this country and France are about to place five millions sterling at the disposal of the Sul- tan's Government.
Mr. Duncan's matter consists of two classes. The first relates to personal adventures, descriptions of scenery or manners, and sketches of individual character. The other is in substance histo- rical. The historical information may not be of the highest or weightiest nature, and it may be exhibited in a desultory manner. The writer, however, conveys an idea of the general plan of the campaign, the movements that took place—for on the part of the Turks there was not much of strategy or even of purpose—and the causes of failure under circumstances which gave a good chance of success. In this point of view the book is not only of present interest, but of importance as a future record.
To comprehend the campaign of 1854 in Asia some idea of the country is requisite. If the reader turns to a map of Turkey in Asia he will find on the coast of the Black Sea, in 41 40' of East longitude, a port called Batoum. Drawing his finger diagonally inland, he will touch Bayazid at North latitude 390 22' and East longitude 440 8'. A line, curving a little Eastward, drawn be- tween Batoum and Bayazid will intersect Kars about mid-way, and Erzeroum lies behind Kars in nearly a direct line. Thus the country occupied by the Turks in 1854 as a position, might be roughly compared to a short bow, which when drawn even slightly would form a rather narrow arch. Of this arch Erzeroum would be the centre, Kars the middle point in the string; Batoum and Bayazid the extreme ends. Nearly opposite Kars, at a distance of some five-and-twenty or thirty miles, is Gumri' on the Russian frontier; a fortress on which the Russians had been labouring till it was quite impregnable by any means the Turks could bring against it.
Except in the neighbourhood of Batouni, this region is a table- land from which rise numerous mountains, communication for bodies of men, much more armies, being only practicable along certain natural lines. For nearly eight months in the year the highlands of Armenia are covered with snow, terribly cold, and ex- posed to storms of biting wind, in which individuals frequently and caravans sometimes perish. In the spring the melting of the snow renders the ground too sloughy for the movement of armies ; so that June, July, and August, are the only complete months available for a campaign. This was the comfort of the Turks after the battle of Kurekdere, fought on the 6th of August ; "in a few weeks," they said, "the cold season would approach, and compel the enemy to retire to Gumri."
Kars, in the middle of the supposed bow-string, was the main position of the Turks, and the head-quarters of the Commander-in- chief. On Mr. Duncan's first arrival, famine, hardship, and dis- ease had considerably reduced this army ; but it was finally raised by reinforcements to about twenty-five thousand regular troops, and eight or ten thousand Bashi.]lazeuks. At Bayazid a force, eventually increased to seven thousand men' was stationed to keep open the caravan road from Trebizond and Erzeroum to Persia, and to cover the right flank of the Turkish army. The Bayazid division had of course a commander ; but he was under the orders of the Turkish Commander-in-chief. An army of some thirteen thousand men was stationed at Batoum, on the extreme left of the Turkish position; but Selim Pasha its General was independ- ent of the Commander-in-chief. The main body of the Rus- sians was at Gumri. In April it amounted to about fifteen thou- sand men, increased before the battle of Kurekdere to twenty-one thousand. A body of eight thousand Russians opposed Selim Pasha at Batoum, and a small force under General 'Wrangel watched Bayazid. Plan of campaign the Turkish Government or commanders do not appear to have had. Enterprising individuals in the Turkish camp thought of defeating the Russians, masking Gumri, and marching on Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, which bore the same relation to Gumri as Erzeroum to Kars. A few sanguine men • A Campaign with the Turks in Asia. By Charles Duncan, Esq. Published by Smith sad Eider.
