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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: The Russian Campaign - April to August, 1915, Being the Second Volume of "Field Notes from the Russian Front" - - -Author: Stanley Washburn - - - -Release Date: March 25, 2016 [eBook #51551] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN*** - - -E-text prepared by Brian Coe, Wayne Hammond, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(https://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 51551-h.htm or 51551-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51551/51551-h/51551-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51551/51551-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - https://archive.org/details/russiancampaigna00wash - - - - - -THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN - -April to August, 1915 - - - * * * * * * - -Other Books by -STANLEY WASHBURN. - - Trails, Trappers, and Tenderfeet - Price 10s. 6d. net. _Second Edition._ - - Nogi - Large crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. net. - - The Cable Game - Price 4s. 6d. net. - - - Two in the Wilderness: A Romance of North-Western Canada - Price 6s. _Fourth Edition._ - -London: Andrew Melrose, Ltd. - - * * * * * * - - -[Illustration: HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE TSAR OF ALL THE RUSSIAS. - - _Frontispiece._] [_Photo, Record Press._] - - -THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN - -April to August, 1915, Being the Second Volume of -“Field Notes from the Russian Front” - -by - -STANLEY WASHBURN - -(Special Correspondent of “The Times” with the Russian Armies) - -With Photographs by George H. Mewes - - - - - - - -London: Andrew Melrose, Ltd. -3 York Street, Covent Garden, W.C. - -_The illustrations in this book are from the photographs of_ MR. GEORGE -H. MEWES, _who accompanied Mr. Washburn in all his tours. They are -reproduced here by courtesy of the “Daily Mirror.”_ - - - - - Dedication. - - - To - LORD NORTHCLIFFE and the EDITORS of “_The Times_” London - In Appreciation of a Year of Loyal Support - and Co-operation. - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Many of my friends have urged me not to publish this, the second -volume of Field Notes from the Russian Front, on the ground that the -fortunes of Russia and the Russian armies were on the wane, and that -the optimism which I have always felt has proved itself unfounded by -the events of the past few months. It is for the very reason that -conditions in Russia are momentarily unfavourable that I am glad to -publish this book at this time, as a vindication of my faith and belief -in the common soldiers and officers of an army with which I have been -associated for nearly a year. - -During the advances and successes in Galicia and Poland a year ago -I found the Russian troops admirable, and now in the hour of their -reverses and disappointments they are superb. I retract nothing that I -have said before, and resting my faith in the justice of the cause, the -unflinching character of the people, and the matchless courage of the -Russian soldiers, I am glad in this moment of depression to have the -chance to vindicate my own belief in their ultimate victory in the East. - -The Russians for more than a year have laboured under innumerable -difficulties. Without munitions, and handicapped in a hundred ways, -they have held themselves intact before the relentless drives of the -most efficient army in the world. Though they have fallen by the -hundreds of thousands, their spirits have not been broken. The loss -of Warsaw and numerous other positions has not shaken their _morale_. -History will record this campaign as one in which character fought -against efficient machinery, and was not found wanting. In the final -issue I have never doubted that character would prevail. When the -Russians get munitions and their other military needs, they will again -advance, and no one who knows the Russian army doubts that within it -lies the capacity to go forward when the time is ripe. - -Nothing is more fallacious than to judge the outcome of this campaign -by pins moved backward or forward on the map of Europe. There are great -fundamental questions that lie behind the merely military aspects of -the campaign; questions of morals, ethics, equity, and justice. These -qualities, backed by men of tenacity, courage, and the capacity to -sacrifice themselves indefinitely in their cause, are greater ultimate -assets than battalions and 42-centimetre guns. That the Russians -possess these assets is my belief, and with the fixed opinion that -my faith is well-founded, and that the reverses of this summer are -but temporary and ephemeral phases of this vast campaign, it is with -equanimity and without reservation that I have authorized my publisher -to send these pages to the printer. - -The defects of hurriedly written copy are of course apparent in these -notes, but, as in my first volume, it has seemed wiser to publish them -with all their faults, than to wait until the situation has passed and -news from Russia has no moral value. - - STANLEY WASHBURN. - - PETROGRAD, RUSSIA, - _September 3, 1915_. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I THE FALL OF PRZEMYSL 3 - - II WARSAW IN APRIL, 1915 41 - - III AN AMERICAN DOCTOR IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY 53 - - IV GENERAL RUSSKY’S SUCCESSOR 63 - - V CHECKING UP THE SITUATION IN POLAND 75 - - VI A VISIT TO THE POSITIONS 87 - - VII A SUMMER DAY ON THE RAWKA LINE 99 - - VIII THE CHANGE OF FRONT IN POLAND AND THE BATTLE OF OPATOV 113 - - IX WITH THE ARMY IN SOUTHERN POLAND 127 - - X AN AFTERNOON AT THE “POSITIONS” 141 - - XI HOW THE RUSSIANS MET THE FIRST GAS ATTACK 157 - - XII SOME DETAILS REGARDING THE GAS HORROR 169 - - XIII THE BZURA FRONT IN JUNE 185 - - XIV THE GALICIAN FRONT 199 - - XV THE GERMAN DRIVE IN GALICIA 209 - - XVI THE FRONT OF IVANOV 221 - - XVII HUNTING FOR THE ARMY OF THE BUKOVINA 235 - - XVIII THE RUSSIAN LEFT 247 - - XIX WITH A RUSSIAN CAVALRY CORPS 259 - - XX ON THE ZOTA LIPA 273 - - XXI A VISIT TO AN HISTORIC ARMY 289 - - XXII THE NEW ARMY OF THE FORMER DUNAJEC LINE 301 - - XXIII BACK TO THE WARSAW FRONT 311 - - XXIV THE LOSS OF WARSAW 319 - - XXV CONCLUSION 339 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - TO FACE - PAGE - - His Imperial Majesty the Tsar of all the Russias _Frontis_. - - Occupation of Przemysl by the Russians. Austrians - leaving as prisoners 4 - - Austrian prisoners leaving Przemysl} 6 - } - Russian occupation of Przemysl } - - Cossack patrol entering Przemysl } - } - Russian occupation of Przemysl. Governor’s bodyguard} 8 - entering Government House } - - Destroyed by the Austrians before leaving Przemysl} - } 12 - Principal street in Przemysl } - - Austrian and Hungarian prisoners en route to Lwow 14 - - Austrian prisoners resting by the roadside during their - march from Przemysl 17 - - Austrian prisoners leaving Przemysl 20 - - Russian Governor of Przemysl 33 - - Russian occupation of Przemysl. Headquarters of Staff 35 - - Feeding Austrian prisoners en route to Lwow 37 - - General Hubert, Chief of Austrian Staff in Przemysl 38 - - A Russian officer inspecting eight-inch gun 44 - - Russian bath train 48 - - The Emperor with his Staff } - } 56 - Russian nurses attend to the feeding of the soldiers} - - Russian soldiers performing their native dance 68 - - The Polish Legion. Note the small boy in the ranks as - mascot 76 - - The Vistula (winter) 80 - - Russian officers in an artillery observation position 92 - - A first-line trench in Poland 104 - - Russian General inspecting his gunners 106 - - Telephoning to the battery from the observation position 108 - - In the trenches near Opatov 116 - - Second-line trenches, Opatov 118 - - A second-line trench near Opatov 122 - - A Russian first-line trench near Lublin} - } _between_ 128 & 129 - German position near Lublin } - - March-past of the Gonogoriski Regiment 130 - - Men of the Gonogoriski Regiment cheering King George V 132 - - Men of the Gonogoriski Regiment 134 - - Howitzer battery in Poland 142 - - Cossacks on the Dniester. Officers’ quarters in the woods 144 - - The Polish Legion 150 - - The colours of the Siberians 164 - - Respirator drill in the trenches} - } 172 - Austrians leaving Przemysl } - - Siberians returning from the trenches 178 - - General Brussilov 213 - - General Ivanov } - } 222 - My car in a Galician village} - - G. H. Mewes 248 - - Stanley Washburn, Prince Oblensky, Count Tolstoy, - Count Keller 251 - - Cossacks dancing the Tartars’ native dance 254 - - H.I.H. The Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, - Commander of two divisions of Cossacks 261 - - The Russian soldier at meal-time. Ten men share the - soup 268 - - Cavalry taking up position } - } 280 - Russian band playing the men to the trenches} - - After the Russian evacuation of Lwow. The Bug - Lancers retreating in good order 290 - - A Russian eight-inch gun going into position during the - fighting round Lublin 302 - - Russian artillery officers in an observation position - during the fighting round Lublin 306 - - Retreat from Warsaw. Burning crops } - } 312 - The retreat from Warsaw. A Jewish family leaving Warsaw} - - Retreat from Warsaw. A Polish Jew 314 - - The evacuation of Warsaw. Copper and bells were all - taken away 316 - - The retreat from Warsaw 319 - - The retreat from Warsaw. Ammunition on the road 320 - - During the retreat from Warsaw} - } 322 - Russian armoured motor-car. } - - The retreat from Warsaw. Wounded in a barn outside - Warsaw 324 - - The retreat from Warsaw. German prisoners housed - in a barn 326 - - The retreat from Warsaw. Artillery on the road 328 - - During the retreat from Warsaw. Note wounded man in - foreground 330 - - The retreat from Warsaw. One of the last regiments to - pass through Warsaw 332 - - Siberians leaving the last trench before Warsaw 334 - - A batch of German prisoners captured during the retreat - from Warsaw 339 - - Refugees on the road to Brest-Litovsk 340 - - Roll call during the retreat from Warsaw. All that was - left of them 342 - - Resting during the retreat from Warsaw 344 - - Wounded returning to Warsaw } - } 346 - On the banks of the River Dniester } - - - - -THE FALL OF PRZEMYSL - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE FALL OF PRZEMYSL - - Dated: - LWOW, GALICIA, - _April 1, 1915_. - - -I - -The news of the fall of Przemysl reached Petrograd on the morning of -March 23, and the announcement was given out by the War Office at -noon. The spring is very late in Russia this year, and so much snow -and such intense cold have not been known so late in March for more -than a hundred years. On the 23rd it was snowing heavily in Petrograd -and a biting wind was sweeping through the streets. Save for an -occasional street car and foot passengers the Moika and even the Nevsky -Prospekt were at noon almost as empty as at midnight. And then came the -announcement that the great fortress in Galicia had fallen. In an hour -the news was all over the town and in spite of the inclement weather -the streets were thronged with eager Russians, from Prince to Moujik, -anxiously asking each other if the news which had been so long promised -could really be true. The fall of Przemysl it must be remembered had -been reported at least a dozen times in Petrograd before this. - -There are people in as well as out of Russia, who like to say that the -man in the street over here cares nothing for the war and knows less, -but on this particular day these people were silent. It was no wonder. -If ever a people genuinely rejoiced over good news it was the citizens -of all classes of Russia’s capital when it became known that Przemysl -was at last in Russian hands. By three in the afternoon, crowds had -organized themselves into bands, and with the Russian flag waving in -front, and a portrait of the Czar carried before, dozens of bands -marched through the streets chanting the deep-throated Russian National -anthem; one of the most impressive hymns in the world. - -Though the snow was still falling and a nipping wind blowing, thousands -of the crowds that now perambulated the streets stood bareheaded in the -blast as each procession passed. Old retired generals of seventy and -more stood at rigid attention as the portrait of their monarch and the -flag of their nation was borne past. Moujiks, princes, men and women, -the aged and the young alike, displayed the same spirit of ardour -and enthusiasm as each demonstration came down the street. While it -is true that there is not in Russia what we in the West call public -opinion, yet a stranger living here during this war comes to feel that -there is growing up a spirit that is uniting all classes. This is the -great hope for the war. It is also Russia’s hope for the future. In -another generation it is destined to bring forth greater progress and -unity than the Empire of the Czar has ever known. - -[Illustration: Occupation of Przemysl by the Russians. Austrians -leaving as prisoners. The Russians entering the town.] - -The people of Petrograd have followed the war much more closely than -one would have believed possible. Over here there has been action from -the day the war started, and hardly a month when gigantic movements of -some sort or other have not been under weigh. Petrograd has been called -on again and again to furnish new troops, and from September until -to-day there has not been a week that one could not see new troops -drilling in the streets. Russia has had great successes and great -setbacks, but each alike strengthens the same stubborn determination to -keep pressing forward. - -There was great disappointment when the Russian army withdrew a few -weeks ago from East Prussia, but it began to abate when it became known -that the German advance was checked. The Russians, as is their habit, -had pulled themselves together, and slowly but surely were pushing -back the invader just as they did in the dreary days following the -Samsonov disaster in the first days of the war. Then came the news of -Galicia and the greatest single success that the war has brought to any -of the Allies, or for that matter to any of the belligerent powers. -When the details of the numbers of the captured began to leak out, the -importance of the success was first realized, and not without reason -did the Russians begin to allude to the fall of Przemysl as a second -Metz. It was generally believed that the garrison shut up within the -fortress did not total above 50,000 men, and none were more surprised -than the victors, when they learned that more than 131,000 soldiers and -nearly 4,000 officers had fallen into their hands, not to mention a -number of guns of all calibres amounting probably to above 300. These -unfortunately have been rendered useless by the Austrians and must be -charged as a heavy loss to them rather than as any direct military -asset gained by the Russians. - -[Illustration: Austrian prisoners leaving Przemysl.] - -[Illustration: Russian occupation of Przemysl. Austrian officers pay a -last visit to the Russian head-quarters before leaving for Lwow.] - -Well may the Russians take pride in what their new army has -accomplished, for one must go back to the taking of Plevna to find -any such landmark in the history of Russian siege operations. The -last great siege in Muscovite history was that of Port Arthur, -and one cannot but contrast the state of matters in Russia ten years -ago, and now. Port Arthur fell after a long series of disasters to -the Russian arms, and the people all over the Empire received the -tidings without interest and with that dumb resignation to disaster -that is characteristic of their fatalistic temperament. A spirit of -hopelessness and despondency and pessimism pervaded every class of -Russian society. Announcements of new defeats were heard without -surprise and almost without interest. “Of course, what do you expect?” -one would hear on all sides, “Russian troops never win.” But now there -is quite a different point of view. Even the moujik has come to feel a -pride and confidence in his army and in its victories. Their successes -are his successes, and their defeats are his defeats. - -One who takes interest in studying the psychology of countries comes -to realize that pride of race and confidence in one’s blood is the -greatest asset that any nation can possess. Throughout Russia, the -cause in which her Armies are engaged has come to be more nearly -understood than any war she has ever engaged in. It is not true of -course that the peasant knows as much as does the British Tommy; nor -is there anything like the same enlightenment that prevails in the -Western Armies. But in fairness to Russia she must not be judged from a -Western standpoint, but compared with herself ten years ago. - -As has been written by a dozen writers from Russia in the last six -months the new spirit was crystallized when the war began. It has had -its ups and its downs with the varying reports from the Front, but as -each defeat has been turned into a stepping stone for a subsequent -advance, public confidence has gradually mounted higher and higher, -until, with the fall of Przemysl, we find Russian sentiment and -confidence in Russia at probably the highest point that has ever been -reached in the history of the Empire. The dawn of the new day of which -we hear so much over here now, bears every indication of being the -beginning of the much heralded new Era in this country. - - -II - -Galicia is still under martial law, and one cannot even enter the new -Russian province without a permit issued by the General Staff. It is -of course even more difficult for one to get into the actual theatre -of war. A wire, however, from the Staff of the Generalissimo to the -powers that be in Petrograd, made the way to Przemysl possible, and -a few days after the fortress had fallen the writer reached Lwow. -The Russian-gauged railroad has been pushed south of the old frontier -line to the town of Krasne, famous as the centre of the battle-line of -Austrian defence in the days when the armies of Russky were pushing on -toward Lwow. - -[Illustration: Cossack patrol entering Przemysl.] - -[Illustration: Russian occupation of Przemysl. Governor’s bodyguard -entering Government House.] - -It was originally intended to widen the Austrian tracks to take the -Russian rolling stock, so that trains might proceed direct to the -capital of Galicia; but it was found that the expense of carrying -on operations which meant the widening of every bridge and the -strengthening of every culvert and elevated way, to take the heavier -equipment, would involve time and expense scarcely less than building -a new line complete. The result is that one still changes carriages -some distance out of Lwow, a handicap that is trifling for passenger -traffic, but involving very real inconvenience and delays in the -handling of the vast amount of freight and munitions that go to supply -the huge armies in the field in Galicia. - -Lwow itself is no longer the dismal place that it was in the early -autumn when almost every public building was a hospital, and the -station a receiving depot for the thousands of fresh wounded that -poured in by train-loads from the positions on the San and from the -trenches before Przemysl, which was just then undergoing its first -investment. Where stretchers and throngs of wounded formerly filled -every available foot of ground in the huge terminus a few months ago, -all is now orderly and very much as in the days before the war. The -hotels which in October were filled to overflowing with officers and -Red Cross nurses, are now comparatively quiet, and the city itself, -barring troops going through and prisoners coming from Przemysl, is not -far from normal. A few hours after arriving the writer was received by -Count Brobinsky, who frankly expressed his delight and relief at the -capture of the Galician fortress. - -There are of course a large number of Austrians in Galicia, and ever -since the Russian occupation in September a pro-German-Austrian -propaganda has been kept up here. Every reverse to the Dual Alliance -has been minimized as much as possible, and every effort was subtly -made by the German-Austrian agents of the enemy to prevent the peasants -and that portion of the population here which sympathizes with the -Russians, from co-operating in the new régime. They were assured -that soon the Austrians would be coming back, and fears of reprisals -when the day came have no doubt restrained a large number of Little -Russians, Poles and others from openly supporting the efforts of -the new government to restore Galicia to its normal state. But with -each month it has become increasingly difficult for the Austrian -sympathizers to make the public believe that the Russian occupation was -only a temporary wave that would shortly recede. Austro-German advances -in Bukowina, and the really serious aggressive attempts through the -Carpathians no doubt helped to render conditions unsettled. Then -came the check of the Austrian advance in Bukowina and the gradual -reclaiming by the Russians of the ground lost at the first impetus -of the enemy’s offensive. This was followed by the failure of the -relieving column to make satisfactory headway toward its objective at -Przemysl. - -In spite of all these very obvious failures to achieve any definite -advantage over the Russians, the spirits of the anti-Russian element -were kept buoyed up by the spectacle of the great fortress in Galicia -still holding out. “As long as Przemysl stands out there is hope,” -seems to have been the general opinion of all who wished ill to the -Russians. Thus the fortress, which at the outset might have been -abandoned with small loss of prestige to the Austrians, gradually -came to have a political as well as military significance of the most -far reaching importance. In the general crash after the battle of -the Grodek line, the loss of a town which until then had never been -heard of in the West, outside of military circles, would have escaped -anything more than passing comment. Not until the Russian armies had -actually swept past its trenches and masked its forts, did the world -at large know that such a place was on the map; even then the greatest -interest manifested was in the vexed question as to how its name was -pronounced, if indeed it could be done at all, an opinion which was -held by not a few people. This place which could have been given up -earlier in the war without any important sacrifice was held tenaciously -and became one of the vital points of strategy in the whole campaign. -An army which turned out to be a huge one, was isolated from the field -armies of Austria at a time when she needed every able-bodied man that -she could get; and Przemysl, which, as we see now, was doomed from the -start, was allowed to assume an importance in the campaign which made -its fall not only a severe military loss but a blow to the hopes of the -Austrians, both at home and in Galicia. The fall of this fortress has -gone further towards shattering any hopes of ultimate victory that have -been entertained than anything that has occurred since the war started. - -[Illustration: Destroyed by the Austrians before leaving Przemysl.] - -[Illustration: Principal street in Przemysl.] - -As Count Brobinsky, who for six months now has been straggling to -readjust Galicia to the normal, said, his task has now been enormously -simplified, and there is scarcely an element left here that now -believes there is any chance of Austria winning back her lost province. -The Austrian agents have abandoned hope, and the Russian sympathizers -are now openly declaring their loyalty to the new régime. There is, -however, a class of bureaucrats left here aggregating, I am informed, -nearly 40,000 in number. This class is composed of Poles, Austrians -and others who for generations have been holding the best offices at -the disposal of the Vienna government. These are of course, almost to -a man, out of their lucrative posts, and represent the element that -has most vigorously, if quietly, attempted to undermine the activities -of the government installed here by Russia. But even these see in the -collapse of their great fortress the evaporation of their chief hopes. - -As Galicia is still under martial law, all the motor cars have been -taken over by the military authorities and so, even armed with passes -and permits, we found it all but impossible to reach Przemysl. The -best horses here are in the army service, and the few skinny horses -attached to the cabs find it difficult even to stagger from the station -to the hotel, and it was out of the question to go by carriage the -94 kilometres to Przemysl. But when we told Count Brobinsky of our -difficulties, he solved them by promptly placing a huge military -touring car at our disposal; he further paved the way for a pleasant -trip to the scene of the Russian achievement by giving us a personal -letter of introduction to General Atrimanov, the new Russian commandant -of the captured fortress. - - -III - -The spring is late here as it is throughout Russia this year, and -it was snowing heavily as our big touring car, with a soldier as -chauffeur, threaded its way in the early morning through the narrow -streets of Lwow and out into the open country which was now almost -white. Before we have been twenty minutes on the road we begin to pass -occasional groups of dismal wretches in the blue uniform which before -this war was wont to typify the might of the Hapsburgs, but which now -in Galicia is the symbol of dejection and defeat. Through the falling -snow they plod in little parties of from three to a dozen; evidently -the rear guard of the column that went through yesterday, for they are -absolutely without guards, and are no doubt simply dragging on after -their regiments. - -[Illustration: Austrian and Hungarian prisoners en route to Lwow.] - -From Lwow almost due west runs the line of the highway to Grodek -where we get our first glimpse of prisoners in bulk. Here, at the -scene of some of the fiercest fighting that the war has produced, is -a rest station for the columns that are making the journey to Russian -captivity on foot from Przemysl to Lwow, and I know not how far beyond. -As we motor into the town the three battalions of the 9th Hungarian -regiment of the 54th Landsturm brigade are just straggling into the -town from the west. With a few Russians who seem to be acting as guides -and nurses rather than as guards, they file through the streets and -into a great square of a barracks. Here they are marshalled in columns -of four, and marched past the door of the barracks where an official -counts the individual fours and makes a note of the number that have -passed his station. Beyond in a grove the ranks are broken, and the -weary-looking men drop down under the trees, regardless of the snow and -mud, and shift their burdens and gnaw at the hunks of bread and other -provisions furnished them by the Russians. - -It is hard to realize that the haggard despondent rabble that we see -has ever been part of an actual army in being. Most of them were -evidently clothed for a summer campaign, and their thin and tattered -uniform overcoats must have given but scant warmth during the winter -that has passed. The line is studded with civilian overcoats, and -many of the prisoners have only a cap or a fragment of a uniform -which identifies them as ever having been soldiers at all. The women -of the village pass up and down the line giving the weary troops -bits of provision not in the Russian menu. All the men are wan and -thin, with dreary hopelessness written large upon their faces, and a -vacant stare of utter desolation in their hollow eyes. They accept -gladly what is given and make no comment. They get up and sit down as -directed by their guards, apparently with no more sense of initiative -or independence of will than the merest automatons. We pause but a few -minutes, for the roads are bad and we are anxious to get over the muddy -way as quickly as possible. - -The western portion of Grodek was badly knocked up by shell fire during -the battle in September, and the barren walls of charred buildings -remain to tell the story of the Austrian effort to stay the tide of the -Russian advance that swept them out of position after position during -the first weeks of the war. Grodek was reported to have been utterly -destroyed at the time, but as a fact, not more than one-fifth of the -buildings were even damaged by the artillery fire. - -[Illustration: Austrian prisoners resting by the roadside during their -march from Przemysl.] - -Just east of Sadowa Wisznia, the scene of another Austrian stand, we -come upon a regiment attached to the 54th Landsturm brigade. This is -the tenth regiment, and, with the exception of a few non-commissioned -officers, is composed entirely of Slovaks and Hungarians. They are -resting as we motor up, and for nearly a mile they are sitting -dejectedly by the side of the road, some with heads resting wearily -against tree trunks, while dozens of others are lying in the snow and -mud apparently asleep. As nearly as I could estimate, there is about -one Russian to a hundred prisoners. In any case one has to look about -sharply to see the guards at all. It reminds one a bit of trying to -pick a queen bee out of a swarm of workers. Usually one discovers the -guard sitting with a group of prisoners, talking genially, his rifle -leaning against the trunk of a tree near by. - -We stopped here for about half an hour while I walked about trying -to find some prisoners who could speak German, but for the most part -that language was unknown to them. At last I discovered a couple of -non-commissioned officers, who, when they heard that I was an American, -opened up and talked quite freely. Both took great pride in repeating -the statement that Przemysl could never have been taken by assault, and -that it had only surrendered because of lack of food. - -One of the men was from Vienna and extremely pro-German in his point -of view. He took it as a matter of course that the Austrians were -defeated everywhere, but seemed to feel a confidence that could not be -shaken in the German troops. He knew nothing of the situation outside -of his own garrison, and when told of Kitchener’s new British Army, -laughed sardonically. “It is a joke,” he said, “Kitchener’s army is -only on paper, and even if they had half a million as they claim to -have, they would be of no use. The English cannot fight at all.” When -told that over two million men had been recruited in the British Empire -he opened his eyes a bit, but after swallowing a few times he came -back, “Well even if they have it does not matter. They can’t fight.” - -The other man whom I questioned was mainly interested in how long the -war was going to last. He did not seem to feel any particular regret -at the fall of the fortress, nor to care very much who won, as long as -it would soon be over so that he could go home again. As for the rank -and file I think it perfectly safe to suggest that not one in a hundred -has any feeling at all except that of hopeless perpetual misery. They -have been driven into a war for which they care little, they have -been forced to endure the hardships of a winter in the trenches with -insufficient clothing, a winter terminating with a failure of food -supplies that brought them all to the verge of starvation. The fall -of the fortress means to them three meals of some sort a day, and -treatment probably kinder than they ever got from their own officers. -They are at least freed from the burden of war and relieved of the -constant menace of sudden death which has been their portion since -August. - -The road leading west from Sadowa Wisznia is in fearful condition -owing to the heavy traffic of the Russian transport, and in places the -mud was a foot deep. The country here is flat with occasional patches -of fir and spruce timber. It is questionable if there ever was much -prosperity in this belt; and since it has been swept for six months by -contending armies, one cannot feel much optimism as to what the future -has in store for the unfortunate peasants whose homes are destroyed, -and whose live stock is said to have been taken off by the Austrians as -they fell back before the Russians. - - -IV - -One’s preconceived idea of what a modern fortress looks like vanishes -rapidly as one enters Przemysl. In time of peace it is probable that -a layman might pass into this town without suspecting at all that -its power of resisting attack is nearly as great as any position in -all Europe. Now, of course, innumerable field works, trenches, and -improvised defences at once attract the attention; but other than these -there is visible from the main road but one fortress, which, approached -from the east is so extremely unpretentious in appearance that it is -doubtful if one would give it more than a passing glance if one were -not on the lookout for it. - -Przemysl itself is an extremely old town which I believe was for nearly -1,000 years a Russian city. From remote days of antiquity it has been -a fortress, and following the ancient tradition, each successive -generation has kept improving its defences until to-day it is in -reality a modern stronghold. Why the Austrians have made this city, -which in itself is of no great importance, the site of their strongest -position, is not in the least obvious to the layman observer. The town -itself, a mixture of quaint old buildings and comparatively modern -structures, lies on the east bank of the river San--which at this point -is about the size of the Bow river at Calgary, in Canada--and perhaps -3 kilometres above the point where the small stream of the Wiar comes -in from the south. The little city is hardly visible until one is -almost upon it, so well screened is it by rolling hills that lie all -about it. Probably the prevailing impression in the world has been that -the Russian great guns have been dropping shells into the heart of -the town; many people even in Lwow believe it to be in a half-ruined -condition. As a matter of fact the nearest of the first line of forts -is about 10 kilometres from the town itself, so that in the whole siege -not a shell from the Russian batteries has fallen in the town itself. -Probably none has actually fallen within 5 kilometres of the city. -There was therefore no danger of the civilian population suffering -anything from the bombardment while the outer line of forts held as -they did from the beginning. - -[Illustration: Austrian prisoners leaving Przemysl.] - -The only forts or works which we were given the opportunity of seeing, -were those visible from the road, the authorities informing us that -they had reason to believe that many of the trenches and positions -were mined, and that no one would be permitted in them until they had -been examined by the engineers of the army and pronounced safe. If the -works seen from the road are typical of the defences, and I believe -they are, one can quite well realize the impregnable nature of the -whole position. The road from Lwow comes over the crest of a hill and -stretches like a broad ribbon for perhaps 5 kilometres over an open -plain, on the western edge of which a slight rise of ground gives the -elevation necessary for the first Austrian line. To the north of the -road is a fort, with the glacis so beautifully sodded that it is hardly -noticeable as one approaches, though the back is dug out and galleried -for heavy guns. Before this is a ditch with six rows of sunken barbed -wire entanglements, and a hundred yards from this is another series of -entanglements twelve rows deep, and so criss-crossed with barbed wire -that it would take a man hours to cut his way through with no other -opposition. - -To the right of the road runs a beautifully constructed line of modern -trenches. These are covered in and sodded and buried in earth deep -enough to keep out anything less than a 6-inch field howitzer shell -unless it came at a very abrupt angle. To shrapnel or any field gun -high explosive shell, I should think it would have proved invulnerable. -The trench itself lies on a slight crest with enough elevation to -give loop holes command of the terrain before. The field of fire -visible from these trenches is at least 4 kilometres of country, -and so perfectly cleared of shelter of all sorts that it would be -difficult for a rabbit to cross it unseen. The ditch and two series -of wire entanglements extend in front of the entire position. This -line is, I believe, typical of the whole outer line of fortifications, -which is composed of a number of forts all of which are tied together -with the line of trenches. The outer line is above 40 kilometres -in circumference, from which it may be judged to what great expense -Austria has been put in fortifying this city. I was not able to get any -accurate information as to the number of guns which the Austrians have -on their various positions, but the opinion of a conservative officer -was, that, excluding machine guns, there were at least 300 and possibly -a greater number. The inventory has not yet been completed by the -Russians. These are said to range in calibre from the field piece up to -heavy guns of 30 centimetres. I was informed that there were a few 36 -and one or two of the famous 42 centimetres here when the war started, -but that the Germans had borrowed them for their operations in the -West. In any case it is hard to see how the big guns, even of the 30 -centimetres, would be of any great value to a defence firing out over a -crest of hills in the distant landscape behind which, in an irregular -line of trenches, an enemy lay. - -After a few experiments against the works, the Russians seem to have -reached the conclusion that it would not be worth while even to attempt -carrying the trenches by assault. Indeed, in the opinion of the writer -neither the Russians nor any other troops ever could have taken them -with the bayonet; the only method possible would have been the slow -and patient methods of sapping and mining which was used by the -Japanese at Port Arthur. But methods so costly, both in time and lives, -would seem to have been hardly justified here because, as the Russians -well knew, it was merely a question of time before the encircled -garrison would eat itself up, and the whole position would then fall -into their hands without the cost of a single life. - -The strategic value of Przemysl itself was in no way acutely delaying -the Russian campaigns elsewhere, and they could afford to let the -Austrian General who shut himself and a huge army up in Przemysl, play -their own game for them, which is exactly what happened. There was no -such situation here as at Port Arthur, where the menace of a fleet in -being locked up in the harbour necessitated the capture of the Far -Eastern stronghold before the Russian second fleet could appear on the -scene and join forces with it. Nor was there even any such important -factor as that which confronted the Germans at Liège. To the amateur it -seems then that the Austrians, with eyes open, isolated a force which -at the start must have numbered nearly four army corps, in a position -upon which their programme was not dependent, and under conditions -which made its eventual capture a matter of absolute certainty -providing only that the siege was not relieved from without by their -own armies from the South. - -The lesson of Przemysl may be a very instructive one in future wars. -The friends of General Sukomlinoff, the Russian Minister of War, are -claiming with some reason that what has happened here is a vindication -of the Minister’s theory, that fortresses in positions which are not -of absolute necessity to the military situation should never be built -at all, or should be abandoned at the inception of war rather than -defended unwisely and at great cost. It is claimed that if the Warsaw -forts had not been scrapped some years ago, the Russian Army to-day -would be standing a siege, or at least a partial siege, within the -city, rather than fighting on a line of battle 40 kilometres to the -west of it. Port Arthur is perhaps an excellent example of the menace -of a fortified position of great strength. So much had been done to -make that citadel impregnable that the Russians never dreamed of giving -it up. The result was that a position, which was doomed to succumb -eventually, was made the centre of all the Russian strategy. For months -the army in the North was forced to make attempt after attempt to -relieve the position, with the results that they lost probably four -times the number of the garrison in futile efforts to relieve it. A -fortress which has cost large sums of money must be defended at any -cost to justify the country that has incurred the expense. Forces -which can probably be ill spared from field operations are locked up -for the purpose of protecting expensive works which, as in the case of -Przemysl, yield them little or nothing but the ultimate collapse of -their defence, and the consequent demoralization of the field armies -which have come to attach an importance to the fortress which, from a -strategic point of view, it probably never possessed. - - -V - -The last few kilometres of the road into Przemysl was alive with -Russian transport plodding into the town, but the way was singularly -free from troops of any sort. With the exception of a few Cossack -patrols and an occasional officer or orderly ploughing through the mud, -there was nothing to indicate that a large Russian army was in the -vicinity. It is possible that it has already been moved elsewhere; in -any case we saw nothing of it. - -Between the outer line of forts and the Wiar river are a number of -improvised field works, all of which looked as though they could stand -a good bit of taking, but of course they were not as elaborate as the -first line. The railroad crosses the little Wiar on a steel bridge, -but the bridge now lies a tangle of steel girders in the river. It is -quite obvious that the Austrian commander destroyed his bridges west -of the town because they afforded direct communications with the lines -beyond; but the bridge over the Wiar has no military value whatsoever, -the others being gone, save to give convenient _all rail_ access to -the heart of Przemysl itself. The town was given up the next day and, -as the natural consequence of the Austrian commander’s conception of -his duty, all food supplies had to be removed from the railway trucks -at the bridge, loaded into wagons, and make the rest of the journey -into the town in that way, resulting in an absolutely unnecessary delay -in relieving the wants of the half-famished garrison within. The only -bright spot that this action presents to the unprejudiced observer -is that it necessitated the dainty, carefully-shod Austrian officers -walking three kilometres through the mud before they could embark on -the trains to take them to the points of detention for prisoners in -Russia. There cannot be the slightest doubt that the rank and file of -the garrison were actually on the verge of starvation, and that the -civilian population were not far from the same fate. As near as one can -learn the latter consisted of about 40,000 persons. I am told that -the prisoners numbered 131,000 men and some 3,600 officers, and that -perhaps 20,000 have died during the siege from wounds and disease. -This, then, makes a population at the beginning of nearly 200,000 in -a fortification which, as experts say, could have easily been held by -50,000 troops. One officer even went so far as to declare that in view -of the wonderful defensive capacity of the position 30,000 might have -made a desperate stand. The fortress was thus easily three times over -garrisoned. In other words there were perhaps at the start 150,000 -mouths to feed in the army alone, when 50,000 men would have been -able to hold the position. This alone made the approach of starvation -sure and swift. The fact that in this number of men there were 3,600 -officers, nine of the rank of General, indicates pretty clearly -the extent to which the garrison was over officered. Kusmanek, the -commander of the fortress, is said to have had seventy-five officers on -his personal staff alone. - -As far as one can learn there was no particular pinch in the town until -everything was nearly gone, and then conditions became suddenly acute. -It is improbable that economy was enforced in the early dispensing of -food supplies, and the husbanding of such resources as were at hand. -When the crisis came, it fell first upon the unfortunate soldiers, with -whom their officers seem to have little in common. Transport horses -were killed first, and then the cavalry mounts went to the slaughter -house to provide for the garrison. The civilians next felt the pinch -of hunger, and every live thing that could nourish the human body was -eaten. Cats I am told were selling at ten kr. each and fair-sized -dogs at twenty-five kr. The extraordinary part of the story is that -according to evidence collected from many sources the officers never -even changed their standards of living. While the troops were literally -starving in the trenches, the dilettantes from Vienna, who were in -command, were taking life easily in the Café Sieber and the Café Elite. -Three meals a day, fresh meat, wines, cigarettes and fine cigars were -served to them up to the last. - -One of the haggard starved-looking servants in the hotel where I was -quartered told me that several of the staff officers lived at the -hotel. “They,” he said, “had everything as usual. Fresh meat and all -the luxuries were at their disposal until the last. Yet their soldier -servant used to come to me, and one day when I gave him half of a bit -of bread I was eating, his hands trembled as he reached to take it from -me.” My informant paused and then concluded sardonically, “No, the -officers did not suffer. Not they. It was cafés, billiards, dinners and -an easy life for them to the end. But the rest of us. Ah, yes, we have -suffered. Had the siege lasted another week we should all have been -black in the face for want of food.” - -An Austrian sister who had been working in the hospital confirmed -the story. “Is it true that people were starving here?” I asked her. -“Indeed it is true,” she