Serbia Declares War on Ottoman Empire

The campaign had lasted ten weeks and had resulted slightly to the disadvantage of the Serbians.

Continuing Russo-Turkish War 1877,
our selection from Political History of Recent Times by Wilhelm Mueller published in 1882. The selection is presented in twelve easy 5-minute installments. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in Russo-Turkish War 1877.

Time: 1877-1878
Place: Balkans

After some diplomatic correspondence the Serbian Government dispatched an ultimatum on June 27th demanding the “removal from the Serbian frontier of the Turkish army, together with the wild hordes of Bashi-Bazouks, Circassians, Arnauts [Albanians], and Kurds,” the appointment of Prince Milan as viceroy of Bosnia, and the occupation of the disturbed provinces by the Serbian army. The union of Bosnia with Serbia, and Herzegovina with Montenegro, seemed to the Porte too high a price for the maintenance of peace; accordingly on July 2nd the Serbian army crossed the Turkish border, and at the same time Prince Nikita, who had already called into the field the whole able-bodied population between the ages of seventeen and sixty, announced to the Porte that he preferred open war to the state of virtual siege in which bis principality was kept by the Turkish forces on the border.

The Serbian field army numbered about eighty thousand men but of these only three thousand were regular troops, while there was no reserve from which to supply the losses of battle.

Russia manifested the liveliest sympathy for the Serbians. Of the six to eight thousand foreign volunteers in the Serbian army fully three thousand were Russians, and many of the officers were of the same nationality. Money and hospital stores were freely supplied from the Northern Empire; the Empress put herself at the head of the benevolent societies organized for the benefit of the Serbians and Montenegrins; collections were taken up from house to house and numerous ladies and physicians hastened to offer their services at the seat of war. The Emperor maintained an attitude of reserve but the whole nation saluted the Serbians and Montenegrins as brothers fighting in the common quarrel of the Slavonic race. The Montenegrin army, consisting almost exclusively of militia, numbered fifteen thousand men, divided into two parts, in order to make head at the same time toward the north and south. The insurgents in Herzegovina were under the command of the Prince of Montenegro, while those in Bosnia fought independently. The Turkish army at the outset of the campaign numbered one hundred fifty thousand men, under the command of Abdul-Kerim and this force was constantly increased by fresh troops from Asia and Africa, who were paid by means of Abdul-Aziz’s confiscated treasures. The Turks were seriously impeded, however, in their prosecution of the war by the fact that they were compelled to recognize the neutrality of the Danube; in addition to which the harbor of Klek, where reinforcements were to have been debarked for Mukhtar Pacha, was closed by the Austrians.

On July 2nd Chernayeff crossed the Turkish frontier and severed the communications between Abdul-Kerim at Nish and Osman Pacha at Viddin. But he was unable to maintain his position, and on the 14th Abdul-Kerim became in his turn the invader. On August 4th and 5th, the Serbians were defeated at Knyazebac but Abdul-Kerim did not know how to improve his victory, and Chernayeff was allowed to fortify himself at Bania and Alexinatz. This position was attacked by the Turks on August 19th but after six days’ fighting, they were repulsed. The attack was renewed on the 28th, but with the same result. An attack on September 1st was more successful, and after eleven hours’ fighting the Turks carried the Serbian position before Alexinatz but again they failed to improve their victory, and Chernayeff was allowed to intrench himself between Alexinatz and Deligrad. On the 11th and 16th, the Serbians assumed the offensive but were repulsed.

The campaign had lasted ten weeks and had resulted slightly to the disadvantage of the Serbians; their main army, together with the army of the Timok, had been worsted, and the smaller forces operating in the northwest and southwest had proved too weak to accomplish anything. For the rest, although the Montenegrins had been victorious in both the north and the south, all the other allies on whom Serbia had counted had failed her utterly. Neither Roumania nor Greece had moved; Bulgaria was crushed, and the Bosnians were held in check by the Turks.

It was no wonder, therefore, that the demand for peace should make itself heard in Belgrade, and on September 16th a ten-days’ armistice was concluded. This armistice was the direct work of the great Powers. The Gortschakoft memorandum never had been presented to the Porte, on account of the revolution of May 30th. The leaders of that revolution, Hasan Avni Pacha and Midhat Pacha, while agreed in their hostility to Russia, differed radically in regard to internal policy. The former belonged to the old Turks and clung to ancient forms and customs; the latter believed in pretending to rule according to European methods. On June 15th Hasan Avni Pacha and Rashid Pacha were murdered. Their places in the Cabinet were supplied by Abdul- Kerim and Savfet Pacha, the former Minister of Justice. On June 9th, in the House of Commons, Disraeli expressed himself full of hope and confidence in reference to the new Turkish era thus inaugurated. Perhaps it was unwillingness to hamper the new Government in its work of reform which led the English ambassador at Constantinople, or the English Government, or both, to suppress the information in their hands regarding the atrocities in Bulgaria. The London Times also suppressed the communications of its correspondent regarding the massacres, so that the first information which reached the English people came through the columns of the Daily News, on June 26th. The Ministry, when questioned in Parliament, denied all knowledge of such events. Ultimately, however, they were forced to send a commissioner to investigate the alleged outrages. As fuller news arrived a revulsion in public opinion set in, and the Government finally found itself obliged to instruct the English ambassador in Constantinople (September 5th) that so much public indignation had been aroused by the late events in Bulgaria that, even in the extreme case of a war with Russia, England would not be able to interfere for the protection of the Ottoman Empire.

More information here and here, and below.