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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..537f2db --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50956 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50956) diff --git a/old/50956-8.txt b/old/50956-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6f01326..0000000 --- a/old/50956-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1812 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Russia's Part in the World War, by C. M. -Shumsky-Solomonov - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Russia's Part in the World War - - -Author: C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov - - - -Release Date: January 18, 2016 [eBook #50956] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 50956-h.htm or 50956-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50956/50956-h/50956-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50956/50956-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/russiaspartinwor00shum - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR - -by - -COLONEL C. M. SHUMSKY-SOLOMONOV - - - - - - - -Published by the -Russian Information Bureau in the U. S. -Woolworth Building -New York City - -Copyright 1920 -by -Russian Information Bureau -New York - - - - -Introduction - - -The author of this pamphlet, Colonel C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov, is an -officer of the Russian Army, a distinguished soldier and an authority -on military problems. Col. Shumsky-Solomonov was one of the defenders -of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War, and as a military expert -of the Petrograd daily, "Birjeviya Viedomosti", he was well known not -only in Russia but also throughout Europe. - -The purpose of this pamphlet is to present Russia's part in the recent -War. Russia at present lies in seas of blood and tears because of -her enormous sacrifices in the struggle against Prussian militarism. -The nightmare of Bolshevism was able to overtake Russia because she -was exhausted by three years of active participation in the War, -during which her casualties reached 12,000,000, and her economic life -became overstrained and partially destroyed. Russia's present pitiful -condition is the result of her self-sacrificing services to humanity. - -According to the data quoted by Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, of the -12,000,000 Russian casualties in the recent War, not less than -3,000,000 were in dead. "Russia's losses," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"are more than twice those of France, four-five times those of England, -and more than thirty-five times those of America. Russia's losses are -more than twice the total strength of the British Army, and three-four -times all the forces mustered by the United States. The number of -Russia's casualties is larger than the total population of any of -the following European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, -Belgium, Holland or the Balkan States." - -If Russia had not sacrificed 3,000,000 of her best youth, now sleeping -on the battle-fields of Europe, a Prussian bayonet would now be ruling -the world. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov points out, the great role -played by Russia in the recent struggle "became apparent at the very -beginning of the War, in the important aid she rendered in frustrating -the initial and most dangerous plan of the Germans, by her early -offensive in aid of the Allies. Russia, having diverted against herself -the entire Austrian army and part of the German, at the time of the -battle on the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental idea -of Moltke's plan to fling 'all forces into France.'" - -"At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision in France, -to break through to Calais, at Ypres," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"Russia, by the blows she delivered in Galicia, at Warsaw and in East -Prussia, contributed to the early termination of this second offensive -in France, so dangerous to England, and compelled the Germans for more -than a year to abstain from their main operations on the main decisive -front of the War--in France. - -"In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden of the -struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, although forced to -abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the opportunity to prepare -throughout a whole year for the coming German offensive at Verdun. -In 1916 Russia, thanks to the Brusilov offensive, saved Italy at -that critical moment when the Austrians, through their successful -offensive from Tyrol, in the rear of the Italians, threatened to -cut off a considerable portion of the Italian Army, at the same -time menacing Venice. Together with this, Russia by this offensive -greatly facilitated the operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was -instrumental in the final clearing of the Verdun forts. - -"In the same year Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's and -Falkenhayn's armies, which had invaded Roumania, stopped the further -advance of the Germans, and undertook the defense of a considerable -stretch of the Roumanian front." - -In the beginning of the War, in August, 1914, there were, in addition -to the Austrian Army, only 14 German divisions engaged on the Russian -front. During the first Russian advance into Eastern Prussia, the -German General Staff was obliged, on the eve of the battle of the -Marne, to transfer 6 additional divisions to the Eastern front. -The number of German divisions engaged on the Russian front grew -continuously, and in October, 1914, there were 25 divisions, in -November--33 divisions, in December--43 divisions, and in January, -1915,--53 German divisions on the Russian front. The role played by -Russia and the services the Russian Armies rendered in the struggle -against Prussian Imperialism can be seen further from the fact that -during the spring of 1917 there were 162 German and Austrian divisions -engaged on the Russian front alone, while on all the other Allied -fronts together there were 205 German and Austrian divisions.[1] - -To this it must be added that Russia entered the War unprepared for a -modern struggle. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov points out, "The Russian -Army consisted of millions, but bayonets and guns it had only for -one-tenth of its number." General Brusilov once said: "Our soldiers -had no shells with which to blast their way across barbed-wire -entanglements before an attack; so it was necessary for them to break -down the wires with their own bodies and thus to form a bridge for -the next attacking column." In the fall of 1917 the Russian Armies -collapsed after months of intensive German and Bolshevist propaganda, -but this cannot minimize the great heroism of the Russian soldiers -during the first three years of the War, heroism without which the -alliance of the democratic nations would never have been able to defeat -the Prussian militarism. - - A. J. SACK - _Director of the Russian Information - Bureau in the U. S._ - -May 25, 1920. - - - - -Russia's Part in the World War - - -Was it Possible for Germany to Win the War? - -In discussing Russia's role in the past World War, it is customary to -cite the losses sustained by the Russian Army, losses numbering many -millions. There is no doubt that Russia's sacrifices were great, and -it is just as true that her losses were greater than those sustained -by any of the other Allies. Nevertheless, these sacrifices are by far -not the only standard of measurement of Russia's participation in -this gigantic struggle. Russia's role must be gauged, first of all, -by the efforts made by the Russian Army to blast the German war plans -during the first years of the War, when neither America, nor Italy, nor -Roumania were among the belligerents, and the British Army was still in -the process of formation. - -Russia's role must in addition be gauged by the efforts put forth by -the Russian Army to save the situation at other critical moments of -the War. And of such, we know, there were not a few until the Allies -succeeded in gaining their victory over the stubborn and powerful enemy. - -Lastly, and this is the main thing, the role played by the Russian Army -must be considered also in this respect that the strenuous campaign -waged by Russia, with her 180 millions of inhabitants, for three years -against Germany, Austro-Hungary and Turkey, sapped the resources of -the enemy and thereby made possible the delivery of the final blow. -This weakening of the powers of the enemy by Russia was already bound -at various stages of the War to facilitate correspondingly the various -operations of the Allies. Therefore at the end of the War three years -of effort on the part of Russia, which had devoured the enemy's forces, -were destined to enable the Allies finally to crush the enemy. The -final catastrophe of the Central Powers was the direct consequence -of the offensive of the Allies in 1918, but Russia made possible this -collapse to a considerable degree, having effected, in common with the -others, the weakening of Germany, and having consumed during the three -years of strenuous fighting countless reserves, forces and resources of -the Central Powers. - -Could Germany have won the war? A careful analysis of this question -brings home the conviction that Germany was very close to victory, and -that it required unusual straining of efforts on the part of France and -Russia to prevent Germany from "winning out." - -The plan of the old Field Marshal, Moltke, was far from worthless. -It is a fact that it took from six weeks to two months to mobilize -the armed forces of Russia, during which period Russia was unprepared -for action. The population of Germany was 70 million and that of -Austria-Hungary 52 million, a total of 122 million persons. During -these two months of forced inaction those 122 millions of Teutons were -faced only by 40 million Frenchmen, for Russia was not yet ready. A -threefold superiority in numbers, in addition to an equal degree of -military skill, technical equipment and culture, was bound to crush -lone France. - -It is true that for the complete realization of this scheme it was -necessary that the Austrian Army, as well, involve France. This should -have been anticipated, as military science does not admit of the -division of forces. Just to the contrary, it demands "the concentration -of all forces in the decisive hour and at the deciding point,"--in -France, upon this particular occasion. - -It may be said that Russia could have occupied Galicia and East Prussia -had the Austrian Army left for France. Well, the fact is that both -these provinces were occupied by Russia anyhow. But if in the first -battle of the Marne, when the Germans felt the shortage of the two or -three corps dispatched back into Prussia, they would have had these -troops at their disposal in addition to half a million Austrians, -Joffre's condition would have been rendered critical. The loss of the -Marne would have been equivalent to the loss of the War by France, -and, consequently, to the loss of the entire War. - -The outcome was different. The concentrated attack upon France failed -because of the fact that of the 104 German divisions and the 50 -Austrian divisions only about 92 or 94 divisions were on the scene -of action in France. The Russian Army, unprepared for action for -another 40 days, nevertheless rushed into East Prussia in an impulse -of self-sacrifice and received in addition the full strength of the -blow from the Austro-Hungarian Army. This generous move on the part of -Russia destroyed the Moltke plan and his basic idea "the concentration -of _all forces_ against France", as a part of the German force had -been diverted from that front. The plan collapsed, and the only actual -chance which the Germans had of winning a victory was lost with it. -Later, when Russia was prepared, when the English Army began to grow, -and Italy, Roumania and America had abandoned their neutrality, -Germany's chances for a final victory vanished. - -It is the recognition of these facts that should prompt every impartial -historian of the War to admit that the self-sacrifice of the unprepared -Russian Army during the first days of the War played an enormous role -in the only period when Germany had victory almost within her grasp. It -is to be regretted that the extraordinary conditions which developed -in Russia towards the end of the War are obscuring the true historic -role of Russia in the sanguine World struggle. It is simple enough -to understand that during the two or three years, while the British -Army was still in the process of formation, and Italy, Roumania and -America were neutral, the entire burden of fighting the Central Powers -devolved upon the Armies of France and Russia. It is just as simple to -understand that during that period, when the enemy was most powerful -and undemoralized, when he was operating with his best troops, that the -most difficult and responsible part of the problem had to be performed. -It is just as easy--from an examination of the maps of the first three -years of the War, maps which speak only of two principal fronts, the -French and the Russian, and no other--to grasp the significance of the -gigantic role played in this War by great Russia and the millions of -sacrifices she consecrated to the common cause of the Allies. Sadly -enough, this only correct criterion of Russia's historic role in the -War is becoming more and more obscured from the public opinion of the -world. - -In the recently published memoirs of General Ludendorf, the defeated -German military leader, in an endeavor to clear himself, attempts -to slander the Russian Army and discredit all the great sacrifices -and heroic efforts contributed by Russia to the Allied cause. Taking -advantage of the scant familiarity of the general public with military -matters, Ludendorf uses false data, cites wrong figures and consciously -distorts the historic perspective of the War. - -It is difficult to understand how a serious-minded military leader can -stoop to employ, in a supposedly serious work, methods fit for the -yellow press, such as accusing Russian generals of treason, etc., etc. -These memoirs, as a whole, were met at the time of their publication by -sharp and adverse criticism in the foreign, and even the German, press. -Ludendorf's memoirs are especially misleading in the part describing -the first Russian advance in East Prussia, the advance that played such -a decisive role in the defeat which the Germans suffered on the Marne. -It should never be forgotten that this event proved fatal and brought -about the final defeat of the Germans in this sonov.[2] - - -Russia's Sacrifice - -Ludendorf commences his recital of events on the Russian front with -the statement that in 1914, in East Prussia, with a force of only two -German corps, he destroyed 250,000 Russians--six army corps--under the -command of General Samsonov, and that General Rennenkampf, who was only -within two or three days' march from Samsonov, had designedly failed to -aid Samsonov. - -This statement by General Ludendorf is absolutely false from beginning -to end. It can be very easily proven that Ludendorf attacked Samsonov -not with two army corps, but with more than 240,000 German troops. With -this army he attacked not 250,000 Russians, but only two Russian army -corps, i. e., 80,000 men--the 1st and the 6th Russian Army Corps. Thus, -Ludendorf had a force three times larger than his adversary. - -It may be easily seen from this that while Ludendorf gives Samsonov -twice as many men as he had in reality, he, at the same time, credits -Rennenkampf with three times the number he actually had. His own force -Ludendorf puts, on paper, at one-third of what he had in fact. - -Rennenkampf knew nothing about the events on the Samsonov front until -August 30, whereas the latter was surrounded on August 28. (See Gurko's -book, "War and Revolution.") - -The cause of the Russian defeat in that battle was not the "genius" -of Ludendorf, but lay rather in the fact that the Russian Army, _in -its eagerness to relieve Paris, advanced too quickly, with not fully -mobilized and insufficient forces, and in two separate Armies_, coupled -with the difficulty of reconnoitering and obtaining information about -the enemy in a country where the entire population was in a state of -armed belligerency. The death of Samsonov and of a part of his staff -and the disruption of liaison were other causes.[3] - -In her haste to aid her Allies, Russia risked much, and she lost a -battle on account of the precariousness of the operation, insufficiency -of forces and an unfortunate accident. But she succeeded in diverting -several German corps from France, and the Russian blood shed at -Tannenberg thus helped win the First Battle of the Marne. - -It may thus be seen from the descriptions of the first battles in -East Prussia that Ludendorf, for the sake of German martial glory and -probably also for the glorification of his own role, makes use of a -very primitive and naive expedient. He multiplies the number of Russian -troops several times, and also diminishes his own forces several times. -This creates the impression that Ludendorf with "inconsiderable" forces -smashed the "many times larger" forces of the Russians. As a matter of -fact, however, as we have seen, Ludendorf had in these engagements, -1½, 2, and sometimes even 3 times as many men as the Russians. How -excessive this superiority of numbers was may be inferred from the fact -that the Germans themselves went to France with but 1½ times as many -men and that they considered this sufficient for a decisive victory -over the French Army. However, no matter how much Ludendorf may distort -the facts in his memoirs, he cannot refrain, albeit only by 2-3 words, -from mentioning the strategical catastrophe which overtook Germany -through the invasion of East Prussia by the Russian troops. Ludendorf -himself admits that "_the transfer of the two army corps from the -French front to Eastern Prussia had fatal consequences for Germany. The -German advance on France was turned into a retreat._" - -This admission from Ludendorf characterizes the importance of all the -events of the first few weeks of the War and it contains an involuntary -appreciation of the historic role and self-sacrificing efforts of -Russia. The enemy, albeit indirectly, admits that Russian blood was -not shed in vain on the fields of East Prussia; it was precisely -for this reason that Germany was unable to win the War at the only -moment at which she could ever have won, taking advantage of Russia's -unpreparedness and the temporary isolation of France. - -In conclusion, we must also point out that from a formal standpoint -Russia was not bound to fling herself into a risky operation in East -Prussia. The Russian Army, like any other Army, was bound to take the -field actively only after the completion of her mobilization, and this -early assistance was still less her duty as she herself was at the time -invaded by Austrian forces. - -But Russia regarded her alliance with France from a higher standpoint -than mere formal obligations. The justice of History--not the "history" -of Ludendorf--will in its own time record how far Russia stood from -egotistic politics and egotistic strategy during those tragic days of -August and September, 1914, when the German masses, smashing every -obstacle in their path, moved through northern France on Paris. - - -The German Defeat at Warsaw - -The battle of Ypres, the determined operations of the Germans for the -capture of Calais, is the other critical moment in the history of the -World War, when Russia once more brought heavy sacrifices to the common -cause of the Allies. Ludendorf, in describing these difficult days for -the Germans, again makes use, we regret to say, of the same unsavory -expedient he used in describing the first engagements in East Prussia. - -Thus, for instance, he asserts that when he was defeated in October, -1914, at Warsaw, the Russians had 1,200,000 men,[4] while he had only -one German army--the 9th--and one Austrian army--the 1st. As a matter -of fact, the Russians were opposed, on the entire front, by five -Austrian armies and two German armies--the 8th and the 9th--by more -than 70 divisions approximating about 1,200,000 men. The Russians, -having left only a small force to oppose four Austrian armies, fell -with their three armies upon two enemy armies, one German and one -Austrian, near Warsaw. With a numerical superiority of one and a -quarter to one the Russians defeated the Germans, and threw them back -across the whole of Poland to Posen. The Germans saved themselves on -that occasion only by destroying the railroads back of them and by -burning the bridges. - -The significance of the operations at Warsaw and in Galicia in October, -and beyond Warsaw in November, 1914, is to be seen from Ludendorf's -own story. Referring to a conversation he had with General Falkenhayn, -who at that time was the main leader of all German Army operations, -he writes in his memoirs: "At the end of October, 1914, General von -Falkenhayn summoned me to Berlin.... _Gen. von Falkenhayn spoke -hopefully of the attack near Ypres_, and wanted to defer further -decisions." - -But already in the beginning of November, i. e., a few days after this -conversation, the operations of the Russian Armies in Galicia, the -Posen territory, and on the East Prussian front, greatly diminished -the hopefulness of Falkenhayn and _compelled him to slacken the -pressure against the Allies at Ypres and to transfer large forces -from France to the Russian front--to the detriment of the offensive -against Ypres_. Ludendorf himself figures these reinforcements which -arrived from France in the middle of November, and, consequently, must -have left there in the beginning of November, at 225,000 men. There -were 4 corps with 2 infantry divisions, which Ludendorf figures at -225,000 men. Besides, Ludendorf mentions right here the arrival of -Richthofen's Cavalry Corps, Hollen's Cavalry Corps, the 2nd and 4th -Cavalry Divisions. Still earlier Ludendorf mentions that the newly -formed 25th Reserve Corps and the 15th Reserve Corps were dispatched -to East Prussia. And finally, in still another place, we can find in -Ludendorf's account a number of other new divisions which had been sent -to the Russian front instead of to Ypres. - -In this manner it is easy to see, from the data furnished by Ludendorf -himself, that, "hopeful" at the end of October for the success of -the attack on Ypres, Falkenhayn found it necessary to dispatch from -France 300,000 additional soldiers to the Russian front, aside from -the reserves taken from the interior of Germany, which forces would -also have been welcome to the Germans during the fateful days at -Ypres. While the frontal attacks on Ypres, attended by considerable -casualties, demanded the presence of large German reserves, these -reserves were the very ones which were swallowed up entirely by the -Russian operations in the East, at Warsaw, Galicia and East Prussia. - -[Illustration: While the Russian troops were persecuting the defeated -Austrians in Galicia, General Hindenburg began an advance towards -Warsaw. The Russian General Staff transferred from Galicia three -armies for the defense of Warsaw, and these armies defeated the two -Austro-German armies and persecuted them through Poland up to the -border of Germany (October, 1914).] - -If the firmness of the Allies held back the Germans at Ypres and -prevented them from breaking through to Calais, the Russian Army also -played an important part in this strategic situation--compelling -the Germans to abandon the operation at Ypres much earlier than the -Germans and Falkenhayn had figured. But not in this alone was the role -of Russia apparent in the trying days of October and November, 1914. -Not only did Russia force the Germans to transfer 300,000 soldiers -to the East, and to abandon early the operations in France, but she -also compelled the Germans, by her operations in 1914, _to abandon for -more than a year all large offensives in the West_. This is attested -not only by the facts (as is well known, from the end of 1914 up to -February, 1916, the Germans did not start any offensive in France), but -by Ludendorf himself, notwithstanding all his endeavors to discredit -the Russian Army. - -Speaking of the weakness of the German front in the West in the month -of November, Ludendorf says that it was perfectly natural "that in -this situation our eyes should again turn to the East."... Further on -he adds that he had asked himself whether it were not better "once and -for all to restrict operations on the Western front to a defensive and -to carry out the contemplated operations against Russia with all our -available forces.... This point of view seemed to me to be the right -one, and I asked our High Command for reinforcements from the West...." -Thus, such facts as the abandonment by the Germans of all operations -in the West for more than a year, as well as Ludendorf's own words, -prove with absolute clearness and conclusiveness that the Germans, -partly through the firmness of the Allies, but mainly on account of -the hard blows from the Russian Army, found themselves compelled for a -long time to refrain from an offensive in France. There is no doubt -but that the Germans never abandoned entirely the attempt to crush -France, for we have seen how such a serious attempt was made by them -subsequently at Verdun. But if they were compelled at the end of 1914 -to defer this attempt at crushing France for more than a year, it is -obvious that the decisive part in this decision of the Germans was -played by Russia, in the increasing offensive of her Armies all along -the front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. - -[Illustration: This diagram shows that the Germans had calculated, at -first, to stop the Russian Army with the aid of the Austrian troops -and only 14 of their own divisions--13 infantry and one cavalry -divisions. Soon, in September, 1914, they were compelled to forward 6 -more divisions to the East,--during the Marne period. Later, when the -Austrians were defeated, the number of German relief columns increased -and numbered, at the end of 1914, 43 divisions, instead of the former -14 divisions,--three times as many. Early in 1915 the number of German -divisions grew to 53. During 1916 and 1917 the number of the German -troops on the Russian front was also increasing incessantly, at the -expense of German strength on the French front.] - -_Thus, if the taking of the field by unprepared Russia in the beginning -of the War contributed to the defeat of the most dangerous and main -plan of the Germans, in August and September, the new sacrifices -brought by Russia in October and November on the plains of Galicia, -Poland and East Prussia compelled the Germans to desist for more than a -year from all attempts to win the War in France. August and September, -1914, were the months in which the German forces were brought to a -standstill, and October and November saw them already much impaired._ -At both important, critical moments Russia played her decisive part. - -_At this same period, towards the close of 1914, the Germans were -compelled by the operations of the Russian Army to increase the number -of their troops on the Russian front up to 43 divisions. If the Germans -were unable in the beginning of the War to win out in France where they -had all their forces, allotting to the Russian front only 14 divisions -and the Austrian Army, so much the less could they have won at the end -of 1914, when the Russians had compelled them to have 43 divisions in -the field, that is, to treble their forces on the Russian front, to the -detriment of their French front._ - - -New Opportunities for the Allies - -The third great period of the world-conflict--1915--is the year of -Russia's single-handed fight against Germany, Austria and Turkey. This -year was hardest for Russia not only because all attention and all -efforts of the three enemy powers were directed against Russia alone, -but also because in 1915 Russia was less than ever before prepared -for the struggle--being without arms, shells and munitions. No matter -how much Ludendorf may distort the truth in his memoirs, the whole -world knows that in that year the Russian positions were covered not -by barbed wire entanglements, but by the naked breasts of the Russian -soldiers, and German charges were repulsed not by artillery barrages -but by the bayonet, by cold steel--reminding us of the times when the -Mexicans, armed only with spears, fought against the rifles and cannon -of the Spaniards under Fernando Cortez. - -Russia's loss of Poland in 1915 is altogether a result of this -situation, unprecedented in any of the wars fought by European nations. -It was hard to gain victory when the shortage of arms was so great that -some corps counted but 1,500 bayonets instead of 40,000, and at the -same time it was impossible to complement these corps with their quota -of men because these men had no rifles. - -Russia had called millions to the colors, but had rifles only for -one-tenth of her men. It is only too obvious that nothing could be -accomplished with millions of men of whom only one in ten was armed. -But in 1916, when Russia acquired rifles and artillery, Brusilov -launched his memorable offensive which netted more than 200,000 -prisoners. Another great offensive was in preparation for 1917, but the -Revolution interfered with its realization. - -However that may be, the Germans had planned to have done with Russia -by confronting it with Austrian armies and with four or five additional -German corps. But already in 1914 the Germans were compelled to keep 19 -corps in the East to the detriment and dislocation of their plans and -forces in France. (See diagrams No. 3,4.) Even during the days of the -Revolution the Germans were obliged to maintain 78½ divisions on the -Eastern front, in addition to 47 Austrian and 15 Turkish, altogether -140 infantry and 22 cavalry divisions, while on the Anglo-French -front the enemy had at that time only 142 divisions. If we take into -consideration all the Russian theatres of war, including those in Asia, -the enemy kept on the Russian fronts 164 infantry divisions and 28 -cavalry divisions,--altogether 192 divisions (in May, 1917) while on -the Anglo-French front the enemy had in May, 1917, only 142 divisions. - -[Illustration: THE NUMBER OF GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN DIVISIONS ON THE -RUSSIAN AND OTHER ALLIED FRONTS DURING SPRING OF 1917 - - INFANTRY CAVALRY TOTAL - ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT - IN EUROPE 125 22 147 - IN ASIA 15 15 - ---- - 162 - - ON OTHER ALLIED FRONTS - FRENCH-BELGIAN 140 2 142 - ITALIAN 36 36 - SALONIKI 17 17 - MESOPOTAMIAN 10 10 - ---- - 205 - -This diagram shows that in 1917--the beginning of the Russian -Revolution--there were 162 German, Austrian, Turkish and Bulgarian -divisions on the Russian front, 147 of whom were on the Russian front -in Europe. On the Anglo-French front there were at this time only 142 -German divisions. - -The enemy forces were thus divided as follows: on the Russian front, -44 per cent.; on the Anglo-French front, 39 per cent.; on the Italian -front, 10 per cent.; on the Salonika front, 4½ per cent., and on the -Mesopotamian front--about 2½ per cent. Thus, early in 1917 the Russian -Army had opposing it about one-half of all the forces of the Central -Powers. - -It is clearer that if these Teutonic forces would be able to -concentrate on the French front, it would mean an immediate breakdown -of the Allies and the triumph of the Prussian militarism throughout the -civilized world.] - -Notwithstanding the lack of arms and munitions the Russian Army -rendered the Allies, in the critical days of 1915, assistance that was -not less important and serious than that of the days of the Marne and -Ypres. Russia, by diverting upon herself, towards the close of 1914, -all the efforts of the Central Powers, thereby offered France and -England the opportunity for a whole year to prepare for the prosecution -of the War. Throughout 1915, when Germany, Austria and Turkey were -diverted by Russia, France was enabled quickly to accumulate new -reserves, munitions, shells, to recover from the serious wounds of -1914, and to prepare for that inevitable blow from Germany which -subsequently took the form of a determined offensive at Verdun in 1916. - -At the same time England, owing to the fact that Russia had in 1915 -taken upon herself the whole burden of the struggle, was enabled in -the course of one year to carry out Kitchener's stupendous plan of -expanding the small, 150 thousand-strong English Army of volunteers -into the four million-strong Army of the English nation in arms. On -the other hand Germany, having called to the colors new reserves, was -compelled by Russia to expend these reserves on the Russian front, and -not on the main front, in France, where the fate of the whole War was -to be decided for Germany. - -All these opportunities, all this stupendous preparation in the -creation and development of new armed forces by the Allies, took place -undisturbed and in favorable circumstances, solely because 1915 was -the year of Russia's single-handed fight against three enemy powers, -the year of the greatest self-sacrifice of the Russian Army for the -common cause. Who knows what might have been the result of the German -offensive in France had those German reserves which perished in Russia -broken through somewhere in the north of France simultaneously with the -storming of Verdun, in February. Who knows how far the German military -catastrophe might have been averted had all the fresh reserves of -the Germans, which were being incessantly swallowed up by the Russian -front, found themselves in the West! - -To these questions Ludendorf himself happens to give the answers in his -memoirs. Speaking of the offensive of the Germans at Verdun and of the -offensive of the Austrians in Italy, he says: "Both offensives suffered -from the fact that inadequate reserves prevented the first successes -from being followed up." - -Where did these reserves, which were lacking for the capture of Verdun, -where did they go to after Germany had in 1915 created a great many new -formations? _In 1915 they were swallowed up by the Russian front during -the German offensive in Poland, and the Verdun operation was frustrated -because, as Ludendorf declares, there were no reserves with which to -develop the first success of the Germans._ For this reason the unbiased -investigator will admit that Russia in 1915 contributed to a tremendous -extent towards the calm and systematic preparation of the Allies for -the decisive German blow, struck at Verdun, but planned to go beyond -Paris. If the firm stand of the French at Verdun, if the talent of -Castelnau, who stopped the withdrawal of the French to the other bank -of the Meuse, directly repulsed the attack of the Germans, the true -ally, Russia, certainly aided by diverting upon herself all the German -reserves in 1915 and giving the Allies a whole year of respite in which -to create new armed forces. - -_The Russian front incessantly drew to itself all new German formations -and reserves, and thereby automatically forced the German Army in the -West to carry on unproductive operations which never reached their -objective._ Not one single German operation in France could obtain -full development, and inevitably spent itself just because of lack of -reserves which were always opportunely swallowed by the Russian front. - -Turning to the operations of 1915 we see that the Germans, -notwithstanding all their efforts and partial successes, never gained -any decisive results on the Russian front. The Russian Army, having -neither munitions nor arms, was naturally unable to win at this time, -and was compelled to retreat from Poland. But the Russian Army was not -crushed, which, however, had been the main objective of Ludendorf's -offensive. - -In his memoirs Ludendorf plainly states: "The German General Staff now -resolved to try to obtain a decision against Russia." This, translated -from military parlance into plain English, simply means that it was the -object to settle, to "finish" with Russia, in other words, to crush -her Army, for otherwise there would have been no sense in starting -operations against Russia, and in wasting against her the reserves so -much needed on the main front, against France. Neither does Ludendorf -conceal this object further on in his memoirs, _but he admits that it -was not accomplished_. For this failure he blames General Falkenhayn, -the Chief of the General Staff, who, it was supposed, prevented -Ludendorf from crushing the Russian Army. We shall not enter into the -personal disputes between Ludendorf and Falkenhayn, whom Ludendorf -throughout criticises sharply. We shall only note that Ludendorf -attempted four times during the summer of 1915 to surround or break -through the several retreats of the Russian Army, but the latter in -every instance retreated in perfect order, carrying their arms with -them. In which one of these four instances, then, did Falkenhayn -interfere? How preposterous this shifting of the blame to Falkenhayn -is, may be seen even from Ludendorf's own statement: "Throughout the -whole War we never succeeded, either on the Eastern or Western front, -in exploiting a big break-through to the full!" In this way he himself -admits that the Germans did not even once succeed, at the proper time, -in utilizing a big success to the full, i. e., Falkenhayn's role was -immaterial. It is but natural that the resistance of the Russians in -1915 prevented the Germans from exploiting that success which they -regarded as a big one, but which, as a matter of fact, consisted -only in the systematic retreat of the Russian Army which was without -arms and munitions. However, the most inopportune statement made by -Ludendorf is contained in the following remark of his concerning the -operations against the Russians in 1915: "We had brought the final -overthrow of Russia a step nearer." - -The offensive of Brusilov in the following year, which netted him -more than 200,000 prisoners and made Ludendorf, as he himself says, -frequently worry about the fate of the entire Austro-German front in -Russia, demonstrates how the offensive of Ludendorf in 1915 hastened -"the final overthrow of Russia." On the contrary, this offensive which -cost Ludendorf a great many of his reserves, and afforded a year of -quiet preparation to the Allies, did, as we saw, hasten "the final -overthrow of Germany." - -_At this period of the campaign of 1915 there were on the Russian front -67 German divisions and up to 40 Austrian, altogether 107 divisions, -and on the French front about 110 divisions. The Germans could not -defeat the Allies in the beginning of the War, although they had -then in France almost all their forces. It is natural that in 1915, -when they had in France only 50 per cent. of their total forces, the -Germans, through the efforts of Russia, were finally deprived of any -chance of winning in France. It was only through Russia's military -operations that the Germans were driven to such an unfavorable, -hopeless grouping of their forces._ - - -Again Opportunities for the Allies - -In the following year, 1916, Russia once more came forward with -her assistance at a critical moment, when the Austrians had broken -the resistance of the Italian Armies on the Asiago-Arsiero front, -threatening a further development of their offensive in the rear of the -Italian Army, in the direction of Venice. At the same time Ludendorf in -his memoirs points out how great were the objects which the Austrians -were aiming at on the Italian front, and he says plainly: "In Italy it -was a question of an operation on a grand scale." - -However, the Russian Army in 1916 had no intention of launching an -offensive on the Austrian front, and prepared for an offensive in -an altogether different place, on the German front. Our General -Staff had prepared for the main offensive in the direction of Vilna, -and accordingly it was here that troops and munitions were being -concentrated. (See Gurko's "War and Revolution.") - -Everything was ready when the Italians, crushed by the Austrians, -appealed to Russia for aid. An offensive on the Austrian front held -no particular interest for Russia, which naturally had in view the -crushing of the main enemy--the Germans. Still, Russia, just as on -previous occasions, did not hesitate a minute to help her Allies. -Notwithstanding that nothing had been prepared for such an offensive, -General Brusilov launched it along a front two hundred miles long, -with the troops he just happened to have on the spot. Everybody -remembers this celebrated offensive of Brusilov, which netted hundreds -of thousands of prisoners, a great number of other trophies, and -which compelled the Austrians to immediately abandon their offensive -in Italy and to begin the transfer of troops to the Russian front. -"Austria gradually broke off the Italian offensive and sent troops to -the Eastern front," writes Ludendorf. "The Italian Army now started a -counter-offensive in the Tyrol," he remarks further on. - -Describing the period of Brusilov's offensive, Ludendorf does not -conceal the fact that they passed through some very bad and critical -moments. "Our G. H. Q. made heavy demands on both groups (group south -of Riga and Prince Leopold group) _and also withdrew divisions from -the West_," writes Ludendorf. "Even all the fresh divisions that -were thrown in were hardly sufficient to hold the front," says he in -describing the situation of the Austro-Germans after the Russian break -through at the Dniester. "This was one of the greatest crises on the -Eastern front," says he further on, in speaking of the new break by -Brusilov at Lutzk. - -The effects of Brusilov's offensive proved to be so far-reaching as to -affect not only the situation on the Italian front but also that on the -French main front. The Allies, in view of the difficult situation of -the Germans on the Russian front, launched an offensive at the Somme, -and towards fall they had finally cleared the forts of Verdun of the -Germans. - -So did Russia once more fulfill her obligation towards her allies, -as soon as her Army had received some quantity of munitions. This -quantity was not yet sufficient in 1916, and it was only in 1917 that -the Russian troops were at last more or less provided. The lack of -munitions during the period of Brusilov's offensive was pointed out -by the Russian Staff, and Ludendorf himself emphasizes it. He writes -that the situation was relieved thanks to the fact that "the Russians -were also contending against extraordinary difficulty of supply." From -this it may be seen that the Russian Army, having obtained only the -first consignments of inconsiderable and insufficient munitions, did -not hesitate, in 1916, to offer her allies generous assistance on the -largest scale. - - * * * * * - -Still earlier, during the Verdun period, the Russian Army, not yet -recuperated from the hard blows of 1915, did by no means stand by as an -idle onlooker of the heroic efforts of the French at Verdun. When at -the end of February, 1916, French Headquarters appealed to the Russian -Army for assistance, preparations were begun for an offensive. "The -Russian Army had not lost its spirit after the heavy fighting of 1915," -says Ludendorf. On the 16th of March operations were begun by the -Russian troops in the territory to the northwest of Dvinsk, continuing -until the 26th of March. This partial offensive, solely in aid of the -French, was attended by success of a local nature. Ludendorf criticises -this operation and says that "it was choked in swamps and blood." Of -course, the terrible weather conditions, the rains and the impassable -roads, interfered with a broad development of this offensive, but still -it had a sufficiently serious effect. "From the 11th to the 21st of -March," acknowledges Ludendorf, "the situation of the 10th (German) -army was critical." - - -Salvation of Roumania - -At the close of 1916 the Russian Army again had to offer most effective -assistance at the critical moment of Mackensen's and Falkenhayn's -invasion of Roumania. General Alexeiev pointed out to the Roumanian -High Command the excessive length of the Roumanian frontier line which -rendered operations in the border district difficult for the small -Roumanian Army. General Alexeiev, as well as the Allied military -experts, advised the Roumanians to shorten their front line, by means -of a retreat, to a shorter line in the East which could be held by the -comparatively small Roumanian Army. But the Roumanians, calculating -upon a weakening of the Austrians, preferred to choose a new plan and -invaded vast Transylvania. - -[Illustration: This map shows the four places in which the Russian -Army, led by Gen. Brussiloff, broke through the Austro-German front in -the summer of 1916.] - -This too daring move, which at first met but feeble resistance, -was, however, soon checked by the enemy. When thereupon the enemy -himself took the offensive and invaded Roumania and began to threaten -Bucharest, the Roumanian representative at Russian headquarters, -General Coanda, appealed to Russia for aid. - -The Russian Army had not yet succeeded in recuperating from the effects -of its great summer offensive of 1916. Russia's reserves and supplies -had been to a considerable extent spent during the period of Brusilov's -offensive. Nevertheless Russia, again as always, did not hesitate -for one minute to come to the assistance of the Allies. The Russians -even proposed to take upon themselves the defense of the Roumanian -capital--Bucharest--but this offer was turned down by the Roumanians -with some show of embarrassment; they pointed out that the railroads -leading to Bucharest were blocked with evacuated freights from the -capital and could not therefore carry the Russian troops. Probably -certain political considerations played not a small part in this. - -However that might be, Russia did not refuse her aid in the form -desired by the Roumanians. From the long Russian front which, in turn, -stood in need of reserves, troops were taken off and sent to Roumania. -Two armies, under Letchitzki and Sakharov, and the great mass of -cavalry under Mannerheim, were assigned by the Russians to assist the -retreating Roumanians. This effective help by Russia achieved its -purpose, stopping the offensive of the enemy, and towards 1917 the -Russian Armies also took upon themselves the none too easy task of -defending the greater part of the Roumanian front. - -For the following year, 1917, Russia prepared for a decisive offensive -on the German front, in common with the Allies. That was the first -year that the Russian Army had at last obtained sufficient armaments -and supplies. The Germans realized that most serious danger threatened -them, and the Germano-Bolshevist provocation was now chosen as the -means of disarming Russia. And yet, even during those terrible days -of the collapse of the Russian Army and the Revolution, Russia was -indispensable to the Allies. - -During those revolutionary days of 1917 Russia compelled the enemy to -maintain on the Russian front =162 divisions= of German, Austrian, -Turkish and Bulgarian troops, to the enemy's detriment on the French -main front. On this front the enemy was enabled to maintain only =140 -divisions=. - -Russia, although sapped by the Germano-Bolshevist conspiracy, was still -formidable, and the enemy did not risk the moving of any of his troops -from the Russian front. Russia was growing faint, but that honest -Russia which had saved her allies in East Prussia, Galicia, on the -fields of Poland, Lithuania, Roumania, in the Caucasus and Armenia, did -not lay down her arms to the very last moment, remaining true to her -obligations. - - -Russia's Losses--12,000,000 - -From this brief outline one can readily see what great and numerous -objects Russia accomplished in the World War, and how important was -her role in that final collapse of the Central Powers at which the -Allies had been aiming in the four-year long struggle. In full accord -with these efforts are the extraordinary sacrifices brought by Russia, -sacrifices in men, sacrifices in material resources and money, and -finally, that great upheaval through which the Russian people are now -passing, as a result of their over-exertion in the years of the World -War. - -Among these sacrifices, Russia's losses in men run into such great -numbers that the immense, extraordinary part played by Russia becomes -at once obvious to anyone. - -Of the many different figures quoted by various investigators the most -reliable are undoubtedly those furnished by the official statistics of -the Russian Army Staff. - -Among these figures made public in the press the most important are -those given by the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, -pertaining to the year 1916, concerning the total number of mobilized -soldiers and the number of those still in the service. According to -this information, the Russian War Ministry called to the colors from -the outbreak of the War up to the winter of 1916 more than 14 million -men; but the commissary department of the Army had towards the close of -1916 less than 10 million on its rolls. The difference of 4½ million -between these two figures constituted the absolute losses of the Army -during 3 campaigns (1914, 15, 16). This gave the Staff the basis for -calculating the yearly average total losses at 1½ million men. Adding, -accordingly, 1½ million losses for 1917, we obtain 6 million total -losses during the whole War. - -But these are only the men who were a total loss to the Army, i. e., -the losses in killed and prisoners, without the wounded, except a -moderate number of crippled who were no longer fit for service at the -front nor for service out of the ranks, and who therefore had to be -discharged from the Army entirely. - -The total number of Russian war-prisoners towards the end of the -War, according to figures compiled by the Russian Commission on War -Prisoners, amounted to about 2½ million. Deducting this number from -6 million, we obtain 3½ million in killed and the small number of -crippled who were discharged entirely. - -This number, 3½ million, obtained from official statistics, is the -basis of our calculations. The percentage of disabled was comparatively -small. German statistics during the War figured it to be 10 per cent. -Hence the figure of 3½ million must comprize only a little less than 3 -million in killed alone. The number of wounded is usually approximately -2½ times the number of killed.[5] Multiplying the number of wounded not -by 2½, but only by 2, we obtain about 6 million wounded. Thus we have -a total of 6 million killed and prisoners, and 6 million wounded, or a -grand total of not less than 12 million losses for Russia, in killed, -wounded and prisoners. - -These figures are rather minimized, for we have above underestimated -the number of wounded. These figures, based upon official statistics, -agree with those arrived at by the "Copenhagen Society for Studying -the Consequences of the War." This society estimates the losses at 9½ -million, exclusive of prisoners. As we have shown above, there were 2½ -million prisoners. - -Thus there can be no doubt but that the number of Russian casualties -was _not less than 12,000,000_, of which there were _3,000,000 in -killed_. - -These losses are almost equal to the combined losses of our Allies.[6] - -Russia's losses are more than twice those of France, 4-5 times those -of England, and more than 35 times those of America. These losses are -more than twice the total strength of the British Army, and 3-4 times -all the forces mustered by the United States. This number of casualties -alone is larger than the total population of any of the following -European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, -Holland, or the Balkan States! - -Thus do simple figures tell us clearly and plainly that Russia -sacrificed in the common cause of the Allies the greatest number of -victims and that she ranks first in the sad roster of Allied casualties. - -[Illustration: THE DEATH TOLL IN THE ALLIED ARMIES - -3,000,000 Russia -1,300,000 France - 700,000 England - 450,000 Italy - 100,000 Belgium - 100,000 Rumania - 100,000 Serbia & Montenegro - 50,000 United States of America] - - -Conclusion - -From this brief outline may be seen how tremendous and important a role -was played by Russia in the world conflict. Summing up the general -facts cited above, we arrive at the following definite conclusions: - -1.) Russia's role in the World War was bound to be very serious and -important for this reason alone, that the participation of a nation -numbering 180 million souls could not fail to be significant in itself, -and was therefore bound to exercise a tremendous influence upon the -outcome of the World War. - -2.) Accordingly, Russia's role became apparent even at the very -beginning of the War, in the important aid she rendered in frustrating -the initial and most dangerous plan of the Germans, by her early -offensive in aid of the Allies. Russia, having diverted against herself -the entire Austrian army and part of the German, at the time of the -battle on the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental idea -of Moltke's plan to fling "all forces into France." The enemy, having -contrary to his plan moved on France with only a part of his forces, -inevitably suffered defeat. This cooperation on the part of Russia was -of tremendous significance, for the Germans based their plan on the -idea that they would at first have to deal only with France alone, on -one front only, whereas Russia compelled them at once to start the -War on two fronts, both with Russia and France. This made the initial -German war plan useless because strategy says plainly: "Errors in the -strategic deploying of forces in the beginning of a war have a decisive -influence and cannot be rectified until the war is over." From this -rule of strategy it is plain that Russia's operations in the beginning -of the war at the outset condemned Germany to lose the war. - -3.) At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision in France, -to break through to Calais, at Ypres, Russia, by the blows she -delivered in Galicia, at Warsaw and in East Prussia, contributed to the -early termination of this second offensive in France, so dangerous to -England, and compelled the Germans for more than a year to abstain from -their main operations on the main decisive front of the War--in France. - -4.) In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden of the -struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, although forced to -abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the opportunity to prepare -throughout a whole year for the coming German offensive at Verdun. -At the same time, having compelled the Germans during 1915 to spend -all their fresh formations and reserves on the Russian front, Russia -thereby deprived the Germans of the reserves they needed for Verdun and -their other operations in France. - -5.) In 1916 Russia, thanks to the Brusilov offensive, saved Italy at -that critical moment when the Austrians, through their successful -offensive from Tyrol in the rear of the Italians, threatened to cut -off a considerable portion of the Italian Army, at the same time -menacing Venice. Together with this, Russia by this offensive greatly -facilitated the operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was -instrumental in the final clearing of the Verdun forts. - -6.) In 1916 Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's and -Falkenhayn's armies which had invaded Roumania, stopped the further -advance of the Germans, and undertook the defense of a considerable -stretch of the Roumanian front. - -7.) Through a period of three years of struggle against Germany, -Austria and Turkey, Russia, having diverted the forces of the enemy, -afforded the Allies a long period of quiet for the preparation and -strengthening of the Allied Armies and for the systematic creation of -a new 4 million British Army. - -8.) Throughout this period of three years of struggle _Russia compelled -the enemy to spend on the Russian front such a stupendous amount of -force, reserves and munitions_ as to hasten the inevitable fall of -the enemy, and _this immensely facilitated the delivery of the final, -decisive blows by the Allies_. - -9.) Russia, incessantly drawing upon herself the forces of the enemy, -did not give him the opportunity for one minute from the very beginning -of the War to gather sufficient force for a decisive blow on the main, -decisive front--in France. The role of Russia, therefore, was clearly -apparent in the fact that she deprived Germany throughout the War of -the possibility to win and rendered futile every effort of the enemy in -this respect. - -10.) Corresponding with the most important role that Russia played in -the War are her enormous sacrifices in men, material and treasure. -Her losses in men, amounting to 12,000,000, exceed several times the -casualties of any of the Allies; are almost equal to the losses of -all the Allies combined; exceed several times the total number of men -mobilized by any one of the Allies.... - -11.) Russia's role in the recent war was so important and extraordinary -that _without Russia the very idea of a struggle with German militarism -would have been impossible_. Germany would have been able to crush any -combination of the European Powers if Russia had not participated in -such combination. Were it not for Russia, Germany would now dominate -not only Europe, but probably the rest of the world as well. - -12.) Russia's great role in the World War is so much the greater since -she fought under extraordinary circumstances, lacking so indispensable -an asset as a great network of railways, with a backward technique, -industry, etc. In the hard first years of the War the Russian Armies, -as we have seen, in extraordinary circumstances and frequently without -arms and munitions, did everything possible, and, together with -failures, had also their successes. - -Ludendorf was able to achieve success on the Russian front only when -the Germans outnumbered their adversaries by at least three to two. At -Tannenberg the Germans had twice as many and, at certain stages, even -three times as many men as the Russians. Against Rennenkampf Ludendorf -had three men to every two of his enemy, and probably even as many -as two to one, as Rennenkampf had suffered severe losses during the -preceding days. - -It is equally true that the Russians were able to defeat the Germans -whenever they had even a small superiority of force. Near Warsaw -the Russians had less than five men to every four Germans and they -succeeded