sand inhabitants, principally Turks, and is a closely built and dirty city, blessed with a charming situation.

The main road from Selvi enters the amphitheatre from the east, and thence turns northward to Plevna. As already stated, the position of Lovatz is strategically important, and its possession was very necessary to the Russians as a part of the projected operations against Plevna.

The attack was intrusted to Prince Imeretinski, with Skobeleff under his orders.

The Russian force engaged amounted to about twenty-two thousand men, and consisted of Imeretinski's own division, the second, one brigade of the third division, Dobrovolski's third rifle brigade, some detached regiments, a brigade of Cossack cavalry, and ten batteries. The Turkish force is somewhat uncertain, but is represented by themselves to have consisted of about ten battalions, with an uncertain number of guns.

On the morning of the 2d September Skobeleff gained possession of two peaks of the crest encircling Lovatz just north of the Selvi road; the Turks held the rest of the amphitheatre. Some redoubts and numerous lines of strong rifle-pits covered the approaches to Lovatz in all directions.

During the night of the 2d and 3d the Russian troops were quietly brought into position behind the crest of the hills, and in the vicinity of the Selvi road. The right wing was under the command of General Dobrovolski, the left under Skobeleff, the reserve under General Engmann. About six o'clock on the morning of the 3d the batteries were in position and opened fire.

At seven o'clock Dobrovolski began his advance upon some small hills on the right bank of the Osma, where in addition to the riflepits were two redoubts without artillery. By ten o'clock these redoubts and all the lines on that side were carried. As soon as this result was reached, Skobeleff moved to the attack of the redoubt on the eastern end of the cross ridge referred to as intersecting the bottom of the valley. His advance was covered by a heavy fire of artillery, and by one o'clock he had complete possession of the redoubt, and with it of the town of Lovatz. There now remained the strong work on the western end of the cross ridge.

At half past two the preparations for attacking this work were

complete. To reach the base of the ridge on which it was situated, it was necessary to cross a plain about half a mile wide, most of it entirely open. But under cover of their artillery the Russian infantry advanced rapidly under a very heavy but ill-directed fire.

After several feints to withdraw the attention of the Turks from the true point of attack, the final rush was made, and the work carried. The defenders held out bravely, and few escaped. The whole of the Turkish position was now in the hands of the Russians, whose loss was less than one thousand men, while that of the Turks was much heavier; the Russians state that they buried twenty-two hundred Turkish dead. The slight loss of the Russians was due partly to the fact that the Turks fired too high, but mainly to the skilful handling of the Russian generals, who, far from repeating the blunders of Plevna, never exposed masses to a heavy fire. The capture of Lovatz was very important, not alone from its strategical value, but from the proof it affords of what Russian troops can do when well handled.

On the following day Osman Pasha attempted to recapture Lovatz, but was readily repulsed.

The operations against Lovatz were preliminary to the renewal of active operations against Plevna. During the night of the 6th and 7th of September the Russians placed several batteries in position, and on the morning of the 7th opened a heavy fire upon the Russian works. This fire continued during the day. During the following night the batteries were brought nearer to the front, and kept up the cannonade all day; on the afternoon of the 8th the second and third divisions, on the extreme Russian left, occupied the heights south of Olcagas with moderate loss.

During the forenoon of the 9th the Turks made a sortie against Imeretinski and Skobeleff on the extreme Russian left, but were repulsed with heavy loss. During the same day the Roumanians, coming from Verbitza, closed in from the north, occupying the ground from the Wid to the Russian right near Grivitza, so that Plevna was now completely hemmed in on the eastern side of the Wid. The positions of the allied troops were then about as follows: the third, fourth, and second Roumanian divisions, in the order named, extending from Bivolar to the vicinity of Grivitza; the fifth Russian division east of the great redoubt, the thirty-first south of the fifth, the thirtieth with its left at Radichevo, the sixteenth on

its left extending to the Bogot stream, the third and second divisions prolonging the line towards the west as far as the Karagui stream. Headquarters and the reserve at Poradim. During the night of the 9th and 10th new batteries were established by the Russians still closer to the Turkish lines, and the artillery fire was well maintained during the following day.

On the 11th the assault was made upon the great redoubt at Grivitza, and upon the redoubts south of Olcagas, commanding the Turkish line of retreat by the Sophia road.

The attack upon the latter was intrusted to Skobeleff, who had under his command four regiments of the line, four battalions of rifles, and some twenty guns. In order to place his men in position to attack the redoubt in his immediate front, it was necessary to occupy a hill not far from the work. While engaged in effecting this, the Turks made a desperate attack, which extended considerably to Skobeleff's right. After severe fighting this attack was repulsed, and the hill occupied by the Russians, who now brought their guns within short range, and opened a very rapid fire upon the works. Late in the afternoon he ordered forward two regiments of the line, and two battalions of rifles, with directions not to fire, but to rush for the redoubt. With music playing, the line advanced rapidly, closely watched by Skobeleff. The fire was terrific, and the assaulting party began to hesitate; at once he threw forward another regiment, and thus carried the line still farther toward the redoubt. Again the line hesitates, and he throws in his last regiment, which carries it nearly to the edge of the ditch. Here they waver again under the murderous fire, when Skobeleff puts himself at the head of the two remaining battalions of rifles, and with the most conspicuous gallantry leads his command over the parapet into the work. Few of the garrison escaped, but the hillside was covered with some two thousand dead and wounded Russians.

Meanwhile other partial attacks had been made without success, but in the vicinity of Grivitza very serious fighting had occurred.

About one o'clock a division of the fourth corps assaulted one of the large central redoubts, near Grivitza, but was repulsed. At four o'clock twelve battalions renewed the attack, reached the ditch, and at one time even entered the work, but after displaying