son of a general whose prowess was
renowned--Skobeleff was at once a commander and a soldier. "Ah! he knew
the soul of a soldier as if he were himself a private." These were the
words often uttered by the Russians about Skobeleff; similar things had
been said of Suvoroff in his day. For champions such as these the
emotional Slavs will always pour out their blood like water. But, like
the captor of Warsaw, Skobeleff knew when to put aside the bayonet and
win the day by skill. Both were hard hitters, but they had a hold on the
principles of the art of war. The combination of these qualities was
formidable; and many Russians believe that, had the younger man, with
his magnificent physique and magnetic personality, enjoyed the length of
days vouchsafed to the diminutive Suvoroff, he would have changed the
face of two continents.

The United States attache to the Russian army in the Russo-Turkish War
afterwards spoke of his military genius as "stupendous," and prophesied
that, should he live twenty years longer, and lead the Russian armies in
the next Turkish war, he would win a place side by side with "Napoleon,
Wellington, Grant, and Moltke." To equate these four names is a mark of
transatlantic enthusiasm rather than of balanced judgment; but the
estimate, so far as it concerns Skobeleff, reflects the opinion of
nearly all who knew him[138].

[Footnote 138: F.V. Green, _Sketches of Army Life in Russia_, p. 142.]

Encouraged by the advent of Skobeleff and Dragomiroff, the Russians
assumed the offensive with full effect, and by the afternoon of that
eventful day, had mastered the rising ground behind Sistova. Here again
the Turkish defence was tame. The town was unfortified, but its
outskirts presented facilities for defence. Nevertheless, under the
pressure of the Russian attack and of artillery fire from the north
bank, the small Turkish garrison gave up the town and retreated towards
Rustchuk. At many points on that day the Russians treated their foes to
a heavy bombardment or feints of crossing, especially at Nicopolis and
Rustchuk; and this accounts for the failure of the defenders to help the
weak garrison on which fell the brunt of the attack. All things
considered, the crossing of the Danube must rank as a highly creditable
achievement, skilfully planned and stoutly carried out; it cost the
invaders scarcely 700 men[139].

[Footnote 139: Farcy, _La Guerre sur le Danube_, ch. viii.; _Daily News
Correspondence of