in defeating the latter and throwing them clear across all -Poland. - -It may seem strange that the Germans should have managed to have -numerical superiority over the Russians all the time. Regrettable as -it may be, it is nevertheless true, for the strength of an army is -determined not by the number of its men, but by the number of bayonets -(infantry), sabres (cavalry) and guns (artillery). The Russian Army -consisted of millions, but bayonets and guns it had only for one-tenth -of its number. In 1915 some Russian divisions numbered, instead of -20,000 bayonets, only a mere thousand, owing to disastrous losses. The -only employment of infantry during those days was as a screen for the -artillery, while the latter was quite useless for fighting purposes -because it had no ammunition whatever. Under such conditions many of -our corps often did not exceed the strength of a single regiment and -some armies numbered no more effectives than a single division. We -had plenty of men, but no arms and ammunition. Therefore, the Germans -frequently surpassed us not in men, but in bayonets and guns. - -The tragedy of the Russian situation lay in the cruel fact that Russia, -while only one-tenth of her Armies were armed, was facing Germany -and Austria, who were armed from head to foot. Not Ludendorf and not -his ordinary military skill were the causes of Russia's failures in -the first year of the War, but that simple and terrible truth which -Brusilov once expressed in the following words: "_The Russians had no -shells with which to blast their way across barbed-wire entanglements -before an attack; so it became necessary for them to break down the -wires with the bodies of Russian soldiers, and to form a bridge across -these dead bodies for the next attacking column._" - -[Illustration: The black line represents the Russian front in 1917. The -front stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The Roumanian -front was held also primarily by Russian troops.] - -We have concluded our sketch of Russia's participation in the World War -with 1917. But 1918 also has its story: in that year Russia was denied -a voice at the conference on that peace in the name of which Russia had -offered up so many sacrifices and made such efforts. - -We have seen how important and essential a part Russia played in the -overthrow of German militarism. Russia's tremendous role confirms -once more the elementary truth that in the future also Russia will -inevitably be a colossal factor of political and military equilibrium -in Europe. Whatever does happen to Russia, however they may dismember -her living body, the immense Russian nation, with 125 million souls of -pure Russian blood alone, will always remain that heavy military weight -which inevitably lowers that particular scale upon which it descends. - -It is true, Germany is now crushed and enfeebled. But we know that -victorious countries are now suffering not less, and some of them even -more, from the consequences of the most stupendous world conflict. - -Years will pass, and possibly but a few years, and again the world -will recuperate. We have no reason to expect that the active German -people will lag behind the rest in this work of reestablishing normal -conditions of life and labor. - -The Treaty of Versailles has not solved a good many problems, and among -them also those that were the cause of the World War. Notwithstanding -all partitioning, Germany still retains up to 60 million souls, but -France only a little more than 40 million. The population of Germany -has always been growing, while that of France, if it has not decreased, -has not increased. _After all, Germany has and will have a numerical -superiority over France of one and a half times._ - -France, well aware of that, tries to maintain an alliance with England, -and reckons upon the aid of America. But the statesmen of the West -realize how insufficient all this is, for they still remember well that -first critical month of the War when France was all alone and saved -herself only through extraordinary efforts. - -Until the United States arrives on the scene! Why, that inevitably -means months and months of waiting. Until the British Army is mobilized -and transported! Why, we know how difficult and tedious are the -conditions of embarkation and landing of troops, artillery, transport -columns, munitions, etc. We know that the 150,000 soldiers of the -British Army alone required, in August, 1914, more than three weeks for -disembarkation. And where? In three ports where everything was equipped -for disembarkation purposes, where ideal conditions prevailed such as -were hard to find in any other ports. - -Thus France, in the event of a new conflict with her old foe, will -again find herself for quite some time left all alone to face the -numerically superior enemy. Where will Russia be then? - -No Poland, no combination of any group of small States will be able to -take the place of Russia, for that would be a mere 15-20 millions; it -will be not Russia, but only one-seventh, a sixth, or fifth part of -that which Russia gave during the past War. These weak nations will -only become additional trophies to the enemy, just as Roumania, Serbia -and Belgium became his easy prey in the past War. - -Where will Russia be then? Not the present-day Russia bleeding to death -in its struggle against Bolshevism, but the future, once more powerful, -Russia?... - -Bolshevism, an abnormal phenomenon, is bound to come to an -end--somewhat earlier, or somewhat later. No matter how much may be -cut off from Russia, she will always remain an immense, great, rich, -and therefore powerful, country. Too much will depend upon what this -coming Russia may have to say, for any sensible statesman to refuse to -reckon with that eventuality. - -This question the statesmen of the West must ask of themselves clearly -and plainly--not those statesmen who think no further than the -following day and of the success of their fight against their political -opponents--but those wise leaders of the nations who really have at -heart the interests of their own countries, as well as of the entire -civilized world. "Ostrich politics" may least of all be applied in -dealing with that tremendous military and political factor which covers -one-sixth of the land surface of the globe and is called Russia. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See diagrams on pp. 15 and 18. - -[2] See Appendixes No. I and II, in which an analysis of this part of -Ludendorf's Memoirs is given. - -[3] See Appendixes "Ludendorf--Samsonov" and "Ludendorf--Rennenkampf" -at the end of the pamphlet. - -[4] How preposterous is this figure of 1,200,000 men, supposed to have -been transferred by the Russians from Galicia to Warsaw, to oppose -Ludendorf, may be seen from the fact that only 3 railway lines run -from Galicia to Warsaw. It is not difficult to demonstrate that it is -impossible to carry 1,200,000 men on 3 railway lines within 2 weeks -(the offensive of the Germans against Warsaw began in the first days of -October, and the retreat began two weeks later, i. e., when the Russian -troops were transferred from Galicia to Warsaw). - -One army corps requires 140-150 trains. The best road in Russia can at -most carry 52 trains in 24 hours in one direction. Hence, to entrain -a corps would require 3 days. Consequently the most that could be -entrained within 15 days would be 5 corps to each railway line. Thus, -all 3 roads combined might have been able to carry up to 15 corps, but -actually, of course, they carried less than that. But even if we allow -the computation of 15 corps to stand, we have but 500-600 thousand men, -and not 1,200,000 as Mr. Ludendorf unhesitatingly allots. - -[5] According to figures submitted in 1916 by the army committee of -the German Reichstag, the German army lost during the first 12 months -of the War 604 thousand killed, 1,556,000 wounded, and 317 thousand -prisoners. This shows that the number of wounded is 2½ times the number -of killed. - -[6] According to the statistics of the "Copenhagen Society," the -French Army lost 1,350,000 in killed, the British--700,000, the -Italian--330,000, and each of the remaining Allies--100,000 and less. - - - - -Appendix No. I - -Ludendorf--Samsonov - - -1.) A careful perusal of Ludendorf's memoirs brings out the fact that -during the first Russian invasion of Eastern Prussia there participated -on the German side: the 1st, 17th, 20th and 1st Reserve Corps, the -3rd Reserve Division, the 6th Landwehr Brigade, Goltz's Division, the -garrisons of the Vistula fortresses,--Thorn, Kulm and Graudenitz, and a -brigade of cavalry. The German forces consisted, therefore, not of two -corps numbering 80,000 men but of more than 240,000, not counting the -masses of landsturm, which fact Ludendorf carefully conceals. - -2.) The Russians, on the other hand, advanced into East Prussia not -fully mobilized, as this battle took place twenty-seven days after -the War was declared, and the Russian mobilization was only completed -three--four weeks later. Samsonov had no six army corps under his -command, but only 4 corps: the 1st, the 6th, the 13th and the 15th, -and, figuring even at 40,000 men per army corps, this force could not -have exceeded 160,000 men. - -3.) It can be seen, therefore, that in this battle over 240,000 -Germans were opposing 160,000 Russians at most. However, as a matter -of positive fact, the attack of the 240,000 Germans was directed -against two Russian corps only, the 1st and the 6th, i. e., at only -approximately 80,000 men. - -4.) A force of Germans, three times as strong, overpowered two Russian -corps. During that attack Samsonov and a part of his staff were killed. -That, and the disruption of liaison, was the reason reinforcements were -not sent up from the other corps and the Germans succeeded in invading -the Russian rear (see map No. 1). - -5.) The remainder of Samsonov's army, about 80,000 men, became -surrounded by 240,000 Germans, and, left without leadership, in the -midst of an extremely critical and dangerous operation, on unfamiliar -territory, it was shattered. _Only under such an unfortunate -combination of circumstances could a threefold strong German force -win the battle in a tactical sense. But, from the strategic point of -view, the Germans lost in this stage of their campaign, as this battle -diverted a number of German corps from France and served a purpose of -the greatest importance._ - -[Illustration: The Russian troops are indicated on this map by white -squares; the Germans--by black. It can be seen from this map that the -army of Gen. Samsonov took up positions from Usdau to Biskofsburg. -The Germans attacked his flanks, i. e., Usdau, his left flank, and -Biskofsburg, his right. The 1st and 6th Russian Corps were located -there, as indicated by the map. - -It may be observed from the map that the 1st Corps was attacked by two -German corps, one division and the Vistula garrisons, i. e., about -120,000 Germans attacked 40,000 Russians. The 6th Corps at Biskofsburg -was put in a similar situation. Under pressure from a threefold -stronger German force, the 1st and 6th Corps retreated. Thereupon -the Germans fell under Neiderborg and Passenheim upon the rear of -Samsonov's remaining troops, the 13th and 15th Corps. These corps were -consequently surrounded by this threefold stronger force and were -defeated after a heroic fight of three days.] - -6.) It must be added that the entire population of East Prussia was -armed, and scouting was very difficult. The Russians knew nothing about -the enemy, while the latter was fully informed by the inhabitants -concerning the Russians and knew every step these were making. That is -why the German attack came as a surprise. - -7.) The assertion that Rennenkampf had 400,000 men and intentionally -did not come to Samsonov's aid is a downright misstatement. This can -be seen from the fact that the battle, which was begun on August 27, -was lost in 18 hours, on the morning of August 28, and Rennenkampf, -who with small forces was within three days' marching distance from -Samsonov--40 miles--could not have arrived in time, particularly when -we consider that he had to overcome on his way fortifications and -barbed-wire defenses manned by landsturm and by cavalry. - -8.) Ludendorf's assertion that Rennenkampf's force consisted of 24 -divisions, almost 400,000 men, is an obvious falsehood. A single -army is never made up of more than six army corps, for facility -and expediency in commanding, and this is a basic rule in military -organizations. Ludendorf knows this very well, but it appears that he -consciously misstated the truth in this case as well. - -9.) In reality Rennenkampf's army consisted of eight divisions or four -army corps,--the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th and the 20th, and of six cavalry -divisions. Altogether his force consisted of about 160,000 men. The -bulk of his infantry could not have reached the front at that time, as -it was necessary to organize the rear and to coordinate the railway -movement in Prussia, as the Russian rail gauge is much wider than that -adopted by the German railway system. Rennenkampf's front, therefore, -was occupied largely by cavalry, supported only in section by weak -detachments of infantry. - -10.) Rennenkampf could not have aided Samsonov even if he had known -his situation, because he was already at a distance of 90 miles from -his own railway lines, and Ludendorf himself admits that it is not -possible to operate safely further than 80 miles from one's railroads. -Rennenkampf's army, therefore, without provisions and ammunition, had -to wait until its rear was made secure and was unable to move further. - - - - -Appendix No. II. - -Ludendorf--Rennenkampf - - -His second battle--with Rennenkampf--Ludendorf describes with a similar -distortion of facts. On this occasion he goes so far as to assert that -Rennenkampf had not 400,000 men but 600,000, and he states at the same -time that Rennenkampf was a traitor because he retreated too soon. As -we have already seen, Rennenkampf had only about 160,000 men, and he -was reinforced by one more corps, the 22nd,--about 40,000 additional -men; therefore his army could not have exceeded 200,000 men. Ludendorf -places his own army at 300,000 men, much less, of course, than his -actual strength, but even at that rate he attacked 200,000 Russians -with 300,000 German troops, outnumbering his adversary one and a half -times. - -That accounts for the ease with which Ludendorf was able to throw -200,000 men into the frontal attack and still was able to send up -100,000 men to get into Rennenkampf's rear (see map No. 2). Rennenkampf's -troops were kept engaged for seven days in repulsing Ludendorf's -attacks upon their front, and he had no troops left with which to parry -the attack on his rear. When the Germans invaded the Russian rear and -were threatening to cut off the Russian main line of retreat, the -Vershbolovo-Kovno Railroad, Rennenkampf was compelled to retreat so as -not to be cut off. In fact, had Rennenkampf not retreated at that time, -he would have committed the same act of treason that Marshal Bazaine -was guilty of in 1870, when he, under similar circumstances, did not -consent to escape from the steadily closing-up iron ring of Germans and -was finally captured with his entire army. Rennenkampf gave orders to -retreat only when the Germans were firing at the city of Gumbinnen and -at his rear railway lines. This was not too soon by any means, but may -have been rather a little late. - -[Illustration: Rennenkampf's troops are indicated between Welau and -Ingenburg (white square). Opposite them is the German army (black -square). - -Rennenkampf had 4 corps,--less than 160,000 men. He was attacked -frontally also by 4 corps which engaged all his effectives. Meanwhile -two German corps (the 17th and the 1st) that remained free began -invading his rear (these corps are indicated in black). When these two -corps approached Gumbinnen, they found themselves in a position to -cut Rennenkampf off from his only road, the Insterburg-Kovno railway. -Rennenkampf had no men to oppose these troops with, as all his units -were fighting at the front line of Welau-Ingenburg. Rennenkampf was -therefore compelled to retreat in order not to be cut off.] - -The 22nd Corps did not even succeed in getting near Rennenkampf, and -was halted by the Germans fifty miles away from the field of battle. -Rennenkampf had, therefore, not 200,000 men to Germany's 300,000, but -only 160,000,--about one-half. The cause of the defeat of Rennenkampf -was that that military operation had been calculated for the combined -armies of Samsonov and Rennenkampf, and was a risky undertaking at -that. When Rennenkampf was left alone, this operation was as a matter -of course doomed to defeat, and it required the tenacity of Rennenkampf -to have offered the obstinate resistance that he did in this battle. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. - -Inconsistent hyphenation wss made consistent. - -Ludendorff consistently spelled Ludendorf but has not been corrected. - -p. 10: Apparent missing line in: "brought about the final defeat of the -Germans in this [newline] sonov." - -pp. 45-6: Several misspellings of Rennenkampf corrected. - -p. 46: He was atacked frontally -> He was attacked frontally. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR*** - - -******* This file should be named 50956-8.txt or 50956-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/9/5/50956 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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M. -Shumsky-Solomonov</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Russia's Part in the World War</p> -<p>Author: C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov</p> -<p>Release Date: January 18, 2016 [eBook #50956]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/russiaspartinwor00shum"> - https://archive.org/details/russiaspartinwor00shum</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 374px;"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="374" height="600" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR</h1> - -<p class="center spaced space-above"> -<i>By</i><br /> -COLONEL C. M. SHUMSKY-SOLOMONOV -</p> - -<p class="center spaced space-above"> -PUBLISHED BY THE<br /> -Russian Information Bureau in the U. S.<br /> -WOOLWORTH BUILDING<br /> -NEW YORK CITY -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"> -Copyright 1920<br /> -by<br /> -Russian Information Bureau<br /> -New York<br /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Introduction</h2> - - -<p>The author of this pamphlet, Colonel C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov, -is an officer of the Russian Army, a distinguished -soldier and an authority on military problems. Col. Shumsky-Solomonov -was one of the defenders of Port Arthur during -the Russo-Japanese War, and as a military expert of the -Petrograd daily, "Birjeviya Viedomosti", he was well known not -only in Russia but also throughout Europe.</p> - -<p>The purpose of this pamphlet is to present Russia's part in -the recent War. Russia at present lies in seas of blood and -tears because of her enormous sacrifices in the struggle against -Prussian militarism. The nightmare of Bolshevism was able to -overtake Russia because she was exhausted by three years of -active participation in the War, during which her casualties -reached 12,000,000, and her economic life became overstrained -and partially destroyed. Russia's present pitiful condition is the -result of her self-sacrificing services to humanity.</p> - -<p>According to the data quoted by Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, of -the 12,000,000 Russian casualties in the recent War, not less than -3,000,000 were in dead. "Russia's losses," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"are more than twice those of France, four-five times -those of England, and more than thirty-five times those of -America. Russia's losses are more than twice the total strength -of the British Army, and three-four times all the forces mustered -by the United States. The number of Russia's casualties is -larger than the total population of any of the following European -countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, -Holland or the Balkan States."</p> - -<p>If Russia had not sacrificed 3,000,000 of her best youth, now -sleeping on the battle-fields of Europe, a Prussian bayonet would -now be ruling the world. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov points -out, the great role played by Russia in the recent struggle "became -apparent at the very beginning of the War, in the important -aid she rendered in frustrating the initial and most dangerous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -plan of the Germans, by her early offensive in aid of the Allies. -Russia, having diverted against herself the entire Austrian -army and part of the German, at the time of the battle on -the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental -idea of Moltke's plan to fling 'all forces into France.'"</p> - -<p>"At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision in -France, to break through to Calais, at Ypres," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"Russia, by the blows she delivered in Galicia, at -Warsaw and in East Prussia, contributed to the early termination -of this second offensive in France, so dangerous to England, -and compelled the Germans for more than a year to abstain from -their main operations on the main decisive front of the War—in -France.</p> - -<p>"In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden -of the struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, -although forced to abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the -opportunity to prepare throughout a whole year for the -coming German offensive at Verdun. In 1916 Russia, thanks to -the Brusilov offensive, saved Italy at that critical moment when -the Austrians, through their successful offensive from Tyrol, in -the rear of the Italians, threatened to cut off a considerable portion -of the Italian Army, at the same time menacing Venice. Together -with this, Russia by this offensive greatly facilitated the -operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was instrumental -in the final clearing of the Verdun forts.</p> - -<p>"In the same year Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's -and Falkenhayn's armies, which had invaded Roumania, -stopped the further advance of the Germans, and undertook -the defense of a considerable stretch of the Roumanian front."</p> - -<p>In the beginning of the War, in August, 1914, there were, in -addition to the Austrian Army, only 14 German divisions engaged -on the Russian front. During the first Russian advance into -Eastern Prussia, the German General Staff was obliged, on the -eve of the battle of the Marne, to transfer 6 additional divisions -to the Eastern front. The number of German divisions engaged -on the Russian front grew continuously, and in October, 1914, -there were 25 divisions, in November—33 divisions, in December—43 -divisions, and in January, 1915,—53 German divisions on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -the Russian front. The role played by Russia and the services -the Russian Armies rendered in the struggle against Prussian -Imperialism can be seen further from the fact that during the -spring of 1917 there were 162 German and Austrian divisions -engaged on the Russian front alone, while on all the other Allied -fronts together there were 205 German and Austrian divisions.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>To this it must be added that Russia entered the War unprepared -for a modern struggle. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov -points out, "The Russian Army consisted of millions, but bayonets -and guns it had only for one-tenth of its number." General -Brusilov once said: "Our soldiers had no shells with which to -blast their way across barbed-wire entanglements before an attack; -so it was necessary for them to break down the wires with -their own bodies and thus to form a bridge for the next attacking -column." In the fall of 1917 the Russian Armies collapsed -after months of intensive German and Bolshevist propaganda, -but this cannot minimize the great heroism of the Russian soldiers -during the first three years of the War, heroism without which -the alliance of the democratic nations would never have been able -to defeat the Prussian militarism.</p> - -<div class="right"> -A. J. SACK<br /> -<i>Director of the Russian Information<br /> -Bureau in the U. S.</i><br /> -</div> - -<p>May 25, 1920.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Russia's Part in the World War</h2> - - -<h3>Was it Possible for Germany to Win the War?</h3> - -<p>In discussing Russia's role in the past World War, it is customary -to cite the losses sustained by the Russian Army, losses -numbering many millions. There is no doubt that Russia's sacrifices -were great, and it is just as true that her losses were -greater than those sustained by any of the other Allies. Nevertheless, -these sacrifices are by far not the only standard of measurement -of Russia's participation in this gigantic struggle. Russia's -role must be gauged, first of all, by the efforts made by the -Russian Army to blast the German war plans during the first -years of the War, when neither America, nor Italy, nor Roumania -were among the belligerents, and the British Army was -still in the process of formation.</p> - -<p>Russia's role must in addition be gauged by the efforts put -forth by the Russian Army to save the situation at other critical -moments of the War. And of such, we know, there were not a -few until the Allies succeeded in gaining their victory over the -stubborn and powerful enemy.</p> - -<p>Lastly, and this is the main thing, the role played by the Russian -Army must be considered also in this respect that the strenuous -campaign waged by Russia, with her 180 millions of inhabitants, -for three years against Germany, Austro-Hungary and -Turkey, sapped the resources of the enemy and thereby -made possible the delivery of the final blow. This weakening -of the powers of the enemy by Russia was already -bound at various stages of the War to facilitate correspondingly -the various operations of the Allies. Therefore at the -end of the War three years of effort on the part of Russia, -which had devoured the enemy's forces, were destined to -enable the Allies finally to crush the enemy. The final<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -catastrophe of the Central Powers was the direct consequence -of the offensive of the Allies in 1918, but Russia made -possible this collapse to a considerable degree, having -effected, in common with the others, the weakening of Germany, -and having consumed during the three years of strenuous -fighting countless reserves, forces and resources of the -Central Powers.</p> - -<p>Could Germany have won the war? A careful analysis of this -question brings home the conviction that Germany was very close -to victory, and that it required unusual straining of efforts on the -part of France and Russia to prevent Germany from "winning -out."</p> - -<p>The plan of the old Field Marshal, Moltke, was far from worthless. -It is a fact that it took from six weeks to two months to -mobilize the armed forces of Russia, during which period Russia -was unprepared for action. The population of Germany was 70 -million and that of Austria-Hungary 52 million, a total of 122 -million persons. During these two months of forced inaction -those 122 millions of Teutons were faced only by 40 million -Frenchmen, for Russia was not yet ready. A threefold superiority -in numbers, in addition to an equal degree of military skill, -technical equipment and culture, was bound to crush lone -France.</p> - -<p>It is true that for the complete realization of this scheme it was -necessary that the Austrian Army, as well, involve France. This -should have been anticipated, as military science does not admit -of the division of forces. Just to the contrary, it demands "the -concentration of all forces in the decisive hour and at the deciding -point,"—in France, upon this particular occasion.</p> - -<p>It may be said that Russia could have occupied Galicia and -East Prussia had the Austrian Army left for France. Well, -the fact is that both these provinces were occupied by Russia -anyhow. But if in the first battle of the Marne, when the Germans -felt the shortage of the two or three corps dispatched back -into Prussia, they would have had these troops at their disposal in -addition to half a million Austrians, Joffre's condition would -have been rendered critical. The loss of the Marne would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -been equivalent to the loss of the War by France, and, consequently, -to the loss of the entire War.</p> - -<p>The outcome was different. The concentrated attack upon -France failed because of the fact that of the 104 German divisions -and the 50 Austrian divisions only about 92 or 94 divisions -were on the scene of action in France. The Russian Army, unprepared -for action for another 40 days, nevertheless rushed into -East Prussia in an impulse of self-sacrifice and received in addition -the full strength of the blow from the Austro-Hungarian -Army. This generous move on the part of Russia destroyed the -Moltke plan and his basic idea "the concentration of <i>all forces</i> -against France", as a part of the German force had been diverted -from that front. The plan collapsed, and the only actual chance -which the Germans had of winning a victory was lost with it. -Later, when Russia was prepared, when the English Army began -to grow, and Italy, Roumania and America had abandoned their -neutrality, Germany's chances for a final victory vanished.