imaginedthe Russians might be driven beyond the Caucasus ; and Mr. Duncan himself seems of this opinion if a body of French or English troops had been present. Beyond some dashing irregular cavalry affairs under General Kmeti, which proved the superiority of the Bashi-Bazouks over the Cossacks, when well led, the Turks did nothing to the purpose. Mr. Duncan appears to think activity
or audacity was wanting in Prince Bebutoft; the Russian com- mander, since superseded by General Muravieff. This, however, is the judgment of a man who sees the defects inside of the house, while the person whom he is judging must look from the outside. To us the Prince seems to have conducted the campaign with caution, boldness, and skill. Selim Pasha made a purposeless and incautious march in advance from Batoum. By demonstrations from Gumri, Prince I3ebutoff amused the Turkish army at Kars, while be sent all the reinforcements he could spare to Prince An- dranikoff, who opposed Selim Pasha. This Pasha's army was sur- prised on its way, and entirely cut up,—Selim, like the late Lord Chatham, being in bed at the outset. In like manner Bebutoff subsequently reinforced General Wrangel, who watched Bayazid ; and another Selim Pasha who commanded there, engaging against orders, was thoroughly beaten and thrown off his line of commu- nication with Erzeroum. Mr. Duncan holds that but for the hesi- tation of the Turkish Commander-in-chief, an accidental delay of part of the Turkish army on the march, and the cowardice of the Turkish cavalry, Prince Bebutoff would have lost the final bat- tle of Kurekdere. As it was, he won it. Still it is curious to see how great an opposition the_mere presence of armed numbers can offer; how much fortune dominates in war, and accident in battle! The reader of Mr. Duncan's pages will fancy that individual inefficiency, want of spirit, and corruption, could not go further than with nearly all above the degree of captain in the Turkish army ; while of arrangement, combination, plan, or even object, there does not appear to be a trace among the leaders. It seems, however, that the Russian army narrowly escaped a defeat, in spite of their superiority in discipline and arrangement, the skill of their cemmanders, and their near equality in numbers—about 21 to 25. When the news arrived of Selim Pasha of Bayazid's defeat by means of the detachment from Prince Bebutoff's army, General Guyon proposed to the Muchir, Zarif Mustafa Pasha, to attack the weakened Russians at once. The Muchir consented, then hesitated, then again consented; but by that time the Russian detachment had returned. General Guyon's plan involved a night-march ; which appears a strange thing with such irregular soldiers in a man of the General's experience, since all authorities describe the almost inevit- able confusion and uncertainty of a night-march even with the best troops. The object was to surprise the Russians at daybreak ; but they had been warned by their spies of a movement in the Turk- ish camp, and were ready in position. What was more fatal, the Turkish right arrived in time, the centre and left were nearly two hours behind. A rapid manceuvre threw the major part of the Russian army on the Turkish right. The Ottoman infantry behaved well; the artillery admirably, the gunners eventually falling at their guns. The Russian foot was checked by the fire ; the Russian dragoons twice repulsed with heavy loss ; but the cowardice of the Turkish cavalry, which fled without even an attempt at fighting, the desperate courage of the Russian dra- goons, and the superior weight of the Russian fire, broke the Turkish right, and defeat soon became a rout. At this time, the main body and left wing of the Turks came up ; the victory was yet doubtful; when again the cowardice of the cavalry ruined everything. Yet such is the effect of desperate resistance even if partial, that the loss in killed and wounded was nearly equal in both armies, and the Russians were too exhausted to pursue. Two things have made a strong impression on Mr. Duncan's mind : the superior character of the Asiatic Turks in their native simplicity ; and the utter worthlessness of the higher or rather the official Turks, corrupted by the arts and intrigues of Constanti- nople. Of the peasantry he speaks in the highest terms ; the sol- diers he describes as honest, patient, obedient, and brave when properly led, or, as we should opine, employed in warfare for which they are adapted. The subordinate officers are also good, though grumbling at the manner in which interest operates to their dis- advantage and favour not merit secures promotion. With one or two exceptions, the whole of the superior officers were inefficient, cowardly, and corrupt. If Mr. Duncan has " writ his annals true," the attempts of European diplomacy to establish more hu- mane proceedings in Ottoman practice, have been only too success- ful