Prince Charles Anthony entirely agreed with his son's attitude towards Russia, and stigmatised the mooted co-operation, with its inevitable subordination and incorporation in the Russian army, as a "political _felo de se_."
"The _possibility of a Russian defeat_," he wrote, "no matter how improbable, must also be considered: an untouched reserve on this side of the Danube, which could only consist of the Roumanian army intact, would in that case possess an immense importance!"
Prince Charles, accompanied by his Staff, set out on the 27th to inspect his troops at Crajowa and Calafat, and found them in excellent order and discipline. At 7 P.M. the Prince ordered the bombardment of Widin to commence, and a lively cannonade ensued, during which three Turkish shells exploded in the immediate neighbourhood of the Prince. The _sangfroid_ of their ruler did not fail to arouse a feeling of appreciation in the Roumanian nation, who on his return greeted him everywhere with indescribable enthusiasm.
The Czar in the meantime declared that, if the Roumanian Government wished to take part in the campaign, it must do so at its own expense and risk, and must, moreover, place the army under the command of the Grand Duke. "Russia has _no need_ of the support of the Roumanian army. The force which has been put into the field against Turkey _is more than sufficient_ to achieve the high object which the Czar had in view in commencing the present war."
Prince Charles attended a council of war at the Russian headquarters in Plojeschti on June 1, 1877, and, whilst discussing the advance into Bulgaria, casually pointed out the strategic importance of the junction of the roads at Plevna. The Grand Duke urged the Prince to cross the Danube near Widin as soon as possible, but Prince Charles was unable to comply with this request until the material necessary for bridges had been collected.
The Czar arrived at Plojeschti a few days later with a suite of over 700 persons, amongst them Prince Alexander of Battenberg, then a subaltern in the Hessian Dragoons. In a private interview with Prince Charles the Czar expressed his intention of lending Roumania, which already owed so much to Russia, a helping hand, but declined to enter into the vexed question of Roumanian co-operation in the war. A curious incident occurred during the Czar's return visit to Bucharest, when a large bouquet, thrown from a house, fell close by his carriage. The Czar started back, fearing a bomb, and only the ready tact of Princess Elisabeth covered his confusion.