</p> - -<p>It is the recognition of these facts that should prompt every -impartial historian of the War to admit that the self-sacrifice of -the unprepared Russian Army during the first days of the War -played an enormous role in the only period when Germany had -victory almost within her grasp. It is to be regretted that the -extraordinary conditions which developed in Russia towards the -end of the War are obscuring the true historic role of Russia in -the sanguine World struggle. It is simple enough to understand -that during the two or three years, while the British Army was -still in the process of formation, and Italy, Roumania and America -were neutral, the entire burden of fighting the Central Powers -devolved upon the Armies of France and Russia. It is just as -simple to understand that during that period, when the enemy -was most powerful and undemoralized, when he was operating -with his best troops, that the most difficult and responsible part of -the problem had to be performed. It is just as easy—from an -examination of the maps of the first three years of the War, maps -which speak only of two principal fronts, the French and the -Russian, and no other—to grasp the significance of the gigantic -role played in this War by great Russia and the millions of sacrifices<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -she consecrated to the common cause of the Allies. Sadly -enough, this only correct criterion of Russia's historic role in -the War is becoming more and more obscured from the public -opinion of the world.</p> - -<p>In the recently published memoirs of General Ludendorf, the -defeated German military leader, in an endeavor to clear himself, -attempts to slander the Russian Army and discredit all the -great sacrifices and heroic efforts contributed by Russia to the -Allied cause. Taking advantage of the scant familiarity of the -general public with military matters, Ludendorf uses false data, -cites wrong figures and consciously distorts the historic perspective -of the War.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to understand how a serious-minded military -leader can stoop to employ, in a supposedly serious work, methods -fit for the yellow press, such as accusing Russian generals of -treason, etc., etc. These memoirs, as a whole, were met at the -time of their publication by sharp and adverse criticism in the -foreign, and even the German, press. Ludendorf's memoirs -are especially misleading in the part describing the first Russian -advance in East Prussia, the advance that played such a -decisive role in the defeat which the Germans suffered on the -Marne. It should never be forgotten that this event proved -fatal and brought about the final defeat of the Germans in this -sonov.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - - -<h3>Russia's Sacrifice</h3> - -<p>Ludendorf commences his recital of events on the Russian -front with the statement that in 1914, in East Prussia, with a -force of only two German corps, he destroyed 250,000 Russians—six -army corps—under the command of General Samsonov, and -that General Rennenkampf, who was only within two or three -days' march from Samsonov, had designedly failed to aid Samsonov.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> -<p>This statement by General Ludendorf is absolutely false from -beginning to end. It can be very easily proven that Ludendorf -attacked Samsonov not with two army corps, but with more than -240,000 German troops. With this army he attacked not 250,000 -Russians, but only two Russian army corps, i. e., 80,000 men—the -1st and the 6th Russian Army Corps. Thus, Ludendorf had -a force three times larger than his adversary.</p> - -<p>It may be easily seen from this that while Ludendorf gives -Samsonov twice as many men as he had in reality, he, at the same -time, credits Rennenkampf with three times the number he actually -had. His own force Ludendorf puts, on paper, at one-third -of what he had in fact.</p> - -<p>Rennenkampf knew nothing about the events on the -Samsonov front until August 30, whereas the latter was surrounded -on August 28. (See Gurko's book, "War and Revolution".)</p> - -<p>The cause of the Russian defeat in that battle was not -the "genius" of Ludendorf, but lay rather in the fact that the -Russian Army, <i>in its eagerness to relieve Paris, advanced too -quickly, with not fully mobilized and insufficient forces, and in -two separate Armies</i>, coupled with the difficulty of reconnoitering -and obtaining information about the enemy in a country where -the entire population was in a state of armed belligerency. The -death of Samsonov and of a part of his staff and the disruption -of liaison were other causes.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>In her haste to aid her Allies, Russia risked much, and she lost -a battle on account of the precariousness of the operation, insufficiency -of forces and an unfortunate accident. But she succeeded -in diverting several German corps from France, and the Russian -blood shed at Tannenberg thus helped win the First Battle of the -Marne.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> -<p>It may thus be seen from the descriptions of the first battles -in East Prussia that Ludendorf, for the sake of German martial -glory and probably also for the glorification of his own role, -makes use of a very primitive and naive expedient. He multiplies -the number of Russian troops several times, and also diminishes -his own forces several times. This creates the impression that -Ludendorf with "inconsiderable" forces smashed the "many times -larger" forces of the Russians. As a matter of fact, however, -as we have seen, Ludendorf had in these engagements, 1½, 2, -and sometimes even 3 times as many men as the Russians. How -excessive this superiority of numbers was may be inferred from -the fact that the Germans themselves went to France with but -1½ times as many men and that they considered this sufficient -for a decisive victory over the French Army. However, no matter -how much Ludendorf may distort the facts in his memoirs, -he cannot refrain, albeit only by 2-3 words, from mentioning -the strategical catastrophe which overtook Germany through the -invasion of East Prussia by the Russian troops. Ludendorf -himself admits that "<i>the transfer of the two army corps from -the French front to Eastern Prussia had fatal consequences for -Germany. The German advance on France was turned into a retreat.</i>"</p> - -<p>This admission from Ludendorf characterizes the importance -of all the events of the first few weeks of the War and it contains -an involuntary appreciation of the historic role and self-sacrificing -efforts of Russia. The enemy, albeit indirectly, admits -that Russian blood was not shed in vain on the fields of East -Prussia; it was precisely for this reason that Germany was -unable to win the War at the only moment at which she could -ever have won, taking advantage of Russia's unpreparedness and -the temporary isolation of France.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, we must also point out that from a formal -standpoint Russia was not bound to fling herself into a risky -operation in East Prussia. The Russian Army, like any other -Army, was bound to take the field actively only after the completion -of her mobilization, and this early assistance was still -less her duty as she herself was at the time invaded by Austrian -forces.</p> - -<p>But Russia regarded her alliance with France from a higher -standpoint than mere formal obligations. The justice of History—not -the "history" of Ludendorf—will in its own time record<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -how far Russia stood from egotistic politics and egotistic strategy -during those tragic days of August and September, 1914, when -the German masses, smashing every obstacle in their path, moved -through northern France on Paris.</p> - - -<h3>The German Defeat at Warsaw</h3> - -<p>The battle of Ypres, the determined operations of the Germans -for the capture of Calais, is the other critical moment in -the history of the World War, when Russia once more brought -heavy sacrifices to the common cause of the Allies. Ludendorf, -in describing these difficult days for the Germans, again makes -use, we regret to say, of the same unsavory expedient he used in -describing the first engagements in East Prussia.</p> - -<p>Thus, for instance, he asserts that when he was defeated -in October, 1914, at Warsaw, the Russians had 1,200,000 -men,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> while he had only one German army—the 9th—and -one Austrian army—the 1st. As a matter of fact, the Russians -were opposed, on the entire front, by five Austrian -armies and two German armies—the 8th and the 9th—by -more than 70 divisions approximating about 1,200,000 men. -The Russians, having left only a small force to oppose four Austrian -armies, fell with their three armies upon two enemy armies, -one German and one Austrian, near Warsaw. With a numerical -superiority of one and a quarter to one the Russians defeated the -Germans, and threw them back across the whole of Poland to -Posen. The Germans saved themselves on that occasion only -by destroying the railroads back of them and by burning the -bridges.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> -<p>The significance of the operations at Warsaw and in Galicia -in October, and beyond Warsaw in November, 1914, is to be seen -from Ludendorf's own story. Referring to a conversation he -had with General Falkenhayn, who at that time was the main -leader of all German Army operations, he writes in his memoirs: -"At the end of October, 1914, General von Falkenhayn summoned -me to Berlin.... <i>Gen. von Falkenhayn spoke hopefully of the -attack near Ypres</i>, and wanted to defer further decisions."</p> - -<p>But already in the beginning of November, i. e., a few days -after this conversation, the operations of the Russian Armies in -Galicia, the Posen territory, and on the East Prussian front, -greatly diminished the hopefulness of Falkenhayn and <i>compelled -him to slacken the pressure against the Allies at Ypres and to -transfer large forces from France to the Russian front—to the -detriment of the offensive against Ypres</i>. Ludendorf himself -figures these reinforcements which arrived from France in the -middle of November, and, consequently, must have left there in -the beginning of November, at 225,000 men. There were 4 corps -with 2 infantry divisions, which Ludendorf figures at 225,000 -men. Besides, Ludendorf mentions right here the arrival of -Richthofen's Cavalry Corps, Hollen's Cavalry Corps, the 2nd and -4th Cavalry Divisions. Still earlier Ludendorf mentions that the -newly formed 25th Reserve Corps and the 15th Reserve Corps -were dispatched to East Prussia. And finally, in still another -place, we can find in Ludendorf's account a number of other new -divisions which had been sent to the Russian front instead of -to Ypres.</p> - -<p>In this manner it is easy to see, from the data furnished -by Ludendorf himself, that, "hopeful" at the end of -October for the success of the attack on Ypres, Falkenhayn found -it necessary to dispatch from France 300,000 additional soldiers -to the Russian front, aside from the reserves taken from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -interior of Germany, which forces would also have been welcome -to the Germans during the fateful days at Ypres. While the -frontal attacks on Ypres, attended by considerable casualties, -demanded the presence of large German reserves, these reserves -were the very ones which were swallowed up entirely by the -Russian operations in the East, at Warsaw, Galicia and East -Prussia.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 873px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_015.jpg" width="873" height="900" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>While the Russian troops were persecuting the defeated -Austrians in Galicia, General Hindenburg began an advance -towards Warsaw. The Russian General Staff transferred -from Galicia three armies for the defense of Warsaw, and -these armies defeated the two Austro-German armies and -persecuted them through Poland up to the border of Germany -(October, 1914).</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<p>If the firmness of the Allies held back the Germans at Ypres -and prevented them from breaking through to Calais, the Russian -Army also played an important part in this strategic situation—compelling -the Germans to abandon the operation at Ypres much -earlier than the Germans and Falkenhayn had figured. But -not in this alone was the role of Russia apparent in the trying -days of October and November, 1914. Not only did Russia -force the Germans to transfer 300,000 soldiers to the East, -and to abandon early the operations in France, but she also -compelled the Germans, by her operations in 1914, <i>to abandon -for more than a year all large offensives in the West</i>. This is -attested not only by the facts (as is well known, from the end -of 1914 up to February, 1916, the Germans did not start any -offensive in France), but by Ludendorf himself, notwithstanding -all his endeavors to discredit the Russian Army.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the weakness of the German front in the West in -the month of November, Ludendorf says that it was perfectly -natural "that in this situation our eyes should again turn to the -East."... Further on he adds that he had asked himself -whether it were not better "once and for all to restrict operations -on the Western front to a defensive and to carry out the contemplated -operations against Russia with all our available forces.... -This point of view seemed to me to be the right one, -and I asked our High Command for reinforcements from the -West...." Thus, such facts as the abandonment by the -Germans of all operations in the West for more than a year, as -well as Ludendorf's own words, prove with absolute clearness -and conclusiveness that the Germans, partly through the firmness -of the Allies, but mainly on account of the hard blows from -the Russian Army, found themselves compelled for a long time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -to refrain from an offensive in France. There is no doubt but -that the Germans never abandoned entirely the attempt to crush -France, for we have seen how such a serious attempt was made -by them subsequently at Verdun. But if they were compelled at -the end of 1914 to defer this attempt at crushing France for -more than a year, it is obvious that the decisive part in this decision -of the Germans was played by Russia, in the increasing -offensive of her Armies all along the front from the Baltic to the -Carpathians.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 863px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_017.jpg" width="863" height="900" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>This diagram shows that the Germans had calculated, at -first, to stop the Russian Army with the aid of the Austrian -troops and only 14 of their own divisions—13 infantry and -one cavalry divisions. Soon, in September, 1914, they were -compelled to forward 6 more divisions to the East,—during -the Marne period. Later, when the Austrians were defeated, -the number of German relief columns increased and numbered, -at the end of 1914, 43 divisions, instead of the former -14 divisions,—three times as many. Early in 1915 the number -of German divisions grew to 53. During 1916 and 1917 the -number of the German troops on the Russian front was also -increasing incessantly, at the expense of German strength on -the French front.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>Thus, if the taking of the field by unprepared Russia in the -beginning of the War contributed to the defeat of the most dangerous -and main plan of the Germans, in August and September, -the new sacrifices brought by Russia in October and November -on the plains of Galicia, Poland and East Prussia compelled the -Germans to desist for more than a year from all attempts to win -the War in France. August and September, 1914, were the -months in which the German forces were brought to a standstill, -and October and November saw them already much impaired.</i> -At both important, critical moments Russia played her decisive -part.</p> - -<p><i>At this same period, towards the close of 1914, the Germans -were compelled by the operations of the Russian Army to increase -the number of their troops on the Russian front up to 43 -divisions. If the Germans were unable in the beginning of the -War to win out in France where they had all their forces, allotting -to the Russian front only 14 divisions and the Austrian -Army, so much the less could they have won at the end of 1914, -when the Russians had compelled them to have 43 divisions in the -field, that is, to treble their forces on the Russian front, to the -detriment of their French front.</i></p> - - -<h3>New Opportunities for the Allies</h3> - -<p>The third great period of the world-conflict—1915—is the year -of Russia's single-handed fight against Germany, Austria and -Turkey. This year was hardest for Russia not only because all -attention and all efforts of the three enemy powers were directed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -against Russia alone, but also because in 1915 Russia was less -than ever before prepared for the struggle—being without arms, -shells and munitions. No matter how much Ludendorf may distort -the truth in his memoirs, the whole world knows that in that -year the Russian positions were covered not by barbed wire entanglements, -but by the naked breasts of the Russian soldiers, and -German charges were repulsed not by artillery barrages but by -the bayonet, by cold steel—reminding us of the times when the -Mexicans, armed only with spears, fought against the rifles and -cannon of the Spaniards under Fernando Cortez.</p> - -<p>Russia's loss of Poland in 1915 is altogether a result of this -situation, unprecedented in any of the wars fought by European -nations. It was hard to gain victory when the shortage of arms -was so great that some corps counted but 1,500 bayonets instead -of 40,000, and at the same time it was impossible to complement -these corps with their quota of men because these men had no -rifles.</p> - -<p>Russia had called millions to the colors, but had rifles only for -one-tenth of her men. It is only too obvious that nothing could -be accomplished with millions of men of whom only one in ten -was armed. But in 1916, when Russia acquired rifles and artillery, -Brusilov launched his memorable offensive which netted more -than 200,000 prisoners. Another great offensive was in preparation -for 1917, but the Revolution interfered with its realization.</p> - -<p>However that may be, the Germans had planned to have done -with Russia by confronting it with Austrian armies and with -four or five additional German corps. But already in 1914 the -Germans were compelled to keep 19 corps in the East to the -detriment and dislocation of their plans and forces in France. -(See diagrams No. 3,4.) Even during the days of the Revolution -the Germans were obliged to maintain 78½ divisions on the -Eastern front, in addition to 47 Austrian and 15 Turkish, altogether -140 infantry and 22 cavalry divisions, while on the Anglo-French -front the enemy had at that time only 142 divisions. If -we take into consideration all the Russian theatres of war, including -those in Asia, the enemy kept on the Russian fronts 164 infantry -divisions and 28 cavalry divisions,—altogether 192 divisions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -(in May, 1917) while on the Anglo-French front the enemy had -in May, 1917, only 142 divisions.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_020.jpg" width="600" height="233" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>THE NUMBER OF GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN DIVISIONS ON THE RUSSIAN -AND OTHER ALLIED FRONTS DURING SPRING OF 1917</p></div> -</div> - -<blockquote> -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="center">INFANTRY</td><td align="center">CAVALRY</td><td align="center">TOTAL</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">IN EUROPE</td><td align="right">125</td><td align="right">22</td><td align="right">147</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">IN ASIA</td><td align="right">15</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">15</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">162</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">ON OTHER ALLIED FRONTS</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">FRENCH-BELGIAN</td><td align="right">140</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">142</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">ITALIAN</td><td align="right">36</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">36</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">SALONIKI</td><td align="right">17</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">17</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">MESOPOTAMIAN</td><td align="right">10</td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">10</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">205</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>This diagram shows that in 1917—the beginning of the -Russian Revolution—there were 162 German, Austrian, Turkish -and Bulgarian divisions on the Russian front, 147 of whom -were on the Russian front in Europe. On the Anglo-French -front there were at this time only 142 German divisions.</p> - -<p>The enemy forces were thus divided as follows: on the -Russian front, 44 per cent.; on the Anglo-French front, 39 -per cent.; on the Italian front, 10 per cent.; on the Salonika -front, 4½ per cent., and on the Mesopotamian front—about -2½ per cent. Thus, early in 1917 the Russian Army had -opposing it about one-half of all the forces of the Central -Powers.</p> - -<p>It is clearer that if these Teutonic forces would be able to -concentrate on the French front, it would mean an immediate -breakdown of the Allies and the triumph of the Prussian -militarism throughout the civilized world. -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the lack of arms and munitions the Russian -Army rendered the Allies, in the critical days of 1915, assistance -that was not less important and serious than that of the days of -the Marne and Ypres. Russia, by diverting upon herself, towards -the close of 1914, all the efforts of the Central Powers, -thereby offered France and England the opportunity for a whole -year to prepare for the prosecution of the War. Throughout -1915, when Germany, Austria and Turkey were diverted by -Russia, France was enabled quickly to accumulate new reserves, -munitions, shells, to recover from the serious wounds of 1914, -and to prepare for that inevitable blow from Germany which -subsequently took the form of a determined offensive at Verdun -in 1916.</p> - -<p>At the same time England, owing to the fact that Russia had -in 1915 taken upon herself the whole burden of the struggle, -was enabled in the course of one year to carry out Kitchener's -stupendous plan of expanding the small, 150 thousand-strong -English Army of volunteers into the four million-strong Army -of the English nation in arms. On the other hand Germany, -having called to the colors new reserves, was compelled by Russia -to expend these reserves on the Russian front, and not on the -main front, in France, where the fate of the whole War was to -be decided for Germany.</p> - -<p>All these opportunities, all this stupendous preparation in the -creation and development of new armed forces by the Allies, took -place undisturbed and in favorable circumstances, solely because -1915 was the year of Russia's single-handed fight against three -enemy powers, the year of the greatest self-sacrifice of the Russian -Army for the common cause. Who knows what might -have been the result of the German offensive in France had those -German reserves which perished in Russia broken through somewhere -in the north of France simultaneously with the storming -of Verdun, in February. Who knows how far the German military -catastrophe might have been averted had all the fresh reserves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -of the Germans, which were being incessantly swallowed -up by the Russian front, found themselves in the West!</p> - -<p>To these questions Ludendorf himself happens to give the answers -in his memoirs. Speaking of the offensive of the Germans -at Verdun and of the offensive of the Austrians in Italy, he says: -"Both offensives suffered from the fact that inadequate reserves -prevented the first successes from being followed up."</p> - -<p>Where did these reserves, which were lacking for the capture -of Verdun, where did they go to after Germany had in 1915 -created a great many new formations? <i>In 1915 they were -swallowed up by the Russian front during the German offensive -in Poland, and the Verdun operation was frustrated because, as -Ludendorf declares, there were no reserves with which to develop -the first success of the Germans.</i> For this reason the unbiased -investigator will admit that Russia in 1915 contributed -to a tremendous extent towards the calm and systematic preparation -of the Allies for the decisive German blow, struck at -Verdun, but planned to go beyond Paris. If the firm stand of -the French at Verdun, if the talent of Castelnau, who stopped -the withdrawal of the French to the other bank of the Meuse, -directly repulsed the attack of the Germans, the true ally, Russia, -certainly aided by diverting upon herself all the German reserves -in 1915 and giving the Allies a whole year of respite in which to -create new armed forces.</p> - -<p><i>The Russian front incessantly drew to itself all new German -formations and reserves, and thereby automatically forced the -German Army in the West to carry on unproductive operations -which never reached their objective.</i> Not one single German -operation in France could obtain full development, and inevitably -spent itself just because of lack of reserves which were always -opportunely swallowed by the Russian front.</p> - -<p>Turning to the operations of 1915 we see that the Germans, -notwithstanding all their efforts and partial successes, never -gained any decisive results on the Russian front. The Russian -Army, having neither munitions nor arms, was naturally -unable to win at this time, and was compelled to retreat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -from Poland. But the Russian Army was not crushed, which, -however, had been the main objective of Ludendorf's offensive.</p> - -<p>In his memoirs Ludendorf plainly states: "The German -General Staff now resolved to try to obtain a decision against -Russia." This, translated from military parlance into plain English, -simply means that it was the object to settle, to "finish" with -Russia, in other words, to crush her Army, for otherwise -there would have been no sense in starting operations against -Russia, and in wasting against her the reserves so much -needed on the main front, against France. Neither does Ludendorf -conceal this object further on in his memoirs, <i>but he admits -that it was not accomplished</i>. For this failure he blames -General Falkenhayn, the Chief of the General Staff, who, it -was supposed, prevented Ludendorf from crushing the -Russian Army. We shall not enter into the personal disputes -between Ludendorf and Falkenhayn, whom Ludendorf -throughout criticises sharply. We shall only note that Ludendorf -attempted four times during the summer of 1915 to surround -or break through the several retreats of the Russian -Army, but the latter in every instance retreated in perfect -order, carrying their arms with them. In which one of these -four instances, then, did Falkenhayn interfere? How preposterous -this shifting of the blame to Falkenhayn is, may -be seen even from Ludendorf's own statement: "Throughout -the whole War we never succeeded, either on the Eastern or -Western front, in exploiting a big break-through to the full!" -In this way he himself admits that the Germans did not even -once succeed, at the proper time, in utilizing a big success -to the full, i. e., Falkenhayn's role was immaterial. It is but -natural that the resistance of the Russians in 1915 prevented the -Germans from exploiting that success which they regarded as a -big one, but which, as a matter of fact, consisted only in the -systematic retreat of the Russian Army which was without arms -and munitions. However, the most inopportune statement made -by Ludendorf is contained in the following remark of his concerning -the operations against the Russians in 1915: "We had -brought the final overthrow of Russia a step nearer."