Watched His Army Break Up.

New York Times 100 years ago today, November 5, 1912:
Abdullah Pasha Hoped in Vain for Reinforcements.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Tuesday, Nov. 5.— A vivid description of the battle of Lule-Burgas is given by Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, special correspondent of The Daily Telegraph with the Turkish forces. Describing the second day of the battle, Wednesday, Oct. 30, he says:
    "On the low hills in front of Sakizkoy, Abdullah Pasha and his staff took up their stand on an ancient mound, about 50 feet high, of which there are many scattered over the country. They are said to be the tombs marking the burial places of victims of former battles in this dark land. To-day this proved to be the tomb of Turkey's hopes, for from this mound Abdullah Pasha watched the defeat and destruction of his army.
    "Neither of the combatants seemed anxious to renew the struggle, and it was nearly 8 A.M. before the Bulgarian artillery commenced a furious bombardment all along the line from Lule-Burgas to Karagach. In spite of the immense expenditure of ammunition the previous day, the enemy apparently has an unlimited supply left, for he did not use it sparingly, but fired, with rapidity and precision.
    "Against this storm of shells the Turkish artillery could return but a feeble reply, for not a scrap of fresh ammunition had been brought up during the night, and those batteries which still possessed a few shells in caissons were loath to use them until the decisive moment arrived.
    "It was a sad sight to watch the long lines of infantry on the hills a mile to our front, the batteries of artillery and horse teams lying for hour after hour under this storm of shrapnel, unable to reply, unable to advance, and unwilling to retire. Men and horses fell in scores, and soon a dismal procession of wounded men, bleeding from feet, bands, faces, shoulders, from anywhere where a hurt was not vital, came dribbling back past us into the village of Sakizkoy.
    "The hill, on which Abdullah Pasha had taken up his stand, was about the centre of the arc of a semi-circle extending from the railway line at Lule-Burgas station to Karagach on the northeast. It became speedily obvious that the object of the Bulgarians was to break or turn the Turkish left flank and, if possible, cut off the retirement of the army from Chorlu and at the same time crush Abdullah's centre or at least hold the Second Army Corps and prevent it from advancing.
    "The plan of Abdullah, the only one which offered the smallest hope of success, was to hold his left wing with his Fourth and First Corps, to attack with his centre, now formed by the Second Corps, and to crush the enemy's left wing by hurling the whole Third Corps under Mahmoud Mukhtar on to it to gain time for the Third Corps to come up from Visa.

Abdullah Ordered an Attack.
    "Abdullah ordered Torgut Shevket Pasha, commander of the Second Corps, to attack the firing line, and, in consequence, suffered enormous loss. Abdullah, I fancy, had imagined the enemy would take the offensive against the Second Corps, and when they displayed no inclination to do so, he decided to take the offensive himself.
    "As a matter of fact, the Bulgarians, having suffered immense losses in their final effort to hold the Second Corps on the previous night, had now intrenched themselves, determined, as was proved later in the day, to act on the defensive in this part of the field and furiously attack Abdullah's left wing.
    "Had the Turkish commander in chief had a fresh army corps in hand, or had he even possessed a spare division of infantry, some batteries of artillery, or even ammunition for his batteries, it is possible the attack of the Second Corps would have been crowned with success, but as it was his troops were already worn out and decimated. His artillery had only a few rounds left, and the morale of the army had sunk to the lowest ebb,
    "Nevertheless, the troops of Torgut Shevket advanced bravely to the attack. The firing line was formed nearly half a mile long and swept forward over the open ground until it became almost hidden from view amidst the low shrubbery, of which I have already spoken.
    "For a short time it really seemed to us spectators as if the advance would be successful, for the infantry pressed steadily, and only the enemy's artillery opposed the onrushing Turks, but suddenly the deafening roar of musketry rent the air, intermingled with the tragic hum of innumerable machine guns.