told me, “the soldiers had almost nothing and -the civilians were little better off. As for us in the hospitals--well, -we really suffered for want of food.” “But how about the officers?” I -asked. She looked at me sharply out of the corner of her eyes, for she -evidently did not care to criticize her own people, but she seemed to -recall something and her face suddenly hardened as she snapped out: -“The officers starve? Well, hardly. They lived like dukes always.” More -she would not say, but the evidence of these two was amply confirmed -by the sight of the sleek well-groomed specimens of the “dukes” that -promenade the streets. While the soldiers were in a desperate plight -for meat, the officers seemed to have retained their own thoroughbred -riding horses until the last day. I suppose that riding was a necessity -to them to keep in good health. The day before the surrender they gave -these up, and 2,000 beautiful horses were killed, not for meat for the -starving soldiers be it noted, but that they might not fall into the -hands of the Russians. Perhaps I can best illustrate what happened -by quoting the words of a Russian officer who was among the first -to enter the town. “Everywhere,” he told me, “one saw the bodies of -freshly-killed saddle horses, some of them animals that must have been -worth many thousand roubles. Around the bodies were groups of Hungarian -soldiers tearing at them with knives; with hands and faces dripping -with blood, they were gorging themselves on the raw meat. I have never -seen in all my experience of war a more horrible and pitiable spectacle -than these soldiers, half crazed with hunger, tearing the carcasses -like famished wolves.” My friend paused and a shadow crossed his -kindly face. “Yes,” he said, “it was horrible. Even my Cossack orderly -wept--and he--well, he has seen much of war and is not over delicate.” - -I can quote the statement of the Countess Elizabeth Schouvalov, of whom -more anon, as further corroborative evidence of conditions existing -in the town. The Countess, who is in charge of a distribution station -to relieve the wants of the civil population, said to me: “It is true -that the people were starving. Common soldiers occasionally fell down -in the street from sheer weakness for want of food. Some lay like the -dead and would not move. But their officers!” A frown passed over her -handsome features. “Ah!” she said, “they are not like the Russians. Our -officers share the hardships of the men. You have seen it yourself,” -with a glance at me, “you know that one finds them in the trenches, -everywhere in uniforms as dirty as their soldiers, and living on almost -the same rations. A Russian would never live in ease while his men -starved. I am proud of my people. But these officers here--they care -nothing for their men. You have seen them in the streets. Do they look -as though they had suffered?” and she laughed bitterly. - -I had not been above a few hours in Przemysl before it was quite -clear to me, at least, that Przemysl surrendered for lack of food, -and that while the officers were living luxuriously, their men were -literally starving. That they let them starve while they kept their -own pet saddle horses seems pretty well established from the evidence -obtainable. One wonders what public opinion would say of officers in -England, France or America who in a crisis proved capable of such -conduct? - -In my comments on the Austrian officers I must of course limit my -observations to the types one sees, and hears about, in Przemysl. -Out of 3,600 officers there must have been men of whom Austria can be -proud, men who did share their men’s privations, and these, of course, -are excepted from the general observations. - -[Illustration: Russian Governor of Przemysl.] - - -VI - -Immediately on reaching the town we sought out the head-quarters of -the new Russian Commandant of the fortress. Over the door of the -building, in large gold letters, were words indicating that the -place had formerly been the head-quarters of the 10th Austrian Army -Corps. At the entrance two stolid Russian sentries eyed gloomily the -constant line of dapper Austrian officers that passed in and out, and -who were, as we subsequently learned, assisting the Russians in their -task of taking over the city. General Artimonov, the new governor, -received us at once in the room that had been vacated only a few days -before by his Austrian predecessor General Kusmanek. On the wall -hung a great picture of the Austrian Emperor. The General placed an -officer, Captain Stubatitch, at our disposal, and with him our way was -made comparatively easy. From him and other officers whom we met, we -gathered that the Russians were utterly taken by surprise at the sudden -fall of the fortress, and dumbfounded at the strength of the garrison, -which none believed would exceed the numbers of the Russians investing -them; the general idea being that there were not over 50,000 soldiers -at the disposal of the Austrian commander. - -Three days before the fall a sortie was made by some 30,000 Hungarian -troops. Why out of 130,000 men only 30,000 were allotted to this task -in such a crisis does not appear. Neither has any one been able to -explain why, when they did start on their ill-fated excursion, they -made the attempt in the direction of Lwow rather than to the south, -in which direction, not so very far away, the armies of Austria were -struggling to reach them. Another remarkable feature of the last -sorties was, that the troops went to the attack in their heavy marching -kit. Probably not even the Austrians themselves felt any surprise that -such a half-hearted and badly organized undertaking failed with a loss -of 3,500 in casualties and as many more taken prisoners. One does not -know how these matters are regarded in Austria, but to the laymen it -would seem that some one should have a lot of explaining to do as to -the last days of this siege. Officers who have been over the ground -state that in view of the vast numbers of the garrison, and the fact -that they were well supplied with ammunition, there would have been -great chance of an important portion of the beleaguered breaking -through and getting clean away to the south; but no attempt of this -nature seems to have been made. - -[Illustration: Russian occupation of Przemysl. Head-quarters of Staff.] - -The night before the surrender, the Austrians began destroying their -military assets, and for two hours the town was shaken with the heavy -explosions of bridges and war material of all sorts. Every window -facing the San river was broken by the overcharge of the explosives -that destroyed the bridges. Simultaneously the work of destroying the -artillery was going on in all the forts with such efficiency, that it -is doubtful if the Russians will get a single piece that can be used -again. The soldiers even destroyed the butts of their muskets, and the -authorities, who were evidently keen on this part of the work, arranged -for tons of munitions to be dumped into the river. Others were assigned -to kill the saddle-horses. - -By daylight the task seems to have been completed and negotiations for -surrender were opened by the Austrians. Our guide, Captain Stubatitch, -was the first Russian to enter the town as a negotiator, and through -him the meeting of ranking officers was arranged--a meeting that -resulted in the unconditional surrender of the fortress. The original -terms agreed on between Kusmanek and General Silivanov, the commander -of the Russian forces, did not permit the Austrian officers to carry -their side arms; but a telegram from the Grand Duke spared them the -humiliation of giving up their swords, a delicate courtesy, which it -seems to the writer was quite wasted on the supercilious Austrian -officers. In the first place there has been no formal entrance of -Russian troops, Silivanov himself not yet having inspected his -prize. The first Russians to enter came in six military touring cars -absolutely without any escort, and went quietly and unostentatiously to -the head-quarters of the Austrian commander where the affairs of the -town were transferred with as little friction as the changing of the -administration of one defeated political party into the hands of its -successor. Following the officials, small driblets of troops came in -to take over sentry and other military duties, and then came the long -lines of Russian transport bringing in supplies for the half-famished -garrison. All told, probably there have not been above a few thousand -Russian soldiers in Przemysl since its capitulation, and these were -greeted warmly by both prisoners and civilians. There has been no -friction whatever and everybody seems well satisfied with the end of -the siege. The greatest task at first was the relief of the population, -both soldiers and civilians. Countess Schouvalov, whom I have -mentioned before, came the second day and immediately began feeding the -population from the depôt where she organized a kitchen and service of -distribution which alone takes care of 3,000 people a day. The Army -authorities arranged for the care of the soldiers and much of the civil -population as well, and in three days the situation was well in hand -and practically all the suffering eliminated. - -[Illustration: Feeding Austrian prisoners en route to Lwow.] - -I have talked with many people in Przemysl, and civilians and prisoners -alike speak of the great kindness of the Russians from the ranking -officers down to the privates, all of whom have shown every desire -to ameliorate the distress. The difficulty of feeding so vast a -throng necessitated the immediate evacuation of the prisoners, and an -evacuation office was at once organized. Batches of prisoners started -toward Lwow at the rate of about ten thousand a day, which is about all -the stations along the route can handle conveniently with supplies. -The officers are sent out in small blocks by rail once a day, and are, -I believe for the most part taken directly to Kiev, where they will -remain until the end of the war. - -General Kusmanek himself departed the first day in a motor car to the -head-quarters of Silivanov and thence with the bulk of his staff to -Kiev. Those who have seen him describe him as a youngish man looking -not over forty, but in reality fifty-four. A man who saw him the day of -the surrender told me that he had accepted the situation very casually, -and had seemed neither depressed nor mortified at the turn events had -taken. The ranking officer left in Przemysl is General Hubert, formerly -Chief of Staff, who is staying on to facilitate the transfer of -administrations; the head-quarters is filled with a mixture of officers -and orderlies of both armies working together in apparent harmony. - -The fall of Przemysl strikes one as being the rarest thing possible in -war--namely a defeat, which seems to please all parties interested. -The Russians rejoice in a fortress captured, the Austrians at a chance -to eat and rest, and the civilians, long since sick of the quarrel, at -their city once more being restored to the normal. - -[Illustration: General Hubert, Chief of Austrian Staff in Przemysl.] - - - - -WARSAW IN APRIL, 1915 - - - - -CHAPTER II - -WARSAW IN APRIL, 1915 - - - Dated: - - WARSAW, POLAND, - - _May 1, 1915_. - -With the sunshine and balmy weather of the beautiful Polish spring, -there has come to Warsaw an optimism and hopefulness that is deeper -rooted and certainly more widely spread than the feeling of relief that -swept through the city in October last when the Germans, after their -futile effort to take it, began their retreat to their own frontier. On -that occasion the population had barely time to get its breath, and to -begin to express some optimism as to the war, when the news came that -the Germans were advancing for a second time on the Polish capital. - -Warsaw, as I have seen it in nearly a dozen visits here since the -war began, is a little panicky in disposition, perhaps with reason; -and there have been such a continuous ebb and flow of rumours good -and bad, that for months no one knew what to expect. All through -December and January one heard every few days that the Germans would -take the town almost any time, only to be told the next day that all -chances of Teuton success were forever gone. Tales of German raids, -aeroplanes, Zeppelins on the way to destroy the city were circulated -so persistently, that perhaps it was not strange that genuine optimism -found the soil of local public opinion a difficult one in which to -take root. The end of the first week of February left the public here -greatly encouraged, for had not the stupendous German attack failed on -the Bzura-Rawka line? - -But following close on its heels came the news of the movement in -East Prussia and Russian retirements, and once more confidence -fled. Later still the enemy’s advance on Przasnys and the threat to -the Petrograd-Warsaw line made conditions even worse. This was the -low-water mark. When the terrific attacks began to weaken and at last -the columns of the Kaiser began to give place, conviction that the -worst was over for Warsaw began to be felt generally, until to-day, May -1, I find a buoyancy and hopefulness here that I have not seen in any -part of Russia since the war started. - -The reasoning of the people here is something like this. In the attacks -of January and February the Germans were putting into the field the -best men and the most of them that they could lay their hands on, and -still not weakening their position in the West. The onslaught on the -Bzura-Rawka line is believed to have been one of the fiercest efforts -that the Germans up to that date had made on any Front. Six corps and, -as it is said, 600 guns were concentrated on a short front and almost -without interruption they attacked for six days. The net result was -nothing save a few unimportant dents in the Russian line, and the -German loss is placed at 100,000 men. The Russians certainly did not -lose half that number, and some well-informed people who have been on -this Front for months think it may have been little more than a third. - -The East Prussian attack and its corollary movement against Przasnys -raged with the same fury. For nearly a month Poland was taking an -account of stock. Now it has become the opinion of practically every -one, even down to the common soldiers, that the whole German movement -has proved an utter failure and at a cost to the enemy of not under -200,000, a figure from two to three times as great as was the decrease -of the Russian forces. Even the East Prussian retirement which was so -heralded abroad by the Germans has been gradually shrinking, until -now it is said that the total loss to the Russians was only 25,000 -to 30,000 against the 100,000 which the Germans claimed. “How is it -possible,” people say here, “for the Germans to accomplish something in -May that they could not do in February?” Certainly they can never be -materially stronger than they were when the first attack on the Bzura -line was launched in the end of January, and the chances are that they -are greatly weaker. - -The Russians, on the other hand, are stronger now by a very great deal -than they were on February 1st, and are getting stronger and stronger -with every day that the war lasts. It is probably safe to say that -there are 25 per cent. more troops on this Front to-day than there -were when the Russians threw back the Germans two months ago, and the -feeling that Warsaw will never be taken has become a conviction among -the Poles. The rumour-mongers, and there are hundreds here who wish -evil to the Russians, find it more and more difficult to start scares; -and even reports of Zeppelins and air raids create little comment. So -common have bombs become that the appearance of aircraft above the city -creates no curiosity and very little interest. I have been especially -impressed with the determination with which the Poles are planning to -combat the German influence in the future. Though Poland has suffered -hideously through this war, there is small cry here for peace at -any price, and the opinion voiced a few days ago by one of the leading -papers seems to be that of all the practical and most influential men -of the community. This view was that the war must be fought out to -a decisive issue, and though Poland must suffer longer thereby, yet -anything short of complete success would be intolerable. While the -Poles are still thinking a great deal about their political future, -they are perhaps more keenly alive as to their industrial and economic -future. As one well-informed individual expressed it, “With economic -and industrial prosperity we may later get all we want politically. But -without them mere political gains will profit us little.” - -[Illustration: A Russian officer inspecting eight-inch gun.] - -What the Poles want most perhaps in the final peace is a boundary -line that will give Russia the mouth of the Vistula at Danzig. With -an absolute freedom of trade with England, America and the outside -world, Poland will have a prosperity which will go a very long way -toward helping them to recuperate from the terrible blow that their -nation has received in the war. That this is serious no one can doubt. -Conditions within that portion of Poland occupied by the enemy are -said to be deplorable beyond measure. It is difficult to know here -exactly what the truth is, but it is probable that the suffering of -the unfortunate peasants, who are for the most part stripped of their -stock and in many instances without homes, is very severe. With the war -lasting all summer and no chance for a crop, their plight by autumn -will be serious. What is being done about putting in a crop for the -coming year is uncertain, but it is said that there is practically no -seed for sowing, and that the harvest this year (where there is no -fighting) will be very small. In the actual zone of operations there -will probably be none at all. - -Reports are coming from a dozen different quarters of the condition of -the Germans. A story from a source which in many months I have found -always trustworthy indicates that the soldiers are surrendering to the -Russians in small batches whenever a favourable opportunity offers. - -The reported complaint is that their rations are increasingly short -and that there is growing discouragement. There are dozens of similar -stories circulated every day. One does not perhaps accept them at par, -but the great significance is that they are circulating here now for -practically the first time. When I was last in Warsaw I questioned many -prisoners but never found one who would criticize his own fare. This -condition seems to have changed materially in the past ten weeks. No -one however must dream of underestimating the stamina of the enemy on -this Front; for however one’s sympathy may go, they are a brave and -stubborn foe, and months may elapse, even after they begin to weaken -in _moral_, before the task of beating them will be an easy one. Their -lines on this Front are reported to be extremely strong, and I am told -by an observer that they are employing a new type of barbed wire which -is extremely difficult to cut, and presents increased difficulty in -breaking through. - -The condition of the Russians is infinitely better than at any time -since the war started. Their 1915 levies, which are just coming into -the field now in great blocks, are about the finest raw fighting -material that one can find in Europe. Great, strapping, healthy, -good-natured lads who look as though they never had a day’s sickness -in their life. I think I do not exaggerate when I say that I have seen -nearly 100,000 of these new levies and I have yet to see a battalion -that did not exhale high spirits and enthusiasm. They come swinging -through Warsaw, laughing and singing with a confidence and optimism -which it is hard to believe possible when one considers that we are -in the 9th month of the war. Surely if the Germans, who are straining -every effort now to raise new troops, could see these men that Russia -is pouring into the field they would have a genuine qualm as to the -future. And these are but a drop in the bucket to what is available in -great Russia that lies behind. Over here there will never be any lack -of men, and the Czar can keep putting troops just like this into the -field for as many more years as the war may last. After nearly a year -on this Front of the war, one just begins to appreciate the enormous -human resources which Russia has at her command in this great conflict. - -During the winter there was a pretty widespread apprehension of -conditions which might result among the soldiers when the spring and -warm weather came. As far as one can learn, the authorities have -made a great effort to improve sanitary conditions at the Front, and -there is very little sickness in the army at present. Those who are -in a position to know, seem to feel confident that such steps as are -necessary to maintain the health of the men at a high standard during -the summer have been taken. It is certain that there has been a pretty -general clean up, and that there is less disease now, even with the -warmer weather, than there was in February. - -In the meantime, the Spring has come and the roads are rapidly drying -up. The occasional rumours of the Germans reaching Warsaw are becoming -more and more rare, and the gossip of the town now is as to what -date will be selected for the Russian advance. - -[Illustration: Russian bath train.] - -The life of the city is absolutely normal, and I am told that the -shopkeepers are doing a bigger business than ever before. The -restaurants are preparing for their out-of-door cafés, and the streets -are bright with the uniforms of the Russian soldiery. A German officer -who came through here the other day (as a prisoner) could not believe -his eyes. “Why,” he is reported to have said to his Russian captor, “we -supposed Warsaw was abandoned by everyone who could get away. But the -town seems as usual.” And the officer was right. The casual observer -finds it hard to realize that there is a line of battle only 30 miles -away. - - - - -AN AMERICAN DOCTOR IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY - - - - -CHAPTER III - -AN AMERICAN DOCTOR IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY - - - Dated: - - WARSAW, POLAND, - - _May 3, 1915_. - -It is a far cry from the city of Seattle in the State of Washington, -U.S.A., to the little village of Sejny in the Polish government of -Suwalki, but this is the jump that one must make to follow the career -of Dr. Eugene Hurd, the only American surgeon attached to the Russian -Red Cross working in the field in this war. Inasmuch as the story of -the Doctor is a good one in itself, and as from him one learns not a -little about the Field Hospital service of the Russians, it seems quite -worth while to devote a chapter to this very interesting and useful -individual. - -Up to August last Dr. Hurd was a practising surgeon in Seattle, a -member of the State Legislature and spoken of as coming Mayor of the -town. When he strolled casually into my room at Warsaw in the uniform -of a Russian Colonel, who spoke not a word of any language except -English, I was naturally somewhat surprised. “How on earth,” I asked -him, “do you happen to be in the Russian Army?” Unbuckling his sword -and sprawling his six feet three of brawn and sinew in an armchair he -began his story. - -“Well, it was this way. I’ve never had much time to follow politics in -Europe, as my time’s been pretty much occupied cutting off legs and -arms and such, out on the Pacific Coast. But my people have always -been regular Americans, and some of us have been in every war the -U.S.A. ever pulled off. My great-grandfather fought in the revolution; -my grandfather in the Mexican war, and my father in the Civil and -Spanish-American wars. Well, I was raised in an army post, and ever -since I was a kid I’ve heard my father talk about how Russia stuck -with us during the Civil war. When things looked blue and bad for the -North she sent her old fleet over, and let it set right there in New -York Harbour until required, if needed. During the war in Manchuria we -were all for Russia on just this account, and when she got licked Dad -and I both felt bad. All right. Well one day out in Seattle I read in -the paper that Germany had declared war on Russia. I remembered that -business, back in the ‘60’s,’ and what the Russians did for us, and I -just said to myself, ‘Well, I’m for Russia anyhow,’ and I sat down that -very day and wrote to the head of the medical department at Petrograd, -and just told them straight that we had always been for Russia ever -since that business of her fleet, and that if I could serve her in this -war I’d come over even if I had to throw up my own practice, which by -the way is a pretty good one. - -“Well, a couple of months went by and I had forgotten all about it -when one day the Russian Consul blew into my office with a cable from -Petrograd, a bunch of money in one hand and a ticket over the Siberian -in the other. So I just locked up my office and came right over. In -Petrograd they ran me around in an auto. for two days, and then shipped -me down to Grodno, where I got a Colonel’s uniform and went right out -to the ‘Front’ in charge of a Field Hospital, where I’ve been now for -three solid months, and you’re the first American I’ve seen and you -certainly look good to me,” and the Doctor smiled genially. - -I have got more information about the Russian wounded from Hurd than -any man I have met since I came to Russia, and though he does not speak -the language he sees everything. He was at once placed in charge of an -outfit of sixty-one men and five wagons which formed a Field Hospital. -“I have my bunch well organized,” the doctor said. “You see I handled -it this way. I divided all my outfit, medicine chest, instruments, -etc., so that they went into the five wagons. Each wagon was painted a -certain colour and every box that went into that wagon had a band of -the same colour around it and a number. I had a man for each box and -each knew exactly what to do. I can halt on the march and my men are so -well trained now that I can commence operating in ten minutes after we -make a stop. I can quit work and be packed up and on the march again in -twenty. I like these fellows over here fine, and when I once get them -properly broken in, they work splendidly.” [The Field Hospital to which -he was attached was up in the rear of the Russian lines all during the -recent fighting in East Prussia.] “I never worked so hard in my life,” -he continued. “One day I had 375 men come to my table between sunset -and morning and I was working steadily until the next night, making -twenty-three hours without intermission. It was a tough job because -every little while we had to pull up stakes and move off to the rear -with our wounded. That made it hard for us and difficult to do real -good work.” - -[Illustration: The Emperor with his Staff.] - -[Illustration: Russian nurses attend to the feeding of the soldiers.] - -The work and experience with the Russian wounded have given this -American doctor a remarkable insight into the character of the -peasant soldier. “These moujik chaps,” he assured me, “never make a -complaint. I never saw anything like it. Sometimes they groan a little -when you’re digging for a bullet, but once off the table and in the -straw (we are without beds as we move too fast for that) a whole -barnful will be as quiet as though the place was empty; one German, -on the other hand, will holler his head off and keep the whole place -awake. The Russians never complain, and everything you do for them they -appreciate remarkably. I do a lot of doctoring for the villagers, and -every day there’s a line a block long waiting to get some ‘American’ -dope, and they’re so grateful it makes you feel ashamed. Everybody -wants to kiss your hands. I tried putting my hands behind me, but those -that were behind were just as bad as those in front. Now I’ve given up -and just let them kiss.” - -The vitality of the Russian soldier is amazing according to the -evidence of this observer. With the exception of wounds in the heart, -spine or big arteries there is nothing that must certainly prove fatal. -Many head wounds that seem incredibly dangerous recover. “I had one -case,” he told me, “which I never would have believed. The soldier -walked into my hospital with a bullet through his head. It had come -out just above his left ear and I had to dissect away part of the brain -that was lying on the ear, Well, that fellow talked all through the -dressing and walked out of the hospital. I sent him to the rear and I -have no doubt that he recovered absolutely.” - -In the hundreds of cases operated on not a single death occurred on -the operating table and not one lung wound proved fatal. Many of the -abdominal wounds of the worst type make ultimate recoveries, and it -was the opinion of the surgeon that not above five to ten per cent. of -the patients who reached the first dressing stations died later from -the effects of their wounds. That the war was very popular among the -common soldiers was the conclusion that my friend had reached. “The -old men with families don’t care much for it,” he added, “but that is -because they are always worrying about their families at home, but the -young fellows are keen for it, anxious to get to the ‘Front’ when they -first come out, and eager to get back to it even after they have been -wounded. Some of them as a matter of fact go back several times after -being in the hospital.” - -In discussing the comparative merits of the Germans and Russians, it -was his opinion that though the Germans were better rifle shots, they -could not compare with the Russians when it came to the bayonet. “When -these moujiks,” said the doctor, “climb out of their trenches and begin -to sing their national songs, they just go crazy and they aren’t scared -of anything; and believe me, when the Germans see them coming across -the fields bellowing these songs of theirs, they just don’t wait one -minute, but dig right out across the landscape as fast as they can -tear. I don’t think there’s a soldier in the world that has anything -on the Russian private for bravery. They are a stubborn lot too, and -will sit in trenches in all weathers and be just as cheerful under one -condition as another. One big advantage over here, as I regard it, is -the good relations between the soldiers and the officers.” - -One extremely significant statement as to the German losses in the East -Prussian movement was made by this American surgeon. The church and -convent where his hospital is located were previously used for the same -purposes by the Germans. According to the statement of the priest who -was there during their occupation, 10,500 German wounded were handled -in that one village in a period of six weeks and one day. From this -number of wounded in one village may be estimated what the loss to the -enemy must have been during the entire campaign on the East Prussian -Front. - - - - -GENERAL RUSSKY’S SUCCESSOR - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -GENERAL RUSSKY’S SUCCESSOR - - - Dated: - - WARSAW, RUSSIA, - - _May 10, 1915_. - -The two most simple personalities that I have met in this war are the -Grand Duke Nicholas, and the Commander who has come to the Northern -Armies to take up the post made vacant by the retirement of General -Russky. Certain business relating to desired freedom of movement in -the zone of operations took the writer to the head-quarters of General -Alexieff, which is situated in a place not very far away. Without -giving away any figures it is perhaps safe to say that the command of -General Alexieff is twice the size of that now under Field-Marshal Sir -John French on the continent. The territory occupied by the armies -commanded by him covers an enormous area, and probably up to this war -there has been no single individual in the history of the world with -such a vast military organization as that over which General Alexieff -presides as supreme dictator, subject only to the Grand Duke himself. -The whole aspect of the headquarters of which he is the presiding -genius is, in atmosphere, the last word in the modern idea of a -commanding general’s place of abode. The town in which he is living is -perhaps a model one from the point of view of the gentlemen who write -the textbooks and sketch the details of the programme and course which -should be adopted by military chiefs. The theory in the Japanese Army -was that the brains of the army should be so far away from the actual -scene of operations, that the officer would be absolutely detached from -the atmosphere of war; and that between himself and the Front there -should be installed so many nervous shock absorbers that the office -of the great chief himself should be the realm of pure reason with no -noise nor excitement nor hurrying aides to impair his judgment. - -I recall a conversation I once had with Major (now Lt.-General) Tanaka, -Oyama’s personal A.D.C. “I should have liked to have been with the -General Staff,” I remarked to him, “during the Battle of Moukden. -It must have been an exciting time with you.” My friend laughed and -answered, “You would have had a great surprise, I imagine. There was no -excitement at all. How do you suppose Oyama and his staff spent much -of their time during the battle?” One naturally imagined that it was -spent scrutinizing maps and making plans, and I said this to Tanaka. -“Not at all,” he replied, “when the battle began, our work was largely -finished. It was but necessary to make an occasional change in the line -here and there, and this too, for only a few minutes of the time of the -Field-Marshal. Most of the time he and Kodame (Chief of General Staff) -were playing croquet.” - -Much the same atmosphere of detachment from the activities of the -campaign may be seen to-day in the little Polish city where Alexieff -has his head-quarters, except that no one here has time for croquet. -It is a safe venture that outside of his own staff there are not fifty -soldiers in the whole town. It is in fact less military in appearance -than any city I have ever seen since I have have been in Russia. In -front of his office are a couple of soldiers, and a small Russian -flag hangs over the door. Nothing outside would lead one to believe -that within is the man in the palm of whose hand lies the fate and -movements of hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of men, and at whose -word a thousand guns will spread death and destruction. In trenches -miles away, stretching through forest and along hilltops, numberless -regiments and brigades await the curt order from this building to -launch themselves against the German lines. - -The man himself is as quiet and unobtrusive as are his surroundings. -Perhaps fifty-eight or fifty-nine in years with a very intellectual -face and an almost shy manner, is Alexieff, the man whom current -gossip credits with the keenest brain in the Russian field armies. As -Ivanov’s Chief of Staff, he is said to have been a great factor in the -planning and the execution of much of the Galician campaign, and those -who know him well, believe that under his direction great things will -be accomplished in Poland. The General is very quiet and retiring, and -from a very brief observation one would say that he was primarily a -man of strategy, more at home solving the intellectual problems of a -campaign than in working out tactical puzzles in the field. - -The staff of the quiet unostentatious Russian who is commanding this -enormous front consists of about seventy-five members (about the same -number as Kusmanek of Przemysl fame had on his personal staff for the -defence of the city), and taken as a whole, they are most serious and -hard-working men, if their looks do not belie them. “You would be -surprised,” an A.D.C. informed me, “to know the enormous amount of work -that we all get through here. There is a lull on this front now, and -it is comparatively an easy time, but in spite of that fact we are all -of us busy from morning until night. When there is a movement under way -we do not get any rest even at nights.” One comes from Warsaw where -rumours are flying thick and fast as to German advances and Russian -mishaps, to find everything serene and calm and the general opinion of -the staff one of great optimism. For the moment the Russians are in the -trough of the sea, as it were, and all of the late news from Galicia is -not particularly favourable; but if the attitude of the staff is any -criterion, the situation is not felt to be of a critical nature, and -for the first time in months one hears officers expressing the opinion -that the war will end this year. - -There is a tendency to welcome the German impetuosity of attack, for -each fresh irruption means a weakening of the enemy. The Russian -theory is that Russia can stand the losses, large as they are, almost -indefinitely, and that she is willing to take the burden of breaking -the German wave again and again if need be, knowing that each assault -of the enemy is bringing them nearer and nearer to the end of their -tether. Since the latest irruption into Galicia we hear less talk of -a Russian advance in the near future, but certainly not a sign of -discouragement in any of the high quarters. One may well believe that -this last outburst was not anticipated, but the Russians over on this -side are as ready to “play” the fish now as they were when the war -first started. It was hoped after the January-February attacks, that -the enemy was exhausted and the time was in sight when the gaff might -be of use. Now the fish has taken another spurt, and the Russians are -letting out the line again and are prepared to let it have another -fling in their waters. But they believe none the less that the enemy is -firmly hooked, and that it is merely a question of time when from sheer -exhaustion he will tire and they may begin to drive home their own -attacks. - -The Russian attitude is very philosophical, and though a people who -are temperamentally not without a vein of melancholy, they take this -war with much more equanimity than one could have imagined possible. -Retreats and shifting of lines no longer create panics over here. -People are sorry. They had hoped that the Germans were nearer the -point of exhaustion, but there is not the slightest indication of -discouragement. Probably their attitude is due primarily to the fact -that they had never anticipated an easy victory nor a short war. They -knew from the start that they were in for a terrific ordeal, and what -goes on day after day, with its ebbs and its floods, is merely a -matter of the day’s work with them. They have seen again and again the -irruptions of the Germans gradually absorbed by their troops, and each -set back now is accepted as only temporary. The movement of the Germans -in Courland has hardly made any impression at all in Russia generally, -if the reports one hears are true. - -[Illustration: Russian soldiers performing their native dance.] - -The Russians had practically no troops in that province, which itself -offered no great strategic advantage to the Germans. Taking advantage -of this weak spot, the Germans with a number of corps--it is placed as -high as three--poured into the almost unprotected country. - -The Russians say that the German motive is first that they would -be able to announce to their people that they had occupied enemy -territory, and second that the rich province would give them certain -much needed supplies. For a day or two the progress seems to have been -almost without interruption, but now we hear that it has been checked -and that the enemy are gradually giving way before the Russians, who -have shifted troops to that front to prevent further advances. The -occupation of Libau does not seem to worry any one very much. “What -good will it do them?” one Russian officer said to me? “No doubt they -will fortify it and make it as strong as possible. Probably we will -never try to get it back while the war lasts. Why should we? It is of -no great value strategically, and it is not worth the price of lives -and troops detached from other points to retake it. When we have won, -it will naturally come back to us without our having to spend a single -extra life in getting it.” - -The situation in Galicia is still something of a puzzle, but those in -authority do not seem to be taking it over seriously. There is reason -to believe that it is a repetition of what has occurred again and again -on this and other fronts. The Germans, by means of their superior -rail facilities made a sudden concentration and hit the Russian line -with such energy as to force its retirement. Each mile of the Russian -retreat has strengthened their army by the additions of reserves, -while it has probably seen an increasing weakening of the enemies’. -The sudden advance of the enemy has forced the withdrawal of the -Russians pushing through the Dukla, who were obviously menaced in their -communications. I am told now that the German attacks have already -passed their zenith, and that the Russians reinforced by new troops -are confident of checking any further advance. Over here it is but a -question of breaking the first fury of the attack. When that is done we -can count on the Russian muoujik slowly but surely to force his way -back over the lost ground. The end of the incident sees the Russians -stronger and the Germans weaker. It is futile for any one to attempt to -estimate how many more of these irruptions the Germans are capable of, -but we are certain that be it this summer or next there is a limit to -them. When that limit has been reached the Russian advance will begin. - - - - -CHECKING UP THE SITUATION IN POLAND - - - - -CHAPTER V - -CHECKING UP THE SITUATION IN POLAND - - - Dated: - - WARSAW, - - _May 24, 1915_. - -A few weeks ago the writer expressed the opinion that a permanent -optimism had come to Warsaw. For several weeks this impression seemed -to have every justification in fact, but since the commencement of -the Galician movement in the south the confidence felt by the saner -members of the community has been utterly submerged by the pessimism -which in waves has swept over the town. One finds it impossible to -know definitely from what exact quarters all the false stories start, -and if one tries to run them down the _trail_ speedily vanishes. The -explanation is that the Jews in Poland are so unfriendly to Russian -interests and Russian successes, that the slightest set-back, or rumour -of bad news, is seized on by them, and in a few hours is spread all -over the town, exaggerated grossly with every telling. It is really -extraordinary, after ten months of war, how persistent these hostile -factions are in their hope of German success. There are, besides the -Jews, probably many Austrian agents, who use the slightest pretext to -start stories in the hope of creating a panic. - -Within the last two weeks every imaginable tale has been current. Last -week there was so much vagueness in regard to the news coming up from -the south of Poland, that it seemed wise to make a quick tour in the -rear of the Russian positions in order to get some opinion of the real -situation. The collection of war news falls very definitely into two -classes, descriptive writing and material which is merely indicative -of the situation as a whole. The former is of course more interesting -to the average reader, but the latter is far more important from every -other angle. After ten months of war, the vital question now is whether -the Germans are advancing or retiring, and not so much how the battles -themselves are conducted, or what sort of a picture is presented in -the different actions. So my trip of yesterday, though not in the -least picturesque in its happenings, was extremely interesting in that -it offered an emphatic contradiction to practically every adverse -rumour that had gained currency in Warsaw for the week previously. - -[Illustration: The Polish Legion. Note the small boy in the ranks as -mascot.] - -We left Warsaw at six in the morning in our racing car, and as soon as -we were clear of the town and headed in the direction of Radom, on the -fine macadam highway, we were able to develop a speed that no express -train in Russia has made since the declaration of war. This highway -has been the artery of travel and communication over which ammunition, -transport and guns have moved almost without interruption for ten -months. That the Russians have kept it in good condition, is apparent -from the fact that we were able to make above 65 versts an hour on many -stretches of the way. I passed over the same road many times during the -first months of the war, and its condition now is infinitely better -than it was in those days. - -On every hand are evidences of increased Russian efficiency. The war -now has become strictly a matter of organization, and everything goes -on now without excitement and without confusion of any sort. Road -gangs have been organized, and these highways are maintained with as -much care as the permanent way of a railway line. One sign of the -times is the new departure of the Russian authorities, in building at -intervals of about every 5 versts a boiled water station, which is -distinguished by a special flag. Here in a shed closed on three sides -is a great boiler with numerous taps on it. When troops are passing in -any quantities the water is kept hot that the soldiers may always get -boiling water for their tea. When there is small movement on the road, -they can always get it cold for drinking purposes. - -As it was Sunday we found the road practically free of transport. -Barring occasional soldiers sauntering along the highway there was no -sign of war until we were within a few miles of Radom, when, perhaps -20 versts to the west, columns of smoke, drifting lazily off in the -still air, indicated where some German battery had been shelling some -unfortunate village. Away off on the horizon a few faint puffs of white -in the blue showed where our batteries were breaking shrapnel under a -speck of an aeroplane, which had evidently been on a morning tour of -inspection. I