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diff --git a/old/55702-8.txt b/old/55702-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b8d954b..0000000 --- a/old/55702-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8998 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Day by Day With The Russian Army 1914-15, by -Bernard Pares - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Day by Day With The Russian Army 1914-15 - -Author: Bernard Pares - -Release Date: October 8, 2017 [EBook #55702] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY *** - - - - -Produced by David E. Brown, Brian Coe and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - DAY BY DAY WITH - THE RUSSIAN ARMY - 1914-15 - - - [Illustration: THE AUTHOR.] - - - - - DAY BY DAY WITH - THE RUSSIAN ARMY - - 1914-15 - - BY - BERNARD PARES - - _Official British Observer with the Russian Armies in the Field_ - - _WITH MAPS_ - - LONDON - CONSTABLE & COMPANY LTD. - 1915 - - - - - TO - NICHOLAS AND MARY HOMYAKOV - - - - - Tidings from the Tsar of Germans, - Tidings to the Russian Tsar. - - "I will come and break your Russia, - And in Russia I will live." - - Moody was the Russian Tsar, - As he paced the Moscow street. - - "Be not moody, Russian Tsar, - Russia we will never yield. - - "Gather, gather, Russian hosts; - William shall our captive be. - - "Cross the far Carpathian mountains; - March through all the German towns." - - _Marching Song of the Third Army._ - - - - -PREFACE - - -For the last ten years or more I have paid long visits to Russia, being -interested in anything that might conduce to closer relations between -the two countries. During this time the whole course of Russia's public -life has brought her far nearer to England--in particular, the creation -of new legislative institutions, the wonderful economic development of -the country, and the first real acquaintance which England has made -with Russian culture. I always travelled to Russia through Germany, -whose people had an inborn unintelligence and contempt for all things -Russian, and whose Government has done what it could to hold England -and Russia at arm's length from each other. I often used to wonder -which of us Germany would fight first. - -When Germany declared war on Russia, I volunteered for service, and was -arranging to start for Russia when we, too, were involved in the war. I -arrived there some two weeks afterwards, and after a stay in Petrograd -and Moscow was asked to take up the duty of official correspondent with -the Russian army. It was some time before I was able to go to the army, -and at first only in company of some twelve others with officers of -the General Staff who were not yet permitted to take us to the actual -front. We, however, visited Galicia and Warsaw, and saw a good deal of -the army. After these journeys I was allowed to join the Red Cross -organisation with the Third Army as an attaché of an old friend, Mr. -Michael Stakhovich, who was at the head of this organisation; and there -General Radko Dmitriev, whom I had known earlier, kindly gave me a -written permit to visit any part of the firing line; my Red Cross work -was in transport and the forward hospitals. My instructions did not -include telegraphing, and my diary notes, though dispatched by special -messengers, necessarily took a month or more to reach England; but I -had the great satisfaction of sharing in the life of the army, where -I was entertained with the kindest hospitality and invited to see and -take part in anything that was doing. - -The Third Army was at the main curve in the Russian front, the point -where the German and Austrian forces joined hands. It was engaged in -the conquest of Galicia, and on its fortunes, more perhaps than on -those of any other army on either front, might depend the issue of -the whole campaign. We were the advance guard of the liberation of -the Slavs, and to us was falling the rôle of separating Austria from -Germany, or, what is the same thing in more precise terms, separating -Hungary from Prussia. I had the good fortune to have many old friends -in this area. My work in hospitals and the permission to interrogate -prisoners at the front gave me the best view that one could have of -the process of political and military disintegration which was and is -at work in the Austrian empire. I took part in the advanced transport -work of the Red Cross, visited in detail the left and right flanks of -the army, and went to the centre just at the moment when the enemy -fell with overwhelming force of artillery on this part. I retreated -with the army to the San and to the province of Lublin. My visits to -the actual front had in each case a given object--usually to form a -judgment on some question on which depended the immediate course of the -campaign. - -I am now authorised to publish my more public communications, including -my diary notes with the Third Army. I am also obliged to the _Liverpool -Daily Post and Mercury_ for leave to reprint my note of September 1914 -on Moscow. I think it will be seen that if we lost Galicia we lost it -well, and that the moral superiority remained and remains on our side -throughout. We were driven out by sheer weight of metal, but our troops -turned at every point to show that the old relations of man to man -were unchanged. The diary of an Austrian officer who was several times -opposite to me will, I think, make this clear. When Russia has half -the enemy's material equipment we know, and he does, that we shall be -travelling in the opposite direction. - -It was a delight to be with these splendid men. I never saw anything -base all the while that I was with the army. There was no drunkenness; -every one was at his best, and it was the simplest and noblest -atmosphere in which I have ever lived. - - BERNARD PARES. - - - - -DAY BY DAY WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY - - -_July-August 1914._ - -While the war cloud was breaking, I was close to my birthplace at -Dorking with my father, whom I was not to see again. Though eighty-one -years old he was in his full vigour of heart, mind and body, and we -were motoring every day among the beautiful Surrey hills. He had had a -great life of work for others, born just after the first Reform Bill -which his own father had helped to carry through the House of Commons, -and stamped with the robust faith and vigour of the great generation -of the Old Liberals. Like every other interest of his children, he had -always followed with the fullest participation my own work in Russia, -and I had everything packed for my yearly visit there. In London I had -had short visits from Mr. Protopopov, a liberal Russian publicist, -and later from the eminent leader of Polish public life, Mr. Dmowski, -than whom I know no better political head in Europe. Both had expected -war for years past, but neither had any idea how close it was. Mr. -Protopopov was absorbed in a study of English town planning and Mr. -Dmowski was correcting the proofs of his last article for my _Russian -Review_, which he ended with the words, "The time is not yet." He -came down and motored with us through what he called "the paradise of -trees"--and Poland itself has some of the finest trees in Europe; and -my father was keenly interested in his hopes for the future of Poland. -He was going to the English seaside when events called him back to an -adventurous journey across Europe, in the course of which he was twice -arrested in Germany, the second time in company of his old political -opponent, the reactionary Russian Minister of Education, the late Mr. -Kasso. To them a German Polish sentry said that as a Pole he wished for -the victory of Russia, for "though the Russian made himself unpleasant, -the _Schwab_ (Swabian or German) was far more dangerous." - -When I read Austria's demands on Serbia, I felt that it must mean a -European war, and that we should have to take part in it. I remember -the ordinary traveller in a London hotel explaining to me how -infinitely more important the Ulster question was than the Serbian. -It was clear that the really mischievous factor was the simultaneous -official and public support of Germany, who claimed to draw an -imaginary line around the Austro-Serbian conflict and threatened war to -any one who interfered in the war. I had long realised the humbug of -pretending that Austria was anything distinct from or independent of -Germany; and the claim of the two to settle in their own favour one of -the most thorny questions in Europe could never be tolerated by Russia. -The Bosnian withdrawal of 1909 would, I knew, never be repeated, least -of all by the Russian Emperor. The line had been crossed; it was -"mailed fist" once too often. - -Serbia's reply showed the extreme calm and circumspection both of -Serbia and of Russia. Then came in quick succession the great days, -when every one's political horizon was daily forced wider, when -all the home squabbles of the different countries--the Caillaux -case, the Russian labour troubles, and the Irish conflict, on which -Germany had counted so much--were hurrying back as fast as possible -into their proper background. There was a significant catch when -the Austro-Russian conversations were renewed, and Germany, who had -now come out in her true leadership, went forward to the forcing of -war. The absurd inconsequences of German diplomacy reached their -extraordinary culmination in the actual declaration to Russia. To make -sure of war, the German ambassador in St. Petersburg received for -delivery a formal declaration with alternative wordings suitable to any -answer which Russia might give to the German ultimatum; and this genial -diplomatist delivered the draft with _both_ alternative wordings to the -Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Sazonov. It is the last communication -printed in the Russian Orange Book. - -The question was, how soon we should all see it. The news of the -German declaration was in the English Sunday papers. Many English -clergymen see virtue in not reading Sunday papers. I went to church. -The clergyman began his sermon: "They tell me that the Sunday papers -assert that Germany has declared war on Russia." Not a very promising -beginning, but England was there the next minute. "If this is true," -he went on, "and if we come into it, as we shall have to, we stand at -the end of the long period when we have been spoiling ourselves with -riches and comfort and forgetting what it is to make sacrifices"; and -there followed an impromptu but very clear forecast of what was to be -asked of us. - -No one will forget the great days of probation, when each great country -in turn was called on to stand and give whatever it had of the best. -Russia was what one had felt sure that she would be. The Emperor's -pledge not to make peace while a German soldier was in Russia, was an -exact repetition of the words of Alexander I, but given this time at -the very beginning of the war. The wonderful scene before the Winter -Palace showed sovereign and people at one; and the wrecking of the -German Embassy was an answer of the Russian workmen to an active -propaganda of discontent that had issued from its walls. Next came -France's turn, her remarkable coolness and discretion, and the outburst -of patriotic devotion which the President of the Chamber voiced in the -words, "Lift up your hearts" (_Haut les coeurs_). Then the turn of -the Belgians, king and people, and their splendid and simple devotion. -And now it was for us to speak. - -I believed that we were sure to come into the war, but it was three -days of waiting and the invasion of Belgium that gave us a united -England. The Germans did our job for us. It was a quick conversion -for those who hesitated; one day, neutrality to be saved; the next, -neutrality past saving; the next, war, and war to the end. When we were -waiting before the post office for Sir Edward Grey's speech, every one -was asking, "Have they done the right thing?" This was the atmosphere -of the London streets on the night that we declared war. We all lived -on a few very simple thoughts. It was clear that there must be endless -losses and many cruel inventions, but just as clear not only that we -had to win but that, if we were not failing to ourselves, we were sure -to. - -I was in London before our declaration to ask what I could do, and was -now making my last preparations for starting. The squalor of the great -city had taken the aspect of a dingy ironclad at work. At the Bank of -England, where payment could still be claimed in gold, I was asked the -object of my journey. No one seemed to know about routes except Cook & -Son. In the country the mobilisation passed us silent and unnoticed, -except for the aeroplanes which we saw streaming southwards. I saw my -father in his garden for the last time, went to London, and there, in -a confusion of little things and big, with a taxi piled in haste with -parcels of the most various nature and ownership, hurried to King's -Cross, bundled into a full third-class carriage and started for Russia. - - -_August 21._ - -At King's Cross I was already almost in Russia. The sixty or so -Russians who had come to the Dental Congress in London, after one -sitting had been caught by the war. Their English hosts looked after -them splendidly, and they themselves pooled the supplies of money -which they happened to have on them. There were also several members -of the Russian ballet, and other Russians on their way from Italy, -Switzerland and France, going via Norway and Sweden to St. Petersburg. -Our route of itself was a striking illustration of the great military -advantage possessed by Germany and Austria. With its interior lines of -communication, the great German punching machine could measure its -forces to any blow which it wished to deal on either side, while for -any contact with each other the Allies had to crawl right round the -circumference. For this military advantage, however, the aggressors -had sacrificed in the most evident way all political considerations. -In a quarrel which Austria had picked with Serbia, Germany forced war -on Russia for daring to mobilise. Germany made an ultimatum to France -at the same time, so as to make war with both countries simultaneously -and give herself time to crush France before Russia could help her. For -greater speed against France, she invaded neutral Belgium, thus making -England an enemy and Italy a neutral. The absurdity became apparent -when, with all this done, we were still waiting for the completion of -the Russian mobilisation which was the nominal cause of the European -War. Hence the union of so many peoples; but for all that the military -advantage remained. It was as if Europe had the stomach ache, with -shooting pains in all directions. - - [Illustration: Centre versus CIRCUMFERENCE. - (_to illustrate the journeys of members of our party._)] - -I asked a friend in the train what might be the state of mind of the -Emperor William. He replied by quoting the answer of an Irishman: "He's -probably thinking, Is there any one that I've left out?" - -At Newcastle, the Norwegian steamer had booked at least forty more -passengers than it could berth. I only got on to the boat by a special -claim and had to sleep in a passage with my things scattered round me. -All the corridors were taken up in this way. The Russians are admirable -fellow-passengers: they had organised themselves informally under a -natural leader into a great family. One corridor was set apart for a -night nursery. The women received special consideration, and any one -who had a berth was ready to give it up to them. One Russian, thinking -I was ill, offered me his. I was ensconced with my back to the wall -at the head of a staircase, and they would stop to chat as they went -up or down. They had been greatly impressed by the spirit in England: -the Englishman they regarded as a civil fellow who had better not be -provoked, for if he was he would get to business at once and not look -back till it was finished. They spoke very simply of themselves and -of their little failings, and said that for this reason it was the -greatest comfort to have England with them. What had impressed them -most was the calm and vigour with which we had faced our financial -crisis. They had seen some of our territorial troops, whom they classed -very high for physique and spirit. They had much to tell one of France -and Italy, and also of insults offered to them or their friends when -leaving Germany. There were outbursts of sheer hooliganism marked with -a sort of brutal contempt for Russians, and one lady, they said, had -the earrings torn out of her ears. Their humanity was shocked by all -this. They had nothing but condemnation for anything of the kind, from -whatever side it came, and they were quite ready to criticise their own -people or ours wherever there was any ground for doing so. - -The captain said to me, "We sail under the protection of England." We -were stopped once by an English warship, but only for a few minutes. At -Bergen I found new fellow-passengers, and after an evening which was -a succession of fiords, lakes, rocky heights and white villages, we -passed by a wonderfully engineered railway over the snow level and down -to Kristiania. The Norwegians were friendly and sympathetic, the Swedes -courteous but reserved. There had recently been unveiled a frontier -monument showing two brothers shaking hands; and one felt that the one -country would not move without the other. - -Between Kristiania and Stockholm I wrote an article on the Poles, and -directly afterwards, puzzling out a Swedish newspaper, I read the -manifesto of the Grand Duke Nicholas. We had with us Poles who were -travelling right round to Warsaw. From Stockholm the more apprehensive -members of our party went northward for the long land journey by -Torneô. The rest of us risked the voyage across the Gulf of Bothnia. -In the beautiful Skerries, we were at one point sent back by a Swedish -gunboat and piloted past a mine field. I was on a Finnish boat, which -was fair prize; so I had an interest in any ship that showed itself -on this hostile sea. When we reached Raumo, a little improvised port -in Finland, there was an outburst of relief for those who had come so -far and were home again at last. All classes joined and enjoyed the -home-coming together. The train picked up detachments of Russian troops -on their way to the war. I had no seat, and went and slept or drowsed -for an hour or two in a carriage full of soldiers. As I lay on a wooden -bench I listened to a young peasant recruit with a bright clear face -who was talking to his mother. It seemed to be a kind of fairy tale -that he was telling her, and the clearly spoken words mingled with the -movement of the train: "And he went again to the lake, and there he -found the girl, and there was the golden ring, the ring of parting." - - -_Petrograd._ - -I shall not dwell on the six weeks or so that I spent in St. -Petersburg. My time was taken up with a number of details and with -arrangements for getting to the front. I had volunteered for the Red -Cross when I was asked to serve as official correspondent. - -On my arrival I saw Mr. Sazonov, who spoke very simply about the -overdoing of the mailed fist; he was as quiet and natural as he always -is. He was very pleased with the mobilisation, which he told me had -been so enthusiastic as to gain many hours on the schedule. This was -the account that I heard everywhere. Mr. N. N. Lvov, of Saratov on -the Volga, one of the most respected public men in Russia, was at -his estate at the time. When the news of war came, the peasants, who -were harvesting, went straight off to the recruiting depot and thence -to the church, where all who were starting took the communion; there -was no shouting, no drinking, though the abstinence edict had not -then been issued; and every man who was called up, except one who was -away on a visit, was in his place at the railway station that same -evening. In other parts the peasants went round and collected money -for the soldiers' families, and even in small villages quite large -sums were given. The abstinence edict answered to a desire that had -been expressed very generally among the peasants for some years. It -was thoroughly enforced both in the country and in the towns. In the -country the savings banks at once began steadily to fill, and the -peasants, who would speak very naïvely of their former drunkenness, -hoped that the edict would be permanent. In the towns some few -restaurants were for a time still allowed to supply beer, but this -ceased later. In all this time I only saw one drunken man. - -The whole country was at once at its very best. After a mean and -confused period every one saw his road to sacrifice. The difference -between the Russians and us was that while this feeling, often so acute -with us, could often find no road, in Russia, with her conscription and -her huge Red Cross organisation, the path was easy. All the life of the -country streamed straight into the war; age limits did not act as with -us; and the rear, including the capital, was depleted of nearly every -one. This made one feel that no good work could be done here without -access to the army. Nearly all my friends were gone off, and I was -anxious to join them. - -The interval was filled with different lesser interests. The question -of communications between the Allies was engaging a great deal of -attention. I was a member of a committee at the Russo-British Chamber -of Commerce, which was working out arrangements for trade routes. My -English friends and I also tried to plan an exchange of articles, -asking leading Russians and Englishmen to write respectively in English -and Russian papers. But, though this was felt to be important, we broke -down on the Russian side, because those who wished to write for us were -swept away to war work at the front. In the rear the most important -work was the relief of the families left behind. This engaged a number -of devoted workers and was soon brought into very good order both at -St. Petersburg and at Moscow, but it was in the main a task for women. - -At the outset of the war the aged Premier, Mr. Goremykin, whose -political record was that of a benevolent Conservative, at once -saw the need of engaging the full co-operation of the nation as a -whole. After consultation with public leaders the Duma was summoned. -A few representative speeches were expected, but with a remarkable -spontaneity not only every section of political opinion, but every -race in the vast Russian empire took its part in a striking series -of declarations of loyalty and devotion. Each man spoke plainly the -feelings of himself and those for whom he spoke. Perhaps no speeches -left a greater impression than those of the Lithuanians and of the -Jews; these last found a noble spokesman in Mr. Friedmann. The speeches -in the Duma, which were circulated all over the country, were a -revelation to the public and to the Duma itself; and the war thus had -from the first a national character; it was a great act in the national -life of Russia. - -In particular it was found that the Red Cross work could not possibly -be organised on any basis of suspicion of public initiative. In the -Japanese War Zemstva were still suspect to the Government, because -they represented the elective principle. The Zemstva created a large -Red Cross organisation under the admirable Prince George Lvov, but it -worked under great difficulties. Now Mr. Goremykin confided the main -work of the Red Cross to Prince Lvov and the Zemstva; and almost every -one prominent in Zemstvo or Duma life engaged in this work, which -gave splendid results. The later attempt of the reactionary Minister -of the Interior, Mr. Maklakov, to close this organisation ended in his -resignation. - -Red Cross Zemstvo work meant the nationalisation of Russian public -life, which had so long been under the strong control of reactionary -German influences. The liberation from these influences was sealed -by the re-naming of the capital. The German name, St. Petersburg, -was exchanged for the Russian Petrograd. This was no fad. It was the -fitting end to a long struggle of the Russian people as a whole, under -a national sovereign, to develop itself independently of any mailed -fist, to manage its own affairs as Russian instincts should direct. - -In Moscow in 1812 the Emperor met his people after the beginning of the -war. Gentry offered their lives; merchants, with clenched fists and -streaming eyes, offered one-third of all their substance. In 1914 the -Emperor again went to pray with his people in Moscow, and the growth of -a still greater Russia has only augmented those proportions, deepened -the reach of that historic example of patriotic self-sacrifice. - -"Russia," said one of the best Russians to me, Mr. N. N. Lvov, "was -lost in a confusion of petty quarrels and intrigues; and suddenly we -see that the real Russia is there." - -The pleasant streets of this great country city, so far more homelike -than those of the capital, we found even more country-like than ever; a -notable absence everywhere of young men; the feeling that all those who -were left were at work somewhere together. - -In the town hall, which I have always found so thronged and busy, none -of the chief public men were to be seen; the work of all seemed to have -passed to the new department opened close by for the town organisation -in connection with the Red Cross. There, after a long wait while -numberless applicants for service passed us, we received an admirably -short and clear explanation of the work for the wounded. In the same -building was organised the care for the poor, strongly developed in -recent years at twenty-nine local branches, and now working wholesale -and with splendid effect for the homes of those who have gone to the -war. - -At the Zemstvo League there was the atmosphere of all the years of -missionary work for the people that has been carried on in camping -conditions for so many years by the Zemstvo in all sorts of country -corners of Russia. Every one was moving quietly and quickly about -his share of the common business. At the big green baize table every -seat was occupied--here a woman of the poorer class volunteering as a -Red Cross sister, there a medical student asking for service. Small -conferences of fellow-workers going on in all the side rooms; and -in the evening a common discussion of how the Zemstvo work could be -carried further to the economic support of the population; an appeal is -being drawn up to go to every one in Russia. Here I found the excellent -"twin" secretaries of the President of the Duma, Mr. Shchepkin and Mr. -Alexeyev, who have done so much for friendship with England, and the -head of the whole Zemstvo League, Prince Lvov, who in a few simple -words gave all the objects of the work for the wounded, who were -expected to number 750,000. - -Next we were taken to the chief depots. Princess Gagarin has given her -beautiful house for one, and now lives in a corner of it, helping at -the work. There are two main departments for paid work and for unpaid. -Patterns of all the clothes, pillows, and hospital linen required for -the wounded are sent here, and the material cut out is given out to -3,200 women, some of whom stand in a long file in the court outside. -Every day the store, which works till midnight, is cleared for a new -supply, and the materials prepared are packed in cases of birch bark -for the army. In the Government horse-breeding department there is -another great depot under the direction of Princess O. Trubetskoy. The -workers, rich and poor, all have their simple meals together in one of -the working rooms. There is a large store of chemicals, and elsewhere -a department for the supply of furniture and implements for the field -hospitals. - -It would be hard to make those who cannot see it feel how intimately -the Russian people now feels itself bound up with the English in a -great common effort. The Rector of Moscow University, with whom I was -only able to converse by telephone, said to me: "Tell them in England -that we have one heart and one soul with them." - -Every day great numbers of wounded are brought by train to Moscow. By -the admirable arrangements of Countess O. Bobrinsky, a vast number of -students, young women, and helpers of all kinds are waiting for them -at the Alexandrovsky station to assist in moving them and to supply -them with refreshments. An enormous silent crowd surrounds the white -station. The owners of motors are waiting ready with their carriages; -all details are in order. Three trains come in between six and ten -o'clock. The sight is a terrible one; faces bound up, limbs missing; -some few have died on the journey. The wounded are moved quickly and -quietly to the private carriages. As they pass through the crowd all -hats are off, and the soldiers sometimes reply with a salute. It is all -silent; it is the pulse of a great family beating as that of one man. - - -_October 8._ - -The Emperor's visit to the Vilna was a great success. He rode through -the town unguarded. The streets were crowded, the reception most -cordial. The upper classes in Vilna are mostly Poles, a kind of Polish -"enclave." There are several splendid Catholic churches. On the road -to the station are gates with some revered Catholic images, before -which all passers by remove their hats. There is a large Jewish trading -population often living in extreme poverty: for instance, sometimes -in three tiers of cellars one below another. The peasants are mostly -Lithuanians. Thus there are not many Russians except officials. At the -beginning of war the nearness of the enemy was felt with much anxiety. -Now there is an atmosphere of work and assurance. The Grand Hotel and -several public buildings are converted into hospitals, where the Polish -language is largely used. The Emperor visited all the chief hospitals, -and spoke with many wounded, distributing medals in such numbers that -the supply ran short. He received a Jewish deputation and spoke with -thanks of the sympathetic attitude of the Jews in this hour so solemn -for Russia. The general feeling may be described as like a new page of -history. Among Poles, educated or uneducated, enthusiasm is general. -This is all the more striking because in no circumstances could Vilna -be considered as politically Polish. Vilna shows all the aspects of war -conditions, but the country around is being actively cultivated. - - -_October 10._ - -We reached the Russian headquarters as the bugle sounded for evening -prayer. The atmosphere here is one of complete simplicity and -homeliness. Our small party includes several distinguished journalists -from most of the chief Russian papers, also eminent French, American -and Japanese representatives of the Press. We found the Grand Ducal -train on a side line. It was spacious and comfortable but simply -appointed. We were received by the Chief of the General Staff, one of -the youngest lieutenant-generals in the Russian army. He is a strongly -built man with a powerful head, whose carriage and speech communicate -confidence. He spoke very simply of the military conditions, of the -common task, and of his assurance of the full co-operation of the -public and Press. The Grand Duke then entered, his light step, bright -eye and imposing stature well shown up by his easy cavalry uniform. -Shaking hands with each of us, both before and after his address, he -said: "Gentlemen, I am glad to welcome you to my quarters. I have -always thought, and continue to think, that the Press, in competent -and worthy hands, can do an enormous amount of good. I am sure you -gentlemen are just the men who by your communications through the -papers, telling all that is most keenly interesting, and by your -correct exposition of the facts, can do good both to the public and -to us. I unfortunately and necessarily cannot show you all I should -be perhaps glad to show, as in every war, and particularly in this -stupendous one, the observing of military secrecy relative to the plan -and all that can reveal it is the pledge of success. I have marked -out a road on which you will be able to acquaint yourselves with just -what is of most lively interest to all, and what all are anxious to -know. Allow me to wish you success and to express to you my confidence -that by your work you will do all the good which is expected of you -as representatives of the public, and will calm relations and friends -and all who are suffering and anxious. I welcome you, gentlemen, and -wish you full success." We were invited to join in the lunch and -dinner of the General Staff in their restaurant car. There were no -formalities--it was simply a number of fellow workers having their -meals together, without distinction, just as in the big houses in -Moscow where the making of clothes for the army is proceeding. A notice -forbids handshaking in the restaurant, under fine of threepence for -the wounded. I noticed a street picture of the Cossack Kruchkov in his -single-handed combat with eleven German Dragoons, also a map of the -front of the Allies in the West, but hardly any other decorations. -Among the party there was, in accordance with the temperance edict, no -alcohol. - - -_October 12._ - -To-day I visited several wounded from the Austrian front, mostly -serious cases. The first, an Upper Austrian with a broken leg, spoke -cheerily of his wound and his surroundings. He described the Russian -artillery fire as particularly formidable. His own corps had run -short of ammunition, not of food. Another prisoner, a young German -from Bohemia, singularly pleasing and simple, described the fighting -at Krasnik, where he was hit in the leg. The battle, he said, was -terrible. The Austrian artillery here was uncovered and was crushed. -The Russian rifle line took cover so well that he could not descry -them from two hundred yards in front of his own skirmishing line, but -its firing took great effect. I saw also an Austrian doctor taken -prisoner, and now continuing his work salaried by the Russians. -All three prisoners evidently felt nothing antagonistic in their -surroundings. They struck me as men who had fulfilled a civic duty -without either grudge or any distinctive national feeling. I spoke -with several Russians who had been badly hit in their first days of -fighting, especially at Krasnik. Here a young Jew fell in the firing -line on a slope, and saw thence more than half of his company knocked -over as they pressed forward. He was picked up next morning. A Russian -described how his company charged a small body of Austrians, who -retired precipitately to a wood but reappeared supported by three -quickfirers which mowed down most of his company. All accounts agreed -that the Austrians could never put up resistance to Russian bayonet -charges. This was particularly noticeable in the later fighting. As -one sturdy fellow put it, "No, they don't charge us, we charge them, -and they clear out." I was most of all impressed by a frail lad of -twenty who looked a mere boy. He was not wounded, and was sent back -simply because he was worn out by the campaigning. He said, "They are -firing on my brother and not on me. That is not right, I ought to be -where they all are." One feels it is a great wave rolling forward with -one spirit driving it on. - -Many of these wounded had only been picked up after lying for some time -on the field. I saw one heroic lady, a sister of mercy, who had herself -carried a wounded officer from the firing line. Both the hospitals -that I visited were strongly staffed. In the second, designed only for -serious cases, and admirably equipped with drugs, Roentgen apparatus -and operating rooms, the sister of the Emperor, the Grand Duchess -Olga Alexandrovna (who went through the full two years' preparation) -is working as a sister of mercy under all the ordinary discipline and -conditions of travel and work. Starting at the outbreak of the war, she -was in time for the tremendous pressure of the great Austrian battles, -when the hospital had to provide for three hundred patients instead -of the expected two hundred. All the arrangements in these hospitals, -based on fifty years' experience of Russian country hospital work, were -carried out under the most difficult conditions and bore the impression -of missionary devotion. Here, for instance, all the medicine chests -were adapted for frequent transport; the table is also the travelling -chest, and so on. - -The country aspect was also noticeable in an army bread factory which -I visited. The rye bread is dried to a portable biscuit; the soldier -can carry a large supply of this biscuit and has something to eat in -the firing line when other provisions run short. - - -_Lvov (Lemberg), October 15._ - -To-day, on their arrival, the Russian Governor-General of Galicia -received the correspondents, and addressed us as follows-- - -"I am glad, gentlemen, to meet you; I am well aware of the enormous -advantage that can be derived from the use of the Press, and am only -sorry that you are to be for so short a time in Galicia, for I should -like you to have had the opportunity of studying on the spot the -difficult questions of administration: you might have communicated to -me your impressions and suggestions--for in your capacity of writers -you are trained critics. We have to deal in Galicia with various -nationalities, and very divergent political views. - -"I shall be glad if I can be of any assistance in your study of the -country. I have already communicated to various deputations, and to -the public, the principles of my attitude toward the problems of -administration, and have no alterations to make in my declared views. - -"Eastern Galicia should become part of Russia. Western Galicia, when -its conquest has been completed, should form part of the kingdom of -Poland, within the empire. My policy as to the religious question is -very definite. I have no desire to compel any one to join the Orthodox -Church. If a two-thirds majority in any given village desires to -conform to the Orthodox Church, then they should be given the parish -church. This does not mean that the remaining third should not be free -to remain in its former communion. I am avoiding even any suggestion of -compulsion. The peasants pass over very easily to Orthodoxy; for them -the question is in no way acute, indeed the so-called Uniats consider -they are Orthodox already. But it is different for the clergy, for whom -the question is a real one. I respect all the priests who have remained -in their parishes, and they have not been disturbed. Those who have -abandoned their benefices I am not restoring: nor shall I permit the -return of any who are associated with any political agitation against -Russia. - -"A difficult question has arisen relating to Austrian officials in -the town of Lvov: from persons of means they have now become paupers -requiring assistance. Another question is that of credit: numbers of -banks are without their cash, which has all been taken away to Vienna. -These banks are sending a deputation to Petrograd to solicit the -support of the Bank of Russia. - -"There is also the question of the police. I am waiting for trained -policemen to be sent from Russia: it is impossible, of course, to use -untrained men for administrative work, and meanwhile I contrive to -employ the local Austrian police. Some magistrates have fled--we have -to put the affairs of justice in order: I am awaiting a representative -of the Ministry of Justice, who will examine the question. - -"In certain regions around Lvov, Nikolayev, Gorodok and other places -where there has been severe fighting, the population has been left -in a state of great distress. In Bukovina, however, there is little -distress, except in the towns; and as the crops there are good, we are -importing food into Galicia from thence. The relief of distress is -being dealt with by committees, including prominent local residents, -under the Directors of Districts, and controlled by a central -committee, whose chairman is Count Vladimir Bobrinsky. In cases of -extreme distress it is being arranged that money may be advanced to the -necessitous. - -"I have established in Galicia three provinces: Lvov (Lemberg), -Tarnopol, and Bukovina. Perhaps we may establish another province, -following the line of demarcation of the Russian population, which on -maps of Austrian Poland is admitted to include parts of the region -about Sanok (in central Galicia)." - - -_October 24._ - -I have spent some days in the Austrian territory conquered by the -Russians. The Russian broad gauge has been carried some distance into -Galicia, and the further railway communication with the Austrian -gauge and carriages is in working order. The large waiting-rooms were -covered with wounded on stretchers with doctors and sisters of mercy -in constant attendance. They utter no sound, except in very few cases -when under attention. One poor fellow, a bronzed and strapping lad -struck through the lungs, I saw dying; he looked so hale and strong; -his wide eyes kept moving as he gasped and wrestled silently with -death; he seemed so grateful to those who sat with him; he died early -in the morning. I talked with three Hungarian privates, keen-eyed -and vigorous. They said their men were very good with the bayonet -and seldom surrendered, a statement which was confirmed by a Russian -cavalry officer who had just returned from fighting in the passes, -though it seems the Hungarians do not consider the war as national -beyond the Carpathians, and they fight well because they are warlike -and not because they like this war. The prisoners with whom I talked -were very energetic in praising their treatment by the Russians, which -is indeed beyond praise. Everywhere they met people with tea, sugar, -and cigarettes. One said repeatedly, "I can say nothing," and another -said, "I cannot but wish that we may do as well by them in Hungary." -These were the only Austrian prisoners in whom I have seen a trace of -that national enthusiasm for the war which is so evident in all the -Russian soldiers. I talked with two Italians, simple, friendly fellows -who described their treatment as _pulito_, or very decent. - -The Slovenes and Bohemians seemed rather in a maze about the whole -thing. A Ruthenian soldier of Galicia was quite frank about it. "Of -course we had to go," he said, but he expressed pleasure at the -Russians winning Galicia, and even regarded it as compensation for his -wound. - -I saw off a train of Russian wounded. They were most brotherly and -thoughtful for each other. An Austrian patient told me he was happy -and had made great friends with the Russian next to him. The electric -trams are used for ambulances, and the chief buildings are turned -into hospitals. The biggest is in the Polytechnicum, and is served -practically by Poles. The big Russian hospital of the Dowager Empress -is very well equipped. The Red Cross organisation is in the hands -of eminent public men; such as Homyakov, Stakhovich and Lerche, who -visited England with the party of Russian Legislators in 1909. Count -Vladimir Bobrinsky, another member of that party, is chairman of the -relief committee appointed by his cousin the Russian Governor-General -of Galicia. The town is old and pleasing, set in undulating country. -It is in excellent order. A little sporadic street firing was quickly -suppressed. All inhabitants throughout the conquered territory must -be at home from ten in the evening till four unless they have special -permission. How well this rule is kept one could judge when returning -from the station. No one was out except Russian sentries and Austrian -policemen, who have been continued on their work. Otherwise one sees no -signs of a conquered town. - -The day the Russians entered, the Polish paper issued its morning -edition under Austrian control and its evening edition under Russian. -The electric lighting and tramways continued working and the shops -remained open. The fighting, which was most severe, was all outside. -But even on the sites of engagements the amount of damage done by -artillery is limited to few places and few houses, and cultivation is -now going on, without any signs of war, close up to the present front. -A general order forbids the leaving about of any refuse. There is no -friction between the Little Russian peasants and the troops or the new -administrators; but the Jews adopt a waiting attitude. The general -position is a great credit to the Russians, and gives ample proof of -their close kinship with the great majority of the conquered population. - - -_October 26._ - -I have visited some of the battlefields of Galicia. It is much too -early to attempt any thorough account of these battles; nor did the -conditions of my visits make any complete examination possible. - -The chief harm which Germany and Austria could inflict in a war against -Russia was to conquer Russian Poland, whose frontier made defence -extremely difficult. Regarding this protuberance as a head, Germany and -Austria could make a simultaneous amputating operation at its neck, -attacking the one from East Prussia and the other from Galicia. But the -German policy, which had other and more primary objects, precipitated -war with France and threw the bulk of the German forces westward. Thus -the German army in East Prussia kept the defensive, and Austria was -left to make her advance from Galicia without support. - -The Austrian forces on this front were at first more numerous than the -Russians. The Russians had been prepared to defend the line of the Bug, -which would have meant the temporary abandonment of nearly all Poland. -But the alliance with France and England made it both possible and -desirable to advance, and at the battle of Gnila Lipa the army on the -Austrian right was driven back beyond Lvov (Lemberg), the town falling -into Russian hands. The next great fighting was for the possession of -the line of the river San. - - [Illustration: THE SOUTH WEST FRONT - (SEPTEMBER) - - a _Main Austrian impact_ - b _Secondary Austrian forces_ - c _Russian centre (retiring)_ - d _Russian right wing (advancing)_ - e _Russian armies in Galicia (advancing)_] - -It must be remembered that while the fighting lines ran roughly from -north to south, the frontier line here ran from east to west. Thus -the left of each force occupied the territory of the other. The first -decisive success had been that of the Russian left in Galicia; but -the Austrian left and centre were still allowed to advance further -into Russian Poland. A double movement was then undertaken against -them. While General Brusilov pushed home in southern Galicia the -success already obtained on this side, and thus secured the Russian -left flank from a counter-offensive, General Ruzsky, the conqueror -of Lvov, came in on the Austrian centre at Rava Ruska, while other -Russian armies, detached from the reserves standing between the Russian -northern and southern fronts, and making good use of the advantageous -railway connexion, arrived to the north of the Austrian left. Seldom -has a tactical battle been planned on so large a scale. The Austrians, -threatened at this point with outflanking on both sides, after -several days' hard defensive fighting, withdrew with a haste that -had the character of a rout, and which only saved them from complete -annihilation. Their centre, like their already beaten right, retired -southwards toward Hungary, while their left, just escaping the peril -of being surrounded, fell back rapidly in the direction of Cracow, -where it was strengthened by further support from Germany. Two German -corps had already joined it, but too late to avert the reverse already -described. The success of Brusilov at Gorodok (Grodek) secured to the -Russians the line of the river San as far as Peremyshl (Przemysl). - -This series of operations, after the Russian evacuation of East -Prussia necessitated by the strong German movements on the northern -fronts, left Russia with the following line of defence: the Niemen, -the Bobr, the Narev, the middle Vistula, the San (to Peremyshl) and -the Carpathians. This line includes the larger part of Russian Poland, -the city of Warsaw, and western Galicia, with its capital, Lvov. -This line is infinitely more satisfactory than that of the Bug. Its -security on the south depends in part on the action of Rumania, but a -counter-offensive from Hungary has already been repulsed on this side. -On the north, attempts of the Germans on Grodno and on Warsaw have been -triumphantly repulsed; and the Russians have since fought with success -along almost the whole line; a serious German and Austrian effort is to -be anticipated on the middle Vistula and the San. - -I have so far visited only Galich (Halicz), the junction of the Stryi -(Stryj) and Dniestr, and the battlefield of Rava Ruska. Galich was -at the south of the first Austrian line of defence. The Dniestr here -presents from the north-eastern side a concave front, defended by -extensive wire entanglements and trenches, and, behind the river, by -low but jutting hills. The town, which lies on a ledge between these -hills and the river, bears the distinctive Russian character and -possesses an ancient Russian church, now Uniat, and a remnant of an -early Russian tower. There is no doubt of the Russian-ness of Galich; -the only inhabitants whom one sees besides the picturesque Little -Russians are the numerous Jews. There was nothing to indicate nearness -of the enemy, and complete order prevailed, the Russian authorities -being evidently chiefly concerned with the newness of their work and -the task of organisation. Friendly relations were maintained between -the troops here and the inhabitants; and the only violences of which -there was local evidence were those committed by Austrian soldiers -before the evacuation of the town. In spite of the strength of the -position, no serious resistance was offered here. The Russians appeared -unexpectedly at a point on the north of the river, taking in reverse -the Austrian field works at this point. They shelled the neighbouring -township with extraordinary accuracy, destroying only the houses in -the middle and leaving standing the two churches and a third spired -building, the town hall. The Austrians then retired rapidly over the -bridge, which they blew up, and evacuated Galich. - -At the junction of the Dniestr and Stryi we also found deep trenches, -some six feet deep and three feet wide. The tower at the bridge head, -commanding a wide, flat outlook, had suffered but little. The railway -bridge had been blown up. Here, too, there were no signs of serious -resistance. At a railway junction in the neighbourhood there were again -striking signs of the accuracy of the Russian artillery fire, only -a distant portion of the station building having suffered. Close by -lay a very handsome French chateau belonging to the Austrian General -Desveaux, who was connected with the Polish family of Lubomirski. -The interior of this chateau had been systematically wrecked by the -Little Russian peasants of the locality, the top torn off the piano, -family portraits defaced, sofa and chairs destroyed, and the bare floor -covered with a thick litter of valuable sketches and pictures, among -which I noticed a map of the Austrian army manoeuvres of 1893. I -heard here and in other places of the violences committed against the -peasants by the Austrian troops on their passage, the inhabitants being -often left entirely destitute. The Ruthenian troops in the Austrian -army were in a very difficult position: in several cases they fired -in the air; and the attacking Russians would sometimes do the same, -on which numbers of the Little Russians would come over to them. The -Cossacks who preceded the Russian army offered no violence here, I -was told, except where villagers told them untruly that the Austrian -troops had left the village; with such cases they dealt summarily. They -were also sometimes drastic, though not necessarily violent, with -the local Jews, who in Galicia have held the peasants in the severest -bondage, leaving only starvation wages to the tenants of their farms -and exacting daily humiliations of