During the siege of Silistria, which was invested by General Roth on the 31st of July, the Russians endured great sufferings and privations; and were at last compelled to raise it with the loss of all their cattle, and the abandonment of the greater part of their artillery.
The severity of the weather put an end to hostile operations on both sides. Part of the Russian army retired to winter in Moldavia and Wallachia; the rest were posted in the fortresses of Bulgaria, and preserved their communication between Varna and the Danube. The Turks, after an unsuccessful at tempt upon Varna and Bazardjik, established their head-quarters at Aidos.
In Asia the Russians were more successful throughout the campaign. Anapa surrendered to Admiral Greig early in summer; and Count Paske vitsch reduced Kars, Akhallalaki, Akhallsykh, Ba jazet, Atskhour, and Ardagan.f The unexpected fall of Varna greatly exasperated the sultan against the grand vizier, who was accused of not having acted with sufficient energy in reliev ing the fortress. He was consequently deposed and banished; and the Capitan Pacha, the brave defender of Varna, received the insignia of the em pire. The traitor Jusuff Pacha was publicly out lawed, and his property confiscated.5 Russia had little to boast of in the issue of this campaign. After all her mighty preparations, her troops were stopped by the Balkans, the first spot where they met with a Turkish army. Her only conquests of importance where any resistance to her arms was offered were Brailow and Varna, and this last was obtained by treachery; and she ac knowledged the loss of 20,000 men slain, or so badly wounded as to be incapable of again serving. The capture of Varna, however, and more espe cially the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Na varin, which the Russians could not have accom plished in open and honourable warfare, gave them a decided advantage in the following campaign. By the former she obtained a point of advance, which gave her the command of the road into the plains of Roumelia; and by the latter she obtained the command of the Black sea, which enabled her to harass the Turkish coasts, and to convey rein forcements and supplies to her invading armies.
We consequently find a Russian squadron, early in the spring, sweeping the western shores of the Euxine, destroying the Turkish batteries, captur ing her vessels, and ravaging her coasts. On the 28th of February they landed troops and took pos session of Sizeboli, and though a vigorous effort was made by Hussein Pacha to retake this fort, he was driven back with great loss. An attempt to carry Varna by a coup-de-main was also contem plated, but anticipated by the Russians, under ge neral Roth, surprising the Turkish camp, which was followed by a sanguinary action, without any decided advantage, however, on either side.
Before opening the campaign of 1829, the com manders in chief of both armies were suspended. General Diebitsch succeeded count Wittgenstein; and the new grand vizier was supplanted by Red chid Pacha, who had long commanded in Greece.
General Diebitsch commenced his operations on the Danube by the investment of Silistria, on the 17th of May, after defeating a corps of Turks and taking two redoubts. lIe also secured his commu nications by a line of posts with Bazardjik and Var na. About the same time, the grand vizier, Red
chid Pacha, left Schumla, with the intention of at tacking the fortified town of Pravadi. At Eski Arnautlar he fell in with a Russian detachment of 4000 men, who defended themselves bravely for five hours against four times their number, till fresh troops came to their assistance, when the Turks were compelled to retire. Being joined by a strong reinforcement, Redchid returned to the charge, and endeavoured to turn the left flank of the Russians. Here he was opposed by general Roth, when, after some hard fighting, he abandoned the enterprise with the loss of 2000 men, and returned to Schum la. In the beginning of June, however, the grand vizier succeeded in making a regular investment of Pravadi with 40,000 troops. General Roth, finding himself unable to make head against such a force, solicited reinforcements from the commander-in chief. Count Diebitsch, who was then prosecuting the siege of Silistria, left that operation in charge of his second in command, and proceeded in person at the head of the reinforcements, with a determi nation to force the Turks to a general battle. With this view, he cut off their communication with Sebumla, by occupying the defiles and passes in their rear, by which they drew their ammunition and supplies from that fortress; and the grand vi zier was not aware of his approach till he beheld the Russian columns advancing to the attack. A most sanguinary combat ensued, which continued for four hours, when the fire from the exhausted troops wholly ceased on both sides. Redchid Pacha then prepared to fall back upon Marash; but Die bitsch was resolved upon his complete defeat; and having made some new arrangement of his forces, returned to the charge before the Turks had com menced their retreat. The accidental blowing up of their ammunition wagons so intimidated the Ot tomans and disordered their ranks, that, after dis charging their artillery, they gave way on all sides, abandoning their camp, with 40 pieces of cannon, and all their ammunition and baggage. Sixteen more cannon and many prisoners were taken in the pursuit, and so thorough was the rout that, with the exception of some cavalry who fell back upon Aidos, the Turkish army was entirely dispersed, and the grand vizier reached Schumla by a circuit ous road, attended only by a small escort of cavalry. This complete defeat, which decided the fate of the campaign, must be attributed entirely to the skilful and judicious movements, and the admirable plan of attack of count Diebitsch, who, by surprising the grand vizier, while he thought himself in per fect security, and by cutting off his communication with Sebumla, accomplished such a thorough dis persion of the Turkish forces, as prevented them ever rallying again for the purpose of opposing his advance; and of 40,000 combatants not above one third reassembled after the engagement. Count Diebitseh, immediately after the battle, sent a pa cific communication to Schumla by M. Fonton, a councillor of state, who returned with the answer, that the grand vizier had received his despatches and proposals, and had sent them to Constantino ple for the decision of the sultan.