was rather curious to see Radom, because for a week we -had been told in Warsaw that a terrible panic prevailed here, and that -the population were leaving in a frenzy of terror to avoid the sweep -of the Germans on Warsaw, that same old story which has for so many -months been circulated by the Jewish population. But Radom itself was -as quiet and casual as a city of the same size in far off America -might have been on a Sunday morning. The streets were crowded with the -population in their best clothes going to church, and the panic so -widely discussed in Warsaw was conspicuous by its absence. - -I talked with a number of the townspeople, and they were as surprised -as they could be to know that they were all (according to Warsaw) in -full flight for the other side of the Vistula. What astonishes one most -is the absolute lack of information in one place of what is going on in -the next town. Kielce is but 30 miles from Radom, yet I could find no -one, neither officer nor civilian, who could say positively whether on -this particular day it was in our hands or in the hands of the enemy. -We did learn however from an officer that the road had been badly cut -up, and that fighting had taken place near Kielce, with destruction of -bridges, which would make it impossible for us to get there in a car. -As a fact, I learned later in the day that the road for perhaps 15 -versts north of Kielce was held by German cavalry, and so was just as -well satisfied that we had not gone that way. - -Radom I found was outside the army group which I had a special permit -to visit, and it was therefore necessary to call on the General -commanding the army before I could with propriety pay a visit to any -of the corps commanders in this theatre of war. It was necessary, -therefore, to motor to a certain point east of the Vistula to pay our -respects to this gentleman. Well on in the afternoon we motored into -the beautiful grounds of a Polish villa and spent several hours with -one of the men who, with a number of corps, was able to contribute an -important part to the defeat of the Austrians on the Grodek line in the -fall of last year. Here we were cordially received both by the General -and by his staff, two of whom at once ordered refreshments for us and -remained with us until we started back for Warsaw late in the day. - -From this point we were in touch with the sources of information -flowing in from both Southern Poland and the great battlefield in -Galicia. All the Russian corps in Poland, with the exception of one -that lay next the Vistula, had been inactive during the past weeks, and -after shifting their position to the new line, made necessary by the -retirement of the Galician army, had been ordered to remain strictly -on the defensive. The corps lying next the Vistula, however, was only -across the river from the great action going on south of them, and -after days of listening to the roar of their brothers’ cannon to the -south, they were in anything but a placid or quiet mood. The whole -line, in fact, was figuratively being held on the leash, but this -last corps had been so infected by the contagion of the action to -the south that it proved very difficult to keep the units in their -trenches. At the first feeler of the German advance, which came up on -their side of the Vistula, they at once jumped at the conclusion that -the best defensive was a strong attack, and with this idea in mind they -considered, no doubt, that they were strictly in accord with their -defensive orders when they attacked the Germans. - -[Illustration: The Vistula (winter). - -Soldiers are seen in the picture destroying the broken ice. This is a -great danger to the bridges when carried away by the current.] - -The ball was started, as far as I can learn, by a cavalry colonel who, -with a small command, attacked a pontoon bridge train that, in some -incredible way, was poking along in advance with only a meagre escort. -The advance of this small unit of horsemen served as a spark in the -Russian powder magazine, and within a few hours the whole corps was -engaged in an attack on the German infantry. It is hard to get any -accurate details of the operations, but this fighting lasted probably -two to three days. The ardent Russian regiments fell on the centre of -a German formation, which was said to be the 46th Landsturm corps, -smashed its centre and dissipated its flanking supports of a division -each. The Russians claim that 12,000 were left on the field and that -they took 6,000 prisoners. In any case there is no question that this -action put out at least one corps from further activity as an efficient -unit. - -The German prisoners captured expressed themselves as greatly surprised -at the Russians attacking them. They had been told that the Russians -had all crossed the Vistula and were in rapid retreat to the west, -and that the probabilities were that the road to Moscow would be open -in a few weeks. From various members of the Russian Staff I obtained -many details as to the fighting in Galicia, which all agreed had been -terrific but was going extremely well for them on the line of the San -river. It is too soon to attempt a detailed account of this action, -but it will form one of the greatest stories of the whole war when the -returns are all in. Suffice it to say that the Russians had been aware -of the impending attack for several weeks, and had been preparing, in -case of necessity, a retirement on to a position upon the San river -with Przemysl as the salient thereof. - -This Russian retreat did not come as a surprise even to the writer. -As far back as a month ago he was aware of feverish activities in -rehabilitating the Przemysl defences, and though at that time the -object was vague, it became clear enough when this crisis broke that -the Russians had foreseen the possibility of the failure to hold the -Dunajec line. The Germans carried this by a concentration of artillery -fire, probably greater even than that of the English guns at Neuve -Chapelle. So fierce was this torrent of flying steel that the Russian -line was eaten away in the centre, and in the Carpathian flank, and -there seems reason to believe that the army on the Dunajec was cut in -three sections when it began to retire. That it pulled itself together -and has been able to hold itself intact on the San up to the time of -this writing is evidence of the resiliency of the Russian organization. - -The Russians having had the alternative in view, withdrew with great -speed, destroying bridges and approaches in order to delay the Germans. -In the meantime both their reserves of men and munitions were being -pushed up to await them on the San line. When the Germans came up in -strength with their tongues hanging out, and their formations suffering -from lack of rest and lack of ammunition, they found the Russian line -waiting for them. It is futile to estimate the German losses at this -time, but they will be in the hundreds of thousands, and a final -count will show them to be at least two to three times greater than -the Russian sacrifices. A German prisoner is said to have made the -complaint that the Russians fought like barbarians. “Had they been -civilized people,” he is reported to have said, “they would have -stayed on the Dunajec and fought like men. In that case we would have -utterly destroyed their army.” Instead of that they went away and -fought on the San. What seems to have happened is that the Germans were -not actually short of ammunition, but in extending their line to the -San they could not bring it up with the same rapidity as in the Dunajec -and Carpathian attacks; the result was that they were unable to feed -their guns according to their new artillery programme begun on the -Dunajec line, a programme no doubt borrowed from the west. - - - - -A VISIT TO THE POSITIONS - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -A VISIT TO THE POSITIONS - - - From: - - SOMEWHERE ON THE RAWKA LINE, - - _May 25, 1915_. - -During the comparative lull on the Bzura-Rawka-Pilitza line I have been -trying to go about to certain important salients on our front and have -a look both at the terrain, and the positions which we are defending. - -Leaving Warsaw by motor we ran out to the head-quarters of a certain -army where we found the General living in the palace of a Polish -noble. Beautiful avenues of trees gave access to a wonderful garden -with a little lake before an old mansion dating back to the eighteenth -century. Here in the quiet seclusion of a little forest lives the -general, who presides over the destinies of perhaps 150,000 men. We are -received cordially by the Chief of Staff who, with exemplary patience, -reads over the twelve permits of various sorts which complete the -constantly growing collection of authorizations for me to come and -go on this front. After careful scrutiny of all he sighs heavily, -for perhaps he is not an admirer of the press, but none the less he -inquires cordially what we would like to do. “Heavy batteries and -observation points” is always my reply for reasons already explained. A -smart young aide is sent for who, it appears, speaks English fluently, -having lived for some time in America. The staff offer us an additional -automobile, and while this is being brought round we sit out under the -trees in the garden. Just behind the house, in a bower, is another -officer of the staff sitting in an easy-chair behind a table before -which stand a group of Austrian prisoners whom he is examining for -information. After a few minutes our young aide comes back, and with -two automobiles we start for the positions. - -We must first go to the head-quarters of an army corps. This is distant -25 versts, and as the roads are for the most part short cuts across the -fields, it takes us more than an hour to reach a very unpretentious -village where we meet the General commanding the -- Corps. This man is -distinctly of the type that war produces. He was only a minor general -when the war started, but efficiency in action has given him two -promotions. Shabby and war-worn he is living in a mere hovel, still -wearing the uniform and shoulder straps of two grades back when he was -a somewhat humble officer in the artillery. By him we are supplied with -a soldier guide and go off to the head-quarters of an artillery brigade -where we find the commander of the guns who provides us with a member -of his staff. This officer joins our party, and directs us to the -head-quarters of an artillery unit composed of a number of batteries. I -say unit because it is all controlled from one point of observation. - -By the time we pull up between a couple of ruined peasants’ homes, only -the walls of which are standing; it is after seven in the evening. -From a kind of cave among the debris there emerged three or four -tired-looking artillerymen who are in charge of the guns in these -positions. The country here is flat and rolling, with a little ridge -to the west of us, which cuts off the view into the valley beyond, in -which are the lines of the Russian and German trenches. Leaving our -automobiles in the road, we stroll through a wheat-field toward the -ridge, distant perhaps 1,000 yards. In the corner of the field is a -hedge, and behind the hedge is a battery of field guns. One notices -with each passing month the increasing cleverness of the Russians in -masking their batteries. Though this is no wood, we walk almost on to -the position before we discover the guns at all. They are well dug in, -with small fir trees borrowed from neighbouring bits of woodland stuck -in the ground all about them. Each gun is separated from its brother by -a screen of green, and boughs above mask the view from an aeroplane. -From the front one would never see them at all unless one were looking -closely. To-night the last red rays from the setting sun just catch -a twinkle of the steel in their shining throats, as their long sleek -snouts protrude from the foliage. The shields are painted a kind of -green which helps still more to make them invisible. - -This particular battery, so its Colonel tells us, has had a great laugh -on the enemy during the past few days. What happened was this. A German -Taube flew over the line several times, and it kept coming back so -frequently and hovering over the battery, that the officers who were -watching it became suspicious that they had been spotted. When darkness -fell the entire personnel of the battery became extremely busy, and by -working like bees they moved their guns perhaps 600 yards to the south -and by daylight had them in the new positions and fairly well masked. -Shortly after sunrise back came the aeroplane, and when over the old -position it gave a signal to its own lines and then flew back. Almost -instantly hell broke loose on the abandoned spot. In walking over the -ground one is amazed at the accuracy of long range artillery fire, for -in the ten-acre lot in which the old position was the centre there was -hardly ten square yards without its shell hole, while the ground was a -junk heap of steel and shrapnel fragments. Six hundred yards away the -men of the battery watched it all and laughed their sides out at the -way they had fooled the Germans. This particular battery had bothered -the enemy a great deal and they were on the look out for it. Probably -there will be further competitions of wits before the week is out. From -glancing at the field torn up with shell fire one begins to realize -what observation means to the enemy. With modern methods a single -signal from an aeroplane may mean the wiping out in a few minutes of an -unsuspecting battery that has been safely hidden for months. - -Leaving the guns, we saunter across the wheat-field toward the ridge, -the great red ball of the setting sun dazzling our eyes with its aspect -of molten steel. On the very crest of the rolling ground is a grove of -stunted firs, and through this lies a path to the observation trench -which is entered by an approach growing gradually deeper until, cutting -through the very ridge, it ends in the observation trench dug out of -the earth on the western slope. For the last couple of hundred yards -before we enter the approaches, we are in plain view of the German -gunners, but we had supposed that at the distance a few men would not -be noticed. Evidently, however, our observers in the German line have -had their eyes glued on this spot, for we had barely entered the trench -when a shell burst down in front of us. The writer was looking through -the hyperscope at the time, but imagined that it was at least half a -mile away. An instant later came the melancholy wail of another shell -over our heads and the report of its explosion half way between us and -our motor-car in the road. Behind it came another and another each one -getting nearer our trench. The last one passed a few feet over our -heads and burst just beyond, covering us in the trench with dust and -filling our nostrils with the fumes of gunpowder. Another shortening up -of the range might have landed in our delightful retreat, but evidently -the Germans became discouraged, for we heard nothing more from them. - -Through the hyperscopes one could look out over the beautiful sweep of -the valley studded with little farms, the homes of which are mostly in -ruins. This point from which we were studying the landscape was only -100 yards from our own line of trenches, which lay just in front of -and below us, while not more than 75 yards beyond were the line of the -German trenches. So clear were they in the field of the hyperscope -that one could actually see the loopholes in the ridge of earth. Our -own were, of course, open from the back, and one could see the soldiers -moving about in their quarters or squatting comfortably against the -walls of the trenches. Away to the west were ridges of earth here -and there, where our friends of the artillery told us were reserve -trenches, while they pointed out groves of trees or ruined villages in -which they suspected lurked the German guns. - -[Illustration: Russian officers in an artillery observation position.] - -After the report of the shells had died away and the dust settled there -was the silence of absolute peace and serenity over the whole valley. -Not a rifle shot or a human noise broke the beautiful calm of the May -sunset. Off to the west glimmered the silver stream of the Rawka. To -look out over this lovely valley in the falling twilight it seemed -incredible that thousands of men lay concealed under our very eyes, men -who were waiting only a favourable opportunity to leap out of their -trenches and meet each other in hand-to-hand combat. On the advice -of our guides, we waited in our secure little trench until the last -red rays of the sun were cut off by the horizon in the west, when we -returned by the way we had come to the waiting automobiles. - -The whole valley in this section is very flat, and the ridges such -as the one I have described are very scarce. The Russian lines are -extremely strong, and one gets the idea that they would require a good -deal of taking before the Germans could occupy them. Our artillery -seemed to be in excellent quantities, and the ammunition situation -satisfactory if the officer may be believed. The rears of all these -positions have been prepared for defence, and there are at least three -lines or groups of trenches lying between this front and Warsaw, each -of which would present as strong a defence as the line which now for -many months has defied all efforts of the enemy to get through. - -I was especially interested in looking over this locality, because -in Warsaw it has been mentioned as a point where the Russians were -in great danger, and where they were barely able to hold their own. -The truth is that there has been little fighting here for months -excepting an occasional burst of artillery, or now and then a spasm -of inter-trench fighting between unimportant units. I told our guide -of the dismal stories we heard, and he only laughed as he pointed out -to me a level stretch of country on our side of the ridge. A number -of young Russian officers were riding about on prancing horses. “See -there,” my friend told me, “we have laid out a race course, and the -day after to-morrow the officers of this brigade are going to have a -steeplechase. You see they have built a little platform for the general -to stand on and judge the events. We are only 1,000 yards here from the -trenches of the enemy. So you see we do not feel as anxious about the -safety of our position as they do in Warsaw.” He lighted a cigarette -and then added seriously: “No, the Germans cannot force us here, nor -do I think on any of the other Warsaw fronts. Our positions have never -been as strong as they are to-day.” - -A few minutes later we were in our motors speeding through the twilight -to the village in our rear where the Chief of Staff of the -- Corps had -arranged quarters for us. - - - - -A SUMMER DAY ON THE RAWKA LINE - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A SUMMER DAY ON THE RAWKA LINE - - - From: - - A CERTAIN ARMY CORPS HEAD-QUARTERS NOT FAR FROM THE RAWKA. - - _May 26, 1915._ - -The month of May in Poland, if this season is typical of the climate -here, is a period to dream about. When we turned out of our camp beds -early this morning, the sun was streaming into our little whitewashed -room, while the fragrance of lilacs blooming in a near-by garden -drifted in at the open window. In the little garden behind our house -are a dozen colonies of bees, and already they are up and about their -daily tasks. The sky is without a cloud and the warmth and life of -the early spring morning makes one forget the terrible business that -we are engaged in. The little street of the town is lined with great -horse-chestnut trees now in full bloom with every branch laden deep -with the great white pendent blossoms. For a moment one stands -drinking in the beauty of the new day and the loveliness of the -morning, with one’s mind drifting far, far away to other scenes where -flowers too are blooming at this season of the year. But as our eyes -wander down the street, the thoughts of gentler things are suddenly -dissipated, and with a jolt one’s mind comes back to the work-a-day -world whose daily task now is the destruction of an enemy in the line -of trenches not so many miles away. - -What has broken the peaceful tremor of our thoughts is the sight of -some soldiers pulling into the town a half-wrecked aeroplane brought -down by artillery fire the day before near our lines. Its wings are -shattered and its propellers twisted into kindling, while its slight -body (if one can use that expression) is torn and punctured by a score -or more of shrapnel holes, with several gashes where bits of the shell -case had penetrated the thin metal frame. Here at least is one example -of artillery practice which has been able to cripple the bird of ill -omen on the wing. After a generous breakfast, provided by our kind -host the General, we are in our motor-cars again and in a few minutes -are speeding down one of the roads westward to the head-quarters of -a certain artillery brigade who over the telephone have consented to -show us particular choice sights that they have on exhibition on their -front. - -Every village that we pass through is full of soldiers bestirring for -the day, while already the main arteries of travel to the trenches -are filling up with the activities of the morning. It is a perfectly -still day, and with each advancing hour it is growing hotter. There -has been no rain for a week or two, the dust is deep upon the roads, -and as our cars hum along the highways we leave volumes of the thin -cloud in our wake. Now and again we pass small columns of infantry -marching cheerfully along in the sunshine, each man in a cloud of dust. -Yet every face is cheerful, and almost without exception the men are -singing their marching songs as they swing along the highways. In the -villages and on the road everything suggests war, but now with quite a -different atmosphere from that of last autumn. Then it was war also, -but of war the novelty, the new and the untried. Then all faces were -anxious, some apprehensive, some depressed. They were going into a -new experience. Now, however, it is war as a tried and experienced -profession that is about us. - -The conduct of the campaign has become as much of a business to the -soldiers and to the officers as the operating of a railroad to men -engaged in running it. The deaths and the wounds have become to these -men we see now simply a part of their profession, and they have seen -so much of this side of the business that it has long since been -discounted. The whole atmosphere of the front as we see it in May is -as that of a permanent state of society. These men look as though they -had been fighting for ten years and expected to be fighting for the -rest of their days. War has become the commonplace and peace seems the -unreality. - -At brigade head-quarters we halt a few minutes and are directed to -proceed slowly along a certain road, and advised to stop in a cut just -before passing over a certain crest. When we learn that the enemy’s -guns command the road over the crest we inquire with the keenest -interest the exact location of the ridge mentioned, for something -suggests to us that this is a bit of interesting information that the -artillery officer is handing out to us so very casually. They are all -casual by the way; probably they have all got so used to sudden death -and destruction that they feel as nonchalant about their own fate as -they do about others. Half an hour’s run over very heavy and sandy -road, brought us on to a great white ribbon of a highway that ran due -west and dipped over the ridge. - -This was our place, and stopping the cars we climbed out to meet a -few officers sauntering down the road. They seemed to be coming from -nowhere in particular, but as I learned later, they lived in a kind of -cave dug out of the side of the road, and had been advised by telephone -that we were coming and so were on the lookout for us. The ranking -officer was a colonel of artillery--one of the kind that you would turn -about in the street to look at and to say to yourself, “Every inch a -soldier.” A serious, kindly-faced man in a dirty uniform with shoulder -straps so faded and frayed that a second look was necessary to get his -rank at all. For six months he had been living in just such quarters -as the cave in the side of the road where we found him. He was glad to -show us his observation. One could see at a glance that his whole heart -and soul were wrapped up in his three batteries, and he spoke of all -his positions and his observation points with as much pride as a mother -speaking about her children. - -The country here is a great sweeping expanse, with just a few ridges -here and there like the one that we have come up behind. The country -reminds one of the valley of the Danube or perhaps the Red River Valley -in North Dakota, except that the latter has less timber in it. We are -ourselves quite uncertain as to where the enemy’s position is, for in -the sweep of the valley there is little to indicate the presence of -any army at all, or to suggest the possibility of hostilities from any -quarter. I asked one of the officers who strolled along with us where -the German lines were. “Oh, over there,” he remarked, casually waving -his hand in a northerly direction. “Probably they can see us then,” -I suggested. Personally I felt a mild curiosity in the subject which -apparently my companion did not share. He stopped and offered me a -cigarette, and as he lighted one himself, he murmured indifferently, -“Yes, I dare say they could see us if they turned their glasses on this -ridge. But probably they won’t. Can I give you a light?” - -I thanked him politely and also commended the sun for shining in the -enemy’s eyes instead of over their shoulders as happened last night -when the observer in the German battery spotted us at 6,000 yards -and sent five shells to tell us that we were receiving his highest -consideration. On the top of a near-by hill was a small building which -had formerly been the Russian observation point, but the Germans -suspecting this had quickly reduced it to a pile of ruins. Near by -we entered a trench cut in from the back of the hill, and worked our -way up to an observation station cut out of the side of the slope in -front of the former position. - -[Illustration: A first-line trench in Poland.] - -It was now getting on toward noon and intensely hot. The view from -this position as one could sweep it with the hyperscope was perfectly -beautiful. Off to the west twinkled the silver ribbon of the Rawka, -while the whole plain was dotted with fields of wheat and rye that -stretched below us like a chess board. Here and there where had been -houses were now but piles of ruins. The lines here were quite far -apart--perhaps half a mile, and in between them were acres of land -under cultivation. I think that the most remarkable thing that I have -seen in this war was the sight of peasants working between the lines -as calmly as though no such thing as war existed. Through the glasses -I could distinctly see one old white beard with a horse ploughing up a -field, and even as I was looking at him I saw a shell burst not half a -mile beyond him near one of the German positions. I mentioned it to one -of the officers. “Oh yes,” he said, “neither we nor the Germans fire on -the peasants nowadays. They must do their work and they harm neither of -us.” - -On this part of the line the war seems to have become rather a listless -affair and perfunctory to say the least. I suppose both Germans -and Russians have instructions just now to hold themselves on the -defensive. At any rate I could distinctly see movements beyond the -German line, and I am sure they too must have detected the same on our -side. One man on a white horse was clearly visible as he rode along -behind the German trenches, while I followed with my glasses a German -motor-car that sped down a road leaving in its wake a cloud of dust. -Yet no one bothered much about either of them. Now and again one of our -big guns behind us would thunder, and over our heads we could hear the -diminishing wail of a 15-centimetre shell as it sped on its journey -to the German lines. Through the hyperscope one could clearly see the -clouds of dirt and dust thrown up by the explosion. One of these shells -fell squarely in one of the German trenches, and as the smoke drifted -away I could not help wondering how many poor wretches had been torn by -its fragments. After watching this performance for an hour or more, we -returned back through the trench and paid a visit to the Colonel in his -abode in the earth by the roadside. For half an hour or more we chatted -with him and then bade him good-bye. - -A bit to the south-west of us lay a town which a few days ago was -shelled by the Germans. This town lies in a salient of our line, and -since the bombardment has been abandoned by all the population. As -it lay on the German side of the slope we had three miles of exposed -roadway to cover to get to it, and another three miles in view of the -German line to get out of it. - -[Illustration: Russian General inspecting his gunners.] - -As we sped down this three miles one felt a certain satisfaction that -one had a 95 horsepower Napier capable of doing 80 miles an hour. A -third of the town itself was destroyed by the German shell fire. The -rest was like a city of the dead. Not a human being of the population -was to be seen in the streets, which but a week ago were swarming with -people. Here and there a soldier from the near-by positions lounged on -an abandoned doorstep, or napped peacefully under one of the trees in -the square. The sun of noon looked down upon a deserted village, if one -does not count an occasional dog prowling about, or one white kitty -sitting calmly on a window ledge in the sunshine casually washing her -face. As ruins have long ceased to attract us, we did not loiter long -here, but turned eastward along the great white road that led back in -the direction of Warsaw. - -There is one strip of this road which I suppose is not more than 4,500 -yards from the German gun positions. Personally I am always interested -in these matters, and being of an inquiring turn of mind I asked my -friend the Russian officer, who was with me in the car, if he thought -the enemy could see us. “Oh yes,” he replied quite cheerfully. “I am -sure they can see us, but I don’t think they can hit us. Probably they -won’t try, as they are not wasting ammunition as much as they used to. -Won’t you have a cigarette?” I accepted the smoke gladly and concluded -that it is the Russian custom to offer one a cigarette every time one -asks this question about the German guns. Anyway, I got exactly the -same reply from this man as I did from the other in the morning. - -Ten miles up the road we came on a bit of forest where the unfortunate -villagers who had been driven out by shell fire were camping. Here they -were in the wood living in rude lean-to’s, surrounded by all their -worldly possessions that they had the means of getting away. Cows, -ducks, pigs, and chicken roamed about the forests, while dozens of -children played about in the dust. - -One picture I shall not forget. Before a hut made of straw and branches -of trees a mother had constructed a rude oven in the earth by setting -on some stones the steel top of the kitchen stove that she had brought -with her. Kneeling over the fire she was preparing the primitive -noonday meal. Just behind was a cradle in which lay a few weeks’ old -baby rocked by a little sister of four. Three other little children -stood expectantly around the fire, their little mouths watering for the -crude meal that was in preparation. Behind the cradle lay the family -cow, her soft brown eyes gazing mournfully at the cradle as she chewed -reflectively at her cud. In the door of the miserable little shelter -stretched a great fat sow sleeping sweetly with her lips twitching -nervously in her sleep. An old hen with a dozen chicks was clucking to -her little brood within the open end of the hut. This was all that war -had left of one home. - -[Illustration: Telephoning to the battery from the observation -position.] - -A hundred yards away a gang of labourers was digging in the forest. -It is no wonder that the mother looks nervously from her fire at -their work. Perhaps she wonders what they are about. We know. It is -another line of trenches. From what we have seen of the front line we -believe they will not be needed, but it is not strange that these poor -fugitives look on with anxious eyes with the question written large on -every face. Probably to them the war seems something from which they -cannot escape. They came to this wood for safety and now again they see -more digging of trenches going on. - -Another hour on the road brings us back to the head-quarters of the -army and our day in May is over. - - - - -THE CHANGE OF FRONT IN POLAND AND THE BATTLE OF OPATOV - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE CHANGE OF FRONT IN POLAND AND THE BATTLE OF OPATOV - - - Dated: - - OPATOV, POLAND, - - _May 31, 1915_. - -For the last three days I have been with a certain army of the Russians -that occupies the strip of Poland between the Pilitza river and the -Vistula on the south. I feel intense regret that the restrictions of -the censor proscribe the identification of military units or of their -definite location. These wonderful corps, divisions and battalions -should, in my view, have all the honour that is their due, but the -writer can only abide by the wishes of the authorities by whose -kindness and courtesy he has been able to visit these positions. - -Leaving Warsaw in a motor car in the evening, and running until an -early hour in the morning, we found ourselves the next day at the -head-quarters of one of the really great army commanders of Russia. -With him and the members of his staff we spent the chief part of the -morning, when every opportunity was given us to study the situation -within his jurisdiction. To go to the Front, as I have often written -before, means a two to three days’ trip, and the inspection of a -single detail of the vast operations that have been conducted. At the -suggestion of the Commander we decided to visit a certain army corps -in the south, whose success in the operations attending the change of -front had been so extraordinary, that everyone at the staff was filled -with pride and eager to have its work appreciated. Before going on to -describe the work of this particular corps it is proper to mention a -little more particularly the work of this one army as a whole since the -beginning of the war. - -This army stood before Lublin during the crisis in the early days of -the war, and by uniting with that of Plevie, and the two joining with -Russky to the east of them, there resulted the first great crash to the -Austrian arms in Galicia. Later, this same army came back north and was -engaged in the terrific fighting around Ivangorod, which resulted in -the defeat of the enemy and their expulsion from Poland last autumn. - -In the advance after the taking back of Radom and Kielce, the army -came under the very walls of Cracow, and in all of its divisions and -brigades there was scarcely a battalion that did not distinguish -itself in that terrific fighting. When the Germans began their second -invasion of Poland last autumn, this army regretfully fell back to its -positions on the Nida river, and when the last storm broke in Galicia -and the retirement of the army of the Dunajec rendered a change of -the Russian-Polish line a strategic necessity, the army with all its -numerous corps was again called upon to fall back in order that the -Front as a whole might be a symmetrical one. - -During this change of front we heard a great deal in Warsaw, from -people who delight in circulating false stories, of Russian disasters -in Southern Poland. I have been particularly interested, therefore, -in checking up this movement on the ground and getting at the actual -facts of the case. As a fact, the Russian retirement was made amid the -lamentations and grumbling of the whole army. The private soldiers, who -do not follow strategy very closely, complained bitterly that they, who -had never met defeat, and before whom the enemy had always fallen back -when they attacked, should be called upon to retreat when they were -sure, regiment by regiment, that they could beat twice their numbers of -the enemy. The Germans and Austrians advanced with great caution for -several days. Knowing, however, the location of the new Russian line, -they imagined that their adversaries would fall back on it in a few big -marches and await them there. Besides this, both Germans and Austrians -had been carefully fed with reports of the Galician movement to the -effect that the Russians were retiring in utter defeat, that even in -Poland they were panic-stricken and would probably put up but a feeble -fight even on their line. - -I could not in the brief time which I had for this trip visit all -the corps involved in this movement, and at the suggestion of the -General of the army, visited only the--corps, whose operations -may be regarded as typical of the whole spirit in which this front -was changed. Regarding the movement as a whole it is sufficient to -say that in the two weeks following the change of line in Poland, -the corps comprising this one army made the enemy suffer losses, in -killed, wounded and prisoners, which the General estimated at nearly -30,000, of whom about 9,000 were prisoners. All of this was done at -a comparatively trifling loss to the Russians themselves. From which -very brief summary of the change of front it will be realized that -this particular army has neither lost its fighting spirit nor has its -_moral_ suffered from the retirement to another line. - -[Illustration: In the trenches near Opatov.] - -There are so many big movements in this war that it is utterly -impossible for one observer to describe more than a trifling fraction -of the achievements that are made here. Since the General Staff have -given me what appears to be a free range in the north-eastern armies, I -have had so many interesting opportunities that it is difficult to pick -any one in preference to another. What I am writing in this story is -merely the narrative of a single corps during this change of front, and -I think it a significant story, because I believe it typifies not only -the corps of this particular army, but practically all the corps now in -the field on this Front. General Ragosa, who commands this corps, and -who has entertained me for the best part of three days, has given me -every opportunity to study his whole movement and permitted one of his -officers to prepare sketches, illustrating his movement. The General -himself, like most men who deal with big affairs, is a very modest and -simple man. To talk with him one would not guess that the movement -which has resulted so successfully for his corps and so disastrously -for the enemy, was the product of a programme worked out in the quiet -of a remote head-quarters and carried successfully through under his -direction by means of the field wire stretched through the forest for -the 30 kilometres that separate his head-quarters from the fighting -line. - -When I suggested to him that his fighting around Opatov made an -extremely interesting story, he only shrugged his shoulders and -replied, “But in this war it is only a small fight. What is the -operation of a single army, much less the work of one of its units?” -Yet one feels that the success of this war will be the sum of the work -of the many units, and as this battle resulted in the entire breaking -up of the symmetry of the Austro-German following movement, and is -one of the few actions during the recent months of this war which was -fought in the open without trenches, it is extremely interesting. -Indeed, in any other war it would have been called a good-sized action; -from first to last on both sides I suppose that more than 100,000 men -and perhaps 350 to 400 guns were engaged. Let me describe it. - -General Ragosa’s corps was on the Nida river, and it was with great -regret that the troops left the trenches that they had been defending -all winter. Their new line was extremely strong, and after they had -started, it was assumed by the enemy that they could leisurely follow -the Russians, and again sit down before their positions. - -[Illustration: Second-line trenches, Opatov.] - -But they were not counting on this particular General when they made -their advance. Instead of going back to his line, he brought his -units to the line running from Lubenia to and through Opatov to -the south, where he halted and awaited the advancing enemy who came -on in four divisions. These were the third German Landwehr division -who were moving eastward and a little to the north of Lubenia. Next, -coming from the direction of Kielce was the German division of General -Bredow supported by the 84th Austrian regiment; this unit was moving -directly against the manufacturing town of Ostzowiec. Further to the -south came the crack Austrian division, the 25th, which was composed -of the 4th Deutschmeister regiment from Vienna and the 25th, 17th and -10th Jäger units, the division itself being commanded by the Archduke -Peter Ferdinand. The 25th division was moving on the Lagow road headed -for Opatov, while the 4th Austrian division (a Landwehr formation) -supported by the 41st Honved division (regiments 20, 31, 32 and one -other) was making for the same objective. It is probable that the enemy -units, approaching the command of Ragosa, outnumbered the Russians in -that particular portion of the theatre of operations by at least forty -per cent. Certainly they never expected that any action would be given -by the supposedly demoralized Russians short of their fortified line, -to which they were supposed by the enemy to be retiring in hot haste. - -General Ragosa wishing to finish up the weakest portion first, as usual -picked the Austrians for his first surprise party. But this action he -anticipated by making a feint against the German corps, driving in -their advance guards by vigorous attacks and causing the whole movement -to halt and commence deploying for an engagement. This took place -on May 15. On the same day with all his available strength he swung -furiously, with Opatov as an axis from both north and south, catching -the 25th division on the road between Lagow and Opatov with a bayonet -charge delivered from the mountain over and around which his troops had -been marching all night. Simultaneously another portion of his command -swept up on the 4th division coming from Iwaniska to Opatov. In the -meantime a heavy force of Cossacks had ridden round the Austrian line -and actually hit their line of communications at the exact time that -the infantry fell on the main column with a bayonet charge of such -impetuosity and fury that the entire Austrian formation crumpled up. - -At the same time the 4th division was meeting a similar fate further -south; the two were thrown together in a helpless mass and suffered -a loss of between three and four thousand in casualties and nearly -three thousand in prisoners, besides losing a large number of machine -guns and the bulk of their baggage. The balance, supported by the -41st Honved division, which had been hurried up, managed to wriggle -themselves out of their predicament by falling back on Wokacow, and the -whole retired to Lagow, beyond which the Russians were not permitted -to pursue them lest they should break the symmetry of their own entire -line. Immediately after this action against the Austrians, a large -portion of the same troops made a forced march back over the mountain -which had separated the Austrians from their German neighbours and fell -on the right of the German formation, while the frontal attacks, which -had formerly been feints, were now delivered in dead earnest. - -The result was that Bredow’s formation was taken suddenly in front -and on its right flank, and on May 18 began to fall back until it -was supported by the 4th Landwehr division, which had been hurriedly -snatched out of the line to the north to prevent Bredow from suffering -a fate similar to that which overtook the Austrians to the south. After -falling back to Bodzentin where it was joined by the supports from -the north, the Germans pulled themselves together to make a stand. -But here, as in the south, general orders prevented the Russians from -moving further against their defeated foe lest in their enthusiasm -they might advance too far and leave a hole in their own line. Thus -Ragosa’s command after four days of constant action came to a stand and -their part in the movement ended. - -But the trouble of the enemy was not over. Ragosa at once discovered -that the 4th Landwehr division that had been hurried up to support -retreating Bredow, had been taken from the front of his neighbouring -corps, and this information he promptly passed on to his friend -commanding the -- corps who gladly passed the word on to his own front. -The regiments in that quarter promptly punched a hole in the German -weakened line, and with vicious bayonet attacks killed and captured -a large number of Germans, also forcing back their line. Something -similar happened in the corps to the south of Ragosa’s corps who were -in a fever of excitement because of the big fighting on the San, which -was going on just to their left while Ragosa’s guns were thundering -just to the north. The result was that out of a kind of sympathetic -contagion, they fixed bayonets and rushed on the enemy in their front -with a fury equal to that which was going on in both corps north of -them. Thus it came about that three quarters of this particular army -became engaged in general action by the sheer initiative of Ragosa, -and maintained it entirely by the enthusiasm of the troops engaged. -These corps even in retreat could not be restrained from going back and -having a turn with the enemy. - -[Illustration: A second-line trench near Opatov.] - -The change of front in Poland resulted in losses in killed, wounded and -prisoners to the