(see end of Part VIII) to İzzet Fuat an incident in which
many Turks were wounded (probably near Razgrad). İzzet
Fuat considered this an admission of a 'war crime' by
the Grand Duke. In any case, his mission completed,
İzzet Fuat headed back to Ottoman lines.//
İzzet Fuat's mission occurred in early July 1877, between Ruse
(Ruschuk) and Plevne.
Grand Duke: "...as we approached a woods, someone in the entourage
said 'The Turks have fortified themselves in the woods. There could be
a problem.' Hearing this, the Emperor ordered some aides who knew
Turkish, along with a few riders to enter the woods to ensure the safety
of the Ottoman soldiers but your compatriots in the woods opened fire.
A couple of the aides were wounded. Another group was sent into the
woods but the same thing happened."
"Among those injured this time was one of the Emperor's favorite
officers so, in reaction, he gave the order for his imperial cavalry
regiment to go in and a number of violent attacks ensued. The
wounded you refer to must have been involved in this. But we were
only in that vicinity because of the necessities of the war (Russian
retreat). Otherwise our soldiers would never have been on that road."
I considered the Grand Duke's remarks to be something of a windfall
for me and committed them to memory. Subsequently, when I was in
Istanbul I reported on this matter to the Bab-ı âli (Ottoman government)
and my report was then published in European newspapers. As a result,
toward the end of the war when I was sent to Kazanlık (in Bulgaria) the
Grand Duke refused to receive me. So it would have been much better
had the Bab-ı âli not published my report when it did.
Grand Duke Nicholas
In any event, at that point in my conversation with the Grand Duke, a
waiter came to announce that the Grand Duke's meal was ready. He
himself, though, wasn't feeling well so I ate with his chief of staff and
the fellows I knew from Istanbul who were there serving as political
advisors. After the meal was over, I went to see the Grand Duke to say
good-bye.
Then, Haşim Bey and I headed back the same way we had come,
toward our (Ottoman) lines. Along the way, it seems we passed by the
HQS of the Danube East Army, which the Tsar (probably meaning the
Tsar's son) was commanding. My Russian escort did not mention this
and I said nothing about it either. But I was able to discern that there
was not a large troop concentration there and this became yet another
important piece of information that I could report to my commander
upon my return, as the fruit of my short mission.
As we approached our (Ottoman) HQS, I came to understand that while
I had been on the Russian side, there had been a change in the battlefield
landscape. I knew this because now and then Haşim Bey untied my
blindfold and I was able to look around. I still didn't know what Hacı's
fate had been but I understood that the Russians had abandoned the Lom
Valley after our attack. Later, based on news we received, I learned that
sterling victories had been achieved by Fuad Paşa at Kaçslov, by Nacib
Paşa at Karahasan village, and by Salih Sarım Paşa at Sarınashular.
Unfortunately, after these victories the enemy was not pursued and the
strategic advantage was lost. So these victories served as nothing more
than small tactical gains.
//END of PART IX//
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