hich his retreating troops
had been able to carry off. "Why did they refuse you reinforcements?" I
asked. "Who was to blame?" "I blame nobody," he replied; "it is the will
of God!"'[185]

[Footnote 183: _War Correspondence_, vol. i. pp. 441-442. Cassell
(Ollier), pp. 404-405, where a plan of the Loftcha struggle is given.]

[Footnote 184: It is not clear what these were; probably the tenth and
thirtieth divisions, composing the fourth corps. Compare _Daily News War
Correspondence_, vol. i. pp. 443 and 444.]

[Footnote 185: _War Correspondence_, vol. i. pp. 482-483.]

VI.

We have thus loosely described how the Turks had effectually disposed of
the whole Russian attack excepting that of the Roumanians, and now we
must turn for a moment to enquire what was occurring at Grivitza. This
redoubt is constantly referred to by the correspondents as the most
formidable of all the Turkish positions. It is called 'the indomitable
Grivica redoubt;' 'the dreaded redoubt;' 'they' (the Russians) 'may
bombard it for a week, sacrifice a brigade of infantry, and not succeed
in taking it.' 'The Turkish positions,' says one writer, 'opposite to
the Roumanian section, are the stronger both by nature and art. But
there are but 28,000 Roumanians to 50,000 Russians. It seems logically
to follow that the function of the Roumanians is intended to be chiefly
of a demonstrative character.'[186] How 'demonstrative' it was we shall
see presently.

Already on the 7th and 8th, the Russian siege guns had been pushed
forward in closer proximity to the Grivitza, and on the 9th the
Roumanians worked their batteries nearer to it; whilst on the 10th their
infantry occupied a natural shelter-trench, from which they were picking
off the Turkish gunners in the redoubt. On the same day a couple of
companies of Russians, thinking the redoubt was evacuated, made an
attempt to take it, but when a small party of advancing skirmishers
arrived within a hundred yards of the foot of the glacis, they were
confronted by a row of rifle muzzles and Turkish heads, and thought it
more prudent to retire.

On the 11th, however, the Roumanians, with whom were three battalions of
Russians, made their 'demonstration' against the Grivitza simultaneously
with the Russian attacks on the other redoubts. Little attention appears
to have been paid to them in the slaughter of that terrible day, but on
the following the correspondents narrated the result of their
operations, an