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>The offensive of Brusilov in the following year, which -netted him more than 200,000 prisoners and made Ludendorf, -as he himself says, frequently worry about the fate of the -entire Austro-German front in Russia, demonstrates how the -offensive of Ludendorf in 1915 hastened "the final overthrow -of Russia." On the contrary, this offensive which cost Ludendorf -a great many of his reserves, and afforded a year of quiet -preparation to the Allies, did, as we saw, hasten "the final overthrow -of Germany."</p> - -<p><i>At this period of the campaign of 1915 there were on the Russian -front 67 German divisions and up to 40 Austrian, altogether -107 divisions, and on the French front about 110 divisions. The -Germans could not defeat the Allies in the beginning of the War, -although they had then in France almost all their forces. It is -natural that in 1915, when they had in France only 50 per cent. -of their total forces, the Germans, through the efforts of Russia, -were finally deprived of any chance of winning in France. It -was only through Russia's military operations that the Germans -were driven to such an unfavorable, hopeless grouping of their -forces.</i></p> - - -<h3>Again Opportunities for the Allies</h3> - -<p>In the following year, 1916, Russia once more came forward -with her assistance at a critical moment, when the Austrians -had broken the resistance of the Italian Armies on the -Asiago-Arsiero front, threatening a further development of -their offensive in the rear of the Italian Army, in the direction -of Venice. At the same time Ludendorf in his memoirs -points out how great were the objects which the Austrians were -aiming at on the Italian front, and he says plainly: "In Italy it -was a question of an operation on a grand scale."</p> - -<p>However, the Russian Army in 1916 had no intention of -launching an offensive on the Austrian front, and prepared for -an offensive in an altogether different place, on the German -front. Our General Staff had prepared for the main offensive -in the direction of Vilna, and accordingly it was here that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -troops and munitions were being concentrated. (See Gurko's -"War and Revolution.")</p> - -<p>Everything was ready when the Italians, crushed by the -Austrians, appealed to Russia for aid. An offensive on the -Austrian front held no particular interest for Russia, which -naturally had in view the crushing of the main enemy—the -Germans. Still, Russia, just as on previous occasions, did -not hesitate a minute to help her Allies. Notwithstanding -that nothing had been prepared for such an offensive, General -Brusilov launched it along a front two hundred miles long, -with the troops he just happened to have on the spot. Everybody -remembers this celebrated offensive of Brusilov, which -netted hundreds of thousands of prisoners, a great number -of other trophies, and which compelled the Austrians to immediately -abandon their offensive in Italy and to begin the -transfer of troops to the Russian front. "Austria gradually -broke off the Italian offensive and sent troops to the Eastern -front," writes Ludendorf. "The Italian Army now started a -counter-offensive in the Tyrol," he remarks further on.</p> - -<p>Describing the period of Brusilov's offensive, Ludendorf -does not conceal the fact that they passed through some very -bad and critical moments. "Our G. H. Q. made heavy demands -on both groups (group south of Riga and Prince -Leopold group) <i>and also withdrew divisions from the West</i>," -writes Ludendorf. "Even all the fresh divisions that were -thrown in were hardly sufficient to hold the front," says he -in describing the situation of the Austro-Germans after the -Russian break through at the Dniester. "This was one of -the greatest crises on the Eastern front," says he further on, -in speaking of the new break by Brusilov at Lutzk.</p> - -<p>The effects of Brusilov's offensive proved to be so far-reaching -as to affect not only the situation on the Italian front -but also that on the French main front. The Allies, in view -of the difficult situation of the Germans on the Russian front, -launched an offensive at the Somme, and towards fall they -had finally cleared the forts of Verdun of the Germans.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<p>So did Russia once more fulfill her obligation towards her -allies, as soon as her Army had received some quantity of -munitions. This quantity was not yet sufficient in 1916, and -it was only in 1917 that the Russian troops were at last more -or less provided. The lack of munitions during the period -of Brusilov's offensive was pointed out by the Russian Staff, -and Ludendorf himself emphasizes it. He writes that the -situation was relieved thanks to the fact that "the Russians -were also contending against extraordinary difficulty of supply." -From this it may be seen that the Russian Army, having -obtained only the first consignments of inconsiderable and -insufficient munitions, did not hesitate, in 1916, to offer her -allies generous assistance on the largest scale.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Still earlier, during the Verdun period, the Russian Army, not -yet recuperated from the hard blows of 1915, did by no means -stand by as an idle onlooker of the heroic efforts of the French at -Verdun. When at the end of February, 1916, French Headquarters -appealed to the Russian Army for assistance, preparations -were begun for an offensive. "The Russian Army had not -lost its spirit after the heavy fighting of 1915," says Ludendorf. -On the 16th of March operations were begun by the Russian -troops in the territory to the northwest of Dvinsk, continuing -until the 26th of March. This partial offensive, solely in -aid of the French, was attended by success of a local nature. -Ludendorf criticises this operation and says that "it was -choked in swamps and blood." Of course, the terrible -weather conditions, the rains and the impassable roads, interfered -with a broad development of this offensive, but still it -had a sufficiently serious effect. "From the 11th to the 21st -of March," acknowledges Ludendorf, "the situation of the -10th (German) army was critical."</p> - - -<h3>Salvation of Roumania</h3> - -<p>At the close of 1916 the Russian Army again had to offer -most effective assistance at the critical moment of Mackensen's -and Falkenhayn's invasion of Roumania. General Alexeiev -pointed out to the Roumanian High Command the excessive -length of the Roumanian frontier line which rendered -operations in the border district difficult for the small Roumanian -Army. General Alexeiev, as well as the Allied military -experts, advised the Roumanians to shorten their front -line, by means of a retreat, to a shorter line in the East which -could be held by the comparatively small Roumanian Army. -But the Roumanians, calculating upon a weakening of the -Austrians, preferred to choose a new plan and invaded vast -Transylvania.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 717px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_027.jpg" width="717" height="900" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>This map shows the four places in which the Russian -Army, led by Gen. Brussiloff, broke through the Austro-German -front in the summer of 1916.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> - -<p>This too daring move, which at first met but feeble resistance, -was, however, soon checked by the enemy. When -thereupon the enemy himself took the offensive and invaded -Roumania and began to threaten Bucharest, the Roumanian -representative at Russian headquarters, General Coanda, appealed -to Russia for aid.</p> - -<p>The Russian Army had not yet succeeded in recuperating -from the effects of its great summer offensive of 1916. Russia's -reserves and supplies had been to a considerable extent -spent during the period of Brusilov's offensive. Nevertheless -Russia, again as always, did not hesitate for one minute to -come to the assistance of the Allies. The Russians even -proposed to take upon themselves the defense of the Roumanian -capital—Bucharest—but this offer was turned down -by the Roumanians with some show of embarrassment; they -pointed out that the railroads leading to Bucharest were -blocked with evacuated freights from the capital and could -not therefore carry the Russian troops. Probably certain -political considerations played not a small part in this.</p> - -<p>However that might be, Russia did not refuse her aid in the -form desired by the Roumanians. From the long Russian -front which, in turn, stood in need of reserves, troops were -taken off and sent to Roumania. Two armies, under Letchitzki -and Sakharov, and the great mass of cavalry under Mannerheim, -were assigned by the Russians to assist the retreating -Roumanians. This effective help by Russia achieved its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -purpose, stopping the offensive of the enemy, and towards -1917 the Russian Armies also took upon themselves the none -too easy task of defending the greater part of the Roumanian -front.</p> - -<p>For the following year, 1917, Russia prepared for a decisive -offensive on the German front, in common with the Allies. -That was the first year that the Russian Army had at last -obtained sufficient armaments and supplies. The Germans -realized that most serious danger threatened them, and the -Germano-Bolshevist provocation was now chosen as the -means of disarming Russia. And yet, even during those terrible -days of the collapse of the Russian Army and the Revolution, -Russia was indispensable to the Allies.</p> - -<p>During those revolutionary days of 1917 Russia compelled -the enemy to maintain on the Russian front <b>162 divisions</b> of -German, Austrian, Turkish and Bulgarian troops, to the enemy's -detriment on the French main front. On this front the enemy -was enabled to maintain only <b>140 divisions</b>.</p> - -<p>Russia, although sapped by the Germano-Bolshevist conspiracy, -was still formidable, and the enemy did not risk the -moving of any of his troops from the Russian front. Russia -was growing faint, but that honest Russia which had saved her -allies in East Prussia, Galicia, on the fields of Poland, Lithuania, -Roumania, in the Caucasus and Armenia, did not lay down -her arms to the very last moment, remaining true to her -obligations.</p> - - -<h3>Russia's Losses—12,000,000</h3> - -<p>From this brief outline one can readily see what great and -numerous objects Russia accomplished in the World War, -and how important was her role in that final collapse of the -Central Powers at which the Allies had been aiming in the -four-year long struggle. In full accord with these efforts -are the extraordinary sacrifices brought by Russia, sacrifices -in men, sacrifices in material resources and money, and finally, -that great upheaval through which the Russian people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -are now passing, as a result of their over-exertion in the -years of the World War.</p> - -<p>Among these sacrifices, Russia's losses in men run into -such great numbers that the immense, extraordinary part -played by Russia becomes at once obvious to anyone.</p> - -<p>Of the many different figures quoted by various investigators -the most reliable are undoubtedly those furnished by -the official statistics of the Russian Army Staff.</p> - -<p>Among these figures made public in the press the most important -are those given by the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief -of the Russian Army, pertaining to the year 1916, concerning -the total number of mobilized soldiers and the number -of those still in the service. According to this information, the -Russian War Ministry called to the colors from the outbreak -of the War up to the winter of 1916 more than 14 million men; -but the commissary department of the Army had towards the -close of 1916 less than 10 million on its rolls. The difference -of 4½ million between these two figures constituted the absolute -losses of the Army during 3 campaigns (1914, 15, 16). -This gave the Staff the basis for calculating the yearly average -total losses at 1½ million men. Adding, accordingly, 1½ -million losses for 1917, we obtain 6 million total losses during -the whole War.</p> - -<p>But these are only the men who were a total loss to the -Army, i. e., the losses in killed and prisoners, without the -wounded, except a moderate number of crippled who were no -longer fit for service at the front nor for service out of the ranks, -and who therefore had to be discharged from the Army entirely.</p> - -<p>The total number of Russian war-prisoners towards the -end of the War, according to figures compiled by the Russian -Commission on War Prisoners, amounted to about 2½ million. -Deducting this number from 6 million, we obtain 3½ million -in killed and the small number of crippled who were discharged -entirely.</p> - -<p>This number, 3½ million, obtained from official statistics, -is the basis of our calculations. The percentage of disabled -was comparatively small. German statistics during the War<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -figured it to be 10 per cent. Hence the figure of 3½ million -must comprize only a little less than 3 million in killed alone. -The number of wounded is usually approximately 2½ times -the number of killed.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Multiplying the number of wounded not -by 2½, but only by 2, we obtain about 6 million wounded. -Thus we have a total of 6 million killed and prisoners, and 6 -million wounded, or a grand total of not less than 12 million -losses for Russia, in killed, wounded and prisoners.</p> - -<p>These figures are rather minimized, for we have above -underestimated the number of wounded. These figures, based -upon official statistics, agree with those arrived at by the -"Copenhagen Society for Studying the Consequences of the -War." This society estimates the losses at 9½ million, exclusive -of prisoners. As we have shown above, there were 2½ -million prisoners.</p> - -<p>Thus there can be no doubt but that the number of Russian -casualties was <i>not less than 12,000,000</i>, of which there were -<i>3,000,000 in killed</i>.</p> - -<p>These losses are almost equal to the combined losses of our -Allies.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>Russia's losses are more than twice those of France, 4-5 -times those of England, and more than 35 times those of -America. These losses are more than twice the total strength -of the British Army, and 3-4 times all the forces mustered -by the United States. This number of casualties alone is -larger than the total population of any of the following -European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, -Belgium, Holland, or the Balkan States!</p> - -<p>Thus do simple figures tell us clearly and plainly that Russia -sacrificed in the common cause of the Allies the greatest number -of victims and that she ranks first in the sad roster of -Allied casualties.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 791px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_032.jpg" width="791" height="900" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DEATH TOLL IN THE -ALLIED ARMIES</p></div> -</div> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="right">3,000,000</td><td align="left">Russia</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">1,300,000</td><td align="left">France</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">700,000</td><td align="left">England</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">450,000</td><td align="left">Italy</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">100,000</td><td align="left">Belgium</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">100,000</td><td align="left">Rumania</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">100,000</td><td align="left">Serbia & Montenegro</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">50,000</td><td align="left">United States of America</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>Conclusion</h3> - -<p>From this brief outline may be seen how tremendous and -important a role was played by Russia in the world conflict. -Summing up the general facts cited above, we arrive at the -following definite conclusions:</p> - -<p>1.) Russia's role in the World War was bound to be very -serious and important for this reason alone, that the participation -of a nation numbering 180 million souls could not -fail to be significant in itself, and was therefore bound to -exercise a tremendous influence upon the outcome of the -World War.</p> - -<p>2.) Accordingly, Russia's role became apparent even at -the very beginning of the War, in the important aid she -rendered in frustrating the initial and most dangerous plan -of the Germans, by her early offensive in aid of the Allies. -Russia, having diverted against herself the entire Austrian -army and part of the German, at the time of the battle on -the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental -idea of Moltke's plan to fling "all forces into France." -The enemy, having contrary to his plan moved on France -with only a part of his forces, inevitably suffered defeat. -This cooperation on the part of Russia was of tremendous -significance, for the Germans based their plan on the idea -that they would at first have to deal only with France alone, -on one front only, whereas Russia compelled them at once to -start the War on two fronts, both with Russia and France. This -made the initial German war plan useless because strategy says -plainly: "Errors in the strategic deploying of forces in the beginning -of a war have a decisive influence and cannot be rectified -until the war is over." From this rule of strategy it is plain that -Russia's operations in the beginning of the war at the outset -condemned Germany to lose the war.</p> - -<p>3.) At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision -in France, to break through to Calais, at Ypres, Russia, by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -the blows she delivered in Galicia, at Warsaw and in East -Prussia, contributed to the early termination of this second -offensive in France, so dangerous to England, and compelled the -Germans for more than a year to abstain from their main operations -on the main decisive front of the War—in France.</p> - -<p>4.) In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden -of the struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, -although forced to abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the -opportunity to prepare throughout a whole year for the -coming German offensive at Verdun. At the same time, -having compelled the Germans during 1915 to spend all their -fresh formations and reserves on the Russian front, Russia -thereby deprived the Germans of the reserves they needed -for Verdun and their other operations in France.</p> - -<p>5.) In 1916 Russia, thanks to the Brusilov offensive, saved -Italy at that critical moment when the Austrians, through -their successful offensive from Tyrol in the rear of the -Italians, threatened to cut off a considerable portion of the -Italian Army, at the same time menacing Venice. Together -with this, Russia by this offensive greatly facilitated the -operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was instrumental -in the final clearing of the Verdun forts.</p> - -<p>6.) In 1916 Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's -and Falkenhayn's armies which had invaded Roumania, -stopped the further advance of the Germans, and undertook -the defense of a considerable stretch of the Roumanian front.</p> - -<p>7.) Through a period of three years of struggle against -Germany, Austria and Turkey, Russia, having diverted the -forces of the enemy, afforded the Allies a long period of -quiet for the preparation and strengthening of the Allied -Armies and for the systematic creation of a new 4 million -British Army.</p> - -<p>8.) Throughout this period of three years of struggle -<i>Russia compelled the enemy to spend on the Russian front such -a stupendous amount of force, reserves and munitions</i> as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -hasten the inevitable fall of the enemy, and <i>this immensely facilitated -the delivery of the final, decisive blows by the Allies</i>.</p> - -<p>9.) Russia, incessantly drawing upon herself the forces of -the enemy, did not give him the opportunity for one minute -from the very beginning of the War to gather sufficient force -for a decisive blow on the main, decisive front—in France. -The role of Russia, therefore, was clearly apparent in the -fact that she deprived Germany throughout the War of the possibility -to win and rendered futile every effort of the enemy in -this respect.</p> - -<p>10.) Corresponding with the most important role that Russia -played in the War are her enormous sacrifices in men, -material and treasure. Her losses in men, amounting to 12,000,000, -exceed several times the casualties of any of the Allies; -are almost equal to the losses of all the Allies combined; exceed -several times the total number of men mobilized by any one of -the Allies....</p> - -<p>11.) Russia's role in the recent war was so important and extraordinary -that <i>without Russia the very idea of a struggle with -German militarism would have been impossible</i>. Germany would -have been able to crush any combination of the European -Powers if Russia had not participated in such combination. -Were it not for Russia, Germany would now dominate not -only Europe, but probably the rest of the world as well.</p> - -<p>12.) Russia's great role in the World War is so much -the greater since she fought under extraordinary circumstances, -lacking so indispensable an asset as a great network -of railways, with a backward technique, industry, etc. In -the hard first years of the War the Russian Armies, as we -have seen, in extraordinary circumstances and frequently -without arms and munitions, did everything possible, and, -together with failures, had also their successes.</p> - -<p>Ludendorf was able to achieve success on the Russian front -only when the Germans outnumbered their adversaries by at -least three to two. At Tannenberg the Germans had twice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -as many and, at certain stages, even three times as many men -as the Russians. Against Rennenkampf Ludendorf had three -men to every two of his enemy, and probably even as many as -two to one, as Rennenkampf had suffered severe losses during -the preceding days.</p> - -<p>It is equally true that the Russians were able to defeat the -Germans whenever they had even a small superiority of force. -Near Warsaw the Russians had less than five men to every -four Germans and they succeeded in defeating the latter and -throwing them clear across all Poland.</p> - -<p>It may seem strange that the Germans should have managed -to have numerical superiority over the Russians all the -time. Regrettable as it may be, it is nevertheless true, for the -strength of an army is determined not by the number of its -men, but by the number of bayonets (infantry), sabres (cavalry) -and guns (artillery). The Russian Army consisted of -millions, but bayonets and guns it had only for one-tenth of -its number. In 1915 some Russian divisions numbered, instead -of 20,000 bayonets, only a mere thousand, owing to -disastrous losses. The only employment of infantry during -those days was as a screen for the artillery, while the latter -was quite useless for fighting purposes because it had no -ammunition whatever. Under such conditions many of our -corps often did not exceed the strength of a single regiment -and some armies numbered no more effectives than a single -division. We had plenty of men, but no arms and ammunition. -Therefore, the Germans frequently surpassed us not in -men, but in bayonets and guns.</p> - -<p>The tragedy of the Russian situation lay in the cruel fact -that Russia, while only one-tenth of her Armies were armed, -was facing Germany and Austria, who were armed from head -to foot. Not Ludendorf and not his ordinary military skill -were the causes of Russia's failures in the first year of the -War, but that simple and terrible truth which Brusilov once -expressed in the following words: "<i>The Russians had no shells -with which to blast their way across barbed-wire entanglements<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -before an attack; so it became necessary for them to break down -the wires with the bodies of Russian soldiers, and to form a -bridge across these dead bodies for the next attacking column.</i>"</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 589px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_037.jpg" width="589" height="900" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>The black line represents the Russian front in 1917. The -front stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The -Roumanian front was held also primarily by Russian troops.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> - -<p>We have concluded our sketch of Russia's participation in -the World War with 1917. But 1918 also has its story: in -that year Russia was denied a voice at the conference on that -peace in the name of which Russia had offered up so many -sacrifices and made such efforts.</p> - -<p>We have seen how important and essential a part Russia -played in the overthrow of German militarism. Russia's tremendous -role confirms once more the elementary truth that in -the future also Russia will inevitably be a colossal factor of -political and military equilibrium in Europe. Whatever does -happen to Russia, however they may dismember her living body, -the immense Russian nation, with 125 million souls of pure Russian -blood alone, will always remain that heavy military weight -which inevitably lowers that particular scale upon which it -descends.</p> - -<p>It is true, Germany is now crushed and enfeebled. But we -know that victorious countries are now suffering not less, and -some of them even more, from the consequences of the most -stupendous world conflict.</p> - -<p>Years will pass, and possibly but a few years, and again the -world will recuperate. We have no reason to expect that the -active German people will lag behind the rest in this work -of reestablishing normal conditions of life and labor.</p> - -<p>The Treaty of Versailles has not solved a good many problems, -and among them also those that were the cause of the -World War. Notwithstanding all partitioning, Germany still -retains up to 60 million souls, but France only a little more -than 40 million. The population of Germany has always been -growing, while that of France, if it has not decreased, has -not increased. <i>After all, Germany has and will have a numerical -superiority over France of one and a half times.</i></p> - -<p>France, well aware of that, tries to maintain an alliance with -England, and reckons upon the aid of America. But the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -statesmen of the West realize how insufficient all this is, for -they still remember well that first critical month of the War -when France was all alone and saved herself only through -extraordinary efforts.</p> - -<p>Until the United States arrives on the scene! Why, that -inevitably means months and months of waiting. Until the -British Army is mobilized and transported! Why, we know -how difficult and tedious are the conditions of embarkation -and landing of troops, artillery, transport columns, munitions, -etc. We know that the 150,000 soldiers of the British Army -alone required, in August, 1914, more than three weeks for disembarkation. -And where? In three ports where everything -was equipped for disembarkation purposes, where ideal conditions -prevailed such as were hard to find in any other -ports.</p> - -<p>Thus France, in the event of a new conflict with her old -foe, will again find herself for quite some time left all alone -to face the numerically superior enemy. Where will Russia -be then?</p> - -<p>No Poland, no combination of any group of small States -will be able to take the place of Russia, for that would be a -mere 15-20 millions; it will be not Russia, but only one-seventh, -a sixth, or fifth part of that which Russia gave -during the past War. These weak nations will only become -additional trophies to the enemy, just as Roumania, Serbia -and Belgium became his easy prey in the past War.</p> - -<p>Where will Russia be then? Not the present-day Russia -bleeding to death in its struggle against Bolshevism, but -the future, once more powerful, Russia?...</p> - -<p>Bolshevism, an abnormal phenomenon, is bound to come -to an end—somewhat earlier, or somewhat later. No -matter how much may be cut off from Russia, she will -always remain an immense, great, rich, and therefore powerful, -country. Too much will depend upon what this coming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -Russia may have to say, for any sensible statesman to refuse -to reckon with that eventuality.</p> - -<p>This question the statesmen of the West must ask of -themselves clearly and plainly—not those statesmen who -think no further than the following day and of the success -of their fight against their political opponents—but those wise -leaders of the nations who really have at heart the interests -of their own countries, as well as of the entire civilized -world. "Ostrich politics" may least of all be applied in -dealing with that tremendous military and political factor -which covers one-sixth of the land surface of the globe and -is called Russia.