enemy, approximating in this army alone between 20,000 -and 30,000, with a loss to the Russians probably less than a third of -that number, besides resulting in an increase of _moral_ to the latter, -which has fully offset any depression caused by their retirement. -In talking with their officers, and I talked with at least a score, -I heard everywhere the same complaint, namely that it was becoming -increasingly difficult to keep their soldiers in the trenches. So eager -is the whole army to be advancing, that only constant discipline and -watching prevent individual units from becoming excited and getting up -and attacking, thus precipitating a general action which the Russians -wish to avoid while the movement in Galicia is one of fluctuation and -uncertainty. - -Little definite information was available on this Front as to what was -going on further south, but certainly I found not the slightest sign -of depression among either men or officers with whom I talked. As one -remarked, “Well, what of it? You do not understand our soldiers. They -can retreat every day for a month and come back as full of fight at -the end of that time as when they started. A few Russian ‘defeats,’ as -the Germans call them, will be a disaster for the Kaiser. Don’t worry. -We will come back all right and it cannot be too soon for the taste of -this army.” - - - - -WITH THE ARMY IN SOUTHERN POLAND - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -WITH THE ARMY IN SOUTHERN POLAND - - - Dated: - - A CERTAIN ARMY CORPS HEAD-QUARTERS - SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN POLAND - - _June 1, 1915_. - -To-day has been one of the most interesting that I have spent since I -came to Russia last September. The General commanding this certain army -corps, which, while the war lasts, must not be identified, carefully -mapped out an ideal day for us, and made it possible of fulfilment -by placing two motors at our disposal and permitting a member of his -personal staff to accompany us as guide, philosopher and friend. This -very charming gentleman, M. Riabonschisky, represents a type which -one sees increasingly in the Russian Army as the war grows older. M. -Riabonschisky served his term of years in the army, and then being -wealthy and of a distinguished Moscow family, went into the banking -business, and the beginning of the war found him one of the leading -business men of the old Russian capital. With the first call he -instantly abandoned his desk and sedentary habits, and became again a -subaltern, which was his rank twenty odd years ago; when he came to the -Front it was as aide-de-camp of a General commanding an army corps. - -In a shabby uniform and with face tanned to the colour of old leather -one now finds the Moscow millionaire working harder than a common -soldier. Our friend had by no means confined his activities to routine -work at head-quarters, but as the St. George’s Cross on his breast -indicated, had seen a bit of active service as well. Though he talked -freely enough on every known subject, I found him uncommunicative on -the subject of his Cross denoting distinguished merit in the face of an -enemy. A little persistent tact, however, finally got out of him that -before Lublin, in a crisis on the positions, he had gone to the front -line trenches in a motor car loaded with ammunition for the troops who -for lack of it were on the point of retiring. With the return trip he -brought out all the wounded his car could hold. This, then, was the -former banker who now accompanied us on a tour of inspection of the -army of which he was as proud as the Commanding General himself was. - -[Illustration: Russian first-line trench near Lublin. - -The companion picture shows the German position through loop-hole.] - -[Illustration: German position near Lublin. - -Photo taken through loop-hole in trench.] - -Leaving our head-quarters we drove south through a beautiful woodland -for nearly two hours, to the headquarters of that certain division of -the army which has covered itself with glory in the recent fighting -around Opatov, where we were received cordially by the commander. -Telegrams sent ahead had advised him of our arrival, and he had done -his part in arranging details that our trip might be as interesting -as possible. After a few minutes drinking tea and smoking cigarettes -we again took cars and motored for another 16 versts to the town of -Opatov, where one of the brigade head-quarters was located. This quaint -old Polish town with a castle and a wall around it has been three times -visited by the tide of battle, and the hills about it (it lies in a -hollow) are pitted with the caves made by the uneasy inhabitants, whose -experience of shell fire has been disturbing. One imagines from the -number of dugouts one sees that the whole population might easily move -under ground at an hour’s notice. However, in spite of the tumult of -battles which have been fought around it, Opatov has not been scarred -by shell fire. - -From here we went directly west on the road to Lagow for perhaps 5 -versts, when we turned off suddenly on to a faint road and down into -a little hollow where a tiny village nestled in which we were told -we should find the head-quarters of a certain regiment that we had -come to visit. As our cars came over the crest of the hill we noticed -assembled on a flat field, that lay in the hollow, absolutely concealed -from the outside world, a block of troops standing under arms. My first -impression was that this was a couple of reserve units just going back -to the trenches to relieve their fellows. We were delighted at such a -bit of luck. On pulling up our cars by the side of the road we found -ourselves greeted by the Colonel and staff of the regiment, to whom we -were introduced by our guide. After a few words in Russian my friend -turned, his face wreathed in smiles, and said, “The Colonel is very -kind; he has ordered a review for your inspection.” - -With the staff we strolled up to the centre of the field, where on -two sides we faced two of the most magnificent battalions of troops -that it has ever been my fortune to see, while on the third side were -parked the machine-gun batteries of the regiment. For a few minutes we -stood in the centre of the three-sided square while the Colonel, with -unconcealed pride, told us something of the history of the regiment -that stood before us. Its name and its corps must not be mentioned, -but it is permissible to say that it is from Moscow and is one of the -oldest regiments in the Russian service, with traditions running -back for 125 years. It is one of the two formations of the entire -Russian army which is permitted to march in review with fixed bayonets, -a distinction acquired by 125 years of history marked by successful -work with cold steel. - -[Illustration: March-past of the Gonogoriski Regiment.] - -I have written in a previous chapter of the fighting around Opatov and -of the wonderful work done by the troops of this army corps. Now we -learned from the Colonel that it was his regiment that made the march -over the mountain, and fell with the bayonet upon the flank of the 25th -Austrian division with such an impetus and fury that every man had -killed or captured a soldier of the enemy. That we might not minimize -the glory of his men the Colonel assured us that the Austrian 25th was -no scrub Landwehr or reserve formation, but the very élite of the élite -of the Austrian army, embodying the famous Deutschmeister regiment from -Vienna, which was supposed to be the finest organization of infantry -in the Hapsburg realm. What we saw before us were two of the four -battalions of the Moscow regiment who were in reserve for a few days’ -rest, while their brothers in the other two battalions were 4 versts -forward in the fighting line. - -Suddenly the Colonel turned about and in a voice of thunder uttered -a command, and instantly the two thousand men became as rigid as -two thousand statues. Another word, and with the click of a bit of -well-oiled mechanism, two thousand rifles came to the present. Another -command from the Colonel and the regimental band on the right flank, -with its thirty pieces of brass, burst forth with “Rule Britannia.” A -moment’s silence followed, and then came the strains of the American -National Anthem, followed in turn by the Russian National Anthem. - -As the last strain died away there came another sharp command from the -Colonel, and once more the mechanism clicked and two thousand guns came -to the ground as one. Then, stepping out from the little group of the -staff, the Colonel addressed the regiment in a deep melodious voice -in words that carried to the furthest man. I have written much of the -rapidly growing feeling of friendship and affection between England -and Russia. For six months I have noticed a gradual development of -this sentiment, but I have never realized until this day that it was -percolating to the very foundations of the Russian people. In Petrograd -and Moscow one naturally expects the diplomats and politicians to -emphasize this point to a member of the press. But out at the Front -these men who deal in steel and blood are not given to fine phrases, -nor are they wont to speak for effect. For ten months their lives have -been lives of danger and hardships, and in their eyes and in their -faces one sees sincerity and truth written large for those who study -human nature to read. The speech was to me so impressive that it seems -well worth while to quote the officer’s stirring words, words which -found an echo in the heart of the writer, who is an American citizen -and not a British subject at all. With his hand held aloft the Colonel -said:-- - -[Illustration: Men of the Gonogoriski Regiment cheering King George V.] - -“Attention,--Gentlemen, officers and soldiers: We have to-day the -honour to receive the representatives of the great English nation, our -faithful allies now fighting with us for the good of us all to punish -our common treacherous enemy. They are dear to our hearts because -they are conducting this war with such sacrifices and such incredible -bravery. It is a great pleasure and privilege for our regiment to see -among us the representatives of the country where dwell the bravest -of the brave. This regiment, beloved of Suvoroff, will always do its -uttermost to uphold the reputation of Russian arms, that they may be -worthy to fight this battle shoulder to shoulder with their noble -allies in the British army. Officers and soldiers, I call for a hearty -cheer for the great King of England. Long live George the Fifth.” - -The response came from two thousand lungs and throats with the -suddenness of a clap of thunder. Out of the misery and chaos of this -world-disaster there is surely coming a new spirit and a new-found -feeling of respect and regard between the allied nations, a feeling -which in itself is perhaps laying the foundation of a greater peace -movement than all the harangues and platitudes of the preachers of -pacificism. Before this war I dare say that England and the English -meant nothing to the peasant soldier of Russia. This is no longer true, -and to stand as I stood in this hollow square and listen for five -minutes to these war-stained veterans cheering themselves hoarse for -the ally whom they have been taught to consider the personification -of soldierly virtues, was to feel that perhaps from this war may -come future relations which the next generation will look back upon -as having in large measure justified the price. The Colonel raised -his hand and instantly the tumult died away. The Colonel courteously -invited me to address the Regiment on behalf of England, but as a -neutral this was an impossible role. - -[Illustration: Men of the Gonogoriski Regiment.] - -Afterwards the Colonel ordered a review of the two battalions, and in -company formation they passed by with their bayonets at the charge and -with every eye fixed on the commander, while every officer marched at -the salute. I have never seen a more impressive body of men. Dirty -and shabby, with faces tanned like shoe leather, and unshaven, -they marched past, the picture of men of action. In each face was the -pride of regiment and country and the respect of self. As they passed, -company after company, the beaming Colonel said to me, “When my men -come at the charge the Austrians never wait for them to come into the -trenches. They fire on us until we are within ten feet and then they -fall on their knees and beg for quarter.” As the writer looked into -these earnest serious faces that passed by, each seamed with lines of -grim determination and eyes steeled with the hardness engendered by -war, he felt an increased respect for the Austrian who waited until -the enemy were within ten feet. Somehow one felt that a hundred feet -start would be an insufficient handicap to get away from these fellows -when they came for one with their bayonets levelled and their leather -throats howling for the blood of the enemy. - -After the infantry we inspected the machine-gun batteries of the -regiment, and with special pride the Colonel showed us the four -captured machine-guns taken from the Austrians in the recent action, -together with large quantities of ammunition. After the machine-guns -were examined, the heroes of the St. George’s Cross, decorated in the -recent battle, were brought forward to be photographed. Then the band -played the air of the regiment, while the officers of the regiment -joined in singing a rousing melody which has been the regimental song -for the 125 years of its existence. Then, preceded by the band, we -went to the Colonel’s head-quarters, where lunch was served, the band -playing outside while we ate. - -The head-quarters of the Colonel were in a schoolhouse hurriedly -adapted to the needs of war. Our table was the children’s blackboard -taken from the walls and stretched between two desks, the scholars’ -benches serving us in lieu of chairs. The only thing in the whole -establishment that did not reek of the necessities of war was the food, -which was excellent. The rugged Colonel, lean as a race horse and as -tough as whipcord, may in some former life when he was in Moscow have -been an epicure and something of a good liver. Anyway the cooking was -perfection. - -In conversation with a number of the men who sat at table, I heard -that their regiment had been in thirty-four actions since the war had -started. The Colonel himself had been wounded no less than three times -in the war. One Captain of the staff showed me a hat with a bullet -hole in the top made in the last battle; while the Lieutenant-Colonel -laughingly told me that they could not kill him at all; though he -received seventeen bullets through his clothes since the war started -he had never been scratched in any action in which he had been engaged. -The tactical position of a Colonel in the Russian army is in the rear, -I am told, but in this regiment I learned from one of the officers, the -Colonel rarely was in the rear, and on more than one occasion he had -led the charge at the very head of his men. - - - - -AN AFTERNOON AT THE “POSITIONS” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -AN AFTERNOON AT THE “POSITIONS” - - - Dated: - - SOMEWHERE IN POLAND, - - _June 2, 1915_. - -Provided with carriages we left our hospitable Colonel for the front -trenches 4 versts further on. As we were near the Front when we were at -regimental head-quarters it was not deemed safe to take the motor-cars -any further, on account of the clouds of dust which they leave in their -wake. - -The country here is spread out in great rolling valleys with very -little timber and only occasional crests or ridges separating one -beautiful verdant stretch of landscape from another. It struck one as -quite obvious in riding over this country that the men who planned -these roads had not taken war into consideration. Had they done so -they certainly would not have placed them so generally along ridges, -where one’s progress can be seen from about 10 versts in every -direction. As I have mentioned in an earlier chapter, this particular -army had not fallen back on its fortified and prepared line, but was -camping out about 25 to 30 versts in front of it in positions which -were somewhat informal. In riding through this country one has the -unpleasant sensation that every time one shows up on a ridge, an -enemy of an observing and enterprising disposition might be tempted -to take a shot at one just for practice. My friend the banker soldier -explained, however, that we should be difficult to hit, and anyway he -rather enjoyed shell fire. “It is a sort of nice game,” he told me with -a charming smile, “one finds it very entertaining and not altogether -dangerous.” - -However his insouciance did not prevent him taking the precaution of -forbidding the use of motor-cars with their clouds of dust, and he was -quite content that we should take the carriages, which made less of a -target on the dry roads. - -From regimental head-quarters we went up into a little gulch where we -again found that we were expected, and a genial Colonel of a howitzer -battery was waiting to entertain us. Five of our guns were sitting -along the road with their muzzled noses up in the air at an angle of -about 35 degrees waiting, waiting for some one to give them word to -shoot at something or other. - -[Illustration: Howitzer battery in Poland.] - -Batteries are always peculiarly fascinating to me; they always appear -so perfect in their efficiency, and capable of getting work done when -required. These five were of the 4-inch variety, with an elevation of -forty-five degrees obtainable. - -At a word from the Colonel they were cleared for action and their -sighting apparatus inspected and explained. As usual they were equipped -with panorama sights, with the aiming point a group of trees to the -right and rear of the position, and with their observation point 3 -miles away in a trench near the infantry line. The sixth gun was -doing lonely duty a mile away in a little trench all by itself. This -position the Colonel informed us was shelled yesterday by the enemy, -who fired thirty-five 12-centimetre shells at them without scoring a -single hit. After looking at the guns we spent an hour at tea, and -then in our carts pushed on up the valley, where we found a regiment -of Cossack cavalry in reserve. The hundreds of horses were all saddled -and wandering about, each meandering where its fancy led. Everywhere on -the grass and under the few clumps of brush were sitting or sleeping -the men, few of whom had any shelter or tents of any kind, and the -whole encampment was about as informal as the encampment of a herd of -cattle. In fact the Cossacks impress one as a kind of game who have -no more need of shelter or comforts than the deer of the forest. When -they settle down for the night they turn their horses loose, eat a bit -of ration and then sit under a tree and go to sleep. It is all very -charming and simple. Our guide informed us that when they wanted their -horses they simply went out and whistled for them as a mother sheep -bleats for its young, and that in a surprisingly short time every -soldier found his mount. The soldiers are devoted to their horses, -and in a dozen different places one could see them rubbing down their -mounts or rubbing their noses and petting them. - -From this encampment the road went up to its usual place on the crest -of the hill. The soldier driver of our carriage did not seem to feel -the same amount of enthusiasm about the “nice game” of being shelled, -and protested as much as he dared about taking the horses further; but -being quietly sat upon, he subsided with a deep sigh and started up -over the ridge in the direction of a clump of houses beyond another -rise of ground at an astonishingly rapid speed. From the crest along -which we travelled we had a beautiful view of a gently undulating -valley lying peaceful and serene under the warm afternoon sun. A few -insects buzzing about in the soft air near the carriage were the -only signs of life about us. We drove up at a good round pace to -the little clump of trees which sheltered a group of farm buildings. -As we were getting out of our carriage there was a sharp report to the -road on our right, and looking back I saw the fleecy white puff of a -shrapnel shell breaking just over the road to the north of us. Like -the bloom of cotton the smoke hung for an instant in the air and then -slowly expanding drifted off. A moment later, almost in the same place, -another beautiful white puff, with its heart of copper-red, appeared -over the road, and again the sharp sound of its burst drifted across -the valley. The Austrian shrapnel has a bit of reddish-brown smoke -which must be, I think, from the bursting charge in the shell. - -[Illustration: Cossacks on the Dniester. Officers’ quarters in the -woods.] - -Our guide was quite delighted and smiled and clicked his heels -cheerfully as he ushered us into the little room of the officer -commanding the regiment in the trenches just ahead of us. Even as he -greeted us, the telephone rang in the little low-ceilinged room of the -cottage, and he excused himself as he went to reply to it. In a few -minutes he came back with an annoyed expression on his face. “These -unpleasant Austrians,” he said in disgust. “They are always up to their -silly tricks. They have been shelling some Red Cross carts on the road. -I have just ordered the howitzer battery in our rear to come into -action and we shall see if we cannot give them a lesson in manners.” - -After a few pleasantries he asked what it was that we would most like, -and I replied in my stock phrases, “Observation points and trenches, if -you please.” He stood for a moment studying the tip of his dusty boot; -evidently he was not very eager about the job. However, he shrugged -his shoulders and went back to the telephone, and after a few minutes -conversation came back and said to us: “It is a very bad time to go -into our trenches, as we have no covered ways, and in the daytime one -is seen, and the enemy always begin firing. It is very unsafe, but if -you are very anxious I shall permit one of you to go forward, though it -is not convenient. When the enemy begin to fire, our batteries reply, -and firing starts in all the trenches. The soldiers like to fight, and -it doesn’t take much to start them.” - -Put in this way none of us felt very keen about insisting. So we all -compromised by a visit to a secondary position, which we were told was -not very dangerous, as the enemy could only reach it with their shell -fire and “of course no one minds that,” as the officer casually put it. -We all agreed that, of course, we did not mind that, and so trooped off -with the Colonel to the trenches and dug-outs where the troops who -were not in the firing line were in immediate reserve. - -The group of dug-outs was flanked with trenches, for, as the Colonel -informed us, “Who knows when this position may be attacked?” And then -he added, “You see, though we are not in the direct view of the enemy -here, they know our whereabouts and usually about this time of day they -shell the place. They can reach it very nicely and from two different -directions. Yesterday it became so hot in our house that we all spent a -quiet afternoon in the dug-outs.” He paused and offered us a cigarette, -and as he did so there came a deep boom from our rear and a howitzer -shell wailed over our heads on its mission of protest to the Austrians -about firing on Red Cross wagons. A few seconds later the muffled -report of its explosion came back across the valley. A second later -another and another shell went over our heads. The Colonel smiled, “You -see,” he said, “my orders are being carried out. No doubt the enemy -will reply soon.” - -His belief was justified. A moment later that extremely distressing -sound made by an approaching shell came to our ears, followed -immediately by its sharp report as it burst in a field a few hundred -yards away. I looked about at the soldiers and officers around me, but -not one even cast a glance in the direction of the smoke drifting away -over the field near by. After wandering about his position for half or -three-quarters of an hour, we returned to the cottage. It consisted of -but three rooms. The telephone room, a little den where the officers -ate, and a large room filled with straw on which they slept at night, -when sleeping was possible. - -Here we met a fine grey-haired, grizzled Colonel, who, as my banker -friend informed me, commanded a neighbouring regiment, the -- -Grenadiers. He is one of our finest officers and is in every way -worthy of his regiment, the history of which stretches back over two -centuries. The officer himself looked tired and shabby, and his face -was deeply lined with furrows. We read about dreadful sacrifices in -the Western fighting, but I think this regiment, which again I regret -that I cannot name, has suffered as much in this war as any unit on any -Front. In the two weeks of fighting around Cracow alone it has dwindled -from 4,000 men to 800, and that fortnight represented but a small -fraction of the campaigning which it has done since the war started. -Again and again it has been filled to its full strength, and after -every important action its ranks were depleted hideously. Now there are -very few left of the original members, but as an officer proudly said, -“These regiments have their traditions of which their soldiers are -proud. Put a moujik in its uniform and to-morrow he is a grenadier and -proud of it.” - -The Colonel, who sat by the little table as we talked, did not speak -English, but in response to the question of a friend who addressed him -in Russian, he said with a tired little smile, “Well, yes, after ten -months one is getting rather tired of the war. One hopes it will soon -be over and that one may see one’s home and children once more, but one -wonders if----” He paused, smiled a little, and offered us a cigarette. -It is not strange that these men who live day and night so near the -trenches that they are never out of sound of firing, and never sleep -out of the zone of bursting shells, whose every day is associated with -friends and soldiers among the fallen, wonder vaguely if they will ever -get home. The trench occupied by this man’s command was so exposed that -he could only reach it unobserved by crawling on his stomach over the -ridge, and into the shallow ditch that served his troops for shelter. - -Leaving the little farm we drove back over the road above which we had -seen the bursting shells on our arrival, but our own batteries, no -doubt, had diverted the enemy from practice on the road, for we made -the 3 versts without a single one coming our way. - -It was closing twilight when we started back for the head-quarters that -we had left in the early morning. The sun had set and the peace and -serenity of the evening were broken only by the distant thunder of an -occasional shell bursting in the west. From the ridge over which our -road ran I could distinctly see the smoke from three different burning -villages fired by the German artillery. One wonders what on earth the -enemy have in mind when they deliberately shell these pathetic little -patches of straw-thatched peasant homes. Even in ordinary times these -people seem to have a hard life in making both ends meet, but now in -the war their lot is a most wretched one. Apparently hardly a day -passes that some village is not burned by the long range shells of the -enemy’s guns. That such action has any military benefit seems unlikely. -The mind of the enemy seems bent on destruction, and everywhere their -foot is placed grief follows. - -The next morning for several hours I chatted with the General and -his Chief of Staff, and found, as always at the Front, the greatest -optimism. “Have you seen our soldiers at the Front?” is the question -always asked, and when one answers in the affirmative they say, “Well, -then how can you have any anxiety as to the future. These men may -retire a dozen times, but demoralized or discouraged they are never. -We shall win absolutely surely. Do not doubt it.” - -[Illustration: The Polish Legion.] - -One forms the opinion that the place for the pessimist is at the Front. -In the crises one leaves the big cities in a cloud of gloom, and the -enthusiasm and spirit increase steadily, until in the front trenches -one finds the officers exercising every effort to keep their men from -climbing out of their shelters and going across the way and bayoneting -the enemy. The morale of the Russian Army as I have seen it in these -last weeks is extraordinary. - -We left head-quarters and motored over wretched roads to the little -town of Ilza where the quaintest village I have seen lies in a little -hollow beneath a hill on which is perched the old ruin of a castle, -its crumbling ramparts and decaying battlements standing silhouetted -against the sky. We halted in the village to inquire the condition -of the road to Radom, for the day we came this way the enemy had -been shelling it and the remains of a horse scattered for 50 feet -along the highway told us that their practice was not bad at all. We -were informed that the artillery of the Germans commanded the first -4 versts, but after that it was safe enough. Somehow no one feels -much apprehension about artillery fire, and in our speedy car we -felt confident enough of doing the 4 versts in sufficient haste to -make the chance of a shot hitting us at 6,500 yards a very slight -one. As soon as we came out of the hollow, and along the great white -road which stretched across the green fields, I saw one of the great -sausage-shaped German Zeppelins hanging menacingly in the sky to the -west of us. It was a perfectly still day and the vessel seemed quite -motionless. - -At the end of the 4 versts mentioned there was a long hill, and then -the road dipped out of sight into another valley where the omniscient -eye of the German sausage could not follow us. It was in my own mind -that it would not be unpleasant when we crossed the ridge. We were just -beginning the climb of the hill when our own motor-car (which had been -coughing and protesting all day) gave three huge snorts, exploded three -times in the engine, and came to a dead stop on the road, with that -indescribable expression on its snubby inanimate nose of a car that -had finished for the day. The part of the road that we were on was as -white as chalk against the green of the hill, with only a few skinny -trees (at least they certainly looked skinny to me) to hide us. Frantic -efforts to crank the car and get it started only resulted in a few -explosions, and minor protests from its interior. - -So there we sat in the blazing sun while our extremely competent -chauffeur took off his coat and crawled under the car and did a -lot of tinkering and hammering. He was such a good and cool-headed -individual and went about his work so conscientiously that one did -not feel inclined to go off in the one good car and leave him alone -in his predicament. So we all sat under the skinny tree and smoked -while we watched three shells burst on the road over which we had -just passed. I must confess to a feeling of extreme annoyance at this -particular moment. One can feel a certain exaltation in hustling down -a road at seventy miles an hour and being shot at, but somehow there -is very little interest in sitting out in the blazing sun on a white -road hoping that you can get your car started before the enemy gets -your range. About the time the third shell landed on the road, our -car changed its mind and its engines suddenly went into action with -a tumult like a machine gun battery. We climbed in our cars and the -driver threw in the clutches and our motor made at least fifty feet in -one jump and went over the crest of the hill in a cloud of dust. The -man who sold it to me assured me that it once did 140 versts on a race -track in one hour. My own impression is that it was doing about 150 an -hour when it cleared the ridge and the Zeppelin was lost to sight. - -An hour later we were in Radom, and by midnight back once more in -Warsaw. - - - - -HOW THE RUSSIANS MET THE FIRST GAS ATTACK - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -HOW THE RUSSIANS MET THE FIRST GAS ATTACK - - - Dated: - - ZYRARDOW, POLAND, - - _June 5, 1915_. - -One of the finest stories of fortitude and heroism that the war on this -front has produced is of how the Siberian troops met the first large -scale attack upon their lines in which the enemy made use of the gas -horror, that latest product of the ingenuity of the Germans who boast -so loudly and so continuously of their _kultur_ and the standards of -civilization and humanity which they declare it is their sacred duty to -force upon the world. - -There has been a lull in the fighting on this immediate front for some -time, due to the fact that the Germans have diverted all the troops -that they could safely spare to strengthen their concentration in -Galicia. Only an occasional spasm of fighting with bursts of artillery -firing, first in one point and then another, have created sufficient -incident to mark one day from another. During this time the reports -of the use of poisoned gases and shells containing deadly fumes have -drifted over to this side, and it has been expected that sooner or -later something of the same sort would be experienced on the Bzura -front. Many times we have had shells containing formaline fumes and -other noxious poisons sent screaming over our trenches, but their use -heretofore seemed rather in the nature of an experiment than of a -serious innovation. Enough, however, has been said about them here, -and when the effort on a wholesale scale was made, it found our troops -prepared morally, if not yet with actual equipment in the way of -respirators. - -The first battle of the gases occurred early on the morning of Sunday, -the 30th of May. The days are very long here now, and the first pale -streaks of grey were just tinging the western horizon, when the -look-outs in the Russian trenches on the Bzura discovered signs of -activity in the trenches of the enemy which at this point are not very -far away from our lines. War has become such an every-day business that -an impending attack creates no more excitement in the trenches than a -doctor feels when he is called out at night to visit a patient. Word -was passed down the trenches to the sleeping soldiers, who at once -crawled out of their shelters and dug-outs, and rubbing their sleepy -eyes took their places at the loopholes and laid out, ready for use, -their piles of cartridge clips. The machine gun operators uncovered -their guns and looked to them to see that all was well oiled and -working smoothly, while the officers strolled about the trenches with -words of advice and encouragement to their men. - -Back in the reserve trenches the soldiers were turning out more -leisurely in response to the alarm telephoned back. Regimental, -brigade, division and army corps head-quarters were notified, and -within ten minutes of the first sign of a movement, the entire position -threatened was on the _qui vive_ without excitement or confusion. But -this was to be no ordinary attack; while preparations were still going -forward, new symptoms never hitherto observed, were noticeable on the -German line. Straw was thrown out beyond the trenches and was being -sprinkled with a kind of white powder which the soldiers say resembled -salt. While the Russians were still puzzling about the meaning of -it all, fire was put to the straw in a dozen places. Instantly from -the little spots of red flame spreading in both directions until the -line of twinkling fire was continuous, huge clouds of fleecy white -smoke rolled up. The officers were quick to realize what was coming, -and instantly the word was passed to the soldiers that they must be -prepared to meet a new kind of attack. After a rapid consultation and -advice from head-quarters over the telephone, it was decided that -it would be best for our men to remain absolutely quiet in their -trenches, holding their fire until the enemy were at their barbed wire -entanglements, in order to beguile the Germans into the belief that -their gases were effective, and that they were going to be able to -occupy the Russian trenches without losing a man. - -Officers and non-commissioned officers went through the trenches -telling the soldiers what they must expect, and imposing silence on -all, and prohibiting the firing of a gun until the enemy were almost -upon them when they were to open up with all the rapidity of fire that -they could command. In the meantime the wind of early morning air was -rolling the cloud gently toward the waiting Russians. - -I have been able through certain channels, which I cannot at present -mention, to secure a considerable amount of information as to the -German side of this attack. When it became known in the trenches of -the enemy that these gases were to be used, there is reason to believe -that there was a protest from the soldiers against it. Many of the -Russians are charitable enough to take the point of view that the -common soldier resorts to these methods because he is forced to do so, -and they say that the German private rebelled at the idea of using so -hideous a method of conducting warfare. Others, while they accept the -story of the soldiers’ opposition, declare they only feared the effects -of the gas upon themselves. In any event there is evidence that their -officers told them that the gas was a harmless one, and would simply -result in putting the Russians into a state of unconsciousness from -which they would recover in a few hours, and by that time the Germans -would have been able to take their trenches without the loss of a man. -It was at first believed that the white powder placed on the straw was -the element of the poison gas, but it later appeared that this was -merely to produce a screen of heavy and harmless smoke behind which the -real operations could be conducted. The actual source of the gas was in -the trenches themselves. - -Steel cylinders or tanks measuring a metre in length by perhaps 6 -inches in width were let in end downwards into the floor of the trench, -with perhaps half of the tanks firmly bedded in the ground. At the head -of the cylinder was a valve, and from this ran a lead pipe over the -top of the parapet and then bent downwards with the opening pointed -to the ground. These tanks were arranged in groups of batteries the -unit of which was ten or twelve, each tank being perhaps two feet from -its neighbour. Between each group was a space of twenty paces. I have -not been able to learn the exact length of the prepared trenches, but -it was perhaps nearly a kilometre long. As soon as their line was -masked by the volumes of the screening smoke, these taps were turned -on simultaneously and instantly the thick greenish yellow fumes of the -chloral gas poured in expanding clouds upon the ground, spreading like -a mist upon the face of the earth. - -There was a drift of air in the direction of the Russian trenches, -and borne before this the poison rolled like a wave slowly away from -the German line toward the positions of the Russians, the gas itself -seeking out and filling each small hollow or declivity in the ground -as surely as water, so heavy and thick was its composition. When it -was fairly clear of their own line the Germans began to move, all the -men having first been provided with respirators that they might not -experience the effects of the “harmless and painless” gas prepared for -the enemy. Ahead of the attacking columns went groups of sappers with -shears to cut the Russian entanglements; and behind them followed the -masses of the German infantry, while the rear was brought up, with -characteristic foresight, by soldiers bearing tanks of oxygen to -assist any of their own men who became unconscious from the fumes. - -The advance started somewhat gingerly, for the soldiers do not seem -to have had the same confidence in the effects of the gas as their -officers. But as they moved forward there was not a sound from the -Russian trench, and the word ran up and down the German line that -there would be no defence, and that for once they would take a Russian -position without the loss of a man. One can fancy the state of mind of -the German troops in these few minutes. No doubt they felt that this -new “painless” gas was going to be a humane way of ending the war, -that their chemists had solved the great problem, and that in a few -days they would be marching into Warsaw. Then they reached the Russian -entanglements, and without warning were swept into heaps and mounds of -collapsing bodies by the torrent of rifle and machine gun fire which -came upon them from every loophole and cranny of the Russian position. - -The Russian version of the story is one that must inspire the troops -of the Allies, as it has inspired the rest of the army over here. Some -time before the Germans actually approached, the green yellow cloud -rolled into the trenches and poured itself in almost like a column -of water; so heavy was it that it almost fell to the floor of the -trenches. The patient Siberians stood without a tremor as it eddied -around their feet and swept over their faces in constantly increasing -volumes. Thus for some minutes they stood wrapping hand-kerchiefs about -their faces, stifling their sounds, and uttering not a word while -dozens fell suffocating into the trench. Then at last in the faint -morning light could be seen the shadowy figures of the Germans through -the mist; then at last discipline and self-control were released, and -every soldier opened fire pumping out his cartridges from his rifle as -fast as he could shoot. The stories of heroism and fortitude that one -hears from the survivors of this trench are exceptional. One Siberian -who was working a machine gun had asked his comrade to stand beside -him with wet rags and a bucket of water. The two bodies were found -together, the soldier collapsed over the machine gun, whose empty -cartridge belt told the story of the man’s last effort having gone to -work his gun, while sprawling over the upset bucket was the dead body -of the friend who had stood by and made his last task possible. - -[Illustration: The colours of the Siberians.] - -Officers in the head-quarters of regiment and divisions tell of the -operators at the telephones clinging to their instruments until only -the sounds of their choking efforts to speak came over the wire, and -then silence. Some were found dead with the receivers in their -hands, while others were discovered clutching muskets fallen from the -hands of the infantry that had succumbed. In this trying ordeal not -a man, soldier or officer budged from his position. To a man they -remained firm, some overcome, some dying, and others already dead. So -faithful were they to their duty, that before the reserves reached -them the Germans were already extricating themselves from their own -dead and wounded, and hurriedly beating a retreat toward their own -lines. From the rear trenches now came, leaping with hoarse shouts of -fury, the columns of the Siberian reserves. Through the poisoned mist -that curled and circled at their feet, they ran, many stumbling and -falling from the effect of the noxious vapours. When they reached the -first line trench, the enemy was already straggling back in retreat, a -retreat that probably cost them more dearly than their attack; for the -reserves, maddened with fury poured over their own trenches, pursued -the Germans, and with clubbed rifle and bayonet took heavy vengeance -for comrades poisoned and dying in the first line trench. So furiously -did the Siberians fall upon the Germans that several positions in the -German line were occupied, numbers of the enemy who chose to remain -dying under the bayonet or else falling on their knees with prayers -for mercy. Somewhat to the south of the main gas attack there came a -change in the wind, and the poisoned fumes blew back into the trenches -of the Germans, trenches in which it is believed the occupants were -not equipped with respirators. The Russians in opposite lines say that -the cries of the Germans attacked by their own fumes were something -horrible to listen to, and their shrieks could have been heard half a -mile away. - -Thus ended the first German effort to turn the Russians out of their -positions by the use of a method which their rulers had pledged -themselves in treaty never to adopt. The net results were an absolute -defeat of the Germans, with the loss of several of their own positions, -and a loss in dead and wounded probably three times greater than -was suffered by the Russians. Even although it was unexpected and -unprepared for, this first attempt was an absolute failure; the only -result being an increase of fury on the part of the Russian soldiers -that makes it difficult to keep them in their trenches, so eager are -they to go over and bayonet their enemies. - - - - -SOME DETAILS REGARDING THE GAS HORROR - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -SOME DETAILS REGARDING THE GAS HORROR - - - WARSAW, - _June 8_. - -Ever since my return from the southern armies last week I have spent -practically my entire time in the study and investigation of the newest -phase of frightfulness as practised by the German authorities. Ten -months of war and an earlier experience in Manchuria of what misery it -represents even when conducted in the most humane way have not tended -to make me over-sensitive to the sights and sufferings which are the -inevitable accompaniment of the conflict between modern armies; but -what I have seen in the last week has impressed me more deeply than the -sum total of all the other horrors which I have seen in this and other -campaigns combined. The effects of the new war methods involve hideous -suffering and are of no military value whatsoever (if results on this -front are typical); while they reduce war to a barbarity and cruelty -which could not be justified from any point of view, even were the -results obtained for the cause of the user a thousandfold greater than -they have proved to be. - -I found on my return from the south the whole of Warsaw in a fever -of riotous indignation against the Germans and the