obeisance. - -My examination of these questions could only be very short; but the -general picture obtained was, I think, in the main correct, because -it was confirmed by much that I have heard from the soldiers of both -sides; and it is clear that the Russians considered themselves to be at -home among the Ruthenians of Galicia, whose dialect many of them are -able to talk with ease. One thing was clear: namely, that there was no -friction in the parts which I visited, except with the Jews, and that -life was going on as if the war were a thousand miles away instead of -almost at one's doors. - -Our visit to Rava Ruska presented much greater military interest; we -drove round the south, east, and north front of the Russian attack on -this little town, and very valuable explanations were given by an able -officer of the General Staff. On the southern front, near the station -of Kamionka Woloska, where there were lines of trenches, the deep holes -made by bursting Russian shells and sometimes filled with water, lay -thick together. - -The eastern front was more interesting. Here there were many lines of -rifle pits, Austrian, Russian, or Austrian converted into Russian. The -Austrian rifle pits were much shallower and less finished than the -Russian, which were generally squarer, deeper and with higher cover. -An officer's rifle pit just behind those of his men showed their care -and work for him, as was also indicated in letters written after -the battle. Casques of cuirassiers, many Hungarian knapsacks, broken -rifles, fragments of shrapnel, potatoes pulled up, and such oddments -as an Austrian picture postcard, were to be found in or near the rifle -pits. These wide plains, practically without cover, were reminiscent of -Wagram. A high landmark was a crucifix on which one of the arms of the -figure was shot away; underneath it was a "brother's grave" containing -the bodies of 120 Austrians and 21 Russians. Another cross of fresh-cut -wood marked the Russian soldiers tribute to an officer: "God's servant, -Gregory." Close to one line of trenches stood a village absolutely -untouched, and in the fields between stood a picturesque group of -villagers at their field work, one in an Austrian uniform and two boys -in Austrian shakos. - -The hottest fight had been on the north-eastern front. Here, after a -wood and a fall of the ground, there came a gradual bare slope of a -mile and a half crowned by two Austrian batteries which lay just behind -the crest. This ground had been disputed inch by inch and was seamed -with some five or six lines of rifle pits. At one point three Russian -shells fired from about due east had fallen plump on three neighbouring -rifle pits, and fragments of uniform all round gave evidence of the -wholesale devastation which they had worked. All the ground was cut -up with deep shell pits, and this place, which was a kind of angle of -the defending line, must have become literally untenable. The pits for -the Austrian guns still contained a broken wheel and other relics, and -close by was a cross made of shrapnel. - -The impressions which most defined themselves from this battlefield -were the almost entire absence of cover, the exposed position of the -rifle pits, the deadliness of the Russian artillery, the toughness of -the resistance offered, and lastly the thunder of cannon from some -thirty miles away, which was sounding in our ears all the time of our -visit to the field of Rava Ruska. - -We did not pursue our journey further along the northern positions. In -the market place we saw an angry scramble of a large number of Jews -over some sacks of flour; and in a wood outside we passed a strong, -masterful old Jew with dignified bearing striding silently with his two -sons over his land, a sight which is hardly to be seen in Russia. The -Jewish land-leasers here sometimes take ten-elevenths of the profits, -as contrasted with the two-thirds which the leaseholder takes in -Russia. Distant hills to the north marked the old frontier of Russia. - -From narratives of soldiers a few characteristics of all this fighting -may be added. The attack was throughout delivered by the Russians, -even where their numbers are inferior. The men are full of the finest -spirit, and they have the greatest confidence in their artillery, -though the proportion of field guns to a unit is less numerous on the -Russian side than on the German or Austrian. When given the word to -advance, the Russians feel that they are going to drive the Austrians -from the field and go forward with an invincible rush. They say that -less resort is made to the bayonet by the Austrians and by the Germans. -In the rifle fire of their enemies they find, to use the expression -of one of them, "nothing striking," the one thing that commands their -respect is the heavy artillery, but the Russian field artillery has had -a marked advantage. Small bodies of Austrians have made repeated use -of copses to draw advancing Russian companies on to their quick-firing -guns, which have sometimes done deadly work. Cavalry has played but an -insignificant part in the fighting. - -But the most impressive thing of all is the extraordinary endurance of -the men in the trenches. It is a common experience for a man to be five -to eight days in the trenches in pouring rain, almost, or sometimes -altogether without food, then perhaps to rush on the enemy, to fall -and see half his comrades fall, but the rest still going forward, -to lie perhaps through a night, and then to the hospital to lose a -limb: and yet, spite of the reaction, such men are not only patient -and affectionate to all who do anything for them, but really cheerful -and contented, often literally jovial and always in no doubt of the -ultimate issue. - -There are no two accounts of the spirit in the Russian army. One feels -it as a regiment goes past on foot or packed into a train, with one -private tuning up an indefinite number of verses and the rest falling -into parts that give all the solemnity of a hymn. It draws everything -to it; so that no one seems to feel he is living unless he is getting -to the front; the talk of all those who are already at work, whether -officers or men, is balanced and confident, and all little comforts -are shared simply as among brothers. I saw a little boy of twelve with -a busby looking as large as himself, an orphan who performed bicycle -tricks in a circus, and had now persuaded a passing regiment to let him -come with them, and seemed to have found his family at last. - -All the life of Russia is streaming into the war, and never was the -Russian people more visible than it is now in the Russian army. - - -_October 30._ - -I have spent some days in Warsaw and have examined the scenes of the -recent fighting as far out as beyond Skiernewice. The Russian river -line of defence ran along the Niemen, Bobr, Narew, middle Vistula and -San. The Germans had not previously seriously tested the strength of -the centre of this line, and Russian reports issued had so far only -spoken of a northern and a southern front. - -Warsaw lay beyond the defensive river line. A rapid seizure of the -city before winter set in would have greatly strengthened the Prussian -northern front and have endangered the Russian occupation of Galicia. -It would also have created a moral effect on the Poles and might have -served as a support to any proposals to negotiate. - -The Germans advanced principally from the south-west, a region largely -left in their hands. German army corps reached a line south-east of -Blonie, and at Pruszkow they were little more than six miles from -Warsaw. The cannonade shook the windows in the city. German aeroplanes -dropped bombs near the railway bridge, Etat Major and elsewhere, -killing over a hundred persons but not achieving any military object. -The population were much exasperated, and many went out to the scene -of the fighting. The brunt of the defence fell on two Russian corps, -especially on one containing Siberian troops which had to oppose three -German corps. Splendid work was done at Pruszkow and also by a Siberian -regiment at Rakitna. Here the Germans, covered by woods and gardens, -delayed the Russian advance and placed machine guns on the roof of a -high church. The inhabitants say that the Siberians long refrained -from returning the fire from the church. The regiment lost its colonel -and many officers and 275 men, but held good till reinforced. Several -Russian corps arrived, and the Russians then drove the Germans back -in successive rearguard engagements which lasted for eighteen days. -Another regiment specially distinguished itself at Kazimierz and -received a telegram from the Commander-in-Chief, congratulating it on -a brilliant bayonet attack. Two days ago it drove back the enemy with -the bayonet through a wood, inflicting heavy loss. The Germans retired -rapidly in the night south-westward. The country up to several miles -west and south of Lowicz and Skiernewice has now been recovered. - -The Germans in these operations seized provisions and some valuables -and committed some minor indignities, but the country has in no way an -aspect of devastation. The population is strongly for Russia and offers -every service to the Russian soldiers. In Warsaw great enthusiasm -prevails, with a very striking difference from the attitude before the -war and the Grand Duke's appeal. The Germans during their withdrawal -made clean work of bridges, railways, and stores. There was every sign -of a deliberate and well-executed retreat. Fewer prisoners were taken -than in the case of the Austrians, the wounded being mostly carried -away. The Russian artillery worked with great precision and effect, and -the Russian infantry, after artillery preparation, attacked throughout. - -There is no sign of any likelihood of a further German aggressive -on this side before winter, but there is always the possibility of -an early conflict southward, where the Russians need to secure and -complete their conquest of Galicia, and the enemy have to guard their -base of joint action between Germany and Austria. - - -_October 30._ - -My visits to the scenes of fighting in the Warsaw area have been of -interest. The main scene of the most critical fighting, Pruszkow, we -did not visit. The Germans tried to force their way up here from the -south, close to the Vistula, and got to within some nine miles from -Warsaw. If they had captured the town (about 900,000 inhabitants, of -whom 300,000 are Jews), and occupied the Vistula bridges, they would -have established an enormous political and military advantage, which -could not have been reversed without the greatest difficulty. Though -Warsaw was beyond their line of defence, the Russians made every effort -to hold it. - -We visited a point in the centre of the line of defence, where the -Russians held good under heavy losses; their rifle pits were close up -to a copse and gardens, and they had tried to secure a footing even -closer in. From thence their line ran in a convex curve to Rakitna. -Here their artillery had battered in the sides of the lofty and -impressive church, leaving standing the woodwork of the roof and two -irregular pinnacles. The Germans fired from this church; they had -confined several of the inhabitants in the vaults. The buildings near -the church were reduced to ruins. Close up against the village lay -graves of the attacking Siberian regiment, marked by lofty well-cut -orthodox crosses, the men lying together under a vast regular mound -and Colonel Gozhansky and six of his officers under separate crosses -at the base, while at the head stood one great cross for all the dead -of the regiment. The inscriptions were throughout in almost identical -language, ending: "Sleep in peace, hero and sufferer." In a small -garden close by, the Germans had buried their dead so rapidly that some -of them were still uncovered. On two neighbouring crosses they had paid -their tribute to "six brave German warriors" and to "six brave Russian -warriors." Through a great hole in the ruined church one caught sight -of a crucifix, untouched but surrounded with marks of shot in the wall. -In the neighbouring township of Blonie, the town hall had been set on -fire. - -Blonie, which was the northern point of the line of battle, lies about -eighteen miles due west of Warsaw; from thence runs an excellent broad -_chaussée_, embanked and lined with poplars, going straight westward -towards the frontier. At Sochaczew the high bridge over the river -was broken off clean at both ends and the central supports entirely -destroyed, but there were few other marks of war. At Lowicz the bridge -had been destroyed and, as at Sochaczew and Skiernewice, had been -very rapidly repaired by the pursuing Russians. Lowicz lies in flat -country, through which the rivers make deep furrows. It is a clean and -picturesque little place, with a symmetrical central square flanked by -large buildings and with the fine parish church at the western end. -The Poles of this part wear very distinctive national costumes; the -women have skirts in broad and narrow vertical stripes, with orange, or -sometimes red, as the foundation of colour, the narrow stripes being -usually black, purple and yellow; round their shoulders they wear what -look like similar skirts, fastened with ribbons at the neck, and they -have variegated aprons, in which the foundation colour of the dress -is absent; the general impression in the fields or on the sky line -is of a mass of orange. The old men wear grizzled grey overcoats and -broad-brimmed hats, and the younger men elaborate and tight-fitting -costumes that suggest a groom of the eighteenth century, or loose -zouave blouses and trousers of blue or other colours. Houses in the -villages are spacious and plastered white, with sometimes a certain -amount of decoration, usually in blue. At Lowicz there were some marks -of war. My host for the night, an old soldier from Orenburg who had -served under Skobelev, spoke with indignation of the recent German -occupation; they had taken all the supplies that they could find. -But there were no signs of any permanent occupation, and the German -requisitions could not have been very thorough, as one saw many geese, -pigs and, above all, very fine horses in this part, and the inhabitants -had quite settled down again to their ordinary occupations. From such -accounts as I have read of the conditions in Germany, I should think -that one would see there fewer young and middle-aged men and less field -work going on than in this no-man's land that has lain between the two -hostile lines of defence and has been traversed by each army in turn. - -From Lowicz to Skiernewice there runs south-westward a _chaussée_ and -also a more direct road that passes through an area of sand and mud. -Napoleon used to say that in his campaign of Poland (1807) he had -discovered a fifth element--mud. There is no other obstacle, the broad -undulating plains suggesting parts of the north of France; combining -lights and shades, they offer scope for the artist, and the long lines -of well-to-do villages have a pleasing effect that is enhanced by the -graceful local costumes. The peasants are well built and good featured, -often with a military air and carriage; their manners are excellent, -and their intercourse with the Russian soldiers is both courteous -and cordial. They were at any time ready to come and help in the -frequent breakdowns of our motors, and I noticed, to my surprise, after -experiences of other years in Warsaw, that they felt no difficulty in -understanding Russian and in making themselves intelligible to us. At -some points on our road there were marks of rearguard fighting, and as -we were told, two or three wounded, but we saw hardly any prisoners, -except a body of Landwehr men, and no trophies. At the village of Mokra -(which means "damp") the houses still bore the ordinary German chalk -marks assigning the billets to given numbers of men. At Skiernewice -the coal stores at the station had been fired and were still burning: -but the town was comfortably held by the Russians, and we found no -difficulty in the matter of supplies and quarters. Skiernewice will be -remembered as one of the last stopping places in the Russian empire -on the road from Moscow to Berlin, and also as a former meeting place -of the three emperors. It has great preserves for pheasants, which -are only touched during the visits of the Sovereign. There is the -usual central square of Polish houses, and here, as in Sochaczew, -the Jews were in evidence, though they have been removed from some -military centres where they have given assistance to the enemy. From -Skiernewice we travelled a considerable distance south-westwards, -passing over a fine military position carefully prepared by the -Germans, and commanding a view of some ten miles to the north-east, but -abandoned without any sign of resistance. At every point we met the -picturesque-looking peasants returning to their now recovered homes. - -At a low-lying village we saw vedettes riding to and fro, trains of -supplies, vans of the Red Cross being loaded with wounded, and in front -of the poor thatched cottages a line of deeply hollowed trenches, from -which rose a colonel, a simple homely man in workday uniform, to offer -us part of the repast. There was the strong family feeling typical -of any gathering of Russians. We passed along the line chatting with -the men; a young colonel galloped up to invite us to visit his guns; -but we turned to a nearer battery, of which the old commander did us -the honours. These men were from a military province in the heart of -Russia, and their faces passed into a broad friendly grin as they stood -to their guns for us, sat to be photographed at their tea-drinking, and -told the story of their last fighting. They had been firing for all the -last two days. At about half a mile lay a copse on a hill, at first -held by the Germans, and behind it a long wooded ridge near which were -German rifle pits. The German artillery put up a cross fire from both -sides. Their shells had done very little damage. The Russian infantry -charged up the nearer slope and drove the Germans with the bayonet -through the copse. Here there were more than three hundred German dead; -among them boys of thirteen and fourteen, whose soldiers' pay-books -gave their ages. One officer remained standing just as the blow had -caught him. In the night the Germans had rapidly withdrawn and were now -several miles away. - -On a bare slope to the right of the battery stood an infantry regiment, -which in eighteen days' fighting had been reduced to about half its -strength. As we approached, we saw it drawn up under arms and in a -hollow square. A priest was preaching. He was arrayed in rich blue -vestments, which showed up in the dull earthen colour of the slope and -of the soldiers. His strong handsome features and long hair recalled -pictures of Christ. His deep voice carried without effort to the -ranks in the rear. As I approached, he was saying, "Never forget that -wherever you are and whatever is happening to you the eye of God is -on you and watching over you." After the sermon followed prayers, a -band of soldiers at his side, led by a tall Red Cross soldier, joining -in the beautiful other-world chants of the Eastern Church; they were -trained singers and sang just as in church, without any accompaniment -and with perfect balance and rhythm, the tall soldier conducting them -very quietly with his hand. At one point, the prayers for the Emperor, -all crossed themselves. All fell on their knees again at the prayers -for the Russian troops, for the armies of the Allies and that God -should give them every success. Once more all knelt at the prayers -for their slain comrades, while the beautiful "Eternal memory" was -chanted by the little choir. The rest of the service was standing; -the men remained firm and motionless, in fixed and silent attention. -There were impressive moments when the priest placed a little Gospel, -bound in blue velvet, on an improvised lectern of six bayonets crossed -in front of him, and when turning to all sides shadowed the men with -a little gold cross which he waved slowly with both hands. After -the service the Colonel stepped forward and with a quick movement -called for the salute to the flag, and every musket was raised with -a dull rattle that sounded out over the vast open space under the -grey sky. Next he read out in a loud clear voice a message from the -Commander-in-Chief congratulating the regiment on the brilliant bayonet -attack at Kazimierz, and called out: "For Tsar and country, Hurrah!" -This cheer rose like low thunder and died away in distant peals. Some -twenty to thirty men had received the cross of St. George for personal -bravery, and these, at a word from the Colonel, stepped out and filed -by with quick springing step, circling round the priest and the piled -bayonets, then stopped in front of him to kiss the Cross which he -pressed in turn to the lips of each. Then the whole regiment fell into -movement and swung round the open square, the cross movements, carried -out slowly and in perfect order, giving the appearance of a labyrinth. -One could not tell which way the men would turn, but they swung round -with precision and came forward with the strength of a great river. -An officer had asked me to carry a postcard message for him, and while -he wrote "I am alive and well" and a short greeting, we were caught -in the current, which parted to each side of us at the words of the -kneeling writer, "Brothers, don't come over me." As each section passed -the saluting point, the officer ordered the salute, the Colonel replied -with a word of congratulation, and the men gave a short sharp cry -expressing their readiness for work. There was a remarkable regularity -and springiness in the march of the men, and their motion was that of -an elemental force moving well within its strength, like the flow of -the Neva. After the march past the Colonel handed to us a whole bundle -of postcards for home. - -We passed from the bare grey slope with all this strong life on it -and drove forward to the next village, lately held by the Germans and -now abandoned. Here we saw a very different spectacle, showing the -effectiveness of the Russian artillery. The houses were for the most -part long and spacious, built of huge stones with a superstructure of -wood and roof of thatch. Some of them still remained intact; but most -had only the stone basis standing. Everywhere were groups of the bright -orange-coloured peasants, just returned, and in one house stood an old -woman making her first examination of her devastated home. We stood in -the slush on the dirty lane listening to the last report of a mounted -staff officer, and as the Germans were evidently retreating rapidly we -turned back to Skiernewice. We had followed the Russian advance some -seventy miles from Warsaw. - -It is well to recognize the value of these operations. The Germans -would obtain obvious advantages from a rapid seizure of Warsaw. So -far western Poland, lying between the two military lines of defence, -had been a kind of no-man's land, and as the main operations were to -north or to south, the Germans had made here a number of raids and -had secured partial and transitory successes. They now, as at Grodno, -tasted the actual Russian line of defence. The Russian forces in the -centre were much stronger than anticipated, and making a great effort, -not only repulsed the attack but made any real success on the German -side impossible. The political aspect of the attempt and the character -of its failure are illustrated by the following incident. The King of -Saxony, whose ancestors were kings of Poland, had sent a court official -with presents and decorations for those who should take part in the -capture of Warsaw, and this official was himself captured by Cossacks -after the repulse. The Germans, on the failure of their attempt, -withdrew quickly but in good order, leaving few prisoners and spoils of -war. The country was not devastated. There had been, after the repulse, -some disgraceful incidents, _e.g._ they had made a Polish landowner -and his servants stand in the Russian line of fire: and clocks and -ornaments were taken away. But I have no evidence of any atrocities -such as those in Belgium, and these could hardly have escaped -observation. The German troops seem to have been partly reservists, -with whom excesses are less likely. The signs indicate that the retreat -is definitive, and such is the inference from the reported incendiarism -at Lodz, which is full of German factories. - - -_November 4._ - -Trustworthy eyewitnesses speak with great enthusiasm of the conduct of -the Russian troops on the Upper Vistula, where more serious fighting is -to be expected. The influence of the Commander-in-Chief has produced -the selection of capable commanders everywhere, and the subordinate -officers are full of spirit and energy. Here again the German heavy -artillery commands respect, but the Russian field guns and howitzers -are served with remarkable precision and alertness and meet with -great success. The complete confidence of the Russian infantry in -the effectiveness of the Russian artillery is a striking and general -feature. The men are always keen for bayonet work, which the enemy -consistently avoids. - -The Russian cavalry has, by different accounts, shown great dash and -has been handled with dash and skill. In a raid beyond the river on the -enemy's communications, a Russian cavalry division came on Germans in -the dusk, and the troopers with the baggage column in the centre left -the baggage and, charging, completely routed the enemy. The division -several times got into the German forces, taking many prisoners. Large -numbers of stragglers have been taken by the Russians. A Hungarian -division put up a good resistance for three days and then collapsed. - -German officers pay ridiculously small sums for their keep; for -example, two marks for two days' keep of three officers, and they -appropriate valuables and take all stores. The population in southern -Poland is in a state of profound distress, and the Russians are -organising extensive relief work. The Germans compel captured officers -to work with the men, spit at them and drive them about bare to the -waist. - -A competent eyewitness in East Prussia says that the German -communications are very good, and that underground telephones are -frequently discovered. Large forces are in close contact here, and -the Russian counter-stroke has much impressed the enemy. Our men bear -fatigue and privations with great endurance. - -The Polish population shows the greatest alacrity in assisting the -Russian troops both in the country and in the towns. All Poles -now readily speak Russian. Yesterday the Warsaw Press entertained -the Russian and foreign correspondents. There was a distinguished -gathering, and both Russians and Poles spoke with striking frankness -and feeling. One eminent Polish leader, Mr. Dmowski, said that all -the blood shed between the two nations was drowned in the heavy -sacrifices of the present common struggle. Polish politicians are -keenly enthusiastic for France and Great Britain, and are studying the -development of closer economic and other relations with Great Britain. - -The Russian advance is now much more complete in southern Poland and -is better lined up with the forces in Galicia. This advance tends -to secure the Russian position on the northern frontier, where any -German initiative becomes daily more hazardous. The ordinary fresh -yearly Russian contingents mean an increase of half a million men. The -arrangements for the wounded provide, if necessary, for over a million. - - -_November 8._ - -I have just made a journey over the country lying between Warsaw and -Cracow, where the Russian advance is now proceeding. My previous -communication spoke of the original line of Russian defence along the -Bug, and the later and more advanced line along the Vistula and the -Narew. Present events are rapidly converting the new advance west of -Warsaw from a counterstroke into a general transference of the sphere -of operations and a most valuable rectification of the whole Russian -line. - -In East Prussia the Germans are being slowly driven back by a double -turning movement. Further westward the northern frontier of Poland is -well secured. The Russians have now occupied and hold firmly Plock, -Lodz, Piotrkow, Kielce and Sandomir, as also Jaroslaw and all the other -passages of the river San. A glance at the map will show the importance -of this line, which is only a stage in the general advance. - -On the repulse of the German attack on Warsaw, the enemy was pressed -back south-westward in three weeks of continuous fighting. Near -Ivangorod, a famous Caucasian regiment forced the passage of the -Vistula under the fire of German heavy artillery. The advance guard -crossed the broad stream--here unbridged--in skiffs and ferry-boats, -and held good under a devastating cross fire till the construction of -a pontoon bridge allowed the passage of reinforcements. The supports -coming along the river bank from Ivangorod had to advance through -flooded swamps almost breast high. Their footing was made good at -Kosienice, where desperate fighting took place. Later they made a -series of brilliant attacks in forests, after which the Germans were -thrown back on Radom. The general advance drove the enemy back beyond -Radom and Ilza. - -At the small town of Szydlowiec the German commandant threatened, -as the Russians approached, to blow up the remarkable town hall, -in Florentine style, conspicuous for thirty miles around, and the -beautiful Gothic church, six hundred years old. The inhabitants -offered to ransom them by a contribution of 5000 crowns. The offer was -accepted; but twenty minutes later the town hall was blown up, and the -church followed at the end of another quarter of an hour. This story -was narrated to me with great indignation by the inhabitants. - -Some miles in front of Kielce the Austrians--now abandoned by the -Germans, who had retired--made a stand near Lesczyna on a high sandy -position with a large fir copse in its centre and extending over a wide -front. The attack on it was delivered by a Russian corps including a -division mainly composed of Poles, and fell chiefly on an Austrian -Polish regiment from Cracow. The assailants kept up a fire all day, -and finally rushed the enemy's rifle pits with hurrahs. The Austrians -left Kielce at night and in the early morning--some were captured by -the Russians, who came in close upon their heels. They were pursued for -some miles, and brought to action again later on the same day. Next day -the Russian artillery was also heard to the south-east of Kielce. The -Germans had retreated in the direction of Czenstochowa. - -All this three weeks of fighting was in the characteristic Russian -style: bayonet attacks were repeated for two hours; small units eagerly -attacked larger ones of the enemy. In general the Russians outflanked -the enemy, but in one case they broke through his centre. Often the -Russian artillery caused him to decamp in the night. - -Officers describe the enthusiasm of the rank and file as growing if -possible greater. It is clearly visible in the rear of the army, and -shown by the energy with which transport is being pushed up. The enemy -has thoroughly destroyed the bridges, but they are quickly repaired, -and meanwhile the ardour of the troops and of the transport trains -minimises all delay. - -It may be noted that the German rifle fire is superior to the Austrian. -Some Austrian regiments have been found to be officered by Germans. The -Austrian Slavonic regiments resist well for two or three days, but then -break up and surrender in large bodies--they have sometimes asked for -guides to take them to the Russian lines. - -The inhabitants speak well of the Austrians, but with indignation of -the Germans. Prisoners confirm the bad relations between the two allied -armies, and Austrians and Germans when captured have to be kept apart. - -I saw at Kielce ample evidence of the enthusiasm of the Poles for the -Russian cause; they show the greatest courtesy and kindness, especially -in the villages. I am told on good evidence that at Kalisz, when a -German soldier defaced a portrait of the Tsar, a Polish official -struck him in the face, and for this was bound to a telegraph post -for two days, and then taken down and shot. All evidence of prisoners -shows that the Russians are treating enemies as well as their own -comrades--often I have seen them giving the captives the best of -everything. - -The following interesting proclamation was posted to-day by the -commander of a Russian army corps at Radom, where the Germans had -remained for over a month. - - "Poles! Our wounded officers and soldiers, and also our prisoners - who have fallen into the hands of the enemy and have passed through - the town or province of Radom, speak with deep gratitude of your - cordial treatment of them. You have tended the wounded, fed the - starving, and clothed and sheltered from the enemy those escaping - from captivity. You have given them money and guided them to our - lines. Accept from me and all ranks of the army entrusted to me our - warm and hearty thanks for all your kindness, for your Slavonic - sympathy and goodness." - -The theatre of the present operations is of crucial importance. Here -Austria and Germany join hands. Serious reverses would compel them -either to retreat on diverging lines, or to expose one or other of -their capitals. Either event would have political consequences of the -highest military significance. - - -_November 9._ - -I left Warsaw on November 2 by motor and arrived without incident at -Radom (sixty miles to south-south-west). The town was held by the -Germans for a month and four days. They made themselves objectionable -to the inhabitants, taking all supplies on which they could lay hands; -but I came on no evidence of any particular outrages. The inhabitants -showed the heartiest friendship to the Russians, as is recognised in -the proclamation of the Commanding General which I have already quoted. -Nothing could exceed the care and thoughtfulness of my own Polish -hosts; the Russian soldiers, for instance the one who accompanied our -party, were on friendliest terms of intercourse with the Poles, and -the objection which the Poles previously had to speaking Russian had -vanished as if by magic. It should be noted that the inhabitants of -all this area are particularly strong in Polish patriotism. Beyond -Radom the excellent high road to Cracow, running on an embankment and -lined with poplars, was broken at every bridge and cut up for some -distance by a road plough. Side tracks had been made at every necessary -point. We travelled in the midst of troops all hurrying forward to -participate in the taking of Kielce. They moved slowly along the road -in straggling groups like an enormous family on its way to a huge -picnic, but the unity of each regiment is never lost and the most -remarkable impression which one receives is that of destination--of -movement to "the appointed place." Every artificial barrier was little -more than an occasion for thought and effort: the Russian peasant, -everywhere accustomed to obstacles of this kind, has all sorts of ready -and resourceful ways of surmounting them; and they call forth all his -brotherly instincts of joint work and mutual help. Any number of men -run up from their loose ranks to push a motor or cart or transport -wagon over a marshy stream, and the travellers call back from their -vehicle, "Thank you, brothers." It is like a current that slows up and -takes thought against some barrier, but whose general movement seems -not even to be checked. Some of the side passages looked very bad -indeed, but every one somehow got through, no matter what the size of -their carriage. Often at such points there were companies that rested -along the grassy banks of the road; in other places one saw, to the -side, great parks of small grey wagons. Those carrying straw for the -bivouacs were in front; but sometimes one came upon a resting battery. -The brotherhood between officers and men is another notable feature of -the march of a Russian army. - - [Illustration: - - a.b. _Austro German march on Warsaw_ - c _Russian resistance_ - d _Russian offensive on Kosienice_ - e _Germans driven west_ - f _Austrians driven south-west_] - -At Szydlowiec, seventeen miles south of Radom, I saw the first signs -of devastation, but these were not the work of the advancing Russian -artillery but had been perpetrated deliberately by the retreating -Germans. The tower of the town hall was crumbled to ruins. The church -is not large, but has a high pointed roof, of which the open woodwork -still remains, with the cupola as if caught astride of it in its -fall. Inside, the beautiful painted inner roof is mutilated, but the -monuments of the ancient Szydlowiecki family, and notably the graceful -figure of a sleeping woman, have for the most part escaped. The floor -was covered with rubbish and the damage is estimated at a very high -figure. While I was in the church, the dignified old priest entered -with six young men, who knelt with faces full of reverence before -they set to work to clear the nave of rubbish. The Pole who told me -the story of the ruin of the church told it quietly but with flashing -eyes. He said the inhabitants asked rather that the whole town should -be destroyed and the church be left standing. The only excuse was a -few shots from the advancing Russian infantry and artillery, and there -was no regular fighting there, the Germans making no resistance and -retreating too quickly to blow up the castle. - -After Szydlowiec, the Cracow road on its way to Kielce (twenty-seven -miles) passes through country of quite a different character. A long -rise, and we were now close up among the troops. At one point the long -train of wagons branched away to a village on our left, and out of it -by another road there came in another stream of fighting men. We passed -some two hundred Austrian prisoners in their blue shakos and uniforms; -they were all Poles, with hardly any guard but giving no trouble; one -of them courteously stepped out of the ranks to pick up my field glass, -which I had dropped. These men, who talked freely to us, did not look -at all miserable, only confused. The Russians behaved to them as to -their own people. - -At last we came to the hills above Kielce. It was now clear what had -happened. Troops of all kinds were streaming into the town and all -resistance was over. On the main street we were stopped for a few -moments by a general and his staff. At the chief hotel large parties -of officers were sitting down to lunch. All the streets were full -of movement, but with no sign of any conflict or friction--horses, -dismounting messengers, soldiers eating, talking or resting, the -townspeople standing watching, satisfying the requirements or questions -of the newcomers or joining in their talk. We had no difficulty in -securing good rooms, and our lunch was as good as it would have been -in Warsaw. Many of the troops had passed or were passing on along -the broad road in the direction of Cracow. Mounting the high hill -south-west of the town we could see the scattered stream of men, horses -and carts going forward past pleasant houses, hills and villages, -and the thunder of artillery came to us from beyond a ridge in the -distance. Our plans, however, prevented us from going further. At the -hotel the regiment which had done most of the fighting was sitting at -dinner and singing the regimental song and the national hymn. The song -began with a Mahometan word, "God has given us victory." - -Next day, November 4, with villagers guiding and recounting to us, we -went over the scene of the last Austrian resistance about six miles -east of Kielce. A long curving line of rifle pits ran over a broad high -front; sometimes the line ran along the inside of an extensive copse -of small fir trees; some of the pits contained extemporised pallets -of fir boughs, in others were bullets, weapons or even letters. The -Russian advance was indicated by two hostile lines running almost side -by side, where within a few yards I picked up undischarged bullets of -the two armies. In a little wooded cemetery on the bare ridge lay a -number of bodies, Austrian and Russian, brought in by the villagers -for burial. It was not a sight to dwell on; but one thing that I shall -not forget was the body of a young Austrian of not more than twenty, -full of grace and beauty, the head thrown back, the breast bared, and -the hand lifted as if waving on the attack. Outside, other bodies were -still being brought in, the Russians greatly predominating in numbers. -Some Austrian wounded still walked about the village. One, with whom I -spoke, had the lower part of his jaw bound up and complained that he -could drink nothing. He was greatly depressed but had no rancour and -evidently felt at home with the villagers, who were of the same blood -and behaved to him rather as people would to an interesting traveller -in their midst. He was a Pole from no further off than Cracow, where he -was a master--"professor" as he put it--in a secondary school, a very -intelligent and educated man who seemed quite out of place in a uniform -and on a battlefield. He told me how they replied all day as best they -could to a cross fire, till in the evening the Russians came on them -shouting "Hurrah!" A day earlier, and we should have seen this fight. -The Germans had left them in the lurch--"as they always do," he added. -It was in the main a battle of Poles against Poles. He himself was a -"Pan-Slavist," he told me, but could not say so because of his post. If -the Russians got Cracow and maintained the appointment of Polish civil -officials there, including a Polish Governor, as at present, he felt -certain that all western Galicia would be on their side. I left him a -little tobacco and took the address of one of his colleagues in Cracow. -Heavy firing from the south was all the time audible. - -We returned to Kielce, passing regiments of all kinds. On our way -back to Radom my motor broke down, and after sitting for three hours -amidst marshy ground, with wounded; transports and villagers passing -and occasionally hearing stray rifle shots, I had to return again to -Kielce for the night. The discomfort of this _contretemps_ disappeared -before the unconquerable wit and good humour of my French colleague, M. -Naudeau, who improvised little songs on our mishap. - -The next day, the 5th, there was nothing left but to return to Radom, -occupying three seats which a Russian general, a man of charming -simplicity, kindly put at our disposal in his motor. The strength of -the Russian advance was everywhere before our eyes. The great stream -was still flowing on. There were troops of all kinds--we inquired the -name of each regiment, which they always gave in a kind of jovial -chorus; there were food transports, field kitchens, pontoons and, not -least important, the post. At one point we saw a large body of Austrian -prisoners sitting by a wood and drinking water with their very small -escort. These men helped some of our motors over difficult places. -Streams, their bridges broken down, were still being crossed by the -great onflowing current of men and wagons, only with more ardour than -before. Teams of white horses, which, because of their conspicuousness, -are only allowed to serve in the transport, were dashing through the -mud and water with a fervour as great as if on the field of battle. -At one place a bread wagon dropped all its cargo and turned over on -its side, but horse and driver, evidently not noticing, carried it on -into the stream with no diminution of pace--one wheel high in the air -and the other broken beneath the wagon. Our General spoke frequently -with the men; and we all helped one another through difficult places, -on each occasion with a hearty "Once more thank you, brothers," from -the General. Nothing will remain with me longer than these endless -irregular lines of big, sleepy, almost stupid-looking faces moving at -a walk which might last for ever, and all in one direction and all -with set eyes, a people that lies down to sleep at the roadside, that -breakfasts off stale biscuit soaked in water, that carries nothing but -what it can put to a hundred uses, that will crouch for days without -food in flooded trenches, that can die like flies for an idea, and is -sure, sooner or later, to attain it, a people that never complain, a -brotherhood of men. - -In Radom I found our Russian orderly from Kostroma fraternising with -the Polish servants, joining in their work and singing them songs of -the Volga. I told him he was another Susanin who had led the foreigners -into the marsh. We were soon on our way back to Warsaw. - - -_November 25._ - -I have dealt with the Russian advance from Warsaw and Ivangorod, by -which the Russian front was carried forward some one hundred and -seventy miles in all from the original defensive line on the Bug and -the communications of the Austrian and German armies were threatened in -the neighbourhood of Cracow. This movement was necessarily completed by -an advance of the Russian forces on the San. - - [Illustration: THE ADVANCE FROM THE SAN - - Tarnow. - - a _First advance of the Russians_ - b b _Russian line on the San_ - c c _Russian advance after the German retreat to the North_ - d _Connection with Russian line to the North_] - -After their first successes in Galicia the Russians had advanced as -far as the Wisloka, but the German attempt on Warsaw from the west and -south and a strong Austrian and Hungarian counterstroke on Galicia -made advisable a temporary strategic withdrawal of the Russian line -to the San, while all available forces helped in repulsing Germans -further north. For nearly a month the Russian defensive line held good -against superior Austrian forces on the San and in the south. Report -says that bounteous rewards were offered to the Austrian troops for the -reconquest of Lvov; and the Russian occupation of eastern Galicia was -seriously endangered. The San varies in breadth from fifty to a hundred -and fifty yards and is lined with marshes. Across this narrow obstacle -Russians in trenches maintained an unbreakable resistance, repulsing -all Austrian attempts at crossing. - -I have seen many of the wounded of this long defensive struggle. Their -temper is the same conquering spirit that has carried the general -advance. I stayed at their hospital some days. A group of slightly -wounded, mostly young men with bright, radiant faces and strong, -lusty voices, sat up in bed recounting to me, one after the other, -individual feats of daring done by their comrades. Throughout there -was the feeling of individual superiority to the enemy tested by the -heaviest conditions and sometimes by the wiping out of nearly all one's -company or squadron. Most were wounded in the left arm or left leg in -the trenches. Five or ten of the company would fall every day. The most -exposed were the telephonists. Others fell in daring reconnaissances -in boats across the river. All testified to the far heavier losses -inflicted on the enemy. One simple young fellow crippled in a leg -described how one did not in one's first day's fighting like to look -out of the trenches. Then he showed how one began to peer about, and -later one took no notice of bullets whistling round one, because of -the sense that the army would surely go forward. One bright day he -said to me, "It must be fine in the trenches to-day." This is the -spirit of them all. - -At last, when the Russians to the north had advanced and Sandomir had -been taken, the word came to go forward. The river was crossed at night -and the enemy driven from the trenches and neighbouring villages and -further back. The advance was triumphant at all points. The Austrians -were driven southward and westward. Some were pressed against the -Carpathians, with two difficult passes which would hardly admit the -passage of artillery and field trains; others were pressed back on -Cracow where the line of the whole Russian advance is now complete. - -The Russian impact on Cracow promises, first, a settlement of the -destiny of western Galicia, where the population is Polish and very -ready to respond to the appeal of Grand Duke. Next, a gap is made -between the Austrians and Germans who are already retiring in mutual -dissatisfaction in different directions, and whose political interests -must more and more differentiate. Further advance through this gap will -be on Slavonic territory, as southern Silesia up to the River Neisse -is mainly Polish or Bohemian, and the Czechs in general are largely -Russophil and quite hostile to Germany. - -The Germans are doing all that is possible to make diversions on other -sides. Stopped and driven back on the side of Mlawa, they have made a -serious effort on both sides of the Vistula, near Plock, but have been -decisively repulsed, the inhabitants giving effective aid in bridging -the river. They are now attempting to force a strong wedge into the -Russian front between the Vistula and the Wartha; but so far the -Russian line, which is everywhere continuous and is reinforced wherever -necessary with strong reserves, has successfully outflanked every local -German advance. - -Meanwhile a double Russian advance on East Prussia from east and -south is overcoming the numerous obstacles and making rapid progress, -avoiding and enveloping the thickset fortified line of the Mazurian -lakes. Here, too, the subject population is chiefly Polish. - -Retreating German troops in Poland, previously transferred from the -western front, expressed to the inhabitants great despondency, even -saying, "This is our last judgment" (Das ist unser Weltgericht). Many -prisoners have displayed a similar mood. - - -_November 28._ - -A RUSSIAN FIELD HOSPITAL - -A large, low, white building with a grassy court and outhouses; four -large tents stand in the court; on the centre of the main building a -white canvas band that bears in rough black letters the inscription: -First Etape Lazaret of the Imperial Duma. - -After a wonderful star-lit journey in a _formanka_ or double-horsed -cart with a courteous and humble old grey-haired peasant, I come on -this building about half-past two in the morning. The last part of the -journey was adventurous; the driver at one point wished to strike work, -which resulted in a wait of nearly an hour; the way had to be asked of -a group of soldiers with blackened faces seated round a camp fire, -and of three sentries of the _étape_ marching through the night with -fixed bayonets, who challenged, "Who goes there?" and received with -some hesitation the answer, "Our side" (_svoi_). One of them lowered -his bayonet to be ready for any further emergencies. In the end I was -guided to the lazaret, where I had a cordial welcome from the two -sanitars on duty and was accommodated with a bed in one of the large -tents, which was empty and ready for moving. - -The Duma Lazaret was equipped chiefly by the energy and liberality -of Prince Volkonsky, Vice-President of the Duma and one of its most -respected and popular members. All parties are associated in the work; -and Prince Volkonsky, who is a Conservative, has had the valuable -help of the eminent Radical, Dr. Shingarev, who earlier earned a wide -reputation as the organiser of the sanitary system in the province of -Voronezh. Meetings of a committee are held in the Duma, and lately two -other lazarets have been equipped and dispatched, one to the Prussian -front and one to the Caucasian. - -The first Duma lazaret was one of the earliest to arrive behind the -front during the tremendous fighting in southern Poland and in Galicia. -At Brody on the road to Lvov it gave preliminary treatment to thousands -of wounded in the course of a few days. Later it was moved to Lvov, -Sokal and Belzec, where I now found it. It had picked up on its road -stray dogs which it had named after their places of adoption--Brodka, -Rava, and Belzec. - -The lazaret was equipped for two hundred patients, but