OPERATIONS OF THE ALLIES IN THE SEA OF AZOV.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 305, 3 October 1855, Page 5

OPERATIONS OF THE ALLIES IN THE SEA OF AZOV.

We have previously given an account of the starting of the first expedition against Kertch and its subsequent recal by General Canrobert, by the order of the Home Government. The results of the secuui expedition will be found below, extracted from the Melbourne Age and other papers : — " When Pelissier assumed the command a second expedition was organized. It consisted of French, English, and Turkish troops, and sailed on the 22nd May, under the command of Sir George Brown. On the 24th (the Queen's birthday) the expedition landed at Kertch, a town situated on the straits of that name, which lead into the Sea of Azov. The Russians, seized with a panic, fled without striking a hlo-.y, destroyed three of their steamers, together with about thirty transports and trading vessels, and blew up their fortifications on° both sides of the straits. They also burned their magazines, containing, according to the report of the Freuch admiral, 160,000 sacks of oats, 360,000 sacks of corn, and 100,000 sacks of flour. Yeni-Kaleh, a^station on the f strails, and further to the east of Kertch, fell on the 25th ; and on the same evening, the flags of the allies floated in the Sea of Azov. On the 261h and 27th their steamers shelled Arabat, blowing up the magazine, destroying above 100 ships in their cruises, capturing 100 guns, and in fact putting an end to the last rag of Russian naval domination in those seas. On the 28th five vessels laden with corn, which had run into Kertch, ignorant of the place having changed hands, were captured. According to a despatch from Sir E. Lyons, dated May 31st, the squadron in the Sea of Azov had appeared before Genitch, (a place at the extreme north of the long sand ridge which divides the Sea of Azov from the Putrid Sea, and along which the Russians had a road, of which Arabat formed the southern terminus), landed a body of seamen and marines, and after driving the Russian force from the place, had destroyed all the depots aud vessels laden with corn and supplies for the army. One man only was wounded. Since entering the Sea of Azov four steamers of war and 240 vessels employed in conveying supplies to the Russian army in the Crimea have been destroyed. From the Correspondent of the " Age. " The first expedition to Kertsck returned, but a second started soon after, consisting of 14 steamers of the Allies, which have entered the Sea of Azov, burning and destroying all the Russian depots, capturing a large number of guns. They took Kertseh so quick that some Russian ships ran into the harbour and fell at once into our hands. The Russians retreated without striking a blow, except at their own works aud stores ; and have left the Allies in possession of one of the principal sources from which they drew their supplies. By this success, the entire Circassian coast is cut off; and the contest is carried on within the contracted limits of a peninsula where the numerical strength ofthe enemy cannot be brought to bear against us, and where it becomes every day more difficult to support a large body of troops aud to secure a line of retreat. The Russians will soon, in fact, have no base of operations but the burning steppes behind the river Salghir, which caunotbe crossed by large bodies of men in the height of summer without severe loss, and cannot in any manner be occupied or defended. According" to all experience of war, the Russian army in the interior of the Crimea must be in a position of great embarrassment; for its movements are confined within a small peninsula, having only two, or at most three, lines of road for the arrival of supplies or the withdrawal of the troops ; aud even the lines of road by the tongue of Arabat and by tbe bridge over the Putrid Sea, will be interrupted by the Allies, the steam gunboats in the Sea of Azov forcing tbe passages of Genitchi, between Arabat and the main land. Lord Raglan's first despatch is as follows:— Before Sebastopol, May 27, 1855. We are masters of the Sea of Azov, without a casualty. The troops landed at Kertseh on her Majesty's birthday, and the enemy fled, blowing up their fortifications on both sides of the Straits, and destroying their steamers. Some vessels of fifty guns have fallen into'the hands of the Allies. Tlie second communication from Lord Paninure informs us that he has received further intelligence from Lord Raglan. His Lordship states, that Lieuteuant-Geucrul Sir G. Brown,

