The Other Side of War: Prisoners of War 93 in Romania

Entrance

Sultan II. When Abdulhamid ascended to the throne in 1876, he was faced with major problems that threatened the Ottoman Empire. Among these, the issue of (non)payment of debts received from foreign states and the turmoil that emerged in the Balkans after Russia's policy against the Ottoman Empire were at the forefront. Trying to turn this into an opportunity, the great powers decided to intervene against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman dignitaries, who wanted to prevent these interventions, had the Sultan declare the Basic Law. But no result was obtained from this. When the negotiations with the great powers after the opening of the Parliament failed to yield any results, the Ottoman Empire was left alone against Russia. Russia, which declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1877, launched an attack from the northwest and northeast of the Black Sea. The Russian troops, who advanced through Romania, which the Ottoman Empire called Memleketeyn (Efak-Moldova), and crossed the Şipka Pass, were stopped by Osman Pasha, the commander of the Vidin forces, in Pleven on July 19, 1877. The troops under the command of Osman Pasha were able to stop the Russians here for only 6-7 months.

Before declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia received the necessary permissions from the Romanian administration, which had initially declared neutrality, to pass its soldiers through Romanian territory. More precisely, he made a secret agreement with Romania. According to the secret agreement, although Russia would approve Romania's independence, it would support Romania in the international arena, make efforts for Romania to become a kingdom, and ensure the annexation of a part of Dobrudja to Romania. Finally, he would give rifles to arm the Romanian army, to become Romania's property after the war. In return, Romania pledged to side with Russia and declare war on the Ottoman Empire, prepare 50,000 soldiers to act together with the Russians, and allow Russian soldiers to pass through Romania.

After this agreement, Romania became a party to the war against the Ottoman Empire, and then deployed approximately 60,000 soldiers on the banks of the Danube River. Romania, which declared its independence on May 9, 1877, declared war on the Ottoman Empire on May 12, 1877.

Romania, which played a very critical role in the following process, made a serious contribution to the victory of the Russians against the Ottoman Empire during the Pleven Operation.

In this study, the adventure of around 10,000 soldiers who were captured in Pleven on the Danube Front, where the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War took place, and were sent to Romania, will be told on the basis of available sources. In this study, which focuses on people rather than the aspects of military history that emphasize strategy and tactics, the toll of the war and the suffering it caused will be depicted from the eyes of the captured soldiers. The human virtues of the prisoners arising from their world of thought, culture and beliefs will be described. It will be revealed how the presence of prisoners in Romania affected the formation of diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and Romania.

While preparing the study, the Ottoman Archive was used as the main source. In addition, the newspapers of the period, Tercüman-ı Hakikat and Vakit, were scanned and news about the situation of the prisoners was used. At the same time, the works of the travelers who had the opportunity to meet the prisoners while they were in Bucharest and the engravings and paintings of the foreign press depicting the period were used.

Slavery Beginning in Pleven

Russians, receiving support from Romania, intensified the siege in Pleven. Osman Pasha attempted to break the siege on December 10, 1877, but was injured and captured in the process. After the Pasha was captured by the Russians, the Ottoman soldiers in Pleven were also captured by the Russians. Turkish soldiers, whose food and belongings had been plundered by Russian soldiers, were waiting with dignity, hungry and helpless, for the day when they would be put in order and dispatched. During this five-six-day period, one third of these soldiers, who had been under the snow and rain and had been defending Pleven under difficult conditions for a long time, lost their lives due to hunger and cold. The Russians, who started to give food to the soldiers only after seven days, did not have enough food. They also limited the amount considerably. Even though the soldiers were about 30 steps away from the river, the Russians did not even allow the soldiers to drink this water.

It was decided that Gazi Osman Pasha would spend his captivity in Kharkov. However, Osman Pasha was first taken to the headquarters in Bugot, and from there to Bucharest on 26 December 1877. Pasha stayed in a three-room apartment on the first floor of the Grand Hotel in Bucharest. The people of Bucharest were waiting with excitement for this hero who heroically defended his lands in Pleven. When he arrived at the hotel, a little girl presented a bunch of flowers to Gazi Osman Pasha. In response, the Pasha showed his love to the little girl by holding her in his arms. The Pasha left here and was later taken to Kharkov.

