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The Defence of Plevna, 1877; Written by One Who Took Part in It
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX C TURKISH AND OTHER WORDS USED IN GEOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE, IN THE COMPOSITION OF PROPER NAMES AND NICKNAMES, OR OTHERWISE EMPLOYED IN THIS VOLUME A. --Arabic; B. = Bulgarian; P. = Persian; Rou. = Roumanian; Ru. = Russian; = Servian. Where no indication is given, the word belongs to the Turkish language. Al1d (A.); servant Abdul (A.); tho Arabic proper names commencing with Abdul signify ' the servant of God, ' the Deity being named by some attribute; for instance, Abdul Rahman, the servant of the Merciful Abdullah (A.); the servant of God Ada; island Aga; official, master; also a title given to officials and officers of low rank, which in Arabic precedes the name, in Turkish follows it Agach; tree Agrisi; pain Ak; white Akbar (A.); great Alai; regiment Alaili; trooper; also an officer who has risen from the ranks Araba; cart Arabji; train soldier Ashaga; lower Aziz; beloved Baba; father Bagh; vineyard Baghche; garden Baghlctrbashi; summit of the vineyards Bair; hill Bakal; grocer Bakshish; alms, beer-money Bash; head Bash agrisi; headache Bash chawush; head sergeant Bashi; ace. sing, of bash, head, expressing possession: for instance, bitibashi, a man who possesses 1,000 heads, i.e. a major. (The numerals are followed by the noun in the singular) Bashi Bazouk; madman. (See Note 28, p. 445) Bazar; market, mart Beirak; standard, banner Beirakdar; standard-bearer Bey; lord; also a title given to
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
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December 19, 2017
I'm not quite sure how I stumbled across this free download but it was excellent. The oddly named Captain von Herbert (of mixed English and German descent) volunteered to serve in the Turkish army - but why he does not explain. (This is the conflict when English public opinion was definitely not on the side of the Turks - vide Gladstone and the "Bulgarian Atrocities").
As a lifelong contrarian I would have liked to know more of his reasons for joining the losing side in this conflict. I suspect he was mainly motivated by a sense of adventure. Certainly, he does not share the Muslim faith of his colleagues (he even sneaks off to pray in a Bulgarian Orthodox church before one battle - making sure to change out of uniform first).
The account of the military course of events is lucid and easy to follow, and we also get an extraordinarily vivid and atmospheric account of the author's experiences in camp, on the march, and in battle. The fact that he survived to write this is almost miraculous. (In the preface, General Sir John French recounts how he comes across von Herbert during the Boer War more than twenty years later, and commends him for these excellent insights into why it's a bad idea to make massed frontal infantry assaults on prepared fortifications...unfortunately General French seemed to have forgotten this book completely judging by his dismal performance in the early part of the first world war...)
There are some bizarre vignettes: young von Herbert and his best mate Jack Seymour (another unlikely name for an Ottoman officer - he has a Turkish mother and an English father) take part in amateur theatricals in drag, which is so successful (they are both virtually beardless youths still) that the Turkish soldiery howl with laughter and the performances eventually have to be stopped because they are officers after all and it risks undermining discipline.
I won't disclose how Seymour and Herbert part but it was powerfully poignant. This war, like all Balkan conflicts, was marked by terrible suffering and atrocities carried out on both sides. The author claims that most of those committed by the Ottomans were carried out by their irregular Circassian cavalry, of whom he is quite contemptuous, both morally and militarily. The ordinary soldiers on all sides, in his experience, showed a quite exceptional bravery, an extraordinary ability to absorb suffering, and even a capacity for unexpected acts of kindness to enemy wounded. Wonderful and moving stuff.
As a lifelong contrarian I would have liked to know more of his reasons for joining the losing side in this conflict. I suspect he was mainly motivated by a sense of adventure. Certainly, he does not share the Muslim faith of his colleagues (he even sneaks off to pray in a Bulgarian Orthodox church before one battle - making sure to change out of uniform first).
The account of the military course of events is lucid and easy to follow, and we also get an extraordinarily vivid and atmospheric account of the author's experiences in camp, on the march, and in battle. The fact that he survived to write this is almost miraculous. (In the preface, General Sir John French recounts how he comes across von Herbert during the Boer War more than twenty years later, and commends him for these excellent insights into why it's a bad idea to make massed frontal infantry assaults on prepared fortifications...unfortunately General French seemed to have forgotten this book completely judging by his dismal performance in the early part of the first world war...)
There are some bizarre vignettes: young von Herbert and his best mate Jack Seymour (another unlikely name for an Ottoman officer - he has a Turkish mother and an English father) take part in amateur theatricals in drag, which is so successful (they are both virtually beardless youths still) that the Turkish soldiery howl with laughter and the performances eventually have to be stopped because they are officers after all and it risks undermining discipline.
I won't disclose how Seymour and Herbert part but it was powerfully poignant. This war, like all Balkan conflicts, was marked by terrible suffering and atrocities carried out on both sides. The author claims that most of those committed by the Ottomans were carried out by their irregular Circassian cavalry, of whom he is quite contemptuous, both morally and militarily. The ordinary soldiers on all sides, in his experience, showed a quite exceptional bravery, an extraordinary ability to absorb suffering, and even a capacity for unexpected acts of kindness to enemy wounded. Wonderful and moving stuff.
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