for the stern struggle in which the Turks are now engaged. The Commander-in-chief could not hang a detected spy or shoot a coward,—he must be sent to Constantinople for punishment: so spies and cowards enjoyed practical impunity. The nature of the war, the real adventures it offered, and the supposed prospect of promotion, had brought together characters of all kinds from all quarters : Mahometan devotees, Turkish pa- triots or intriguers, with plenty of European adventurers, the majority of whom might perhaps have been as well away. Our traveller had an extensive acquaintance among all ; was enter- tained and entertained in turn, the war prices at Kars, ominous to natives, being cheap to Europeans. Here is a picture from one of the symposia. A Turkish captain, well primed with rum, hav- ing discharged his grievances, had just fallen asleep. "'Salem aleikum !' pronounced by a rich voice, startled the assembled company : it proceeded from a tall individual, whose face was invisible from the darkness of the room. The new arrival was welcomed, and introduced with due ceremony to the Inglis Bey. Georgio now lighted candles, and I inspected my new acquaintance, who, to my great surprise, was an Arab officer, completely black. The reader must not imagine a thick-lipped Negro, withlarge ears and extensive shins, but an-elegant, well-built man, who wore his uniform with peculiar grace, and was endowed with one of the noblest heads I had ever seen. For the first time I now realized the idea of Othello, and comprehended that the Venetian general could have inspired the gentle Desdemona with other and more tender feelings than those created by mere interest or admiration of his martial qualities. The new corner was a captain in the rediff of Imperial Guards, and had been promoted for bravery displayed in action. His regiment was at Soobattan, a village I had passed in the morning.
"The conversation speedily turned on the subject of the war, and the dissatis- faction expressed by the Turks present at the conduct of their pashas was unanimous. I had new to listen to the individual grievances of each man. One had served fifteen rears and was still a captain, whilst his former ser- geants, who had attracted the attention and favour of the colonel, were now majors and lieutenant-colonels. One present, a major, had seen the present Muchir carrying the pipes of Rizza Pasha as chiboukgee. One and all declared they would not fight in the approaching campaign ; for, said one, if we display courage, the intriguants will only crush us with their jealousy, whilst, if we are killed or wounded, what will become of our families ? The loudest of all in the avowal of his determination not to fight was the black captain."
This is the way the Othello-like looking chieftain kept his word at Surekdere. he time is towards the close of the battle.
"One or two battalions alone stood their ground : I met Colman harangu- ing the latter, who answered with shouts of Inshallah ! ' He ordered the major of one of these battalions (it was a Stamboul rediff regiment) to ad- vance; but the major trembled with fear, and refused to obey : I have no orders from my colonel,' he replied. order you to advance, in the name of the Muchir—coward !' shouted Colman. The men were indignant at the hesitation of their major, and threatened him with their bayonets; he there- upon turned his horse and fled. General Colman then commanded the senior captain to lead on the men, which he did.
"An officer, with the exclamation of 'Englis Bey !' rode up to me and pressed my hand ; I recognized the Arab captain with whom I had passed a pleasant evening in the village of lIadgiveli-khoi, on the occaaion of my Journey to Auni. The black features of my Arab friend were contracted with rage, and his very articulation was stifled by the vehemence of his fury. This was the officer who had declared that he for one would never risk his existence for an ungrateful country ; yet now, armed with a short spear, and with the national war-cry of 'Gauge, gauge!' on his lips, he offered a glorious spectacle of the triumph of the heart over the head. We rode on together; a few lusty strides brought the men into fire, and to work they went. It was too late to hope for success, for the Turkish artillery was in the hands of the enemy, and the remaining battalions were wavering. A body of dragoons, visibly inflamed with drink, now dashed into one of the retreating battalions, and in a few minutes cut it to pieces : of several hun- dred men, not above two score escaped. This decided the contest. The re- maining battalions, after a fight of two hours and a half, then turned and fled.
"A flanked battery opened against the battalion I had accompanied, and decimated its ranks ; a shell burst over it, and a fragment entered the side of my Arab friend, who rolled dead from his horse."
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