on the 24th, destroyed a foundry in the vicinity of Kertsch, where shot, shell, and minie rifle balls were manufactured. The land forces reached Yenikale, on the sea of Azov, on the 25th instant at one p.m. The Moniteur also announces that the Minister of the Murine and of the Colonies has received from Vice-Admiral Bruat a despatch to the followintr effect:— «* Sea of Azov, May, 1855. Our expedition has perfectly succeeded. The batteries on tbe coast at Kertch and Yenikale are in our power. The Russians burnt three of their steamers, and some thirty transports and trading vessels. As many were captured. In the evening we entered the Sea of Azov.' The Russians burnt their magazines at Kertsch, which contained 160.000 sacks of oats, 360,000 sacks of corn, and 100,000 sacks of fiour. The cordial nlliatue displayed before Sebastopol was still further cemented by the two nations, at Kertsch. On the anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth day, the allied fleets disembarked in the bay of Kertch, a corps d'drmee, composed of British, French, and Turkish soldiers, under the command of the gallant veteran Sir George Brown. The details of this expedition are, of course, still unknown ; but the ready politeness of Lord Panmure has placed the public in possession of the principal events that had occurred up to the 25th ultimo. The troops landed at Kertsch, according to the despatches received from Lord Raglan, without opposition, and obtained possession of the town without having to deplore a single casualty. The enemy fled, after blowing up"the fortifications that had been constructed on both sides of the Straits that connect the Euxine aud the Sea of Azov. The Russians likewise destroyed their steamers, while some large frigates Veil into the hands of the allies. The possession of these steamers and vessels had hitherto enabled the enemy to communicate uninterruptedly with the opposite coast, and thus provisions and reinforcements had poured freely into Sebastopol. Had Kertsch been occcupied by the Allies earlier in the campaign, the resources of the garrison would have been crippled beyond measure. The future is, however, too brilliant that we should manifest any disposition to cavil at the past. On the afternoon of the successful landing, Sir George Brown continued his advance along the straits, and destroyed a foundry established in the neighbourhood of Kertsch," where shot, shell, and Minie balls were manufactured. This was, doubtless, one of the many sources from which the garrison of Sebastopol had constantly replenished their decreasing stock of ammunition.^ The following day the allies pushed on to Yenikale, a small town on the coast, which they reached at one, p.m., in the following order —The French occupied the right, on the sea coast, and the British the left, that being, in fact, the same plan of advance that distinguished the march from Kalamita Bay to the Aima. The Turks who had embarked direct fiom Eupatoria, formed the reserve. Here closes the official account ofthe Kertsch expedition. As soon as the founderies, barracks, and fortification of the Russians on that point of the Crimea have been totally destroyed, we may anticipate the re-embarkation of the allies, who will proceed on some other enterprize. Anapa willprobably;be attacked, and the capture of that Russian stronghold will be, perhaps, the next feat performed by Sir George Brown. The Sea of Azov has now ceased to be a mere Russian lake, and is occupied by the allied squadron. I now subjoin a batch of telegraphic despatches received yesterday and to-day by the English and French Governments :•— Sir George Browu reports, on the 28th instant, that the troops continued healthy: that five vessels, laden with corn, had run into Kertsch, ignorant of the place having been taken, and were captured ; and that the number of guns taken by tbe allies exceeds 100. Letters received from Sir George Brown and Sir E. Lyons on the 29th announce the destruction by the enemy of four Russian war steamers and large depots of corn. The allied ships have succeeded in blowing up a magazine at Arabat, aud iv destroying about 101) merchantmen. Only one steamship remains of the enemy in the Sea of Azof. Tbe Moniteur has the following:—The Minister of War has received the following despatch from General Pelissier, dated May 30 eleven, p.m.:— ' "'•■ l have news from Kertch of the 29th May.