at the time of -my visit had only forty, as it was about to be moved further to the -front. Operations were performed daily, to be ready for the move. I saw -one poor fellow, very frail and no longer young, just after his leg was -amputated; he was calling in a piteous way to his mother. In one ward -the patients were in a late stage of convalescence from typhus, and in -another lay one of the sanitars of the lazaret. In a far corner lay a -poor fellow with a wound in the head; his case was hopeless, and he was -communicated by the priest in an interval of consciousness. - -The central wards were full of strong, lusty men, most of them young, -some with bad wounds but nearly all getting the better of them. They -were in many ways like dormitories of big schoolboys, all of them good -comrades--during my stay of some days I only heard one altercation and -that was mild and very short. They lived a chance corporate life of -their own; and when I went round with cigarettes, there was always some -one to see that tired or sleeping comrades got their share. There was -very little groaning and no complaint; the men felt their wounds in the -long night time, and sometimes one would mention that his wound was -smarting. One Armenian, a weak-looking lad of the gentlest disposition, -lay striving to bear his pain. "Oh!" he said as he fought it; and then, -with closed teeth, "No matter; it doesn't matter; our Emperor ought to -be rich; it had to be done--to beat the Germans; it doesn't matter." - -Usually, however, the wound would only be mentioned in a side sentence -in a narrative--"and then I got this," or it would be the occasion for -a story of strong life and effort and the triumph of "ours." There -was a peculiar delicate courtesy about the halest and strongest, who -would shift their wounded limbs with an inviting gesture of the hand, -making room for me to sit on their beds; and then there would rise a -general stream of narrative where all joined in without ever seeming -to interrupt each other, each telling of some daring feat of a comrade -against all odds. One will not forget the figures leaning up in bed -and the young, radiant faces; many of these men were cripples who will -never fight again, but everything about them was full of health and -fresh air and victory. - -A young trooper told me of the actions of his regiment against the -Hungarians. They have, it appears, a particularly mobile horse -artillery, served with great accuracy by horsemen who fire with the -left hand. They enticed the regiment up with displays of white flags -and suddenly rent them with a murderous fire. For all that, as in -practically all these narratives, in the end the Russians triumphed. - -Others described the long defensive work on the San, with its narrow -stream and muddy banks, and the final irresistible advance. There were -two young men, one from Chernigov and one from Tauris, who beckoned -to me each day, and with whom I spent several happy hours. When I -asked for their addresses they wrote them down in form, beginning in -the one case with "Wounded in arm" and in the other with "Wounded in -leg." "Wounded in leg" was a sunny youth who, when we were photographed -together, made quite a careful toilette. He was the boy who called -out "What a splendid day! It's fine to-day in the trenches!" These -two discussed with me all sorts of subjects, including the English -sailors and the Grimsby fishermen, who appealed to them as "going for -boldness." Another more elderly pair, one like a jolly farmer and the -other like a brown-bearded stationmaster, worked out with me on the map -the progress of the Russian army. Simplicity was the note of all, and -it would have been hard to convince them that it was they more than any -others who were now under the eyes of Europe. - -There was another still more elderly couple that had an out-of-the-way -interest. They were two old men, one of sixty-six and one of -seventy-two, who had been shot by the Hungarians for sheltering Russian -soldiers. One of them, a picturesque-looking person with round head and -furry grey hair, told me of how he was locked up in his attic and then -called down to be shot, while his womanfolk were reviled and struck. -His leg was broken, but was mending. Both these poor old men were full -of plaints and, after the Galician manner, insisted on kissing one's -hand each time that one talked with them. - -One of the most sympathetic figures in the lazaret was the priest, -a man of the age and with many of the features of a Russian picture -of the Christ. He was a monk from the famous Pochayev monastery in -Volyn, sent hither by the Archbishop Eulogius. His was an entirely -un-selfconscious nature, gentle, good and whole; and the care that he -gave to the dying was like the best of man and of woman combined. I -had some talk with him of the Uniats, that oppressed people under the -heavy hand of Jewish taskmasters, which had held through centuries to -its roots of parish organisation thrown out by the early Brotherhood of -Lvov. We glanced in at one of their services in the quaintest little -wooden church, where the singing was congregational and like a sad -plaint. - -Our priest every day read a short Orthodox service in the central ward, -and on Saturday and Sunday served the full Mass in one of the largest -tents. Some six of the soldiers were trained singers; the priest -himself did not chant, and the words of the service came with all the -more reality, especially the frequent allusions to the "Christ-loving -army." At one point the priest went through the wards to repeat a part -of the service; for, as he said, "our soldiers are deeply religious, -and the patients will feel that they are left out." At the end all in -the tent kissed the cross, and the priest then went to hold it to each -of the patients in turn. He told us that at the mobilisation and before -battle communions were frequent and that fasting was in such cases -excused. - -It was while I was here that the order to move forward arrived. The -remaining wounded were arranged for in neighbouring hospitals; warm -blue vests were served out to all for the journey. "We have much -to be thankful for," said one soldierly fellow who looked like a -sergeant and took a lead among the rest. "Our Emperor has indeed fed -and clothed us." Everything was packed, the large farm buildings were -left deserted, and the hospital moved forward in the track of Radko -Dmitriev. - - -_Kiev, December 15._ - -THE COUNTRY AND THE WAR - -I have just made a journey across Russia. The average opinion seems -to be the same everywhere. The feeling expressed is quiet and sober; -no boasting of any kind is heard anywhere; news of the war is treated -on its merits, and anything that seems unsatisfactory is faced and -is given its reasonable value. As to the ultimate issue, complete -confidence is felt, and, in this feeling, satisfaction with what has -been done and the determination to go through with the matter seem to -have an equal share. Every one is clear that there can be no stopping -half-way with the task unfinished; and the task, as it presents itself -to the average man or woman, is that the crisis thrust upon us must -not occur again. I say "thrust upon us" because, with average people -even perhaps more than in official circles, and with the peasant more -than all, there is the strongest feeling that peace has been wilfully -disturbed by Germany, and that Russia was left no option but to hit -back as hard as she could. A peasant cabman, fraternising with me on -our alliance and promoting me in the course of our conversation to -the second person singular, summed up the common instinct very well -by saying: "How disagreeable He is" ("He" is always the enemy); "he -makes himself nasty to every one," which is surely the chief reason why -"He" is having a bad time of it now. "He might have smashed you or the -French," my cabman goes on; "us he can only hit about a bit (_pobit_)," -and his attitude is that of a big, kindly animal that is provoked -into defending itself and others. "Pobit" is the ordinary expression -of the soldiers for the work they have to do. A peasant servant puts -it stronger and is sorry that I am not going to "spike" (_kolot_) any -Germans, especially as she has made up her mind that they are going -to kill me. "You had better tell me what to do with your things," she -says, "for you're not going on a pleasure trip"; and she reminds me of -this as I start by asking, "But when you're killed, though?" I quote -this because this good woman has a brother in the Siberian rifles, -of whom so many are lying under the great wooden crosses outside the -wrecked village of Rakitna, and no doubt she judges of my chances by -his; but she talks of him with the same equanimity. Beneath all this, -there is the full and silent sense of all the sacrifices that are asked -and a silent pride in making them. I have never heard this take words -with the peasants, though it is behind everything they say; but it -comes out often with those who have any responsibility for others and -most of all with any who are in close touch with the common soldier. -Those speak the strongest and simplest of him, who are only telling -a friend their daily experience of him; and the selflessness of his -courage and endurance keeps coming back on them as something that -astounds and even confounds them. - -All the life of the country that lies behind the line is centred in -it. The nearer one comes up to the line, the more does one feel in -the moral atmosphere a sense of satisfaction, of ease of mind. In the -line itself all sense of self disappears, and the big band of brothers -lives for its daily work and divides up everything in common. It is -wonderful how far little resources can go when they are put together; -one produces some chocolate, another a little store of comfits, a third -hands round a flask, another supplies the cigarettes and another the -matches, and a little feast is thus improvised by the half-light of a -candle; all these stores are renewed at chance and are expended without -reserve. - -But it is farthest of all from the front that the sense of the war is -most painfully felt, and that because it has to seek ways of finding -its satisfaction. For this it seeks continually. Every now and then, -in the capitals and all the big towns, a week is set aside for some -special object: for the collection of warm underwear for the men in the -trenches, for Christmas presents for the troops, for the families left -behind, for the widows and orphans, for the supply of means for the -crippled. At these times, which are constantly recurring, every tram or -train is boarded and every restaurant is traversed by the collectors, -who for each donation pin on a little special badge to secure the donor -from any further importunity; but the badge is quite disregarded both -by donors and collectors, and one sees many who have paid their due -several times over. Thus the public is taxing itself over and over -again for every need that it can think of. - -The posters have a nervous force, such as the Petrograd one that -begins and ends in large letters with the words "It's cold in the -trenches." Several of them bear the signatures of members of the -Imperial Family, one of the most simple and telling coming from a -sister of the Emperor who is engaged in ordinary hospital work among -the wounded. Another striking appeal, for the widows and orphans, is -simply a twofold picture. Along the top in pale blue with a sullen sky -of winter dawn above, a number of scattered soldiers, big and clumsy -and heavily clothed, are running forward over a rough, flat field, -with the lumbering run of a Russian porter at a railway station, their -bayonets lowered and all with set faces; from a copse in the distance -come puffs of smoke; and in front of the men, close behind his chief, -who has already fallen, an officer has his hand thrown up in the air -as a bullet carries him over. Underneath sits a group of dark-haired -figures; a young wife with set and brooding face, and two young boys -at once with fear and spirit in their eyes. I have asked that some of -these posters should be sent to England, in case any could spare from -their nearer needs something for the countless bereaved of Russia. - -Every non-military unit of society is looking for a way of its own -of helping. Mary Dolina, who might perhaps be called the Mrs. Kemble -of Russian opera, has, with her many helpers, now given over thirty -concerts of national and patriotic music for widows and orphans. The -artists of Russia, banded together with special imperial approval, are -giving movable representations in restaurants or in public squares, -where, as in all other cases, the full collection goes to the army. -The Press of Moscow is meeting to organise a day on which the Press -will make a united effort for the same object. And then there are -the collections for claims that make a special appeal, such as the -devastated homes of Poland, Belgium and Serbia. The superscriptions -adopted in these various endeavours are quite simple and usually take -the form of offering a present--for instance, Petrograd to Poland, -Moscow to Poland and Belgium, Artists to Soldiers, and so on. All this -wealth of various charity is co-ordinated, and regularity of service -is secured by committees of the most representative kind under the -chairmanship of one or other member of the Imperial Family. The Emperor -himself is constantly paying visits to the army with abundant supplies -of medals for all the heavily wounded. - -Among the links between front and rear are the frequent short visits -to the capitals of those chief organisers of the Red Cross who must be -everywhere. Prince George Lvov, one of the most admirable of Russian -public workers, who organised relief during the famines and led the -Civil Red Cross in the Japanese War, passes from Lemberg to East -Prussia, or from Warsaw to the Caucasus, seeing as much as can come -under one pair of eyes, and returning to Petrograd and Moscow to find -ways of meeting each new need. Nicholas Lvov, a former Vice-President -of the Duma, whose brother has fallen and whose eldest boy has been -killed by shrapnel before Cracow, passes constantly between Petrograd -and Galicia. Alexander Guchkov, the organiser of Red Cross work on the -Warsaw front, who is constantly in the front line and was reported -prisoner at Lodz, pays flying visits to Moscow. And all these glimpses -of the realities of the war draw closer the ties between the army of -defenders at the front and the country that is waiting to meet every -sacrifice and to fill every gap. Russia will close the ranks till -the work is done; and she can go on doing this after it has become -impossible for our enemies. - - -_December 18._ - -In Kiev, though there is every sign of its being in the minds of all, -materially the war is hardly felt. It is in fact wonderful how little -effect of this kind it seems to have made on the body of Russia. On -the other hand, the atmosphere of nervous tension begins to disappear -the moment one begins to get really near to the front. In the Red -Cross offices at Kiev I found the same straining toward the front as -elsewhere, only much calmer because these were people who had a big war -work to do. Hospitals meet the eye in the streets at every turn. - -Once in the train for Galicia it was again the war atmosphere and -simplicity itself. The talk was all of people engaged directly or -indirectly in it. A graceful old lady with a very attentive son was on -her way to get a sight of her husband, one of the generals. A young -officer, whose wound has kept him out of it for three weeks, is on his -way to the front before Cracow. A fresh-looking young man, at first -unrecognisable to his friends with his close-cropped bullet head, -tells how he went on a reconnaissance, how he came on the Austrians, -how their first line held up their muskets and when the Russians had -passed on fired on their rear, how nevertheless practically all came -back safe and sound. It was told with a kind of schoolboy ingenuousness -and without suggestion or comment of any kind on the conduct of those -concerned. Then followed an account of a war marriage, at first put off -and then carried out as quietly as possible. All the friends of every -one seemed to be at the war. - -At the old frontier some of the buildings near the station were wrecked -by artillery fire, and the railway was lined with a succession of solid -hospital barracks, with the local commandant's flag flying over one of -them. There was plenty to eat at the station; and though we moved on -very quickly, every one from our crowded train managed to find a place -in the Austrian carriages, chiefly because every one was ready to help -his neighbour. The corridors jammed with passengers and kits, we moved -on through the typical "strips" of Russian peasant culture, a pleasant -wooded country, passing a draft detachment on the halt which waved -greetings to us. My companion, Mr. Stakhovich, a phenomenally strong -man and imbued by a fine spirit, was talking of the indifference of the -Russian peasant to danger; he regarded it as an indifference to all -sensations; anyhow they go forward, whatever the conditions, as a sheer -matter of course. With the ordinary educated man the mind must be kept -occupied with work if unpleasant possibilities of all kinds are to be -kept out of it; but General Radko Dmitriev, to whom we are going, will -jump up from a meal, however hungry, when there is a chance of getting -under fire. - -We draw up in the great station at Lvov. To the right of us stretch -endless lines crowded with wagons, especially with sanitary trains. In -the lofty passages and waiting-rooms are sleeping troops with piled -muskets, some wounded on stretchers tended by the sisters of mercy who -are constantly on duty here, and a crowd of men, all soldiers, coming -and going. One passed many Austrian prisoners, of whom another enormous -batch was just announced to arrive; and elsewhere a Russian private -explained to me the excellent quality of the Hungarian knapsack, which -he and his comrades had turned into busbies. One man was asleep inside -the rail opposite the ticket office. He did not seem to mind how often -he was woken up. - -In the town everything is quiet, and life goes so naturally that no -one could take it for a conquered city. In the country this might have -been expected because far the greater part of the population is Little -Russian; but in Lvov the Russians are only about 17 per cent. and the -predominant element is the Polish (60 per cent.), the rest being Jews -(20 per cent.) or Germans (3 per cent.). The university, the Press -and the bulk of the professional class are Polish. This result is in -character with the place, which has a peculiarly pleasing atmosphere -of its own. But it is also a great tribute to two quite different -influences: to those Poles who, though in no way tied to Russia, have -preferred to all other considerations the corporate interests of their -fellow-countrymen, and to the wise and sympathetic administration of -the Russian Governor-General, Count George Bobrinsky. - - -_December 22._ - -Lvov is taking on more of the character of a Russian town. Many of the -Jews have left. The Russian signs over new restaurants, stores, etc., -meet the eye everywhere. Of the Little Russian party which supported -the Austrians, many have now returned and are making their peace with -the new authorities. The Russian soldier is quite at home in Lvov, as -one sees when the singing "drafts" swing past the Governor-General's -palace; the Austrian prisoners in uniform, who are allowed liberty on -parole, seem equally at their ease. Numbers of Russian priests are -pouring into Galicia, but not fast enough for the Uniat villages which -have embraced Orthodoxy; as soon as they arrive, peasants come with -their carts and take them off to their parishes, without waiting for -any formal distribution. The Uniat creed and ritual are practically -identical with the Orthodox, so that the difference between the two -was purely political. At the new People's Palace of Nicholas II, I -saw a number of children, principally from families that had suffered -severely at the hands of Austrian troops, receive Christmas presents -on the day of St. Nicholas, who is the Russian Santa Claus. Archbishop -Eulogius, in a very effective little address, told them that the -biggest Christmas present which they were receiving was the liberty to -speak their own language and worship in their own way in union with -their Russian brothers. - -Starting for the army, I spent a night of strange happening in the -great railway station, as our train was delayed till the morning. At -one time I went, in the frosty night, to look for it at the goods -station, where there were endless rails and wagons, and found it -after a long search. In the big restaurant four little boys made -great friends with me, one of fourteen in uniform and spurs who had -been serving as mounted scout with a regiment at the front, and one -of thirteen who had attached himself in the same capacity to a -battery. Both were small creatures, and the first was a remarkable -little person, with all the smartness and determination of a soldier, -relieved by an amusing childlike grace and courtesy. He said to me in a -confidential voice, "I see you are very fond of little children," and -he ordered with pride lemonade and chocolates for us both. He said the -men at the front could last a week to ten days, if necessary, without -any food but _sukhari_ (army biscuit), so long as they had cigarettes. -His imagination had been caught by the aeroplanes over Peremyshl, -and also by the Carpathians, which he described with an up and down -movement of the hand. He had a great disgust for anything mean and a -warlike pride in the exploits of the soldiers of his regiment. His -model was a boy, now a young man, who had been through the Japanese -War. "If a general comes past," and he made a salute to show the -extreme respect felt for his hero. Many a time in that long night, -while the weary heads of doctors and sisters of mercy were bent in -sheer tiredness against the tables, he would come and sit by me and -ask me to read the war news to him, or to tell him about the English -submarines. He left me with the smartest of salutes in the early hours -of the morning. - -Our train is an enormous one with endless warm carriages (_teplushki_) -for the wounded. The staff of sanitars and sisters, working for the -Zemstvo Red Cross, live in a spotlessly clean carriage, and there are -special carriages for drugs, stores, kitchen, etc. They are simple and -interesting people, and, as I am now in the Red Cross and have many -interests in common with them, they kindly made me up a bed in their -carriage, where we discussed Russia in all its bearings. - -We carry a group of passengers who have all made friends after the -Russian way. A colonel and his wife are going to fetch the body of -a fallen comrade. Another colonel, a delightfully simple man with -close-cropped hair, thin brown face and bright, clever eyes seems to -know all the Slavonic languages and has much to say of the Austrians. -He has seen twenty of them surrender to a priest and his clerk who -came on them in a wood, made the sign of the cross and told them to -come with them. In another place twenty-two Austrians were captured by -two Russians. The Austrian officers put quick-firing guns behind their -own rifle pits for the "encouragement" of their men, on whom he has -seen them fire. They make their gunners fire every two hours in the -night as a kind of exercise. He has seen them form their men in close -column under fire and march them about up and down along the line of -the Russian trenches. The Austrian artillery seldom takes cover; the -Russian directs its fire on the enemy rather than on his batteries. In -one place, heavy Russian artillery at a range of seven miles demolished -an Austrian field train and two battalions who were lunching in the -square of a small town. He is full of life and confidence, and all that -he says breathes of fresh air and of work. - - -_December 24._ - -Our train made its way through to the furthest point up. We had to stop -several times to let through the ambulance trains already charged with -wounded, which take precedence. We had to go very slowly over several -repaired bridges; and this was no simple matter, as we had twenty-seven -long and heavy coaches. Some of these repairs were complicated pieces -of work, as the bridges were high above the level of the rivers. At -point after point, and especially on the Austrian sides of the rivers, -we passed lines of carefully prepared trenches, and in one place there -was a masterpiece of artillery cover, with every arrangement for a long -stay. - -The damage done by the artillery fire was sporadic--here a smashed -station building, there a town where several houses had suffered. But -there was nothing indiscriminate; and the Polish population, which -showed no sign of any hostility to the Russians, seemed to find the war -conditions livable. - -As in other parts, I was specially struck by the easy relations -existing between the inhabitants, the Austrian soldiers and their -Russian captors. There were exceptions. I had some talk with a few -Austrian Germans from Vienna. They were simple folk and seemed to -have no grudge against the Russians; and the circumstance in their -position which they felt most--they were only taken the day before -yesterday--was that this was Christmas Eve, the "stille Nacht, heilige -Nacht" of the beautiful German hymn, and that they were far from home -among strange people. They kept apart as far as possible not only from -their captors but from their fellow prisoners from Bohemia and Moravia. -These last seemed at least quite comfortable, smoking their long pipes -and leisurely sweeping the platforms. They were quite a large company. -They understood my Russian better than my German. When I asked them -how they stood with the German troops, instead of the sturdy "Gut" of -their Viennese fellows, they answered with a slang word and a gesture. -When asked about the Russians, they replied in a quite matter-of-course -way: "We are brothers and speak the same tongue; we are one people." -For any difficulties, the Poles often prove good interpreters. It is -very different for the Austrian captive officers, who often cannot -understand their own men. - -These Czechs confidently assured me that any Russian troops that -entered Bohemia would be welcomed as friends; and they claimed that -not only the neighbouring Moravians and Slovaks but also the Croats -further south were to be taken as feeling as they did. The Bohemians -and Moravians seem to be surrendering in the largest numbers of all; -and though the Viennese claimed that large numbers of Russians had also -been taken, I cannot regard as anything but exceptional the enormous -batches of blue uniforms that I passed on the road here. I asked these -men about their greatcoats and was not at all surprised when they said -they felt cold in them. It is nothing like such a practical winter -outfit, whether for head, body or legs, as that of the Russian soldier. - -We came very well over the last part of our journey. I was sorry to -part with the friendly sanitars, who all seemed old acquaintances -by the end of the journey and invited me to take up my quarters -permanently with them. Theirs was more than ordinary kindness, as they -had shared everything they had with me, including their little sleeping -apartment. The bearer company under their orders is all composed of -Mennonites, a German religious sect from South Russia which objects -to war on principle and, being excused military service even in this -tremendous struggle, seems to be serving wholesale as ambulance -volunteers. - -As there were none but soldiers about, these men helped me out with -my luggage; and through the window of the First Aid point in Tarnow -station, I saw another acquaintance waving me a welcome. This is the -last point that the railway can serve; and my friends will go back with -a full burden, which will keep the medical staff busy day and night all -the way. One of my new companions, who has been out to a village to -get milk for the wounded, has seen the shrapnel bursting; and the guns -are sounding loud and clear near the town as I write this. It is here -that the most seriously wounded must be treated at once, as a railway -journey would simply mean death for them. This is brought home to one, -if one only looks at the faces of the workers. Yet with this huge line -of operations, and the assaults which may be made at any point of it, -at any moment the nearest field hospitals may need to send off any -wounded who can be moved without delay. Though the work is being done -with danger all round, less thought is being given to it than anywhere -that I have been yet. - -Christmas Eve: peace on earth and good will toward men. And all -through "the still night, the holy night," the sound that means killing -goes on almost continuously. How can any one say prayers for a world -which is at war, or for himself that is a part of it? May God, who -knows everything, help each of us to bear our part and not disgrace -Him, and make us instruments to the end that He wishes. - - -_December 26._ - -Christmas day I spent in the hospitals. In one ward, at a local -Austrian hospital, and full of wounded, I found that almost every one -of the line of patients was of a different nationality. Going round -the room, one found first a Pole of western Galicia, then a Russian -from the Urals, next a Ruthenian (Little Russian) from eastern Galicia, -next a Magyar from Hungary, and against the wall a young German from -Westphalia. After him came an Austrian-German from Salzburg, a Serbian -from southern Hungary, another Ruthenian, an Austrian-German from -Moravia, an Austrian-German from Bohemia, and a Moravian from Moravia. - -I spent a couple of hours here, talking sometimes with each of the -patients, sometimes with all. The Pole knew only Polish and the bearded -Russian, who had a bad body wound, was too tired to talk much. Of the -Ruthenians one was a frail, white-faced boy from close to the Russian -frontier who seemed, like most of his people, subdued, and confused -with the strangeness of his position in fighting against his own -people; the other was a lumpish boy without much intelligence. The -thin, bearded Hungarian, who knew no German but a little Russian, was -mostly groaning or dozing. The Salzburg Austrian was dazed and drowsy, -but at intervals talked quietly of his pleasant homeland. - -The German stood out from the rest. He was a bright, vigorous boy of -twenty, had gone as a volunteer and was tremendously proud of the -spirit of the German army. He had fought against the French during -four days of pouring rain, mostly in standing water. The Bavarians, -who seemed to have quarrelled with the other troops in that part, were -making war atrociously, he said, knifing the inhabitants, insulting the -women and destroying all that came in their way. He was later moved to -the Carpathians, where one German division fought between two Austrian -ones. They advanced in snow without field kitchens, and were not -allowed to touch the pigs and poultry that they passed. However, they -had enough to eat; and they were hoping to surprise their enemy, when -the Russians fell upon them and left only the remnants of a regiment, -many of the officers also falling. He himself was wounded in both legs, -and was brought here in a cart. - -Every German soldier has a prayer-book and a song-book. They constantly -sing on the march, and find it a great remedy against fatigue. Songs of -Arndt and Körner are very popular, and there is a new version of an old -song, which is perhaps the greatest favourite; it begins-- - - "O Deutschland hoch an Ehren, - Du heil'ges Land der Treu," - -and it goes on to speak of the new exploits in east and west. There are -any number of volunteers in Germany; the women are all joining the Red -Cross; and the population is busy with every kind of work for the army; -but when I asked whether the people were keen for the war, he answered -with astonishment, "The people? The people thought that the war was -not to be avoided; but that was at the start; now it is different." -He asked if there were many other Englishmen in Russia, and when I -answered that there were some, he said, to my surprise, "The English -are everywhere, they are a fine people--_nobel_." He also asked me on -the quiet whether, when he was well, he would be sent to Siberia. He -had been told that the Russians were terrible, but had written home to -say that he had found them nothing of the sort. - -Much of our talk turned on the Austrian army. The German said that it -didn't stand firm "unless it was properly led, by Germans." In Bohemia -and Moravia the regiments were mixed, Slavs and Austrian-Germans, and, -according to the Moravian soldiers, were constantly quarrelling; all -the officers were Austrian-Germans, and even some of the Hungarian -regiments seemed to be commanded by Germans. The young Serbian spoke -of frequent quarrels and even brawls between Serbian and Hungarian -fellow-soldiers. The great wish of all was that the war should end. -When I said that the end was not in sight, the German exclaimed, -"More misery, more misery;" a second said, "Oh, Jammer, Jammer" -(lamentation), and a third had tears in his eyes. - -In another ward I heard more of the Bohemians. There Prussia is the -antipathy. There appear to be Czech officers only in the reserve. -After the outbreak of war, the Austrians made wholesale arrests -among the educated Czechs, quite apart from party politics, and -were particularly severe on the gymnastic volunteer organisations -(_sokols_), which are popular among all the Slav nationalities of -Austria. The Bohemians had not had time to find their legs under the -new possibilities created by the Russian successes, but the Russian -troops would be sure of a cordial welcome there. The whole of my -informant's regiment had surrendered _en masse_; and even in the -mobilisation of 1909, a Prague regiment had refused to march against -Russia and several of the men had been shot. I was told that the -Austrian army was much weaker in reserves than the Russian. - -I ended the day at the railway station, where the Russian wounded just -brought in were being attended to, while the cannon sounded from time -to time not far off. Several lay on stretchers in the corridors and -others on pallets in the ambulance room, all still in their greatcoats -and with their kits lying beneath them. I had no conversations here; -there was too much pain, one could only sit by the sufferers or perhaps -help them to change their position. First aid had been given elsewhere, -but this was the stage when the wounds seem to be felt most. There was -wonderfully little complaining. Most were silent, except when a helping -hand was needed. One man shot through the chest told me that "By the -grace of God, it was nothing to matter." It was always a satisfaction -to the men that they had been wounded while attacking. A general walked -quickly round, distributing cigarettes, which he put in the men's -mouths and himself lighted. - -In the night the cannonade sounded close to the town, but seemed -farther off again next morning. - -To-day I also went round a hospital with the dressers. The work was -quickly executed, but much of it was very complicated. One does not -describe such scenes, not so much because of the ugly character of -many of the wounds, nor because of the end impending over many of the -patients. To this last the Russian soldier's attitude is simple--_gilt -es dir, oder gilt es mir_. He will speak of it as "going to America," -the undiscovered country. But all these things come to be forgotten -in the atmosphere of work. Here all the resources of life are -going forward in their own slow way, for they can have no quicker, -handicapped and outpaced in their struggle to keep up with the work of -death. You work early and late, do what you can, and try to be ready -for the fresh work of to-morrow. - - -_December 27._ - -General Radko Dmitriev is a short and sturdily built man with quick -brown eyes and a profile reminiscent of Napoleon. He talks quickly -and shortly, sometimes drums on the table with his fingers, and now -and then makes a rapid dash for the matches. The daily visit of the -Chief of the Staff is short, because, as the General says on his -return, simple business is done quickly. Every piece of his incisive -conversation holds together as part of a single and clear view of the -whole military position, of which the watchword is "Forward." - -It is only the heavy rains that have saved the retreating Austrians -from further losses. The roads are so broken up and so deep with mud -that any quick movement is impossible. This gives the occasion for a -useful rest. The cold weather--and it is freezing now--will be welcomed -on this side; and the Russian winter kits, which have already been -served out, are immeasurably better than the thin blue greatcoats of -the draggled and demoralised Austrians. - -Numbers of Austrian units are so reduced that they are only shadows -of what they were, and some seem to have disappeared altogether. The -ordinary drafts came in some time ago and are now exhausted--such is -the testimony of Austrian officers. The new Russian recruits, on the -contrary, will join the colours shortly. - -From the beginning of the war, Bosnians, who are really Serbians, -surrendered in large numbers. Then the Poles began to come in, and now -the Bohemians. The Hungarians are sure to go on to the end; but the -Roumanian and Italian soldiers of Austria have also come over very -easily. In front of Cracow a Russian officer under fire came on a whole -number of Bohemians, who were singing the "Sokol" songs and shouted a -greeting as they came into the Russian lines. - -These wholesale surrenders have, I think, an extremely interesting -political significance. When governments turned the whole people into -an army, it was clear that the army was also being turned into the -people; but it was not clear how the people could express itself when -under army discipline. These surrenders, in their general character -and in their differences of detail, are a picture of the feelings and -aspirations of the various nationalities which are bundled together -under the name of Austria. - - -_January 1, 1915._ - -At this Staff, as at the General Staff, life was very simple. We all -met twice a day for a plain meal without any alcohol; there was plenty -of conversation, but it was that of men engaged in responsible work; -any news from outside was welcome, especially from the western allies, -and there was full appreciation and sympathy for their hard task. - -There was plenty of news from other quarters of the Russian front, -and one could have a much juster and fuller perspective of how things -were going than anywhere behind the army; the two things which stood -out even more here than elsewhere were, on the one hand, the immensity -of the sacrifices which have been asked and are being cheerfully made -by Russia, and, on the other, the sense of quiet confidence as to the -ultimate result. - -These things were of course talked of here with greater detail. There -is a photograph of a battlefield, not with a few straight lines and -some scattered dead, but with zigzag lines all close together and -simply heaps of Austrian dead (the Russian dead had already been -removed). From the attack of one German division on this side, one -thousand corpses were counted. The Germans and also the Austrians -advance in close column, which may give moral support to the men, but -results in terrible losses, as compared with the more individualistic -advance of groups of eight to ten on the Russian side. In bayonet -fights practically no quarter can be given, and sometimes the men can -only use their rifles as clubs. The Austrian army is already no more -than a relic of its former self, though it still makes some vigorous -moves and covers every retreat with a tremendous cannonade, often -resulting in the capture of the guns and men thus left behind. It must -not be forgotten that Russia has had to deal with practically all the -forces of two of the three allies (Austria and Turkey), as well as with -an ever increasing proportion of the forces of the third (Germany). But -she is going steadily through with her work, and already it is possible -to see more clearly both what has been achieved and how the remainder -of the task can be attempted. - -After some days in a cottage with some friends, living largely by -candle-light and discussing the great social changes which are to be -expected in Europe after the war, we were joined by V. S., who had -walked in through the thick mud a distance of some twenty miles. V. -S. is a young and clever Conservative, who has sat in several Dumas, -always a strong and witty enemy of revolution, but never content to -sink his conservatism or patriotism in any commonplace formula. He -went to the front at the beginning of the war and was wounded in -the trenches simultaneously by shrapnel and by bullet. He is now -partially recovered and is working energetically for the Red Cross, -superintending the removal of the wounded from the front. - -V. S. left the neighbouring town in a motor with some Christmas -presents for the General. He had only come halfway when his benzine -gave out, and, as none was to be got anywhere near, he left the motor -with the chauffeur and made the rest of the journey on foot. He had to -plough his way through rivers of mud, and when the early night fell he -took shelter in a Polish cottage. When he reached us next day he was -dead beat and slept for hours. - -As soon as his main business was done, we set out together yesterday -morning in a long boat-like cart with three horses and a soldier -driver; our plan was to find the motor and return to the town, sending -back the General's presents in our cart. For some hours we made a sort -of slow progress, rolling about in a way that exceeded the North Sea -at its nastiest; however, we had time to talk over many subjects that -interested us both. We pulled up at the Polish cottage, where V. S. had -a most affectionate welcome from the children, and we lunched on bread -and milk. We were not out of sight of the cottage when our axle broke; -and after finding that there was no smith, and no other cart to be had, -we loaded our benzine and chattels on the horses and left the cart at -the cottage with a note explaining what was to be done with it. - -For several more hours we tramped on in the mud with our pack horses; -it was quite impossible to follow the track of the road closely; it -was thick with mud too deep to walk through and often the fields were -a sort of swamp. At one point we turned in to a Jewish cottage and ate -more bread and milk, while our old host asked ceaselessly when the war -would end. - -At last we found the motor and the chauffeur, and, after a cottage -dinner, started on the short remainder of our journey; but we were by -no means at the end of our troubles, and this, I was told, was to be -expected, because a hare had run across our track. We were going along, -dodging the huge and deep ruts in the _chaussée_, when, close up to one -of the hugest and deepest, a cart coming the other way compelled us to -make a sudden turn, and we were landed on a kind of plateau between two -deep holes with our wheels almost off the ground in them. - -We had tried almost all the ordinary expedients in vain, when a -long train of soldiers began to pass us with artillery. Appeals of -"Brothers, come and help us," brought about a dozen of them to our -aid, and they performed prodigies of strength, pushing forwards or -backwards, and at one point even raising the whole motor from the -ground. Sometimes they counted "one, two, three," sometimes they -sang a bargee's chanty, and each of them put the best of his wits to -our service; but at last, just after one of them had said "Let's do -something a bit more together," the officer in command felt it his duty -to call them back to their work, and our brown-coated brothers left us -in the semi-darkness while the guns boomed a few versts away. - -The chauffeur meanwhile had set himself like a hero to raise the motor -out of the ruts. V. S. and I found a cottage with a pile of bricks -outside, which we took with the explanation "Needed." After several -journeys to and fro we collected a little brickyard; and V. S., though -his back was paining him, came dragging a huge log and a tree stump to -use for leverage. He still found a free hand to shake mine with the -words: "A Happy New Year; it finds us hard at work but full of spirits -in spite of everything." The new year began well: the lever acted, the -chauffeur made a sort of macadam of his own, and we sailed over the -obstacle and on to our destination, which we reached at 1.30 a.m. - -These are the conditions of weather and roads under which Russia has to -press back the enemy; but she never lets him alone, for she knows that -on persistent pressure depends the issue on the allied front. - - -_January 3._ - -Yesterday I walked out to the lines, which are about four miles out of -Tarnow. The railway runs quite straight to the little river which is -the Russian front at this point; so I followed the railway embankment, -meeting small bodies of troops on the way and a few sentries guarding -the bridge over the Biela. It was a beautiful crisp December day, with -a blue sky, distant views and a good foothold. To the left lay a long -low plateau abutting on the river and crowned with a wooded village -and a little church. In front was flat ground, rather marshy, with -scattered villages close up to the broken railway bridge. The smoke -from burning houses rose at different points to either side of the -foreground, and high rugged hills bounded the view. Making my way to -some rising ground, I for a time sat in an arbour beside a dismantled -and deserted house, with the panorama of plain and villages stretched -in front of me, listening to the swirl of the enemy's shrapnel and to -the booming replies of a Russian battery. I made my way round to this -battery; the men were engaged in improving their underground shelters, -which were lined with straw, well heated, and furnished with shelves -for a few belongings, including even books, and, anyhow, provided a -refuge against frost and bullets. Water was near, and the soldiers' -washing was hanging out to dry outside. We couched in the straw and -talked of the western front till the word was given to fire. The -officer gave the directions and the guns were discharged smartly. A -German shell, which broke near us, was greeted with a cry of "Bravo!"; -and when the officer announced that the practice was "excellent" the -men all cheered. I had more talk in the telephone pit and in the -officers' shelter; there was absolute composure, and the men were -anxious to move forward again, having been here for over two weeks; I -was asked to share any little delicacies that these hermits possessed. - - [Illustration: THE FRONT OF THE THIRD ARMY] - -Exchanging good wishes "for health and success" I made my way on -through the villages toward the broken bridge. One of a group of -soldiers, when I asked the way to the lines, simply pointed, saying -"Here, close by." A long line of high earthworks ran close to the -stream, on the other side of which were the Germans, their sentry being -about 1000 yards away. I entered a hut and drank tea with the battalion -commander, an old gentleman in a jersey, who, with charming apologetic -gesture, offered me some white bread and chocolate. The telephone gave -word of my coming to the staff of the regiment, to which I was piloted -over the marsh by a soldier. The Germans shoot at almost any mark, or, -even, at hazard, in the darkness; but very few are wounded in this -way--this day none, and the day before only one. Scouts go out from -time to time and sometimes find a searchlight turned on them. It is a -waiting position. - -The colonel, a good-looking young man of great simplicity and vigour, -entertained me at supper, and we talked late into the night. Everywhere -one feels the winning spirit. After the last great halt, on the San, -the men went forward with a tremendous rush, and the enemy's rifle pits -were filled with dead. Again the talk turned chiefly on the French -and English front, and on the necessity of carrying the war to a real -settlement. No one can understand why the Germans challenge such -enormous losses by their attacks in close columns. Late at night I -made my way back to the town; every now and then a few isolated shots -rattled in the darkness. - - -_January 5._ - -I set out late in the evening for a forward ambulance post attached -to a famous fighting division. Our party consisted of two soldiers, -a niece of Count Bobrinsky, who took such a notable part in the Duma -visit to England, and myself. The young Countess, who was enveloped -in tarpaulins, is one of the hardest workers in the ambulance. Our -cart was stacked with necessaries for the soldiers; on the wall of the -courtyard German soldiers had scribbled in large letters expressions -of their self-satisfaction, such as "Austria and Germany fear God, and -nothing else in the world," and sundry contemptuous allusions to "der -Nikolai, der Georg und der Französe." - -From the time when we left the lights of the town we had to go mostly -on foot, negotiating difficult bits of road and ploughing our way -through fluid mud. We passed over high ground and close to the front; -all round us was the glare of camp fires and in the distance the flash -of projectors. In the darkness we were constantly meeting trains of -carts. - -At last, on the slope of a hill, we turned into a Polish hut. It had -two fairly large apartments, with a big stove and an earthen floor. In -the inner room lived the six sisters of mercy: in the outer we were -an interesting and strange collection; along one side lay a big bed, -on which, crosswise, sat or slept the Polish peasant, his wife, two -daughters and little son; in a corner, on a heap of boxes which he had -to arrange each night, slept the young priest, the monk, whom I had -met before, and one of the most spiritual men whom I have known; the -two sanitars and myself made our beds each night beneath the windows -(one of which was smashed), removing them each day to make room for -the dinner-table. By the stove, or anywhere else, our soldier servants -slept on straw. - -Not two hundred yards off, but only to be reached by crossing two -deep gullies of mud, lay the lazaret of the division, quartered in a -white-walled village school. These quarters, I was told, were luxury -compared to most of the ordinary stopping places; but we were in a very -different atmosphere from the admirably equipped hospitals further -back. The wounded arrive all day in large carts or on foot; they come -straight from the First Aid stations, which are close up to the actual -fighting line; there are no beds, only pallets of straw, on which the -men lie down while waiting their turn. They have not yet lost the -sense of the battlefield or reached the stage where they are fully -conscious of their wounds. They take their places one after another in -the cottage chair--in which one of them died yesterday as soon as he -had sat down--and the young divisional doctor, with the help of the -sisters, removes their first rough-and-ready bandages, and gives them -such quick treatment as may enable them to be sent further. It is, of -course, the seriously wounded of whom one sees most here, for many of -these get no further, dying here, or on the road. From one of them the -doctor removed an enormous splinter of shrapnel completely embedded -in the body; the largest bombs of all, which the soldiers call -"portmanteaux," make terrible wounds. - -Here all day and all night the doctors and sisters work at the wounded -as they come in. The senior sister, a lady of the most remarkable -capacity, takes about one night's sleep in five, but