章節 53: The tsar who will liberate the Bulgarians? (2) (April-June, 1876).
Instrospections and events]
* Nikola Tesla perspective.
The train tracks were advancing rapidly from Bessarabia to their destination, the outskirts of the Ottoman Empire, in the car was the rest of the Russian Foreign Legion, made up of angry Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins and Bulgarians.
"I win." Tesla sentences by throwing a card on the table while he played with Mihajlo and Petar.
"Impossible, you always lose." Mihajlo exclaims calmly.
"Look and cry." Tesla and Petar laugh at the somewhat-annoying Mihajlo.
Then the train stopped, the Russian Foreign Legion quickly got ready for the fight as soon as they got off the train, marching accompanied by the army of infantry general Mikhail Skobelev.
Nikola Tesla and his fellow Serbs (and other Slavs), except for brief minor skirmishes, would hardly see combat on May 17, when General Skobelev led them to the Battle of Constanța.
*******
"The Ottoman ships in Constanța were crammed into rubble, destroyed by mines and attacks by the Black Sea navy. Meanwhile, Skobelev and the Russian cavalry led the attack on the city.
The legion for its part came in support from behind, we entered the city the same day we started the attack, a fact. Skobelev was quite a figure, an excellent coach and commander, although he personally did not know him very well at that time.
Although at first the legion held back, many of us were angry, romantically speaking, we participated in this campaign not because it was a Russian war, we participated to avenge the murder of Bulgarian children and women.
Unfortunately I have learned that reducing war to black and white is not the best way to deal with war most of the time. "
-Memoirs of Nikola Tesla.
*******
The blackness of the night of May 29 is over, not only because the Sun is about to rise, but also because of a city that is seriously burning, attacked by artillery and the forces of General Mikhail Skobelev.
The harbor is shaking as the Ottoman garrisons are leveled, they put up more resistance at the time than any enemy of General Skobelev had ever faced before, up to this point in the campaign at least.
Nikola had fallen to the ground after a close clash with Ottoman forces in the city's harbor, luckily the danger was passing as the city's positions fell.
Petar appeared to lift his legion mate while an Ottoman squad was firing from one of the port exits. Both Serbs took cover behind one of the port structures.
On the other side, reinforcements began to appear, finishing off the last squadron in the port and advancing towards another position. Finally Nikola and Petar could leave. "Hell, my arm hurts." Petar mentions.
"Do you want to go back?" Nikola asks.
"Never." Petar responds. "Have you seen where Mihajlo went?"
"No, I don't know where he went." Nikola exclaims.
*******
With the sun rising, the Russians and companions began to lift the corpses of Ottomans and friends, placing most in mass graves if they were unrecognizable. General Mikhail Skobelev finally paused for a few moments to check his advance south.
"Petar, Nikola! Look what I got!" Mihajlo's voice exclaims appearing behind his companions, riding an Ottoman mare while he carried the flag of the Russian Foreign Legion.
"You steal a horse?" Petar exclaims in surprise.
"I'm sure he doesn't have an owner anymore, and if he still does, well. Now he's mine." Mihajlo exclaims with a smile. "I called him Igor."
"... I'm sure Igor is her, not him." Nikola Tesla exclaims looking a little at the mare.
"Seriously?". Trying to see the confused Mihajlo almost fell off the mare.
"For logistical reasons, Mihajlo could not bring the horse with the rest of the Foreign Legion, although he was able to deliver it to the Russian forces.
The battle of Varna was, in my opinion, my real baptism of fire, when I truly believe that I came closest to dying, my first real experience with life and death combat. It seemed there were so many Ottomans ...
I think I was lucky not to have been one of the corpses in the streets. But there was something special about seeing the flag of the legion flying in one of the old Ottoman barracks. "
-Memoirs of Nikola Tesla.
*******
* Perspective of Iosif Vladimirovich Romeiko-Gurko.
Russian general Iosif Romeiko-Gurko advances through the streets of Tarnovo, accompanied by his soldiers. In the houses red-white-green or red-white-blue tricolor flags flew, with a yellow-edged cross with a black center flew.
Flags of the Bulgarian volunteers saluting the Russian troops.
"Any news from General Milyutin?" General Romeiko-Gurko asks entering his barracks in the city of Tarnovo.
"The siege continues. But our flanks are well covered." Fyodor Fyodorovich Radetsky responds. "Svyatopolk-Mirsky is harassing the Ottoman troops in Elena, it seems they have retreated to Omurtag."
"Very well, I will march towards Kazanlak as soon as Pleven falls, you and Svyatopolk-Mirsky will go towards Shipka and Shejnovo, and take Shipka's pass." General Romeiko-Gurko explains.