German people as -the result of the arrival of the first block of gas victims brought -in from the Bzura front. I have already described the attack made on -the Russian position, its absolute failure, and the result it had of -increasing the morale of the Russian troops. I must now try to convey -to the reader an idea of the effects which I have personally witnessed -and ascertained by first hand investigation of the whole subject. The -investigation has taken me from the Warsaw hospitals, down through the -various army, corps, division and regimental head-quarters, to the -advance trenches on which the attack was actually made. I have talked -with every one possible, from generals to privates, and from surgeons -to the nurses, and to the victims themselves, and feel, therefore, that -I can write with a fair degree of authority. - -The gas itself, I was told at the front, was almost pure chloral -fumes; but in the hospitals here they informed me that there were -indications of the presence of a small trace of bromine, though it has -proved somewhat difficult to make an exact analysis. The effect of -the gas when inhaled is to cause an immediate and extremely painful -irritation of the lungs and the bronchial tubes, which causes instantly -acute suffering. The gas, on reaching the lungs, and coming in contact -with the blood, at once causes congestion, and clots begin to form -not only in the lungs themselves but in the blood-vessels and larger -arteries, while the blood itself becomes so thick that it is with -great difficulty that the heart is able to force it through the veins. -The first effects, then, are those of strangulation, pains throughout -the body where clots are forming, and the additional misery of the -irritation which the acid gases cause to all the mucous membranes to -which it is exposed. Some of the fatal cases were examined by the -surgeons on the post-mortem table, and it was found that the lungs were -so choked with coagulated blood that, as one doctor at the front told -me, they resembled huge slabs of raw liver rather than lungs at all. -The heart was badly strained from the endeavour to exert its functions -against such obstacles, and death had resulted from strangulation. - -Though the unfortunates who succumbed suffered hideously, their lot -was an easy one compared to the lot of the miserable wretches who -lingered on and died later. One might almost say that even those that -are recovering have suffered so excruciatingly as to make life dear -at the price. Those who could be treated promptly have for the most -part struggled back to life. Time only will show whether they recover -entirely, but from evidence obtained, I am inclined to believe many -of them will be restored to a moderate condition of good health after -their lungs are healed. The first treatment employed by the Russians -when their patients come to the hospitals, is to strip them of all -clothing, give them a hot bath and put them into clean garments. This -is done for the protection of the nurses as well as of the victims, -for it was found that many of the helpers were overcome by the residue -of the fumes left in the clothing, so deadly was the nature of the -chemical compound used. - -Even after these cases were brought to Warsaw and put into clean linen -pyjamas and immaculate beds, the gas still given out from their lungs -as they exhaled so poisoned the air in the hospital that some of the -women nurses were affected with severe headaches and with nausea. From -this it may be gathered that the potency of the chloral compound is -extremely deadly. The incredible part is, that out of the thousands -affected, hardly a thousand died in the trenches, and of the 1,300 -to 1,500 brought to Warsaw, only 2 per cent. have died to date. It -is probably true that the Russian moujik soldier is the hardiest -individual in Europe; add to this the consideration that for ten months -none of them have been touching alcohol, which is probably one reason -for their astonishing vitality in fighting this deadly poison and -struggling back to life. - -[Illustration: Respirator drill in the trenches.] - -[Illustration: Austrians leaving Przemysl.] - -After the victims are washed, every effort is made to relieve the -congestion. Mustard plasters are applied to the feet, while camphor -injections are given hypodermically, and caffeine or, in desperate -cases, digitalis is given to help the heart keep up its task against -the heavy odds. Next blood is drawn from the patient and quantities of -salt and water injected in the veins to take its place and to dilute -what remains. In the severer cases I am told that the blood even from -the arteries barely flows, and comes out a deep purple and almost as -viscous as molasses. In the far-gone cases it refuses to flow at all. - -The victims that die quickly are spared the worst effects, but those -that linger on and finally succumb suffer a torture which the days of -the Inquisition can hardly parallel. Many of them have in their efforts -to breathe swallowed quantities of the gas, and in these cases, which -seem to be common, post-mortems disclose the fact that great patches -in their stomachs and in their intestines have been eaten almost raw -by the action of the acid in the gas. These men then die not only of -strangulation, which, in itself, is a slow torture, but in their last -moments their internal organs are slowly being eaten away by the acids -which they have taken into their stomachs. Several of the doctors have -told me that in these instances the men go violently mad from sheer -agony, and that many of them must be held in their beds by force to -prevent them from leaping out of the windows or running amok in the -hospitals. It is hard to still them with sufficient morphine to deaden -the pain without giving an overdose, with the result that many of the -poor fellows probably suffer until their last gasp. - -This then is the physical effect which is produced on the victims of -Germany’s latest device to win the war. I have been in many of the -hospitals, and I have never in my life been more deeply moved than by -the pathetic spectacle of these magnificent specimens of manhood lying -on their beds writhing in pain or gasping for breath, each struggle -being a torture. The Russians endure suffering with a stoicism that is -heartbreaking to observe, and I think it would surely touch even the -most cynical German chemist were he to see his victims, purple in the -face, lips frothed with red from bleeding lungs, with head thrown back -and teeth clenched to keep back the groans of anguish, as they struggle -against the subtle poison that has been taken into their system. One -poor fellow said to the nurse as she sat by his bed and held his hand, -“Oh, if the German Kaiser could but suffer the pain that I do he would -never inflict this torture upon us. Surely there must be a horrible -place prepared for him in the hereafter.” - -The effect upon the troops at the front who have seen the sufferings -of their fellows or who have had a touch of it themselves, has been -quite extraordinary. Some of the more cynical say that the German idea -involved this suffering as a part of their campaign of frightfulness, -their belief being that it would strike panic to the hearts of all the -soldiers that beheld it and result in the utter demoralization of the -Russian Army. If this be true the German psychologists never made a -more stupid blunder, for in this single night’s work they have built up -for themselves in the heart of every Russian moujik a personal hatred -and detestation that has spread like wildfire in all parts of the army -and has made the Russian troops infinitely fiercer both in attack and -in defence than at any other period in the war. Not a soldier or -officer with whom I have talked has shown the smallest sign of fear for -the future, and all are praying for an opportunity to exact a vengeance. - -Unfortunately in the next attacks in which this just fury will be in -evidence, it will be the unfortunate German soldier who must pay the -price at the point of the bayonet, while the cold-blooded wretches -who worked it all out will go scot free from the retribution which -the Russians intend to administer with cold steel and the butt end of -their muskets. In the meantime the Russians have taken steps which will -in all probability render future attacks practically innocuous. Every -soldier is receiving a respirator, a small mask soaked in some chemical -preparation and done up in an air-tight packet ready for use. The -preparation, it is believed, will keep out the fumes for at least an -hour. It is highly improbable that any such period will elapse before -the gases are dissipated by the wind; but in any event extra quantities -of the solution will be kept in the trenches to enable the soldiers to -freshen their masks if the gases are not cleared up within an hour. - -In addition to this, open ditches will be dug in the trenches and -filled with water, which will promptly suck up the gas that would -otherwise linger on indefinitely. It is also proposed to strew straw -in front of the positions and to sprinkle it with water before an -attack with the gases in order to take up as much of the poison as -possible before it reaches the trenches at all. When one remembers -that though the first attack came without any preparations being made -to meet it, and was an absolutely new experience to the Russians, it -yet failed overwhelmingly, I think one need feel no anxiety as to the -results which will follow the next attack when every preparation has -been made by the Russians to receive it. - -I have dwelt at some length on the subject of the poisoned gases, -but as there is available evidence to indicate that the Germans are -planning to make this an important feature of their campaign, it seems -worth while to bring before the attention of the outside world all of -the consequences which the use of this practice involve. I hear now -from excellent sources that the Germans are equipping a large plant at -Plonsk for the express purpose of making poison gases on a large scale. -In what I have written before I have only mentioned the bearing of the -gas on strictly military operations, but there is another consideration -to be noticed in this new practice, and that is the effect which it -has, and will have increasingly, upon the unfortunate peasant and -civil population whose miserable fate it is to live behind the lines. - -I am not aware of the nature and potency of the gas used in the West, -but I read recently in the paper that it was so deadly that its effects -were observable a full mile from the line of battle. Over here they -were noticeable 25 miles from the line, and individuals were overcome -as far away as 14 versts from the positions. The General commanding the --- Siberian Corps told me that the sentry before his gate fell to the -ground from inhaling the poisoned air, though his head-quarters is more -than 10 miles away from the point where the Germans turned loose their -fiendish invention. The General commanding the --th Division of this -same Siberian Corps, against whom the attack was made, told me that -the gases reached his head-quarters exactly 1½ hours after it passed -the positions which he told me were between 5 and 6 versts from the -house in which he lived. In the morning the fumes lay like a mist on -the grass, and later in the day they were felt with sufficient potency -to cause nausea and headaches at Grodisk, 30 versts from the trenches. -Everywhere I was told of the suffering and panic among the peasants, -who came staggering in from every direction to the Russian Red Cross -stations and head-quarters. These, of course, were not as severely -stricken as the troops in the front lines, and as far as I know none -of them have died, but hundreds were being cared for by the Russian -authorities, and among these I am told were many women and children. - -[Illustration: Siberians returning from the trenches.] - -In fact it is but logical to expect the greatest suffering in the -future to be among children, for the gas hangs very low, and where a -six foot man might keep his nose clear of the fumes, a child of two or -three years old would be almost sure to perish. The live stock suffered -more or less, but there seems to have been a great difference in the -effects of the gases upon different kinds of animals. Horses were -driven almost frantic, cows felt it much less, and pigs are said not to -have been bothered appreciably. In its effects on plants and flowers -one notices a great range of results among different varieties. Pansies -were slightly wilted, snapdragons absolutely, while certain little blue -flowers whose name I do not know were scarcely affected at all. Some -of the tips of the grasses were coloured brown, while leaves on some -trees were completely destitute of any colour at all. I cannot explain -the varying effects. I have in my pocket a leaf two-thirds of which is -as white as a piece of writing paper while the remaining third is as -green as grass. On the same tree some leaves were killed and others not -affected at all. The effects also vary greatly in different parts of -the country. From what I could observe the gas had flowed to all the -low places where it hung for hours. In the woods it is said to have -drifted about with bad effects that lasted for several days. - -What I have described above is the first effect on the country, but if -the Germans are to continue this practice for the rest of the summer I -think there must be effects which in the end will result in far more -injury to the peasants who are not prepared, than to the soldiers -who are taught how to combat the gases. In the first place it seems -extremely probable that this gas flowing to the low places will almost -invariably settle in the lakes, marshes and all bodies of still water -within 20 to 30 versts of the line. I am not sufficiently well grounded -in chemistry to speak authoritatively, but it seems not improbable that -the effect of this will be gradually to transform every small body of -water in this vicinity into a diluted solution of hydrochloric acid, a -solution which will become more and more concentrated with every wave -of gas that passes over the country-side. If this be the case Poland -may perhaps see huge numbers of its horses, cows and other live stock -slowly poisoned by chloral while the inhabitants may experience a -similar fate. With wet weather and moist soil will come a period when -the chloral will go into the earth in large quantities. I do not know -what effect this will have on the future of the crops, but I imagine -that it will not help the harvest this year, while its deleterious -effects may extend over many to come. In other words it seems as though -the Germans in order to inflict a possible military damage on the -Russians are planning a campaign, the terrible effects of which will -fall for the most part not on the soldiers at all but on the harmless -non-combatants who live in the rear of the lines. This practice is as -absolutely unjustifiable as that of setting floating mines loose at sea -on the possible chance of sinking an enemy ship, the probability being -ten to one that the victim will prove an innocent one. - -We are now facing over here, and I suppose in the West as well, a -campaign of poisoned air, the effect of which upon the military -situation will be neutralized by reprisals; but at the same time this -campaign is going to increase the suffering and misery of the soldiers -a hundred per cent., and in its ultimate results bring more misery to -the populations in the various regions near the lines than has ever -been experienced in any previous war. It must be reasonably clear to -the Germans by now that their scheme to terrorize has failed, and -that their aim of inflicting vast damage has fallen to the ground. -When reprisals come, as they must if Germany continues this inhuman -policy, she will, without having gained anything whatsoever from -her experiment, cause needlessly the deaths of thousands of her -own soldiers, as well as suffering and devastation among the rural -classes. It does seem as though, when the German policy is so clearly -unfruitful, it should be possible through the medium of some neutral -country to reach an agreement providing for the entire discontinuance -on all fronts of this horrible practice. Certainly, when there are -so many thousands of innocents who must suffer by its continuance, -it would be well worth the while of the authorities in the different -countries to consider the possibility mentioned before resorting to the -use of this deadly weapon, which often proves as dangerous to the users -as to the enemy against whom it is directed. - - - - -THE BZURA FRONT IN JUNE - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE BZURA FRONT IN JUNE - - - Dated: - WARSAW, - _June 9_. - -Some one has said that there is nothing more monotonous than war. After -ten months of almost continuous contact with its various phenomena, -and week after week spent in the same atmosphere, where one is always -surrounded by the same types of men in the same uniforms, the same -transport, the same guns, the same Red Cross, and in fact everything -the same in general appearance, it becomes very difficult to get up -new interest in the surroundings, and that deadly monotony of even the -happenings makes it increasingly difficult to write about it. The types -of country vary here and trenches are not after one pattern, but after -one has seen a few dozen even of these there is a good deal of sameness -in it all. I have not been on the Bzura Front, however, since January, -and as little has been written about it by any one else since the big -January-February attacks on the Bolimov positions, it may be worth -devoting a short chapter to it, describing its appearance in summer. - -The last time that I was out here was in January, when the ground was -deep in snow and slush, and the soldiers muffled to their ears to keep -out the biting winds that swept across the country. Now the whole army, -that is not fighting or otherwise occupied, is luxuriously basking in -the sunshine, or idling under the shade of the trees. The poisonous -gas campaigns, of which I have already written at length, having been -started on our Bzura line, seemed to justify a visit to the positions -here in order that I might speak with some degree of accuracy as to the -effects of this newest German method of warfare, from the trenches, -where the attacks were made, down through the varying stages to the -last, where one found the victims struggling for breath in the Warsaw -hospitals. - -Leaving Warsaw early in the morning I went to the head-quarters of -the army immediately before Warsaw, and on explaining my desires, -every possible means of assistance was placed at my disposal including -an extra automobile and an officer interpreter. From the army -head-quarters we sped over a newly-built road to the head-quarters -of that army corps which is defending the line of the Rawka, where -the chief medical officer obligingly placed at my disposal all -the information which he possessed of the General commanding that -particular Siberian army corps on whom the experiment was first tried. -This man, an officer of high rank, was living in a small white cottage -standing by the side of a second rate country road, without a single -tree to protect it from the rays of the sun which in the afternoon was -beating down on it with a heat that could be seen as it shimmered up -from the baking earth, barren of grass or any green thing. Here was a -man, commanding perhaps 40,000 troops, living in one of the bleakest -spots I have seen in Poland, with nothing but a tiny head-quarters flag -and dozens of telephone wires running in from all directions to denote -that he was directing a command greater than a battalion. - -As the greatest indignation prevails throughout the army on the -gas subject, I found the officers here very eager to help me in my -investigations, and the General immediately telephoned to the division -head-quarters that we would visit them and asked that an officer might -be provided to take us forward to the positions where the heaviest -losses occurred. So once more we took to our motor car, and for -another 6 versts, across fields and down avenues of trees, we sped -until at last we turned off sharply into the country estate of some -landed proprietor where were living the staff of the --th division. -These fortunate men were much better off than their commander, for in -a lovely villa, with a lake shimmering like a sheet of silver in the -sunlight behind the terrace on which the officers could have their -coffee in the evenings, the General and his suite lived. A delightful -little Captain, who seemed to be in charge of our programme, led us -to a window and pointing to a windmill in an adjacent field remarked: -“The German artillery reaches just to that point. From the time you -leave there until you reach the trenches you will be continually within -the range of their guns and for most of the time within plain sight of -their observers in their gun positions. However, if you insist we shall -be glad to let you go. Probably they will not fire on you, and if they -do I think they will not hit you. An automobile is a difficult target.” - -With this doubtful assurance we started out again, this time heading -for regimental head-quarters, which we were told was a mile behind the -trenches. A few miles further, and we came on several battalions in -reserve near a little village. A small orchard here gave them shelter -from observation, and after their trying ordeal a few days before, they -were resting luxuriously on the grass, many of them lying flat on -their backs in the shade fast asleep while everywhere were piled their -rifles. These sturdy self-respecting Siberian troops are the cream of -the army and physically as fine specimens of manhood as I have ever -seen anywhere. From this point we turned sharply west and ran at top -speed down an avenue of trees to a little bridge, where we left the car -effectively concealed behind a clump of trees. At least that was the -intention, and one in which the chauffeur and his orderly companion -took great interest as one could see by the careful scrutiny that they -gave the landscape and then their cover. - -Personally I think this is the meanest country to get about in during -the day time that I can possibly imagine. It is almost as flat as -a billiard table, and I am of the opinion that if you lay down in -the road you could see a black pin sticking up in it a mile away. -Everything around you is as still as death for perhaps ten minutes. The -sun shines, butterflies flit about and an occasional bee goes droning -past. There is nothing whatever to suggest the possibility of war. -You think it is a mistake and that you are at least twenty miles from -the Front; then you hear a deep detonation not far away and a great -smoking crater in a field near by indicates where a heavy shell has -burst. Again there is absolute silence for perhaps twenty minutes, -when a sharp report not far away causes you to look quickly toward -a grove of trees in a neighbouring field where you discover one of -the Russian batteries. Leaving our motor we walk across a field and -approach the site of a destroyed village, if a cluster of six or eight -little cottages could ever have been dignified by that name. Now only -a chimney here, or a few walls there, indicates where once stood this -little group of homes. In one of the ruins, like a dog in an ash-heap, -lives the Colonel of the --th Siberian with his staff. Behind a wall -left standing is a table and a few chairs, and dug out of the corner is -a bomb proof where converge telephones from the trenches in which are -his troops. Here he has been living since the middle of last January. - -The village was destroyed months and months ago, and clearly as it is -in the line of German observation it seems to provide a comparatively -safe retreat for the officers, though as one of them remarked quite -casually, “They dropped thirty-five shells round us yesterday, but you -see nothing much came of it.” Absolute indifference to these situations -is the keynote at the Front, and good form makes one refrain from -asking the numerous questions as to the exact location of the enemy, -whether or not they can see us, and other subjects which, at the -moment, seem to us of first-class importance. However, we realize that -good taste requires that we assume the same casual attitude, and so we -sit for half an hour, smoke cigarettes and quietly hope that the enemy -will choose some other target than this for their afternoon practice -which, as one of the officers remarked, “Usually begins about this hour -in the afternoon.” - -Personally I hate poking around in the broad daylight in this flat -country, but as I wanted to see the position where the gas was used -and did not want to wait until night, and as the Colonel was perfectly -agreeable, I suggested that we should proceed forthwith to the -positions. Before starting we were told that up to a few weeks ago no -one ever used the road in the daytime, because of its exposure to rifle -and artillery fire. “But now,” as the Colonel said, “for some reason or -other they are not shooting at individuals. Probably they are saving -their ammunition for Galicia. So if we walk apart we shall not be in -much danger. Anyway a man or two would be hard to hit with rifle fire, -and their artillery is rather poor here, and even if they fire at us I -think we shall not be killed.” We thanked him for his optimism and all -started off down the road that led to the positions. In view of his -suggestion about individuals being safe, I was not particularly happy -when five officers who had nothing else to do joined us. The first half -mile of the road led down an avenue of trees which effectively screened -us. After that the trees stopped and the great white road, elevated -about 5 feet above the surrounding country, impressed me as being the -most conspicuous topographical feature that I had seen in Poland. There -was not a bit of brush as big as a tooth-pick to conceal our party -walking serenely down the highway. - -After we had got about 200 yards on this causeway the Colonel stopped -and pointed with his stick at a group of red brick buildings. “The -Germans were there,” translated the interpreter. “My,” I ejaculated -in enthusiasm at the idea that they had gone, “when did we retake the -position?” “Oh,” replied the interpreter officer, “not yet. They are -still there.” “Ah!” I said, lighting a cigarette, that my interest -might not seem too acute, “I should think they could see us.” The -linguist spoke a few words to the Colonel and then replied, “Oh, yes, -every move we make, but the Colonel thinks they will not shoot.” I -looked over at the brick buildings, behind which were the German -artillery positions, and I could swear they were not 2,000 yards away, -while a line of dirt nearer still showed the infantry trenches. For -myself I felt as large as an elephant, and to my eyes our party seemed -as conspicuous as Barnum’s circus on parade. However we continued our -afternoon stroll to the reserve trenches, where a soldier or two joined -our group. Five or six hundred yards up the road was the barricade -thrown across, held by the first line. An occasional crack of a rifle -reminded us that the look-outs in our trenches were studying the -movements in the German trenches a few hundred yards beyond. Finally -we left the road and came over a field and into the rear of our own -position, and to the scene of the German gas attacks four or five days -before. - -Life in the trenches has become such an everyday affair to these -sunburned, brawny soldiers from Siberia that they seem to have no more -feeling of anxiety than if they were living in their own villages far, -far to the East. In spite of the fact that they have steadily borne the -brunt of terrible attacks, and even now are under the shadow of the -opposing lines, which are thoroughly equipped with the mechanism for -dispensing poisoned air, they are as gay and cheerful as schoolboys on -a vacation. I have never seen such healthy, high-spirited soldiers in -my life. The trenches have been so cleaned up that a house wife could -find no fault with them. - -These homes of the soldiers have every appearance of being swept daily. -The apprehension felt in the winter of hygienic conditions when the -spring came have no ground whatever, and I am told on the very highest -authority that in this army the sickness, other than that coming from -wounds, is less than for the months that preceded the war itself. The -Colonel explained to us the use of the respirators with which every -soldier is provided, and for our benefit had one of the soldiers fitted -with one that he might be photographed to illustrate for the West what -sort of protection is being supplied to the men on this side. After -spending half to three-quarters of an hour wandering about in the -trenches and meeting the officers who live there we returned to the -regimental head-quarters. The sun was just setting, and as we strolled -back over the open causeway in its last red glow a great German battery -suddenly came into action somewhere off to the west and north of us, -and we could hear the heavy detonations of its huge shells falling in a -nearby wood. - -When we got back to the regimental head-quarters I could see their -target, which seemed to be nothing more than a big field. Every few -minutes an enormous shell would drop in the meadow. For an instant -there would be but a little dust where it hit the ground, then suddenly -a great spout of earth and dust and volumes of dirty brown smoke would -leap into the air like the eruption of a volcano, and then the heavy -sound of the explosion would reach our ears, while for two or three -minutes the crater would smoke as though the earth itself were being -consumed by hidden fires. As it was coming late we did not linger long -at the head-quarters but took to our car and sped up the avenue of -trees which lay directly parallel to the point where the shells were -bursting. The sun had set now, and in the after glow we passed once -more the camps of the reserves squatting about their little twinkling -fires built in the earth to mask them from the sight of the enemy. In -half an hour we were back once more in the villa of the General of -the division, an enormous man of six feet three, whose cross of St. -George of the first class was given for a heroic record in Manchuria -where the General, then a Colonel, was three times wounded by Japanese -bullets. Sitting on his terrace he gave us more details in regard to -the usages of the gas against his troops. Though they were 6 versts -from the Front, everyone in his head-quarters had been affected with -nausea and headaches, so potent were the fumes of the chloral that -for hours lay like a miasmic mist in the grounds and garden of the -estate. The General, who is a very kindly giant, shook his head sadly -as he spoke of the Germans. I think the Russians are a very charitable -people and nearly all the men with whom I have talked lay the blame of -this outrage on civilization against the authorities and not against -the men, who, they understand, are bitterly opposed to its use. When I -asked the General what he thought of the German point of view of war, -he sat for a few moments looking out over the lovely garden with the -little lake that lay before us. - -“They have an extraordinary point of view,” he said at last. Then he -rose quickly from his chair and brought from a corner of the balcony -a belt captured in some skirmish of the morning. He held it up for me -to see the big buckle and with his finger pointed to the words: “GOTT -MIT UNS.” Then with a smile more significant than words he tossed -it back into the corner. Yes, truly, the German point of view is an -extraordinary one. - - - - -THE GALICIAN FRONT - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE GALICIAN FRONT - - - Dated: - ROVNA, - _June 26, 1915_. - -In a few weeks a year will have passed since the Imperial German -Government began issuing its series of declarations of war against one -country after another--declarations which as time elapses are assuming -the aspect of hostilities not only against individual countries, but -against practically all that modern civilization had come to represent. -During that time each of the Allies, and all of the world besides, have -been studying the geography of Europe and the armies engaged in the -great conflict. Of all these countries and of all these armies, I think -that the least known and the least understood are the country and the -army of Russia. - -It has been my fortune to be with the Russians since last September, -during which time I have travelled thousands of versts both in -Poland and in Galicia. I have visited eight out of their eleven -active armies, and been on the positions in most of them, and it is -not an exaggeration to say that I have met and talked with between -five hundred and a thousand officers. Yet I feel that I am only now -beginning to realize what this war means to Russia, and the temper that -it has slowly but surely developed in her armies and in her peoples. -Never I think have the stamina and the temper of a country been more -fiercely tested than have those of Russia during the campaign which -has been going on in Galicia since May last. All the world realizes -in a general way what the Russians had to contend with, and all the -world knows vaguely that Russia has a front of 1,200 versts to protect, -and appreciates in an indefinite kind of way that such a line must -be difficult to hold. But though I have been here for eleven months, -I never formed any adequate conception of how great was this problem -until I undertook to cover the Front, from its far fringe in Bukovina -to its centre on the Warsaw Front. - -During the past two months it has been all but impossible to follow -movements with any clear understanding of their significance. We -have all known that the Russians were retiring from position after -position before overwhelming attacks of the enemy; and with very few -exceptions, the world has concluded, and the enemy certainly has, -that flying before the phalanx of the Austro-German legions with their -thousands of massed guns, fed with clockwork regularity with munitions -and supplies brought up by their superb railway systems, was the -wrecked and defeated Russian Army, an organization that it would take -months of rest and recuperation to lick into the shape of a virile -fighting force once more. I have never shared this opinion myself, for -we who were in Manchuria ten years ago learned to know that though it -was quite possible to drive the Russians off the field, it was equally -impossible to destroy their _moral_ or break their spirits. A month -after Lio Yang the supposedly defeated Russians took the offensive -at Sha Ho and came a cropper. Again in January another offensive was -developed and failed. They were ready once more at Moukden and lost -badly. By September had peace not intervened they would have fought -again. Even the Japanese were beginning to feel the discouragement of -the Russian persistency in refusing to accept defeat as final. The -Manchurian campaign was unpopular, not in the least understood, and yet -the Russian moujik hung on and on month after month. The Japanese knew -their mettle and admitted it freely. - -For a year now we have had the Russians again at war. But this time -the situation is quite different. The war touched the slow lethargic -rather negative Russian temperament from the start, by its appeal to -their race sympathies, which is the one vital chord that can always -be touched with a certainty of response, in the heart of every Slav. -From the first month, the popularity of the war has grown steadily, -until to-day it has the backing of the entire Russian people, barring -isolated groups of intriguers and cliques controlled and influenced -by German blood. I have talked with officers from every part of this -Empire, and they all tell me that it is the same in Siberia as it is -in European Russia. The moujik in his heavy, ponderous way is behind -this war. No matter what pessimism one hears in Petrograd or Warsaw, -one can always find consolation as to the ultimate outcome by going to -the common people, those who patiently and stoically are bearing the -burden. This is the strength of Russia and this is why Russia and the -Russian Armies are not beaten in Galicia, are not discouraged and have -not the vaguest idea of a peace without a decision any more than the -Englishman, the Frenchman or the Belgian. - -In so vast a theatre as this, it is utterly impossible to form clear -and definite opinions as to what has taken place even in the past -year, and it may be imagined with what difficulty one can predict -the future. But there is one thing in war that is greater than an -advance or a retreat, greater than a dozen battles, and greater than -the speculations of experts, and that thing is the temper and stamina -of the men and the people who are fighting the war. Given that and one -can look with comparative equanimity upon the ups and downs of the vast -tactical and strategical problems which develop now in East Prussia, -now in Poland and again in Galicia. There was one great strategic aim -of the Germans in their Galician movement, and that was to crush the -Russian Army, hand back to Austria her lost province, and then hurry -back to the west to attack England and France. It is true that Germany -has driven the Russians from position after position; it is true that -she has given back Lwow to the unenthusiastic Austrians, who with -trembling hands accepted it back as a dangerous gift, and it is true -that the world looks upon the recapture of Galicia as a great moral -blow to the Russian arms. Thus far has Germany achieved her ends. But -she has not destroyed the army, she has not discouraged the troops, -and with the exception of one army, now repaired, she did not even -seriously cripple it. - -The plain facts are, that by a preponderance of war munitions which -Russia could not equal, supplied over lines of communication which -Russia could not duplicate, Germany forced Russian withdrawals before -her, for men cannot fight modern battles with their fists. The glory of -the German advance will be dimmed when the world really knows exactly -what Russia had in men and in arms and munitions to meet this assault, -the greatest perhaps that has ever been made in military history. -Indeed the surprise of the writer is not that the Germans won but that -they did not crush the army before them. This retreat from the Dunajec -will form a brilliant page in Russia’s history, and an object lesson to -the whole world of what a stubborn army composed of courageous hearts -can do by almost sheer bravery alone. The Russians have come through -their trial by fire. Barring one army they have probably suffered -far less in personnel than the loss they have inflicted on their -enemy. They have reached, or approximately reached, another point of -defence. Their spirits are good, their confidence unshaken, and their -determination to fight on indefinitely, regardless of defeats, is -greater than it ever was before. - -The Germans have failed in their greatest aim--as the case stands -to-day. One cannot doubt that the high authorities in Berlin must -realize this truth as surely as the military brains do on this side -of the line. The Germans have shot their first bolt, a bolt forged -from every resource in men and munitions that they could muster after -months of preparation. The Russians have recoiled before it and may -recoil again and again, but they always manage to prevent it from -accomplishing its aim. At the moment of writing Germany faces the -identical problem that she did two months ago, excepting that she now -occupies extra territory, for the most part in ruins. The problem -before her is to repeat the Galician enterprise on an army infinitely -better than the one she broke in May. If she can do this she will -have the identical problem to meet on some other line in another two -months, and after that another and another. It is simply a question of -how much time, men and resources Germany has to spend on these costly -victories, if indeed the next proves a victory, which is doubtful. She -may do it once, she may do it twice, but whenever it may be there will -come a time when she can do it no more, and when that time comes Russia -will slowly, surely, inexorably come back, step by step, until she has -regained her own, her early conquests, and has Germany on her knees in -the East. It is futile to speculate as to time. It may be months and it -may be years. But it is most surely coming eventually. - - - - -THE GERMAN DRIVE IN GALICIA - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE GERMAN DRIVE IN GALICIA - - - Dated: - ROVNA, - _June 26, 1915_. - -It is utterly impossible at this time to give anything like an accurate -story of the past two months in Galicia. It will be years before the -information necessary for definite history can be accumulated from the -various units engaged. Even then there will be gaps and inaccuracies -because hundreds of the men engaged have been killed, and so few even -of the Generals know more than their own side of the case, that the -difficulties of the historian will be enormous. - -I shall not attempt then, in this brief chapter, anything but to trace -the merest outline of the causes and effects of the German drive in -Galicia. - -It has been apparent to all of us here from the start of the war -that Warsaw was becoming increasingly the German objective. Attempts -from the north and on the centre failed absolutely, the latter both -in October and in January-February, and the former in September -and in March. The fall of Przemysl and the Russian advance in the -Carpathians, with the even greater menace to the Hungarian plain by -the army operating in Bukovina, was threatening Austria with absolute -collapse. The extreme eastern army with its drives further and further -toward Hungary is said to have brought Hungary to the verge of openly -demanding a separate peace. All these causes, then, rendered it -necessary for Germany to do something for Austria, and by clearing out -Galicia she hoped, not only to restore to her broken ally something -of hope and spirit, but no doubt conceived the belief that by the -time she had done this, she would be sufficiently far east and south -of Warsaw to threaten it from the south and rear, and possibly cause -its abandonment without a real battle near Warsaw at all. Many people -here believe that the Germans want merely to secure and hold the line -of the Vistula and Galicia, and then concentrate all their attention -on the west. After the echoes of the fighting north of Warsaw in -February-March were dying away, it became clear to all of us here that -there would soon be another blow in some other quarter. Russia, as one -so often repeats, has this enormous line. She cannot be in strength at -every point, and though she saw for several weeks that the Germans -were concentrating on the Dunajec line in Galicia, she could not -reinforce it sufficiently to hold it without weakening other more vital -points. As a fact, under the conditions which actually developed there -she could not have held it, nor I think could any other army. - -The world’s history records nothing that has even approximated to -this German drive which fell on one Russian Army, the bulk of which -remained at its post and perished. The total number of German army -corps sent down to do this job is uncertain. I have heard from many -in high authority estimates differing so widely that I can supply no -statement as absolutely correct. Perhaps sixteen is not far from the -actual number, though probably reinforcements and extra divisions sent -in pretty steadily to fill losses, brought up the total to a larger -number than the full strength of sixteen corps. However the details -at this time are immaterial. The main point is that the Russians were -entirely outnumbered in men, guns and ammunition. The statements about -the German massed guns also vary as widely as from 2,000 to 4,000. -Certainly they had not less than 200 guns equal to or exceeding 8-inch -types. These were concentrated on the front which was held by three or -four corps of the devoted Dunajec army. - -Men who know have told me that what followed was indescribable. I have -not heard that there was any panic, or attempt to retreat on the part -of the troops. In characteristic Russian fashion they remained and took -their gruelling. For whole versts behind the line, I am told that the -terrain was a hash of earth, mangled bodies, and fragments of exploded -shell. If the statement that the Germans fired 700,000 shells in three -hours is true, and it is accepted in the Russian Army, one can readily -realize what must have been the condition of the army occupying that -line of works. Much criticism has been brought against the General -commanding because he had no well-prepared second line of trenches. No -doubt he ought to have had it, but it would have made little difference -beyond delaying the advance a few days. The German machine had been -preparing for two months, and everything was running as smooth as a -well-oiled engine, with troops, munitions and supplies being fed in -with precision and regularity. - -Russia is not an industrial nation, and cannot turn her resources into -war material overnight as the Germans have been able to do. She was -outclassed in everything except bravery, and neither the Germans nor -any other army can claim superiority to her in that respect. With the -centre literally cut away, the keystone of the Russian line had been -pulled out, and nothing remained but to retire. In this retirement five -Russian Armies were involved. Beginning on the right was that of Evert -lying entirely in Poland on the Nida river. His army has been usually -successful and always full of fight, and its retirement was purely that -it might keep symmetrical with the Russian line as a whole. I have -written in an earlier chapter of Evert’s retreat, of how in falling -back on to his new line he accounted for between 20,000 and 30,000 of -the German and Austrian troops. Of this it is unnecessary to say more -at present, save that his army is in a good position and stronger and -more spirited than ever. - -[Illustration: General Brussilov.] - -The unfortunate army of the Dunajec, whose commander and number are -as well known in England as here, began then to fall back with what -there was left of it on the San, tearing up railroads and fighting a -rearguard action with what strength it could command. In the meantime -the army of Brussilov, which up to this time had never been defeated, -was well through the Carpathians and going strong. The crumbling of -their right neighbour left them in a terrible plight, and only skilful -and rapid manœuvring got them back out of the passes in time to get -in touch with the fragments of the retreating centre, which by the -time it reached the San had got reinforcements and some ammunition. -Brussilov’s right tried to hold Przemysl, but as the commander assured -me, there was nothing left of the fortifications. Besides, as I gather -from officers in that part of his army, further retirements of the next -army kept exposing their flank, and made it imperative for the whole -army to commence its retreat toward the Russian frontier. - -I have good reason for believing that the Russian plan to retire to -their own frontier was decided on when they lost Przemysl, and that the -battles on the Grodek line, around Lwow, were merely rearguard actions. -In any case, I do know that while the fighting was still in progress -on the San, and just as Przemysl was taken, work was commenced on a -permanent line of defence south of Lublin and Cholm, the line in fact -which is at this moment being held by the Russians. My belief, then, -is that everything that took place between the San and the present -line must be considered inevitable in the higher interests of Russian -strategy. The interim between leaving the San and taking up what is -now approximately the line on which they will probably make a definite -stand, will make a very fine page in Russian history. I cannot at this -time go into any details, but the Allies will open their eyes when -they know exactly how little the Russians had in the way of ammunition -to hold off this mass of Germans and Austrians whose supply of shell -poured in steadily week after week. - -Next to the army of Brussilov is that army which had been assaulting -and making excellent headway in the Eastern Carpathians. They, too, -were attacked with terrible energy, but taken independently could -probably have held on indefinitely. As it was they never moved until -the retirement of all the other armies west of them rendered their -position untenable. The German and Austrian communiques have constantly -discussed the defeat of this army. The world can judge whether it -was demoralized when it learns that in six weeks, from Stryj to the -Zota Lipa, it captured 53,000 prisoners. During this same period, the -army of Bukovina in the far left was actually advancing, and only -came back to preserve the symmetry of the whole line. The problem of -falling back over this extremely long front with five great armies, -after the centre was completely broken, was as difficult an one as -could well be presented. In the face of an alert enemy there were here -and there local disasters and bags of Russian prisoners, but with all -their skill, and with all their railroads, and superiority in both men -and ammunition, the Germans and the Austrians have not been able to -destroy the Russian force, which stands before them to-day on a new and -stronger line. The further the Russians have retired, the slower has -been their retreat and the more difficult has it been for the enemy -to follow up their strokes with anything like the same strength and -energy. In other words the Russians are pretty nearly beyond the reach -of enemy blows which can hurt them fatally. - -The Austrians have followed up the Eastern armies and claim enormous -victories, but it must be pretty clear now, even to the Austrians and -Germans, that these victories, which are costing them twice what they -are costing the Russians, are merely rearguard actions. In any case -the Austrian enthusiasm is rapidly ebbing away. After two months of -fighting the Germans have finally swung their main strength back toward -the line of Cholm-Lublin, with the probable intent of finishing up -the movement by threatening Warsaw and thus closing up successfully -the whole Galician campaign, which as many believe, had this end in -view. But now they find a recuperated and much stronger Russian Army -complacently awaiting them on a selected position which is in every way -the best they have ever had. - -As I write there is still much doubt as to whether the Germans will try -and go further ahead here, for it is pretty clear that they are checked -at this point, and that the Galician movement has reached its low-water -mark as far as the Russians are concerned. The next blow will no -doubt fall either north of Warsaw or possibly on the much-battered -Bzura-Rawka Front itself, which for so many months has stood the wear -and tear of many frantic efforts to break through. - - - - -THE FRONT OF IVANOV - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE FRONT OF IVANOV - - - Dated: - GALICIAN FRONTIER, - _June 28, 1915_. - -In Russia it is not a simple matter to change one’s “front.” For many -months I have been associated with the group of armies over which -Alexieff presides, where I have been able to move about from army to -army with the utmost freedom. When I decided to change my base to -the head-quarters of Ivanov and the front of Galicia I found myself -surrounded by difficulties. For more than a month now, one could enter -Warsaw without a permit or travel on the roads or pass to and from any -of the towns in the area of war. I applied to my army friends in Warsaw -and they, by permission of General Alexieff, kindly lent me a young -officer whose duty it was to deliver me into the hands of the staff of -the Galician Front. - -We left Warsaw in my motor, not even knowing where the staff of Ivanov -was, for at that moment it was on its way to a new destination, the -retirements from Galicia having thrown the commanding General too far -west to be conveniently in touch with his left flank armies. Stopping -at a point about 100 versts from Warsaw, we learned our destination, -and two days later motored into the quaint little Russian town not too -far from Galicia, where the presiding genius of the Eastern Campaign -had arrived that very morning with his whole staff. Here we found -Ivanov living on a special train with his head-quarters in a kind of -old museum. As the staff had just arrived, everything was still in -confusion and nothing had been done to make the room, which was as -large as a barn, comfortable. In the centre were two enormous tables -covered with maps, before which sat a rather tired-looking man with a -great full beard. He arose as we entered, and after shaking hands bade -us be seated. - -[Illustration: General Ivanov.] - -[Illustration: My car in a Galician village.] - -General Ivanov is a man of about sixty, with a kindly gentle face and -a low and musical voice. It is impossible to imagine him ever becoming -excited or ever making a sudden movement. Everything about him suggests -calm, balance, poise and absolute self-control. As he speaks only -Russian I was obliged to talk with him entirely through an interpreter. -He has very deep blue eyes with a kindly little twinkle in them that -one suspects might easily turn to a point of fire if he were roused. -Since meeting him I have known many of his staff, and find that his -personality is just what his appearance suggests. A great-hearted, -kindly, unselfish man, he is worshipped by all whose duty it is to work -with, for and under him. It is not etiquette according to the censor -to quote anything that the General said, and I deeply regret this as I -talked with him for an hour, and after the first thirty minutes felt -as much at home as though I had known him a lifetime. His work and his -army and the success of Russia make up his entire life. He impressed me -as a big, earnest man, giving all the force of a powerful intellect to -a very big job and doing it with the simplicity that is characteristic -of all big men. - -After a few commonplaces he asked me what I wanted. I told him quite -frankly that from a news point of view, Russia, and the Galician -campaign especially, was little known in the West. That the public in -the West were depressed over the Russian reverses in Galicia, and that -all of the friends of Russia wanted to know as accurately as possible -what the conditions were in his armies. He leaned back in his chair -and studied me closely for fully a minute, and then smiled a little, -and the interpreter translated to me: “The General says that you may -do what you like in his armies. He will detail an officer who speaks -English to go with you. You may visit any army, any trench, any -position or any organization that you wish, and he will give you the -written permission. He will suggest a plan which he thinks advisable, -but if you do not care for it you can make one up for yourself and he -will give his consent to any programme that you care to suggest.” The -General smiled and then bent forward over his maps, and with his pencil -pointed out to me the general arrangement of his armies, and after -some discussion advised that I should start on his extreme left flank, -the last division of which was operating in Bukovina not far from the -Roumanian frontier. We were to stop as long as we cared to, and then -visit each army in turn until we had covered all in his group, when the -officer who was to be detailed to accompany us would deliver us to the -first army next to him that belonged to the Alexieff group. - -He then sent for the officer who was to be our guide, and presently -there appeared a tall, handsome young man who was introduced to us as -Prince Oblensky, a captain of the Chevalier Guards, now serving as -personal aide-de-camp to General Ivanov. From the moment that we met -him the Prince took charge of us completely, and for two weeks he was -our guide, philosopher and friend. In passing I must say that I have -never known a man of sweeter disposition and a more charming companion -than this young Captain, from whom I was not separated for above an -hour or two at a time in fourteen days. The Prince took me around and -introduced me to a number of the staff, and all of them talked freely -and with very little reserve about the whole situation. - -The point of view that I found at Ivanov’s staff was this. Russia with -her long front could not be strong everywhere at once. Her railroad -system and her industrial organization were in no way equal to the -German. Their sudden concentration was irresistible, and almost from -the start the Russians realized that they would have to go back. It -was hoped that the Germans could not maintain their ascendancy of -ammunition and strength beyond the San. Indeed, for a few days there -was something of a lull in which the Russians made gains in certain -places. Then the flow of ammunition was resumed, and from that time it -was pretty well understood that the Grodek line, and Lwow, would be -held only as rearguard actions to delay the German advance, and to take -from them the maximum loss at the minimum sacrifice. This particular -staff, in whose hands rested the conduct of the whole manœuvre, had -then the task of withdrawing these armies over this vast front in such -order and symmetry that as they retired no one should overlap the -flanks of the other, and that no loopholes should occur where an enemy -could get through. With these numerous armies, operating in all kinds -of countries with all sorts of lines of communications, falling back -before fierce assaults from an enemy superior in guns and men, the -performance of getting them safely back on to a united line where they -could once more make a united stand, must, I think, take its place in -history as one of the greatest military manœuvres that has ever been -made. - -I had just come from Petrograd where the greatest gloom prevailed -in regard to the evacuation of Lwow, and I was surprised to find -that no one here attached any great importance to Lwow. One officer -of general’s rank remarked, “We do not believe in holding untenable -military positions for moral effect. Lwow is of no great value to us -from a military point of view, and the way the line developed it was -impossible to stay there without great risk. So we left. By and by we -will go back and take it again when we have more ammunition.” This was -the first time that I heard this statement, but since then I have heard -it at least a hundred times made by officers of all ranks from generals -down to subalterns. All agreed that it was disappointing to come back -after having fought so many months in taking Galicia, but I did not -find one man who was in the least depressed; and from that day to this -I have not heard in the army an expressed fear, or even a suggestion, -that there might be a possibility that Russia would not prove equal -to her task. The Russians as a race may be a bit slow in reaching -conclusions, but once they get their teeth set I think there are no -more stubborn or determined people in the world. - -This retreat with all its losses and all its sacrifices has not, I -think, shaken the courage of a single soldier in the whole Russian -Army. They simply shut their teeth and pray for an opportunity to begin -all over again. All eagerly assured me that the Germans and Austrians -had lost far more than the Russians, and I was told by a high authority -that the Germans estimated their own losses in two months at 380,000 -killed, wounded and missing. One man significantly put the situation, -“To judge of this movement one should see how it looks behind the -German lines. In spite of their advances and bulletins of success, -there has been great gloom behind their front. We know absolutely that -every town and even every village in Eastern Silesia is filled with -wounded, and in Breslau and Posen there is hardly a house that has -not been requisitioned for the accommodation of wounded. Since the -enemy crossed the Dunajec there has been an unbroken stream of wounded -flowing steadily back across the frontier. _This_ we do not see in the -papers printed in Germany. The Russian game is to keep on weakening the -Germans. We would rather advance, of course, but whether we advance or -retreat we are weakening the enemy day after day; sometime he will be -unable to repair his losses and then we will go on again. Do not worry. -All of this is but temporary. We are not in the least discouraged.” - -Another statement which at first struck me as curious, but which I have -since come to understand, was that the morale of the Austrians has been -steadily decreasing since the capture of Przemysl and the fighting -on the San. Since visiting Ivanov I have been in six armies and have -talked in nearly all with the men who have been examining the Austrian -prisoners. Their point of view seems to be pretty much the same. And -when I say the Austrians, I mean, of course, the common soldiers and -not the authorities or the officers. The Austrian soldiers’ view is -something like this: “We have fought now for a year, and in May we had -practically lost Galicia. The end of the war, for which we have never -cared, was almost in sight. We hoped that soon there would be some kind -of peace and we could go home. We had lost Galicia, but the average -man in the Austrian Army cares little for Galicia. Just as the end -seemed in sight, the Germans, whom we don’t like any way, came down -here and dragged us along into this advance. At first we were pleased, -but we never expected the Russians to hold out so long. Finally the -Germans have given us back Lwow, and now little by little they are -beginning to go away. It is only a question of time when they will all -be gone either to France or against some other Russian front. Then the -Russians will come back. Our officers will make us defend Lwow. They -will make us defend the Grodek line, Przemysl and the Carpathians. The -Russians are united. We are not. They will beat us as they did before. -In the end we will be just where we were in May. It is all an extra -fight, with more losses, more suffering and more misery. We owe it all -to the Germans. We do not like it and we are not interested.” - -I think this point of view is more or less typical, and it accounts in -a large measure for the fact that even though they are advancing the -Austrians are still surrendering in enormous blocks whenever they get -the chance of doing so without being caught in the act by their Allies. - -For the most part the men that I talked with here thought that the -army had retired about as far as it would for the present. But one -feels constant surprise at the stoicism of the Russian, who does not -apparently feel the smallest concern at withdrawals, for, as they say, -“If they keep coming on into Russia it will be as it was with Napoleon. -They can never beat us in the long run, and the further they force us -back the worse for them. Look at Moscow,” and they smile and offer you -a cigarette. I have never in my life seen people who apparently have -a more sublime confidence in their cause and in themselves than the -Russians. Their confidence does not lie in their military technique, -for I think all admit that in that the Germans are their superiors. -It lies in their own confidence, in the stamina and character of the -Russian people, who, when once aroused are as slow to leave off a fight -as they are to begin it. - -Throughout Russia to-day the strength of the war idea is growing -daily. Every reverse, every withdrawal and every rumour of defeat -only stiffens the determination to fight harder and longer. Time is -their great ally they say, for Germany cannot, they are certain, fight -indefinitely, while they believe that they can. - -These opinions are not my own but the opinions of Russians. These men -may be unduly enthusiastic about their countrymen, but what they say I -have since heard all over the army at the Front; whether they are right -or wrong they may certainly be taken as typical of the natural view. - -When I left Petrograd I was not cheerful as to the outlook in Galicia. -When I left Ivanov’s head-quarters I felt more optimistic than I had -been in six weeks. - - - - -HUNTING FOR THE ARMY OF THE BUKOVINA - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -HUNTING FOR THE ARMY OF THE BUKOVINA - - - Dated: - TLUST, GALICIA, - _June 30, 1915_. - -The town where General Ivanov lives is in Russia proper, and one may -realize the scope of the military operations when one learns that -the head-quarters of the army of his left flank is nearly 200 versts -from the commander, while the furthest outpost of that army itself is -perhaps 150 or 200 versts further still, which means that the directing -genius is not far from 400 versts from his most distant line. After -leaving the head-quarters we motored for 40 or 50 versts along the main -line of communications of the whole group of armies, passing the usual -endless train of transport and troops moving slowly forward to fill the -ranks and replenish the supplies of the vast force that lies spread out -ahead of us. For eleven months now, first in one part of Russia and -then in another, I have been passing on the roads these endless chains -of transport. Truly one begins to get the idea that there is nothing -in the world nowadays but soldiers, guns, caissons and transport. One -wonders where on earth it has all been kept in the days before August, -a year ago, when a dozen transport carts or a battery of artillery was -a sufficient novelty on the road to cause one to turn and look at it. - -Forty versts from the head-quarters, we turn from the main road and -strike off to the east and south toward Tarnopol, which though not -the head-quarters of an army (if it were I could not mention it) is -not too far away from the same. The road we follow is an excellent -one as far as Kremenetz, a wonderfully picturesque little town tucked -away in the hills, not far from the Russian-Galician frontier. Its -quaint streets are now filled with the inevitable paraphernalia of -war. From here by a road of lesser merit, we wind up a narrow road to -one of the most picturesque spots I have ever seen, called Pochaief. -This is the last town on the Russian side of the frontier. Here is a -monastery a thousand years old, a Mecca to which come thousands of -the devout peasantry from all over the Empire. The building itself -is one of the greatest piles in Europe, and on its hill towers above -the surrounding country so that it is visible for 20 versts with its -golden dome shining in the summer sun. We reached the place late in -the afternoon and learned that all the regular roads stopped here as -it has apparently not been considered policy by either the Russian or -Austrian Governments to have easy highways across the frontier. At this -point we were perhaps 12 versts from the nearest good road in Galicia, -a very trifling distance for a car that has been doing 70 or 80 versts -an hour. The head of the police in Pochaief kindly lent us a gendarme, -who assured us that we could get across the 12 intervening versts in -an hour. So with this placid-faced guide we started about nine in the -evening. This amiable gendarme, who had more goodwill than brains, in -half an hour had led us into a country of bluffs, forests, bridle paths -and worse that defy description. I neglected to say that General Ivanov -had kindly given us an extra motor to carry our baggage, and extra -chauffeurs, etc. The moon was just rising and we were digging ourselves -out of difficulties for the tenth time when our guide announced -that the road was now a perfectly clear and good one, and saluting -respectfully left us in the wood with our cars groaning and panting -and staggering over bumps and ditches until one came to have the most -intense admiration for the gentlemen that design motor-cars. It is a -mystery to me how they ever stand the misery that they have to undergo. - -By midnight we were sitting out on a ridge of hills stuck fast in a -field with our engines racing, and the mud flying and the whole party -pushing and sweating and swearing. No doubt our guide had foreseen this -very spot and had had the discretion to withdraw before we reached it. -This was the exact frontier, and with its rolling hills and forests -stretching before us in the quiet moonlight it was very beautiful. Our -Prince, who never gets discouraged or ruffled, admired the scenery and -smoked a cigarette, and we all wished for just one moment of our guide, -for whom we had sundry little pleasantries prepared. While we were -still panting and gasping, a figure on horseback came over the hill and -cautiously approached us. He proved to be a policeman from the Galician -side who had come out as the Prince told us because he had heard our -engines and thought that a German aeroplane “had sat down on the hill” -and he had come out to capture it. He was slightly disappointed at his -mistake, but guided us back to the village whence he had come. Near -here we found a beautiful Austrian estate, where we woke up the keeper -and made him give us “my lady’s” bed chamber for the night, which he -did grudgingly. - -Our troubles were now over, for after one breakdown in the morning we -were on a good highway which ran _viâ_ Potkaimen down to Tarnopol. -At Potkaimen we were again on the line of travel, with the line of -creaking transport and jangling guns and caissons. I have never passed -through a more beautiful or picturesque country in my life, and wonder -why tourists do not come this way. Apparently until the war these -villages were as much off the beaten path as though they were in the -heart of Africa. Rolling hills, forests, with silvery lakes dotting the -valleys, extend for miles with wonderful little streams watering each -small water-shed between the ridges. The roads are fine, and the last -60 versts into Tarnopol we made in record time. A few miles from the -city we began to pass an endless line of carts bearing all sorts and -descriptions of copper. It was evident that many distilleries and other -plants had been hurriedly dismantled, and everything in them containing -copper shipped away less it fall into the hands of the copper-hungry -enemy. - -Here, too, we passed long lines of the carts of the Galician peasantry -fleeing from the fear of the German invasion. It strikes one as -extraordinary that these inhabitants, many of whose husbands, brothers -and fathers are fighting in the Austrian Armies, should take refuge -in flight at the rumour of their approach. It is a sad commentary on -the reputation of the Germans that even the peoples of their Allies -flee at the report of their approach. The name of Prussian down here -seems to carry as much terror to the Galician peasant as ever it did -to the Belgians or the Poles in other theatres of war. The peasantry -are moving out bag and baggage with all the pathos and misery which -the abandonment of their homes and lifelong treasures spells to these -simple folk. Even ten months’ association with similar scenes does not -harden one to the pitifulness of it all. Little children clinging to -their toys, mothers, haggard and frightened, nursing babes at their -breasts, and fathers and sons urging on the patient, weary, family -horse as he tugs despairingly at the overloaded cart weighted down with -the pathetic odds and ends of the former home. - -Tarnopol itself was a great surprise to me. It is a typical Austrian -town with a lovely park in the centre and three hotels which are nearly -first class. Paved streets, imposing public buildings and a very fine -station, besides hundreds of lovely dwelling houses, make a very -beautiful little town; and with its setting in the valley, Tarnopol -seems an altogether desirable place. Here as elsewhere troops are -seething. The station is a military restaurant and emergency hospital -combined. One of the waiting-rooms has been turned into an operating -and dressing-room, and when there is fighting on at the front the -whole place is congested with stretchers and the atmosphere reeks of -disinfectants and ether fumes. - -We stopped here only overnight, for we are bound to the furthest -stretch of our front to the south-east. In the evening there came -through battalion after battalion of troops swinging through the -streets, tired, dirty and battle stained, but, with it all, singing -at the top of their lungs. These men were moving from one front to -another, and most of them had been fighting for weeks. The first glance -was sufficient to make one realize that these troops were certainly not -down-hearted. - -In strong contrast to the Russians was the sight of the latest haul -of prisoners which passed through the next morning--several thousand -Austrians and two or three hundred Germans. - -In spite of their being caught at the hightide of their advance -movement the Austrians had the same broken-hearted expression that I -have seen in tens of thousands of Austrian prisoners for ten months. I -have now seen Austrians from every quarter of their Empire, and I must -say I have never seen a squad of prisoners who have not had the same -expression of hopelessness and resignation. These were well-clothed -and for prisoners moderately clean. The critic may say that prisoners -always look depressed and dejected, but to judge the Austrians, one -must compare them with the Germans, and it was possible to do so on -this occasion, for directly behind the troops of the Hapsburgs came -two or three hundred Germans. I have never seen such spectacles in my -life. Worn, haggard, ragged and tired they were, but in contrast to the -Austrians, they walked proudly, heads thrown back, glaring defiantly at -the curious crowds that watched them pass. Whether they are prisoners -or conquerors the German soldiers always wear the same mien of -superiority and arrogance. But the significance of this group was not -their self-respect and defiance of their captivity but their condition. -I have never in war seen men so nearly “all-in” as these prisoners. -Two in the line had no shirts, their ragged coats covering their bare, -brown breasts. Some had no hats, all were nearly in rags, the boots of -many were worn thin and many of them limped wearily. Boys of eighteen -marched by men who looked a hundred, though I suppose they were under -fifty actually. One saw a giant of 6 feet 5 inches walking by a -stripling of 5 feet 2 inches. Their faces were thin and drawn, and many -of them looked as if one might have hung hats on their cheek-bones. -These men may be wrong and they may be cruel, but one must admit -that they are object lessons in fortitude, and whatever they are they -are certainly soldiers. In wagons behind came wounded Germans, mostly -privates. Later I discovered that a number of these troops had just -come from the French front. As one said, “Arrived at noon, captured at -three.” Their explanation of their capture was that their officer lost -the way. Further examination brought forth the information that nearly -all their officers had been killed; and that the bulk of the company -officers were now either young boys or old men who knew little of maps -or military matters, which accounted for them getting lost and falling -into the Russian hands. The Austrians were captured because, as usual, -they wanted to be. The numbers of the prisoners seen here, that is -2,000 Austrians and 200 Germans, is just about the proportion in which -morale and enthusiasm in the war exists in the two armies. - -Next morning having obtained the necessary permits we took our motors -and headed south for the army lying on the Dniester with its flank in -the Bukovina. - - - - -THE RUSSIAN LEFT - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE RUSSIAN LEFT - - - GERMANIKOWKA, GALICIA, - _July 3, 1915_. - -The army of the Bukovina, or the extreme Russian left, is probably the -most romantic organization operating in one of the most picturesque -countries in the whole theatre of this gigantic war. In the first place -the left is composed very largely of the type of cavalry which I think -no other country in the world can duplicate, that is the irregular -horsemen brought from all parts of the East. Tribes from the Caucasus, -Tartars, Mongols, and I know not what others, are here welded together -into brigades and divisions, and make, all told, nearly two complete -army corps with only a sprinkling of infantry and regular cavalry. -It was this army that gained such headway in its advance toward the -Hungarian plain, and it is this very army that is credited with so -alarming the Hungarians that they threatened independent peace unless -something was done for them. That something we know now was Austria’s -wail to Germany and the resulting Galician campaign. - -During all the first part of the great German drive, this army with -its hordes of wild cavalry was proceeding confidently “hacking its way -through” all resistance, and capturing thousands upon thousands of -Austrians or Hungarians that came in its way. For nearly a month after -things were going badly in the West, it was moving victoriously forward -until it became evident that unless it stopped it would find itself an -independent expedition headed for Buda-Pest and completely out of touch -with the rest of the Russian line which was withdrawing rapidly. Then -came a pause, and as the flanking armies continued to retreat, the army -was very unwillingly obliged to retire also to keep in touch with its -neighbour. My own impression as to the spirits of this army, especially -of the cavalry corps, is similar to the impression one forms when one -sees a bulldog being let loose from another hound whom he has down, -and is chewing luxuriously when his master comes along, and drags him -away on a leash. So these troops have retired snarling and barking over -their shoulders, hoping that the enemy would follow close enough to let -them have another brush with them. - -[Illustration: G. H. Mewes.] - -There has been fighting of more or less acuteness, especially where -German troops have been engaged, but taken on the whole this portion -of the Russian front cannot be considered a serious one and their -withdrawal has been forced by the greater strategy. I found many of -the younger officers of the opinion that they could advance at any -time if they only had the permission from the powers that be. As for -the soldiers--a single look into those set swarthy faces was enough to -satisfy one that they would willingly advance in any event regardless -of policy or orders either. I have never seen such fierce looking men -in my life. Many of them do not speak Russian, and to them the war -is a real joy. Heretofore they have had to be content to fight among -themselves for nothing in particular; now that they have a chance -to fight for something really great they are in their element. I -question how valuable troops of this character would be under different -conditions, but here in this rough Bukovina country they are nearly -ideal for their work, as is manifest from the manner in which they have -swept the enemy before them. - -On leaving Tarnopol we came directly to the head-quarters of one of -these corps, where we spent three extremely interesting days. The -position which this army was holding is, in a rough way, from the -junction of the Zota Lipa and the Dniester, down that river to a point -perhaps 20 versts west of Chocin, and thence in an irregular line -40 or 50 versts through Bukovina in the direction of the Roumanian -frontier. The Dniester itself is a deep-flowing river lying between -great bluffs which for miles skirt the river bank on both sides. These -bluffs are for the most part crested with heavy timber. In a general -way the Russians are holding one bank, and the Austrians the other, -though here and there patches of Russians have clung to the South side, -while in one or two spots Austrians backed by Germans have gained a -foothold on the north bank. The first afternoon I arrived, I went out -to a 356 metre hill from where I could look over the whole country. -I discerned easily the lines of the Austrian and Russian positions -between which was the valley through which flowed the Dniester. There -are any number of young Petrograd swells here who have left their -crack cavalry corps, many of which are dismounted and fighting in the -trenches in Poland and on other fronts, to put on the uniform of the -Cossack and lead these rough riders of the East in their romantic -sweeps towards the Hungarian plains. I have been in some armies where I -found hardly any one who spoke English, but in this one corps I found -nearly a score who spoke it, many as well as I did, which indicates -pretty clearly the type of young men that Russia has here, and is -one reason, no doubt, why the army has done so well. - -[Illustration: Stanley Washburn, Prince Oblensky, Count Tolstoy, Count -Keller.] - -Here I met Count Tolstoi, son of the novelist; Count Keller, whose -father was killed by Japanese shrapnel on the Motienling Pass in -Manchuria, and many other men whose names are well known in Russia. -Count Keller was the ranking Captain in a squadron (_sotnia_, I believe -they call it) of cavalry from the Caucasus, and carried us off to his -lair in a valley not far from the Dniester. Here we met a courteous old -Persian who commanded the regiment, and dined in a quaint old castle -where they had their head-quarters. Deep in its little valley, the -castle was not seen by the Austrians, but had long since been spotted -by the aeroplanes of the enemy. The result was that every afternoon -a few shells were sent over the southern ridge of hills, just to let -the regimental staff know that they were not forgotten. The day before -we arrived twelve horses were killed in the garden, and while we were -cleaning up for dinner, a shrapnel shell whined through the yard -bursting somewhere off in the brush. - -After dinner the dancers of the regiment came up and in the half-light -performed their weird evolutions. In long flowing coats, with their -oriental faces, emitting uncanny sounds from their mouths, they formed -a picture that I shall long remember. Count Keller told me that in -spite of all their wildness they were fine troops to command, for, as -he said, “They have very high ideals of their profession. I may be -killed or wounded, but I am always sure that my men will never leave -me. They cannot speak my tongue, but there is not a man in my command -who would not feel himself permanently disgraced if he left the body of -his officer on the field of battle. They are absolutely fearless and -will go anywhere, caring nothing whatever for death, wounds, hardship -or anything else that war brings forth. I am very fond of them indeed.” - -The positions at this point were about three versts distant from our -little isolated valley, and as they were out on the crest of the bluff -it was impossible to visit them until after dark. So on the great -veranda of the castle we sat late after our dinner, until darkness fell -and a great full moon rose slowly above the neighbouring hills flooding -the valley with its silver rays, bringing out the old white castle as -clearly in the darkness as a picture emerges from a photographic plate -when the developer is poured upon it. It was just after midnight when -Count Keller and I, well mounted on Cossack ponies, rode down into the -valley and turned our horses on to the winding road that runs beside -the little stream that leaps and gurgles over the rocks on the way -to the Dniester. For a mile or more we followed the river, and then -turning sharply to the right, took a bridle path and climbed slowly -up the sharp side of the bluff. For fifteen or twenty minutes we rode -through the woods, now in the shadow and now out in an opening where -the shadows of the branches swaying softly in the moonlight made -patterns on the road. Suddenly we came out upon a broad white road -where the Count paused. - -“We are advised to leave the horses here,” he remarked casually, “Shall -we go on? Are you afraid?” Not knowing anything about the position I -had no ideas on the subject, so we continued down the moonlit road, -and while I was wondering where we were, we came out abruptly on the -bluff just above the river, where the great white road ran along -the crest for a mile or more. I paused for a moment to admire the -view. Deep down below us, like a ribbon of silver in the shimmering -moonlight, lay the great river. Just across on the other bank was the -Austrian line with here and there spots of flickering light where the -Austrians had fires in their trenches. There was not a sound to mar -the silence of the perfect night save the gentle rustle of the wind in -the trees. “The Austrians can see us plainly from here,” remarked the -Count indifferently. “Gallop!” The advice seemed sound to me, but not -knowing the country I was obliged to reply, “Which way?” “Right,” he -replied laconically. - -It is sufficient to say that I put spurs to my horse, and for the mile -that lay exposed in the moonlight my little animal almost flew while -the Count pounded along a close second just behind me. A mile away we -reached the welcome shadows of a small bunch of trees, and as I rode -into the wood I was sharply challenged by a guttural voice, and as -I pulled my horse up on his haunches a wild-looking Cossack took my -bridle. Before I had time to begin an explanation, the Count came up -and the sharp words of the challenge were softened to polite speeches -of welcome from the officer in command. - -We were in the front line trench or rather just behind it, for the road -lay above it while the trench itself was between it and the river where -it could command the crossing with its fire. Here as elsewhere, I found -men who could speak English, the one an officer and the other a man in -charge of a machine gun. This man had been five years in Australia and -had come back to “fight the Germans,” as he said. For an hour we sat up -on the crest of the trench under the shadow of a tree, and watched in -the sky the flare of a burning village to our right, which was behind -the Russian lines, and had been fired just at dark by Austrian shells. -I found that all the Russians spoke well of the Austrians. They said -they were kindly and good-natured, never took an unfair advantage, -lived up to their flags of truce, etc. Their opinion of the Germans -was exactly the opposite. One man said, “Sometimes the Austrians call -across that they won’t shoot during the night. Then we all feel easy -and walk about in the moonlight. One of our soldiers even went down -and had a bathe in the river, while the Austrians called across to him -jokes and remarks, which of course he could not understand. The Germans -say they won’t fire, and just as soon as our men expose themselves they -begin to shoot. They are always that way.” - -[Illustration: Cossacks dancing the Tartars’ native dance.] - -I have never known a more absolutely quiet and peaceful scene than this -from the trench on the river’s bluff. As I was looking up the streak of -silver below us, thinking thus, there came a deep boom from the east -and then another and another, and then on the quiet night the sharp -crackle of the machine guns and the rip and roar of volley firing. It -was one of those spasms of fighting that ripple up and down a line -every once in a while, but after a few minutes it died away, the last -echoes drifting away over the hills, and silence again reigned over the -Dniester. The fire in the village was burning low, and the first grey -streaks of dawn were tinging the horizon in the east when we left the -trench, and by a safer bridle path returned to the castle and took our -motor-car for head-quarters which we reached just as the sun was rising. - -The positions along this whole front are of natural defence and have -received and required little attention. Rough shelter for the men, and -cover for the machine guns is about all that any one seems to care -for here. The fighting is regarded by these wild creatures as a sort -of movable feast, and they fight now in one place and now in another. -Of course they have distinctive lines of trenches, though they cannot -compare with the substantial works that one finds in the Bzura-Rawka -lines and the other really serious fronts in Poland and elsewhere. In -a general way it matters very little whether the army moves forward or -backward just here. The terrain for 100 versts is adapted to defence, -and the army can, if it had to do so, go back so far without yielding -to the enemy anything that would have any important bearing on the -campaign of the Russian Army as a whole. From the first day that I -joined this army, I felt the conviction that it could be relied upon to -take care of itself, and that its retirements or changes of front could -be viewed with something approaching to equanimity. - - - - -WITH A RUSSIAN CAVALRY CORPS - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -WITH A RUSSIAN CAVALRY CORPS - - - ON THE DNIESTER, - _July 4, 1915_. - -It would not be in the least difficult for me to write a small volume -on my impressions and observations during the time that I was with -this particular cavalry corps on the Dniester; but one assumes that at -this advanced period in the war, readers are pretty well satiated with -descriptive material of all sorts, and there is so much news of vital -importance from so many different fronts, that the greatest merit of -descriptive writing in these days no doubt lies in its brevity. I will -therefore cut as short as possible the account of my stay in this very -interesting organization. - -The General in command was a tough old cavalry officer who spoke -excellent English. He was of the type that one likes to meet at the -Front, and his every word and act spoke of efficiency and of the -soldier who loves his profession. His head-quarters were in a little -dirty village, and his rooms were in the second story of an equally -unpretentious building. The room contained a camp-bed and a group of -tables on which were spread the inevitable maps of the positions. -This particular General as far as I could gather spent about one half -of each day poring over his maps, and the other half in visiting his -positions. Certainly he seemed to know every foot of the terrain -occupied by his command, and every by-path and crossroad seemed -perfectly familiar to him. Without the slightest reservation (at least -as far as I could observe) he explained to me his whole position, -pointing it out on the map. When he began to talk of his campaign he -immediately became engrossed in its intricacies. Together we pored over -his map. “You see,” he said, “I have my -- brigade here. To the left -in the ravine I have one battery of big guns just where I can use them -nicely. Over here you see I have a bridge and am across the river. -Now the enemy is on this side here (and he pointed at a blue mark on -the map) but I do not mind; if he advances I shall give him a push -here (and again he pointed at another point on the map), and with my -infantry brigade I shall attack him just here, and as you see he will -have to go back”; and thus for half an hour he talked of the problems -that were nearest and dearest to his heart. He was fully alive to the -benefits that publicity might give an army, and did everything in -his power to make our visit as pleasant and profitable as possible. - -[Illustration: H.I.H. The Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, Commander -of two divisions of Cossacks.] - -On the afternoon of the second day Prince Oblensky arranged for us to -meet the Grand Duke Michael who is commanding a division of Caucasian -cavalry, one of whose detachments we visited in the trenches a few -nights ago. I should say he is not much over forty years of age, and -he is as unaffected and democratic a person as one can well imagine. -I talked with him for nearly an hour on the situation, not only on -his immediate front but in the