<br /></p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> -See diagrams on pp. <a href="#Page_15">15</a> and <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> -See Appendixes No. <a href="#Page_41">I</a> and <a href="#Page_45">II</a>, in which an analysis of this part of Ludendorf's -Memoirs is given.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> -See Appendixes <a href="#Page_41">"Ludendorf—Samsonov"</a> and <a href="#Page_45">"Ludendorf—Rennenkampf"</a> at the end -of the pamphlet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> How preposterous is this figure of 1,200,000 men, supposed to -have been transferred by the Russians from Galicia to Warsaw, to -oppose Ludendorf, may be seen from the fact that only 3 railway -lines run from Galicia to Warsaw. It is not difficult to demonstrate -that it is impossible to carry 1,200,000 men on 3 railway lines within -2 weeks (the offensive of the Germans against Warsaw began in -the first days of October, and the retreat began two weeks later, i. e., -when the Russian troops were transferred from Galicia to Warsaw). -</p> -<p> -One army corps requires 140-150 trains. The best road in -Russia can at most carry 52 trains in 24 hours in one direction. -Hence, to entrain a corps would require 3 days. Consequently the -most that could be entrained within 15 days would be 5 corps to each -railway line. Thus, all 3 roads combined might have been able to -carry up to 15 corps, but actually, of course, they carried less than -that. But even if we allow the computation of 15 corps to stand, -we have but 500-600 thousand men, and not 1,200,000 as Mr. Ludendorf -unhesitatingly allots.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> According to figures submitted in 1916 by the army committee of the German -Reichstag, the German army lost during the first 12 months of the War 604 thousand -killed, 1,556,000 wounded, and 317 thousand prisoners. This shows that the number -of wounded is 2½ times the number of killed.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> According to the statistics of the "Copenhagen Society," the French Army lost -1,350,000 in killed, the British—700,000, the Italian—330,000, and each of the remaining -Allies—100,000 and less.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Appendix No. I<br /> -Ludendorf—Samsonov</h2> - - -<p>1.) A careful perusal of Ludendorf's memoirs brings out the -fact that during the first Russian invasion of Eastern Prussia -there participated on the German side: the 1st, 17th, 20th and -1st Reserve Corps, the 3rd Reserve Division, the 6th Landwehr -Brigade, Goltz's Division, the garrisons of the Vistula -fortresses,—Thorn, Kulm and Graudenitz, and a brigade of -cavalry. The German forces consisted, therefore, not of two -corps numbering 80,000 men but of more than 240,000, not counting -the masses of landsturm, which fact Ludendorf carefully -conceals.</p> - -<p>2.) The Russians, on the other hand, advanced into East Prussia -not fully mobilized, as this battle took place twenty-seven -days after the War was declared, and the Russian mobilization -was only completed three—four weeks later. Samsonov had no -six army corps under his command, but only 4 corps: the 1st, the -6th, the 13th and the 15th, and, figuring even at 40,000 men per -army corps, this force could not have exceeded 160,000 men.</p> - -<p>3.) It can be seen, therefore, that in this battle over 240,000 -Germans were opposing 160,000 Russians at most. However, as -a matter of positive fact, the attack of the 240,000 Germans was -directed against two Russian corps only, the 1st and the 6th, -i. e., at only approximately 80,000 men.</p> - -<p>4.) A force of Germans, three times as strong, overpowered two -Russian corps. During that attack Samsonov and a part of his -staff were killed. That, and the disruption of liaison, was the -reason reinforcements were not sent up from the other corps and -the Germans succeeded in invading the Russian rear (see map -No. 1).</p> - -<p>5.) The remainder of Samsonov's army, about 80,000 men, became -surrounded by 240,000 Germans, and, left without leadership, -in the midst of an extremely critical and dangerous operation, -on unfamiliar territory, it was shattered. <i>Only under such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -an unfortunate combination of circumstances could a threefold -strong German force win the battle in a tactical sense. But, from -the strategic point of view, the Germans lost in this stage of their -campaign, as this battle diverted a number of German corps from -France and served a purpose of the greatest importance.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_042.jpg" width="600" height="586" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>The Russian troops are indicated on this map by white -squares; the Germans—by black. It can be seen from this -map that the army of Gen. Samsonov took up positions from -Usdau to Biskofsburg. The Germans attacked his flanks, -i. e., Usdau, his left flank, and Biskofsburg, his right. The -1st and 6th Russian Corps were located there, as indicated -by the map.</p> - -<p>It may be observed from the map that the 1st Corps was -attacked by two German corps, one division and the Vistula -garrisons, i. e., about 120,000 Germans attacked 40,000 Russians. -The 6th Corps at Biskofsburg was put in a similar -situation. Under pressure from a threefold stronger German -force, the 1st and 6th Corps retreated. Thereupon the Germans -fell under Neiderborg and Passenheim upon the rear of -Samsonov's remaining troops, the 13th and 15th Corps. These -corps were consequently surrounded by this threefold stronger -force and were defeated after a heroic fight of three days.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p> - -<p>6.) It must be added that the entire population of East Prussia -was armed, and scouting was very difficult. The Russians knew -nothing about the enemy, while the latter was fully informed by -the inhabitants concerning the Russians and knew every step -these were making. That is why the German attack came as a -surprise.</p> - -<p>7.) The assertion that Rennenkampf had 400,000 men and intentionally -did not come to Samsonov's aid is a downright misstatement. -This can be seen from the fact that the battle, which -was begun on August 27, was lost in 18 hours, on the morning of -August 28, and Rennenkampf, who with small forces was within -three days' marching distance from Samsonov—40 miles—could -not have arrived in time, particularly when we consider that he -had to overcome on his way fortifications and barbed-wire defenses -manned by landsturm and by cavalry.</p> - -<p>8.) Ludendorf's assertion that Rennenkampf's force consisted -of 24 divisions, almost 400,000 men, is an obvious falsehood. A -single army is never made up of more than six army corps, for -facility and expediency in commanding, and this is a basic rule in -military organizations. Ludendorf knows this very well, but it -appears that he consciously misstated the truth in this case as -well.</p> - -<p>9.) In reality Rennenkampf's army consisted of eight divisions -or four army corps,—the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th and the 20th, and -of six cavalry divisions. Altogether his force consisted of about -160,000 men. The bulk of his infantry could not have reached -the front at that time, as it was necessary to organize the rear and -to coordinate the railway movement in Prussia, as the Russian rail -gauge is much wider than that adopted by the German railway -system. Rennenkampf's front, therefore, was occupied largely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -by cavalry, supported only in section by weak detachments of -infantry.</p> - -<p>10.) Rennenkampf could not have aided Samsonov even if he -had known his situation, because he was already at a distance of -90 miles from his own railway lines, and Ludendorf himself admits -that it is not possible to operate safely further than 80 -miles from one's railroads. Rennenkampf's army, therefore, -without provisions and ammunition, had to wait until its rear was -made secure and was unable to move further.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Appendix No. II.<br /> -Ludendorf—Rennenkampf</h2> - - -<p>His second battle—with Rennenkampf—Ludendorf describes -with a similar distortion of facts. On this occasion he goes so -far as to assert that Rennenkampf had not 400,000 men but 600,000, -and he states at the same time that Rennenkampf was a -traitor because he retreated too soon. As we have already seen, -Rennenkampf had only about 160,000 men, and he was reinforced -by one more corps, the 22nd,—about 40,000 additional men; -therefore his army could not have exceeded 200,000 men. Ludendorf -places his own army at 300,000 men, much less, of course, -than his actual strength, but even at that rate he attacked 200,000 -Russians with 300,000 German troops, outnumbering his -adversary one and a half times.</p> - -<p>That accounts for the ease with which Ludendorf was able to -throw 200,000 men into the frontal attack and still was able to -send up 100,000 men to get into Rennenkampf's rear (see map -No. 2). Rennenkampf's troops were kept engaged for seven -days in repulsing Ludendorf's attacks upon their front, and he -had no troops left with which to parry the attack on his rear. -When the Germans invaded the Russian rear and were threatening -to cut off the Russian main line of retreat, the Vershbolovo-Kovno -Railroad, Rennenkampf was compelled to retreat so as -not to be cut off. In fact, had Rennenkampf not retreated at -that time, he would have committed the same act of treason that -Marshal Bazaine was guilty of in 1870, when he, under similar -circumstances, did not consent to escape from the steadily closing-up -iron ring of Germans and was finally captured with his -entire army. Rennenkampf gave orders to retreat only when -the Germans were firing at the city of Gumbinnen and at his -rear railway lines. This was not too soon by any means, but -may have been rather a little late.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/i_b_046.jpg" width="600" height="541" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p>Rennenkampf's troops are indicated between Welau and -Ingenburg (white square). Opposite them is the German -army (black square).</p> - -<p>Rennenkampf had 4 corps,—less than 160,000 men. He -was attacked frontally also by 4 corps which engaged all his -effectives. Meanwhile two German corps (the 17th and the 1st) -that remained free began invading his rear (these corps are -indicated in black). When these two corps approached -Gumbinnen, they found themselves in a position to cut Rennenkampf -off from his only road, the Insterburg-Kovno railway. -Rennenkampf had no men to oppose these troops with, -as all his units were fighting at the front line of Welau-Ingenburg. -Rennenkampf was therefore compelled to retreat -in order not to be cut off.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<p>The 22nd Corps did not even succeed in getting near Rennenkampf, -and was halted by the Germans fifty miles away from the -field of battle. Rennenkampf had, therefore, not 200,000 men to -Germany's 300,000, but only 160,000,—about one-half. The -cause of the defeat of Rennenkampf was that that military operation -had been calculated for the combined armies of Samsonov -and Rennenkampf, and was a risky undertaking at that. When -Rennenkampf was left alone, this operation was as a matter of -course doomed to defeat, and it required the tenacity of Rennenkampf -to have offered the obstinate resistance that he did in -this battle.</p> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p> </p> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2>Transcriber's Note</h2> - -<p>Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistent hyphenation wss made consistent.</p> - -<p>Ludendorff consistently spelled Ludendorf but has not been corrected.</p> - -<p>p. 10: Apparent missing line in: "brought about the final defeat of the -Germans in this [newline] sonov."</p> - -<p>pp. 45-6: Several misspellings of Rennenkampf corrected.</p> - -<p>p. 46: He was atacked frontally -> He was attacked frontally.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 50956-h.htm or 50956-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/9/5/50956">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/5/50956</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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M. -Shumsky-Solomonov - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Russia's Part in the World War - - -Author: C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov - - - -Release Date: January 18, 2016 [eBook #50956] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 50956-h.htm or 50956-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50956/50956-h/50956-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50956/50956-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/russiaspartinwor00shum - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR - -by - -COLONEL C. M. SHUMSKY-SOLOMONOV - - - - - - - -Published by the -Russian Information Bureau in the U. S. -Woolworth Building -New York City - -Copyright 1920 -by -Russian Information Bureau -New York - - - - -Introduction - - -The author of this pamphlet, Colonel C. M. Shumsky-Solomonov, is an -officer of the Russian Army, a distinguished soldier and an authority -on military problems. Col. Shumsky-Solomonov was one of the defenders -of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War, and as a military expert -of the Petrograd daily, "Birjeviya Viedomosti", he was well known not -only in Russia but also throughout Europe. - -The purpose of this pamphlet is to present Russia's part in the recent -War. Russia at present lies in seas of blood and tears because of -her enormous sacrifices in the struggle against Prussian militarism. -The nightmare of Bolshevism was able to overtake Russia because she -was exhausted by three years of active participation in the War, -during which her casualties reached 12,000,000, and her economic life -became overstrained and partially destroyed. Russia's present pitiful -condition is the result of her self-sacrificing services to humanity. - -According to the data quoted by Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, of the -12,000,000 Russian casualties in the recent War, not less than -3,000,000 were in dead. "Russia's losses," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"are more than twice those of France, four-five times those of England, -and more than thirty-five times those of America. Russia's losses are -more than twice the total strength of the British Army, and three-four -times all the forces mustered by the United States. The number of -Russia's casualties is larger than the total population of any of -the following European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, -Belgium, Holland or the Balkan States." - -If Russia had not sacrificed 3,000,000 of her best youth, now sleeping -on the battle-fields of Europe, a Prussian bayonet would now be ruling -the world. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov points out, the great role -played by Russia in the recent struggle "became apparent at the very -beginning of the War, in the important aid she rendered in frustrating -the initial and most dangerous plan of the Germans, by her early -offensive in aid of the Allies. Russia, having diverted against herself -the entire Austrian army and part of the German, at the time of the -battle on the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental idea -of Moltke's plan to fling 'all forces into France.'" - -"At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision in France, -to break through to Calais, at Ypres," says Col. Shumsky-Solomonov, -"Russia, by the blows she delivered in Galicia, at Warsaw and in East -Prussia, contributed to the early termination of this second offensive -in France, so dangerous to England, and compelled the Germans for more -than a year to abstain from their main operations on the main decisive -front of the War--in France. - -"In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden of the -struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, although forced to -abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the opportunity to prepare -throughout a whole year for the coming German offensive at Verdun. -In 1916 Russia, thanks to the Brusilov offensive, saved Italy at -that critical moment when the Austrians, through their successful -offensive from Tyrol, in the rear of the Italians, threatened to -cut off a considerable portion of the Italian Army, at the same -time menacing Venice. Together with this, Russia by this offensive -greatly facilitated the operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was -instrumental in the final clearing of the Verdun forts. - -"In the same year Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's and -Falkenhayn's armies, which had invaded Roumania, stopped the further -advance of the Germans, and undertook the defense of a considerable -stretch of the Roumanian front." - -In the beginning of the War, in August, 1914, there were, in addition -to the Austrian Army, only 14 German divisions engaged on the Russian -front. During the first Russian advance into Eastern Prussia, the -German General Staff was obliged, on the eve of the battle of the -Marne, to transfer 6 additional divisions to the Eastern front. -The number of German divisions engaged on the Russian front grew -continuously, and in October, 1914, there were 25 divisions, in -November--33 divisions, in December--43 divisions, and in January, -1915,--53 German divisions on the Russian front. The role played by -Russia and the services the Russian Armies rendered in the struggle -against Prussian Imperialism can be seen further from the fact that -during the spring of 1917 there were 162 German and Austrian divisions -engaged on the Russian front alone, while on all the other Allied -fronts together there were 205 German and Austrian divisions.[1] - -To this it must be added that Russia entered the War unprepared for a -modern struggle. As Col. Shumsky-Solomonov points out, "The Russian -Army consisted of millions, but bayonets and guns it had only for -one-tenth of its number." General Brusilov once said: "Our soldiers -had no shells with which to blast their way across barbed-wire -entanglements before an attack; so it was necessary for them to break -down the wires with their own bodies and thus to form a bridge for -the next attacking column." In the fall of 1917 the Russian Armies -collapsed after months of intensive German and Bolshevist propaganda, -but this cannot minimize the great heroism of the Russian soldiers -during the first three years of the War, heroism without which the -alliance of the democratic nations would never have been able to defeat -the Prussian militarism. - - A. J. SACK - _Director of the Russian Information - Bureau in the U. S._ - -May 25, 1920. - - - - -Russia's Part in the World War - - -Was it Possible for Germany to Win the War? - -In discussing Russia's role in the past World War, it is customary to -cite the losses sustained by the Russian Army, losses numbering many -millions. There is no doubt that Russia's sacrifices were great, and -it is just as true that her losses were greater than those sustained -by any of the other Allies. Nevertheless, these sacrifices are by far -not the only standard of measurement of Russia's participation in -this gigantic struggle. Russia's role must be gauged, first of all, -by the efforts made by the Russian Army to blast the German war plans -during the first years of the War, when neither America, nor Italy, nor -Roumania were among the belligerents, and the British Army was still in -the process of formation. - -Russia's role must in addition be gauged by the efforts put forth by -the Russian Army to save the situation at other critical moments of -the War. And of such, we know, there were not a few until the Allies -succeeded in gaining their victory over the stubborn and powerful enemy. - -Lastly, and this is the main thing, the role played by the Russian Army -must be considered also in this respect that the strenuous campaign -waged by Russia, with her 180 millions of inhabitants, for three years -against Germany, Austro-Hungary and Turkey, sapped the resources of -the enemy and thereby made possible the delivery of the final blow. -This weakening of the powers of the enemy by Russia was already bound -at various stages of the War to facilitate correspondingly the various -operations of the Allies. Therefore at the end of the War three years -of effort on the part of Russia, which had devoured the enemy's forces, -were destined to enable the Allies finally to crush the enemy. The -final catastrophe of the Central Powers was the direct consequence -of the offensive of the Allies in 1918, but Russia made possible this -collapse to a considerable degree, having effected, in common with the -others, the weakening of Germany, and having consumed during the three -years of strenuous fighting countless reserves, forces and resources of -the Central Powers. - -Could Germany have won the war? A careful analysis of this question -brings home the conviction that Germany was very close to victory, and -that it required unusual straining of efforts on the part of France and -Russia to prevent Germany from "winning out." - -The plan of the old Field Marshal, Moltke, was far from worthless. -It is a fact that it took from six weeks to two months to mobilize -the armed forces of Russia, during which period Russia was unprepared -for action. The population of Germany was 70 million and that of -Austria-Hungary 52 million, a total of 122 million persons. During -these two months of forced inaction those 122 millions of Teutons were -faced only by 40 million Frenchmen, for Russia was not yet ready. A -threefold superiority in numbers, in addition to an equal degree of -military skill, technical equipment and culture, was bound to crush -lone France. - -It is true that for the complete realization of this scheme it was -necessary that the Austrian Army, as well, involve France. This should -have been anticipated, as military science does not admit of the -division of forces. Just to the contrary, it demands "the concentration -of all forces in the decisive hour and at the deciding point,"--in -France, upon this particular occasion. - -It may be said that Russia could have occupied Galicia and East Prussia -had the Austrian Army left for France. Well, the fact is that both -these provinces were occupied by Russia anyhow. But if in the first -battle of the Marne, when the Germans felt the shortage of the two or -three corps dispatched back into Prussia, they would have had these -troops at their disposal in addition to half a million Austrians, -Joffre's condition would have been rendered critical. The loss of the -Marne would have been equivalent to the loss of the War by France, -and, consequently, to the loss of the entire War. - -The outcome was different. The concentrated attack upon France failed -because of the fact that of the 104 German divisions and the 50 -Austrian divisions only about 92 or 94 divisions were on the scene -of action in France. The Russian Army, unprepared for action for -another 40 days, nevertheless rushed into East Prussia in an impulse -of self-sacrifice and received in addition the full strength of the -blow from the Austro-Hungarian Army. This generous move on the part of -Russia destroyed the Moltke plan and his basic idea "the concentration -of _all forces_ against France", as a part of the German force had -been diverted from that front. The plan collapsed, and the only actual -chance which the Germans had of winning a victory was lost with it. -Later, when Russia was prepared, when the English Army began to grow, -and Italy, Roumania and America had abandoned their neutrality, -Germany's chances for a final victory vanished. - -It is the recognition of these facts that should prompt every impartial -historian of the War to admit that the self-sacrifice of the unprepared -Russian Army during the first days of the War played an enormous role -in the only period when Germany had victory almost within her grasp. It -is to be regretted that the extraordinary conditions which developed -in Russia towards the end of the War are obscuring the true historic -role of Russia in the sanguine World struggle. It is simple enough -to understand that during the two or three years, while the British -Army was still in the process of formation, and Italy, Roumania and -America were neutral, the entire burden of fighting the Central Powers -devolved upon the Armies of France and Russia. It is just as simple to -understand that during that period, when the enemy was most powerful -and undemoralized, when he was operating with his best troops, that the -most difficult and responsible part of the problem had to be performed. -It is just as easy--from an examination of the maps of the first three -years of the War, maps which speak only of two principal fronts, the -French and the Russian, and no other--to grasp the significance of the -gigantic role played in this War by great Russia and the millions of -sacrifices she consecrated to the common cause of the Allies. Sadly -enough, this only correct criterion of Russia's historic role in the -War is becoming more and more obscured from the public opinion of the -world. - -In the recently published memoirs of General Ludendorf, the defeated -German military leader, in an endeavor to clear himself, attempts -to slander the Russian Army and discredit all the great sacrifices -and heroic efforts contributed by Russia to the Allied cause. Taking -advantage of the scant familiarity of the general public with military -matters, Ludendorf uses false data, cites wrong figures and consciously -distorts the historic perspective of the War. - -It is difficult to understand how a serious-minded military leader can -stoop to employ, in a supposedly serious work, methods fit for the -yellow press, such as accusing Russian generals of treason, etc., etc. -These memoirs, as a whole, were met at the time of their publication by -sharp and adverse criticism in the foreign, and even the German, press. -Ludendorf's memoirs are especially misleading in the part describing -the first Russian advance in East Prussia, the advance that played such -a decisive role in the defeat which the Germans suffered on the Marne. -It should never be forgotten that this event proved fatal and brought -about the final defeat of the Germans in this sonov.[2] - - -Russia's Sacrifice - -Ludendorf commences his recital of events on the Russian front with -the statement that in 1914, in East Prussia, with a force of only two -German corps, he destroyed 250,000 Russians--six army corps--under the -command of General Samsonov, and that General Rennenkampf, who was only -within two or three days' march from Samsonov, had designedly failed to -aid Samsonov. - -This statement by General Ludendorf is absolutely false from beginning -to end. It can be very easily proven that Ludendorf attacked Samsonov -not with two army corps, but with more than 240,000 German troops. With -this army he attacked not 250,000 Russians, but only two Russian army -corps, i. e., 80,000 men--the 1st and the 6th Russian Army Corps. Thus, -Ludendorf had a force three times larger than his adversary. - -It may be easily seen from this that while Ludendorf gives Samsonov -twice as many men as he had in reality, he, at the same time, credits -Rennenkampf with three times the number he actually had. His own force -Ludendorf puts, on paper, at one-third of what he had in fact. - -Rennenkampf knew nothing about the events on the Samsonov front until -August 30, whereas the latter was surrounded on August 28. (See Gurko's -book, "War and Revolution.") - -The cause of the Russian defeat in that battle was not the "genius" -of Ludendorf, but lay rather in the fact that the Russian Army, _in -its eagerness to relieve Paris, advanced too quickly, with not fully -mobilized and insufficient forces, and in two separate Armies_, coupled -with the difficulty of reconnoitering and obtaining information about -the enemy in a country where the entire population was in a state of -armed belligerency. The death of Samsonov and of a part of his staff -and the disruption of liaison were other causes.