“On the snow-covered plains there were only black telegraph poles and the loud flapping sound of scavenger crows. Soon the numbers of scavenger birds increased so much that the gray sky turned almost black. Then, from a distance, breaking the horizon, a long dark line was coming towards us along the road, looking like a caterpillar. It was a convoy of men. Neither the Russian soldiers nor the Romanians heard a joyful song echoing on the snow. This must have been a convoy of Turkish prisoners. Because while they were slowly advancing reluctantly under the weight of their various materials, the bayonets of the Romanian army guards were swinging in front of them. Some of the Turkish officers rode on small horses, some were advancing on foot. Behind them, Russian soldiers who served around Pleven were advancing in a vagrant manner. What a soulless and forced walk it was. Half-starved, almost dead from fatigue and cold, most of these soldiers had fire in their eyes. The brave troops who brought fame to Osman Pasha were arriving. Only bones and rags of clothing followed them insidiously. As typhus and smallpox circled the poor prisoner convoy in the freezing weather, we were getting closer to the wind of the poor creatures. Some of them even broke away from the cage and fell to the ground and died. A miserable prisoner threw himself into the snow on the roadside, unable to go any further. A friend of his, who did not want to leave him, went after the exhausted soldier and tried to persuade him to join the convoy. However, he received no response. The captive soldier had fainted or died. One of the guards, advancing from behind the cage, came to the soldiers who had rolled into the snow, roughly pushed the alive prisoner into the cage, and then pushed the other soldier lying on the surface of the snow with his foot, but there was no sound. He turned the captive soldier's head in the snow with the butt of his gun, but the captive's eyes were looking at him coldly and dully. The Turk was dead. He brutally pushed this prisoner, whom he thought was dead, into the snow, threw his rifle over his shoulder and rejoined the guard unit.

Thousands of birds of prey flocked to the front and back of the cage and were following the miserable cage ruthlessly, like sharks around a sinking ship. A few meters away, lying half covered with snow, was the naked body of another Turk, whose worn-out clothes had been taken by his friends to stay warmer. A scavenging crow had just landed on the hand of a dead captive, and dogs were circling their victim. A few steps away, they brought to us another miserable prisoner who had passed away and whose face was staring at the sky due to the rapidly falling snow. Now we are near a village, where we witness a fight between a dog and a pig to decide which one can reach the cold corpse first. This was Putinein's village, and the village was almost lost in snow and ice. How different this village looked from when I first passed it at the beginning of summer, in search of Dragomirof, known as the best crossing point of the Danube. Back then we suffered from mosquitoes, sweltering heat, and blinding dust; now we are shivering in our furs because of the cold.”

Some of the Turkish prisoners who took shelter and were treated in the death house in this village tried to create a place sheltered from the cold by creating a space between the corpses of their dead friends next to them. In the hut, they tried to protect themselves from the cold by taking the clothes of their dead friends and lighting a weak fire. In this turmoil, they struggled throughout the night to stay warm.

What two merchants from Pest, who encountered the captives and witnessed what happened, told the Ottoman examination officers, revealed the gravity of what was done to the Turkish captives. Accordingly, about 3,500 of the soldiers who were captured in Pleven and died from cold and disease until they arrived in Nicopolis could not be buried and remained on the roads. Vlachs were passing by these funerals with their cars. The brutality and barbarism that the Vlachs inflicted on Ottoman captives was not something that any nation would allow until now. What happened was beyond the human heart's ability to tolerate. The officers who were responsible for transporting the sick and paid prisoners who were unable to walk were beating these prisoners in a heartbreaking way. Those who fell to the ground with no strength left were tied to the back of the cars by their throats with the belts around their waists and pulled. As the cars moved, these poor people were dragged on the ground, drowning and losing their lives. Those who lost their lives in the cities were not left in the public eye and were tied to the back of a pair of oxen by the police and dragged to the place where they would be buried. Most of these soldiers died from cold and many died from hunger. Since these were left lying around on the street and were not taken care of, these two merchants took some of them to their own stores, treated them, and then took them to the hospital and delivered them. Vlachs and Bulgarians prevented those who saw the miserable state of these captives and wanted to help them. In addition, things such as tobacco, bread, etc. given to the soldiers were taken away when seen in the hands of the soldiers. The money and other belongings found on the soldiers and officers were stolen.

Situation of Captive Turkish Soldiers in Bucharest

The captives started to arrive in Bucharest on December 23, 1877. The captives who arrived in the city were treated well and respected. Even Romanian Prince Carol personally went to the injured people in hospitals and asked them about their memories. He gave orders to the authorities to treat the Ottoman soldiers as guests, not as prisoners, and to pay attention to their care.[  Those who took the prisoners to Bucharest in the harsh winter conditions advised the prisoners to sit and rest as close to each other as possible so that they would not get cold during the night's rest. Despite this, many captives lost their lives due to cold and hunger. Those who remained suffered greatly from hunger, frostbite, dysentery, typhus and diarrhoea. During the journey, the temperature dropped to -15 o C.[During this period, 33 soldiers who fell ill and died due to other reasons were buried in Dealu Monastery. There was no sign symbolizing them at the place where these soldiers were buried.