"Understood." General Radetsky answers.
"'How are Grand Duke Nikolai and Duke Sergei?" Romeiko-Gurko exclaims.
"They seem to have been successful at the moment in defending our left flank, without major problems or actions.
*******
* Alexander III of Russia.
The tsar advanced by train to Kishinev, received splendidly by the population, former Tsarane liberated by his reform, now farmers, artisans and industrial workers. With the passage of time the term Tsarane falls into disuse, but it was still used by the ancient Moldovan lords.
Kishinev was the capital of the province of Bessarabia, so it was obviously one of the industrial, cultural and economic centers of the region, which received more development under the government of Alexander III. As for example most of the railway line of him.
The tsar prepared to move briefly to an office in the city, to be closer to possible news of the war.
"There are men out there who are dying because I order them to attack. It is not a situation that I particularly like, but I feel that it is partly the right thing to do.
Not because I'm the tsar.
Not just politically, but for other reasons, the Batak massacre. Now that I am a Tsar, I have the power to change things in the Russian Empire, but the Ottoman Empire and its territories, its leaders, its actions, that is beyond my power.
Major massacres of Bulgarians, and other possible crimes ... Perhaps in this immediate moment war is the only way to change that, and in every war some of my citizens will die whether I like it or not. But in the future I can try something else ... ".
The tsar writes like so many other times his thoughts, usually he would destroy these notes, but this time he keeps them among one of the books in his office.
*******
On May 30, due to the fall of Varna and the economic mismanagement of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdülaziz is deposed by his nephew, who rises as Murad V.
A few days later Abdülaziz commits suicide, or at least that is the official cause of death.
Unfortunately this causes some problems in the Ottoman chain of command before the news, some forces ended up surrendering to the Russians who were able to take more kilometers closer to their occupied positions. In particular the city of Lovech surrendered due to the takeover of Bulgarian rebels.
In particular, War Minister Dmitry Milyutin mentions to Pleven's defenders that their sultan (Abdülaziz) has fallen and that the fortress should be surrendered. During the siege no more reinforcements appear (and obviously there is a lack of communications due to the destruction of infrastructure and limitations).
On June 1, the vassal territories of Serbia and Montenegro declare war on the Ottoman Empire in search of their independence and the fight against the Ottoman-Muslim yoke. Also in "solidarity" of the Bulgarian uprising (to be honest the Serbs and Montenegrins already had the uprising planned, but due to various factors they were slow to do so, and now they rushed before the Russian intervention).
On June 4, for his part, the Prime Minister of Romania declares the independence of the nation to the rest of the European powers, supporting more Russia in the war against the Ottoman Empire to win the support of foreign powers to recognize Ruaman independence.
This further complicates the situation of the Ottoman Empire in full economic problems, since they have now lost control of some of their Serbian territories and Montenegro.
The Montenegrin rebels defeated the Ottoman troops in recruitment to the south of their territories, preventing various reinforcements from going to confront the Russian forces.
Meanwhile a Serbian army advances towards the city of Pirot with the intention of taking it.
In the west of the Romanian Danube, Romanian forces begin to harass the Ottomans on the other side of the river, although in reality they do not advance in mobilization until July.
The Ottoman city of Vidin is now between Romanians and Serbs.
In mid-June, on the 15th of the month, the fortress-city of Pleven falls to the forces of Minister Dmitry Milyutin, a decisive victory for the Russian forces in northern Bulgaria that allows them important advances.
Not long after, Milyutin advances with his army towards Gorni Dabnik and Telish, near the Iskar river.
The victory at Pleven makes General Iosif Vladimirovich Romeiko-Gurko move towards Kazanlak without major problems, intercepting Ottoman reinforcements towards Shejnovo. Romeiko-Gurko's victory causes panic in Constantinople when the city falls on June 18.
While that was happening Fyodor Fyodorovich Radetsky and Nikolai Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky advanced towards Shipka and Shejnovo, where Bulgarian rebels join the army of the Russians, the Ottoman defenders fall on July 23.
Ottoman troops in Karlovo try to go to the Russians (Radetsky and Svyatopolk-Mirsky) but the heroic defense of the Shipka pass results in a triumph for Russians and Bulgarians that forces the Ottomans to retreat.
On the other hand Romeiko-Gurko from Kazanlak advances towards Stara Zagora, where more Bulgarians join the battle against the Ottoman Empire, successfully advancing towards the east in Nova Zagora.
Which forces the remaining Ottoman forces from Sliven to retreat to Yambol.