theatre of the war as a whole. Like -everyone in Russian uniform whom I have met, he was neither depressed -nor discouraged, but evinced the same stubborn optimism that one finds -everywhere in the Russian army. As one saw him in his simple uniform -with nothing to indicate his rank but shoulder straps of the same -material as his uniform, and barring the Cross of St. George (won by -his personal valour on the field of battle) without a decoration, it -was strange to think that this man living so simply in a dirty village -in this far fringe of the Russian Front, might have been the Czar of -all the Russias, living in the Winter Palace in Petrograd, but for a -few years in time of birth. The Western World likes to think of Russia -as an autocracy, with its nobility living a life apart surrounded by -form and convention, but now, at any rate, I think there is no country -in the world where the aristocracy are more democratic than in Russia. -It is true that the Czar himself is inaccessible, but he is about the -only man in Russia who is; and even he, when one does meet him, is as -simple, unaffected and natural as any ordinary gentleman in England or -in America. - -From the Grand Duke’s head-quarters I motored out to the Staff of a -Cavalry Brigade, and had tea with the General who, after entertaining -us with a dance performed by a group of his tamed “wild men,” went -himself with us to his front line trench. His head-quarters were near -the front, so near in fact that while we were waiting for the dancers -to appear, a big shell fell in a field just across the way, with a -report that sent the echoes rolling away over hill and valley. It is -considered bad form to notice these interruptions however, and no -one winked an eye or took any notice of the incident. The General’s -trenches were not unlike those I had already before visited, except -that one could get into them in the daytime without risk of being shot -at if one came up through the woods, which ran rather densely to the -very crest of the bluff. - -Here was the most curious sight that I have ever seen in war. The -rough-and-ready cavalrymen from the Caucasus with their great caps, -each as big as a bushel basket, all covered with wool about six inches -long, were lying about behind small earthworks on the fringe of the -woods peering along their rifle barrels which were pointed across the -river. On an almost similar elevation on the opposite side was the line -of the Austrian trenches. For once the sun was over our shoulders, and -in their eyes and not ours, so that I could safely walk to the edge of -the wood and study their works through my field glasses. Everything was -very quiet this particular afternoon, and I could see the blue-coated -figures of the enemy moving about behind their own trenches, as indeed -the Russians could with their naked eyes. The war has lasted so long -now, and the novelty has so worn off, that it is safe to do many things -that could not have been done in the early months. No one nowadays is -anxious to start anything unnecessary, and sniping is a bore to all -concerned, and it hardly draws a shot if one or two men are seen moving -about. It is only when important groups appear that shots are fired. - -Not two hundred yards back in the woods were the bivouacs of the -reserves, and the hundreds and hundreds of the little ponies tethered -to trees. There they stood dozing in the summer sunshine, twitching -their tails and nipping each other occasionally. I have never seen -cavalry in the trenches before, much less cavalry with their horses so -near that they could actually wait until the enemy were almost in their -works and then mount and be a mile away before the trench itself was -occupied. In this rough country where the positions lend themselves -to this sort of semi-regular work, I dare say these peculiar types -of horsemen are extremely effective, though I question if they would -appear to the same advantage in other parts of the Russian operations. -As a matter of fact one of the regiments now here was formerly attached -to the Warsaw Front, but was subsequently removed from that army and -sent down to Bukovina as a place more suited to its qualities. - -We had a bit of bad luck on this position with our motor-car which we -had left in a dip behind the line. Just as we were ready to start for -home, there came a sharp rainstorm which so wetted the roads that the -hill we had come down so smoothly on dry soil proved impossible to go -up when wet. A _sotnia_ of Cossacks pulled us out of our first mess -with shouts and hurrahs, but when night fell we found ourselves in -another just as bad a few hundreds yards further along. For an hour -we went through the misery of spinning wheels and racing engines -without effect. We had stopped, by bad luck, in about the only place -where the road was visible from the Austrian lines, but as it was dark -they could not see us. When the chauffeur lighted his lamps, however, -three shells came over from the enemy, extinguishing the lamps. About -ten in the evening we started on foot, and walked to a point where we -borrowed a car from the brigade staff, and went on home. Our own car -was extricated at daylight by a band of obliging Cossacks who had been -on duty all night in the trenches, and were going into the reserve for -a day’s rest. - -Leaving this army corps in the afternoon we motored further east, and -paid our respects to a brigade of the regular cavalry, composed of -the --th Lancers and the -- Hussars, both crack cavalry regiments of -the Russian army, and each commanded by officers from the Petrograd -aristocracy. The brigade had been in reserve for three days, and as -we saw it was just being paraded before its return to the trenches. -The --th Lancers I had seen before in Lwow just after the siege of -Przemysl, in which they took part, at that time fighting in the -trenches alongside of the infantry. I have never seen mounts in finer -condition, and I believe there is no army on any of the fronts where -this is more typical than in the Russian. On this trip I have been -in at least fifteen or twenty cavalry units, and, with one exception, -I have not seen anywhere horses in bad shape; the exception had been -working overtime for months without chance to rest or replace their -mounts. The Colonel of the Lancers I had known before in Lwow, and he -joined me in my motor and rode with me the 20 versts to the position -that his cavalry was going to relieve at that time. This gentleman -was an ardent cavalryman and had served during the greater part of -the Manchurian campaign. To my surprise I found that he had been in -command of a squadron of Cossacks that came within an ace of capturing -the little town of Fakumen where was Nogi’s staff; and he was as -much surprised to learn that I was attached to Nogi’s staff there as -correspondent for an American paper. - -The Colonel was now in charge of the Lancer regiment and was, as I -learned, a great believer in the lance as a weapon. “Other things being -equal,” he told me, “I believe in giving the soldiers what they want. -They do want the lance, and this is proved by the fact that in this -entire campaign not one of my troopers has lost his lance. The moral -effect is good on our troops, for it gives them confidence, and it is -bad on the enemy, for it strikes terror into their hearts. Before this -war it was supposed that cavalry could never get near infantry. My -regiment has twice attacked infantry and broken them up both times. In -both cases they broke while we were still three or four hundred yards -distant, and of course the moment they broke they were at our mercy.” - -For an hour or more we motored over the dusty roads before we dipped -over a crest and dropped down into a little village not far from the -Dniester, where were the head-quarters of the regiment that the Lancers -were coming in to relieve. As we turned the corner of the village -street a shrapnel shell burst just to the south of us, and I have an -idea that someone had spotted our dust as we came over the crest. - -The cavalry here was a regiment drawn from the region of the Amur -river, and as they were just saddling up preparatory to going back -into reserve for a much-needed rest, I had a good chance to note the -condition of both men and mounts, which were excellent. The latter were -Siberian ponies, which make, I think, about the best possible horses -for war that one can find. They are tough, strong, live on almost -anything, and can stand almost any extremes of cold or heat without -being a bit the worse for it. These troops have had, I suppose, as hard -work as any cavalry in the Russian Army, yet the ponies were as fat as -butter and looked as contented as kittens. The Russians everywhere I -have seen them are devoted to their horses, and what I say about the -condition of the animals applies not only to the cavalry but even to -the transport, to look at which, one would never imagine that we were -in the twelfth month of war. The Colonel of the Amur Cavalry gave us -tea and begged us to stay on, but as it was getting late and the road -we had to travel was a new one to us, and at points ran not far from -the lines of the enemy, we deemed it wiser to be on our way. Some sort -of fight started after dark, and to the south of us, from the crests -of the hills that we crossed, we could see the flare of the Austrian -rockets and the occasional jagged flash of a bursting shell; further -off still the sky was dotted with the glow of burning villages. In fact -for the better part of the week I spent in this vicinity I do not think -that there was a single night that one could not count fires lighted by -the shells from the artillery fire. - -Midnight found us still on the road, but our Prince, who was ever -resourceful, discovered the estate of an Austrian noble not far from -the main road, and we managed to knock up the keeper and get him to let -us in for the night. The Count who owned the place was in the Austrian -Army, and the Countess was in Vienna. - -[Illustration: The Russian soldier at meal-time. Ten men share the -soup, which is served in a huge pan.] - -Leaving this place early the following morning we started back for -Tarnopol and the Headquarters of the Army that stands second in the -Russian line of battle counting from the left flank. - - - - -ON THE ZOTA LIPA - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -ON THE ZOTA LIPA - - - TARNOPOL, - _July 6, 1915_. - -We found the General of the army now occupying the line that runs -from approximately the head of the Zota Lipa to its confluence with -the Dniester, living in a palace south-west of ----. These wonderful -estates come as a great surprise to strangers travelling through the -country. One passes a sordid Galician village filled with dogs and -half-naked children, and perhaps on the outskirts one comes to a -great gate and turning in finds oneself in a veritable Versailles, -with beautiful avenues of trees, lakes, waterfalls and every other -enhancement of the landscape that money and good taste can procure. I -have never seen more beautiful grounds or a more attractively decorated -and beautifully furnished house than this one where our particular -General was living with his staff. - -During my visit to this army, I saw and talked with the General -commanding twice, and he permitted me to see his maps and gave his -consent to my visiting any of his line which I desired to see. He -sent one of his staff with me, who spoke English, as a guide and -interpreter. Again I regret I cannot give the General’s name, but -suffice to say that from this head-quarters I gathered that, barring -the failure of their centre army, a retreat would probably have been -unnecessary, though it is folly to disguise the fact that this army was -hard pressed, suffered not a little, and was constantly outnumbered in -both men and munitions. It is probably not unfair to place its whole -movement under the category of a rear-guard action. - -During the retreat from Stryj to the Zota Lipa, where the army was when -I visited it, captures of enemy prisoners were made to the number of -53,000, as I was informed by the highest authority. The bulk of these -were Austrians. As I said at the time, I incline to think this must be -considered one of the most remarkable retreats in history. If I was -disposed to doubt this statement when I first heard it, my hesitation -vanished, when, during three days, I personally saw between 4,000 and -5,000 Austrian prisoners that had been taken within a week, regardless -of the fact that the army was still retiring before the enemy. I -think that the mere mention of the matter of prisoners is enough to -convince the reader that this army was not a demoralized one, and that -the furthest stretch of imagination could not consider it a badly -defeated one. A glance at the map serves to show that the country, -from the beginning of this retreat to the Zota Lipa, is an ideal one -in which to fight defensively! and as a matter of fact the country for -100 versts further east is equally well adapted to the same purpose. -A number of streams running almost due north and south flow into the -Dniester river, and as each of these rivulets runs between more or less -pretentious bluffs it is a very simple matter to hold them with very -little fieldworks. - -What the Russians have been doing here is this. They take up one of -these natural lines of defence and throw up temporary works on the -bluffs and wait for the Austrians. When the latter come up they find -the Russians too strong to be turned out with anything short of the -full enemy strength. Usually a week is taken up by the Austro-German -forces in bringing up their full strength, getting their guns in -position and preparing for an attack. The Russians in the meantime sit -on their hills, taking all the losses that they can get, and repel the -Austrian preliminary attacks as long as they can do so without risking -too much. By the time that enemy operations have reached a really -serious stage, and an attack in force is made, it is discovered that -the main force of the Russians has departed, and when the positions -are finally carried, only a rearguard of cavalry is discovered holding -the trenches; the bulk of these usually get away on their horses, -leaving the exhausted Austrians sitting in a hardly-won line with -the knowledge that the Russians are already miles away waiting for -them to repeat the operation all over again. The prisoners have been -captured for the most part in preliminary operations on these works, -on occasions where the Russians have made counter attacks or where -the Austrians have advanced too far and been cut off. The youth and -inexperience of their officers, and the fact that the rank and file -have no heart in the fight, have made it easy for them to go too far -in the first place, and willing to surrender without a fight when -they discover their mistake. All of this I was told at head-quarters, -and had an opportunity to verify the next day by going to one of the -forward positions on the Zota Lipa. - -I have within the last few months, after poking about on the billiard -table terrain of the Polish Front, acquired a great liking for hills, -protected by woods if possible. I have therefore picked places on this -trip where I could get to points of observation from which I could -see the terrain without being, shot at, if this could be avoided with -dignity. It was just such a place as this towards which we headed -the next day. My own impressions were, and still are, that this army -might retire further yet from its present positions. There are certain -reasons which I cannot divulge at present, but are no doubt understood -in England, that makes it unwise for these armies to attempt to hold -advance positions if they can fall quietly back without the sacrifice -of any positions which will have a bad effect on the Russian campaign -as a whole. This particular army with its neighbour to the south can -do this for more than 100 versts without materially impairing its own -_moral_, and, as far as I can see, without giving the enemy any other -advantage than something to talk about. - -On the way out to the positions I passed important bodies of troops -“changing front,” for it is hardly possible to call what I witnessed, -a retreat. They came swinging down the road laughing, talking and -then singing at the top of their lungs. Had I not known the points of -the compass, I should have concluded that they had scored a decisive -victory and were marching on the capital of the enemy. But of such -stuff are the moujik soldiers of the Czar. - -We first visited the head-quarters of one of the Army corps, and then -motored through Ztoczow, a very beautiful little Austrian town lying -just at the gateway between ridges of hills that merge together as they -go eastward, making the road climb to the plateau land which, indented -by the valleys of the rivers running into the Dniester, stretches -practically for 100 versts east of here. Turning south from the little -town we climbed up on to this plateau land, and motored for 15 or 20 -versts south to the head-quarters of a General commanding a division -of Cossack cavalry from the Caucasus. With him we had tea, and as he -spoke excellent English I was able to gather much of interest from his -point of view. He was not sufficiently near head-quarters nor of rank -high enough to be taken into the higher councils, and therefore did -not know the reasons for the constant retirements. Again and again he -assured me that the positions now held could as far as he was concerned -be retained indefinitely. His was the thankless job of the rear guard, -and it apparently went against his fighting instincts to occupy these -splendid positions and then retire through some greater strategy, which -he, far off in the woods from everything, did not understand. - -One is constantly impressed with the isolation of the men holding -important minor commands. For days and weeks they are without outside -news, and many of them have even only a vague idea as to what is going -on in neighbouring corps, and almost none at all of the movements in -adjoining armies. I was convinced from the way this General--and he -was a fine old type--talked, that he did not consider his men had ever -been beaten at all, and that he looked upon his movements merely as the -result of orders given for higher strategic considerations. From him we -went out to the line on the Zota Lipa. The Russians at this time had -retired from the Gnita Lipa (the great Austro-German “victory” where -they lost between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners and I know not how many -dead and wounded) and had now for four days been quietly sitting on the -ridges of the second Lipa waiting for the enemy to come up. I think -no army can beat the Russians when it comes to forced marches, and -after each of these actions they have retired in two days a distance -that takes the enemy four or five to cover. It is because of this -speed of travel that there have been stragglers, and it is of such -that the enemy have taken the prisoners of whom they boast so much. -The position we visited was on a wonderful ridge crested with woods. -The river lay so deeply in its little valley that, though but a mile -away, we could not see the water at all, but only the shadow wherein -it lay. Our trenches were just on the edge of it while our guns and -reserves were behind us. From our position we could look into the rear -of our trenches, and across the river where the country was more open -and where the Austrians were just beginning to develop their advance. -Though the Russians had been here for several days, the enemy was just -coming up now and had not yet brought up his guns at all. - -Our infantry were sniping at the blue figures which dotted the wood -a verst or two away, but at such a range that its effect was not -apparent. Our guns had not yet fired a shot, and hence the Austrians -knew nothing of our position but the fact that they were in contact -with snipers in some sort of a trench. In any case the Austrians in -a thin blue line which one could see with the naked eye, were busily -digging a trench across a field just opposite us and about 4,000 metres -distant, while with my glasses I could see the blue-clad figures -slipping about on the fringe of the wood behind their trench diggers. -Our observation point was under a big tree on an advanced spur of the -hill, a position which I think would not be held long after the arrival -of the Austrian guns. The battery commander had screwed his hyperscope -into the tree trunk, and was hopping about in impatience because his -field wire had not yet come up from the battery position in the rear. -He smacked his lips with anticipation as he saw the constantly, -increasing numbers of the enemy parading about opposite without any -cover, and at frequent intervals kept sending messengers to hurry on -the field telegraph corps. - -[Illustration: Cavalry taking up position.] - -[Illustration: Russian band playing the men to the trenches.] - -In a few minutes there came a rustle in the brush, and two soldiers -with a reel unwinding wire came over the crest, and dropping on their -knees behind some bushes a few yards away, made a quick connection with -the telephone instrument, and then announced to the commander that -he was in touch with his guns. Instantly his face lit up, but before -speaking he turned and took a squint through his hyperscope; then with -clenched fist held at arms length he made a quick estimate of the -range and snapped out an order over his shoulder. The orderly at the -’phone mumbled something into the mouthpiece of the instrument. “All -ready,” he called to the commander. “Fire,” came the quick response. -Instantly there came a crash from behind us. I had not realized that -the guns were so near until I heard the report and the shell whine over -our heads. We stood with our glasses watching the Austrians. A few -seconds later came the white puff in the air appearing suddenly as from -nowhere, and then the report of the explosion drifted back to us on the -breeze. The shot was high and over. Another quick order, and another -screamed over our head, this time bursting well in front of the trench. - -Through my glasses I could see that there was some agitation among the -blue figures in the field across the river. Again the gun behind us -snapped out its report, and this time the shell burst right over the -trench and the diggers disappeared as by magic, and even the blue coats -on the edge of the wood suddenly vanished from our view. The artillery -officer smiled quietly, took another good look through the glass at -his target, called back an order, and the battery came into action -with shell after shell breaking directly over the trench. But as far -as we could see there was not a living soul, only the dark brown ridge -where lay the shallow ditch which the Austrians had been digging. The -value of the shrapnel was gone, and the Captain sighed a little as he -called for his carefully saved and precious high-explosives, of which -as I learned he had very few to spare. The first fell directly in an -angle of the trench, and burst with the heavy detonation of the higher -explosive, sending up a little volcano of dust and smoke, while for a -minute the hole smoked as though the earth were on fire. - -“They are in that place right enough,” was the verdict of the director, -“I saw them go. I’ll try another,” and a second later another shell -burst in almost the identical spot. That it had found a living target -there could be no doubt, for suddenly the field was dotted with the -blue coats scampering in all directions for the friendly shelter of -the wood in their rear. It was an object lesson of the difference in -effectiveness between high explosive and shrapnel. The Captain laughed -gleefully at his success as he watched the effect of his practice. -Nearly all the Austrians were running, but away to the right was -a group of five, old timers perhaps who declined to run, and they -strolled leisurely away in the manner of veterans who scorn to hurry. -The Commander again held out his fist, made a quick estimate of the -range and called a deviation of target and a slight elevation of the -gun. Again the gun crashed behind us and I saw the shell fall squarely -in the centre of the group. From the smoking crater three figures -darted at full speed. I saw nothing of the other two. No doubt their -fragments lay quivering in the heap of earth and dust from which the -fumes poured for fully a minute. It was excellent practice, and when I -congratulated the officer he smiled and clicked his heels as pleased -as a child. We saw nothing more of the enemy while we remained. No -doubt they were waiting for the night to come to resume their digging -operations. - -How long the Russians will remain on this line can be merely -speculation. Many of these lines that are taken up temporarily prove -unusually strong, or the enemy proves unexpectedly weak, and what was -intended as only a halt, gradually becomes strengthened until it may -become the final line. My own idea was, however, that after forcing -the Austrians to develop their full strength and suffer the same heavy -losses, the Russians would again retire to a similar position and do -it all over again. It is this type of action which is slowly breaking -the hearts of the enemy. Again and again they are forced into these -actions which make them develop their full strength and are taken only -when supported by their heavy guns, only to find, when it is all over, -that the Russians have departed and are already complacently awaiting -them a few days’ marches further on. This kind of game has already told -heavily on the Austrian spirits. How much longer they can keep it up -one can only guess. I don’t think they can do it much longer, as not -one of these advances is now yielding them any strategic benefit, and -the asset of a talking point to be given out by the German Press Bureau -probably does not impress them as a sufficiently good reason to keep -taking these losses and making these sacrifices. - -Leaving the position we returned to our base, where we spent the night -preparatory to moving on the next day to the army that lies next in -the line north of us, being the third from the extreme Russian left. -My impressions of the condition and spirit of the army visited this -day were very satisfactory, and I felt as I did about its southern -neighbor--that its movements for the moment have not a vast importance. -It may go back now, but when the conditions which are necessary are -fulfilled it can almost certainly advance. Probably we need expect -nothing important for some months here and further retirements may be -viewed with equanimity by the Allies. Not too far away there is a final -line which they will not leave without a definite stand and from which -I question if they can be driven at all. - - - - -A VISIT TO AN HISTORIC ARMY - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A VISIT TO AN HISTORIC ARMY - - - BRODY, GALICIA, - _July 7, 1915_. - -For the next three days I was with the head-quarters and army of -one of the most remarkable fighting organizations that this war has -produced on any Front. I am not supposed to mention its number, but I -dare say the censor will let me say that it is that one which has been -commanded for nearly a year now by General Brussilov. This army, as -the reader who has followed the war with any closeness will remember, -is the one that entered Galicia from the extreme east in the first -week of the war, and that in thirty days of continuous fighting, with -practically no rail transport, turned the Austrian right and forced the -evacuation of Lwow at the end of August. In spite of their losses and -exhaustion this army marched right on the re-inforced Austrian centre -and engaged that force with such ferocity, that when the position of -Rawa Ruska fell the Grodek line collapsed before its attacks. Still -unexhausted and with practically no rest, the same troops, or what -was left of them, plus reinforcements, moved on Przemysl, and by their -fierce assaults laid the foundation for what subsequently became the -siege of the Austrian stronghold. But Brussilov was no man to cool his -heels on siege operations, and when the investment was completed, his -corps swept on past, and began driving the Austrians back toward the -Carpathians. - -As the New Year came, and the weeks passed by, the whole world watched -his devoted troops forcing back the Austrians and their newly arrived -German supports back into the passes which had been considered all but -impregnable. He was well through the Dukla and making headway slowly -but surely when the great German blow fell on the Dunajec. Leaving his -successful operations in the Carpathians, he fell back rapidly in time -to connect with the retreating army of the Dunajec and temporarily -brace it up for its temporary stand on the San. The defence of Przemysl -fell to the lot of the General, but as he himself said to me, “There -was nothing but a heap of ruins where had been forts. How could we -defend it?” Still, they did defend it for as many days as it took the -enemy to force the centre, which had not sufficient forces to stem the -advancing tide that was still concentrated against them. Even then, -as I am assured by a Staff officer, they hung on until their right -flank division was uncovered and menaced with envelopment, when once -more they were obliged to withdraw in the direction of the city of Lwow. - -[Illustration: After the Russian evacuation of Lwow. The Bug Lancers -retreating in good order.] - -In this retreat there is no denying that the devoted army was hammered -heavily, and probably its right flank was somewhat tumbled up in the -confusion. Nevertheless, it was still full of fight when the Grodek -line was reached. By this time, however, the greater strategy had -decided on retiring entirely from Galicia, or very nearly so, to a -point which had already been selected; and the battle on the Grodek -line was a check rather than a final stand, though there is no question -that the Russians would have stopped had the rest of their line been -able to hold its positions. But the shattered army of the Dunajec, -in spite of reinforcements, was too badly shaken up, and short of -everything, to make feasible any permanent new alignment of the -position. The action around Lwow was not a serious one, though it was -a hard fought and costly battle. It was made with no expectation of -saving the town, but only to delay the Germans while other parts of the -line were executing what the Russians call “their manœuvres.” - -From Lwow to the position where I found the army, was a rearguard -action and nothing more, and apparently not a very serious one at -that. The best authorities have told me that the Russians withdrew from -Lwow city in a perfectly orderly manner, and that there was neither -excitement nor confusion, a state of affairs in great contrast to that -which existed when the Austrians left in September. The Austrian staff -took wing in such hot haste that the General’s maps, with pencils, -magnifying glasses and notes were found lying on the table just as he -had left them when he hurried from the room. The Russians may also have -panic on occasions, but if they have I certainly have never seen any -indication of it in any of the operations that I have witnessed. - -The new line occupied runs from approximately the head of the Zota -Lipa along the Bug in the direction of Krasne, where the Austrians -hold the village and the Russians the railroad station, and thence in -the general direction of Kamioka and slightly west of Sokal where the -army which lies between it and the former army of the Dunajec begins. -In going over this terrain, I was of the opinion that this line was -not designed originally as the permanent stand; but the removal of -German troops from this Front has sufficiently weakened the Austrians, -so it is quite possible that it may become the low water mark of the -retreat. However, it is of very little importance, in my opinion, -whether the army holds on here, or continues to retreat for another 60 -or 80 versts, where prepared positions at many points give excellent -defensive opportunities. This army as I found it is in good shape. It -is true that many of its corps have been depleted but these are rapidly -filling up again. There is reason to believe, however, that this army -is no longer the objective of the enemy, and that for the present at -least it will not be the object of any serious attack. Behind it for -many versts there is nothing of sufficient strategic importance the -capture of which would justify the enemy in the expenditure which will -be necessary to dislodge it. - -I met General Brussilov several times and dined with him the first -evening after spending almost three-quarters of an hour with him -looking at the maps of the position. I think it would be impossible -for anyone to be a pessimist after an hour with this officer. He -is a thin-faced handsome man of about fifty-five; in every respect -the typical hard-fighting cavalry officer. He is just the man one -would expect to find in command of an army with the record that his -has made. I asked him if he was tired after his year of warfare. He -laughed derisively. “Tired! I should say not. It is my profession. I -shall never be tired.” I cannot of course quote him on any military -utterances, but I left him with the certainty that he at least was -neither depressed nor discouraged. That he was disappointed at having -to retire is certainly true; but it is with him as I have found it -with many others--this set-back has made them only the more ardent for -conditions to be such that they can have another try at it and begin -all over again. All these ranking officers have unlimited faith in the -staying qualities of their men, and little faith in what the Austrians -will do when the Germans go away. If _moral_, as Napoleon says, is -three times the value of physical assets we need have no fear as to the -future where Brussilov is in command of an army. - -The General at once agreed to let me visit some observation point -where I could have a glimpse of his positions and the general nature -of the terrain. On his large scale map we found a point that towered -more than 200 metres above the surrounding country, and he advised -me to go there. So on the following day we motored to a certain army -head-quarters, where the General in command gave us one of his staff, -who spoke English, and an extra motor, and sent us on our way to -a division then holding one of the front line trenches. Here by a -circuitous route, to avoid shell fire, we proceeded to the observation -point in question. It was one of the most beautifully arranged that I -have ever visited, with approaches cut in through the back, and into -trenches and bomb-proofs on the outside of the hill where were erected -the hyperscopes for the artillery officers to study the terrain. - -I could clearly see the back of our own trenches with the soldiers -moving about in them. In the near foreground almost at our feet was -one of our own batteries carefully tucked away in a little dip in -the ground, and beautifully masked from the observing eye of the -aeroplanist. To the south lay the line of the Austrian trenches, and -behind that a bit of wood in which, according to the General who -accompanied us, the Austrians had a light battery hidden away. Still -further off behind some buildings was the position of the Austrian -big guns, and the artillery officer in command of the brigade, whose -observation point was here, told me that there were two 12-inch guns at -this point, though they had not yet come into action. - -Directly east of us lay the valley of the Bug, as flat as a board, -with the whole floor covered with areas of growing crops, some more -advanced in ripeness than others, giving the appearance from our -elevation of a gigantic chessboard. Away off to the west some big guns -were firing occasionally, the sound of their reports and the bursting -shells drifting back lazily to us. At one point on the horizon a -village was burning, great clouds of dense smoke rolling up against -the skyline. Otherwise the afternoon sunshine beat down on a valley -that looked like a veritable farmer’s paradise, steeped in serenity -and peace. For an hour we remained in this lovely spot, studying every -detail of the landscape, and wondering when if ever it would be turned -into a small hell of fury by the troops that now lay hidden under our -very eyes. We left shortly before six and motored back in the setting -sunlight to our head-quarters. Early the next morning I again went to -see General Brussilov and almost the first thing he told me was that -there had been a stiff fight the night before. The reader may imagine -my disappointment to learn that within two hours of my departure the -Austrians had launched an attack on the very chessboard that I had -been admiring so much during the afternoon in the observation station. -From this point, in comparative safety, I could have watched the whole -enterprise from start to finish with the maximum of clearness and the -minimum of risk. I have never seen a more ideal spot from which to see -a fight, and probably will never again have such an opportunity as the -one I missed last night. - -I heard here, as I have been hearing now for a week, that there was -a tendency for the Germans to disappear from this Front, and it was -believed that all the troops that could be safely withdrawn were being -sent in the direction of Cholm-Lublin, where it was generally supposed -the next German drive against the Russians would take place. At the -moment this point on the Russian Front represented the serious sector -of their line, and so we determined not to waste more time here but to -head directly for Cholm and from there proceed to the army defending -that position, the reformed army of the Dunajec. Leaving that afternoon -we motored back into Russia, where the roads are good, and headed for -Cholm. On the way up I called at the head-quarters of the army lying -between Brussilov and the army of the Dunajec (as I shall still call -it for identification), where I lunched with the General in command -and talked with him about the situation. He freely offered me every -facility to visit his lines, but as they were far distant and the -only communications were over execrable roads which were practically -impossible for a motor, and as his Front was not then active, it did -not seem worth while to linger when there was prospect of a more -serious Front just beyond. As I am now approaching the zone which -promises to be of interest in the near future, it is necessary for -me to speak of positions and armies with some ambiguity if I am to -remain in the good graces of the censor. Suffice to say that the army I -skipped holds a line running from the general direction of Sokal, along -the Bug to the vicinity of Grubeschow, where it bends to the west, -hitting into a rough and rolling country, with its flank near a certain -point not too far south-east of Cholm. - -I cannot speak authoritatively of this army as I did not visit the -positions, though I know of them from the maps. I believe from the -organizations attached to it, some of which I know of from past -performances, that this army is perfectly capable of holding its own -position as it now stands, providing strategy in which it is not -personally involved does not necessitate its shifting front. If its -neighbour on the west should be able to advance, I dare say that this -army also might make some sort of a move forward. - -It is futile at this time to make any further speculation. Even at best -my judgments in view of the length of front and shortness of time at -my disposal must be made on extremely hurried and somewhat superficial -observation. It may be better, however, to get a somewhat vague idea -of the whole front than to get exact and accurate information from one -army, which in the final analysis may prove to be an inactive one in -which no one is interested. - - - - -THE NEW ARMY OF THE FORMER DUNAJEC LINE - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE NEW ARMY OF THE FORMER DUNAJEC LINE - - CHOLM, - _July 11, 1915_. - -Ever since I started up the line of armies from the Bukovina, I have -been apprehensive about the point in the line held by this army which -suffered so badly on its old position when it was the object and centre -of the great German drive in Galicia. The position which it occupies -from a point perhaps forty odd versts south-east of Cholm, through a -point somewhat south of Krasnystav to the general direction of Bychawa, -is at present the most serious point of German advance. It is clear -that the capture of Lublin with its number of railroads centring there, -would paralyse the position of the whole line. As I have said before, -this stroke doubtless represents the one that the enemy most gladly -would accomplish in their whole Galician movement, for the pressing -of the Russians back here would probably spell the evacuation of -Warsaw, an object for which the Germans have spent so many hundreds of -thousands of lives, so far to no purpose. - -As I have crossed a number of the recuperating fragments of the old -Dunajec army in quarters where they were having comparatively an easy -time, I was curious to see how the new one was composed. I was received -kindly by the General in command, and soon realized that his army, save -in number, was practically an entirely new organization built up from -corps that have been taken from all quarters of the Russian Front for -this purpose. The General himself is new to the command, and so one may -regard this organization quite apart from the history of the one that -bore the burden of the great Galician drive in May. As soon as I saw -the corps here, I came to the conclusion at once that the Russians had -reached a point where they intended to make a serious fight. I at once -recognized four corps which I have known in other quarters of the war, -and wherever they have been they have made a reputation for themselves. -The sight of these magnificent troops pouring in made one feel that -whether the battle, which every one seems to think is impending, should -be won or lost, it would be an action of the most important nature. -The new General impressed me as much as any soldier I have seen in -Russia. Heretofore he has been in command of a corps which is said -to be one of the finest in the whole Russian Army. I had never seen him -until this visit, and as a matter of fact I had never even heard of -his name. When he came into the room with his old uniform blouse open -he was a picture of a rough-and-ready soldier. Steel blue eyes under -heavy grey brows and a great white moustache gave an impression of -determination, relieved by the gentleness that flickered in the blue of -his eyes as well as the suggestion of sensitiveness about the corners -of his firm mouth. From the first sentence he spoke, I realized that he -meant business, and that this army, when the time came and whatever the -results might be, would put up a historic fight. - -[Illustration: A Russian eight-inch gun going into position during the -fighting round Lublin.] - -At his invitation I went with him later in the afternoon to look at -some new guns that had just come in. They were very interesting and -encouraging, but cannot be discussed at present. With them had come -new artillerymen, and the general went about addressing each batch. -His talk was something like this, freely translated, “Welcome to my -command, my good children. You are looking fit and well, and I am glad -to have you with me. Now I suppose that you think you have come here to -help me hold back the Germans. Well, you are mistaken. We are not here -to hold anybody, but to lick the enemy out of his boots, and drive them -all clean out of Russia, Poland and Galicia too, and you look to me -like the men that could do the job.” The Russian soldiers usually cheer -to order, but these soldiers responded with a roar, and when dismissed -ran off to their positions cheering as long as they could be seen. - -That night I dined with the General. In the midst of dinner some -reinforcements passed up the street weary and footsore from a long -day on the road. The General, dragging his staff with him, went out -into the street, and stood, napkin in hand, watching each company -as it passed him and calling to each a word of greeting. As the men -passed one could see that each was sizing up the chief in whose hands -rested their lives, and the future of their army; one could read their -thoughts plainly enough. “Here is a man to trust. He will pull us -through or die in the attempt.” - -After dinner I went for a stroll with him, and he did not pass a -soldier without stopping to speak for a moment. Late in the evening I -saw him walking down the main street of the primitive little town stick -in hand, and at every corner he stopped to talk with his men. I have -never seen an army where the relations between officers and men were -as they are in Russia, and even in Russia not such as between this -man and his own soldiers. Already he has lost his own son in the war, -yet has accepted his loss with a stoicism that reminds one a little of -General Nogi under similar circumstances. This then is the man to whom -Russia has entrusted what for the moment appears as her most important -front. - -The General permitted Prince Mischersky to accompany me during my -visit to the positions on the following day. The Prince who is the -personal aide-de-camp of the Emperor, and a charming man, took me in -his own motor, and early we arrived at the head-quarters of a certain -army corps. From here we drove to the town of Krasnystav where was -the General of a lesser command. This point, though 14 versts from -the German gun positions, was under fire from heavy artillery, and -two 8-inch shells fell in the town as we entered, spouting bricks and -mortar in every direction while great columns of black smoke poured -from the houses that had been struck. While we were talking with -the General in his rooms, another shell fell outside with a heavy -detonation. From