is always as fresh -and bright as can be. Her husband, a member of the Duma, travels over -Russia for the better organisation of the Duma field hospitals. The -transport is in charge of one of the sanitars, the son of a Moscow -business man, who has a particularly clear head for work. The whole -party, three of whom talk excellent English, are drawn close together -by their work; and there is the atmosphere of complete unselfishness -which one feels so strongly in anything connected with the Russian -soldier. As to our soldier servants, it is clear that their constant -preoccupation is to make themselves useful to anyone. - - -_January 6._ - -We lie at the head of a little valley, some few miles from the -Divisional Staff. As the troops move forward new questions are -constantly arising; and our transport sanitar, Nikolay Nikolayevich, -discusses the possibilities of getting better access for the wounded -to the hospitals. We are pressing back the enemy into the Carpathians, -and there are halts in front of difficult hill positions. The advance -through swamps of mud makes tremendous demands on the men, who have to -lie for days in rifle pits full of water; at times a well-chosen and -well-entrenched position holds the Russians at bay at a distance of a -few hundred yards or less, in one case fifty, and yet they will not go -back. "Und auf den Carpathen sind die wege beschneit," often recur to -me, these lines of one of the laziest of German student songs, which is -a kind of renunciation of all effort. - -Nikolay Nikolayevich and I rode over through the snow to the Staff of -the Division. He is a charming and simple man, very like one of our -own best-known Generals both in face and manner. He lives in a small -hut, which is kept very clean. We lunch and discuss transport, and I -am asked to carry certain suggestions to the town. On our way back, -accompanied by two Cossacks, we pass through Tuchow, a little township -half in ruins, and I notice that, as on our way out, some one is still -strumming on a piano in a house of which only the walls are standing. -The cannon has carried away a large tree and left deep pits near the -road. - -Driving in the evening to the town, I find groups of wounded, for whom -there is no place on the carts, wandering forward in the darkness. The -men choose among themselves which I shall take with me: "Let him with -the nose go," for one of them has had his face smashed up; the rest -move on contentedly, and my passengers give me a word of thanks, which -would make any one feel ashamed of himself. This is their Christmas Eve. - -It is very wonderful, this self-denying patience of the Russian -soldier, and it is too big a thing that one should get tired of -speaking of it. A doctor at work here tells me how constantly it is -impressed upon him. A man whose chin he has had to remove simply says: -"Thank Heaven, now you've tied me up, and I am all right." Another, -after his leg has been taken off, as soon as he is able to speak, -says: "Ah, but it was a fine fight at Krasny; they gave it us, but we -gave it to them too." Another, when he is brought in for operation, is -only taken up with the thought that he meets in the operating room an -Austrian officer to whom he has attached himself as guide and friend. -Anything else that is human comes before any thought of self. I am -quite certain that one of the greatest things that this war is doing is -its revelation to Europe of the simple goodness of the Russian peasant -in the person of the Russian soldier. He is more than the unconscious -hero of the moment. The qualities of the real Russian people are going -to take their proper place among the best factors in the future of -European civilisation. - - -_January 8._ - -In our _halupa_ (hut) we had those intimate and speculative -conversations which seem so natural to Christmas Eve. Monk and -Intelligents were on common ground. Only once Father Tikhon put down -his foot when one of the party expressed indifference as to the other -life. "No," he said, "joking apart, that's not good, least of all in -time of war"; and the rebuke was accepted as gently as it was given. - -Our Russian Christmas began with the burial of a wounded soldier who -had died in the night. In a little waste patch in the snow, near the -lazaret, the priest stood in his gorgeous vestments and bowed deep over -the new grave, while two soldier choristers sang the beautiful prayers -for the dead. - -In the evening there was a Christmas Eve service in a room of the -lazaret, which Father Tikhon and the soldiers had spent no end of -trouble in turning into a chapel. The room was crowded with soldiers, -and there was an improvised choir. The simple directions of the -priest and the strangeness of the surroundings only added to the deep -atmosphere of reverence. - -I completed the night service in our hospital in the town. Here the -first-floor landing had been turned into a chapel. A matronly sister -from Moscow, one of the simplest souls in this work-a-day gathering, -served as clerk. The leader of the choir was a young Social Democrat -doctor, who had suffered for his convictions at the time of the second -Duma; and among the choir were all who had had a training in church -singing, which reaches such a high standard in Russia. The singers -included sisters, sanitars, soldiers and several of the convalescent -wounded, who were wrapped in their long grey dressing-gowns; and one -wounded man had been laid on his stretcher among the choir in order -that he might take part in the singing. Afterwards we all had cakes and -tea; and a conversation as to what England could do, and what would -follow in Europe, lasted well into Christmas Day. - -We have here with us Bishop Tryphon, of Moscow, who, like the Bishop -of London, asked leave to accompany the army, and is now the Superior, -or Rural Dean, of one of our Divisions. The Russian army has a staff -of army chaplains with an Arch-Presbyter or Chaplain General, as in -England; but many priests have enrolled specially for the war. Some -have been killed, others wounded, others taken prisoner; some have been -specially honoured for serving the Liturgy to regiments under fire. I -am told that Father Tikhon's first sermon under fire was wonderfully -simple and impressive. One regimental priest told me how a shell burst -in his quarters, blowing a medical attendant to bits and leaving -himself with a bad contusion. - -Bishop Tryphon took a prominent part in the entertainment of our -Bishops in Moscow, and sends them by me a message of greeting and -good wishes. He arranged a solemn Christmas Day service, with trained -singers who were serving in the army. He later visited the hospitals, -giving short and plain addresses, and his blessing to each branch of -the Red Cross work in turn. There was a great Christmas tree in the -station, where presents were distributed to four hundred wounded. -Gifts were also distributed under fire by the hospital workers to the -soldiers in the trenches some miles from the town. - -In the evening I took part in a Christmas gathering in one of the big -hospitals. Everyone's health was drunk in turn by Christian name, the -whole being woven into a long song. Afterwards we sang songs of the -Volga, and some stayed on talking till five in the morning, resuming -their work a few hours later. - - -_January 10._ - -Returning to our _halupa_ in the little village, I rode over in the -night to the General to convey the results of my journey. It was almost -pitch dark and the road was in most places a simple swamp of mud, -sometimes with gaping holes in the causeway or with beams or trunks -of trees lying about; and though I had a soldier and a lantern, the -ten miles took over four hours. Next morning we left the _halupa_: the -dismantling process made the hut look more desolate, and while our -things were being packed, the peasant family sat on their bed, looking -on like moony spectators at some rustic entertainment. They showed more -than satisfaction with their payment, which they expressed after the -local fashion by kissing every one's hands; but they had now to expect -the arrival of a fresh batch of strangers. - -Our forward move of a few miles was carried out with great expedition; -but our carts made quite a long train, and the movement of even a -small ambulance section is in itself, under such conditions, almost an -exploit. Just in front of me went our Austrian field kitchen with three -separate cauldrons, which is found very useful. In a few hours we were -installed in our new quarters, a great improvement on the _halupa_, -within a stone's throw of the divisional lazaret and the now reopened -railway station. From beyond a near wooded hill came the sound of -almost continuous firing. - -We were now close behind the line of the front ambulance points. At -the station, which we put in order for their reception, there was a -constant dribbling stream of soldiers who had come almost straight from -the front. Most of them had walked in with their kits, and many seemed -almost unconscious of their wounds. Their conversation was of comrades -who stood at other points in the line, of the relative distance of the -enemy and of the conditions of work in the rifle pits. - -Through the thick mud the Russians are driving the Austrians upward -over the deeply indented country of the Carpathian region. The enemy -entrenches himself strongly, making much use of complicated wire -entanglements which can only be carried with a rush. Thus, the heavily -clad Russians, whose efforts have pushed the enemy all this way, have -sometimes to dig themselves in as best they can at a few paces from the -enemy--1000, 500, 100 or even 50. The rifle pits are full of water, -straw makes hardly any difference, and as soon as a head is shown it is -shot at; many of the wounded have fallen at the moment of rising from -the trenches. The Austrians continue a rumbling fire nearly all night. -On the other hand, some of our men have seen the shells from the heavy -Russian artillery falling plump in the middle of the enemy and have -seen how they scatter under the fire of the Russian machine guns. The -Russians use less ammunition with much more effect. I have met several -Russians who have had at different points fifteen or seventeen days -on end of this soaking trench work. One officer, who had had two long -doses of it, had contracted rheumatism in one place and bronchitis in -another and was resting in a hospital with the hope of getting back -as soon as possible. A wounded soldier asked Father Tikhon to write -a request that he should be sent back to his regiment as soon as -possible. One man at the station, twice wounded in hand and in chest, -asked that this time he should be sent to recover in his native town. - -The station was very soon in order. One of the sisters went round -distributing clean underwear. "Change while you can, children," she -said; "we shall give you some tea and soup, and pack you into the -train, and send you straight off to Russia"; and in a few hours the -first train had arrived and the station was cleared for further work. -In the dusk, the military ambulance men set out again to collect more -of the wounded under fire. - -What is happening is, shortly, this. The Russians, who had first to -deal mainly with the Austrians, leaving the Germans to us, have now -got within sight of the end of this part of their task. A first-class -military power has been so pounded and smashed and has been repulsed -in so many vigorous counterstrokes that it is coming to have only a -secondary importance. Meanwhile the bulk of the Russian forces is -now devoted to meeting the incessant and desperate initiative of the -Germans. Russia's new defensive front on this side runs in a straight -line to the point where it covers the Russian conquest in Galicia. -It is now being extended further south to the natural barrier of the -Carpathians. The interval made necessary by the operations in the north -is not being wasted by the victorious troops in the south. When we -get to the end of the Austrian efforts and have a mountain barrier to -safeguard us on that side, these forces will be able to act with much -more effect against the Germans. Russia, by accounting for Austria and -concentrating her attack on Germany, will have done more than her full -share of the work in the common cause. "Honour is not to be divided," -said Ney when he stormed the heights of Elchingen; and it is in this -spirit of generous rivalry that the Allies move forward. - - -_January 15._ - -By a little arrangement room was made in our small quarters for a New -Year's feast, to which the divisional doctors were all invited. Father -Tikhon had turned the local hall of the Sokols into a Russian church, -and the evening service was crowded with soldiers. There was great -delight in unpacking the gifts and delicacies received from Petrograd, -and soon the guests began to arrive. It was all the simple talk of men -accustomed to great privations: some of it turned on a comparison of -unpleasant bivouacs; for instance, one told of a night spent in driving -wind and rain on an open slope by the light of a burning village; he -hoped the wind would blow over some of the warmth from the flames, till -at last shelter and sleep were found in a ditch. Another officer was -drowsing in a hovel when the door was opened, there entered a strong -smell of coarse tobacco and a heavy weight fell on him; he woke in -the morning to find a soldier asleep across his knees. An artillery -officer, a fine-looking man, told of the tremendous work of the -mobilisation and of the strain which war life puts upon the hardest -nerves. Regimental doctors have, of course, had to work under fire -for weeks on end. Every one discounts the heavy German mortars which -in the field do very little damage in comparison with their expense. -As to the Austrian bullets, one doctor says that it takes a man's -weight of bullets to wound a man. When the trenches are near they come -pouring in a sort of continuous rain. One man who insisted on standing -up had thirty-six bullets through him directly. When the distance is -a hundred to two hundred yards, especially where there is no natural -cover, continuous sniping goes on. The line not being straight, but -varied by all sorts of indentations, due to the lie of the ground and -to the Russians' desire to get as close as possible to the enemy, -the former at many points crouch in the temporary and flooded holes -which they have scratched out for themselves, perhaps all the while -under a cross fire. Men are killed going out with long scissors to cut -the Austrian wire entanglements. Many a man has fallen in a crawling -excursion to dig up a potato. The sniping becomes a kind of game, and -it was described as such by two Russian soldiers, of whom one had -knocked over nine Austrians and the other sixteen. The Austrians fire a -lot of random shots in the night which are in most cases a sheer waste -of powder; but it was hard on a man who was relieved after a week's -rifle pits to be hit by a bullet in the night on his way back, as far -as a mile from the front. - -The last hours of the Russian Old Year I spent in a goods carriage. My -companions kept reckoning whether we should reach the town by midnight. -Twelve o'clock was well past when the train drew up heavily a verst -from the station and we were told that it would go no further. We -scrambled out into the snow, when suddenly from the lighted station -there rose in full orchestra, strong and triumphant, the most beautiful -and the most religious of national anthems. It was played three times, -and the notes may even have been carried to the neighbouring Germans -beyond the river. This was our Russian New Year: and in the station a -colonel was dismissing his men with the words, "For this year I wish -you health and victory." - -Next day the stretch of railroad that we had traversed and the carriage -in which we had supped was cannonaded by the biggest German shells. The -bombardment went on all day and night, the huge "portmanteaux" making -tremendous holes and falling for the most part far wide of their only -mark, the railway, and carrying ruin and mutilation to many of the -inhabitants, who are thus encouraged by the beaten enemy to remain -Austrian subjects. There is hardly any object in this bombardment, -which is put down to the Germans and has roused great indignation -among the many wounded Austrian officers and men who are lying here in -hospital. Not a soldier has been touched; but wounded civilians, men, -women and children, have been brought in to the different hospitals. - - -_January 16._ - -The bombardment, which was continued yesterday, has created a -certain excitement here, but nothing approaching to panic. The big -"portmanteaux" are very ugly things and make an unpleasant noise, but -only two shots can be said to have produced any results worth mention. -The prevailing mood is one of vigour and interest. - -I have had some informing conversations with wounded officers of the -enemy. They indicate a definite mental attitude very different from -ours. I see no trace of religious enthusiasm and little of nationality -in the wider sense. The Germans have the greatest confidence and -pride in their army. They tell me that two million volunteers were -inscribed at the beginning of the war--an enormous fact, if correct. -The attitude of the German women is such that no man who can serve -dares to remain at home. My informants fully realise that for Germany -the war is a matter of life and death. They have served on the -western front and described the French fortresses as extremely strong -("brillant"). The Bavarians are terrible in warfare and spread alarm -among the population. The losses of the first move through Belgium were -enormous. The Belgians are described as excellent soldiers, and large -German losses are put down to them. In the march on Paris the reserves -and the commissariat could not keep up. The retreat is accepted as an -unpleasant necessity. There was a certain pedantry among my informants -in insisting on the need of turning the allied right wing, whatever -should happen at other points. They claimed that the Germans were now -in Calais. - -Large losses against the Russians were admitted, but it was claimed, -without any real evidence, that the Russians had lost more. Again, -there was a kind of machine-like insistence on the need of attack in -columns with reserves close up--as this was "our tactics." The Germans -had so far been saved by the default of any real Russian winter, which -would have ruined the German transport and artillery and robbed their -operations of all effect. What struck me most was the absence of any -real intelligence as to the political issues in debate. My informants -were, for reasons of humanity, in favour of a _status quo_ peace. - -Some Austrians gave an interesting account of the origin of the war. -The Austro-Serbian quarrel was not political but personal. The Serbian -dynasty, failing to obtain any satisfactory recognition from Austria, -was credited with a personal hostility against the late Archduke, who -was described as in general a friend of the Slavs. Proof in support of -this view of his end had been widely circulated in Austria in December. -The personal quarrel between the reigning houses of Austria and Serbia -had been turned by the insistence of the Emperor William into an -occasion for a European war, specially directed against Russia, into -which Austria had been hurried against her will. Her present position -now was described as very precarious. - -To a Hungarian officer I put the question whether the war had produced -any real poetry in Hungary. He answered that there had been some -rough-and-ready effusions among the working classes, whom he described -as militant in their habits in time of peace and always ready for any -war, especially with Russia. But the educated classes were not well -disposed either to war or to this war. - -It is rarely that one meets among these wounded of the enemy any other -disposition than a strong desire for peace. I should add that several -of them have asked me to communicate to their relations that they were -being treated with the greatest kindness in Russia; "I am lovingly -tended," wrote one of them. An Austrian colonel, a fine soldier and -gentleman, told me he should never forget the "Anständigkeit" (decency) -of all the Russians with whom he had had to do since his capture. Even -Germans who at first are challenging and hostile, are softened by the -true humanity with which they are surrounded in the Russian hospitals. - - -_January 22._ - -The town has been bombarded for several days on end, beginning with -the Russian New Year, January 14. The Germans had given a foretaste on -our own Christmas Eve. They dropped from an aeroplane a paper bearing -the words: "We ask you not to shoot on December 25; we will send you -presents": the text of the telegram I had from the Commandant of the -town, to whom it was taken. For all that, and though the Russian -artillery was instructed only to reply, five heavy bombs were fired -into the town and some of the inhabitants were wounded. - -There were other Christmas "presents" which I have seen, sent by the -Austrians with a parleyer and a white flag. With other objects of no -importance were six matchboxes full of matches and containing also -short manifestoes printed in Russian and addressed to the troops. -They were signed "Your unfortunate Tsar, Nicholas"; and they informed -the Russian soldiers that the Emperor knew the war would ruin Russia -and had sought to avoid it, but had been forced into it by the Grand -Duke Nicholas and the "perfidious" Russian generals, against whom the -soldiers were invited to turn their arms. I have not often seen a -document so conspicuously lacking in humour. - -Punctually at midnight of January 13, one Russian regiment received two -large shells bearing on their case the words "Congratulations on the -New Year." The next day the town, though it had no troops in it, was -shelled severely, and this bombardment was kept up for several days. -The chief mark, and a very legitimate one, was the railway; here there -fell in all six large bombs, making holes some twenty feet in diameter -and ten in depth. But the great majority of the bombs fell in other -parts of the town; and two of them rattled close over the roof of two -different hospitals while I was in them, and the splinters of a third -flew into the lodging of the workers of another lazaret. - -In one of these hospitals, a local one now served by the Russian Red -Cross, a large proportion of the patients are wounded of the enemy, -including officers, most of them too badly hit to be removed without -danger to their lives; and these were greatly agitated by the shells -passing so near to them. Hurried councils were held by the different -Red Cross authorities. One hospital, where the shells continued to -fall quite near, left the town. The most serious cases were moved to -the local hospital, where the Russian Red Cross courageously decided -to remain. Here are also to be found many local inhabitants, wounded -by bullets and shrapnel in the town or in neighbouring villages under -fire; and one room is mostly filled with little Polish boys, all of -them wearing a little silver religious medal round their necks. Here, -too, are the inmates of a Polish hut who were injured by the explosion -of a hand grenade; in a space of about twelve feet square, some sixteen -persons were thus wounded; the father is dead and the mother and one of -the children are out of their minds. - -These are all cases that have come under my notice; and of course -there are many others. Yet it is wonderful how the inhabitants remain -in their huts under fire in the hope that the worst is over or in -despair of finding any other shelter. From one such hut, after the last -and finally crushing shot, there issued an old man of nearly seventy -with a pipe in his mouth and entirely unharmed. I remember that on my -first visit to Lvov, I heard a barrel organ repeating about fifty times -the beautiful Polish national hymn: "From the Smoke of Fires"; in the -Lublin province, on a line of some seventy miles, I found almost every -other village half demolished. It is everywhere Poland that suffers; -and it will be hard if some new life for this unhappy people does not -rise out of their present ordeal. - -There must be endless espionage in this town. An Austrian was found -by one of our priests at the top of a tower working a telephone, and -to the priest's question he replied that he was "sending word as to -fires," which was no doubt strictly true. If so, it is a pity that the -shots were not better directed. There is no question that the guns at -work were not Austrian but German. General Radko Dmitriev came without -delay to the town, and distributed the George medal for bravery among -the workers of the Red Cross. - - -_January 23._ - -I have been visiting some of the Regimental First Aid stations. In -principle each regiment of four battalions should have five doctors -and a captain of bearers. The bearers are selected from each company -and can be supplemented by soldiers who volunteer for this service. -They must be sound and strong; in peace time they march with their -companies, carrying the rifle, and meet for a course of instruction -twice a week. They are expected to gather under their captain before -an action and to go out to the field to pick up the wounded only -at night time, or after the action is over. In the present war it -is seldom possible to maintain the full complement of regimental -doctors. As battles have continued for weeks on end, it has been quite -impossible to limit the bearers' work to less dangerous times; and it -has been found most convenient to send them to the trenches with their -respective companies, as they could then get to work as soon as they -were wanted, and could also know the least dangerous track from their -companies to the first-aid points. Ordinarily four bearers are assigned -to one wounded: but as the track under fire is often long and exposed, -it is sometimes necessary to send out eight men together, to carry by -turns. They are supposed to have a leader, but in practice any one -gives a lead, and if good it will be followed. The mortality in this -service is considerably higher than in the ranks, as this is largely a -war of cover, and these are the men who are most deprived of it. - -Every Russian soldier is supplied with a packet containing lint, two -compresses and a fastening pin. The object of the first bandaging is -simply to stop the flow of blood and keep out dirt; and the wounded man -is bandaged on the spot by himself, some comrade, or a _feldsher_ (a -trained medical assistant), one of whom is in the trenches with each -company. - -During the seventeen days of fighting on the San, the wounded had to -be carried by relays over a long exposed slope and in many cases over -the river. It was found possible to divide the distance into different -sections; but the workers in each section were under fire, and so was -the regimental point, which might sometimes be in a hut, but was more -often a patch of open ground, with a tent stretched over it, or with no -covering at all. There were instances where wounded and bearers alike -were crushed by a shell on their road; for the Austrians poured endless -artillery volleys on to given points. For all that, when the Russian -trenches were examined after the battle, it was found that the bearers' -work had been carried out completely, and that all the wounded had been -removed. - -The tremendous mortality of this war has put a specially hard strain on -this service. Yet it is one of those which it would be most difficult -to supplement with volunteers. Untrained men would be almost certain to -be killed off soon; and indeed the appearance of bearers on the field -is at once an indication to the enemy of the positions of the troops. - -It has been found quite impossible, with the present range of -artillery, to keep the regimental points in security. The work has -therefore to be dispatched with the greatest expedition. The regiments, -for mobility, dispense with any superfluous material and appliances -and send their patients as soon as possible to the divisional lazaret, -where the first really serious treatment is received. - -Lazarets further back have often, as I have previously mentioned, been -under fire. Austrian prisoners tell me that they have often seen -their artillery fire on field hospitals; and from Russian observation -points it has several times been noticed that the Austrian fire has -been opened on what could only be a hospital field train. One of the -subjects discussed with me by wounded officers of both sides is the -possibility of securing further respect for the Geneva Convention -and even a further definition of its regulations; but at present the -overpowering stress under which we all live seems to be carrying us to -the total disregard of any limitations at all. - - -_January 27._ - -After a talk with the Divisional General, I set out for a visit to the -regiments at the front. My orderly told me with pride that this was the -best fighting Division in the army; certainly it has that reputation in -other quarters and has three times in this campaign done decisive work -against superior odds. It has rushed the Austrians from point to point, -and would do so still unless they had taken refuge in the hill country -before the Carpathians, where every hill has to be won in turn. Its -General, an old man full of fire and energy, has received three wounds, -which, as he says, make for him a calendar of the war. - -The way lay between pleasant fir-clad hills, and late in the evening -I reached the X regiment, with quite a good-sized house for its -headquarters. The Colonel, who was very simple and businesslike, -lived with his staff in the dining-room by a kind of half-light and -with picnic fare, of which, as always in Russia, much more than his -share was pressed upon the guest. The talk was that of comrades at -serious work. These men will all go to the end, but they don't find it -necessary to say so. When one said something about finishing at Berlin, -a young officer put in with a smile: "Do you know, if we do, I expect -none of us will be alive by then?" - -I spent the night in the regimental doctor's hut, and next day went off -to the artillery observation point. It was a clear day and we could -see not only our own lines and the enemies', but also some of the -Austrians walking about near their trenches. A shell from us sent them -scattering back into their burrows, and our guns were then turned on -one point after another, the shells, as we could see, always exploding -on or very close to the object aimed at; this day, there was only a -half-hearted reply. The following day, I saw the guns themselves at -work; the place of the battery was not likely to be located. It is very -seldom during the war that a Russian battery has been silenced by the -enemy. The Austrians, on the other hand, often place their guns on the -crests of hills and have suffered severely from the accuracy of the -Russian artillery, which is one of the striking features of the whole -campaign. There is, further, this difference, that the Russians never -fire without a target, whereas the Austrians in the most systematic -way sweep whole areas in turn, as a rule doing extraordinarily little -damage for the powder expended. One colonel suggested that the Emperor -Francis Joseph must have more money than he knows what to do with. - -In the evening I set out with a party of soldiers for the infantry -trenches. With a clear moon lighting the snow-clad slopes we made our -way along the more exposed lines; there was no sign of life, though -the Austrian trenches could be seen quite near. Passing under shelter -we found the Russian mud huts, which take only three or four hours to -make and give good cover from weather, bullets and shrapnel, but not -from bombs. We sat for some time in an angle of the entrenchments; here -several bombs had fallen close to a very exposed hut, in which however, -the inhabitants still remained. We passed the night in another hut, -which we could only enter in the dark for fear of drawing the enemy's -fire. The scouts came in for instructions, headed by a young volunteer -who was doing his first work of this kind. Voices went on long into the -night; reports came in from various points. The scouts returned about 3 -a.m. They had come on a body of Austrians double their force in a wood; -they let themselves be nearly surrounded, then threw a hand-grenade -with effect and scrambled back to our lines; as the whole Austrian line -opened fire the reconnaissance had achieved its object, which was to -ascertain whether the enemy had made any changes in his positions. In -the early morning appeared an Austrian officer who had made his way -across to us. He was smiling so broadly that I saw his smile before I -saw the man. He was a Ruthenian and was married to a Serbian, so that -all his sympathies were long since on our side; his wife was already -under Russian rule in conquered Galicia, and his own great wish was to -fight in the Serbian army. The Russian officers made him completely -at home at once, putting their breakfast and their servants at his -disposal; when a few hours later another Ruthenian fugitive arrived, -our last-found ally helped to make him feel comfortable, stroking his -face and relieving his apprehensions, amid the broad smiles of the -Russian soldiers. - -The day we spent under the fire of 180 bombs, which fell often along -the line of the entrenchments, but only wounded some five or six men. -It was very unpleasant for the infantry to have to sit under this -alarming noise, and certainly the men would infinitely have preferred -to attack. From the Austrian side no other sign was made, and there was -no such mark as the Russian artillery or infantry think it worth while -to fire at. - -In the evening I was coming back on horseback in the twilight when a -shell fell on the road close in front of me. This was the last as far -as I was concerned, and I slept in comfort at the first-aid point of -the regiment. - - -_January 29._ - -On my way to the H regiment I had to pass over a commanding plateau, -and from hence, looking backward, I could see endless and intermingling -lines of wooded hills with the main masses of the Carpathians in the -far distance. I commented to my orderly on the beauty of the view, and -as usual when I made any pointless remark, he replied courteously, "I -understand," which meant "I don't." - -Shrapnel was falling by a fir-wood on the crest, and we took a lower -road to the regimental staff. The Colonel was a soldier of an English -type, with a grace which I have seldom seen in a man. Altogether, minds -seem more at ease at the front than anywhere else in Russia; there is -the fullest consciousness of heavy losses and of straining conditions, -but all this seems only to make every-day life more simple. There was -a strange incident after lunch: one of the regimental doctors had just -gone out of the door when he was bitten by a mad dog that was running -wild in the woods, and the place had to be burnt out with a hot iron. -One comes on many "extras" of this kind, which have nothing to do with -the war but seem to fit themselves into it. - -When twilight was come, I made another of these foot-pace rides over -frozen fields and gullies to the lines of the regiment. Halfway, by -some trees and a stream, we met a very young soldier who reported the -presence of "Free Austrians" in a neighbouring hut. These turned out to -be only the local peasants; and my orderly, who was an old soldier, was -very outspoken with his rebuke. We soon reached a hut, containing two -commanders of battalions, with a young officer who seemed to me a type -of that fearlessness that I have seen everywhere in the Russian army. -They wanted to give away all their chocolates and other luxuries, and -sent guides to take me to the trenches. - -We had to climb one of the steepest hills I have ever gone up. -Fortunately it was covered with light scrub: otherwise I should never -have got to the top, for the frozen and clouted soil was so slippery -that one slid back at every step. Yet up this hill the Russian troops -had gone at night under the fire of the defending Austrians not many -days before, and I was told that the ground was then in even worse -condition. The storming of these hills one after the other calls for -the most reckless courage; but this kind of task is the favourite work -of the Russian soldier. - -Halfway up, we took an "easy" in the mud hut of a superior officer. We -sat together in the straw with our toes to the stove, and, as is often -the case, the talk was not about the war at all, but about the human -things that most interest the Russian mind: about the characters in -Russian literature and the future of Russia. Naturally there is also a -good deal now to be said about England; and nowhere more than in the -trenches does one notice how every one wishes to give us the best word, -just as the guest receives the best of the fare. England's share in the -war was put to me, with a real thought and kindness, much better than -I could have put it myself. In these rough surroundings where ordinary -comforts must all be dispensed with, there is nothing that makes them -seem so unnecessary or that so stamps the character of officers and men -alike, as a certain delicacy of mind which seems to me the ideal of -good breeding. - -Reaching the top we went over some ground which by day was almost -impassable and was covered with huge holes made by shells, and I slept -in an officer's mud hut just behind the trenches, where the five of -us lay literally packed in like sardines. Some shells fell during -the night; but the Austrians did not ordinarily open a regular fire -till ten in the morning. The last few days they had covered the brow -of this hill with shells. A hut standing on the summit and some farm -buildings in a hollow behind had been smashed to bits. To-day there was -a fog, so that even the Austrians did not make their usual aimless -cannonade. But they sent us in the course of the day what might be -called a mixed packet: the mortars, field and mountain artillery -machine guns and rifles all coming into play at one time or other. In -particular there were chance rifle shots on all sides. The Russian -trenches, despite the concentrated fire of the last few days, had -suffered very little; and here as elsewhere it appeared that, though -only explosive shells are effective against entrenchments, even they -are comparatively harmless. This day I was able to pass along the -front of the regiment and even further forward. My general impression -was that the Russian superiority is so great that all neutral ground -may almost be reckoned as Russian. The Russians are always ready to -venture into this unknown land; the Austrians, on the contrary, expect -attacks from all sides, answer every isolated shot with a wild volley, -and are ready to fire at anything, even a fog. Two or three Austrian -soldiers came across; they were loutish youths, not like soldiers, and -had only quite recently joined the colours; there have been instances -of prisoners who did not know to what regiment they belonged and had -not yet received their rifles. I was present while the Colonel examined -some prisoners, and the tale they told of the conditions in the -Austrian trenches was pitiable: water in the trenches, thin coats and -ridiculously ineffective boots, constant diarrhoea from eating fresh -meat; the roughest treatment from the officers (nearly all Germans), -who themselves avoided all danger and privations; a Hungarian battalion -at one time put to discipline them and shots fired at them from behind; -regiments reduced to a quarter of their strength, boy recruits without -any training, discordant elements in a given regiment, a general and -growing resentment against Germany and the German Kaiser, a keen -longing for peace, and an almost epidemic desire to surrender. This is -the consequence of six months' punching, which has, however, cost heavy -losses to the Russians. - - -_February 4._ - -Every one here--particularly the young men who are in the Red Cross--is -naturally drawn as by a magnet to work being as near as possible to -the actual front. Different people show this in different ways; some -are restless, some are evidently there in thought, others keep it to -themselves as an intimate purpose which they only mention when their -desire is to be satisfied. Often this satisfaction is long in coming, -even when it has long been worked for and seems quite near. F., a -quiet, self-contained young man, asked leave to go off with the bearers -in the hope of learning how to help later in carrying the wounded, and -I saw him ride off in his grey mantle with set face; but that time -he got no further than the regimental headquarters. K., one quiet -evening, told me how all was arranged for regular volunteer work in the -trenches, but everything is still uncertain and he will anyhow have to -wait for some weeks. - -The fact is that this creditable straining after the most dangerous -work of all, for it is more dangerous than that of the soldiers in the -firing line, does not easily fit in with the requirements of the army. -There are certain dangers which it is madness to court, not only in -one's own interest but in that of others, and especially of the troops -themselves. For instance, a body of volunteer helpers would simply by -their appearance indicate the positions of the troops and draw the fire -of the enemy, and would probably have to return without any wounded. -Such experiments have been made with doubtful success. It is only by -following the wishes of the commanders, and learning from them how and -when help can be given, that any good can be done; and this means that -it is necessary to stand near to some given military unit and earn the -confidence of its chief. - -A few days ago I had a chance meeting with a few men in rough winter -coats, who came in together and sat down to a hasty meal. They were of -different ages, but all bore the stamp of the simple seriousness of the -front. It was the same with their talk. We discussed the meaning of -this war for the Russian soldier--that is, for the Russian peasant--and -I expressed my conviction that this war is one of the greatest stages -in history, in the manifestation of the true qualities of the Russian -people to Europe. The quietest of the party, a middle-aged doctor, -intervened to say that this idea pleased him; the Russian seemed -uncultured because he took less thought for comforts and contrivances, -but all his care was for the biggest things of all; the scope of his -vision might indeed help to broaden the heart of Europe; and it was -good to feel that all this quiet and selfless heroism would not go for -nothing. - -I learned that these men belonged to the most famous and the most -forward of the Red Cross organisations. No. 14 is headed by a military -man; it has three doctors, several students and 130 soldier-bearers. -It was the first to attach itself to a given Division, and, by waiting -for its chances and always keeping close up, it has so far made the -most interesting experiments in volunteer help. I expressed my respect; -but my acquaintances hastened to tell me that the reports of their work -were highly exaggerated, and they gave me a plain prose picture of what -they did and of things that might be done. - -Yesterday I paid a visit to No. 14. They were in clean quarters in a -little scattered village in the snow some five miles from the front. -They had good quarters for first aid and some twenty very practical -carriages for the transport of the wounded. The soldier-bearers were -drawn up in line and received a message of thanks for their work from -the General. Six of them, and two of the students, had the George medal -for bravery, bestowed for their work on the San. - -Travelling on to the regimental staff, we entered the atmosphere of -which I have written above. The regimental surgeon described with -enthusiasm the work of No. 14, especially when the regiment was in -movement; at such times he could not have possibly coped with his work -alone. He himself was forbidden by the regulations to work further -forwards. - -Somewhat farther on stood a village, with a lofty church that had been -struck by several shells. To appear beyond the village was at once to -draw fire, as it lay along the Dunajec, beyond which were the enemy. -There was no natural cover; but our side of the stream, which is not a -broad one, was lined with a kind of embankment. However, we also held -the bridge and a bridge-head on the other side. As this bridge-head -was faced and flanked by the enemy's trenches it was constantly under -the closest fire; and every night, especially when it was dark, the -bridge was under a continuous shower of bullets and shrapnel, while by -day the appearance of a single person at once called forth a volley. -We were not allowed to cross this bridge, nor was any one allowed to -come across to us, for at the time of our visit it was under rifle -fire and shrapnel. But in the earthworks beyond there has been put up -in the trenches a first-aid point with approaches from the sides and -all necessary appliances; here the wounded can be attended to and kept -under some kind of shelter till a slackening of the fire, perhaps once -in twenty-four hours, allows of their transport across the bridge; and -here at this point, prohibited to the regimental surgeon, lives, sleeps -and works Dr. Vladimir Petrovich Roshkov, who spoke to me of the quiet -heroism of the Russian soldier and of his faith in the qualities of the -Russian people. - - -_February 21._ - -After my visit to No. 14 I was laid up with a bad chill, but after two -weeks I was able to resume my journeyings. - -I arrived at the N regiment in a cab, or rather did not arrive, because -we stuck in a sea of mud. The Polish cabman, plaintive but polite, -described it as an "awful drive," and seemed inclined to stay there all -night, till some soldiers came and dragged us out. - -The Colonel and his two adjutants lived in the usual hut. These Polish -cottages are very clean and well furnished, with handsome stoves, -decorated roofs, sometimes a divan, and in all cases rows of religious -pictures encircled with wreaths of artificial flowers. - -We had the usual telephone-interrupted night and a long talk about the -Colonel's earlier experiences in Austria. He now had in front of him an -Austrian regiment whose guest he had been when on his travels. - -Next day I rode to some of the positions. One could get close up to -them without danger. We walked forward, through brushwood and swamp, -with sentries at various points, up to the rapid Dunajec. To the right -some of our positions were across the stream; to the left it was itself -the dividing line. Here there was a broken bridge, and on either -side of the break were the opposing sentries, who occasionally took -snapshots at each other at short range. The German lines and their wire -entanglements were plainly visible, but at midday the view was as bare -and desolate as the ship of the "Flying Dutchman" before the awakening. -One of the most curious things in war is the tacit convention that -develops itself illogically out of a set of circumstances entirely -novel. In open day to show oneself here is ordinarily to be killed, yet -at certain hours, fixed rather by instinct than by reason, there is an -unspoken truce of which both sides take advantage. Photographs could be -taken, and we returned in peace to the main positions. - -In the evening I set out for some more distant trenches where the -enemy was Austrian. I stopped to take tea at a point where some of the -inhabitants were being examined. I have seen a good deal of this, and -have always found that the Russians, if anything, erred on the side -of leniency. There are undoubted communications between the lines, -but, apart from the most obvious espionage, the most that is done is -to remove suspects from the ground nearest to the trenches. We went -forward on foot in the twilight, with a good moon and a clear sky, -and with a full view of the enemy's ground, though we ourselves were -indistinguishable from our surroundings. We soon came on the trenches, -which were elaborate, deep, and for the most part dry. My host here -was one of those ideal persons who seem made for such conditions -of life. I will call him George, because he is one of the most -worthy knights of that Order of bravery. I asked him how he won this -distinction, and after starting the briefest account of a village taken -and communications secured he broke it off saying: "For execution of -orders." He was a big man with kind eyes, a manner prompt and natural, -and the simplest address to his soldiers. - -It was now comparatively safe to traverse a bit of more open ground and -visit some other positions. Here again the works were excellent, and -George required some still further improvements. The men were in good -heart and vigour; and across the plain we could hear how the younger -soldiers of a neighbouring regiment were singing in lusty chorus one of -their favourite war-songs. - -A voice came across from the Austrian lines which were here only a few -hundred yards off: "The Russians are singing--Peace." Answering shouts -of song came from the Austrian trenches, but they were feeble and soon -ended sharply as if by order. We made our way back in the dark to our -central entrenchments. - -After a half-hour's talk on the straw in our earth hut the moon had -waned, though the stars were still shining bright all over the sky. -With a guide I passed through some trees down the slope to the river -and beyond the line of our trenches. It was reported that there were -signals and signs of movement beyond the river, and all the men were -ordered to be clothed and ready. - -My guide was one of those native gentlemen who are so common among the -Russian peasants and are to be met everywhere in the army, entirely -selfless, indifferent to all danger except for others, and full of -quiet, childlike intelligence of the great issues engaged. His hand, -a strong and gentle one, was there to help my every movement with -the instinct of the most devoted of family servants. The whispered -talk came with a strange freshness, and the whole atmosphere of our -excursion was that of another world more real than our own. We entered -a dwelling where the watch sat round a smoky camp fire. There was a -brisk salute, and the answer to my greeting from England was "Very -pleasant." What they all liked to hear about was how we were preparing -new armies. "Then we'll take him on both sides," whispered my companion -as we left the watch, "and we'll surround him--the barbarian." - -We crept slowly forward till we came up with the second of the two -advanced sentries, a young man crouched on his knee with rifle loaded -and ready. Here we stayed a little time, with now and then the lowest -whisper, and in front of us the rushing river, beyond which were the -sentries of the enemy; sky and air were clear. We crept on to the -forward sentry on the bank, and were crouching beside him when a -rocket went up in front of us beyond the river followed by a blaze -of light and then a second and a third. "Lie down, your nobility," -whispered my companion, and we lay as still as we could together while -four rifle shots cracked at us. We could hear each other's breathing in -the few seconds while the blaze hung above us. We had all crawled back -to the second sentry when the rocket went up again followed by more -shots, but this time we had some little shelter. We returned and bade -"Good-night" to the Watch and lay for a while in a shelter close by, -with a whispered talk of our joint task. On the way up the hill there -were more rockets and more shots at us, but we were soon back at the -earth hut with its welcome shelter and its friendly host, and the straw -screen that served as a door shut on a good night and a sound sleep. - - -_February 23._ - -All