[3] - -In her haste to aid her Allies, Russia risked much, and she lost a -battle on account of the precariousness of the operation, insufficiency -of forces and an unfortunate accident. But she succeeded in diverting -several German corps from France, and the Russian blood shed at -Tannenberg thus helped win the First Battle of the Marne. - -It may thus be seen from the descriptions of the first battles in -East Prussia that Ludendorf, for the sake of German martial glory and -probably also for the glorification of his own role, makes use of a -very primitive and naive expedient. He multiplies the number of Russian -troops several times, and also diminishes his own forces several times. -This creates the impression that Ludendorf with "inconsiderable" forces -smashed the "many times larger" forces of the Russians. As a matter of -fact, however, as we have seen, Ludendorf had in these engagements, -11/2, 2, and sometimes even 3 times as many men as the Russians. How -excessive this superiority of numbers was may be inferred from the fact -that the Germans themselves went to France with but 11/2 times as many -men and that they considered this sufficient for a decisive victory -over the French Army. However, no matter how much Ludendorf may distort -the facts in his memoirs, he cannot refrain, albeit only by 2-3 words, -from mentioning the strategical catastrophe which overtook Germany -through the invasion of East Prussia by the Russian troops. Ludendorf -himself admits that "_the transfer of the two army corps from the -French front to Eastern Prussia had fatal consequences for Germany. The -German advance on France was turned into a retreat._" - -This admission from Ludendorf characterizes the importance of all the -events of the first few weeks of the War and it contains an involuntary -appreciation of the historic role and self-sacrificing efforts of -Russia. The enemy, albeit indirectly, admits that Russian blood was -not shed in vain on the fields of East Prussia; it was precisely -for this reason that Germany was unable to win the War at the only -moment at which she could ever have won, taking advantage of Russia's -unpreparedness and the temporary isolation of France. - -In conclusion, we must also point out that from a formal standpoint -Russia was not bound to fling herself into a risky operation in East -Prussia. The Russian Army, like any other Army, was bound to take the -field actively only after the completion of her mobilization, and this -early assistance was still less her duty as she herself was at the time -invaded by Austrian forces. - -But Russia regarded her alliance with France from a higher standpoint -than mere formal obligations. The justice of History--not the "history" -of Ludendorf--will in its own time record how far Russia stood from -egotistic politics and egotistic strategy during those tragic days of -August and September, 1914, when the German masses, smashing every -obstacle in their path, moved through northern France on Paris. - - -The German Defeat at Warsaw - -The battle of Ypres, the determined operations of the Germans for the -capture of Calais, is the other critical moment in the history of the -World War, when Russia once more brought heavy sacrifices to the common -cause of the Allies. Ludendorf, in describing these difficult days for -the Germans, again makes use, we regret to say, of the same unsavory -expedient he used in describing the first engagements in East Prussia. - -Thus, for instance, he asserts that when he was defeated in October, -1914, at Warsaw, the Russians had 1,200,000 men,[4] while he had only -one German army--the 9th--and one Austrian army--the 1st. As a matter -of fact, the Russians were opposed, on the entire front, by five -Austrian armies and two German armies--the 8th and the 9th--by more -than 70 divisions approximating about 1,200,000 men. The Russians, -having left only a small force to oppose four Austrian armies, fell -with their three armies upon two enemy armies, one German and one -Austrian, near Warsaw. With a numerical superiority of one and a -quarter to one the Russians defeated the Germans, and threw them back -across the whole of Poland to Posen. The Germans saved themselves on -that occasion only by destroying the railroads back of them and by -burning the bridges. - -The significance of the operations at Warsaw and in Galicia in October, -and beyond Warsaw in November, 1914, is to be seen from Ludendorf's -own story. Referring to a conversation he had with General Falkenhayn, -who at that time was the main leader of all German Army operations, -he writes in his memoirs: "At the end of October, 1914, General von -Falkenhayn summoned me to Berlin.... _Gen. von Falkenhayn spoke -hopefully of the attack near Ypres_, and wanted to defer further -decisions." - -But already in the beginning of November, i. e., a few days after this -conversation, the operations of the Russian Armies in Galicia, the -Posen territory, and on the East Prussian front, greatly diminished -the hopefulness of Falkenhayn and _compelled him to slacken the -pressure against the Allies at Ypres and to transfer large forces -from France to the Russian front--to the detriment of the offensive -against Ypres_. Ludendorf himself figures these reinforcements which -arrived from France in the middle of November, and, consequently, must -have left there in the beginning of November, at 225,000 men. There -were 4 corps with 2 infantry divisions, which Ludendorf figures at -225,000 men. Besides, Ludendorf mentions right here the arrival of -Richthofen's Cavalry Corps, Hollen's Cavalry Corps, the 2nd and 4th -Cavalry Divisions. Still earlier Ludendorf mentions that the newly -formed 25th Reserve Corps and the 15th Reserve Corps were dispatched -to East Prussia. And finally, in still another place, we can find in -Ludendorf's account a number of other new divisions which had been sent -to the Russian front instead of to Ypres. - -In this manner it is easy to see, from the data furnished by Ludendorf -himself, that, "hopeful" at the end of October for the success of -the attack on Ypres, Falkenhayn found it necessary to dispatch from -France 300,000 additional soldiers to the Russian front, aside from -the reserves taken from the interior of Germany, which forces would -also have been welcome to the Germans during the fateful days at -Ypres. While the frontal attacks on Ypres, attended by considerable -casualties, demanded the presence of large German reserves, these -reserves were the very ones which were swallowed up entirely by the -Russian operations in the East, at Warsaw, Galicia and East Prussia. - -[Illustration: While the Russian troops were persecuting the defeated -Austrians in Galicia, General Hindenburg began an advance towards -Warsaw. The Russian General Staff transferred from Galicia three -armies for the defense of Warsaw, and these armies defeated the two -Austro-German armies and persecuted them through Poland up to the -border of Germany (October, 1914).] - -If the firmness of the Allies held back the Germans at Ypres and -prevented them from breaking through to Calais, the Russian Army also -played an important part in this strategic situation--compelling -the Germans to abandon the operation at Ypres much earlier than the -Germans and Falkenhayn had figured. But not in this alone was the role -of Russia apparent in the trying days of October and November, 1914. -Not only did Russia force the Germans to transfer 300,000 soldiers -to the East, and to abandon early the operations in France, but she -also compelled the Germans, by her operations in 1914, _to abandon for -more than a year all large offensives in the West_. This is attested -not only by the facts (as is well known, from the end of 1914 up to -February, 1916, the Germans did not start any offensive in France), but -by Ludendorf himself, notwithstanding all his endeavors to discredit -the Russian Army. - -Speaking of the weakness of the German front in the West in the month -of November, Ludendorf says that it was perfectly natural "that in -this situation our eyes should again turn to the East."... Further on -he adds that he had asked himself whether it were not better "once and -for all to restrict operations on the Western front to a defensive and -to carry out the contemplated operations against Russia with all our -available forces.... This point of view seemed to me to be the right -one, and I asked our High Command for reinforcements from the West...." -Thus, such facts as the abandonment by the Germans of all operations -in the West for more than a year, as well as Ludendorf's own words, -prove with absolute clearness and conclusiveness that the Germans, -partly through the firmness of the Allies, but mainly on account of -the hard blows from the Russian Army, found themselves compelled for a -long time to refrain from an offensive in France. There is no doubt -but that the Germans never abandoned entirely the attempt to crush -France, for we have seen how such a serious attempt was made by them -subsequently at Verdun. But if they were compelled at the end of 1914 -to defer this attempt at crushing France for more than a year, it is -obvious that the decisive part in this decision of the Germans was -played by Russia, in the increasing offensive of her Armies all along -the front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. - -[Illustration: This diagram shows that the Germans had calculated, at -first, to stop the Russian Army with the aid of the Austrian troops -and only 14 of their own divisions--13 infantry and one cavalry -divisions. Soon, in September, 1914, they were compelled to forward 6 -more divisions to the East,--during the Marne period. Later, when the -Austrians were defeated, the number of German relief columns increased -and numbered, at the end of 1914, 43 divisions, instead of the former -14 divisions,--three times as many. Early in 1915 the number of German -divisions grew to 53. During 1916 and 1917 the number of the German -troops on the Russian front was also increasing incessantly, at the -expense of German strength on the French front.] - -_Thus, if the taking of the field by unprepared Russia in the beginning -of the War contributed to the defeat of the most dangerous and main -plan of the Germans, in August and September, the new sacrifices -brought by Russia in October and November on the plains of Galicia, -Poland and East Prussia compelled the Germans to desist for more than a -year from all attempts to win the War in France. August and September, -1914, were the months in which the German forces were brought to a -standstill, and October and November saw them already much impaired._ -At both important, critical moments Russia played her decisive part. - -_At this same period, towards the close of 1914, the Germans were -compelled by the operations of the Russian Army to increase the number -of their troops on the Russian front up to 43 divisions. If the Germans -were unable in the beginning of the War to win out in France where they -had all their forces, allotting to the Russian front only 14 divisions -and the Austrian Army, so much the less could they have won at the end -of 1914, when the Russians had compelled them to have 43 divisions in -the field, that is, to treble their forces on the Russian front, to the -detriment of their French front._ - - -New Opportunities for the Allies - -The third great period of the world-conflict--1915--is the year of -Russia's single-handed fight against Germany, Austria and Turkey. This -year was hardest for Russia not only because all attention and all -efforts of the three enemy powers were directed against Russia alone, -but also because in 1915 Russia was less than ever before prepared -for the struggle--being without arms, shells and munitions. No matter -how much Ludendorf may distort the truth in his memoirs, the whole -world knows that in that year the Russian positions were covered not -by barbed wire entanglements, but by the naked breasts of the Russian -soldiers, and German charges were repulsed not by artillery barrages -but by the bayonet, by cold steel--reminding us of the times when the -Mexicans, armed only with spears, fought against the rifles and cannon -of the Spaniards under Fernando Cortez. - -Russia's loss of Poland in 1915 is altogether a result of this -situation, unprecedented in any of the wars fought by European nations. -It was hard to gain victory when the shortage of arms was so great that -some corps counted but 1,500 bayonets instead of 40,000, and at the -same time it was impossible to complement these corps with their quota -of men because these men had no rifles. - -Russia had called millions to the colors, but had rifles only for -one-tenth of her men. It is only too obvious that nothing could be -accomplished with millions of men of whom only one in ten was armed. -But in 1916, when Russia acquired rifles and artillery, Brusilov -launched his memorable offensive which netted more than 200,000 -prisoners. Another great offensive was in preparation for 1917, but the -Revolution interfered with its realization. - -However that may be, the Germans had planned to have done with Russia -by confronting it with Austrian armies and with four or five additional -German corps. But already in 1914 the Germans were compelled to keep 19 -corps in the East to the detriment and dislocation of their plans and -forces in France. (See diagrams No. 3,4.) Even during the days of the -Revolution the Germans were obliged to maintain 781/2 divisions on the -Eastern front, in addition to 47 Austrian and 15 Turkish, altogether -140 infantry and 22 cavalry divisions, while on the Anglo-French -front the enemy had at that time only 142 divisions. If we take into -consideration all the Russian theatres of war, including those in Asia, -the enemy kept on the Russian fronts 164 infantry divisions and 28 -cavalry divisions,--altogether 192 divisions (in May, 1917) while on -the Anglo-French front the enemy had in May, 1917, only 142 divisions. - -[Illustration: THE NUMBER OF GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN DIVISIONS ON THE -RUSSIAN AND OTHER ALLIED FRONTS DURING SPRING OF 1917 - - INFANTRY CAVALRY TOTAL - ON THE RUSSIAN FRONT - IN EUROPE 125 22 147 - IN ASIA 15 15 - ---- - 162 - - ON OTHER ALLIED FRONTS - FRENCH-BELGIAN 140 2 142 - ITALIAN 36 36 - SALONIKI 17 17 - MESOPOTAMIAN 10 10 - ---- - 205 - -This diagram shows that in 1917--the beginning of the Russian -Revolution--there were 162 German, Austrian, Turkish and Bulgarian -divisions on the Russian front, 147 of whom were on the Russian front -in Europe. On the Anglo-French front there were at this time only 142 -German divisions. - -The enemy forces were thus divided as follows: on the Russian front, -44 per cent.; on the Anglo-French front, 39 per cent.; on the Italian -front, 10 per cent.; on the Salonika front, 41/2 per cent., and on the -Mesopotamian front--about 21/2 per cent. Thus, early in 1917 the Russian -Army had opposing it about one-half of all the forces of the Central -Powers. - -It is clearer that if these Teutonic forces would be able to -concentrate on the French front, it would mean an immediate breakdown -of the Allies and the triumph of the Prussian militarism throughout the -civilized world.] - -Notwithstanding the lack of arms and munitions the Russian Army -rendered the Allies, in the critical days of 1915, assistance that was -not less important and serious than that of the days of the Marne and -Ypres. Russia, by diverting upon herself, towards the close of 1914, -all the efforts of the Central Powers, thereby offered France and -England the opportunity for a whole year to prepare for the prosecution -of the War. Throughout 1915, when Germany, Austria and Turkey were -diverted by Russia, France was enabled quickly to accumulate new -reserves, munitions, shells, to recover from the serious wounds of -1914, and to prepare for that inevitable blow from Germany which -subsequently took the form of a determined offensive at Verdun in 1916. - -At the same time England, owing to the fact that Russia had in 1915 -taken upon herself the whole burden of the struggle, was enabled in -the course of one year to carry out Kitchener's stupendous plan of -expanding the small, 150 thousand-strong English Army of volunteers -into the four million-strong Army of the English nation in arms. On -the other hand Germany, having called to the colors new reserves, was -compelled by Russia to expend these reserves on the Russian front, and -not on the main front, in France, where the fate of the whole War was -to be decided for Germany. - -All these opportunities, all this stupendous preparation in the -creation and development of new armed forces by the Allies, took place -undisturbed and in favorable circumstances, solely because 1915 was -the year of Russia's single-handed fight against three enemy powers, -the year of the greatest self-sacrifice of the Russian Army for the -common cause. Who knows what might have been the result of the German -offensive in France had those German reserves which perished in Russia -broken through somewhere in the north of France simultaneously with the -storming of Verdun, in February. Who knows how far the German military -catastrophe might have been averted had all the fresh reserves of -the Germans, which were being incessantly swallowed up by the Russian -front, found themselves in the West! - -To these questions Ludendorf himself happens to give the answers in his -memoirs. Speaking of the offensive of the Germans at Verdun and of the -offensive of the Austrians in Italy, he says: "Both offensives suffered -from the fact that inadequate reserves prevented the first successes -from being followed up." - -Where did these reserves, which were lacking for the capture of Verdun, -where did they go to after Germany had in 1915 created a great many new -formations? _In 1915 they were swallowed up by the Russian front during -the German offensive in Poland, and the Verdun operation was frustrated -because, as Ludendorf declares, there were no reserves with which to -develop the first success of the Germans._ For this reason the unbiased -investigator will admit that Russia in 1915 contributed to a tremendous -extent towards the calm and systematic preparation of the Allies for -the decisive German blow, struck at Verdun, but planned to go beyond -Paris. If the firm stand of the French at Verdun, if the talent of -Castelnau, who stopped the withdrawal of the French to the other bank -of the Meuse, directly repulsed the attack of the Germans, the true -ally, Russia, certainly aided by diverting upon herself all the German -reserves in 1915 and giving the Allies a whole year of respite in which -to create new armed forces. - -_The Russian front incessantly drew to itself all new German formations -and reserves, and thereby automatically forced the German Army in the -West to carry on unproductive operations which never reached their -objective._ Not one single German operation in France could obtain -full development, and inevitably spent itself just because of lack of -reserves which were always opportunely swallowed by the Russian front. - -Turning to the operations of 1915 we see that the Germans, -notwithstanding all their efforts and partial successes, never gained -any decisive results on the Russian front. The Russian Army, having -neither munitions nor arms, was naturally unable to win at this time, -and was compelled to retreat from Poland. But the Russian Army was not -crushed, which, however, had been the main objective of Ludendorf's -offensive. - -In his memoirs Ludendorf plainly states: "The German General Staff now -resolved to try to obtain a decision against Russia." This, translated -from military parlance into plain English, simply means that it was the -object to settle, to "finish" with Russia, in other words, to crush -her Army, for otherwise there would have been no sense in starting -operations against Russia, and in wasting against her the reserves so -much needed on the main front, against France. Neither does Ludendorf -conceal this object further on in his memoirs, _but he admits that it -was not accomplished_. For this failure he blames General Falkenhayn, -the Chief of the General Staff, who, it was supposed, prevented -Ludendorf from crushing the Russian Army. We shall not enter into the -personal disputes between Ludendorf and Falkenhayn, whom Ludendorf -throughout criticises sharply. We shall only note that Ludendorf -attempted four times during the summer of 1915 to surround or break -through the several retreats of the Russian Army, but the latter in -every instance retreated in perfect order, carrying their arms with -them. In which one of these four instances, then, did Falkenhayn -interfere? How preposterous this shifting of the blame to Falkenhayn -is, may be seen even from Ludendorf's own statement: "Throughout the -whole War we never succeeded, either on the Eastern or Western front, -in exploiting a big break-through to the full!" In this way he himself -admits that the Germans did not even once succeed, at the proper time, -in utilizing a big success to the full, i. e., Falkenhayn's role was -immaterial. It is but natural that the resistance of the Russians in -1915 prevented the Germans from exploiting that success which they -regarded as a big one, but which, as a matter of fact, consisted -only in the systematic retreat of the Russian Army which was without -arms and munitions. However, the most inopportune statement made by -Ludendorf is contained in the following remark of his concerning the -operations against the Russians in 1915: "We had brought the final -overthrow of Russia a step nearer." - -The offensive of Brusilov in the following year, which netted him -more than 200,000 prisoners and made Ludendorf, as he himself says, -frequently worry about the fate of the entire Austro-German front in -Russia, demonstrates how the offensive of Ludendorf in 1915 hastened -"the final overthrow of Russia." On the contrary, this offensive which -cost Ludendorf a great many of his reserves, and afforded a year of -quiet preparation to the Allies, did, as we saw, hasten "the final -overthrow of Germany." - -_At this period of the campaign of 1915 there were on the Russian front -67 German divisions and up to 40 Austrian, altogether 107 divisions, -and on the French front about 110 divisions. The Germans could not -defeat the Allies in the beginning of the War, although they had -then in France almost all their forces. It is natural that in 1915, -when they had in France only 50 per cent. of their total forces, the -Germans, through the efforts of Russia, were finally deprived of any -chance of winning in France. It was only through Russia's military -operations that the Germans were driven to such an unfavorable, -hopeless grouping of their forces._ - - -Again Opportunities for the Allies - -In the following year, 1916, Russia once more came forward with -her assistance at a critical moment, when the Austrians had broken -the resistance of the Italian Armies on the Asiago-Arsiero front, -threatening a further development of their offensive in the rear of the -Italian Army, in the direction of Venice. At the same time Ludendorf in -his memoirs points out how great were the objects which the Austrians -were aiming at on the Italian front, and he says plainly: "In Italy it -was a question of an operation on a grand scale." - -However, the Russian Army in 1916 had no intention of launching an -offensive on the Austrian front, and prepared for an offensive in -an altogether different place, on the German front. Our General -Staff had prepared for the main offensive in the direction of Vilna, -and accordingly it was here that troops and munitions were being -concentrated. (See Gurko's "War and Revolution.") - -Everything was ready when the Italians, crushed by the Austrians, -appealed to Russia for aid. An offensive on the Austrian front held -no particular interest for Russia, which naturally had in view the -crushing of the main enemy--the Germans. Still, Russia, just as on -previous occasions, did not hesitate a minute to help her Allies. -Notwithstanding that nothing had been prepared for such an offensive, -General Brusilov launched it along a front two hundred miles long, -with the troops he just happened to have on the spot. Everybody -remembers this celebrated offensive of Brusilov, which netted hundreds -of thousands of prisoners, a great number of other trophies, and -which compelled the Austrians to immediately abandon their offensive -in Italy and to begin the transfer of troops to the Russian front. -"Austria gradually broke off the Italian offensive and sent troops to -the Eastern front," writes Ludendorf. "The Italian Army now started a -counter-offensive in the Tyrol," he remarks further on. - -Describing the period of Brusilov's offensive, Ludendorf does not -conceal the fact that they passed through some very bad and critical -moments. "Our G. H. Q. made heavy demands on both groups (group south -of Riga and Prince Leopold group) _and also withdrew divisions from -the West_," writes Ludendorf. "Even all the fresh divisions that -were thrown in were hardly sufficient to hold the front," says he in -describing the situation of the Austro-Germans after the Russian break -through at the Dniester. "This was one of the greatest crises on the -Eastern front," says he further on, in speaking of the new break by -Brusilov at Lutzk. - -The effects of Brusilov's offensive proved to be so far-reaching as to -affect not only the situation on the Italian front but also that on the -French main front. The Allies, in view of the difficult situation of -the Germans on the Russian front, launched an offensive at the Somme, -and towards fall they had finally cleared the forts of Verdun of the -Germans. - -So did Russia once more fulfill her obligation towards her allies, -as soon as her Army had received some quantity of munitions. This -quantity was not yet sufficient in 1916, and it was only in 1917 that -the Russian troops were at last more or less provided. The lack of -munitions during the period of Brusilov's offensive was pointed out -by the Russian Staff, and Ludendorf himself emphasizes it. He writes -that the situation was relieved thanks to the fact that "the Russians -were also contending against extraordinary difficulty of supply." From -this it may be seen that the Russian Army, having obtained only the -first consignments of inconsiderable and insufficient munitions, did -not hesitate, in 1916, to offer her allies generous assistance on the -largest scale. - - * * * * * - -Still earlier, during the Verdun period, the Russian Army, not yet -recuperated from the hard blows of 1915, did by no means stand by as an -idle onlooker of the heroic efforts of the French at Verdun. When at -the end of February, 1916, French Headquarters appealed to the Russian -Army for assistance, preparations were begun for an offensive. "The -Russian Army had not lost its spirit after the heavy fighting of 1915," -says Ludendorf. On the 16th of March operations were begun by the -Russian troops in the territory to the northwest of Dvinsk, continuing -until the 26th of March. This partial offensive, solely in aid of the -French, was attended by success of a local nature. Ludendorf criticises -this operation and says that "it was choked in swamps and blood." Of -course, the terrible weather conditions, the rains and the impassable -roads, interfered with a broad development of this offensive, but still -it had a sufficiently serious effect. "From the 11th to the 21st of -March," acknowledges Ludendorf, "the situation of the 10th (German) -army was critical." - - -Salvation of Roumania - -At the close of 1916 the Russian Army again had to offer most effective -assistance at the critical moment of Mackensen's and Falkenhayn's -invasion of Roumania. General Alexeiev pointed out to the Roumanian -High Command the excessive length of the Roumanian frontier line which -rendered operations in the border district difficult for the small -Roumanian Army. General Alexeiev, as well as the Allied military -experts, advised the Roumanians to shorten their front line, by means -of a retreat, to a shorter line in the East which could be held by the -comparatively small Roumanian Army. But the Roumanians, calculating -upon a weakening of the Austrians, preferred to choose a new plan and -invaded vast Transylvania. - -[Illustration: This map shows the four places in which the Russian -Army, led by Gen. Brussiloff, broke through the Austro-German front in -the summer of 1916.] - -This too daring move, which at first met but feeble resistance, -was, however, soon checked by the enemy. When thereupon the enemy -himself took the offensive and invaded Roumania and began to threaten -Bucharest, the Roumanian representative at Russian headquarters, -General Coanda, appealed to Russia for aid. - -The Russian Army had not yet succeeded in recuperating from the effects -of its great summer offensive of 1916. Russia's reserves and supplies -had been to a considerable extent spent during the period of Brusilov's -offensive. Nevertheless Russia, again as always, did not hesitate -for one minute to come to the assistance of the Allies. The Russians -even proposed to take upon themselves the defense of the Roumanian -capital--Bucharest--but this offer was turned down by the Roumanians -with some show of embarrassment; they pointed out that the railroads -leading to Bucharest were blocked with evacuated freights from the -capital and could not therefore carry the Russian troops. Probably -certain political considerations played not a small part in this. - -However that might be, Russia did not refuse her aid in the form -desired by the Roumanians. From the long Russian front which, in turn, -stood in need of reserves, troops were taken off and sent to Roumania. -Two armies, under Letchitzki and Sakharov, and the great mass of -cavalry under Mannerheim, were assigned by the Russians to assist the -retreating Roumanians. This effective help by Russia achieved its -purpose, stopping the offensive of the enemy, and towards 1917 the -Russian Armies also took upon themselves the none too easy task of -defending the greater part of the Roumanian front. - -For the following year, 1917, Russia prepared for a decisive offensive -on the German front, in common with the Allies. That was the first -year that the Russian Army had at last obtained sufficient armaments -and supplies. The Germans realized that most serious danger threatened -them, and the Germano-Bolshevist provocation was now chosen as the -means of disarming Russia. And yet, even during those terrible days -of the collapse of the Russian Army and the Revolution, Russia was -indispensable to the Allies. - -During those revolutionary days of 1917 Russia compelled the enemy to -maintain on the Russian front =162 divisions= of German, Austrian, -Turkish and Bulgarian troops, to the enemy's detriment on the French -main front. On this front the enemy was enabled to maintain only =140 -divisions=. - -Russia, although sapped by the Germano-Bolshevist conspiracy, was still -formidable, and the enemy did not risk the moving of any of his troops -from the Russian front. Russia was growing faint, but that honest -Russia which had saved her allies in East Prussia, Galicia, on the -fields of Poland, Lithuania, Roumania, in the Caucasus and Armenia, did -not lay down her arms to the very last moment, remaining true to her -obligations. - - -Russia's Losses--12,000,000 - -From this brief outline one can readily see what great and numerous -objects Russia accomplished in the World War, and how important was -her role in that final collapse of the Central Powers at which the -Allies had been aiming in the four-year long struggle. In full accord -with these efforts are the extraordinary sacrifices brought by Russia, -sacrifices in men, sacrifices in material resources and money, and -finally, that great upheaval through which the Russian people are now -passing, as a result of their over-exertion in the years of the World -War. - -Among these sacrifices, Russia's losses in men run into such great -numbers that the immense, extraordinary part played by Russia becomes -at once obvious to anyone. - -Of the many different figures quoted by various investigators the most -reliable are undoubtedly those furnished by the official statistics of -the Russian Army Staff. - -Among these figures made public in the press the most important are -those given by the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, -pertaining to the year 1916, concerning the total number of mobilized -soldiers and the number of those still in the service. According to -this information, the Russian War Ministry called to the colors from -the outbreak of the War up to the winter of 1916 more than 14 million -men; but the commissary department of the Army had towards the close of -1916 less than 10 million on its rolls. The difference of 41/2 million -between these two figures constituted the absolute losses of the Army -during 3 campaigns (1914, 15, 16). This gave the Staff the basis for -calculating the yearly average total losses at 11/2 million men. Adding, -accordingly, 11/2 million losses for 1917, we obtain 6 million total -losses during the whole War. - -But these are only the men who were a total loss to the Army, i. e., -the losses in killed and prisoners, without the wounded, except a -moderate number of crippled who were no longer fit for service at the -front nor for service out of the ranks, and who therefore had to be -discharged from the Army entirely. - -The total number of Russian war-prisoners towards the end of the -War, according to figures compiled by the Russian Commission on War -Prisoners, amounted to about 21/2 million. Deducting this number from -6 million, we obtain 31/2 million in killed and the small number of -crippled who were discharged entirely. - -This number, 31/2 million, obtained from official statistics, is the -basis of our calculations. The percentage of disabled was comparatively -small. German statistics during the War figured it to be 10 per cent. -Hence the figure of 31/2 million must comprize only a little less than 3 -million in killed alone. The number of wounded is usually approximately -21/2 times the number of killed.