here we visited the division of another corps, where -we borrowed horses and rode up to their reserve trenches and had a look -at the troops, some of the most famous in Russia, whose name is well -known wherever the readers have followed the fortunes of the war. We -were perhaps 600 or 800 yards from the front line, and while we chatted -with the grizzled old commander of a certain regiment, the enemy began -a spasm of firing on the front line trench ahead of us, eleven shells -bursting in a few minutes. Then they suspended entirely and once again -quiet reigned through the woodland in which our reserves were. - -From here by a narrow path we struck off to the west and worked our way -up into one of the new front line trenches which are laid out on an -entirely new plan, and have been in course of preparation ever since -the days of the fighting on the San. They are the best trenches I have -ever seen, and are considerably better in my opinion than those on the -Blonie line in front of Warsaw which, before this, were the best that -had ever come under my observation. Many things that I saw during this -day led me to the conclusion that the Russians were doing everything in -their power to prevent a repetition of the drive on the Dunajec. The -German line of communications here, as I am informed, runs viâ Rawa -Ruska, and owing to the difficulties of the terrain between where they -now stand and the Galician frontier, it will be very difficult for them -to retire directly south. Success in an action here, then, is of -great importance to them. If they attack and fail to advance, they must -count on the instant depression of the whole Austrian line, for the -Austrians even when successful have not been greatly enthusiastic. If -they are driven back, they must retire in the direction of Rawa Ruska, -across the face of the army standing to the east; they must strike -west through Poland, crossing the front of the army lying beside the -Vistula; or they must try to negotiate the bad roads south of them, -which present no simple problem. If the Russian centre can give them a -good decisive blow there is every reason to believe that both flanking -armies can participate pretty vigorously in an offensive. No one -attaches much importance to the Austrians if the Germans can be beaten. -As long as they continue successful, the Austrians, however, are an -important and dangerous part of the Russian problem. - -[Illustration: Russian artillery officers in an observation position -during the fighting round Lublin.] - - - - -BACK TO THE WARSAW FRONT - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -BACK TO THE WARSAW FRONT - - - Dated: - WARSAW, - _July 24, 1915_. - -Leaving Lublin early in the morning we motored to that certain place -where the army next in line to the one I have last discussed is -stationed. Since I have been away there have been many changes and much -shifting about of corps, and I find that nearly half of this army is -now east of the Vistula, and its left joins the right of the one we -have just left, the two together forming the line of defence on Lublin. -As I have been in the army on the Vistula two or three times before, I -find many friends there, and learn from them of the successful movement -of a few days before when an early Austrian advance taken in the flank -resulted in a loss to the enemy, of prisoners alone, of 297 officers -and a number reported to be 23,000 men, practically all of whom are -said to be Austrians. Here as elsewhere great confidence is expressed -as to the position in the south. We are even told that the bulk of the -Germans are now being shifted to another point, and that the next blow -will fall directly on or north of Warsaw. - -On returning to Warsaw I found that during our absence there had been -a grave panic caused by the advances in the south, and that several -hundred thousand of the population had already left, while practically -all the better class had departed a week ago. The hotels were almost -deserted, and the streets emptier than I have ever seen them. But -friends who are unusually well informed told me that the danger was -past, and the general impression was that the worst was over on -this front. For two whole days we had a period practically without -rumours or alarms, and then began what now looks to be one of the -darkest periods that any of us have yet seen here, not even excepting -the panicky days of October last when the Germans were all but in -the city itself. First came rumours of heavy fighting to the north, -around Przasnys, Lomza, Ciechanow, and reports of Russian reverses and -retirements on a new line of defence, and forthwith Warsaw was again -thrown into a state of excessive nerves. One becomes so accustomed to -these constant alarms that they have come to make little impression on -one. The next day a friend coming in from the armies engaged announced -with the greatest confidence that the situation was better, and that -the new Russian line was in every way better than the old one and that -everything was going well. Fighting which is reported to be serious -is going on to the south of us, on the Lublin-Cholm line, but is not -causing serious anxiety here. On the whole nearly all the usually -well-informed persons here felt moderately easy about the situation. - -[Illustration: Retreat from Warsaw. Burning crops.] - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. A Jewish family leaving Warsaw.] - -Suddenly there came a bolt out of the blue. With no warning it was -announced that the evacuation of Warsaw had been ordered and that the -civil authorities would leave on Sunday, July 18. This announcement -was not made until late on Saturday, and immediately began the tumult -of reports of disaster which we who have sat here through thick and -thin know so well. Personally I should have felt no anxiety, for there -seemed no immediate danger on any of the near-by fronts, nor serious -reverses as far as was known here on the more distant fronts; but the -order of evacuation was followed up at once by instructions to the -Consul of Great Britain to be prepared to leave on Monday, while I -believe that the Belgian and French Consuls received similar notices -and are all departing on that day (to-morrow, July 19). The American -Consul, Hernando Desote, who already has the German and Austrian -interests in charge, took over the British interests at twelve o’clock -to-day, and will probably do the same for the interests of the other -Allies represented here in Warsaw. - -In the meantime we hear that the Russians are falling back on the -Blonie line, and that Zuradov has already been evacuated, which may or -may not be true. It now seems quite obvious that something has taken -place of which we know nothing, and I have not seen or talked with -an officer who thinks that what is taking place is due to the local -military situation as far as it is known. The general opinion is that -if the Russians retire it is due purely to the fact that they have not -the munitions to maintain a sustained attack of the Germans who seem -to be coming over to this front in increasingly large numbers. For -the observer here it is impossible to know what the Russians have in -their caissons. One who gets about a good deal can make a guess at the -positions, strength and morale of an army, but the matter of munitions -or outside policy is something which cannot be solved by the man at -the front. There is undoubtedly a feeling of great discouragement -here at present, and many believe that the Russians have been bearing -the burden now ever since January, while the Allies for one cause or -another have not been able to start enough of an attack in the west -to prevent the Germans from sending more and ever more troops over here. - -[Illustration: Retreat from Warsaw. A Polish Jew. Note his belongings -tied round a cow’s neck.] - -Russia certainly has neither the industrial system nor the industrial -temperament to supply herself with what she needs to the same extent -as both France and England. She has been fighting now for months, -with ammunition when she had it, and practically without it when it -failed her. Month after month she has kept up the unequal struggle, and -there are many here who think the greater powers that be are going to -withdraw to a shorter line, and await refilling of their caissons until -the time comes when the Allies can co-operate in the attack on the -common enemy. These matters are purely speculation, however, for here -we know nothing except that the civil evacuation is going on apace, and -that there are many signs which indicate that it may be followed by the -military within a week or ten days. - -The Poles are utterly discouraged, the Russians disgusted and, all -things considered, Warsaw at the present writing is a very poor place -for an optimist. We hear to-day that the fire brigade has come back -from Zuradov, where buildings which might be of use to the enemy are -said to have been blown up. Poles have been notified that the Russian -Government would give them free transportation from here, and 14 -roubles. Factories which have copper in their equipment have been -dismantled, and many are already in process of being loaded on to cars -for shipment to Russia proper. I am told that the State Bank left -yesterday for Moscow, and that they are collecting all the brass and -copper utensils from the building next door to the hotel. My chauffeur -has just come in and lugubriously announced that benzine has risen -to 15 roubles a pood (I do not know how that figures out in English -equivalent except that it is prohibitory), when we usually pay three. -In addition the soldiers are collecting all private stocks, and there -are few of the privately owned cars in the town that have enough in -their tanks to turn a wheel with. In the meantime another man informs -me that they are tearing down copper telephone and telegraph wires to -points outside of the city, and that our troops are already falling -back on Warsaw. All of this is very annoying to one who has just -finished writing an optimistic story about the situation in the South. - -Something like this, then, is the situation in Warsaw on Sunday night, -July 18. It has never been worse so far as I can judge from my point of -view, but I am of the opinion that things are not as bad as they look, -and that successes in the South may yet relieve the tension. - -[Illustration: The evacuation of Warsaw. Copper and bells were all -taken away before the Russians left.] - - - - -THE LOSS OF WARSAW - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE LOSS OF WARSAW - - - Dated: - PETROGRAD, - _August 15, 1915_. - -The giving up of Warsaw marks the end of a definite period in the war, -and represents the climax of one of the most remarkable campaigns in -the history of the world. Military records do not present anything -even approaching the effort which in three months has been made by -the enemy. From the moment they began their attack on the Dunajec -line in early May, until their entrance into Warsaw, almost exactly -three months later, their campaign has represented one continuous -attack. Every detail seems to have been arranged, and once the movement -started, men and munitions were fed into the maw of war without -intermission until their objective, Warsaw, was attained. All of this -one must in justice accord the Germans, for it is their due. The -determination and bravery of their soldiers in these three months of -ghastly sacrifice have never faltered. - -Their objective has been attained; but when we have said this, our -admiration for a purpose fulfilled stops short. Though obtaining -Warsaw they have not secured the results that they believed Warsaw -represented; and I believe it perfectly safe to say that the capture of -Warsaw, without the inflicting of a crashing blow to the Russian Army, -was perhaps the greatest disappointment to the Germans which this war -has brought them. I know from conversations with many prisoners, that -generally speaking, every soldier in the German Army on this Front felt -that with the capture of the great Polish capital, the war with Russia -was practically finished. It was because this was so earnestly believed -that it was possible to keep driving the soldiers on and on, regardless -of life and of their physical exhaustion. - -The German plan involved the destruction of the army. They have the -husk of victory, while the kernel, as has happened many times before in -this war, has slipped from their grasp. Everything that has happened -since Warsaw is in the nature of a secondary campaign, and really -represents an entirely new programme and probably a new objective or -series of objectives. From the wider point of view, the war against -Russia has begun all over again, and for the present it seems unwise to -discuss or prophesy the outcome of the vast operations which have -taken place since August 5. But it is a desperate new undertaking for -Germany to enter upon after her incomparable exertions these last three -months. - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. Ammunition on the road.] - -In dealing with such extended operations at this time, it is -impossible to write accurately, because the Front has been so great -that nine-tenths of the information in regard to details is not yet -available. The writer was for the period from July 10 to August 5 in -daily contact with this Front, and in that period motored thousands of -versts, was in practically all of the armies involved in what may be -called the Warsaw movement, and at the positions in innumerable places. -Yet he hesitates to attempt to write anything of an authoritative -nature for the moment, although he believes the rough outline which -follows will prove approximately accurate when the history of the -movement is written from the broader perspective which time only can -bring. - -It was the opinion of many observers early in May, including the -writer, that Warsaw was the main objective of the great Galician drive. -The Germans intended first to strengthen the _moral_ of the Austrians -by returning them Galicia, but probably the greatest value of the -capture of Galicia was the position which left the Germans on the -flank of Warsaw. Since last Autumn it has been clear that the Germans -regarded Warsaw as the most important strategic prize on this Front, -and those who have followed the war will recall the constant series of -attacks on the Polish capital. First came their direct advance which -frittered away the middle of December, and left them sticking in the -mud and snow on the Bzura line in Poland, still 50 versts from their -prize. Spasmodic fighting continued until January, when their great -Bolimov drive was undertaken. Beginning in the last days of January -it continued for six consecutive days. We are told that ten divisions -backed by 600 guns attacked practically without interruption for six -days and six nights. I cannot accurately state what the German losses -were, but I know the Russians estimated them to be 100,000. - -It was clear that Warsaw was not to be taken from the front, and as -the last gun was being fired on the Bolimov position, the new Prussian -flanking movement was launched in East Prussia. This, though scoring -heavily in its early days, soon dissipated as the Russians adjusted -themselves to the shock. That was followed instantly by another series -of operations directed against Warsaw from the North. This too went -up in smoke, and for several weeks there was a lull, interrupted here -and there by preliminary punches in different parts of the line, -intended to discover weakness which did not appear. By April it was -clear that Warsaw was not vulnerable from the front or North. Then -followed the great Galician campaign which ended with the fall of -Lemberg, and by the end of June left the Germans in their new position -with the southern flank of the armies in Poland prepared for their -final drive for Warsaw on the South. From the light which I have on -this campaign I will try and give the sketch as it has appeared to me. - -[Illustration: During the retreat from Warsaw.] - -[Illustration: Russian armoured motor-car.] - -There is no question that the German strategy aimed not merely at the -capture of Warsaw, but at the destruction or capture of the greater -part of the army defending the Polish capital. The German programme was -carefully prepared, and this time they had no isolated movements, but -two great movements developing simultaneously; one aimed to cut the -Warsaw-Petrograd lines from the North, and the other aimed at Warsaw -from the South. The time which has elapsed is not sufficient, nor is -the information available, to enable one to judge at this time whether -the Northern or Southern movement was the main German objective. I -was in the Cholm-Lublin Army head-quarters just before the heavy -fighting began, and was then of the opinion that the most important -German activity was contemplated on this sector. It is apparent by a -glance at the map, that an overwhelming success here would have been -of incredible importance to the enemy. Had they been able to destroy -this army as they did the one bearing the same number on the Dunajec in -May, they could have moved directly on Brest-Litowsk by Wlodava and cut -the Warsaw line of communications to the direct rear 180 versts away. A -rapid success here would have certainly resulted in just the disaster -that the Germans were hoping would be the outcome of their programme. - -The movement on the North from the direction of Mlawa toward -Przasnys-Ciechanow was of course a direct threat on the -Warsaw-Petrograd line of communications. Success here would have forced -the evacuation of the city and a general change of the Russian line; -but even had it been a sweeping one, it had not the potentialities -of the calamity which a similar success on the Cholm line would have -had. Perhaps the Germans estimated both to be of approximately equal -importance, and a double success, occurring simultaneously, would -have undoubtedly repeated the Moukden fiasco on an infinitely larger -scale. It must be remembered that when this movement started, the -Russians in the South were at the end of a gruelling campaign of nearly -two months’ continuous warfare, in which, through lack of munitions, -they were obliged to withdraw under difficult and extremely delicate -circumstances. The army defending the Cholm-Lublin line was in name -the same that had been so very badly cut up six weeks earlier, and the -Germans no doubt believed that every one of the Russian Armies engaged -from the Bukowina to the Vistula had been so badly shaken up that any -effective resistance would be impossible. It was because their estimate -was so far out that their programme was doomed to disappointment. - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. Wounded in a barn outside -Warsaw.] - -My own observation of the Russian Armies is that if they are given a -fortnight, or even a week, in which to recuperate, they are good for -a month of continuous fighting. With almost any other army in the -world, after such an experience as the Russians had had for six weeks -in Galicia, the defence on the Cholm-Lublin line would have failed, -and the Germans might well have driven through to Brest in two or -three weeks, as they no doubt firmly believed that they would. But -the Russians on the Cholm-Lublin line had the benefit of interior -lines of communications, and had also the brief breathing space which -enabled them to pull themselves together. Besides this, a new General, -General Loesche, was in command, and with him were an important number -of the best corps in the Russian Army. Excellent field works had been -prepared, and personally, after visiting the positions I felt sure -that whatever the outcome of the German move against him might be, it -would not result in anything like the Dunajec enterprise, nor would -the enemy be able to drive through to Brest with sufficient rapidity -to cut off the retreat of the Warsaw army or those lying south of -it. The movement in the South started with such terrific impetus, -that for several days it seemed possible that in spite of the stamina -and leadership of the Russians the enemy would have their way; but -after ten days of fighting it became clear that though the enemy were -advancing, their progress was going to be of so slow and arduous a -nature that they would never be able to inflict a smashing disaster on -the Russian Armies. - -The details of the battles that raged here for weeks would fill a -volume. Although I visited this army several times during this stage, -and was in four different corps on this Front, I have still but the -vaguest outline in my own mind of the fighting except as a whole. Every -day there was something raging on some part of the line, first in one -place and then in another. The Germans used the same practice that -was so successful in Galicia and massed their batteries heavily. This -method, backed by the Prussian Guards, enabled them to take Krasnystav. -The best trenches that I have ever seen in field operations were washed -away in a day by a torrent of big shells. The Russians did not retreat. -They remained and died, and the Germans simply marched through the -hole in the line, making a change of front necessary. - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. German prisoners housed in a -barn. Note the Russian soldiers have German rifles.] - -But this time there was no disorganization of the line as a whole. The -moment the Germans were beyond their supporting artillery, the Russian -infantry were at their throats with the bayonet and drove them back. -The fighting from day to day for weeks was a great zig-zag, with German -advances and retreats before Russian counter-attacks. But each advance -left the enemy a little nearer their objective, and it was clear that -slowly but surely they were, by superior forces, vastly superior -supplies of ammunition and a constant flow of reserves, forcing the -Russians back toward the Lublin-Cholm-Kovel line of railroad. It became -equally obvious however after ten days that they would never reach -Brest in time to menace seriously the future of the Warsaw army, even -if they could and would spare the men to turn the trick. - -As a fact it became apparent here for almost the first time, that the -Germans in spite of their anxiety to attain their objective, were -endeavouring to spare their troops. For the first time I heard the -general comment among officers, that the artillery was now the main arm -in modern warfare, and the infantry its support. I think this potential -failure of their programme dawned on the Germans even before it did on -the Russians; for while all eyes were still on the Southern Front, -the Germans were reinforcing and pushing their Northern attack which -aimed to hit through Pultusk and Wyszkow to the Petrograd-Warsaw line -at Lochow. Perhaps after the first two weeks in the South this really -was their greatest aim. Personally I think their chance for inflicting -a disaster slipped when they failed to defeat definitely, or destroy -the army of Loesche. To him and to the left flanking corps of Evert, -must be accorded the credit of saving this sector with all its menaces -to the future of the campaign and perhaps the whole European situation. -For the last two weeks before the abandonment of Warsaw, these two -great battles, one in the North and one in the South, were raging -simultaneously. - -I left Cholm for the last time on July 22, feeling that the fate of -Warsaw would not be decided from that quarter, and, for the balance -of the campaign, divided my time between the South Vistula armies and -those defending the Narew line. It now became clear that the great -menace lay from the Northern blow, and here we have a very similar -story to that of the Southern army. With terrific drives the enemy took -Przasnys, Ciechanow, Makow and at last Pultusk, and finally succeeded -in getting across the Narew with ten divisions of excellent troops. On -this Front, to the best of my judgment, the Germans at this time had -131 battalions of their very best available troops and perhaps fifteen -reserve battalions with their usual heavy artillery support. When the -crossing of the Narew was accomplished it seemed inevitable that Warsaw -must fall and immediately the civil evacuation of the city began. - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. Artillery on the road.] - -It seemed then that the Germans might in a few days drive through to -the railroad, and to save the army in Warsaw an immediate evacuation -in hot haste would prove imperative. But the Russian Army defending -this sector rallied just as their brothers did in the South. The -German drive on Wyszkow took them within 4 versts of the town, while -the Russian counter-attack threw them back fifteen, with heavy losses -in casualties and prisoners. Then there began here the same sort of -slow stubborn fighting that for weeks had been progressing in the -South; only here the German advances were slower, and the attainment -of their objective less certain. About the same time (July 25-26) the -Germans made a try on the Warsaw line itself, but failed miserably, -and abandoned any serious effort against the new Blonie line to which -the Russians, in order to get the most out of their men and to shorten -their line, had withdrawn. It must never be forgotten that the Russian -Front was 1,200 miles long, and the inability to supply it with men -and munitions had made it necessary to shorten their Front to get the -best results from their numbers. It is hard to say what numbers both -belligerents had, and even if I knew exactly our strength the censor -would not pass my statement. I think it safe to say however, that -during these days the Austro-German forces outnumbered the Russians -by at least 50 per cent., counting effectives only. This shortening -left simply Warsaw itself with its Blonie line from Novo-Georgievsk to -Gorakalwara in Russian hands west of the Vistula. - -By the 27th-28th of July there came a wave of hope, and those who -had lost all optimism picked up their courage once more. I know from -the very best authority that up to August 1 it was hoped that Warsaw -might still be saved, though every preparation was being made for its -evacuation. The cause of this burst of optimism was due to the fact -that the terrific German blows both North and South were not gaining -the headway that had been expected. Besides, the Russians were getting -more and more ammunition, and it seemed more than possible that the -Germans might fail of their objective if only they did not receive -increasing reinforcements. These two great battles North and South, -each seeming equally important, had drawn everything that could be -spared to either one point or the other. It was clear then that there -must be some link in the chain weaker than the others, and the -Germans set out to find this. - -[Illustration: During the retreat from Warsaw. Note wounded man.] - -Without weakening for a moment their attacks on their main objectives, -they began (with new reinforcements) to spear about for a point against -which to launch still a third attack. Several attempts disclosed the -Russians in strength, but at last the enemy discovered that the weakest -spot was on the Vistula south of Warsaw. As this was the easiest to -defend on account of the river being approximately the line, the -Russians had fewer troops and thus the Germans were able to effect a -crossing of the river. I am not able to state absolutely the day or the -place of crossing, but I am inclined to place it about July 27-28, and -I think the first crossing was near the mouth of the Radomika, while I -believe another was made about the same date somewhere near the mouth -of the Pilica river. The enemy gained an initial advantage at first, -but as usual was driven back by a counter-attack, though he still held -his position on the East bank of the river. - -At this time, as nearly as I can estimate, there were four Russian army -corps defending the Blonie line from Novo-Georgievsk to Gorakalwara. -With this strength the few sporadic attacks of the Germans were futile. -When the first crossing of the Vistula developed, the corps which -stood near Gorakalwara crossed the river and countered the northerly -crossing, while troops from the neighbouring army to the South, covered -the menace on that portion of the line, and it was believed that the -enemy had failed here in his objective which it was thought was the -Warsaw-Brest line at Nova Minsk. It was believed and probably rightly, -that even the three remaining corps on the Blonie line could hold that -front, and that the balance had been re-established, for the Russians -hoped that the Germans had in their fighting line all the loose -formations which were immediately available. About July 30-August 1, -the Germans developed three new divisions (believed to have come from -France), and these crossed the river, giving them practically two whole -corps against half the strength of Russians. It is possible that even -these odds might have been overcome by the stubbornness of the Russian -soldier, but the Russians learned that three Austrian divisions, said -to have come from the Serbian Front were available in immediate support. - -[Illustration: The retreat from Warsaw. One of the last regiments to -pass through Warsaw.] - -From this moment it was evident that Warsaw was doomed. To weaken the -Front on the Blonie line meant a break there, and re-inforcements -could not be sent either from the Narew line or the Southern Front -where actions still raged. It was then clearly a mate in a few moves, -if the Russians waited for it. But they did not. Instantly began -their military evacuation, the cleverness of which must I think -be credited to Alexieff and his brilliant Chief of Staff Goulevitch. -Those of us who have been studying the Warsaw situation for ten months, -imagined that when the evacuation came, if it ever did, it would be -through the city. What happened was entirely unexpected. The corps at -Gorakalwara slipped over the river on pontoon bridges in the night, -supporting the first corps that was already there, effecting the double -purpose of getting out of the Warsaw zone, and simultaneously coming -in between the Germans and the line of retreat toward Brest. About -the same time the corps that lay next to the Vistula, on the Northern -end of the Blonie line, slipped out over pontoon bridges and went to -support the Narew defenders, thus making impossible the immediate -breaking of that line. On August 4, by noon, there was probably not -over one corps on the West side of the Vistula. Half of that crossed -south of Warsaw before six, and probably the last division left about -midnight, and at three a.m. the bridges were blown up. The Germans -arrived at six in the morning, which seemed to indicate that they were -not even in touch with the Russian rearguard at the end. - -What I have written above is to the best of my information the outline -of the Warsaw situation, but it may be in details somewhat inaccurate, -though I think the main points are correct. In any case there is no -question that the whole withdrawal was cleverly accomplished, and in -perfect order, and that when the Germans finally closed in, they found -an abandoned city. Their reports of having carried Warsaw by storm are -undoubtedly true to the extent that they were in contact with some -of the last troops to leave. Probably the trenches that they carried -by storm were held by a battalion or two of soldiers protecting the -rearguard. That the great body had gone long before the Germans know -perfectly well, and their claims of having carried the city by assault -would, I dare say, bring a smile even to the stolid face of the German -soldier. - -During all these operations the Germans had at least five shells to -the Russians, one, and but for this great superiority they never would -have pushed back either the line of the Narew or the Cholm-Lublin line. -Russia could not convert her resources into ammunition, and Germany, -who for forty years has lived for this day, could. To this fact she -owes her capture of Warsaw. The Allies may be assured that Russia -stayed until the last minute and the last shell, and then extricated -herself from an extremely dangerous position, leaving the enemy to -pounce on the empty husk of a city from which had been taken every -movable thing of military value. The defence of and final escape from -Warsaw is one of the most spectacular and courageous bits of warfare -that history presents, and undoubtedly the fair-minded German admits it -in his own heart regardless of the published statements of the Staff. - -[Illustration: Siberians leaving the last trench before Warsaw.] - - - - -CONCLUSION - -[Illustration: A batch of German prisoners captured during the retreat -from Warsaw.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -CONCLUSION - - - Dated: - PETROGRAD, - _September 2, 1915_. - -A great deal has happened since the Fall of Warsaw which one must -regret, but at the same time the incidents or disasters must be viewed -in their proper perspective. The loss of Kovno, Novo-Georgievsk and -many other positions are all unfortunate, but must I think be taken -as by-products of the loss of Warsaw. With these enormous extended -fronts which modern war presents for the same time, there always -develop certain points on the line which may be called keystones. In -the Galician campaign, the Dunajec line and Gorlice was the keystone. -Once this was pulled out and a number of corps eliminated, the whole -vast line from the Vistula to the Bukovina was thrown into a state of -oscillation. Once the withdrawal of one army started, the whole line, -even to the Warsaw Front, was affected. Armies such as the Bukovina -army, which was actually advancing for ten days after the first attack -began hundreds of miles away, first halted and finally had to come -back to maintain the symmetry of the whole. A great Front, changing -over hundreds of versts, means that the whole line can stop only when -the weakest unit can stop. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link -and the same is roughly true of a Front. - -We saw this clearly in Galicia. It has been apparent to every one that -Warsaw was the keystone of the campaign in Poland. Once Warsaw was -given up under the conditions which then existed, everything that has -happened could have been foreseen. It was clear to all on this Front -who had followed these movements closely, that the next line would -be far in the rear, and that when the general change of Front came, -many places would have to be sacrificed. Novo-Georgievsh as a matter -of course was doomed. Its function was to protect the flank of the -Warsaw defences. It actually held out for two weeks after Warsaw was -abandoned, and this delay to the Germans enabled the Russians to get -their army clear of a dangerously active pursuit. Fortresses in modern -war must, as many believe, be regarded as checks to the mobility of an -enemy, rather than as permanent blocks to his progress. Noro-Georgievsh -was this, and certainly justified the loss of the garrison and the -cost of its construction. Liége is a still better example. Certainly -no fortress can withstand modern big guns, and if by their sacrifice -they play their part in the game, they have more than served their -ends. To hold on to a fortress with a large garrison only magnifies -its importance, creates a bad moral effect when it falls, and entails -the loss of a field army. Perhaps the Austrian conduct of Przemysl -will become the historic warning in future wars as what not to do with -fortresses. From an extremely intimate contact of the terrain, I felt -certain that the next jump from Warsaw would be Brest-Litowsk. I had -visited that place five or six times and felt equally sure that if -the Germans made a definite bid for it, it would not be defended. The -Russians knew this, and in the army there was no keen disappointment at -its loss; for I think no one who knew conditions expected that there -would be a big battle there, though many believed that the enemy would -never try seriously to go further. That they have done so is looked -upon by many as a mistake of the Germans. Time only can tell. The -Russians are now on the move to another line. The enemy may continue to -follow, but in this district one does not see any point the capture of -which can have any great benefit which they could ensure before winter -sets in. The only result which can seriously assist them is the capture -of Petrograd, and even this would not, I believe, insure a peace with -Russia. - -[Illustration: Refugees on the road to Brest-Litovsk.] - -As a matter of fact it seems to the writer pretty certain that the -enemy will not reach half way to Petrograd before the winter sets in, -and after that its capture is increasingly unlikely. Once one has left -the Front one obtains more accurate news as to the situation on this -line of battle from the foreign papers than from any other source. In -Petrograd, in civilian circles, there is great pessimism as to the -military situation, but this is not shared by those who are in the -confidence of the highest authorities. The only danger that seriously -and immediately menaces the Russians is rapidly passing away. It was -dangerous because it was insidious. It is certainly worth discussion. - -It was of course to be expected that the moment the Russian Armies left -Warsaw and the entire line began to retire on new positions, there -should be a period of great ambiguity. For several weeks the armies -were in constant movement, and from day to day their exact positions -were uncertain. As they went back, they obviously left many towns and -positions behind them, with the result that for weeks the Germans have -been having a continuous celebration over their advances. During this -period very little news was available in Petrograd, which at the best -is pessimistic and quick to jump at conclusions of disaster. There -is here, as all the world knows, an enormous German influence, and -whenever the military situation is in the least ambiguous, there -start immediately in a thousand different quarters reports of disaster -which in an hour are all over Petrograd. That these reports originate -from German sympathizers is hardly questioned, and that the whole -propaganda is well organized is equally certain. - -[Illustration: Roll call during the retreat from Warsaw. All that was -left of them.] - -The past two weeks has found Petrograd in a receptive mood for gloomy -news, and inasmuch as nothing of a favourable nature has come from the -Russian Army, the German propaganda of insidious and subtle rumours and -reports has run through the city like a prairie fire after a drought. -Three main themes have been worked up and circulated for all that they -would stand. It was said first that there was lack of harmony among the -Allies, and that the Russian high authorities were not satisfied with -the conduct of the war in the West. The corollary of this of course was -that without harmony the cause was lost. Next came the assertion that -the army was demoralized, and had lost hope and therefore wanted peace. -Then the shortage of ammunition was magnified until half the gullible -population were almost willing to believe that the army were fighting -with pitchforks and shotguns. Out of all this came the assertion that -peace was inevitable and that the Germans would take Petrograd. For -a week or more these topics circulated and grew with such alarming -rapidity that at last the Government was obliged to take notice of the -propaganda, which was finally squelched by a statement issued to _The -Times_ and the Russian Press by M. Serge Sazonov, the distinguished and -clever minister of Foreign Affairs. - -In this interview the Russian statesman, speaking for the Government, -made a categorical denial of the slanders against the Government -and the Russian people. He stated without reservation that there -was not now, nor had there ever been, a lack of harmony between the -military or civil authorities of the Allies, and announced that the -Russian Government not only approved of, but had implicit faith in the -programme of the Allies in the West. He then discussed the munitions -question, and asserted that all steps were being taken to fill -depletions in all branches of the army requirements, and lastly he -stated once and for ever that there would be no independent peace with -Germany while a single German soldier remained on Russian soil and that -the war would continue even if the Government were obliged to retire to -the heart of Russia and the contest continued for years to come. This -statement has had an immediate effect on the local panic-mongers here, -and for the moment there is a lull in the German propaganda. - -[Illustration: Resting during the retreat from Warsaw.] - -In the meantime it is becoming obvious that the Germans in spite of -their following up of the retiring Russians are not likely to -achieve any successes which can immediately affect the political -situation. If they take Riga and Grodno, and even Vilna, they have -done their worst for some months to come, and one cannot see what they -can accomplish further before winter sets in. If the campaign at this -stage were in June one might feel apprehensive of Petrograd, but under -the most favourable conditions it is difficult to see how the Germans -can get even halfway here before November. By that time they will be -on the verge of the winter with the ground freezing so deeply that -intrenching is difficult, if not impossible, and every advance must be -made with terrific losses. Their attempts to conduct warfare in Poland -(a much milder climate) in winter, are too recent a memory to lead one -to believe they will repeat it here. It will be remembered that their -advance on the Bzura-Rawka line froze up when winter came, and the -sacrifice of thousands did not advance them materially at that point -in spite of their most determined efforts. I think one may say, then, -that what the Germans cannot accomplish before November they will not -attempt until Spring. The pessimism and hopelessness of Petrograd seem -to be on the wane, and the reports from the Front now arriving do not -indicate either demoralization or despair in the army. - -Probably one must expect retirements and rearguard actions for some -weeks to come. Ultimately the Russians will settle down on some new -line from which it is extremely unlikely that they can be driven before -the winter sets in. One hesitates to make any prophecies, as conditions -change so rapidly that it is always dangerous to do so, but perhaps it -is safe to say that with the coming of the winter and the definite lull -in the campaign which will follow, the Russians will have passed their -crisis. Given four months of rest and recuperation we shall have an -entirely new situation in the beginning of next year which will present -an entirely new problem. It will really mean the starting of a new war -with new objectives and practically with a new and re-equipped army. - -There may be those who are disappointed, but history, I believe, -will conclude that this summer campaign of the Russians has been the -greatest factor so far in the war making for the ultimate victory -of the Allies. For nearly four months Germany has been drained of -her best. Men and resources have been poured on this Front since -May regardless of cost. Autumn approaches with the armies in being, -undemoralized and preparing to do it all over again. In the meantime -the Allies are preparing to begin on the West, or at least it is -generally so believed. When they do at last start, Germany will for -months be occupied in protecting herself, and will probably be unable -to act so vigorously here. If Russia gets over the period of the -next sixty days, she will be safe until Spring, and by that time she -will without doubt be able to take up an offensive in her turn. - -[Illustration: Wounded returning to Warsaw.] - -[Illustration: On the banks of the River Dniester. Cossack snipers in -the woods overlooking the river.] - -After months of observation of the Germans it is folly to speculate on -how long they can stand this pace. It may be for six months, and it -may be for two years, but with the Allies patiently wearing down the -enemy month after month and year after year there can be but one end. -That Russia has played her part, and played it heroically, I think no -one, even the Germans themselves, can deny. There are some that like to -believe that the enemy will try to get Moscow and Kiev before winter -sets in. The former objective seems impossible, and the latter even -if obtained would, I believe, in no way compensate the enemy for his -sacrifices, for the nature of the country is such that all advances -could only be at terrific cost. Besides, Kiev, even if taken, would -not, I think, have any tangible effect on forcing Russia to make peace, -and this end alone can justify the Germans in making further huge -sacrifices. - -There are many who maintain that Russia will find it difficult to -reconquer Galicia and Poland. Probably she will never have to do so. -It is perfectly possible that when the end comes, Germany will still -be on the territory of France, Belgium, and Russia. Peace will bring -back instantly all of these provinces without any fighting at all. It -matters not, then, whether Germany is broken while still in the heart -of Russia or under the walls of Berlin itself. The task is to break the -enemy and that this will be done eventually I think cannot be doubted. -It is the stamina, the character and the resources of the Allies that -in the end will decide this war, and nothing is more unwise than to -judge the situation from the study of pins moved back and forward on -the map of Europe. - - - Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Frome and London - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN*** - - -******* This file should be named 51551-0.txt or 51551-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/5/5/51551 - - -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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