day long we sat in our earth hut or passed crouching along -the trenches visiting the different points of observation. What a -difference a few inches make! At each more exposed point no care seemed -enough. The whole day bullets passed above us, sometimes singing--or -as George said "wailing"--about fifteen yards off, but most of them -embedded themselves in our hill, sometimes kicking away with a ricochet -or exploding. Often there were sharp salvos from several rifles at once -aimed mostly at the loopholes where our sharpshooters lay ready; men -were shot through the forehead in this way. - -In the afternoon I saw a fire light up in some German trenches by the -river, and it quickly spread along their lines. A figure like an insect -stood out shovelling at the flames and some of our men shot at it; the -German passed down the slope but came again, this time going back at -a run. The flames spread further until they were at last extinguished -from below. We ourselves got nothing except bullets, and none of our -men were wounded. There was no excitement and practically no reply. - -It was considered that the enemy was wasting his powder, in a nervous -fear of attack. - -But all the day we saw, from our vantage-point, shell after shell -raining on neighbouring positions. At one time attention was given to -the high ground behind us, and a large hut in which I had halted the -night before went up in flames, and in a few minutes seemed to have -disappeared altogether. However, only a cow was killed, and except for -two huts I found the position unchanged when I passed back here in the -evening. No wonder that our own artillery did not deign to reply till -the evening, when it lighted up a big flame in a small town beyond the -river. - -Southward across the flat ground which we had traversed in the dark -the cannonade was more furious and had more meaning. Here there was -a projecting bluff where our front came close up to the river before -receding sharply from it and taking an altogether different direction. -This was doubly an angle. It was a salient landmark in the curve of the -whole Russian line from a western front against Germany to a southern -front against Austria, and was therefore one of the points from which -the conquering Russian march through Galicia threatens the junction of -the two allies. The lie of the ground made it still more a challenge to -the enemy, as the advanced trenches on this side were opposed to a fire -from both sides and even partly from the rear. On this devoted hill the -enemy's artillery, strongly reinforced, poured an unending torrent of -shells. We could see them burst almost without interruption--the heavy -explosive shell for driving the men from their shelter followed by the -two shrapnels for catching them in the open. In all some eight hundred -shells must have been lodged on the hill on this day, and in the -evening a large hut on the top lit up like an illuminated fairy castle. - -No fewer shots were fired the next day, and when I was later able to -get to this ground, it was all harrowed up with enormous holes even -in the gullies that ran crosswise through the hill itself. The men -crouched in the trenches where death threatened any exposed movement -and the falling shells often carried the works away wholesale, wounding -and killing large numbers. - -A wounded officer, much loved by his men, was asked by them what they -could do to pay the enemy back, and he answered, "Sit and Wait." - -This time the cannonade was not, as so often with the Austrians, -simply a nerve-stricken discharge of ammunition. When the hill, and -especially the line of our trenches, had been covered with shell, and -the defenders had been long enough reduced to a condition of paralysis -and impotence, a whole division of the gallant Tirolese advanced on the -projecting angle of the line. These are the best troops that Austria -has left, and they were opposed to parts of two Russian regiments. They -ensconced themselves at night in rifle pits on a lower ridge of the -hill, and forcing their way up found lodgment in a small wood and even -occupied some disused trenches only fifty yards from the Russians. They -planted a flag; and the fire of their artillery, which was this day -wonderfully accurate, continued to pound the Russians over the heads of -the Tirolese infantry. An attempt was made to break through the Russian -line at the point of the angle, which was also the junction of the two -defending regiments. - -And now came the reply. Standing up under the cannonade the Russian -infantry, with the support of its machine guns, poured in such volleys -that everything in front of it went down. The rush to break through was -beaten out and backward, the trenches occupied by the Tirolese became -a line of corpses; no attempt was made to resist the bayonet; Russian -troops on the flank passed down towards the river and took the enemy -in flank; the whole attack, or what was left of it, rolled down the -hill, leaving 1300 corpses in the wood and in the open; a number of -prisoners, wounded and Red Cross men were left behind; and next day -retreating columns, without even their baggage, were seen marching off -into the hills beyond the river. - -Prisoners told me they had not eaten for four days, and that enteric -and typhus were rampant in their trenches, which were often full of -water. They gave no good account of their officers, and they said that -both they and Tirol were sick of the war. I found many dead in the -Russian trenches, all killed by the enemy's artillery. The fire was -then intermittent, and we were still obliged to act on the defensive; -but the men were perfectly unperturbed. As a Russian private put it -when I asked him to compare the Austrian soldier with the Russian: "He -is a man, too, but we have rather more vigour, rather more boldness, -more inclination for it, and we are anyhow winning. It might be added -that we are steadier." A modest and quiet estimate enough at the moment -of a signal victory against odds and natural conditions. - - -_February 26._ - -In the bandaging-room every description of suffering is seen, and many -ways of meeting it. What strikes one most is the difference between -the Russians and the rest. In general the Russians have an altogether -stronger physique and therefore a much firmer and sounder morale. -Some of the younger men lie there under treatment as if they were -not ill at all and were simply having football injuries patched up. -Such was Alexey of Yaroslav, who kept a fine ruddy colour and chatted -away jollily about the market gardeners at Lake Nero as he arched his -broad back and had his numerous wounds attended to. He was wounded -in a scouting expedition, but crawled back of himself to the Russian -lines; and when he was carried out of the hospital he behaved like an -ordinary traveller going on a journey. He had no intention of going to -Russia and spoke of his return to the ranks as "a matter of course." -Many of these wounded write begging their officers to keep their places -open for them. Some lie glancing at their serious wounds as they are -treated, with a healthy and indifferent eye. The head wounds are the -most trying to the morale; they always make men look weak and unequal -to things. But even here the Russian temper shows itself. Ivan, a -married peasant, had two nasty holes in his head, but he talked all the -while he was being treated with a loveable simplicity, and even his -exclamations of pain were only little appeals to the sisters, full of -a natural courtesy. Once when the knife was a long time in his head, -he protested mildly, "Enough, gentlemen!" There was great alarm when -he suddenly rolled off the dressing-table on to the stone floor; but -this proved to be the turning-point in his recovery, and he was soon -afterwards joining with the others in his ward singing peasant songs. -The Armenians are sometimes a frailer people; but there was one man -with a great heart, who had both his legs smashed while bringing in an -officer from under fire; one leg had been amputated, and delay in first -aid had induced a mass of gangrene; the man was doomed; but he held -out for day after day, and nothing but a dull, strong groan escaped -him until at last he succumbed under his sufferings; to the end he was -always asking after the officer whom he had saved. - -The Germans show a much greater consciousness of their wounds, but take -a quiet pride in conquering them. Will and purpose are triumphant, and -these men return sooner than others to a normal outlook on the little -businesses of life. A Tirolese, badly wounded in the head, at first -took a little too much trouble to keep up his self-respect before -strangers, but later talked away freely, though he was very troubled -that he would go back to his sweetheart with the brand of a prisoner of -war. The Austrian Germans were frailer and more gentle. Two of them in -particular, both officers, won golden opinions from all who met them. -They were men of a happy disposition, of real culture and of great -delicacy of mind. There was not the slightest difficulty in talking -with them about the war, because they bore no grudge against any one, -not even against the Emperor William, whose unwisdom they regarded as -the main cause of their country's misfortunes. These two showed the -greatest patience under treatment, talking meanwhile of their army, -literature and music, and regarding their wounded limbs as children who -were being gradually persuaded to be good. - -Much the saddest sight in the bandaging-room were the little Polish -boys who had been wounded in villages during the operations, mostly by -shrapnel. There were eleven of them in the hospital, and they almost -filled one ward. They were all pretty little fellows, remarkably well -made and with something martial in their bearing; all of them wore -round their necks little silver religious medals. It was very painful -to see them minus an arm or a leg, or still worse with some body wound -which could only look natural on a full-grown soldier. Most of these -children were from ten to thirteen years of age. They were bright and -smiling in the bandaging-room, and seemed to have no more regret for -themselves than they would have had for their own broken toys. But -Poland will be covered with such after the war. There may be a renewed, -there may be a united Poland, but anyhow there will be a Poland of -cripples. That is why I continue to hear everywhere, like a burden that -ever repeats itself, the beautiful Polish national air "In the Smoke of -Fires." Its solemn tones meet one everywhere, now hummed by passers-by, -now ground out endlessly by a barrel organ. I came one day on to the -street humming it myself, when an old Pole at once, with the grace of -his nation, took off his hat and solemnly bowed to me. It is the motto -of the Polish population on whichever side of the Russian frontier; and -may the purification of which it speaks lead to happier things: for no -nationality has been tempered in a harder school than that of Poland. - -Nothing could exceed the kindness of the Russian staff in dealing with -all these various patients. There is, of course, no distinction of -nationality or condition; the sisters play with the children, find all -sorts of little questions or other interests to distract the attention -of those under treatment, and bring them back to lighter mood, as soon -as the actual pain is passed. A Russian hospital, even with all the -afflictions of war, gives out an atmosphere of home of which there is -frequent mention in the letters which the prisoners send off to their -distant relations. - - -_March 1._ - -My friend "Wiggins" is a very remarkable person. Heaven knows what he -doesn't manage, and it would be difficult to say what he doesn't know. -Take England, though Wiggins has many other languages and knowledges. -Wiggins's English, learnt in childhood, is of the most daring and -comprehensive kind and runs to the writing of doggerel verse. The -history of the English Church he knows far better than most English -clergymen, and the development of the English Constitution he both -knows and understands better than some English professors. He will -write, for instance, "Please send me more books on the period of -transition from Constitutionalism to Parliamentarism." Parliamentary -procedure he has studied night after night in the Distinguished -Strangers' Gallery; and his toast when he was dined in the House of -Commons in 1909 was "to the glorious traditions of the Parliament of -Great Britain." He is very well up in all the detail of our Army and -Navy, is thought a good judge of English shorthorns, and hopes to send -his son to Winchester. - -Wiggins has done no end of work for the close friendship of his country -with England. His quick resourceful mind and his ties with men in all -departments of Russian politics and public life here have for years -been mobilised to this object, which is the mainspring of all his great -and untiring efforts. He has never lost heart when events went against -him or when some favourite plan was blocked, and was always ready for -another go. He is a good man and a brave man. - -War has brought Wiggins and me together in novel surroundings. He has -a liking for all that is venturesome and an innocent predilection for -anything that partakes of conspiracy. Wiggins sits and collects all the -military telegrams from the different fronts, including the western; -Wiggins reads, answers and transmits private telegrams from Russia to -other countries. Wiggins goes through the letters found in the enemy's -trenches, and his staff is competent to deal with all the Babel of -languages of Austria. Wiggins interrogates the prisoners and fixes -the movements of the enemy's troops; there is a delightful caricature -of him, standing like a wild boar at bay, among a crowd of gaping -Austrians. Wiggins looks after the aeroplanes; and sometimes goes -himself on the most perilous of scouting expeditions. On one of these -I found with him a man of the most quaint simplicity, an artist, who -used to sit down between the lines and sketch the enemy's positions. -He described with an impersonal unconcern how the bullets passed him. -"But what do you do when you have finished?" I asked. "Oh, I go on to -another position." "But surely it is very dangerous work?" "Yes, I -suppose there are about ninety-nine chances in a hundred of my getting -killed; but I haven't any children. I should rather like to do my work -from an aeroplane; I think that would be safer." - -"Wiggins" asked my help in reading some of the letters from the -trenches. One way or another, I have seen a good many of these. The -great thing that strikes me is that they are so good--that the war -after all brings out the best of every one. The Italian letters (of -soldiers in the Austrian army) are particularly graceful and pretty; -but then most Italians are gentlefolk. One writes: "I hear that T. is -a prisoner and with the Russians and that they are much better off -than in the line of fire." Another, hoping for the end of the war by -Christmas, writes: "For the Babe Jesus we hope for peace." "Angelina" -writing to "Carissimo Gustavo" ends thus: "If we are meant to be -married, few letters are enough; and if we are not, no letters are any -use." - -I came out on the muddy little square and to my surprise caught the -notes of a melody that was for many years prohibited in Poland. It was -"Poland is not ruined yet," the battle-song of the Polish legions that -fought under Dombrowski against Russia for Napoleon and for Polish -independence. The words were different but not in spirit; they were -the famous "Slavs come on." I was surprised, because I was in purely -military surroundings at the staff of our army. But the men who were -singing were all Slavs of non-Russian origin, they were a military -unit in Russian uniform and marched round the square in front of Radko -Dmitriev, who, with all others present, stood to the salute. To these -troops he then distributed crosses and medals of the George for signal -bravery, and they sang him another Slavonic air, a Bulgarian hymn -in honour of himself. Behind him stood a number of Czech (Bohemian) -prisoners; and the troops next played the Bohemian salute and the Czech -National Hymn; some of the prisoners were in tears. Turning to them, -the General said that as Slavs they could have no doubt as to the -welcome that awaited them in Russia, where all that was possible would -be done for their comfort, and that when the war was over they would -return home, and he hoped that they would find their country free. The -last words were, at his desire, repeated to them by the interpreter. - -No wonder that the Slavs of Austria are coming over in great masses -and begging for employment on the Slavonic side; while the fictitious -unity of Austria, a mechanism for turning to German uses a country -which is three-quarters Slavonic, is crumbling before the eyes. -German ambitions are being reduced to count only on the services of -instruments that are really German. - - -_March 9._ - -I crossed the river and followed the line of the entrenchments. The -men were resting in the evening before their earth-burrows. I passed -along to the corner of our positions; in the half-light one could -stand on the earthworks and see without being shot at. The enemy, who -were Hungarians, were only six hundred yards off. Between the two -lines ran a broad causeway built in time of peace, part of a great -dam of which sections are occupied by us and other sections by the -enemy. Here, where for a short distance it becomes neutral, all sorts -of queer things are possible. Our scouts can pass under partial cover -along either side of it, and constantly do so. The enemy makes no -counter-moves; his advance sentries stand only just outside his wire -entanglements, and creep in and report the moment they see any movement -outside; he does not even open fire. The Russian soldier, who here, as -elsewhere, has a complete moral and physical superiority, goes out on -little night raids, sometimes in small companies, sometimes alone, to -hear the conversation of the enemy, which if Slavonic can be readily -understood by him, or, still better, to catch a "tongue," that is, to -bring home a captive sentinel for information. This is why the enemy's -sentries retreat. If fire were opened, it would only tell the Russians -just what they want to know, namely, in what strength the positions are -occupied. - -I should like to have stayed here, but there were other things to see; -so, with a soldier guide, I passed over some flat, marshy ground to -a forward angle of our lines. We found our way by passing the field -telephone through our hands, which is also a good means of seeing that -it is in order. In the dusk, with the sense of danger and mystery -around us and stray bullets sometimes coming from the enemy, my -companion spoke in short and simple sentences, of which one would like -to have preserved every word. "He" (the German) must be having a bad -time; why doesn't he see it? We are drawing in on him from all sides; -the Austrians will be no use to him; they are nervous and fire at -everything, and seldom hit anything; our people only fire to hit. - -In a stone cellar with nothing above it, for the whole village was -destroyed soon after it was taken, there are gathered the officers of -the battalion. The commander, Lukich, is a genial, communicative man -who has knit them all together into a little family; indeed, two of the -captains are cousins, and the commander has living with him in his mud -hut his nephew, a boy of fifteen, who has been allowed to spend his -holidays at the war. Not many of those who set out for the war are left -now, and that alone makes a closer brotherhood among the rest. They all -smile at Lukich's inventiveness and resource, and are all very fond of -him. - -Lukich gives elaborate instructions for the night's scouting. Pavel -Pavlovich, whose turn it is to go, is a splendidly built man with a -great head and big brown eyes: "an ideal fighting man," I am told. He -is down with a very bad chill, and reports himself quite unfit. Lukich -says that he always has to send out sick scouts. "Don't laugh," says -Pavel Pavlovich; "I can hardly keep on my legs." However, without -further words he gets ready for his night's job. Half-an-hour later he -appears in a long white dressing-gown which hangs carelessly over his -huge figure, and with him are thirty picked men--for there are always -plenty of volunteers for this work--drawn from different companies. All -are clad in white, and when first I stumbled on them in the darkness, -though I knew they were there, I took them for a row of posts. Lukich -made them a little speech, telling them that some one from their -English allies had come to see them and that he hoped they would do -well. - -Their job was to crawl some one thousand yards, to overhear the -conversation in the enemy's trenches and judge of the numbers there, -to catch a sentry if possible, to cut through some of the wire -entanglements, and, above all, to throw some hand-grenades into the -Austrian lines. Each man had a definite task; the bomb-throwers were -trained men, and several carried huge scissors for cutting wire. As the -Austrians sometimes pass an electric current through the wires, these -scissors often have wooden handles. - -The men passed at once into the darkness, and we waited on the line of -our trenches. Nothing happened for some time. Various figures appeared -from the neutral ground: sentries and patrols, who gave the impression -that all this ground was Russian. At last, at the request of a soldier, -we took cover (the soldiers are always trying to put their officers in -greater safety than themselves), and directly afterwards there was a -big thud, and flash went the first bomb. The next moment the Austrians -were shooting wildly in all directions; but very soon after the firing -had died down the second bomb went up, followed by another excited -discharge from the enemy. This showed that our scouts had stayed close -outside the Austrian lines; and among those around us, too, there was -a sort of buoyant audacity. "They'll come away now?" I asked. "Oh no; -they've several more bombs with them;" and soon after the calm of night -had returned up went No. 3. We waited till six bombs had been lodged -in this way, and each time there was the same nervous discharge of -musketry, bullets flying everywhere, but no one being hit. - -After a time Pavel Pavlovich came back, as if from a football match. He -had left a reserve in the rear, sent watchers in various directions, -and taken the rest forward. Not a man was hurt, and every detail of -his instructions had been carried out. Pavel Pavlovich was a different -man, full of life and spirits; and, to complete his satisfaction, -there appeared in our cellar at this very moment his nearest friend, a -brother officer wounded earlier in the war through the head and only -to-night returned to the regiment. "We must leave those two alone," -said Lukich; "they are like man and wife, and no one will get a word -out of either of them." - - -_March 11._ - -The staff of the V regiment was in the usual hut, clean, comfortable -and decorated with religious pictures, as most of these Polish cottages -seem to be. It was the usual family party, the little colonel being -a sort of paterfamilias, the major a kind of uncle, and the younger -men like cousins of different degrees. It was very interesting when -the reports came in from other parts of the huge front and the day's -changes were filled in on the maps--as usual, on the whole satisfactory. - -The colonel of artillery was a bronzed man whose face was a mixed -suggestion of a raven and of a kind Mephistopheles. He was a strong -Conservative, and had friendly discussions with the chronicler of -the regiment, a highly cultivated Liberal with a beautiful voice and -the features of a youthful Mr. Pickwick. The war brings all sorts of -political views together, and the exchange is always free, equal and -without rancour. - -When I got to know these good people, I told them I thought they spent -a lot of time in copying out verses. "Position warfare"--standing -in the trenches--is not an eventful life; and while I was with the -regiment three sets of verses were put on the machine and circulated to -the battalions. One of these, with a number of jokes about "Wilhelm," -was written by a soldier in the ranks; and another was the composition -of a non-commissioned officer, also of this regiment. This second was -headed by the word which is in every one's thoughts here, "Forward," -and contained one verse which had almost the smoothness and simplicity -of Pushkin, and is, therefore, not for translation. The third set came -from Pickwick Junior, and I give a rough rendering of it which, I am -afraid, only spoils it-- - - Now in this year of heavy trial - Happy is he who for his land - Has passed at price of self-denial, - Into the heroes' shining band-- - - Who of his hopes and love the whole - On his dear country has bestowed, - With all the ardour of his soul, - His highest aims, his mind, his blood. - - 'Twill pass, the battle and its blare; - 'Twill sink, the endless crash of guns; - And, in their place, the burning prayer - Of mothers orphaned of their sons. - - The meadows will be green again, - The corn will ripen on the plain. - The spite of war will pass away, - And happy peace once more will reign. - -These are the simple thoughts that are in most people's minds here--the -more so the nearer one is to the front. There one finds least of all -doubt of the blessings of peace, and least of all doubt of the need to -go to the end, and of the certainty of the final result. But Russia has -done and is doing a giant's task, and one will meet cripples at every -turn for many a year to come. - -My friends possessed an interesting little book in a black paper -binding which they kindly lent to me. It was the song-book of the -German army, which, with a soldier's Prayer-book, is carried in every -German knapsack. It is called "War Song-book for the German Army, -1914," and was issued by the Commission for the Imperial Book of -Folk-songs. Roughly, about the ten best things in German patriotic -and military song are to be found here, with a few of the best-known -folk-songs and a number of inferior ditties which vainly attempt to be -light. Prussia has more than her share, for there are very few good -Prussian songs, though such as there are are military. "Fredericus Rex" -and "Als die Preussen marschirten vor Prag"--surely an unfortunate -reminiscence in the present war--are both historic and have the -merit of plainness. The year 1813, a year of liberation and not of -aggression, gives three magnificent songs: "The God that bade the -iron grow," by Arndt, and "Lützow's wild hunt" and the "Sword Song" -of Körner, the latter written a few hours before the author of "Lyre -and Sword" met his death in a cavalry charge at the battle of Dresden. -But, of course, I expected also to find--and am sure that I should -have found in God-fearing 1870--the same writer's "Prayer in Battle," -one of the most real and masculine of hymns, and his soul-stirring -"Landsturm." As to the omission of the "Landsturm," an Austrian -prisoner explained it to me by saying, "This is no war of liberation." -Of the less specially national songs there is Schiller's magnificent -picture of the soldier of fortune, "Wohlauf Kameraden aufs Pferd, aufs -Pferd," some of the verses of which have certainly been too faithfully -followed in Poland. One finds also the top thing in German war lyric, -"I had a trusty Comrade" of Uhland--a word-perfect poem which I shall -always associate with the Saxon grave outside Saint-Privat where I -heard it sung by veterans of 1870. There is also the simple trooper's -song "Morgenrot"; I should have put in "Die barge Nacht," but one verse -is certainly too plain-spoken for present German hopes. Martin Luther's -"Safe stronghold"--"Now thank we all our God," sung by Frederic's -soldiers on the battlefield of Lützen--and the Evening Prayer--these -are the other best things in the collection; but it is spoilt by the -unnecessary and improbable allusions to the successful wooing of French -and Russian damsels, and beer is too much mixed up with Bible. - -I left my friends singing. The Raven, with a plaintive and sentimental -look, was with bent head putting in his bass to the admirable tenor -of Pickwick Junior. My own contribution was about the "leaders" -who "marched with fusees and the men with hand-grenades" (British -Grenadiers). One scout, who usually works alone, had taken an -unexploded Austrian shell back into their very lines, made a small -bonfire round it, and was waiting outside for it to explode; but the -result, when I left, was not yet known. - - -_March 13._ - -I have just visited "The Birds," a very tight place for the Russian -soldier to sit in. I was in this part once before, for it was here -that Dr. Roshkov set up his tent, or, to be more exact, his earthwork -bandaging room in the foremost trenches. - -The divisional general was kindness itself; for I stumbled on him in -the darkness by opening a wrong door, and his revenge was to ask me -in and offer me a bed. The next day I visited the divisional lazaret, -where an English lady, Miss Kearne, is working with admirable skill -and devotion for the Russians. Nearly all the wounded came from "The -Birds," and nearly all had been wounded while sitting in the trenches -or looking through the embrasures--that is, without taking any risks, -which in "The Birds" all are strictly forbidden to court. - -One soon felt one was coming to a warm place. The driver of my army -cart explained that the open space over which we were passing was often -covered with stray bullets, and there, sure enough, were the Austrian -trenches just across the river. The village on our side had a high -church, now smashed by the Austrian fire into an imposing ruin. Around -it the shells continue to fall freely, and women and children going for -water along the village streets are sometimes hit by stray bullets. -Roshkov and his comrades have been sent to another part of the front; -but a Red Cross "flying column" from the Union of Russian towns is -working here under fire, and I met one of its students on horseback -taking wounded to the rear. - -I delivered a greeting from England to the scouts who were drawn up in -the village, and then set off with their leader for the advance posts -across the river--as I may say, "The Birds Proper." The chief scout -was almost a boy, who had joined the army as a volunteer only at the -beginning of the war. He was a Musulman, with a most determined face -and a manner of complete ease and indifference. He explained that we -were passing over ground often swept by the fire, and added casually, -"You've a bad coat; it is fur-lined; the fur might stick in your wound -and give you lockjaw, so that you would probably die." Whether he was -right or not I have no idea. The soldiers who accompanied us insisted -on walking above the covered way, until we told them that we should -join them unless they came down to us. - -At last we passed some trenches and came out into the open above the -river. It is the peculiarity of "The Birds" that we hold a strip of -land across the river a mile and a half long, but nowhere more than 300 -yards deep. When the Russians rectified their line after the advance -to Cracow, they decided to retain certain vantage-points of this kind; -however cramped the position and however difficult the conditions of -defence, the advantage will be felt when, as on the San earlier, the -time comes for another move forward. These advanced lines are connected -with our side by bridges which are constantly under fire, as the -favourite offensive of the Austrians is a hail of artillery; yet they -have never succeeded even in endangering the communications, and their -frequent musketry fire is disregarded. - -We were able this time to cross the bridge at a walk, and passed along -the lines, guesting with different officers, and ultimately taking up -our quarters in a spacious earth hut ten yards from the front, which -was protected by a high line of excellent earthworks. One advanced -post which we visited was only sixty yards from the enemy, and in -general the distance from trenches to trenches was 400 to 200 yards. -Artillery fire is seldom brought effectively to bear here, but a -shower of bullets is kept up, mostly explosive, as one can tell from -their splutter; and the enemy have made machines for lodging bombs of -various kinds at this short range within our trenches. There is little -work for scouts here; the distance is too short, and the opposing -sentries are often not more than twenty-five yards from each other. My -young host reassuringly mentioned that shrapnel would penetrate our -roof, and in the night there was the constant thud of bullets striking -against our shelters, while often our door was lit up by the reflection -of the frequent rockets sent up by the enemy. Inside, however, our -accommodation was first-rate, and we soon slept soundly. - -Next morning we went along the front line. The men were everywhere in -their places, this line being fully occupied day and night. I had been -told I must not stand anywhere behind an embrasure, so we took our view -in peeps, mostly from the side. At one point we looked over the top of -the works, with the result that there was an immediate volley. One man -had been wounded by a bomb in the night, and another was shot through -an embrasure, as the shadow made by a head at once draws fire. Some -soldiers were busy making little mirrors, so as to see from the side; -another had made a bomb-throwing machine out of an Austrian shell, -which he fired off in front of us, the officer first calling out to two -exposed soldiers, "Here, Beard and Black Collar, get out of the way!" -One man's hand was shot through an embrasure. - -The most difficult part of the lines was on one of the flanks, where -they passed close to the river and were separated from the Austrians -at one point by a distance of only twenty-five yards. Earlier it was -worse. The two lines were eight yards apart, the bayonets actually -crossed over the earthworks, and the Austrians held their rifles over -their heads in order to fire down into the Russian trenches. At that -time a flank fire also swept these trenches, which were now protected -by many transverses. Yet I found the men perfectly cool and natural, -just going about the work as they would have done any other. - -The bridge on our return was only under a partial fire; but the enemy -was again heavily shelling the village. - - -_March 15._ - -From "The Birds" I passed on to a rather similar position occupied by -another regiment. In this case only a small section beyond the river -was held, and the Austrian trenches were at a distance of 800 to -1000 yards. This meant a good deal of difference. The enemy was not -pestering the advance posts with bombs at short range and incessant -musketry fire. The approach was again over a plain bare except for some -patches of trees, and there was again a lofty church, this time of -particularly handsome outlines, ruined by the Austrian artillery fire. -From afar its two towers looked like severed and half-twisted stalks. -The Austrians evidently feel sure that all churches are observation -points for the Russian artillery. In this they are quite wrong. The -Russians in general avoid all such use of churches; I know of many -cases in this war in which churches have figured as points of vantage, -but always for the Austrians. In more than one case, after the Austrian -retreat, telephones for spy's communications have been found attached -to the altars, and once a priest was caught at this work. - -We left our horses at a ruined building and crossed the bridge. The -advanced works were deep and well constructed but, as at "The Birds," -the trenches were often full of water, and one had to walk along them -frog-wise with a foot pressed against each side. This did not affect -the actual shelters of the officers and men, which were dry and fairly -comfortable, with lots of straw. One could look through the embrasures -or even in some parts over the top of the works, without being likely -to confuse the Austrian lines with the Russians as one did at "The -Birds." At one place, however, there was an unusual sight. A covered -way actually ran without interruption direct from the one line to the -other and was often used by the scouts of either side. At the Russian -side it came right up to the wire entanglements and the rampart, and -here there were always stationed sharpshooters with loaded rifles -commanding it for about fifty yards. The enemy's lines were, of course, -very plainly visible. - -In January a considerable action took place within this narrow compass. -The Austrians came out in force and tried to storm the trenches. They -swarmed up to the wire entanglements--over which the Russians in -general took less trouble than the enemy, as they ordinarily have the -confidence of the aggressive--but they were beaten off with terrible -loss. Blue uniforms covered all the space between the two lines. Those -who fell nearest to the trenches were buried by the Russians without -delay; but the Austrians made no attempt to bury their dead lying -between, and their fire makes it quite impossible for the Russians to -come out for this purpose. Thus, two months after the engagement, I -saw these bodies still rotting there; it will soon be spring; and with -the two lines so close the danger of infection is pressing for both -sides. It would only need a truce of three hours to remove it, and the -Russians would gladly make this arrangement and do the work. It seems -to me one of those matters which even in this war could be dealt with -by some international association, and I have communicated the details, -through Prince Dolgorukov, to the Peace Society of Moscow. - -As usual in the regiments, and more especially in the trenches, I -delivered with the wish of the colonels a greeting to the men from -England; and it is one of my chief interests, in making these visits, -to see how warmly it is returned, usually with some variant of the -Russian military response, "We are glad to do our best"--such as, for -instance, "We'll have a try together and finish him." Here the men were -particularly cordial. There was the usual interchange of news with the -officers as to the eastern and western fronts. I think I may repeat -that there is nowhere a more generous appreciation of England's work -in the war than in the front lines of the Russian army. The attack -on the Dardanelles, which promises to be the most decisive blow that -has yet been dealt, arouses the greatest enthusiasm; and the military -preparations of England, their wholeheartedness and thoroughness, are -a tremendous source of confidence to the Russians. How many times it -has been said to me: "With England with us, we know we shall make a -clean job of it." Here an officer quoted his father, who had always -told him, "Where England is, there things go right," The support is -not only moral. The spirit in the two countries is so identical that I -frequently find in my letters from England the same phrases, word for -word, as I am hearing in conversation here. But it is much more than -that; and when it becomes known how close, detailed and far-reaching is -the co-operation between the three chief Allies, I am sure that it will -be found that no alliance was ever more close or more effective. - -Our reappearance on the bridge drew a few bullets. In general all this -firing has very little result, and our people do not take the trouble -to reply to it. As to artillery, I am sure they fire more than twenty -shells to every one of ours. They do it in a routine way at fixed -times for an hour, two hours or three at a time. Our artillery lets -it pass till it becomes a nuisance and then, with infinitely superior -precision, plumps a few shells straight into their lines. This sight I -have witnessed more than once from our infantry trenches, which might -be miles from our guns but were only a few hundred yards from the marks -that they aimed at. It was interesting to see the immediate rebound of -spirits among our infantry, who had been sitting almost without reply -under the aimless crash and roar of the enemy's fire. By instinct they -at once looked freely over the ramparts as privileged spectators, and -called out to each other "Got him again," as the smoke of our shells -rose from the enemy's line. At such times, indeed, the Austrian fire -stops almost immediately; and in one place, after the first Russian -shell, a commanding voice came to us from the other side: "Corporal, -cease firing." - - -_March 26._ - -The bombardment of Tarnow has continued. It is now nearly three months -that it has gone on intermittently. Yesterday I was walking along a -street when the heavy bustling goods-train sound of a big shell came -rattling close overhead. There was a crash somewhere near, and a few -soldiers who were close to us laughed and picked up a jagged segment. -The street seemed full of people at once, and all moving toward where -the shell had fallen. An old soldier with a cut face came moodily -toward me, so I took his arm and walked with the crowd, as it was -taking the direction of the chief local hospital, in which I often -worked. - -I was afraid that the hospital itself was hit. Far as it was from the -railway or anything of military importance, it had more than once had -the attention of the German heavy artillery. In January, while I was in -this hospital, a shell passed over us so near as to take the breath of -the heavily-wounded Austrians who were lying there, and lodged about -two hundred yards off, reducing a house to ruins. Some weeks later -another shell lodged on an open space about 150 yards off. The Russian -sisters of mercy, under Miss Homyakov, never lost their heads for a -minute and set about reassuring the wounded; but these last, who were -themselves entirely helpless and could not distract their attention by -helping any one else, were very agitated. No one was more indignant -than the wounded Austrian officers, especially a colonel from Hungary, -who regarded the German shot as without any kind of justification. -The Russian Red Cross staff were urged from some sides to move the -hospital to a safer place, but the sisters absolutely refused, because -to transport many of the wounded would have meant death to them. The -Commander of the Army conferred the George medal on them for their -courage. - -As I now neared the hospital, I saw a huge rent in the building in -front of it, which was mostly unoccupied. A whole wall of this huge -building was torn out, and the iron staircase within was twisted into -fantastic shapes. At the door of the hospital, nearly all the windows -of which were broken, stood a crowd of townspeople, mostly women and -children bringing in wounded. The operating-room was full; on one -side an old man, on another a wounded girl with blanched face, and -in an ante-room a woman with a wounded baby. Here the local Polish -medical staff works hand in hand with the Russians; and with remarkable -expedition the wounded all received first aid within half an hour. - -Twenty minutes, however, had hardly passed when a second shell -banged into something else close to us. I found a little Polish boy, -previously amputated here, crouching in the corridor and shivering with -fear: I had to carry him back to his ward. Not more than 250 yards -off there was a large crowd looking at the new big shell pit (the -shell came from a 12-inch gun). In a garden lay the corpse of a girl -of twenty, terribly mangled, so that no head was to be distinguished; -and her father, running up, cried as if his heart would break and fell -beside her. The people, who are of course Austrian subjects, were -furious. - -Two days later the Commandant put up posters announcing that, on the -statement of a captured Austrian officer, these guns are served by a -native of Tarnow. - -Throughout the bombardment there have been hardly any Russian troops in -the town, and it is the local population that suffers. The closeness of -so many shell pits near the hospital suggests that this is one of the -regular "numbers" or aims of the German artillery. - - -_March 30._ - -The fall of Przemysl, which will now no doubt be called by its Russian -name of Peremyshl, is in every way surprising. - -Even a few days before, quite well-informed people had no idea that -the end was coming so soon. The town was a first-class fortress, whose -development had been an object of special solicitude to the late -Archduke Francis Ferdinand. Of course it was recognised that Peremyshl -was the gate of Hungary and the key to Galicia; but, more than that, it -was strengthened into a great point of debouchement for an aggressive -movement by Austro-Hungary against Russia; for the Russian policy -of Austria, like her original plan of campaign, was based on the -assumption of the offensive. It was generally understood that Peremyshl -was garrisoned by about 50,000 men, that the garrison was exclusively -Hungarian, and that the commander, Kusmanek, was one of the few really -able Austrian commanders in this war. The stores were said to be enough -for a siege of three years. The circle of the forts was so extended as -to make operations easy against any but the largest blockading force; -and the aerodrome, which was well covered, gave communication with the -outside world. An air post has run almost regularly, the letters (of -which I have some) being stamped "Flieger-Post." As long as Peremyshl -held out, the local Jews constantly circulated rumours of an Austrian -return, and the Russian tenure of Galicia remained precarious. The -practical difficulties offered to the Russians by Peremyshl were very -great; for the one double railway line westward runs through the -town, so that all military and Red Cross communications have been -indefinitely lengthened. - -My friend "Wiggins" did his part toward the taking of Peremyshl. The -air-postmen, on their long journey to the fortress, are often shot at -and sometimes brought down. An Austrian airman found himself compelled -to descend on our ground; "Wiggins" sent a cart to be ready for him as -he alighted, and that night all his papers were worked through. Among -them was the now well-known army order of Kusmanek, announcing that the -only way of safety lay through the enemy's lines, and that the men must -conquer or die. But side by side with it was a letter from an Austrian -staff officer to his wife. He explained that he took this opportunity -of eluding the military censor, that a sortie was determined on, but -that it was not likely to succeed, and that as to danger his wife need -not feel anxious, as the staff did not go into the firing line. Word -was sent off at once to the blockading army to expect the sortie. - -For weeks past the fortress had kept up a terrific fire which was -greater than any experienced elsewhere from Austrian artillery. -Thousands of shells yielded only tens of wounded, and it would seem -that the Austrians could have had no other object than to get rid -of their ammunition. The fire was now intensified to stupendous -proportions and the sortie took place; but, so far from the whole -garrison coming out, it was only a portion of it, and was driven back -with the annihilation of almost a whole division. - -Now followed extraordinary scenes. Austrian soldiers were seen -fighting each other, while the Russians looked on. Amid the chaos a -small group of staff officers appeared, casually enough, with a white -flag, and announced surrender. Austrians were seen cutting pieces -out of slaughtered horses that lay in heaps, and showing an entire -indifference to their capture. Explosions of war material continued -after the surrender. - -The greatest surprise of all was the strength of the garrison, which -numbered not 50,000 but 130,000, which makes of Peremyshl a second -Metz. Different explanations are offered; for instance, troops which -had lost their field trains and therefore their mobility are reported -to have taken refuge in Peremyshl after Rava Russka, but surely the -subsequent withdrawal of the blockade gave them ample time for retreat. -A more convincing account is that Peremyshl was full of depôts, left -there to be supports of a great advancing field army. In any case no -kind of defence can be pleaded for the surrender of this imposing force. - -The numbers of the garrison of course reduced to one-third the time -during which the food supplies would last; but even so the fortress -should have held out for a year. The epidemic diseases within the -lines supply only a partial explanation. The troops, instead of being -all Hungarians, were of various Austrian nationalities; and there is -good reason to think that the conditions of defence led to feuds, -brawls, and in the end open disobedience of orders. This was all the -more likely because, while food was squandered on the officers, the -rank and file and the local population were reduced to extremes, and -because the officers, to judge by the first sortie, took but little -part in the actual fighting. The wholesale slaughter of horses of -itself robbed the army of its mobility. The fall of Peremyshl is the -most striking example so far of the general demoralisation of the -Austrian army and monarchy. - -Peremyshl, so long a formidable hindrance to the Russians, is now a -splendid base for an advance into Hungary. - - -_April 1._ - -I am afraid to-day, which, by the way, was Bismarck's birthday, is a -bad date to put to any anticipations as to the war. But things seem to -be taking a more definite direction than for some months past, and one -may say that the possibility of decisive events is now in sight. - -If one glances along both fronts, western and eastern, one sees, I -think, only a single point at which a really decisive blow, military -and political, is possible; it is, of course, the junction on the -eastern front of Austro-Hungary and Germany. This has been clear to -every one for some time past. But one may go further. The greatest -strength of our enemies, both political and military, lies in two -parts, Prussia and Hungary; and the gap between Prussia and Hungary is -a very much wider one than the Austro-German frontier. In this gap lie -Slavonic peoples, the Czechs (Bohemians), Moravians and Slovaks, whose -representatives in arms have shown by extensive surrenders that their -sympathies are rather with us than with the enemy. A number of mountain -chains, the Carpathians, Giant Mountains, Erzgebirge and Böhmerwald, -give this group rough geographical boundaries. - -Germany, under the lead of Prussia, is a powerful and compact unit -which has so far given itself heart and soul to this war. Divisions -in the future here are by no means impossible. There have been brawls -even in this war between Prussian and Bavarian troops (in the Argonne); -and it is not difficult to picture a return of the old jealousies -which less than fifty years ago put South Germany and Saxony into the -opposite camp to Prussia. Here, too, the Böhmerwald, Thüringerwald and -Erzgebirge have a traditional political and military significance; but -such divisions are not at present in sight, and can only follow on -decisive events on the western front. Prussia is at present not at all -likely to be troubled by them. - -It is very different with Hungary. What an extraordinary position this -valiant people holds, drowned, as has been said, in an ocean of Slavs, -and what vigour it has shown in maintaining it. The Magyar from Asia -has planted himself on the rolling plains of the Theiss and Danube and, -though he does not inhabit the surrounding mountains, he has managed -to grip them into a strong kingdom with good geographical boundaries. -He has made himself the equal, almost the predominant partner with -Vienna and the Austrian Germans in the Austro-Hungarian state, and his -strength rests in the deprivation of the surrounding Slavs of any equal -voice in the destinies of this monarchy. He