Half Slain, Rest Routed.    "The noise was infernal, but only lasted for a short time, when suddenly there appeared, rushing from the wooded ground, the remnant of the Turkish firing line. Fully 50 per cent. had fallen, and the remainder, losing all semblance of order, dispersed in small groups and under a perfect rain of shrapnel, dashed back on to the supports and reserves.
    "Even here their flight did not end. In spite of the efforts of the officers the fugitives pressed on to the rear until they reached safety behind the ground on which we were standing.
    "The supports and reserves of the broken firing line were hurried to the front. They, too, reached the edge of the wooded ground, where they were met in turn by such a hail of shrapnel and bullets that the lines seemed literally to melt away to nothing under the withering blast.
    "Two Turkish batteries, the only ones which seemed to possess any ammunition in this part of the field, attempted to relieve the pressure by opening up on the enemy's guns, but as these were invisible it made not the slightest difference to their volume of fire. The only effect was to attract to the artillery some of the shrapnel, which had played such havoc with the infantry. Two Turkish batteries were speedily placed out of action. One of them lost all its men except seven, and had 150 horses placed hors de combat.
    "Fresh teams were sent up later in the day to bring them to the rear. I examined this battery carefully on the following day during the retreat. The shields were bespattered with shrapnel, and an entire shell had passed through the shield of one gun.
    "The incidents I am now relating took place about midday. For the time being the forward movement of the Second Corps came to an abrupt stop, and the infantry fell back a considerable distance, where they remained for hours, exposed to the enemy's shrapnel fire, unable to advance and unwilling to retire.
    "While this desperate struggle was raging in front, the Second Corps of Bulgarians was engaged in delivering a series of equally desperate attacks on Abdullah's left wing and the centre, held by the Fourth Corps on the extreme left and by the First Corps between Lule-Burgas and Turk Bey. The brunt of this attack fell on the weakened Fourth Corps, which the night before still held its intrenchments on the hills facing Lule-Burgas.
    Here again the Turkish defense was crushed by the immense superiority of the enemy's artillery fire. Here again the old story was repeated of Turkish batteries unable to play any part in the battle from lack of ammunition. Here again the half-starved, worn-out infantry were expected to fight like men.
    "Throughout the day the Bulgarian advance against the left wing made steady progress. Having gained possession of the railway station, they were able to outflank the Fourth Corps and force it to retire through fear of having its retreat altogether cut off. The efforts of Sali Pasha's cavalry to stem the advance proved utterly futile. They, in turn, had to give way before the terrible rain of shells and the gradual outflanking movement, and the retirement of the Fourth Corps was plainly visible to Abdullah Pasha and his staff through the clouds of smoke thrown up by the enemy's shells, which were now bursting over the left wing of the army. The enemy threatened every minute to envelope our rear and jeopardize the retreat of the First and Second Corps to Tchorlu.
    "By 2 o'clock in the afternoon the position of Abdullah's army was critical, almost desperate, and the glasses of the staff were all turned toward the northeast, in the direction of Viza, from which point Mahmoud Mukhtar, with the Third Corps, was making tremendous efforts to come up. An engagement of a desultory character had been taking place in that direction throughout the morning, but the smoke of bursting shells showed that up to the present the Third Corps had been making steady progress. Messengers had arrived with the news that Mahmoud Mukhtar was driving all before him; that the enemy was becoming steadily demoralized in his front, and that he hoped to come up to the relief of the Second Corps.
    "In the course of the afternoon this news temporarily raised the spirits of the General Staff, and for hours all our glasses and all our hopes were fixed on the Third Corps. About 2 o'clock this engagement to the northeast became furious. It was obvious that the Bulgarians had detached large reinforcements from the front of the Second Army Corps, or else had brought up fresh troops, and had passed the right wing of the Second Corps until they were almost in its rear, and were concentrating every man in this part of the field to hold Mahmoud Mukhtar back.
    "In the whole course of the battle I never listened to such artillery fire as that which arose from the contact of the Third Corps with the enemy.
    "Mahmoud Mukhtar, not having been engaged the previous day, was able to employ his artillery to good advantage, and to meet the Bulgarian guns on more equal terms, but even here, in spite of its previous exertions and vast expenditure of ammunition, the Bulgarian artillery soon gained the upper hand.
    "Throughout the campaign the Creusot gun proved its immense superiority over the Krupp in a manner which amazed the Turkish artillery officers, but how far this superiority was due to the weapon and how far to superior handling it is premature to say.
    "Even the heroic efforts of Mahmoud's hitherto unbeaten infantry could not drive back the enemy, who fought with unparalleled determination and ferocity, absolutely throwing away their lives in the Japanese manner whenever a point had to be won or held. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon it became obvious that Mahmoud Mukhtar's advance had been completely checked. The smoke of his guns no longer steadily approached the right flank of the Second Army Corps. Rather, it seemed to recede, as if he were being slowly driven back. In any case, the great gap between the Second and Third Corps had not been filled."