All goes on well. The flotilla of the allies had returned from the sea of Azov. It destroyed 106 merchantmen at Berdiansk. The Russians themselves burnt four of their steamers and considerable stores of grain. A strong garrison left at Yenikale assures to us the possession of the Straits. The expedition has captured ninety guns of different calibre." The Minister of Marine has received the following despatch from Vice-Admiral Bruat:— " Straits of Kertch, May 29. " Commander Lesaiges, of the Lucifer, and his colleague, Captain Lyons of the Miranda, announced that on the 26th of May the allied flotilla sent into the Sea of Azov, having appeared before Berdiansk, tlie enemy set fire to four of their steamers, and to large storehouses. On the following day the Bay of Arabat was visited, but no vessel was seen. The allied flotilla exchanged a brisk cannonade with the forts, and one of its shells blew up a '.powder magazine. In three days 106 merchantmen have been destroyed by the cruisers of the Allies. The Russians have only one small steamer, of 30 horse power, left in the sea of Azov." " Admiralty, June 3. "The Secretary of the Admiralty presents his compliments, and begs to state that intelligence has been received at the Admiralty from Sir E. Lyons, at Kertsch, dated the 31st of May, to the effect that the squadron in the Sea of Azov has appeared before Genitchi, landed a body nf seamen and marines, and, after driving the Russian force from the place, has destroyed all the depots and vessels laden with corn and supplies for the Russian army. One man only was wounded. Since entering the Sea of Azov, four steamers of war, and 240 vessels employed in conveying supplies to the Russian army in the Crimea, have been destroyed." " War Department, June 3. "Lord Panmure presents his compliments, and begs to state that he has this day received the following intelligence from Lord Raglan, dated the 2nd of June ; — '" Naval operations under Admral Lyons in the Sea of Azov continue to be permanently successful. "'Enemy driven by bombardment from Genitchi. Ninety vessels fouud there, laden with supplies for army, destroyed." The Morning Post, in a third edition to-day, states that Sanitchis has been destroyed, with a month's rations for the Russians. The Times, in its leading article of to-day, says :—" Genitchi commands the strait between the mainland and the tongue of Arabat, and also the communication between the Putrid Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is, therefore, a point of the greatest consequence for transport both by land and water, and we are not surprised to find that the Russians had accumulated there very large quantities of stores for the army. The Strait of Genitchi, across which there is a ferry, is said to be not more than sixty fathoms wide: but it is deep, and it serves to carry off the waters of the Putrid Sea into tht Sea of Azov. Of the Putrid Sea itself, (or Sirwash, as it is properly called), scarcely anything is known, and it is wholly unmarked by soundings in any charts that we possess. It appears, however, to present considerable analogy to the lagunes which encircle Venice, and, though it may be inaccessible to steamers of war, we do not despair of ships' boats performing a service in these waters which might be of the most essential importance to this campaign. The Russians have within the last ten years, as we took occasion to state some months ago, constructed a road on piles across the Sirwash, at one of its narrowest points, which connects the Crimea with the mainland by a wooden bridge about 200 fathoms in length. This military road, lying between the Isthmus of Perekop and the tongue of Arabat, is more practicable for an army than either of the two natural communications," and nothing would be more fatal to the Russians than the destruction of the wooden bridge which completes this line of communication. The distance from Genitchi to the bridge cannot be more than twenty or twenty-five miles. We are of course ignorant of the depth of water there may be in the lagunes; but if it be sufficient lo float the ships' boats, and we hold the entrance lo this inland water, there in no reason why the destruction of this road should not be attempted." General Prince Gortschakoff writes from the Crimea, under date of the 29th ultimo, that on ihe 24th the allied squadrons, after having doubled Cape Kamiesch, occupied Kertsch and

Yenikale. The garrisons of those places, after spiking the guns and destroying the Russian ships that were in the harbours, retreated towards Arghym without sustaining any material loss. The Prince says, further, that he has taken measures to prevent the interception of the communications of the Russian army. The allied fleets passed Bucliassik on the 29th. The following authentic intelligence has been received from Varna:—• The latest advices from the Sea of Azov state that the steam flotilla of the allies has destroyed above two hundred vessels and six millions of rations of corn and flour destined for the Russian army at Sebastopol. The corps which Omar Pacha has embarked at Eupatoria and landed nt Kamiesch consists of 25,000 picked men and forty guns. They were to be replaced by an Egyptian and Tunisian division. The Russians are rapidly raising redoubts on tbe north side of Sebastopol, but they are not yet armed ; 60,000 of the allipd troops will remain before Sebastopol when the advance is made. General Mouravieff, commander-in-chief of the Russian detached army of the Caucasus, is in great want of reinforcements. To supply their want he is attempting to raise troops by voluntary enlistment fiom among the Armenian population. He is at the same time endeavouring to negotiate a suspension of hostilities with Schamyl. Under the orders of General Williams, fifteen redoubts have been constructed for the defence of Erzerouui. It is believed that new hostilities will not be long delayed. The result of the victorious occupation ofthe town of Kertsch by the allied forces, and the command we have thus obtained of the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the Sea of Azov (says,the Times), is the most glorious and the more extraordinary, as the Russians must, long have foreseen that such an \ operation would sooner or later be attempted, and there is no point in the vast dominions of Russia the loss of which is more formidable to that Empire. Indeed, if the allies proceeded no further than to occupy and hold the Straits of Yenikale and the adjacent peninsula of Kertsch—which is easily defensible by any power having the command of the sea—they would remain in possession of the key to one of the principal approaches of the Russian territories. In 1851 no less than 1,000 trading vessels passed the Straits. Taganrog, Mariauopol, Berdianski, and Kertsch, all commercial towns, which it has been the policy of the Russian Government to protect and foster with the utmost care for the last seventy years, exist only by the freedom of trade between the Sea of Azov and the Euxine. The whole exports of the valley of the Don, and its tributaries, and the communication between the Don and the Volga, which places the trade of that mighty stream in connection with the markets of Europe, all depend on this neck of the Sea of Azov, so that it is no exaggeration to assert that our occupation of Kertsch will he felt in the interior of Russia, even to the Kazan and Nishni Novogorod. On the Asiatic shore of the Straits the Russians have also destroyed their fortifications, so that both sides may be occupied, and the allied forces will threaten or blockade Anapa, which is the key to the whole Ciicassian Coast. Kertsch itself is a flourishing town of about 12,000 inhabitants, built entirely of substantial stone houses. The inhabitants are 'chiefly Greeks aud Tartars, and for the first time since the commencement of these operations our troops will find themselves in contact with what may be termed, by comparison, a civilized community. The climate, though cold in winter, is healthy and genial in this season. The surrounding country, which is termed by the Russians the district of KertschEnikolsk, is luxuriously fertile wherever it is cultivated: it is separated from Kaffa by about sixty miles of undulating plain, lying between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, and the isthmus dividing the Bay of Kaffa from Arabat is not more than twelve miles in breadth. A more favourable position, either for military or commercial operations, cannot be found ; and in the flourishing days of the Crimea, both in antiquity, under the Genoese, and even under the Khan of Khazaria, tbe chief seat of power and of wealth was always on this eastern extremity of the peninsula. These facts being well known, it is difficult to explain why this expedition was not made at a much earlier period of the war, for the forces which~languished _during last July at Varna might "hare