has gone wholesale for the -intimate connexion between Austro-Hungary and Germany which makes the -first an instrument of the policy of the second, with many incidental -gains to himself at the expense of the Slavs. - -Now for the Magyar has come a time of reckoning. Russia, the big -brother of the Slavs and his own hereditary enemy, stands at his door. -The protecting glacis of Galicia has been torn away and Peremyshl, -the road out and the road in, has fallen. Even on the south there is -a victorious enemy, the Serbian, who has just claims on some of his -territory. To east, the sky is equally cloudy for him. Transylvania, a -mountain barrier whose loss would leave him defenceless on this side, -has a large Rumanian population, which his oppressive policy has driven -to its natural affinities; and Rumania seeks the realisation here of -her traditional ambitions. - -The Russians are fighting their way from hill to hill through the -Carpathians. The Austro-Hungarian army has suffered severely in each of -the many counterstrokes which it had to attempt in the interest of the -German plan of common defence. The cavalry is practically gone and the -infantry is very exhausted. Sacrifice made to Germany at the beginning -of the war, when so many of the Austro-Hungarian guns and motors were -sent to the western front, have left their marks on the Hungarian -artillery. The Carpathians are like a fan, and might perhaps have been -held from the inside, but they have at many points been lost step by -step; and once they are crossed, the converging passes will bring the -Russians together into a compact mass on the further side. - -There is one strong man in Hungary, Count Tisza, and he still reserves -his hand. He is fighting meanwhile the desperate battle of the -Austro-German connexion, to abandon which is to put Hungary at the -mercy of Russia and to sign the abdication of the Magyars' mastery over -his Slav subjects; but this seems to be the result which awaits him -almost inevitably. - -Germany is for every reason bound to do all that she can to save -Hungary. But the Russian advance, whatever direction it takes, must -make an ever-widening gap between the two allies. - - -_April 4._ - -I had known the airmen for some time. Sometimes I met them discussing -sporting enterprises with their chief in the conspirative quarters -of "Wiggins." Sometimes I dropped in at their spacious lodging in -the town, where everything, meals, talk or plans, seemed to go with -a peculiar briskness and lightness; in particular there was this -touch about any of the several services which they rendered me. It -was Russian in spirit, but in manner very reminiscent of England. -Several of the airmen might be English, and one of them they call "the -Englishman." - -On every fine day we see the aeroplanes above the town, and at -different points on both sides there are batteries for firing on them. -There are no longer duels of airmen on the eastern front; there were -two or three, but now they are apparently forbidden on both sides. It -was felt to be waste to lose a competent airman in order to kill one -of the enemy. This means that there is no such attempt on either side -to drive the enemy from the air, as was anticipated by Mr. Wells. Thus -on both sides the airman has come to stay, and the whole significance -of his work is not in fighting but scouting. It is, of course, far the -most valuable scout-work that can be done; altogether wider and more -far-reaching than any other kind; and there can hardly be any doubt -that in the future no Chief of Staff but will have to fly and to fly -often. On nearly every one of Napoleon's battlefields one will find -some commanding point from which he fought and won; there is no such -point at Borodino or Leipzig, but that helps to explain why these -battles were not won. Now, with the scope of operations and of pitched -battles enormously enlarged, there has come also the ideal way of -seeing. - -On the other hand, the earth does not give up without a fight. -Batteries capable of any direction and almost any elevation can guard -those parts where the enemy's eye is most to be avoided. Experience on -this side shows that the airman can be kept out of such parts. - -The contest is an interesting one to watch. The airman has first to -fetch inland, that is away from his own lines in order to get as much -height as possible. The guns can hit far higher than the airman will -fly, that is if they wish to see anything. The Austrian flyers are -therefore well within range, and the Russians, who take more sporting -risks, often go not much more than half the height of the Austrians. -In this connexion one must remember the infinitely greater precision -of the Russian artillery. On a fine day the buzz of the aeroplanes and -the boom of the batteries are among the most customary sounds here. -One sees the little puff of shrapnel at different points in the blue -sky; the aeroplane always makes off as soon as possible, and it is -seldom hit. It is hard to hit the motor, though I have seen an airship -which we struck on one of its cylinders; shots on the wings or tail are -seldom dangerous. The man who knows least of what is happening is the -airman himself, for the noise of his motor drowns any other. - - -_April 6._ - -Yesterday I went out to the aerodrome. I was given some breakfast in -a cottage, and saw the different types of machines while waiting for -the Chief of the Section. I was also shown the little missiles which -the Austrians and Russians respectively let fall: the Austrian is like -a pointed thermometer and the Russian is like a rounded letter-weight -with little wings. After a while there came over the high level ground -a tall man with a swinging stride and a little grizzled man whose walk -and manner spoke of quickness and decision. This last was the Chief of -the Section, and he has a great reputation among Russian airmen. Two of -the smaller machines went out scouting. One seemed at first a little -unsteady, but the other made a splendid take-off and rose like a bird; -soon one of them returned, having gone far beyond the enemy's line in -an hour and a half. My turn came next, and I was seated in a larger -machine with a most capable chauffeur, who sat in front of me. He -cried: "Contact obtained"; the men fell back for a moment, and then we -rushed smoothly along the ground, soon rising into the air. We made a -circle above the town, returned over the aerodrome, saluted our friends -and then struck away inland away from the front to get the necessary -elevation. We passed over a map of ponds and villages and copses, all -clearly marked in the bright sunshine, with the long ridge of the snowy -Carpathians to the right of us. Then we turned and swept higher over -the same ground as before straight for the lines. In front, at right -angles to us, lay the dividing river like a long, twisted ribbon, and -as soon as we neared it we swept to the right and along it. All the -different points at which I had stayed came out clear in the sunlight. -Here was the piece across the river where I had seen the scouting; -there were "The Birds" with the high ruined church behind them; further -came the smaller outpost; and in the distance lay the marshes in the -neighbourhood of the Upper Vistula. We again faced about and this time -passed right over the river which divided the hostile lines, following -it further southward by the broken bridge and to the main road, near -the point where I had sat at night among the sentries and to the hills -which had been the scene of the action with the Tirolese. But for me -the main interest of this, my first air ride, was that suddenly the -unknown land beyond the fatal line was as clearly outlined as all -that was so well known to me. Till now I had seen here a field and a -line of ramparts, there a river with trees, and there again a hill. -It is true that sometimes I had had good field-glass views of a given -landscape with signs of life, but now to the naked eye both sides were -for the first time parts of one common world, the dividing line ran -thin and almost undividing, and all was alive. There occurs to one the -notable description by Tolstoy of Nicholas Rostov looking across the -field. The wonderful and real things that that field meant were gone. -The tremendous and human struggle of all Europe was become a simple -problem of science; one had mounted to the skies and reached what -Napoleon, with his heartlessness and his seeing mind, had called "the -celestial side of the art of war." What would he have given for this -view, where his trained eye could have marked down not only the numbers -indicated by slight symptoms, but the full bearing of each, suggested -by the flash of genius so typical of him. Surely it was a measure of -magnificent consolation for the enormous widening of the area of combat. - -The dull flats beyond the river rose to higher ground eastward, and -there on a high wooded plateau ran the railway dead straight, and at -one point a stationary train marked the centre of many of our troubles, -the point from which the 42-centimetre guns had been bombarding Tarnow. -As our aeroplanes flew along the river, there flicked out from a copse -a shot from a masked Austrian air-battery, posted there to keep off the -too curious eye. I was told afterwards that there were other shots, but -we did not see or hear them. - -We returned as we came, making a great circuit away from the lines and -wheeling always nearer to the earth. We made a straight drive over the -aerodrome while the company of airmen stood at the salute, and after -circling once more over the town came to the ground. We had had an -hour's run, and our highest elevation was 1200 metres. It appeared -that there had been awkward currents of wind and that we had wobbled a -good deal, but it had not seemed so to me, and what I remembered was a -smooth, regular motion and a broad back and a cool head in front of me. - - -_April 7._ - -My flying friends have a small but very interesting collection of -letters which, with the leave of the authorities, no doubt on both -sides, have been exchanged between them and the airmen of the enemy. -It is headed simply, "Correspondence with the --th Austrian Section of -Aviators." It opens with a letter from the Russian Chief of Section: -"Airmen of yours have been taken prisoner in civil costume. They said -that our officers have also, which we doubt. Please let us know what -is the character of the serious wound of Lt. X, taken prisoner by you -on January --th." This note was dropped on the Austrian aerodrome -with two letters from Austrian prisoners. As the answer was delayed, -the Russians dropped a second note, this time in German, on the -same place. It reported that the captive Austrians were unwounded -and proceeds: "Your note picked up at ---- on the ----th of March -leaves the impression that our first message has not reached you; we -therefore would respectfully ask you to answer our note. We also send a -friendly-foemanly request that you will give us news of our airman, Lt. -----. He was taken prisoner on the --th of January and was wounded. We -should like to know how it happened and whether the wound is slight or -serious.--The Russian Flyers." - -To this the following answer was received from the Austrian Chief of -Section: "My hearty thanks for your letter, which I have just got. I -am sorry that I have not had time to drop on you a photograph of the -machine of Lt. ----. On March the --th and the --th we have dropped you -news of your airmen taken prisoners _[the names follow_]. I therefore -repeat that all four were unwounded and have probably been transported -to the prettiest part of our country, Salzburg. Lts. ---- and ---- got -a shot on their sparking apparatus. I have myself had a talk with Lt. -----. I saw _no signs_ of any wound. In future every note of yours will -be answered, and the answer will be dropped on your aerodrome.--With -best greeting, Your ever devoted enemy, August, Baron von Mandelslob." - -To this the Russians replied, under name and address of the Austrian -Chief of Staff: "Our hearty thanks for yesterday's note which dropped -straight on our aerodrome. We are sorry not to be able to tell you -to what part of our country your airmen have been sent, but we think -that the address will soon be sent you by earth-post by the prisoners -themselves. The _Albatross_ was shot to pieces, about thirty bullets -in the wings and body. One bullet hit the propeller, but made only a -smooth hole without any fissure. The two airmen, Lts. ---- and ---- -are unhurt. With this note we shall drop on you two letters from the -prisoners. Please address your next note as follows (----). God greet -you.--The Russian Flyers." - -The Austrians continued: "A few days ago our airmen, Captain ----, -Oberleutnant ----, Oberleutnant ----, Professor D---- and two -lieutenants with two airship chauffeurs, left Przemysl in a balloon and -are lost. We beg you friendly-foemanly to drop on our aerodrome news of -these officers" [_three signatures_]. Baron von Mandelslob also writes: -"Many thanks for your last lines about the loss of our _Albatross_. -I am sorry to say that we have not for some time had the honour of -seeing Russian airmen among us on the ground. Will you be so kind as to -forward to Omsk the accompanying note to our captive airman, Lt. ----? -We will try to get the address of your airmen prisoners, and then you -will be able to write to them. Best greeting." - -The Russians reply: "A happy Easter. Many thanks for yesterday's -letter. Your note will be sent at once to Lt. ----. On March --th -we received a communication about three balloons from Pzremysl. It -was signed by Captain Kahlen. As we do not know this gentleman, we -address to you, with the friendly request to forward to him. All the -three balloons landed in Russia. We have only private news of them, -and understand that all the airmen were alive and well. We ask you to -forward the four accompanying letters to the proper addresses. We have -been waiting for an answer to our letter of the --th, and that is why -these letters are late. What was wrong with your motor yesterday? We -thought we should soon have the honour of seeing the enemy's airship -land on our aerodrome. Best greeting and Easter wishes to all the -gentlemen of the ---- Section of Aviators.--The Russian Flyers." This -letter was dropped on the Austrian aerodrome, and also on the same day -an Easter egg and a large box of Russian cigarettes. On Easter Sunday -an enormous Easter egg, with the inscription in Russian "Christ is -risen," was dropped from an aeroplane and, having a parachute attached -to it, fell slowly on the Austrian lines. - - -_April 8._ - -It was Easter Eve. A wide awning had been set up, and in front of it -an altar with flaming lights all round it. The tall priest served -the Liturgy with wonderful spirit; sometimes it was a hurried and -fervent whisper; sometimes his voice rose to a battle-cry, as when -he powerfully swayed the Cross almost as if it were a weapon. On the -grass, grouped in chance masses, stood the soldiers of the N regiment, -most of them holding lighted candles, with their officers gathered in -front. The young colonel stood near the priest; through Lent he had -shown the example of rigorous fasting. On the other side was a strong -choir of soldiers, led with the slightest movements of the hand. - -The service begins with a time of waiting; then there are movements of -expectancy, and the priest retires, as if to see whether the coffin of -the Saviour is still in its place. He comes back and whispers, "Christ -is risen," and these words, which are themselves in Russian like a -whisper ("Christos Voskres") are taken up by the choir, first very -softly and later rising to a song of triumph. - -The service ends with the Eucharist. The words "Lift up your hearts" -were a moment of wonderful spirit and elevation. The priest took the -Sacrament on bended knees with the greatest reverence and feeling, and -administered it to two of the soldiers. - -Now every one, beginning with the colonel, approached in turn to kiss -the Cross. Then each turned to his neighbour and gave the threefold -brother's kiss, with the words "Christ is risen," to which comes the -answer, "He is risen indeed." All the officers gave the kiss to the -priest and the colonel. From the neighbouring lines shone out two -projectors, whose lights crossed to form the first letter of the name -of Christ--X. - -We drove off to the officers' mess, which was in a large cottage. At -the crowded tables there reigned the spirit of brotherhood. After the -Emperor's toast the colonel and the regiment drank to King George and -England, and all stood waving their glasses and roaring hurrah, while -I went round and touched glasses with each. My toast was that the -alliance should last on after the war. We had other toasts, the sisters -of mercy, the colonel's wife, and above all the regiment. It was well -on in the early morning when the young officers on horseback escorted -their guests back to the town. - -On Easter Sunday some of the Red Cross people went out to the front. -At this point both sides had agreed not to shoot, and the men came out -of their trenches and fraternised across the Dunajec, the Russians -producing a harmonium. Newspapers were exchanged; and an Austrian -officer sat down and wrote some impromptu verses, which he fastened to -a stone and threw across. The verses began very peaceably, but had an -unexpected end which, my friends felt, would be specially interesting -to me. I give them in German with a translation-- - - Auf Grund der hohen Feier tage - Geändert unsere Feindeslage. - Wir leben heut' in tiefem Frieden: - Zur kürzen Zeit ist's uns beschieden, - Dann werden wir die Waffen mässen; - Jedoch soll niemals man vergessen - Den Stifter deiser Weltenbrand. - "Gott Strafe England." - - The holy days of Easter-tide - Have set our enmity aside. - We live in perfect peace to-day: - 'Tis but a little time we may, - Then to our weapons we must get; - But ever we'll remember yet - Who lit this fire of world-wide wrack; - O God, pay England back. - - -_April 9._ - -I have been visiting my friends at the Staff of the army at Jaslo. Even -this place has not been immune, bombs have been thrown from aeroplanes, -doing no damage to the army but wounding and killing some children. - -I visited the General in command, who is in splendid spirits. He is the -simplest of men, and stops in the streets to talk to the children or to -any new arrival. He is happy now, because things are going forward. - -The Staff lies in rather better quarters here, but with the same -simplicity as when I first visited it at Pilsno. One of the regiments -I knew came through in fine style with its colonel at its head; it -had done forty-eight miles in two days, and was ready for any amount -more. The different battalions were singing different soldiers' songs, -each taking pride in getting a good swing and putting in the best foot -forward. I was struck with one man who marched at the side leading the -songs with a mouth like a brass instrument and a voice to match. - -Two German airmen have just come down here. They had made a wide -circuit, and were brought down by the failure of their motor. As always -here, they are being well treated. Even in the case of spies caught -red-handed, it is most difficult to get the Russian soldier to shoot, -especially if the condemned shows any sign of fear. - -Austrian soldiers are to be seen here everywhere. The Germans and -Magyars are under close surveillance; but the Austrian Slavs are -ordinarily allowed to wander about freely. Many of them have shown in -the most thorough way their attachment to the Russian cause; but I am -told on the best authority for this area, that there is not a known -instance of their abusing their liberty to play the part of spies. At -many points on the Austrian front the Slavonic cause is like a kind of -contagion. Under German direction disaffected troops are moved from one -point to another to escape this infection, and finally, at the first -opportunity, come over _en masse_. - -Every day the prisoners are gathered together in groups according to -their various nationalities for examination. These interrogations, -which are of a very systematic kind, obtain very interesting results. -Most of the prisoners testify to a shortness of food, not only in the -front but in the rear. Letters from home to them speak of the dearness -of all food; some necessities cannot even be obtained for money, and -different parts of the empire are applying to each other for them in -vain. Nowhere is there any spirit left. The only comfort which the -officers can suggest is to await some success from the Germans. Some, -moreover, describe the officers as being never on view, except to abuse -their men, treating them worse than cattle: "So that one does not know -whether one is a man or not." Only one Austrian officer so far has -been taken in this part with a bayonet wound. It is known that there -have been further protests in Bohemia after the taking of Peremyshl, -and that the severest repression has been used, also that two Polish -regiments have been literally decimated, that is, that every tenth -man in them has been shot. One man's brother writes to him that he is -called for the first time to the army at the age of forty-eight, and in -his part the last call covers those between forty-two and fifty-two. -Other new battalions are formed, ninety per cent. of reservists and -ten per cent. of wounded who have returned to the colours; in most of -them there is now a hopeless mix up of all nationalities. Some describe -their training as having only lasted four weeks. In all cases the -preoccupation of the commanding officers is regarding retreat. - - -_April 11._ - -The centre of interest is now in the Carpathians. If Russia could -have advanced with success against the strong German positions in -East Prussia, she would have secured her right flank, but only as far -as the sea, which would still have remained in German hands. On her -left, her victories in Galicia have brought her to a very different -barrier, which, if passed by her, will certainly remain impassable for -the beaten enemy. It is a good thing that the Austrians, continually -spurred forward by the Germans, have exhausted themselves in one -desperate counter-attack after another on Galicia. It is a good thing -that the Germans, realising what the ultimate defeat of Austria must -mean to them, have diverted so many of their forces to this side. It is -best of all that they have risked a desperate advance in the Bukovina -and even as far as the Russian frontier, in the hope of dragging -Rumania in on their side. The fall of Peremyshl has opened the gates of -Hungary and has made possible a movement which threatens vital results -on this front. Hungary and Prussia are the two keys to our triumph in -this war. The one element in Austria that holds firm to the Prussian -alliance is the Magyar; the one statesman in Austria is the Hungarian, -Count Tisza, whose estate almost on the crest of the Carpathians is now -in Russian hands. A Russian advance on this side can crush Hungary or -cut her from Prussia. It can bring even the Magyar to wish for peace; -it can finally put aside all action of Austria; and along the real -barrier thus secured to the south, it can facilitate the concentration -of the forces of the allies against the main enemy. It is, indeed, good -that this effect comes at the time when we are hammering at the gates -of Constantinople and opening up an effective advance from our western -front. - -But the task in the Carpathians is a stupendous one, and it comes when -the Russian army has been tried to the full by the tremendous work -which it has already gone through. We had in England no adequate army -when the war began; we had not reckoned on the shameless violation of -Belgian territory or on the obligations of a joint struggle with allies -for the independence of Europe. Every one in Russia understands the -miracle that we have done in creating so rapidly a really competent -continental army on the basis of volunteer service, and every one sees -that we were right to defer our blow till the great new instrument -was whole and perfected. But it is Russia who has given us time for -preparing our action on land; and the sacrifices which this has cost -her are heavy indeed. The tremendous impact at Rava Ruska was followed -by another prolonged and exterminating effort on the San, and this -takes no account of the work which was done in holding the furious -attacks of the main enemy in Russian Poland. These efforts put a -terrible drain on the Russian resources. While we stood firm on the -west, whole Russian regiments were almost annihilated in the victorious -storming of one Austrian position after another. In my earlier visits -to regiments I have often asked how many men of the first call still -remain; sometimes only six of a company were still left, sometimes -it was hardly more out of a whole regiment. It was an army already -replaced at almost every point which had to attempt the conquest of the -Carpathians. - -The Carpathians are not the Alps. It might be easier if they were, for -there would be fewer positions capable of being defended. They are a -belt of high and higher hills some sixty miles or more in breadth, -where whole armies can hold line after line. They are full of trees, -water and mud. Only one double line of railway runs through them. -As they have the shape of a fan spread northwards, the defence can -concentrate backward along the various converging passes and can, in -a relatively small space, almost block the narrow entrance to the -Hungarian plain. But once that final barrier is passed, Hungary is -lost. Any counter advance can be blocked without great expenditure -of forces, and the conqueror will be free to advance southwards or -westwards. - - -_April 12._ - -At the Staff of the Army I fell in with a number of casual -acquaintances who all saluted me as "Mister." There was a keen young -flying-man who was now going back to his cavalry regiment, and a -colonel sent to take temporary command of an infantry regiment. The -talk was in fragments and all of incidents of camp life or engagements. -We knew that another advance had been made and that big things were -going forward. - -All night we travelled by train, with changes and queer moments in the -dark when our luggage ought to have been lost but wasn't. In the early -morning the Colonel and I were on an engine climbing the Carpathians -along a fine double track. We sat like Dean and Archdeacon in little -side stalls with our things stacked where there was least coal and -bilge, while the engine-driver, a most intelligent man from the -Caucasus, explained the difficulties of his work. The rise is a very -steep one, and we had a front view of it, passing up long slopes or -through strata of yellow rock. In these mountains one had at once the -feeling of being altogether away from Russia; and the new Russian army -notices blending with the earlier Polish and Hungarian inscriptions -suggested the atmosphere of a big adventure. All along the beautiful -slopes there was the look of a huge Russian picnic, soldiers sitting at -rest in great boyish crowds very much as in peace time the peasants do -on the sloping banks of the Volga. The bright dresses of the Ruthenian -women and the almost theatrical picturesqueness of their men-folk -touched the whole with novelty. - -Alighting at a station near the top, I found the usual war crowd and -park of waiting army carts, and a brisk-faced intendant who rapped out -business-like answers to a running fire of questions from all sides. -My own business was to get to General Dobrotin, and it was made easy -by the appearance of a plain-faced officer who said, "He's the man -who pours cold water over himself in the morning; give him to me; we -know him all over the division." I was soon in a _formanka_--a sort -of boat-like cart which works particularly well in the mountains--and -making my way up the gorge, at first with a broad shallow river to my -left and later branching into the hills. Here in a little gully lay a -scattered village; and the notes of a mountain flute were wafted down -the slope. - -General Dobrotin and his famous division have had far more than their -share of the great fighting in this war; and they have been given one -critical task after another, because their action has so often been -decisive. In no less than three great movements they made the first -cut in, and held the ground won as a kind of pivot until the whole -operation was successfully completed. It was so at Rava Russka, on the -San, and at Muchowka. They had now been transferred to the other flank -of our Army. - -It was the second time that this division, now enlarged into an -army corps, had had mountain fighting, to which the Russian soldier -is much less accustomed than to the plains. This time the task was a -stupendous one. The railway pass crosses one of the lowest parts of -the Carpathians, but close to it rises the long, steep ridge of the -Eastern Beskides, which is the actual crest of the range at this point. -It is covered with forest, and forms a line of rounded heights which -are often separated from each other by almost precipitous gullies. -Along this line ran a chain of carefully prepared positions, which the -Austrian officers regarded as inaccessible. - -Dobrotin's force, brought up with the greatest secrecy, had in some -cases hardly detrained before it was launched to the attack. It soon -mastered the outlying ground and then marched from all sides to the -attack of the main ridge. The Russian infantry, on which has fallen -the brunt of attack in this war, does not ordinarily go forward in -close columns like the German. Groups of men, led by the instinctive -enterprise of the more daring, gain one point of vantage after another, -each of which forms a pivot for an advance of the whole line. In night -attacks the movement can, of course, be more general and more rapid. In -any case the last hundred yards or so are covered at a rush; but there -is an inevitable pause before the wire entanglements, which in front -of the Austrian trenches are generally most elaborate and have to be -cut through with enormous scissors under a storm of fire, especially of -quick-firing guns. - -The Russians went up the slope with unconquerable daring, the new -recruits showing the same courage as those already seasoned by the -war. The whole operation went with a simplicity which made short -work of all obstacles. Under a furious fire the men swarmed into the -Austrian trenches, at once overcoming all opposition. There is no easy -retreat from heights of this kind; everywhere hands were thrown up -and the positions were won. The Russians sit firm on the crest of the -Carpathians. - -The staff from which this crucial attack was directed lived like a -little family of brothers in a farmhouse in the valley. The General, -white-haired, with one eye left, and with two other wounds, but with a -youthful vigour of voice and movement, lived among his officers with -a comradely simplicity, now patting one on the back, now sharing with -another a bench on which to draw up a report, now gazing with amused -interest at the regimental chronicler at work with his typewriter. His -was an authority absolute. - - -_April 14._ - -The F and J Regiments were to storm a height of about 2,500 feet on the -further side of the Beskides and thus close the flank of the newly-won -positions against any turning movement of the enemy. - -I set out in the General's _britchka_ in a swirling storm of sleet. -Ground could only be made very slowly; for the whole country was sunk -in deep mud. On a slope in the road we came upon an ambulance transport -stuck fast, with a couple of soldiers using all their expletives, which -would have translated quite simply into English. Soon afterwards we -had to leave the road and plough through spongy meadows intersected -with ditches. At one ditch there were two sharp cracks, and here both -our springs were broken. - -It was a desolate halting-place, with no one in sight. My -soldier-driver announced: "We shall go nowhere with this to-day." -However, he set to work and showed prodigies of strength and resource, -using broken boughs as levers, detaching certain parts of the carriage -for strange uses in other places, and more than once lifting the cart -almost off its wheels by its own strength. I made a fruitless journey -for help; and a squadron passing on its way to the front could do -nothing for us. My driver did, indeed, succeed in tying up the broken -springs; but the most that he could hope for was to get back safely; so -I went forward on foot over a bog and a moor, to the nearest village. -Here I found a train of transports, whose captain kindly sent help to -the _britchka_, and I myself went on to the staff of the J Regiment. -This was in a Ruthenian cottage several miles behind the firing line; -only orderlies were left here besides the Ruthenian family, which -almost always remains in some corner of its hut during occupation by -the Russians. These people had vigorous, handsome faces, and were -dressed, men and women, in bright colours; they sat almost silent in an -attitude of long waiting. While I was with them, orders came for the -staff to move on: a squad of men marched in, and, saluting, took away -the regimental flag, tramping off southwards. As the last man left, -the Ruthenians began to talk, at first in whispers. Their language was -Russian, their religion Uniat, and they had much more in common with -the invader than with the neighbouring Magyar. - -The delays had spoiled my chance of seeing the action, which was nearly -over. Horses sent from the front took me on to the new headquarters of -the F Regiment. It was a big cottage with two bare, spacious rooms. -On the wall of one were pencil pictures of Hindenburg, surrounded -with a laurel wreath, and Austrian ladies of various degrees of -comeliness. The officer in charge made me comfortable; and from the -outside room were audible the telephone reports from the battlefield. -The first words that I heard were "rank and file many: number not yet -ascertained." - -The staff had left this cottage at six in the morning. At eight the -Russians opened a heavy artillery fire which came home on a weak part -of the enemy's line. At eleven the infantry left its trenches and -advanced, point by point, making shallow holes with head-cover at each -line when it halted. At five in the evening, being now within storming -distance, the whole Russian line went forward. The Austrian front was -pierced at two points; to left and to right their quick-firing guns -continued to play with deadly effect, but with a third great sweep -forward in the centre, the whole position were surrounded and carried, -nothing being possible for the enemy except surrender. The regiment -encamped on the conquered hill. - -All this came in over the telephone, with first some and then more -detail, as to the losses. "G. is killed"; "H. is shot in the ear"; -"L. is wounded"; "G. is missing"; "G. is at the station, seriously -wounded." The group of soldiers at the telephone were all taken up -with the general course of the action. I asked the officer if G. was a -great friend: "I am sorry for him," he said. "He's a comrade." Every -word of the reports was checked by the receiver and then repeated to -the divisional officers. It was clear that the Austrian positions were -very strong, and that the chief damage was done by their machine-guns. - -I was in bed in my corner, when there was a hubbub of rather exacting -voices; it was a group of fifteen captured Austrian officers. One, who -retained the habit of command, quieted the rest and then entered our -room. He was a young captain, strong and healthy, and showed no sign -of confusion or annoyance. He seated himself to the good meal which -his captors had prepared for him, ate with appetite and, turning to -the Russians, said vigorously, "I see no point in this war; it should -be stopped: it is all England's fault." I interposed from my corner -and asked for his reasons; he had none; he said, "That's the only way -that I can explain it; England is the only real enemy of Germany; she -has egged on the others indirectly; and she has kept her own fleet in -harbour." We had a friendly discussion as to the facts of the matter, -especially about the Austrian policy of aggression at the expense of -the Slavs and Russia; and he ended by saying that he knew nothing of -politics and did not think that officers ought to. He told me the -Austrian trenches were flooded, and though the food was fair, the -condition of the men was enough to make his heart bleed. When the hill -was taken, he was at the telephone; he saw that the Russians were -through on the left, that they were through on the right, and that -they were storming the centre. "There was no point in running on them," -he said simply, "so I surrendered. But I'm keeping you awake, am I not?" - -A young sentry came in, saluted the regimental flag, and mounted guard -over it, his face settling at once into a fixed stare. When I woke the -next morning, the man, his pose and his stare were still the same. - -Along the drenched road and fields came numberless batches of blue -Austrian uniforms, prisoners, usually escorted only by one brown -Russian. I had a lot of talk with some of these. "_Miserabel_" was -their word for their condition before capture. All were sick of the -war, "even the Hungarians now, though at first they liked it." "The -main thing," said one, "is that people should not go on killing each -other: nothing else counts. As to territory, it's all one to me to what -State my home belongs; I only want to earn my living." "When you hear -that in Russia," I said, "you will have the kind of peace that you ask -for, but I don't think you ever will." - -The colonel came back with his staff, drenched through, even to -the case of his field-glass, but jubilant. After the rest came a -middle-aged officer with his head bound up, and that gentle look which -accompanies head wounds. He said in a conversational voice "Hurrah" and -sat down. Some one asked him of his wound; and he simply answered, "Oh, -that's nothing." - - -_April 16._ - -I have been to see one of the first regiments which I visited, in its -new surroundings. When I was first with the H's, they were maintaining -ground under difficulties. They were opposite a notable and commanding -height, which could sweep the Russian line with a cross-fire or lodge -bombs among the H's at short range. I remember in particular a visit -to an exposed part of the trenches in company with two officers, one a -fair-haired florid young man who sniped at stray Austrians, the other -also young, but dark and sallow, evidently not strong, to whom this -part of the front had been entrusted. When I said I should like to -visit it, he said, "You'll be killed"; and when I rather pointlessly -said, "That is interesting," he replied, "No, it is not interesting." -He struck me and others as bearing a hard burden, and bearing it well. -I remember the fair young man sniping at the enemy, and also dealing -with a soldier who asked to be sent to the rear. "What's his wound? -That's not much." "Yes, but he has a wife and three children." "Then I -should say he is one of those who ought to stay: he has seen a bit of -life." - -I found the H's beyond the Beskides. My orderly and I rode over a broad -shoulder, then crossed a gully, and climbed the main ridge at one of -its lower points. The Beskides are the frontier between Galicia and -Hungary, and they are in almost every sense a dividing line. From here -the rivers flow respectively north and south--to the Vistula and Baltic -or to the Danube and Black Sea. There is a marked difference between -the views northward and southward. Though on a very much larger scale -and with greater detail, it recalls the difference between the northern -and southern views from Newlands Corner in Surrey. To the north, it -is true, there are descending lines of hills, but they are uniform -and severe, and covered mostly with firs. To the south opens up a -whole series of Hascombes and Hind Heads and, best of all, Horseblock -Hollows. It is an English forest, of oaks and elms and especially -beeches; and the firs and pines, as in Surrey, are in relief and not in -sole possession. Many of the hills are covered with brown fern like the -hills in east Herefordshire. The earth is rich in soil, in water which -seems to bubble to the surface as soon as one makes any hole in it, -and also in snakes, of which a great number have been found wintering -by the Russian soldiers wherever they have entrenched themselves. The -streams are broad and clear with beds of stones and pebbles. - -One looks in vain for any sign of the plain below. In every direction -it is a sea whose waves are hills. This is all the more so because the -broad belt of the Carpathians makes an enfolding curve forward and -southward, both to left and to right. One sees in the distance other -hills as high as the Beskides and to the east the towering mass of the -High Tatra. - -Near the ridge of the Beskides was a great park of horses, and along -the top were trenches and soldiers. All the way down among the beeches -one seemed to be riding straight on to the enemy, whose positions, -unless absolutely enveloped in cloud, seem to be at less than half -their real distance. Soon the horses had to be left in the wood; and -crossing a narrow hollow we came out on a low, bare bluff which was -the line of the H regiment. A green hill loomed up close above us, and -every man and every line of the trenches could be distinguished. This -was the enemy. It seemed only a stone's throw, but when the rifles and -machine-guns first set to work here, they found that they did not carry -the distance and stopped firing. A desultory cannonade was going on, -but it ceased as the evening began to close in; mingled rain and snow -were sweeping in gusts about us, and even the near distance was soon so -shrouded as to seem for us non-existent. We were as if on a promontory -in a dark sea. - -By this time I was in the earth shelter of an old acquaintance, -the commander of the battalion with whom I had passed a night some -months before. How changed he was. Always the soldier, he had before -looked the smart man of the world. Now he was grimed and tired and -had something of the mild and enduring look of a hermit. The water -came through our mud hut everywhere. As we sat eating biscuits and -chocolate, another acquaintance came in and with almost such a smile as -one might have in speaking of a wedding said, "You remember the fair -young man; he is dead." I asked after the sallow young officer. "He -is dead, too; both were killed when we tried to take the green hill -opposite, they are lying out there now." The fair youth just before his -death had telephoned "All in order," and he was first wounded in the -open and then shot dead while looking through his field-glass. The H's -were among the first to move on the Beskides, which they took at the -rush. Here, on the further side, they had three tries at the green hill -in front of us, two at night and one in the early morning; each time -they had won the top, and each time the German troops, which had been -brought up in large numbers to the defence of the Carpathians, proved -too many for them, and they had to retire, leaving their dead behind. -Each attack was made up the stiff ascent in mud knee-deep. Such is the -price to be paid for each hill in the Carpathians. - -All night the water poured in on my host and myself. We lay so as to -avoid, as far as possible, its trickling on the face. At intervals in -this unquiet night one saw the soldier servant rise from where he slept -bowed on a box and move over our squelching floor of fir boughs to try -some new plan to stop the dripping. My host said, "I'm used to it now." -However, next morning he had a great inspection of earth shelters, with -the result that we moved into the telephone hole. I asked a private if -it was better there, and with a glad smile he said, "It's good there -and it's good here; as long as we stand here we have got to suffer; -soon there'll be peace." - -The colonel, whose staff was some way behind, was of the same way of -thinking. He used to like to say, "He that endureth to the end shall -be saved." He had himself lived for a week in our night quarters, till -he was driven out by a shell which fell a yard off and sent a beam -flying past his head. Firing went on most of the time, and while I was -there shots lodged on or near the trenches and at different points on -our path up the Beskides. When I halted to look back from the crest, -a man came up at once and said, "You're under fire." I remember the -quiet reply of one of the soldiers when he was asked if there were any -wounded that day. He said "Not yet." - -I found the regimental staff, with the kindest of colonels, in an -armoured blockhouse that had guarded the railway tunnel between Hungary -and Galicia. I asked him after the two dead officers. The sallow young -man was not dead after all. He had led the storming of the Beskides -and was the first man into the trenches. "He saved the whole thing for -us," said the Colonel, "and I am presenting him for the Cross of St. -George."