The captives taken to Russia were not so lucky. They still had a long way to go. During this period, the Russian soldiers in charge of the prisoners, who were constantly huddled together to protect themselves from the effects of the cold weather, were not merciful, and the appointments they gave to the prisoners were not orderly. Russians were throwing pieces of loaf among the prisoners as if they were feeding animals. The prisoners had been struggling with each other to grab this bread for days, hungry, thirsty, tired and sleepless. 

These prisoners, who had been fighting for about 5 months, were exhausted and miserable.[ 26 ] However, despite all these negativities, they displayed a cheerful, good-natured and dignified attitude in their contacts with foreigners while they were in Bucharest.  In Bucharest, where it is customary to see Russian uniforms, they were now everywhere . A Turkish fez appeared on the ground. The Romanians showed almost as much interest in the Turkish prisoners as they did their own soldiers. So much so that the Romanian Ministry of War ordered the empty beds of a small British hospital in Bucharest to be filled with Turkish patients instead of wounded Romanian soldiers. Even British hospital staff were surprised by this order of the ministry. This hospital was able to accept 21 injured Turks.

Some of the prisoners had gangrene in their hands or feet due to the cold. After receiving treatment, they could only walk with crutches. During the treatment, some of the officers were reading the Holy Quran in their beds with deep trust. The most common disease among soldiers was typhus. This disease was prevalent at a level that threatened healthcare personnel as well. That's why the medical personnel caring for the captives were cautious. Because two or three Romanian doctors and a few nurses who took care of the prisoners lost their lives. Hospitals in Bucharest could no longer take in any more patients. After this, some of the sick and injured were sent to some nearby monasteries that were converted into hospitals. During this period, some of the injured prisoners who were transferred from hospital to hospital due to the fullness of the hospitals lost their lives. The bodies of some captured soldiers who died of typhus were burned to prevent the spread of disease.

The soldiers, angry at being captured and living a miserable life, stated that the War of 1993 broke out because of the ambitions of the great pashas. A criminal was needed, according to them, especially Midhat Pasha and Müşir Mehmed Ali Pasha were among these criminals. The captive soldiers believed that the Russians had good intentions and did not want to fight, and that their own commanders encouraged them to fight. Due to the incompatible attitude of the pashas, ​​a war broke out and the Turkish soldiers were devastated. Because the pashas thought that they would win the war and become famous rich people after the war. As always, there are many people who claim success, but blame is sought for failure. These people, who were first captured by the Russians, stated that, contrary to the above statements, they were brought to Romania after stating that the Russians treated them kindly and gave them food.

Turkish prisoners received a certain amount of food and a five-money allowance to meet some of their needs as long as they stayed in Bucharest. However, sometimes the bread given was moldy. Most of these soldiers were injured. Some of the wounds were superficial, some were deep. There were also people who died due to their wounds. Prisoners could go wherever they wanted in Bucharest and move around freely. They spent most of their days under the trees in the gardens of this city. The captives, who initially lived a miserable life in the Lipscani and Tchesmagu Gardens, were worried about their uncertain fate. Finding the opportunity, the Turkish captives sought help from the Bulgarian merchants who came to Bucharest, and the Bulgarian merchants gave them hats and French clothes and took the captives to Ottoman lands as their servants. However, most of the Bulgarians treated Turkish prisoners very badly. Despite this, the remaining Turkish captives were asking every merchant they saw to take them to Istanbul.

Meanwhile, the Romanian government's perspective towards the Russians began to change. In fact, the Romanians' alliance with the Russians was due to necessity. In the constitutional declaration published by the Sublime Porte in 1876, the provision that Romania was an autonomous province subject to the Ottoman Empire obliged the Romanians, who felt independent, to turn to Russia. In addition, Romanians tried to remain neutral during the war, but they did not get any results from their appeals to the Ottoman Empire and European states. The Romanians had informed the Sublime Porte through their special representatives that they would remain neutral in favor of the Ottoman Empire from the beginning to the end of the Ottoman-Russian war that might break out, and that they would risk war with the Russians if necessary to maintain their neutrality. In return, they requested the Ottoman Empire to recognize their independence. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire officials made a strategic mistake and stated that Romania, which was under its rule, could not remain neutral, but that they had to enter the war by allying with it.[European states also hesitated to guarantee Romania's neutrality. For the aforementioned reasons and because they wanted to end their ties with the Ottoman Empire, Romanians cooperated with the Russians, although they were not very willing. Romanians were worried that the Russians, who recognized their independence during the war, would struggle for influence over their own lands after the war ended. They were aware that Russia, which had lost Bessarabia to Romania with the Treaty of Paris in 1856, was aiming to take over this region. According to the Russians, during this war, Napoleon took Bessarabia from Russia and became Memleketey (Romania) as an insult to the historical heritage of eighty million Russian people. For this reason, they did not welcome the Russian army, which came to Bucharest before the end of the war, united with the Romanian army and advanced towards the Danube River.