[5] Multiplying the number of wounded not -by 21/2, but only by 2, we obtain about 6 million wounded. Thus we have -a total of 6 million killed and prisoners, and 6 million wounded, or a -grand total of not less than 12 million losses for Russia, in killed, -wounded and prisoners. - -These figures are rather minimized, for we have above underestimated -the number of wounded. These figures, based upon official statistics, -agree with those arrived at by the "Copenhagen Society for Studying -the Consequences of the War." This society estimates the losses at 91/2 -million, exclusive of prisoners. As we have shown above, there were 21/2 -million prisoners. - -Thus there can be no doubt but that the number of Russian casualties -was _not less than 12,000,000_, of which there were _3,000,000 in -killed_. - -These losses are almost equal to the combined losses of our Allies.[6] - -Russia's losses are more than twice those of France, 4-5 times those -of England, and more than 35 times those of America. These losses are -more than twice the total strength of the British Army, and 3-4 times -all the forces mustered by the United States. This number of casualties -alone is larger than the total population of any of the following -European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, -Holland, or the Balkan States! - -Thus do simple figures tell us clearly and plainly that Russia -sacrificed in the common cause of the Allies the greatest number of -victims and that she ranks first in the sad roster of Allied casualties. - -[Illustration: THE DEATH TOLL IN THE ALLIED ARMIES - -3,000,000 Russia -1,300,000 France - 700,000 England - 450,000 Italy - 100,000 Belgium - 100,000 Rumania - 100,000 Serbia & Montenegro - 50,000 United States of America] - - -Conclusion - -From this brief outline may be seen how tremendous and important a role -was played by Russia in the world conflict. Summing up the general -facts cited above, we arrive at the following definite conclusions: - -1.) Russia's role in the World War was bound to be very serious and -important for this reason alone, that the participation of a nation -numbering 180 million souls could not fail to be significant in itself, -and was therefore bound to exercise a tremendous influence upon the -outcome of the World War. - -2.) Accordingly, Russia's role became apparent even at the very -beginning of the War, in the important aid she rendered in frustrating -the initial and most dangerous plan of the Germans, by her early -offensive in aid of the Allies. Russia, having diverted against herself -the entire Austrian army and part of the German, at the time of the -battle on the Marne, through her offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, -deprived the enemy of the opportunity to realize the fundamental idea -of Moltke's plan to fling "all forces into France." The enemy, having -contrary to his plan moved on France with only a part of his forces, -inevitably suffered defeat. This cooperation on the part of Russia was -of tremendous significance, for the Germans based their plan on the -idea that they would at first have to deal only with France alone, on -one front only, whereas Russia compelled them at once to start the -War on two fronts, both with Russia and France. This made the initial -German war plan useless because strategy says plainly: "Errors in the -strategic deploying of forces in the beginning of a war have a decisive -influence and cannot be rectified until the war is over." From this -rule of strategy it is plain that Russia's operations in the beginning -of the war at the outset condemned Germany to lose the war. - -3.) At the following attempt of the enemy to find a decision in France, -to break through to Calais, at Ypres, Russia, by the blows she -delivered in Galicia, at Warsaw and in East Prussia, contributed to the -early termination of this second offensive in France, so dangerous to -England, and compelled the Germans for more than a year to abstain from -their main operations on the main decisive front of the War--in France. - -4.) In 1915 Russia, having shouldered alone the whole burden of the -struggle against Germany, Austria and Turkey, although forced to -abandon Poland, still gave the Allies the opportunity to prepare -throughout a whole year for the coming German offensive at Verdun. -At the same time, having compelled the Germans during 1915 to spend -all their fresh formations and reserves on the Russian front, Russia -thereby deprived the Germans of the reserves they needed for Verdun and -their other operations in France. - -5.) In 1916 Russia, thanks to the Brusilov offensive, saved Italy at -that critical moment when the Austrians, through their successful -offensive from Tyrol in the rear of the Italians, threatened to cut -off a considerable portion of the Italian Army, at the same time -menacing Venice. Together with this, Russia by this offensive greatly -facilitated the operations of the Allies on the Somme, and was -instrumental in the final clearing of the Verdun forts. - -6.) In 1916 Russia took upon herself the blows of Mackensen's and -Falkenhayn's armies which had invaded Roumania, stopped the further -advance of the Germans, and undertook the defense of a considerable -stretch of the Roumanian front. - -7.) Through a period of three years of struggle against Germany, -Austria and Turkey, Russia, having diverted the forces of the enemy, -afforded the Allies a long period of quiet for the preparation and -strengthening of the Allied Armies and for the systematic creation of -a new 4 million British Army. - -8.) Throughout this period of three years of struggle _Russia compelled -the enemy to spend on the Russian front such a stupendous amount of -force, reserves and munitions_ as to hasten the inevitable fall of -the enemy, and _this immensely facilitated the delivery of the final, -decisive blows by the Allies_. - -9.) Russia, incessantly drawing upon herself the forces of the enemy, -did not give him the opportunity for one minute from the very beginning -of the War to gather sufficient force for a decisive blow on the main, -decisive front--in France. The role of Russia, therefore, was clearly -apparent in the fact that she deprived Germany throughout the War of -the possibility to win and rendered futile every effort of the enemy in -this respect. - -10.) Corresponding with the most important role that Russia played in -the War are her enormous sacrifices in men, material and treasure. -Her losses in men, amounting to 12,000,000, exceed several times the -casualties of any of the Allies; are almost equal to the losses of -all the Allies combined; exceed several times the total number of men -mobilized by any one of the Allies.... - -11.) Russia's role in the recent war was so important and extraordinary -that _without Russia the very idea of a struggle with German militarism -would have been impossible_. Germany would have been able to crush any -combination of the European Powers if Russia had not participated in -such combination. Were it not for Russia, Germany would now dominate -not only Europe, but probably the rest of the world as well. - -12.) Russia's great role in the World War is so much the greater since -she fought under extraordinary circumstances, lacking so indispensable -an asset as a great network of railways, with a backward technique, -industry, etc. In the hard first years of the War the Russian Armies, -as we have seen, in extraordinary circumstances and frequently without -arms and munitions, did everything possible, and, together with -failures, had also their successes. - -Ludendorf was able to achieve success on the Russian front only when -the Germans outnumbered their adversaries by at least three to two. At -Tannenberg the Germans had twice as many and, at certain stages, even -three times as many men as the Russians. Against Rennenkampf Ludendorf -had three men to every two of his enemy, and probably even as many -as two to one, as Rennenkampf had suffered severe losses during the -preceding days. - -It is equally true that the Russians were able to defeat the Germans -whenever they had even a small superiority of force. Near Warsaw -the Russians had less than five men to every four Germans and they -succeeded in defeating the latter and throwing them clear across all -Poland. - -It may seem strange that the Germans should have managed to have -numerical superiority over the Russians all the time. Regrettable as -it may be, it is nevertheless true, for the strength of an army is -determined not by the number of its men, but by the number of bayonets -(infantry), sabres (cavalry) and guns (artillery). The Russian Army -consisted of millions, but bayonets and guns it had only for one-tenth -of its number. In 1915 some Russian divisions numbered, instead of -20,000 bayonets, only a mere thousand, owing to disastrous losses. The -only employment of infantry during those days was as a screen for the -artillery, while the latter was quite useless for fighting purposes -because it had no ammunition whatever. Under such conditions many of -our corps often did not exceed the strength of a single regiment and -some armies numbered no more effectives than a single division. We -had plenty of men, but no arms and ammunition. Therefore, the Germans -frequently surpassed us not in men, but in bayonets and guns. - -The tragedy of the Russian situation lay in the cruel fact that Russia, -while only one-tenth of her Armies were armed, was facing Germany -and Austria, who were armed from head to foot. Not Ludendorf and not -his ordinary military skill were the causes of Russia's failures in -the first year of the War, but that simple and terrible truth which -Brusilov once expressed in the following words: "_The Russians had no -shells with which to blast their way across barbed-wire entanglements -before an attack; so it became necessary for them to break down the -wires with the bodies of Russian soldiers, and to form a bridge across -these dead bodies for the next attacking column._" - -[Illustration: The black line represents the Russian front in 1917. The -front stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The Roumanian -front was held also primarily by Russian troops.] - -We have concluded our sketch of Russia's participation in the World War -with 1917. But 1918 also has its story: in that year Russia was denied -a voice at the conference on that peace in the name of which Russia had -offered up so many sacrifices and made such efforts. - -We have seen how important and essential a part Russia played in the -overthrow of German militarism. Russia's tremendous role confirms -once more the elementary truth that in the future also Russia will -inevitably be a colossal factor of political and military equilibrium -in Europe. Whatever does happen to Russia, however they may dismember -her living body, the immense Russian nation, with 125 million souls of -pure Russian blood alone, will always remain that heavy military weight -which inevitably lowers that particular scale upon which it descends. - -It is true, Germany is now crushed and enfeebled. But we know that -victorious countries are now suffering not less, and some of them even -more, from the consequences of the most stupendous world conflict. - -Years will pass, and possibly but a few years, and again the world -will recuperate. We have no reason to expect that the active German -people will lag behind the rest in this work of reestablishing normal -conditions of life and labor. - -The Treaty of Versailles has not solved a good many problems, and among -them also those that were the cause of the World War. Notwithstanding -all partitioning, Germany still retains up to 60 million souls, but -France only a little more than 40 million. The population of Germany -has always been growing, while that of France, if it has not decreased, -has not increased. _After all, Germany has and will have a numerical -superiority over France of one and a half times._ - -France, well aware of that, tries to maintain an alliance with England, -and reckons upon the aid of America. But the statesmen of the West -realize how insufficient all this is, for they still remember well that -first critical month of the War when France was all alone and saved -herself only through extraordinary efforts. - -Until the United States arrives on the scene! Why, that inevitably -means months and months of waiting. Until the British Army is mobilized -and transported! Why, we know how difficult and tedious are the -conditions of embarkation and landing of troops, artillery, transport -columns, munitions, etc. We know that the 150,000 soldiers of the -British Army alone required, in August, 1914, more than three weeks for -disembarkation. And where? In three ports where everything was equipped -for disembarkation purposes, where ideal conditions prevailed such as -were hard to find in any other ports. - -Thus France, in the event of a new conflict with her old foe, will -again find herself for quite some time left all alone to face the -numerically superior enemy. Where will Russia be then? - -No Poland, no combination of any group of small States will be able to -take the place of Russia, for that would be a mere 15-20 millions; it -will be not Russia, but only one-seventh, a sixth, or fifth part of -that which Russia gave during the past War. These weak nations will -only become additional trophies to the enemy, just as Roumania, Serbia -and Belgium became his easy prey in the past War. - -Where will Russia be then? Not the present-day Russia bleeding to death -in its struggle against Bolshevism, but the future, once more powerful, -Russia?... - -Bolshevism, an abnormal phenomenon, is bound to come to an -end--somewhat earlier, or somewhat later. No matter how much may be -cut off from Russia, she will always remain an immense, great, rich, -and therefore powerful, country. Too much will depend upon what this -coming Russia may have to say, for any sensible statesman to refuse to -reckon with that eventuality. - -This question the statesmen of the West must ask of themselves clearly -and plainly--not those statesmen who think no further than the -following day and of the success of their fight against their political -opponents--but those wise leaders of the nations who really have at -heart the interests of their own countries, as well as of the entire -civilized world. "Ostrich politics" may least of all be applied in -dealing with that tremendous military and political factor which covers -one-sixth of the land surface of the globe and is called Russia. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See diagrams on pp. 15 and 18. - -[2] See Appendixes No. I and II, in which an analysis of this part of -Ludendorf's Memoirs is given. - -[3] See Appendixes "Ludendorf--Samsonov" and "Ludendorf--Rennenkampf" -at the end of the pamphlet. - -[4] How preposterous is this figure of 1,200,000 men, supposed to have -been transferred by the Russians from Galicia to Warsaw, to oppose -Ludendorf, may be seen from the fact that only 3 railway lines run -from Galicia to Warsaw. It is not difficult to demonstrate that it is -impossible to carry 1,200,000 men on 3 railway lines within 2 weeks -(the offensive of the Germans against Warsaw began in the first days of -October, and the retreat began two weeks later, i. e., when the Russian -troops were transferred from Galicia to Warsaw). - -One army corps requires 140-150 trains. The best road in Russia can at -most carry 52 trains in 24 hours in one direction. Hence, to entrain -a corps would require 3 days. Consequently the most that could be -entrained within 15 days would be 5 corps to each railway line. Thus, -all 3 roads combined might have been able to carry up to 15 corps, but -actually, of course, they carried less than that. But even if we allow -the computation of 15 corps to stand, we have but 500-600 thousand men, -and not 1,200,000 as Mr. Ludendorf unhesitatingly allots. - -[5] According to figures submitted in 1916 by the army committee of -the German Reichstag, the German army lost during the first 12 months -of the War 604 thousand killed, 1,556,000 wounded, and 317 thousand -prisoners. This shows that the number of wounded is 21/2 times the number -of killed. - -[6] According to the statistics of the "Copenhagen Society," the -French Army lost 1,350,000 in killed, the British--700,000, the -Italian--330,000, and each of the remaining Allies--100,000 and less. - - - - -Appendix No. I - -Ludendorf--Samsonov - - -1.) A careful perusal of Ludendorf's memoirs brings out the fact that -during the first Russian invasion of Eastern Prussia there participated -on the German side: the 1st, 17th, 20th and 1st Reserve Corps, the -3rd Reserve Division, the 6th Landwehr Brigade, Goltz's Division, the -garrisons of the Vistula fortresses,--Thorn, Kulm and Graudenitz, and a -brigade of cavalry. The German forces consisted, therefore, not of two -corps numbering 80,000 men but of more than 240,000, not counting the -masses of landsturm, which fact Ludendorf carefully conceals. - -2.) The Russians, on the other hand, advanced into East Prussia not -fully mobilized, as this battle took place twenty-seven days after -the War was declared, and the Russian mobilization was only completed -three--four weeks later. Samsonov had no six army corps under his -command, but only 4 corps: the 1st, the 6th, the 13th and the 15th, -and, figuring even at 40,000 men per army corps, this force could not -have exceeded 160,000 men. - -3.) It can be seen, therefore, that in this battle over 240,000 -Germans were opposing 160,000 Russians at most. However, as a matter -of positive fact, the attack of the 240,000 Germans was directed -against two Russian corps only, the 1st and the 6th, i. e., at only -approximately 80,000 men. - -4.) A force of Germans, three times as strong, overpowered two Russian -corps. During that attack Samsonov and a part of his staff were killed. -That, and the disruption of liaison, was the reason reinforcements were -not sent up from the other corps and the Germans succeeded in invading -the Russian rear (see map No. 1). - -5.) The remainder of Samsonov's army, about 80,000 men, became -surrounded by 240,000 Germans, and, left without leadership, in the -midst of an extremely critical and dangerous operation, on unfamiliar -territory, it was shattered. _Only under such an unfortunate -combination of circumstances could a threefold strong German force -win the battle in a tactical sense. But, from the strategic point of -view, the Germans lost in this stage of their campaign, as this battle -diverted a number of German corps from France and served a purpose of -the greatest importance._ - -[Illustration: The Russian troops are indicated on this map by white -squares; the Germans--by black. It can be seen from this map that the -army of Gen. Samsonov took up positions from Usdau to Biskofsburg. -The Germans attacked his flanks, i. e., Usdau, his left flank, and -Biskofsburg, his right. The 1st and 6th Russian Corps were located -there, as indicated by the map. - -It may be observed from the map that the 1st Corps was attacked by two -German corps, one division and the Vistula garrisons, i. e., about -120,000 Germans attacked 40,000 Russians. The 6th Corps at Biskofsburg -was put in a similar situation. Under pressure from a threefold -stronger German force, the 1st and 6th Corps retreated. Thereupon -the Germans fell under Neiderborg and Passenheim upon the rear of -Samsonov's remaining troops, the 13th and 15th Corps. These corps were -consequently surrounded by this threefold stronger force and were -defeated after a heroic fight of three days.] - -6.) It must be added that the entire population of East Prussia was -armed, and scouting was very difficult. The Russians knew nothing about -the enemy, while the latter was fully informed by the inhabitants -concerning the Russians and knew every step these were making. That is -why the German attack came as a surprise. - -7.) The assertion that Rennenkampf had 400,000 men and intentionally -did not come to Samsonov's aid is a downright misstatement. This can -be seen from the fact that the battle, which was begun on August 27, -was lost in 18 hours, on the morning of August 28, and Rennenkampf, -who with small forces was within three days' marching distance from -Samsonov--40 miles--could not have arrived in time, particularly when -we consider that he had to overcome on his way fortifications and -barbed-wire defenses manned by landsturm and by cavalry. - -8.) Ludendorf's assertion that Rennenkampf's force consisted of 24 -divisions, almost 400,000 men, is an obvious falsehood. A single -army is never made up of more than six army corps, for facility -and expediency in commanding, and this is a basic rule in military -organizations. Ludendorf knows this very well, but it appears that he -consciously misstated the truth in this case as well. - -9.) In reality Rennenkampf's army consisted of eight divisions or four -army corps,--the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th and the 20th, and of six cavalry -divisions. Altogether his force consisted of about 160,000 men. The -bulk of his infantry could not have reached the front at that time, as -it was necessary to organize the rear and to coordinate the railway -movement in Prussia, as the Russian rail gauge is much wider than that -adopted by the German railway system. Rennenkampf's front, therefore, -was occupied largely by cavalry, supported only in section by weak -detachments of infantry. - -10.) Rennenkampf could not have aided Samsonov even if he had known -his situation, because he was already at a distance of 90 miles from -his own railway lines, and Ludendorf himself admits that it is not -possible to operate safely further than 80 miles from one's railroads. -Rennenkampf's army, therefore, without provisions and ammunition, had -to wait until its rear was made secure and was unable to move further. - - - - -Appendix No. II. - -Ludendorf--Rennenkampf - - -His second battle--with Rennenkampf--Ludendorf describes with a similar -distortion of facts. On this occasion he goes so far as to assert that -Rennenkampf had not 400,000 men but 600,000, and he states at the same -time that Rennenkampf was a traitor because he retreated too soon. As -we have already seen, Rennenkampf had only about 160,000 men, and he -was reinforced by one more corps, the 22nd,--about 40,000 additional -men; therefore his army could not have exceeded 200,000 men. Ludendorf -places his own army at 300,000 men, much less, of course, than his -actual strength, but even at that rate he attacked 200,000 Russians -with 300,000 German troops, outnumbering his adversary one and a half -times. - -That accounts for the ease with which Ludendorf was able to throw -200,000 men into the frontal attack and still was able to send up -100,000 men to get into Rennenkampf's rear (see map No. 2). Rennenkampf's -troops were kept engaged for seven days in repulsing Ludendorf's -attacks upon their front, and he had no troops left with which to parry -the attack on his rear. When the Germans invaded the Russian rear and -were threatening to cut off the Russian main line of retreat, the -Vershbolovo-Kovno Railroad, Rennenkampf was compelled to retreat so as -not to be cut off. In fact, had Rennenkampf not retreated at that time, -he would have committed the same act of treason that Marshal Bazaine -was guilty of in 1870, when he, under similar circumstances, did not -consent to escape from the steadily closing-up iron ring of Germans and -was finally captured with his entire army. Rennenkampf gave orders to -retreat only when the Germans were firing at the city of Gumbinnen and -at his rear railway lines. This was not too soon by any means, but may -have been rather a little late. - -[Illustration: Rennenkampf's troops are indicated between Welau and -Ingenburg (white square). Opposite them is the German army (black -square). - -Rennenkampf had 4 corps,--less than 160,000 men. He was attacked -frontally also by 4 corps which engaged all his effectives. Meanwhile -two German corps (the 17th and the 1st) that remained free began -invading his rear (these corps are indicated in black). When these two -corps approached Gumbinnen, they found themselves in a position to -cut Rennenkampf off from his only road, the Insterburg-Kovno railway. -Rennenkampf had no men to oppose these troops with, as all his units -were fighting at the front line of Welau-Ingenburg. Rennenkampf was -therefore compelled to retreat in order not to be cut off.] - -The 22nd Corps did not even succeed in getting near Rennenkampf, and -was halted by the Germans fifty miles away from the field of battle. -Rennenkampf had, therefore, not 200,000 men to Germany's 300,000, but -only 160,000,--about one-half. The cause of the defeat of Rennenkampf -was that that military operation had been calculated for the combined -armies of Samsonov and Rennenkampf, and was a risky undertaking at -that. When Rennenkampf was left alone, this operation was as a matter -of course doomed to defeat, and it required the tenacity of Rennenkampf -to have offered the obstinate resistance that he did in this battle. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Obvious punctuation errors were corrected. - -Inconsistent hyphenation wss made consistent. - -Ludendorff consistently spelled Ludendorf but has not been corrected. - -p. 10: Apparent missing line in: "brought about the final defeat of the -Germans in this [newline] sonov." - -pp. 45-6: Several misspellings of Rennenkampf corrected. - -p. 46: He was atacked frontally -> He was attacked frontally. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSSIA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR*** - - -******* This file should be named 50956.txt or 50956.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/0/9/5/50956 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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