[1] - - -_April 17._ - -I started off from the General's on a journey of six miles, and I had -an object lesson in the difficulties of movement in this region. My -orderly, naturally, did not know the names of villages in this part, -and thus we found ourselves at a neighbouring station eight miles from -my destination. A train was due; but at any station on this line a long -halt may be necessary for the collection of all that must be forwarded, -whether troops or material. I spent the interval at a local Feeding -Point, where I had some acquaintances. Only a soldier-caretaker was -there, attending to a young scout-leader who had got a shrapnel wound. - -At last the train moved off. I had made a couch of my wraps in a large -goods wagon; but I was the only passenger who travelled in comfort. The -others were private soldiers, and in the dark they talked freely, and -were entirely themselves. One of them was telling sad things of the -losses in his regiment, of how the telephone might have saved them, -but had broken down. "You won't manage in war without loss," said one -of the elder men. "No losses, no victory." Few as they were, his words -summed up the difference between sitting in trenches and making ground -by attack. They talked on; and as one often notices in these night -talks of the Russian privates, there was a kind of sacred simplicity, -which left one thinking. I recalled the Austrian private who did not -care what country his home belonged to as long as he earned his own -living. - -Seven hours had passed since I left my starting-point, and I was still -a mile and a half from my destination. I decided to walk, and set out -along the railway. The night was dark, and the only light was from the -enemy's projectors. There were bridges over deep gullies that called -for caution; and every hundred yards or so I was hailed by a sentry; -one of them asked naïvely whether I was a Magyar. Anyhow, I reached the -station an hour and a half before the train; and in the half-smashed -station building I found first an ambulance room, and above it a little -band of devoted workers with whom I had lived at another part of the -front. - -This forward detachment of the Red Cross was always keen and united. -It worked under fire during a time of retreat, and all its members -had the George medal for courage. When I was with them it was a slack -time; and the result was that one member of the band after another felt -the effects of the previous stress and had to go off to Russia. Now -they had struck another period of arduous work, and the absent ones -were returning with a few new additions. Work pulls people together, -especially out here, and they were making more effort than ever. When I -reached their very modest quarters (two rooms: one for the sisters and -one for the men), I could not make out where the ambulance rooms ended, -because each member's bed in the detachment was occupied by a wounded -man or invalid awaiting the evacuation train. Here was an old colonel -(they had nursed several here); there was a private, who had won first -the George Cross and then a commission. Judging by my own experience, I -fully expected the train to be hours late, and thought the detachment -would get no sleep till the morning. However, the train drew up, the -officers thanked and kissed the gentlemen of the detachment, and the -room was clear. I had a warm welcome from my friends, and a bed was -found for me. - -The next day I had an interesting talk with some cordial officers -at the staff of a brigade which had taken 7000 prisoners, or almost -the number of its own men, from the enemy since December. In all the -regiments in the Austrian army the various nationalities were now -hopelessly mixed up. They told me of a Serbian, an officer in an -Austrian regiment, who had been court-martialled and transferred for -not joining, at a banquet, in toasting the extermination of Serbia. All -the Austrians, they said, are now for peace, and the military oath, -to which, in this non-national state, the greatest significance is -attached, is the only deterrent from wholesale surrender. As always -elsewhere at the front, I found the greatest enthusiasm for the work of -England in the allied cause. - -I ended this journey in an ambulance train standing at Mezolaborcz, -which is already Hungary. The chief of the train, though I did not -know him, gave me a clear night's rest, with luxuries of every kind, -including English tobacco, of which he insisted on making me up a -packet for my journey. But the best of the evening was, as so often, -a clever and fascinating conversation on the war and the future of -Russia and England. There is matter in this subject for all sorts of -interesting suggestion, but one seldom meets any difference of opinion -on one point, namely, that after the war the relations of the two -countries will assume a far wider importance, political, economic and, -above all, social, and that they will be among the chief factors that -make for the peace of Europe. - - -_April 19._ - -The staff of the Xth Division was housed in a white-walled cottage at -the end of the little town. After the usual glasses of tea and talk -of England, we set out with a small cavalcade for the front. The long -street was very definitely Hungarian. It was not only the notices and -the shops, with surname written first, among which I saw the historic -name of Rakoczy, probably a Jew; but that the line of the houses, the -river and the landscape were all new to one coming from Russia. - -We rode fast along the double track of railway, and very quickly -reached our first halting-place. Diverging to the high road, which -was also fairly hard and dry, we soon left our horses and proceeded -on foot. The road was so good and straight, the weather was so fine, -and the beautiful hills so peaceful, that, though talking all the time -about the war, we somehow forgot that we were in it, when suddenly, -from a high hill that seemed quite close to us, there crashed a shell -about thirty yards from us. The little lurid flame that preceded the -explosion burned long enough to let us throw ourselves against the -bank, which was bright with pretty blue flowers. We found we had -exactly reached the front of our positions and made our way under -shelter up a slope. The men were at work on their breastworks, which -were very different from those of the Galician plain. On this higher -ground, almost at any point the spade soon came on springs of water -which filled the hole in a few minutes. In such places the breastworks -are ordinarily what is called horizontal; they are constructed of -brushwood and spruce fir, and give hardly any shelter. The earth-huts -are replaced by little arbours of fir boughs, which are very much -more difficult to warm, though from the captured Austrian trenches, -unfortunately facing in the other direction, there have been taken -quite a number of excellent little stoves. As the new Russian lines -were only recently occupied, they were still in a very primitive state; -in the wood that stretched in front, trees were still being cut to -the stump to serve as posts for the wire-entanglements, and the lines -themselves were not as yet at all continuous. Shells continued to fall -at short intervals for some time, and a private, killed while at work, -was brought up for burial. The colonel pointed the moral of getting the -shelters finished as soon as possible. - -When the firing died away, we walked along the outside of the -lines; the task of sentries and scouts was a difficult one, for the -trees stood close together. After a halt, I was taken further by a -business-like officer with worn uniform and steely blue eyes, and, with -his approval, I passed a word or two of greeting from the English army -to the groups of soldiers at work. Several of the men asked me to send -a like greeting back. - -As we went forward, this little procedure became more detailed. The -idea was taken up with enthusiasm by the commanders of companies, -especially after I had been conducted, staff in hand, over a deep -gully which separated us from the next regiment. Here each company was -called outside its trenches and drawn up facing the enemy. I gave the -salute, "Health, brothers"; and the usual answer came in a thundering -peal. I told them how grateful we were for everything that they had -sacrificed and everything that they had done for our common cause, -and said that we wanted to be in time to do our full share on land, -that our new big army was ready, and that we were going to advance as -they had done. There is no difficulty in making simple things clear to -Russian soldiers. They answered with their "Glad to do our best," and -the "Hurrah!" which was so vigorous as to bring the Austrian machine -guns into play; I am glad to say, without results. Several of the men -came and talked to me in groups later; they felt the effects of their -hard work and the heavy losses that go with attack, but their spirit -was a conquering one, and all the more impressively so, because of the -hardships in which I saw them. Later, when I saw the Commander of the -Army, who had run a risk of being captured close to this very ground, -he asked me to continue to give these greetings, "to hearten for the -common cause," and arranged for me to get early news of any successes -on the western front. - -I slept with the usual brotherly group of officers in a little -forester's hut, a hundred yards from the comparatively open front; on -the outside of the door was chalked the word "Willkommen," which read -like an amusing invitation to the enemy. We all slept on the floor, -but I was accommodated with a litter, which made an excellent bed. The -porch served as first-aid point, and when the firing was resumed in the -morning, a wounded man was brought in here. - -Before I went further, the Brigadier-General sent me by telephone a -warm greeting, to be communicated to England. - - -_April 20._ - -The reader will remember "The Birds," a very tight place held by the -L regiment beyond a river on another front. The L's had done no end -of work and had suffered heavily long before I visited them at "The -Birds." There, too, they lost many men--about 1500 out of 4000--in an -action which followed on their occupation of those positions and in the -weeks of cannonade which they endured there. - -I was aware that the L's were now in the Carpathians and close to -me. The two regiments whose lines I had traversed had lost many in -this hill warfare. Where a hill is taken, the enemy's losses, though -probably more than double the Russian, are rather in surrenders than -in killed and wounded. A hill attack, which is beaten off by superior -numbers, means heavy sacrifices. - -I clambered over another of the steep intersecting gulleys. A group -of S's stood waving their farewells. There was a bit of bare slope -facing the Austrian plateau, and then I came on the first shelter of -the L's, quite a comfortable mud hut. The young officer, who had come -to meet me, was an acquaintance, and he sat down and told me about the -men I knew. In a single night attack on the height in front of us, -two-thirds of the officers that I had known had gone down, and about -half the regiment. Name after name came up with the brief record, "He's -killed." We lay on the straw--in nearly all other huts here there -were only boughs of fir--and he told me the whole story. The hill -was almost inaccessible, the works were long prepared and elaborate, -the Germans had hurried up large forces here; yet the attack all but -succeeded. "All but," and no results but losses. At Rava Russka and on -the San the L's had given of their best, and decisive successes had -followed. The hill opposite had cost more and still faced us. It is one -of the saddest of thoughts, that the bravest of all, the men who go -furthest, must lie where they fell. Yet the L's, who in the course of -a few days have again been brought up to full strength by the enormous -reinforcements which Russia continues to pour into the army, will have -written their name on the Hungarian war in as lasting colours as on the -Galician. We are over the crest; we are fighting in the main downwards; -we touch a vital spot; and we are going forward. - -There is nothing which makes one feel all this better than to pass -along the lines of a regiment so battered, still in position at the -time when I visited it; nay, more, occupying for the moment far more -than the natural extent for its full strength, and occupying it as -a conqueror with swiftly thrown-up works that only provide for an -elementary shelter. And the battle is not offered; the enemy sits on -his heights and makes no counter-stroke to push his temporary advantage -home. - -I write of a time which has already passed; for the whole position -is very different now. But I say the L's were conquerors. There were -nothing like enough of them for a continuous line; so they had picked -out all those sections which commanded any possible advance of the -enemy, and held them as masters. For the intervals, the gullies, they -detached large scouting parties which met any forward move halfway. -The work which this meant for all will remain with me as giving a -picture of a Russian regiment after a check. All the officers and men -were alert and looking to the next move in the game. A soldier who -guided me, confident and intelligent, stopped only for a moment in -his conversation, to say: "But, as a matter of fact, sir, there are -very few left of us." Regiments that can take punishments like this, -communicate their spirit and tradition to those of the new recruits who -are so fortunate as to join them. - -From one occupied point to another, our little party of officers and -men walked freely over the open, in face of the neighbouring Austrian -plateau, till each of our cleverly chosen positions had fallen into its -place in our survey. I had a long walk back; in fact, I did not get out -of the range of the Austrian plateau till the next day. My two soldier -guides and I sat down and smoked by a stream for a while, and they told -me that of their fellow villagers who set out at the beginning of the -war, the one had lost sixteen out of eighteen, and the other fifty out -of sixty. One of them, with three comrades, had fought his way back, -when the rest of his company was lost. - -The position is changed now, but I feel that the more we know of this -fighting, the more we shall understand of the Russian spirit and of the -Russian sacrifices, and the clearer will be the picture of the Russian -advance. - - -_May 1._ - -Waiting at a railway station, I met a young officer who was taking -home the body of his brother. The young man met his death leading a -night attack. He took his company further up than any, and even got -through the wire entanglements and into the enemy's trenches. The -deadly fire of the machine guns made it necessary to draw off the men, -and this company got the order late. Some fought their way through, -but their leader was mortally wounded. The brother was serving in the -neighbouring artillery and was able to be with the dying man to the -last. He said that his brother might easily have surrendered with -others, but it would always be a satisfaction that he did not "hold up -his hands and go into Austria." - -At staff headquarters of the army I passed many funerals. Here the -enemy's airmen make a visit almost every day. Two days ago, and again -to-day, they appeared in force and dropped their bombs almost without a -break. The air battery and picked riflemen kept up an incessant fire on -them. Yesterday I watched an aeroplane under fire of Russian shrapnel. -The shells burst all round it and evidently forced it to give up its -intention of reaching the town: it sped away northwards. These raids -have had hardly any success. Even the bombs which lodged where they -were meant to, on the railway or on the aerodrome, did no real damage. -The net result is a small number of wounded, including civilians and a -sister of mercy. - -An officer whom I met in the trenches, and of whom I wrote under the -name of "George," has very appropriately been appointed one of the -judges of recommendations for the George Cross. The soldier's George -is given for any signal act of bravery, and the men thus honoured -are always found to be the rallying points in further attacks. The -officers' George is in four classes. Only some four individuals have -ever received the first class, beginning with Kutuzov. The second -class, which is for very definite achievements of generalship can only -be given to Generals (Ivanov has it for the conquest of Galicia), and -the third only to Generals and Colonels. The fourth, which is for any -act of courage or initiative, can be won by any officer. The different -achievements which can win the George are clearly set out. The two -first classes are conferred only by the nomination of the Sovereign; -for the other two there is in each army what is called a "Duma," or -panel of selectors. - -My friend, who is one of the bravest and simplest men that I have met, -told me very interesting things about his work. His own standard of -bravery is not striking acts of daring, but the maintenance of normal -composure in the performance of dangerous tasks. It is, I think, a -standard which will appeal to Englishmen. One of the most typical -instances of Russian courage that I know is among the records of the -battle of Borodino. An aide-de-camp galloped up to a commanding officer -and, pointing towards a hill, said: "The Commander-in-Chief asks you -to attack there." As he spoke, a cannon ball carried away his extended -arm; he simply pointed to the hill with the other, and said, "There: be -quick." - -At many points of our line there has been a complete lull. One battery -which I visited, standing on some thickly wooded hills, was building a -wooden villa for the officers, and had already put up a camp theatre -for the performances of short plays written by the men. There was -little but the ordinary diversion of shooting at aeroplanes. - -Prisoners continue to testify to the discontent in the enemy's armies. -For instance, an Alsatian says that any Alsatian would come over at the -first opportunity. A German says that the conditions in his regiment -are such that he would have shot himself but for regard for his family. -Czechs report further mutinies in their regiments which have been -punished with military executions. The Ruthenian regiments, which -cannot now be reinforced from Galicia, are rapidly melting away. Even -the Hungarian soldiers are described as desirous of peace. - - -_May 3._ - -The advance of the Russians over the Carpathians was sure to draw a -counter-stroke, and it has come just where many have expected it, but -with tremendous force. This is because it is not so much the work of -the tired Austrians, but rather the biggest effort that Germany has -yet put forth in her attempts to bolster her ally. We have all been -preparing for May, and Germany and even Austria have evidently made -great preparations. The food supply in the Austrian army has been much -improved; the proportion of Germans on the Austrian front has been -enormously increased; heavy artillery has been concentrated; and the -Emperor and Hindenburg have been reported to be here. - - [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF TARNOW-GORLICE from May 1. 1915.] - -I set out with a nice bright-eyed chauffeur who did a splendid day's -work with me. We had the main road for some distance, and none of the -varieties later seemed to trouble him. We went along a valley, and in a -house standing high by a church we found the staff of the Division. I -had friends; and I was soon dispatched with a tall determined Cossack -to the point where the road climbed the hill. Here we left our machine, -and in a hundred yards or so we had the whole scene before us. - -There was a hut on the top of the hill; sitting in front of it one -could see for at least ten miles in either direction. The Division -was holding a front of eight miles with the Z's on the left, the O's -in the middle, the R's on the right and the I's in reserve. The O's, -who were just beyond a hollow, occupied a low line of wooded heights a -thousand yards in front of me. The Z's held a lower wooded ridge, the -R's connected with the O's over a valley and were posted along a less -defined line, of which the most marked feature was a village with a -little church tower. Against these three regiments were nine, mostly -German, and backed by the most formidable artillery. Beyond each of -the flanks of the Division one could see at intervals black clouds of -smoke; one thick stream of smoke that stretched into the skies came -from some distant petroleum works. The whole line of the R's was being -pounded with crash after crash, sometimes four black columns rising -almost simultaneously at intervals along it; under each would break out -little angry teeth of sparkling flame; the only thing that seemed not -to be hit was the church tower, which, as each cloud died down, came -out simple again in the bright sunshine. The Z's were in patches of -smoke that sometimes disappeared for a time. - -What was happening to the O's was not so clear; so after watching the -shells and shrapnel bursting along the line and on the slope for some -hours, we descended by some winding gullies, drawing a shrapnel as we -passed over a low shoulder, and soon reached the staff of the O's. -Under the nearer wall of a hut, a group of officers was working the -telephones, while a number of soldiers lay on logs around. The Colonel -came forward to me with a preoccupied smile: "A convoy for the flag," -he explained, and turning to his men; "you have the flag there?" Then -he took me into the open and pointed at the ridge some six hundred -yards away: all his left was at grips with the enemy who had come -through at several points, and on the right his men were fighting at -the close range of two hundred yards in the wood beyond the crest. - -We crouched behind the houses amid a constant roar of shells bursting -all round us, and firing some of the neighbouring huts. The telephones -worked incessantly. Now each of the battalion commanders reported in -turn--one, that his machine guns had been put out of action, another -that there were gaps in his line, a third that he was holding good, -but hard put to it. The Colonel explained that his last reserves were -engaged. A message came that his right flank was open and was being -turned. He seized the telephone and called to the reserve regiment: -"Two companies forward at the double," reporting his action directly -to the staff of the Division. There was a peculiar humanness about -all these messages; in form they were just ordinary courteous -conversation. The question which brought the most disquieting answers -was "Connexions." The Z Colonel reported that his line was penetrated -at more than one point, but was holding out. The R telephone gave no -answer at all. Life there was unlivable, the trenches were destroyed, -and on my way I had heard from soldiers a report that when taking -ammunition to the R's they had seen the Austrians in our lines. Shells -and shrapnel were crashing all round us, especially on our rear; a -great cloud rose where I had sat at the top, and a hut that I had -passed on the way down broke out in full flame. Nearer down there fell -four black explosives at regular distances of fifty yards, "the four -packets" as one officer called it. Our cover would all have gone with -a single shot, and the men crouched to avoid the falling splinters -from each shell. In this depressing atmosphere there went on the -conversation between the Colonel and the divisional staff: "I can get -no contact, with the R's. Cavalry is reported on both of my flanks. -The R's have had to retreat." The answer was an order to retire at -nightfall. Three hours at least had to run. The order was communicated -in French over each battalion telephone. The Colonel apologised for -his elementary French; anyhow it was the French of a brave man. As -disquietudes increased, the permission came to retire at once; but the -Colonel answered that this could not be done: he was in hot defensive -action, and the enemy would follow on his heels; at present he was -holding his own. - -Twice on the telephone the fatal word "surrounded" had been used. My -hosts urged me to go. "We have each a different duty," they said. -It was with little heart that I faced for the slope, turning a few -yards off to salute these brave men once more. They were some wounded -struggling up the gullies, one with a maimed foot, whom we helped along -but who had to sit down at times and smoke. As we began to approach -shelter, we suddenly saw on the hills to the west of us men coming -down the slope towards us. "Perhaps ours, perhaps the enemy," said -my Cossack, who never turned a hair throughout the day. We got our -lame man up the big hill, but as soon as we had passed the crest he -said that his strength failed him, and sat down with several others -round a well. The next thing was to look for the motor. We were now -in comparative safety; for we were out of the line of fire, and the -valley to the north of us was full of our own people. Officers galloped -forward, looking at the line of our retreating field trains. In the -valley there was a long train of wounded. I at last found our motor in -the midst of it. We packed in the men with the worst wounds that we -noticed; they lay without a groan, and one old soldier said: "Thanks -to Thee, O Lord; and eternal gratitude to you." A young soldier with -an eager face pressed forward with a letter, begging us to take his -wounded officer, whom he had brought five miles from the distant lines -of the R's. "Harchin"--that was his name, was like a loving son, with -his captain, walking by our side or standing on our step for mile after -mile and all the while helping to hold the litter in position. He told -us that no living man could have driven the R's from their position: -but that the whole area was covered with shells till trenches and men -were levelled out of existence. The companies left comparatively intact -had all joined on to the O's. Of the O's themselves we could only hear -vague rumours; it was said that most of them had made their way back. - -There was no panic, no hurry in the great throng, as it retired. -Each was ready to help his neighbour. Crossing a long hill we had to -transfer some of our wounded to an empty cart which we commandeered, -the men moving without a word. In the night Harchin kept holding up his -officer and giving any comfort that he could. "It's quite close now, -your nobility, it's a good road now," he would say. We reached a hut -where the kind Polish hostess showed us beds for our wounded; Harchin -was constant and tender in his care, and I left the two together to -await the arrival of the doctor. A private with a crushed face refused -to lie on his bed for fear of spoiling it, and sat holding his bleeding -head in his hands. - -Through the darkness and past an incessant train of army carts, which -without any shouting did all they could to give us passage, I made my -way to the corps of the staff and to the next Division; where I slept -long into the morning. It was only later that we knew the full scope of -our losses. The Division had against it double its number of infantry -and an overwhelming mass of heavy and light artillery. It had held its -trenches till it was almost annihilated. - - -_May 4._ - -When I woke up in the morning, the deserted school where the staff had -stretched their beds was alive with work and anxiety. The lines lay -only a mile and a half outside the town of Biecz, and the Germans -and Austrians were making a tremendous attack on them, pounding them -with the heaviest artillery and advancing on them in close column -again and again. The leader of this Division is a fighting General, -robust, active and of great composure. The Staff was very close up -to the front, and our own immediate movements depended on to-day's -results. As we were being shelled, we went for lunch to a neighbouring -Polish monastery, a pleasing white-walled building on a hill. It was -deserted but for one or two monks; and its cloisters and wall-paintings -and stations of the Cross were like an oasis far from the war. I lay -down in one of the empty rooms and had some more hours of sleep. -On my return to the school building I found that the situation was -critical. From the balcony the General viewed the lines and gave some -short directions. In the summer weather one watched groups of soldiers -descending from the neighbouring hill and making for the bridge at the -foot of our house. They were ours and were being relieved; and they -formed up into order and were addressed by an officer before crossing -the bridge. The enemy had been beaten off in every infantry attack, but -many parts of the lines were now non-existent, having been reduced to a -series of shell-pits by the German artillery. - -With a young Cossack I started out for the D regiment. The -picturesque little town--all the Polish towns are full of pleasing -architecture--was crowded with troops, and the atmosphere was one of -uncertainty. Men were sheltering from the hot fire all along the banks -of the sunken road. On the top of the hill were a few huts through -which we threaded our way, dodging an exposed area where shells burst -continually. Further on we found to the right of us a deep valley thick -with lofty trees. On the edge of this wood were a number of soldiers -who had lost touch with their regiments. We stopped them to find our -way. The D regiment, we learned, was no longer at the front; and indeed -on this side we should not find any lines at all. We were told that the -Austrians were already in the wood, which later proved to be true. The -fire was heavy here, splinters falling upon us through the trees; and -the stragglers hurried away. - -Turning to the left I found myself at the head of a wide hollow in -the hills. Over it soldiers were moving forward. Making my way to one -of the huts, I found the Brigadier-General and got leave to accompany -this advance. It was the first regiment of the famous Caucasian Corps -just arrived after an all-night march, and going up to the attack. -A battalion commander stood just below the hut, putting his men in -position. He was a quiet little man, already elderly and with an old -voice, that sounded vigorously, however, across the slope. "You shall -come with me," he said. The men who had been sitting in groups, made -their way by companies up the different clefts in the hollow and soon -lined into the ridge beyond. The commander moved about among them at -an easy walk, directing some, hurrying on others. The men went forward -on their knees, separating off into what the Russians call a "chain," -where any one with initiative, by finding cover a little further -forward, gives a lead to all the rest. The officers walked upright -throughout. - -When the crest was lined, the commander went forward in different -directions. On his return he gave a few orders to his officers; one of -them was a little excited, and called out: "I have an instinct that -it will go right; God grant that it is a true one," and turning to -his men he shouted, "God is with us." Except for this, nothing broke -the atmosphere of the evening stillness. "Well, children," said the -commander, "what shall I say to you? With God! Forward!" - -One company went off to the wood on the right, and after a few minutes -another with the commander and myself moved forward over the bare hill, -leaving two others to follow in reserve. Throughout the men advanced -in little groups, creeping in line with each other; the officers -walked about freely, often in advance of the men, or encouraging any -that showed too much caution. We soon saw that the ground was clear in -front of us, and we descended the hill a good deal more rapidly. The -commander and I branched off into the edge of the wood; all the time he -was calling out to keep touch with the company on our right; he turned -and smiled to me as the shrapnel tore away some of the boughs. - -At the bottom the machine guns were hurried up, and we ascended the -further slope. We were now on a bare height, which was like a tongue -projecting forward, and a hot musketry fire was opened on us. A man -near me called out that he was wounded and rolled himself down to the -hollow, where a bearer set about bandaging him; a shell burst beyond -us and another called out. I could only see what happened to the men -nearest to me. The commander continued to stroll about among the men, -in the same way as he would have done out of action; several of the men -begged him to lie down. We went round the outside of the height, and he -brought his men everywhere to the edge of it and told them to entrench -themselves, which they set about doing at once. - -We could see where the bullets came from, on the low ground in front. -To our left was a ridge with trees, along which we could see men -on horseback coming from the direction of the enemy. To our right, -beyond the wood, was a high ridge covered with men who appeared to be -advancing upon us but did not open fire. Later it seemed that they -were stationary, and we could not make out whether they were ours or -theirs, so a scouting party was sent to find out. Suddenly a column -of blue figures was seen coming up close on our front. In what seemed -a minute, two of our machine guns had been moved to this side. Round -some brushwood thirty yards away came the first rank of the column; one -caught sight of a line of pale faces; I remember a slim fair-haired -youth who peered anxiously forward. Our commander shouted orders; our -machine-gun men, standing up and with indignation on their faces, -ground out a shower of bullets, and the Austrian column disappeared -into the wooded valley. - -Night was closing in, the enemy's cannonade was slackening, and the -time was approaching when the physical superiority of man to man would -put the balance firmly on the Russian side. The men were entrenching -themselves; and the commander wished to send a message to the brigade -about the undefined troops on his right. I was going with this message -and had not got more than two hundred yards from the front when I -heard shouts of hurrahs, which marked the beating off of another -Austrian attack. A few more shells burst on our way back, but my -companion muttered to the enemy: "It's getting dark, brother"; for, -once technique does not dominate, the Russian feels that he is master. - -On the road we found a large batch of Austrians (Poles) taken in the -wood. I was invited to examine them; they had had no food that day; -there was much disaffection in Austria; they were strongly against the -Germans and were glad that for them the war was over. Our report was -delivered; the troops on our right were Russians. Later there came -other and sadder news. The little commander was brought back into the -town wounded in the head in the last Austrian attack. - -In the evening I rode with the Divisional Staff several miles to our -new quarters. All along the road he stopped any straggling soldiers -and asked closely what had happened to their regiments. This was all -extremely well done; he was really severe only to one batch who told -him an obvious lie. Altogether the retreat, for it was that, was -unattended by any panic. Going at a sharp trot, we reached our new -quarters at three in the morning. - - -_May 6._ - -I woke in a farmhouse, in a village that was filled with the divisional -field train. The Divisional General had gone off early to the front -to rectify the new positions. The news that came in was uncertain and -anxious. The first hut which the General and his staff had entered had -been made untenable by the enemy's artillery. The second hut that he -visited was also set on fire. No further news of him came till late in -the evening that he had barely escaped capture. - -Word came that the staff would be moved further back. The field trains -were set in motion, and we travelled without any kind of confusion -across a beautiful range of wooded hills. We stopped more than once to -see the fight that was going on below us. It was a blazing line of fire -and smoke, the twin yellow and white bursts of the Austrian shrapnel -being almost lost in the white or black smoke of the German artillery. -We travelled very slowly and for a good part of the day; officers and -men were full of vexation at having to retire before troops which they -felt themselves capable of beating with any equal conditions: among -themselves there prevailed a simple good humour. - -I rode at different times with the adjutant, the chief of the field -train, and the divisional doctor, all of whom were perfectly cool and -collected. We made different wayside halts, and in the afternoon drew -up in a large village also full of field trains. Here we took rest and -refreshments, while different rumours came in from all quarters: and -in the evening I drove in for news to the staff of the army at Jaslo, -which was now close to the enemy. - -From nearly all the regiments of the corps which I had accompanied, -great losses were reported; on the other hand, practically every -infantry attack had been driven off with great loss to the enemy. -The trenches had been left only when the enemy's artillery had made -them untenable. In some parts the systematic ploughing up of whole -given areas had gone so far behind our lines that even approach to the -trenches had been made impossible. - -The game was not lost even on this ground, and immediate measures had -been taken for counter-attacks the following day. Meanwhile Jaslo was -under an intermittent but violent bombardment of aeroplanes; and all -the hospitals were being moved to the rear. - -I learned that the enemy were making a similar artillery attack on -Tarnow, where I had spent several of my periods of Red Cross work at -the hospitals. The Russian workers in the local Civil Spital had stayed -on to the last and were now under a hot fire, and it was desired that -they should be moved without delay. The Red Cross authorities had been -told that this detachment could be guaranteed "against capture for the -present, but not against artillery fire." I was commissioned to go and -move it. - -I found the General of the Transport at the railway station full of -work, but cool and business-like. His was one of the most difficult -tasks, but there was no better head in the Third Army. At three in the -morning he came to tell me that a motor was at my disposal at once. - -At my first stop I was asked to take with me an official of the Red -Cross who had been deprived by contusion of his voice and hearing. He -was in full possession of his senses and wrote down his wishes. He had -been under fire with three hundred wounded in the village where I had -slept the night before. There were other reports more disquieting. In -one advanced bandaging point the German soldiers had burst in, full of -drink and rage, and had bayoneted the staff and, as we were told, the -doctor. - -In the early morning I reached an ambulance point managed almost -entirely by the members of one family, the father (who was a retired -divisional doctor), the mother, and their son. To them I handed over my -unhappy companion. Here I had anxious news of the hospital for which I -was making. Tarnow was four miles from the front; on the German advance -nine shells had been fired on the hospital in one day, and one of them -had struck the operating-room and wounded the lady doctor. - -I drove on to the staff of the neighbouring corps to see about -transport, and thence to my destination. There was an ominous absence -of troops, other than retreating field trains. The inhabitants were -all in the streets, alive as it seemed to me with excitement and -expectation. As I drove up, I saw the five plucky sisters waiting on -their balcony. They had already sent away all their Russian wounded and -were ready to start. The wounded civilians, who were Austrian subjects, -and some wounded Austrian soldiers had been housed in the cellars and -would be left to the care of their own people. - -This work had all been done in two hours directly after the last -bombardment. The sisters had been given a second George medal for -bravery. They spent the evening on a hill watching the artillery attack -on our troops. It was a ring of fire that simply demolished the -trenches. Attack after attack of the enemy's infantry was beaten off. -One detachment, sent to the support of a neighbouring regiment, found -some of the defenders asleep under the cannonade: they had beaten off -eight attacks. The N Regiment was decimated, but full of spirit. - -All this I learned later. Without any kind of haste or commotion, the -sisters said good-bye to the Austrian wounded and to the kind Polish -sisters who had worked so long with them, and we all started in my -motor. We were soon out of the range of fire, and continued our journey -until we had reached the new headquarters of the Red Cross, where we -were joined a day later by the staff of the army. - - -_May 9._ - -The details of the Austro-German advance on the Third Army are -now clearer. The Russian advance over the Carpathians was not met -directly, but by a counter-advance on its flank. Here five army corps -were concentrated, some of the fresh troops being drawn from reserve -divisions on the French front, especially in the neighbourhood of -Verdun. The journey across Germany is reckoned at three to five days, -according to whether or not one includes the mountain marches at the -end of the railway journey. Prisoners of the Prussian Guard tell me -that they were given special training in hill climbing before they -started. - -Meanwhile, the long months of comparative inaction had been employed in -bringing up the heaviest German and Austrian artillery, both of which -were last summer concentrated on the western front, and getting the -range not merely of the Russian lines, but of squares which covered a -good part of their rear. This was a long and toilsome operation, as -these guns cannot be moved except by railway or, with great efforts -and under good weather conditions, on roads which have a certain -consistency. The potentialities of these guns are in any case limited; -they cannot easily follow up an advance or get away in case of a rout. -They can force the evacuation of a given area, but it may be possible -to manoeuvre in such a way that the general position is but little -changed. - - [Illustration: THE GREAT ATTEMPT OF THE CAUCASIANS] - -It will be remembered that the Austrians during the idle months have -been covering the Russian lines in front of them with a ceaseless -cannonade. This counted for little at the time. The Austrian -artilleryman has only lately developed any accuracy; for a long time -they continued in the most stupid errors of detail; they hardly ever -placed a Russian battery, and evidently the process of range-finding -has been long and very expensive. The Austrians rarely attempted -infantry attack, knowing that they always met their masters; thus their -ceaseless cannonade was not a preparation for an infantry offensive; -and the Russians might even, if necessary, leave their trenches only -partially occupied during the day, keeping less in those parts which -were under the hottest fire and holding the whole line in force only by -night. - -It was a very different story when the initiative on this side was -undertaken by the Germans, who use artillery as a preparation for -desperate attacks in close column. The difference in accuracy between -the German and Austrian artillery fire was very soon discovered to the -Russian regiments in front of them; and it was known that the Prussian -Guard Reserve was here. The trenches were, therefore, occupied in full -and held until they became untenable. - -The enemy's advance was at first directed against what was thought to -be the weakest part of the Third Army, namely its right flank, which -had sent a number of reinforcements to the Carpathian wing; but the -alertness of the Russian general on this side produced an alteration -in the plan, and the attack was diverted to the next army corps -eastwards. This corps contained regiments which had had heavy losses -in the previous hill-fighting. A gap was forced between the two army -corps; and the right flank of the threatened corps (the R Regiment) was -crushed by the pounding fire which I have described under May 3. The -regiment retreated in good spirit, but with the heaviest losses, the O -Regiment, holding its ground to the end, retired with its colonel and -some 300 men: the Z Regiment was severely cut up. In all this fighting -practically every infantry attack of the enemy was beaten back. The -next day the impact fell mainly on the troops which I described on May -4. They held their ground to the evening and then executed an orderly -retreat, coming into line with the broken forces to the right of them. -But on both days a tremendous cannonade was directed on the division -still further eastward, with the result that some regiments suffered -terribly. The next day a fresh corps, the Caucasians, one of the most -famous in the Russian army, had arrived and went forward boldly to the -attack on the flank of the enemy's advance. The prisoners cannot speak -too highly of the courage of this corps; and it did succeed in stemming -the tide, with such effect that the broken army corps to its right had -in two days reformed and come again into position. But it did not get -as far as the enemy's heavy artillery, and retired fighting rearguard -actions--not much further than the point from which it had started. - -I have explained that the whole advance of the enemy was a -counter-stroke to the Russian advance over the Carpathians further -eastwards. The right wing of that advance was now outflanked and had -to retire. Half of this corps succeeded in rectifying its positions -without serious loss; but the other division had the greatest -difficulty in fighting its way through, and lost heavily. - -Meanwhile the enemy's attack was extended also westwards, including the -area against which it had been originally directed. Here the cannonade -was furious and the trenches were in many parts wiped out, all approach -to them of reinforcements from the rear being made almost impossible. -But here, too, practically all hostile infantry attacks were repulsed -with heavy loss. Ultimately a retreat was ordered by the Russians on -this side. Results are indefinite unless they bring one side or the -other to a definite line of defence. - -The situation resulting from all this fighting was as follows: The -present area of conflict is a square lying between two rivers west -and east (Dunajec and San), with the Vistula on the north and the -Carpathians on the south. The square may now be divided by a diagonal -running from north-west to south-east. On the one side are the Russians -and on the other are the enemy; but the diagonal is not any natural -line of defence, and the operations must be continued till one side or -the other occupies the whole of the square. - -The enemy has made a special concentration by depleting other parts -of his line. The respective forces are now at close grips in a great -battle which is likely to last for several days. The enemy's heavy -artillery is not likely to have the same effect as before; and a -successful Russian advance may even endanger its retreat. - -There are two obvious deductions from this fighting. The Germans are -risking more and more of their forces in the support of Austria, or, -to speak more accurately, in the defence of Hungary, and in order to -do this they must surely have weakened their western front. They must -secure definite results on the Russian side if their attack here is -to be of value to them, as they may again have to throw their forces -westwards ere long. - - -_May 10._ - -What a picture these days will leave on the minds of those who have -lived through them. It is only the simple things that count; but they -keep coming back on one in new forms again and again, and that is why -one must repeat oneself so often. - -The staff is in no way downhearted; it is sometimes preoccupied, -sometimes cheerful, but always full of vigour. The cause of our -losses has been localised; and there is no sign of panic or hurry in -the search for the necessary remedies. At the bottom of all is this -wonderful confidence of the men and officers who come back wounded from -the front. The Commander of the Army is full of spirit and energy, and -we all consider that we are only halfway through this battle. - -The other hospital institutions have mostly been sent to the rear; but -this period of movement is a time of small advance ambulance points -which dispatch their wounded to the rear at once and themselves are -ready to move at short notice, whether forward or backward; and the -Russian sisters who returned with me from the front organised at once -such an ambulance at the station, going on duty the same night, and -working sometimes fifteen hours or more at a stretch. - -Enemy aeroplanes threw bombs at them every day, and we picked up -several badly wounded at the station, but none of the workers in the -bandaging-room took any notice of the explosions. - -The station is a wonderful place--as wonderful as the great station -in Lvov, which I described several months ago. It is crowded with -wounded, lying close together in the family manner of the Russian -peasant. Most are wounded in the hands or the head; this means that -they were under a devastating fire in the trenches which hit anything -that was at all exposed. But there are also many signs of advance or of -infantry attacks beaten off, in wounds of all kinds all over the body. -Every night hundreds of wounded are given clean bandages and fed with -anything that can be bought in a place where all is movement. - -The officers lie here like the rest, separated only by the silent -respect shown to them by the men. The number of wounded officers is not -surprising, for, as I have explained, they stand and walk while their -men are ordered to crawl; but the sacrifice in officers is particularly -impressive. - -For me the officers are also sources of information as to the fate of -each of the regiments I have visited. Four jolly N's, three of them -wounded, told me of how their trenches were levelled and how they -retired because there were only shell pits to sleep in; seven officers -led the last counter-attack of this regiment. Of some regiments the -news was that they were practically all gone; in one case the answer -was "The regiment does not exist." Some one asked of one of the O's -where his regiment was to be found: he answered "In the other world." -I learned that three hundred men of this regiment with the colonel had -fought their way back; later, I learned that only seventy-one were -left. The General of this Division told me that he had reformed and -reinforced his men and that they were again at the front, where he was -off to join them. The T's had invited me to join them when in action, -and it was a pure chance that I was directed to another point. I passed -in the street the field trains of this regiment; the officer riding at -the head stopped me and grasped my hand: "What I wanted to say," he -said, "is that the T's are gone, only the flag is saved." The next day -a private with the number of this regiment came up to me in the street: -would I come and see the Colonel who had just been brought in wounded? -I found him at the quarters of the Commander of the Army. His head was -bound up, but he was seated and writing. General Radko Dmitriev came -in and shook his hand time after time. "Thank you for your splendid -stand; human strength can do no more." The Colonel related that his -entrenchments were demolished with the men in them; one company was -cut off, and forty hands were held up in surrender; he himself saw -how the Germans bayoneted half the number out of hand; his own men, -when only five hundred were left of them, went on taking prisoners -exceeding themselves in number, and rejoiced in this sign of their -moral superiority. Of forty officers and four thousand men, in the end -two hundred and fifty were left. - -The enemy was in overwhelming numbers; but prisoners continued to come -in in great batches. I spoke with some of the Prussian Guard; they -were vigorous and contentious, and spoke with small respect of the -Austrians. The war is becoming more and more bitter. - -I return to my inevitable conclusion. There has been a big success -of technique; and it has wiped out a number of good lives. Even this -battle is not over, and our own people are advancing at points which -offer hope of better results. The Russian army is firmer than ever, and -more and more men are being poured in. It can win, but only if it can -be given anything like fair conditions; in a word, that the Germans -should be met on their own ground, that of heavy and more numerous -artillery, by every possible united effort of the Allies. - - -_May 13._ - -I learned that the FF Corps, which contained regiments that I had twice -stayed with, was going to make a determined attempt to turn the tide. -On the heels of this came the news that it had already begun a daring -advance and had taken some heights on the rear of the enemy's line. I -had no means of transport, and was wondering how to get to this corps -when I met in the street a group of soldiers who were asking who wanted -to buy a bicycle for five roubles (ten shillings). I learned afterwards -that a large German cyclist corps had been cut off by our cavalry. The -bicycle was there, so I had a turn on it and bought it. The handles of -the bar were gone, and there was no bell or lamp; the seat and brake -wanted screwing up; otherwise it was a good machine. I had lost my maps -in the retreat, so I went to one of the adjutants, who sketched for me -a map of the district, and I started off. - - [Illustration: THE RETREAT FROM THE CARPATHIANS - - a Fighting retreat of Russian S.S. Corps - b Enemy's forces trying to outflank and turn S.S. - c Attempt of Russian F.F. Corps on the enemy's flank] - -My first destination was Dynow, where I was to find the staff of the SS -Corps. The Polish inhabitants whom I asked pointed forward along a good -straight road, and with the wind behind me I made good way. I passed -plenty of troops going both ways, and the cavalry indulged in friendly -banter with me as to who would arrive first. - -Meanwhile, at Dynow things were not at all as we imagined. The FF -Corps further on found that it was advancing into an empty space, while -its neighbour, the SS Corps, was being beset by superior German forces; -there was nothing left for it but to give up its attempt. The SS Corps -arrived at Dynow only to find it already occupied by the enemy. In -instant danger of being cut off, this corps swerved from the road and -went straight forward at a point where it had to cross two bends of the -river. The water was more than breast high; the two passages were made -under a hot fire, and a number of men were killed or drowned; but the -corps made good its retreat, and indeed served as rearguard from hence -to the San line. It was followed closely and vigorously, the Germans -showing the greatest ardour, which in one case brought on them the most -serious losses at the hands of the Russian artillery. The SS Corps also -suffered severely and was greatly reduced in strength. - -I should have ridden straight on to the enemy, but my bicycle -collapsed, and I was misdirected as to the road, so that in the evening -I found myself at quite a different point, not far from the town of -Rzeszow, which I had left in the morning. Making for a railway station, -I found a train waiting and learned the new turn of events, also that -Rzeszow itself was likely to fall into the enemy's hands. - -It was important that this news should reach those with whom I had -been working; but it was twelve hours before any train could move in -this direction, and then it was only an engine that was sent forward, -with one carriage full of high explosives and a colonel in charge. The -colonel and I sat on either side of the engine, and the driver kept -looking out and slowing down to ask news of the stragglers who were -coming from Rzeszow. Of course we got the usual exaggerated reports; -some said that every one had left or was leaving Rzeszow and that the -enemy were just about to enter. Puffs of shrapnel were to be seen ahead -of us, but we made our way safely into the town. - -Here little was known of what was happening; but several plain signs -indicated retreat, and an officer whom I knew kindly gave us the lead -that we required. In the streets there was an unpleasant silence, and -the people seemed to be waiting for something from the west. The last -trains out started with little delay. We looked back on the smoke of -explosions and travelled leisurely and without panic through a peaceful -country, where at each halt the road was lined by good-natured soldiers -resting, eating or chaffing each other on the embankments, as if there -were no war and they were all happy on the banks of some great Russian -river. At one point there was a small collision, but all was put right -without the slightest hurry or excitement. - - -_May 18._ - -We had retreated to the San, and the Corps of the Third Army held a -not extensive front, partly in front of and partly behind the river. -The apparently endless file of trains had all made their way along -the single line across the river. Wherever they stopped, the station -was infested by the enemy's aeroplanes; at one time ten of these were -flying along the line. In one day three were brought down, all the -airmen being killed. - -The long road picnic on these trains, military or ambulance, shows the -Russian soldier at his best. All content themselves with the simplest -and roughest conditions, and lie anywhere about the spacious vans or -dangle their legs out of the broad doors and talk cheerily with any who -pass. Most of these goods vans are festooned with boughs. - -Of course there is an endless stock of narratives from the life at the -front, always with a complete absence of self, except for a summary -mention of the date and occasion of the narrator's own wound. The main -features are always the same--regiments reduced by sheer artillery fire -to half or a quarter, furious infantry attacks of the enemy vigorously -repelled. - -Now that we again had a definite line in front of us, I decided to -go up again. I started on foot in fine evening weather and took a -straight line for a point to the south-west. I was halfway to my -destination when in the failing light I saw a motor, which carried one -of the adjutants of the commander of the army. He beckoned me up, and -explained the day's fighting, at which he had been present. It was a -furious artillery duel; and it was chiefly concentrated at a different -point