‘Russo-Turkish War, 1877. Operations in Asia.’ [‎44v] (22/42)

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an hour’s firing, the Russians withdrew their guns at Khalifalu but advanced
those near Koshkhabar with the object ot taking the I urkish guns en echarpe;
their fire, however, is said to have been ineffective, as a very strong gale was
blowing at the time. At about 12 noon the Russian skirmishers in front of
Khalifalu moved slightly forward, but retired after exchanging a few shots with
the Turkish outposts. The losses on the Turkish side on the right amounted to
two men wounded.
The total loss of the Russians on this day is given in an official despatch
dated Kara-Yal, 29th September, as 16 men killed and 148 wounded. General
Dewel commanding the 39th Division, Colonel Kabenine commanding the
155th (Kuban) regiment, and 10 other officers were wounded. The Russian
troops engaged appear to have belonged to the 154th (Derbent) and the 155th
(Kuban) regiments of the 39th Division, the 73rd (Crimean) and the <4th
* Stavropol) regiments of the 19th Division, and the 4th and 2 nd batteries of
the 19th and 28th Field Ariillery Brigades respectively/"
A great many horses on the Turkish side were killed or disabled by shell
and shrapnel fire, but with the exception of Ibrahim Agha who was killed by a
shrapnel bullet, nearly all the casualties were caused by rifle fire, in spite of
the continual and heavy artillery fire kept up during the greater part of the
day. Most of the losses on the Turkish side occurred early in the day.
In consequence of the affair on the 27th, the Turkish left wing was
strengthened on the following day by two battalions from the reserve, and the
right by 1 battalion. There were consequently now 11 battalions on the left of
the Zor ravine, 12 on the right, and 11 in reserve in the neighbourhood of the
Mussin and Zor passes. The ’lurks also retired their guns from their some
what exposed position in the advanced batteries, where they were certainly
dangerously near the battalions covering them in front, and liable to be taken
or disabled by a sudden attack of the Russians in force.
Towards the end of September the Turkish force began to feel the
effects of the weather, which was now stormy and cold, in this exposed situation ;
in addition to this the difficulty of supply increased daily, especially as regards
forage.
The army looked forward, however, with some small satisfaction that Ismail
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. would soon be obliged in consequence to move either forwards or
backwards in spite of himself. Desertions among the Koords and Arabs now
took place in large numbers, and scarcely a night passed without a batch of
from 50 to 200 of these irregulars faking their departure. Their loss was not
however so important as the dissatisfaction felt among the regular forces at
Ismail Pasha’s want of energy ; this, added to bad rations and exposure, seriously
affected the morale of the Turkish regular troops, and the sick list now began
to assume alarming proportions.
The actual strength and position of General TergukasofF’s force at the end
of this month are not precisely known, but are supposed to have been some
what as follows:—
At Igdyr and Khalifalu, 9 or 10 battalions, 12 squadrons or sotnias, and
32 guns; and at Tcharekliger, Khoshkhabar, and Oba, 6 battalions, 4 squadrons
or sotnias, and 8 guns; giving a total force of 15 or 16 battalions, 16 squad
rons or sotnias, and 40 guns.
With the exception of a cavalry reconnaissance made by the Russians
on the 6 th towards the Turkish extreme right and along the Karabalak road,
held by a regiment of Turkish cavalry (4th), and a continual exchange of
rifle shots between the outposts almost every morning before sunrise, little or
nothing occurred between the opposing forces in this part of the theatre of
war in October until the 14th.
On the 8 th instant, 6 battalions, and again on the 14th, 4 battalions
were despatched, via Mussin and Karakilisseh, to reinforce Mukhtar Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , in *
* According to the Russian account of this engagement, Ismail Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. attacked the whole
line occupied by the forces of General Tergukasoff at 10 a.m., and flieir right flank at
Scharoukhtcha with 12 battalions, and after a severe struggle was driven 7 versts by detach
ments of the Kuban, Derbent, and Stavropol regiments with considerable loss. It is difficult to
reconcile this version of the affair with that given by impartial and competent eye-witnesses,
who, moreover, can have no possible object in describing a Turkish offensive movement as a
defensive one, or vice versa.