For his part, General Mikhail Skobelev advanced towards Burgas, which falls on July 22. Omurtag's forces receive an ultimatum from Russian forces, denied by the armies led by Grand Duke Nikolai the Elder and Duke Sergei Romanovsky.
The battle is costly in the face of poor decisions by the army leaders, but Duke Sergei Romanovsky survives an Ottoman artillery attack and finally the Russian armies manage to take Omurtag's position.
Unfortunately now this army must rest and reaffirm the Russian position.
Fortunately the Elena-Omurtag-Burgas line is fine, although some Ottomans continue to put pressure on Elana for the moment they have not represented a big problem for the Russian armies.
With his victory, General Mikhail Skobelev seeks to advance towards Kıyıköy on the golden horn, but before he begins the march towards the banks of the Tundzha River (Sliven and Yambol) to defend the flank of the Russian army.
The "White General" receives ovations from Bulgarians he crosses paths with, training more volunteers for the Russo-Turkish war.
*******
[Allies and perspectives]
In the face of Russian victories in the north and east of the Ottoman Balkans, there was growing foreign support for the Russian cause in the Russo-Turkish war. Partly a product of the Batak massacre and the European newspapers of the time.
It also helped that some had other religious-cultural or historical motives against the Ottoman Empire.
Various Hungarians publicly and privately supported the Slavs against the Ottoman Empire, with the formation of Hungarian legions of volunteers entering the Balkan theater.
Opinions much less supported by some of the Austrian leadership circles, who thought pragmatically first of their interests than of old rivalries with the Ottomans.
In the Caucasus theater for its art the Russian army, made up mainly of Orthodox, but which also included Armenians within its body, was received with emotion by the Armenian inhabitants of eastern regions of the Ottoman Empire (not so by other Turks and some Kurdish criminals in the area).
These groups warmly welcomed the Russians occupying some parts of the peripheral region, and even actively cooperated with the Russian Empire.
Some Ottoman Armenians volunteered for the Russian war effort in the area.
Due to the Batak massacres and some Serbo-Croatian-Montenegrin and Bulgarian efforts there was some support in other European cities.
However, of course there were circles that supported the Ottomans or that went against Russia at least, watching with surprise and fear the Russian mobilization and its victories in the region.
Austrian elites in Austria-Hungary were pushing for the quest to fulfill Austro-Hungarian interests in Bosnia-Herzegovina before it fell into Russian hands and caused further problems for the multi-ethnic empire.
In the same way there were circles led by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli who wanted an English victory over Russia to be maintained after Crimea, although certainly supporting the Ottomans would be ... complicated.
The most curious thing would be the formation of about two Polish legions that joined the Ottoman side against Russia, but did not become too important historically.
* [British perspective]
Prime Minister Disraeli was stunned at the Russian army advancing through the Balkans so easily, the English government and the Ottoman Empire believed that at least the Ottoman-Turks would be able to make an effective defense against the Russian Empire (seen as a barbarian, little industrialized and organized).
But now the Russians had liberated the Serbian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Croatian and Montenegrin 'war dogs' as they advanced through Ottoman territory with almost no problem.
"Pleven has fallen!" Featured in the news in British newspapers, German and American journalists were 'reliable' sources for a British public aware of the Batak massacres.
In the absence of sympathy for the Ottomans-Turks, there was notable support for maintaining British neutrality with respect to the conflict (the most extreme would propose to let Russia take over the Ottomans).
The Prime Minister proposed in late June-early July a plan to mobilize 20,000 young recruits to the Aegean to put pressure on Russia, and in the event that Russia invades Istanbul and / or the Straits, a war will proceed against Russia in the Balkan territory.
But there were obvious problems, first of all the time it would take for such a poorly prepared mobilization (1 to 2 months). And there was opposition within the Liberals in the British government, including some Conservatives from Disraeli's group.
When this news was revealed to the public, there was a notorious opposition due to the loss of sympathy for the Ottoman Empire.
This further complicated Prime Minister Disraeli's plans, that he thought of the rest of his options.
* [Austrian perspective]
"... Should we intervene against the Russians?" Emperor Franz Joseph asks Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust.
"We could, but that would throw the Russians into the arms of the Germans, the Slavs will also answer negatively to our help to the Ottomans and we would spend their enmity for the rest of Alexander III's reign." von Beust responds. "Bismarck was already interested in teaming up with them, and I think now I understand why."
"I understand. But we should at least be able to intervene in Bosnia to guarantee our interests." Emperor Franz Joseph I argues.
"Are you sure, Emperor? The native Montenegrin Serbs were already a problem for us, perhaps adding more Slavs is a problem and not a benefit." von Beust exclaims. "I would simply propose a mobilization to defend our borders and wait for diplomatic discussions to see what we can win."
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