long,since seized the forts at Yanikale. It is true that the soundings which have enabled Admiral Lyons and Admiral Bruat to plan this successful attack, had uot then been taken, and the manner in which they were obtained is curious. A British naval officer, whose name has unfortunately not yet reached us, captured a vessel having on board a private carriage belonging to the Russian Governor of Kertsch. With this " material pledge" in his possession, he sent in a polite message to the Governor, slating that the English cruiser was unwilling to deprive him of his private property, and would have great pleasure in restoring tlie carriage to its former owner. The offer was accepted, and the ships' boats entered the Bay of Kertsch, with the vehicle on board, sounding as they went. By this means it was ascertained that there was a passage for the small steamers to within a short distance of the coast. x Among the other immediate advantages resulting from the occupation of the Straits, may be reckoned the interruption of the supplies which the Russian army in the Crimea has hitherto drawn from the Sea of Azov. Very large quantities of wheat, flour, and oats, were found at Kertsch, and upwards of sixty vessels engaged in this service, of which about half were burnt by the enemy and half were taken. The maintenance of a large army in the interior of the Crimea will become a task of insuperable difficulty, if the. whole of its supplies and food bave to be brought by land across the steppes north of the Salghir. The Crimea itself does not produce corn enough to feed its own spare population, and it was by communication with the inexhaustible granaries of the Sea of Azov that the Russian magazines were supplied. This circumstance may serve to account in part for the fact, that the Russians have apparently not attempted to throw very large reinforcements into ihe Crimea. The strength of their army must be regulated not only by the numbers they may be able to convey there, but by tlie means of supporting them. There are very strong reasons for believing that the strength of that Russian army which at one time threatened Balaclava, and held our brave but suffering forces besieged in our own lines, will turn out to be very much below what it was at one time supposed to be. A thin line of Cossacks perpetually threatened our outposts, and even led the allied generals to contract their position within the narrowest defensible compass. But what was behind the screen? Whenever a partial reconnaisance has beeu made, our troops have come in contact with no enemy capable of holding a position ; and it is by no means improbable that the innumerable hordes of Russians supposed to be wintering in impregnable quarters behind the low range of hills north of the Tchernaya, were as much reduced as the besiegers of Sebastopol. Admiralty, June 5, 1855. The Secretary of tbe admiralty presents his compliments to the Editor of The Sun, and begs to acquaint him that the following intelligence, dated 4th June, has been received from Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons ; — *' Captain Moore, of H.M.3. Highflyer, who has just returned from the coast of Circassia reports that tlie euemy had entirely evacuated Soujak Kali, after destroying all* the public buildings, sixty guns, and six mortars. The enemy appears to be concentrating at Anapa, and to be strengthening his works there. The fort on the road belweeu Soujak Kali and Anapa is also evacuated."

The Devonport Telegraph of lune2, gives thereport (the truth of which is doubted) of a great battle having been fought, Liprandi surrounded, and 8,000 of his men killed ; Canrobert wounded, and a French general killed.