While the small Russian fleet in the Black Sea performed bri
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
While the small Russian fleet in the Black Sea performed brilliantly against the Turks, the Russian army’s 1877 campaigning revealed that its post-Crimean War reforms had not really taken effect. Although bravery and sheer numbers produced an eventual Russian victory over the Turks in both the Bulgarian and the Caucasian theaters of operation, there were far too many examples of “extremely inadequate reconnaissance of the enemy positions, lack of coordination between the units, and confusion in the high command”;104 and the threat of British and Austrian intervention on Turkey’s behalf compelled the Russian government, once again aware of a looming bankruptcy, to agree to compromise on its demands by late 1877.
chapter: The Wars of German Unification