from that for which I was making. He advised me to return and to -visit this point the next day. - -On the following morning I started out, again on foot, with a supply of -big biscuits. Nearing the area of firing, I turned across the fields -and came upon a battery of Russian heavy artillery, which was so well -masked that, though I was looking for it, I did not make it out until -I was only a hundred yards off. I had a talk with the commander and -went on to a neighbouring village which was under a heavy fire. Here -were the staffs of a regiment and of the Division which I was seeking. -On the telephone there was brisk conversation. I was invited in to -lunch, where all business talk was avoided, and I was given a Cossack -to take me to the infantry positions. Heavy shells were rattling like -goods vans over our heads, sometimes three being in the air at once -and all taking the same direction. The crashes came from some distance -behind us. The enemy was clearing a space in our reserves and among our -staffs. - -The Cossack was a quaint person, with flashing eyes, who walked about -leading his horse everywhere. When he was told to take me in the -direction of the firing, he murmured something about its being "the -very best." His idea was that we should go on foot, he leading his -horse, from which he was most unwilling to part, because he would feel -lost without it. This was all very well: but the appearance of any -horse near the positions is strictly barred, as it at once calls forth -a more or less accurate fire on the infantry. This it was hopeless to -explain to him; so in the end I left both him and his horse behind. - -I went on to one of the regimental staffs, and obtained two guides to -the respective regiments which I was visiting. I had hardly left this -hut when a bomb fell on it, killing or wounding several of the staff. -We had sheltered ground almost up to the river. The famous San is here -about a hundred yards broad, with a steep further bank and, on our -own side, a long hollow running parallel with the river and thick with -willows and alder; the country in general, except for some depressions, -is quite flat. - -I passed along the front of the C regiment. There was hardly a shot -fired, though the enemy could be seen moving on a hill opposite and was -free to approach to the further side of the river. Our own people had -made some progress with their entrenchments, which were not yet under -artillery fire. To the greeting from the English ally, which I gave -as I passed along, there was an interested reception, and the men put -questions as to the western front. One man, when I told him we were -advancing, crossed himself and said "God grant it." - -The men had a very difficult part of the stream to guard and could -easily be put under a flanking fire. With two of the officers I stayed -some time; they were cool and keen, but deeply mortified at the loss -of ground for which they had sacrificed so much. We watched the shells -bursting just behind us; and after a time I made my way back over -ground which was often traversed by shells and shrapnel, usually fired -together. - -The cannonade became more and more intense in the evening and lasted -all night and into the next day. Some hours after I left the enemy -crossed at the point which I had visited and made good a footing on our -side of the river. In the morning he was driven back out of our lines; -but returning in force, he finally established himself on our side and -forced these regiments to retreat for some miles. A day later I heard -that the German Emperor in person was opposite to us, just across the -river. - - -_May 24._ - -On the day when I walked along the San, the enemy did not show -themselves in any force till the evening. Then and throughout the -night the tremendous cannonade that they had kept up all day became -more intense, and with the aid of the powerful German projectors the -area to the rear of the Russian lines was swept, especially at three -given points. Here in the evening the enemy crossed the narrow stream -in boats. The railway bridge was mined, but was left standing as long -as possible. An Austrian shell cut the train of the mine, without -exploding it, at a point forty yards on the Russian side of the river. -Masses of the enemy were already at the bridge when a Russian officer -and private went forward and made a new connexion, which they fired at -once. The bridge was blown into the air, and the two daring Russians -were sent flying by the shock, but remained alive. - -At different points the enemy effected a lodgment on the eastern bank -and, where the Russian line was thinnest and held by regiments already -reduced to half or quarter strength in the previous fighting, the -trenches were partly occupied by the Germans or Austrians. Next morning -the Russians made vigorous counter attacks and recovered the ground -lost; but returning in overwhelming force, the enemy not only regained -his hold on the eastern bank but extended it on either flank and pushed -further eastwards. - -There followed five days of very severe fighting. The issue at stake -was whether the enemy's successes could still be limited to western -Galicia--or, in other words, whether half or the whole of the territory -conquered by the Russians was now to be flooded by his armies. His -object was, of course, to find room eastward of the San for his -powerful forces and artillery. There were in all five German or -Austrian armies in the area chosen for the enemy's impact. Of these, -two were engaged with the Eighth Russian Army and three were opposed -to our Third Army; these last numbered nine army corps, including the -Reserve Corps of the Prussian Guard and two others which were drawn -from the French front. German heavy artillery, though apparently of a -different calibre from that employed at the beginning of the Galician -battle, took a prominent part in this fighting; and the Austrians -showed better marksmanship than at any period in the war. - -The enemy's advance, however, had slackened before it reached the San; -and the Russians had had time not only to make good a very spirited -retreat but to give their men two days' rest on the eastern side of -the river. These two days were invaluable. Large reinforcements were -hurried up. In the shortest time entrenchments were thrown up of a kind -superior to those held by the Russians during their long occupation of -western Galicia, and very much better supported. The earlier ruinous -effects of the enemy's heavy artillery were now minimised or even -avoided; and the Russian artillery were in much greater force than -before. Above all, the men proved, if proof were needed, by the vigour -of their resistance and by beating off one German attack after another -that the earlier retreat had been due simply to the enemy's technical -superiority in artillery, and that even a half-annihilated Russian -regiment felt itself to be master as soon as the issue lay with the -bayonet. - -The enemy daily sent aeroplanes to the Russian rear, in one day ten -at a time, but in at least five cases these were brought down and -in most instances by the fire of musketry and machine guns. In one -comparatively weak spot the Russian infantry was rescued by a few -timely discharges from our artillery, which sent the close column of -Germans running like hares. - -Attempt after attempt of the enemy to break through in close column -failed. At certain points the Germans were able to push home their -blow, at others the Russians closed in on their flanks, driving them -back to the river and threatening even their success in the centre -with serious consequences. At one moment the enemy thought that he -was through; but the gap was filled at once from the large Russian -reserves. At another he even launched his cavalry through what seemed -an empty space, and it looked as if he might find room to develop the -favourite German cavalry advance, which has spread such terror among -peaceful inhabitants in other parts; but without delay the tide was -stemmed by Cossacks and Russian infantry. - -The struggle is still going on; but one thing is certain--that the -Russian resistance east of the San has stopped the forward flow of -the German advance. It is a new chapter in the war, and different in -essentials from that which preceded it. News of successful resistance -or of advance comes from the Russian armies on either flank of our own. - - -_May 27._ - -The situation seemed to be changing rapidly and at the same time -clearing. There were reports of German attempts to break through at -various points, but all of them seemed to be stopped and our line was -apparently becoming more stable. As I have explained before, there is a -splendid ambulance organisation of the most complete kind managed by a -joint committee of all the Zemstva (or county councils) of Russia and -directed by Prince George Lvov. Apart from a wide system of hospitals -right away to the rear and all over Russia, it includes ambulance and -depôt trains which run almost up to the very front, and flying columns, -giving first aid to the wounded. These last have attached to them large -field transport trains, adapted to the local roads and working in close -touch with the generals at the front and the military surgeons. - -It is always a pleasure to meet with any section of this organisation. -It possesses the free initiative characteristic of self-government, -for the Zemstva members and employés have everywhere volunteered for -this service; and there is in it the healthy sense of open air and a -practical experience at making the best of any conditions. - -There was a flying column which I met at the beginning of our retreat, -and which took charge of my baggage. The same column was now quite -near me, and they kindly gave me a lift to the front. I set out in one -of their sensible "two-wheelers" adapted for carrying the wounded, -and travelled a good part of the night to where they had their park: -there I had a splendid sleep in the two-wheeler. The next day we went -on in a long train of carts through pine-woods and sand, sometimes -almost losing our bearings, until we found the flying column at work -in a wood: among the sisters was an English lady, Miss Hopper, and in -a neighbouring flying column of the Zemstva is another English sister, -Miss Flamborough; the others call them "our allies." - - [Illustration: THE FIGHTING EAST OF THE SAN - (May, June, 1915)] - -I was told that one of the military doctors wondered whether I was a -spy. As he was going to the staff of the LL Corps, I asked him to take -me with him. Here I had a kind welcome, though I happened to be without -all my papers. Everything seemed to be going better. The General in -command, a man of decision and much humour, was evidently in good -spirits; business was barred at meals; but the position was explained -to me, and it was clear that the enemy was being held. - -I was sent on to one of the Divisions, which had been in action for -about five days. Here, in spite of the rapid changes in the _personnel_ -of the officers, there was the same feeling of confidence and hope. In -the evening I rode out with the General of Division on his visit to one -of the regiments. Everywhere we passed fresh troops coming up. We found -the regimental staff in a wood; though there were huts quite near, the -Colonel preferred a series of elaborate burrows which had been made in -the sand among the trees. Near these burrows we sat round a table in -the twilight, while orderly masses of grey figures kept passing us in -their march forward. This Colonel, a big genial man with a composure -that inspired confidence, soon dropped into a conversation about old -comrades. The General had commanded the O regiment, and it was painful -to hear his inquiries about one after another of his officers: almost -all were gone. - -The next day I again visited this regiment and went forward to the -front. The rear was being shelled by the enemy with a good deal of -shrapnel, and this seemed to be going on every day. As I got further -forward I passed line after line of entrenchments and shelters, and -eventually came on the front line, which was admirably complete and -much more detailed than most of the positions which I had yet seen. The -battalion, which was in a wood, was commanded by a fine young fellow, -still a lieutenant, who exposed himself freely but took the greatest -thought for his men. The enemy was only a few hundred yards off and -suddenly opened a hurricane of musketry fire; practically none but -explosive bullets were used; this was quite clear as they kept crashing -into the trees all around us. The men, who were in fine strength -and spirits, did not suffer; and such measures have been taken that -the losses inflicted earlier by the German heavy artillery are very -unlikely to be repeated. - -At no time have I seen so marked a difference in the course of a few -days. When I visited the San there was still the atmosphere of the -preceding operations, heroism against odds. Now there was a quiet -confidence for which one could everywhere see the reason--in the troops -that had come up, and the lessons that had been learned. - - -_May 29._ - -Matters here continue to take a better complexion. Yesterday in the -staff of the LL Corps I was given the sketch-map of the day, which -showed an advance at more than one point. The regiment which I had -last visited had now crossed the little brook in front of its trenches -and also the larger stream which runs at some distance almost parallel -with it. Of this I had painful evidence just outside headquarters. A -man with face bound up had just been brought in and came forward to -me making signs. On the paper which I gave him he wrote: "I am the -Commander of the second battalion of the Y regiment. Where are you off -to now?" It was the fine young lieutenant whom I had seen a few days -back, so proud of his new command and so brisk and vigorous in all his -dispositions. He wrote that he had been wounded during the attack by an -explosive bullet, such as I had heard crackling against the trees when -I was with his regiment. His mouth was shattered, but he was quite cool -and gave no sign of pain. My companion sent him off at once by motor to -the ambulance. - -At another point there had been a more definite advance, which, coming -as it did just where the enemy had made a great effort to break -through, seemed to promise results all along the line. This was the -point that I decided to visit; so I was directed to a cavalry division -from the Caucasus which was stationed there. I experimented in a new -means of conveyance, namely a hand-truck which worked between our last -station and the front. It was a sporting ride, and we went faster than -a good many trains. Just before I started I was asked to carry word to -a badly wounded officer that a motor was being sent for him. Alighting -at a signal-box, I made my way to the place, and the poor fellow was -delighted; but alas! no motor could make its way over this road, and -the young man died before there were other means of moving him. - -Headquarters staff of the Division was a farm building crowded with -fine horses and soldiers. The men wore the long black busbies and the -picturesque flowing uniform of the Caucasus, with decorated sabres and -bandoliers. The General was a patriarchal man with bald head and long -beard, easy of manner and short and conclusive in speech. He kindly -put me up in his own room, and through the night he seemed to be doing -business at a great rate with the minimum of exertion. Next morning the -whole position was shortly and plainly explained to me; in the night -we had taken another village, and levelled up the line of our advance -rightwards. I was sent to see the corresponding movement on the left. - -The General took me with him to one of his Brigadiers, and on the -way in a few vigorous words put renewed heart into two brisk-looking -batteries that lay on our road. The soldier who took me forward had the -day before got a skin wound on the face from shrapnel, while carrying -a message to the staff; it had not prevented him from returning to the -front. The General jocularly told him that to-day he would probably get -one on the other cheek. - -As we came out of the wood, we saw a man dodge past us, and the next -minute came the explanation in the shape of a shell. The railway -ran straight forward up the bare slope; and the enemy was shelling -all along this line. A few hundred yards on, behind the lightest of -shelters, was a hole in the ground with a telephone, which served -during action for the staff of the regiment. I asked for the Colonel, -and they pointed to a splendidly built man lying stretched out on the -ground. I thought for a moment that he was dead, but he was only lying -fast asleep under the shrapnel, after the ceaseless and arduous work -of the attack. He stood up and shook himself like some noble animal, -standing in the open, much against the wish of his officers. - -We sat and talked for some hours. The ground where we were had all -been won in the night. Our present positions, temporary and little -developed, were about five hundred yards further up. Our men were only -six hundred yards from the Germans and had orders to advance by short -stages. Some of them had already crept forward two hundred yards and -were throwing up head cover on the ridge of the slope. Other parts of -the ridge were still in the hands of the Germans; their trenches were -plainly visible, and they were firing down on us, aiming at anything -which stood upright. - -A soldier was sent by the railway ditch up to the front, so I went -with him. The best plan after all was to walk forward, stepping out -but without hurry. A little beyond the level of our lines I found some -breast-high shelters on the edge of the railway ditch. Here we posted -the bearers, who would wait to attend to the wounded. - -One got a near view of all our front. A group of some twenty men had -gone forward together and were entrenching themselves; others at -intervals crept forward on their own initiative on different sides; -it was rather like men at a Salvation meeting, coming in, one by one, -for conversions. As one was halfway up to his comrades, a shrapnel -burst with a flare just above him; he lay still for a few minutes and -then crawled slowly back, evidently wounded. The twenty had hardly -established themselves when three shrapnels and a shell burst at -intervals all along their little line. However, the slow process went -on, and the line was being gradually levelled up to those who were -furthest forward. - -This slow advance, inevitable in daytime, is very trying. The moment of -greatest danger was when the men came in full view of the enemy, who -from his trenches could direct his artillery fire with precision on -to the Russian advance. As our men came closer in, this danger would -disappear, for the German artillery in the rear would be afraid of -hitting its own infantry; but this stage was still far off. - -I came back to the staff, and when close to it I was noticed and -followed with a little shower of explosive bullets which burst near me. -Beyond the railway, much the same movement was in process, except that -here machine guns were at work. I made my way back to the wood; shells -travelled overhead far to our rear; as each passed, the wounded men -whom I was supporting jerked instinctively away from me and wished to -lie down or seek any shelter. - -I had a long walk back, passing on the way groups of those wounded who -were able to go on foot, and followed for some distance by two soldiers -who were on the lookout for spies. - - -_May 31._ - -I have had an interesting talk with a German officer, commander of a -battery which was cut off by the Russians in a recent advance on our -side. He comes from the Rhine and has lived long in Hamburg, and he -inspired in his captors the greatest respect by his breeding and good -feeling. - -We talked first of Hamburg: he described it as a dead town; trade -there is, but it goes by other roads and most of the profits remain in -neutral countries. The short rations in Germany he insisted were simply -a measure of precaution, and latterly prices had been lowered; he had a -poor opinion of potato bread. Next we talked of the Rhine Universities, -which are practically emptied of students by the war. There are in the -army many volunteers from the age of sixteen to that of forty-eight, -but this is no indication of the depletion of material for the Army. - -We now got on to the main questions; he was very ready to discuss them -and spoke perfectly frankly. I asked on what side Germany could hope -for any deciding success. He admitted at once that no such point, -of the kind that Napoleon used to look for, was to be found on any -side, and he maintained that from the outset, both militarily and -politically, Germany was fighting a purely defensive war, of course by -frequent counter-offensives. In that case, I suggested, Germany could -only have peace by our offering it, that is, by our getting tired of -the war; and surely it was unfortunate that she had all of us against -her at once. In reply he reminded me of the German word _Streber_, -which means a restless pushing person who is always disturbing and -annoying others. Economically, he said, the struggle for life in -Germany had become almost impossible, of which he himself had seen many -instances. Some outlet was essential, and this England and the other -Powers had united to prevent. I said that for us English the issue was -whether Germany should have things which we at present possess, and -that we were not likely to give them up without fighting. He quite -accepted this. Germany, he said, was like the troublesome boy of the -school, who was dissatisfied and had a grievance, and was always making -things unpleasant for all the rest, so that there was no wonder if -he was not liked. I suggested that this went too far, if his own old -allies, such as Italy, turned against him. He expressed a natural -resentment against Italy, and said that anyhow here right was on the -side of Germany, who would continue to defend herself to the end. I -answered that we might disagree as to the question of right, but that -I could not understand how any successful issue could be hoped for -under such conditions. He was of my opinion, and twice spoke of the -war as a "catastrophe." I asked, then, why Germany should persist in -a policy which had obviously, especially in the case of Italy, proved -to be a misguided one; we all felt admiration for the magnificent -fighting power of the German army, which might have dealt successfully -with us separately; but it had been set an impossible task. He replied -that England had a long experience as a state and that policy with her -was well thought out; Germany had only some forty years of a united -existence behind her, and the policy which had led to "the catastrophe" -could not, as a policy, be defended. I asked whether it was likely to -be changed, and to this I neither expected nor got any answer. But -it was interesting that, in spite of the great successes in western -Galicia, he described the present mood of the army as nothing like the -first great outburst of enthusiasm at the beginning of the war. - -I was later given an opportunity of examining a German private (a -Hanoverian). This man had been asleep when the Russians stormed his -trenches. I was interested both in the readiness of his answers, which -he gave with a smiling face, and in the answers themselves. The German -heavy artillery was all beyond the San, and troops were being sent away -to the Italian front. Food was poor in Galicia; all the soldiers were -for peace, and there was the same refrain in all the letters received -from home. He had been on the western front near Reims and had made -the railway journey to Neu-Sandec (Nowy Sacz) in five days. He spoke -with especial respect of the first English troops, of the Russian field -artillery and of the accuracy of the French heavy artillery. - - -_June 7._ - -I had a talk with a staff officer of the E E Corps on the fortunes of -his corps and on the German methods of advance. The corps had not been -hit so hard as some others by the Austro-German impact; it helped to -cover the retreat to the San, and stood to its ground beyond the river -until one of its neighbours retired. When the enemy had thus got a -footing beyond the river, the E E Corps made a counter-attack vigorous -and successful. But the enemy pushed the next corps still further -back, so that the E E's had also to rectify their line. However, they -continued to make counter-attacks, at one point gaining about a mile -of ground, and they were still holding good. They had at least the -satisfaction of holding the forces of the enemy which were opposed to -them, so that these troops could not move further along the Russian -line to complete their offensive movement. This record is typical of -very much of the Galician fighting, which is full of such ups and downs -of attacks and of counter-attacks, and only reached decisive results by -the employment, at given points, of an overwhelmingly superior heavy -artillery. - -The German method is to mass superior artillery against a point -selected and to cover the area in question with a wholesale and -continuous cannonade. The big German shells, which the Russian soldiers -call the "black death," burst almost simultaneously at about fifty -yards from each other, making the intervening spaces practically -untenable. The cannonaded area extends well to the rear of the -Russian lines, and sometimes it is the rear that is first subjected -to a systematic bombardment, the lines themselves being reserved for -treatment later. On one of my visits the divisional and regimental -staffs were being so shelled that the former had to move at once and -one of the latter was half destroyed; but meanwhile there was hardly -a shot along the actual front. In this way confusion is created, and -reinforcements and supply are made difficult. It is the wholesale -character of these cannonades that make their success, for there is -nowhere to which the defenders can escape. The whole process is, of -course, extremely expensive. - -When a considerable part of the Russian front has thus been -annihilated, and when the defenders are, therefore, either out of -action or in retreat, the enemy's infantry is poured into the empty -space and in such masses that it spreads also to left and right, -pushing back the neighbouring Russian troops. Thus the whole line is -forced to retire, and the same process is repeated on the new positions. - -When success in one district has thus been secured, the German impact -is withdrawn and again brought forward at some further part of the -Russian front. In other words, the German hammer, zigzagging backwards -and forwards, travels along our front, striking further and further on -at one point or another, until the whole front has been forced back. - -The temper of this corps, as of practically all the others, is in no -sense the temper of a beaten army. The losses have been severe; but -with anything like the artillery equipment of the enemy, both officers -and men are confident that they would be going forward. - - -_June 10._ - -I rode over dull country on my way to the SS Corps, one of whose -divisions I had visited a week or so before. While I sat lunching in a -wood, regiments of cavalry swept past me, filling the air with dust; -sometimes one could not see a horseman until he was upon one. Not far -from the Staff there was a sick soldier lying by the road, with some -peasants looking after him; we sent him forward on a passing army cart. - -The SS Corps was having an easy time after the recent fighting in -a large village over three miles long which had several good clean -quarters; the Polish peasants are excellent hosts. Neither side was -making any move, but our Staff went up every day to the positions -to direct the work of entrenching, which was being carried forward -with the greatest energy. The General in command, who is very hearty -and sociable, was just starting in his motor when I arrived, and he -invited me to come with him. It was a far drive, and at one point we -were stuck in the sand; we passed quite a number of different lines of -defence, carefully planned and executed. As large drafts of recruits -had come in recently, we halted at the edge of a wood and the General -gathered the men round him and made them a very vigorous little speech. -He described how Germany and Germans had for several years exploited -Russia, especially through the last tariff treaty, which was made when -Russia was engaged in the Japanese War, and set up entirely unfair -conditions of exchange. He said that the German exploited and bullied -everybody; and that was a thing which the peasant could understand, -often from personal experience. Then he got talking of the great family -of the Slavs, of little Serbia's danger and of the Tsar's championship, -of Germany's challenge and of Russia's defiance. Next he spoke of the -Allies and of their help. And then he spoke of the regiment, which -bears a name associated with the great Suvorov; they were always, he -said, sent to the hardest work, often, as now, to repair a reverse; and -he spoke plainly and without fear of the recent retreat. Concluding, -he told them a story of Gurko: some of his men had said that the -enemy would have to pass over their bodies, and Gurko answered, "Much -better if you pass over his." He ended by telling them all to "fight -with their heads." In the wood he addressed another group. Both his -little speeches were manly and effective, and they were very much -appreciated; one of the men (I wear no epaulettes) called me to closer -attention. - -On the further edge of the wood there were good trenches, and from them -ran a long and very winding covered way to the front line of all. The -enemy here was only some sixty yards off, and we could get a good view -of his lines; but this day he only sent a few intermittent shrapnel -over our heads. - -The next day we motored again to this side, which was on our extreme -right flank. We left the motors and rode fast through thick brushwood. -Most of us got separated from the leaders, but we picked up their -tracks, and our Cossacks gave us a great gallop to catch up with them. -We had tea in a beautiful wood with an outpost of the Red Cross, which -was living in tents; the regimental band played to us, and gave us -"God save the King." We were just beginning to talk about the stifling -gases. "Confound their politics; Frustrate their knavish tricks" -seemed to have a new significance. After tea we rode and walked to an -artillery observation post, from which the enemy's lines were clearly -visible. This day wore a holiday atmosphere, with music and snapping -of photographs and the forest picnic. But the General's alertness was -soon to be proved. Three days later the Germans made their new advance -exactly at this point, but of that I will write later. - - -_June 13._ - -Next to the L Corps on the right is one of the most famous corps in the -Russian army--3 K. In this war it has been put to hard and dangerous -work all over the front. - -At Kosienice, which saw some of the hardest fighting in the war, two -regiments crossed the Vistula--the Vistula, mind; and those who have -seen it will know what that means--under fire and in face of two German -corps and three Austrian; another brigade of 3 K came along the river -from a Russian fortress on the western bank, marching knee-deep through -marsh and water with the general at its head. The two regiments that -crossed moved forward to a vast forest near the river, and there they -had an hour and a half's bayonet fighting--one may imagine what that -means. An enormous number of officers went down; the B's lost forty, -and the S's in the course of those five days had seven successive -officers killed while commanding the regiment. In the midst of the -bayonet fighting, when most of the Russian officers fell, some of the -Germans shouted out in Russian, "Don't fight your own men!" and in the -confusion which followed the Russians left the forest and lay, half -in marsh and with only the most elementary cover, under a devastating -artillery fire; however, they held their ground on this bank of the -river, and, as soon as they were reinforced, they again moved forward -and scattered the Germans, drove them off westward, and then pushed the -Austrians, in more than a week of fighting, beyond Kielce, where they -feasted their triumph with the old corps song, "God has given victory." -After this followed arduous fighting in the Czenstochowa region. Later -the corps went to the eastern Carpathians to stem an Austro-German -advance, and it was thence brought rapidly across to the assistance -of our army when the tremendous artillery impact of the enemy fell on -Galicia between Gorlice and Tarnow. - -I first saw General Irmanov the day he had entered Kielce. He is one -of the most remarkable and sympathetic figures of the whole war. I -saw what seemed an old man of middle height, of sturdy figure, with -a curious outward kink in his walk as of one who had lived much on -horseback; he has a singularly peaceful and gentle face, with a high -colour and grey hair and beard; a child-like simplicity and directness -blended with a fatherly benevolence; but the suggestion of different -ages ends, when one sees much of the General, in one's forgetting age -altogether. The voice is a mild, high one which sometimes comes out -like a little bark. I had a long talk then with General Irmanov, and -for every one of my questions got a clear and full answer. Irmanov was -not a General Staff officer; in peace and off duty he lives a quiet -domestic life in his mountain home. His staff is like a family; there -is a peculiar smartness and spirit in the salute when the General -appears and all line up to greet him. He mounts without delay and is -off in a moment; he is one of the fastest riders in the army, and in a -few minutes his suite, trained riders as they are, are all streaming -behind him. - -In the battle of Gorlice the corps was set a desperate task. It was -to turn the German flank and get to the devastating heavy artillery -and take it. It is always shorter to go forward than to go back; and -this was the one way in which bold hands could beat metal. When I -first heard the order, some one said, "Irmanov can do it"; and he -very nearly succeeded. The Prussian Guard Reserve was against him, and -their prisoners, who held their heads high in other matters, were all -agreed as to the heroism of 3 K. There followed tremendous rearguard -fighting, battles or marches every day. The corps was 40,000 when it -marched on the guns; it was 8000 when it stood covering the Russian -rear beyond the river San. It was 6000 when it made its counter-advance -on Sieniawa, and then it took 7000 prisoners and a battery of heavy -artillery. Not much of the beaten army in this! - -I reached the pleasing white farmhouse in which the staff of the corps -lived, and felt at home from the first. They made me feel myself to be -one of the party; there was no ceremony, but the General, who found -time for everything, saw to it himself that I had a little room of my -own, which he visited to see that all was in order. - -Next day he asked me whether I would like to go with a colonel of -Cossacks. This seemed simple enough. We went to the colonel's quarters, -took a quick lunch and then mounted. The whole regiment, I noticed, -was behind us; we started at a dashing pace, breaking a way through -thick forest, the branches often lashing our faces. The Germans had -come through at one point, and we were on our way to stop them; if -we found them on the march, the regiment would charge; if they were -taking cover, we should take cover opposite them and possibly advance -on foot to a counter-attack, in which the Cossack's sword would replace -the infantry bayonet. At a signal all heads were uncovered and, while -we still rode forward, there rose a solemn hymn which is always sung -before action. Later the colonel said, "We have been serious long -enough; let's have some songs"; and with the music of the Don and -Caucasus rising and falling we rode forward. - -I had begun to wonder what exactly was my part in the day's -business--for I was riding, with only a Red Cross brassard, next to -the colonel--when we were all told to dismount, hide in a wood and -await further orders. We were here for about two hours; I woke from a -good sleep to see the divisional general come out of his hut with our -colonel. The General made vigorous gestures which I thought must be an -order for attack; but it turned out just the opposite. The gestures -meant that the German advance had already been stopped, and the colonel -came back, saying, "Got to go home." From my point of view it was just -as well, for I am sure I could have done nothing to help except fall -off. We rode slowly back in the evening; and every now and then the men -sang long melodies that fitted the hour and the bare plains. - - -_June 16._ - -The day after our ride there was nothing doing, and it was difficult -to make any plan. I spent most of the day lying about the big garden, -as many of the soldiers did. There were pleasant gullies, and beyond -lay the long, rambling, white-walled village with a pretty church. The -village girls were all on the way thither dressed in bright colours. It -seemed that there were services twice a day; and the people, who were -Poles, met whenever they heard the cannon, to pray for the success of -the Russian arms. - -I sat for some time in the church. The younger girls all knelt before -the chancel and sang a long and beautiful prayer, into which, in the -second half of each stave, there joined the voices of the men behind. -Then the priest, who looked both kind and clever, had a talk with the -younger children. Poland is one of the few countries where all the -church music is congregational, and it is often sung very beautifully. -For the Pole the church is the fortress and shelter of his country; -and in this terrible war, which has fallen so hardly on Poland, this -comfort is more needed and more real than ever. It is many times that -the inhabitants of this region, especially old peasant women, have told -me how they feared the coming of the Germans. - -The Staff was a very pleasant company. The chief, also a general, had -the face and manner of a conscientious English country gentleman; he -was widely read in military history, and his judgments were always -weighed. The senior adjutant had been contusioned and invalided, but -somehow had managed to return almost at once; he was humorous and -talkative; in his room he had a placard, "There is no air in this room, -don't spoil your health and GO AWAY." Over the General's door he had -written, "Don't disturb work or rest." - -Two officers examined our prisoners, assisted by a Czech interpreter. -There was one very militant Austrian German, who would have it that -Austria would win; he was so rude about the Austrian Slavs that I asked -him at the end whether Austria wanted the Slavs. He said they wished -to be quit of Galicia, and in fact of all their Slav provinces; I -suggested that Austria proper and Tirol might find their natural place -inside the German empire; he answered with alacrity, "Of course, far -better under Wilhelm II." It is a view which offers possibilities of a -settlement; but I did not see how it would suit Austria. - -In the evening the Cossacks, encamped in different groups in the wood, -struck up their strange songs and the Russian national hymn, which they -have their own way of singing, suggestive of cadences in the music of -the north of England. I came back from a walk in the cornfields to hear -that the General invited me to come with him the next day. - -At eight in the morning all was movement. We made a vigorous start, and -went off at a great pace towards our left flank, the point which I had -already visited when with the SS Corps. The General missed nothing. -He had a salute in his little high voice for every one: "Good day, -sapper," "Good day, cavalier" (to any soldier with the George Cross); -and men standing far away across the fields drew themselves to sharp -attention to anticipate him with their lusty greeting. "Thank you for -your trouble," he said, whenever we passed a group of men at work. -At one point he galloped right away from all the lot of us, and when -we caught him up he said, "I thought somehow he looked like my son." -He turned round several times to ask, "Is the Englishman there?" and -insisted on superintending the adjustment of my stirrups. - -After passing several lines of entrenchments, we came to the front -line. Here he ordered us all to stay on the edge of a wood and went -forward into the open alone, diving into the trenches, talking with one -man or another, patting them on the back and distributing rewards for -bravery. He was soon back again from his scramble and said he must have -an observation point. They took us to a tree with a ladder against it; -the tree was outside our lines. He was up it in an instant. "They can -come at us from three sides under cover here," he said, pointing to the -surrounding woods. "Go up and have a look"; then, "Who's on our flank?" -for we were at the limit of our positions. The answer did not satisfy -him, nor did the reply which he received from a neighbouring regiment; -he made the necessary dispositions and was off on horseback. - -As we passed behind our lines we met a Red Cross outpost, where we -made a short halt. A little further on there passed us at full gallop -four regiments of Cossacks on their way to relieve our neighbours on -the left, where, as we now knew, the Germans were breaking through. As -we passed, the General called a salute to each regiment by name and -to officers or soldiers in person; and we saluted each flag as the -Cossacks swept past in full swing. We pulled up sharp at the Staff of -the brigade. The General had the men out and talked to them; to the -candidates presented for the George he said, "I will give it to any one -who accounts for ten Germans;" then he spoke of England, and asked me -to give a greeting, so I told them how grateful we were for all that -they had done for the Allies, and how we meant to do our full share of -the work. - -Rewards were distributed, and we were off for home; but we had hardly -got there, with every one except the General fairly tired, when he -ordered his motor to take him off to his opposite flank, the right. -He invited me to come with him, and I asked leave to spend the night -in the trenches of the Q regiment, which held that flank. He gave his -leave, as there was no disquieting news from that side, and my traps -were put in the motor. We had a long push through the oceans of sand, -but at last were travelling along the rear of the right flank. At one -point some sinister hand, well in the rear of our front, had laid a -whole line of fire through a great wood. - -Suddenly there opened before us such a sight as I had seen at the -beginning of the great fighting in Galicia when I was with the J Corps. -There was one long line of fire, shell on shell bursting at close -intervals and almost continuously in the twilight, with a deafening -noise, though we were some way in the rear. It was the smashing tactics -again--and again at the expense of the J Corps--which had suffered so -much in the previous fighting. - -General Irmanov thought for a moment that we had gone beyond our own -positions; but it proved otherwise. We found the Staff of the Division -in a garden outside a hut. It was a General whom I had met elsewhere, -with a new Chief of the Staff, very conscientious and painstaking. With -a lamp on the table we sat in the garden and heard the news. At four -o'clock the Q's were intact. The neighbouring regiment of the J Corps, -which was only at half strength, had had to retire from its positions; -and the Q's, with their flank uncovered, were pounded till they had -but few men left. These retreated in good order, guarding as best they -could against further outflanking; but there was no question of getting -to them that night. - -In a single day our corps, which the enemy respected enough to leave -till last, had been turned on both flanks; and at each of the -threatened points so far distant from each other, General Irmanov, who -could not have anticipated the danger, had managed to be on the spot as -soon as it presented itself. - - -_June 19._ - -The morning after our return from the right flank every one was very -busy, and the best thing that one could do was not to get in the way. -I had a chat with the Chief of the Staff, who, when he could snatch -an interval at an anxious time, usually spent it with one of the -more fantastic novels of Mr. H. G. Wells. We talked of the military -reputations of the war. He told me we were engaged along our whole -front; I had thought of getting to the regiment which I had accompanied -near Biecz, and which belonged to this corps; but he said that it was -difficult to send me. Shortly afterwards, in the most business-like -way, everything in the house was packed; we, too, were to retreat. - -General Irmanov believed in meeting attack by counter-attack, and -almost every day his corps had contrived some surprise for the enemy, -usually by night; on the day of my arrival it took over a thousand -prisoners. Altogether the corps had taken in prisoners much more than -its own original strength. But this time there were reasons which made -retreat imperative. "If I had what I need," said the General, "I should -advance to-morrow." - -The retreat was conducted in the most perfect order. The General -visited on his way the new line of entrenchments, which had been -prepared with great care. I accompanied the senior adjutant to the -new quarters, which were only four and a half miles off, but, alas! -beyond the old frontier and in Russian Poland. What of our friends, -the poor inhabitants, whom we left behind? In our new halting-place I -could not fail to notice the delicacy of the corps authorities in their -arrangements for their quarters. Everything was done to lessen the -inconvenience for the townspeople; and the General's own quarters were -asked, rather than claimed, of the local priest. The General had given -a special order as to my own accommodation; I was again to have a room -of my own. - -By now I was coming to a conclusion which I had long been considering. -I had visited these last corps to complete my information on some -points which seemed to me to be of the first importance, not only to -the army, but to Russia and to the allies. The data, of which I now -had much more than enough, were overwhelming in what they indicated. -Clearly the troops had lost not an atom of their fighting spirit; -equally clearly they were fighting under the most unfair conditions and -would continue to do so until their technical equipment, in arms and -munitions, was much more on a level with that of the enemy. I wished -to report in person what I had seen; and in this conclusion I was -encouraged by the General. He thought I should not wait for the end of -these operations, which might last a long while, but that I should be -off as soon as possible. "Come back and live with us when we've got -what we want," he said; "and we'll show you how we use it." - -He gave me his motor to go and pick up my luggage. It was a curious -journey. Apparently I had twelve miles to go, but one could not -tell how fast the enemy was advancing elsewhere. We ourselves were -retreating twelve miles next day. Besides, the roads were mostly a -hopeless waste of sand, in which motors stuck fast and had to be -dragged out by horses. I was therefore advised to make a circuit of -something like eighty miles. - -For most of this distance I had a glorious paved road, constructed, I -believe, by a Polish count, and certainly as good as asphalte. Late at -night I was only five miles from my luggage: but it took me till the -morning--something like seven hours--to get over those five miles, and -it was a wonder that we got through at all, for the aquatic feats of -the chauffeur were astonishing. However, by the evening of the next day -I was with the Staff of the army and making all preparations for going -further. Among the Staff I found not the slightest trace of agitation. -The situation was fully recognised, and there was a clear-cut plan for -dealing with it. I saw all my friends, got all further information that -I needed, and started for Moscow and Petrograd. - -The last words of the Chief of the Staff of the army were these: "Be -sure to say, after everything else, that we won't consider a separate -peace and that we are perfectly confident of the final result." - - - - -DIARY OF AN AUSTRIAN OFFICER DURING THE AUSTRO-GERMAN RECONQUEST OF -GALICIA - - -[This officer served in the 12th Rifle Battalion of the 10th -Austrian Division. He was at the front opposite the Russians in the -neighbourhood of Gorlice. He took part in the Austro-German advance -from that place, which was the point selected for the first and most -crushing artillery attack by the enemy. With an interval due to -indisposition, he advanced as far as Sieniawa. This Diary, in many -particulars, supplies interesting confirmation of the intelligence on -the Russian side. I was myself for some part of this period opposite -to the troops in which the Austrian officer was fighting. The chief -value of the Diary is the way in which it illustrates the striking -contrast between the very great successes of the enemy's artillery fire -and the inferiority of the spirit of the enemy's troops to that of the -retreating Russians. I am fully persuaded that no such Diary could have -been written in any of the Russian regiments with which I was during -this period.--B. P.] - - -_March 18._--At 7.45 p.m. we left Liebertz.[2] It was a merry send-off. -They gave us lots of flowers, cigarettes and a bottle of liquor; the -band plays and the train slowly moves off. I am very tired and soon go -to sleep. - - -_March 21._--At 8.45 a.m. we arrived at Gribow. We had a rest at Rona. -The detachment was reviewed by the Commander of the corps. The chief -thing is to keep up the men's spirits. In the night of March 23 there -was to have been an attack on our flag. We bivouacked at Lossie. There -I found our field train with Siegel Novak and Kolaris. - - -_March 22._--At 10 o'clock in the morning we marched out to Riechwald; -the roads were sunk in mud. Kolaris tells us of a four days' fight -at Sekow; of his company there were very few left. The division is -attacking the heights with the Imperial Rifles, the 26th and the 21st. -The Commander of our company was told that in the trenches there were -about fifty Russians who were only waiting for us to surrender. When -we attacked we found as a matter of fact that we had no less than two -Russian regiments against us with four machine guns.[3] The company -of Kahlen marches out to a bare hill, but is met by a murderous fire -and is almost destroyed. The Little Russians are almost all left on -the field, either dead or seriously wounded. They are very lacking in -initiative and resource. When one goes up-hill the heavy knapsack is -a great hindrance. According to what the officers think and what the -soldiers say, this attack was an evident impossibility. Of the officers -there fell Nietsche and Haube. Heavily wounded were Andreis, Lajad and -Ensign Steiner. Riechwald is a dirty Ruthenian village. Near the church -we buried Ensign Buhlwas. Our company is in the trenches eastward of -Riechwald in the direction of the Dukla Pass. The company has been -in the trenches there for seven days in all. At times the Russian -artillery bombards our trenches. Our cannon reply. After dinner, work. -Close to us on the right there burst two shrapnels, and two hundred -yards from my house a Russian shell went past. In front of us, twenty -yards away, there is a hut with our Staff. Not long ago a shell fell -there; luckily there was no one here. In the evening at 9 o'clock the -company returned from the trenches. - - -_March 24._--At 5 o'clock in the morning there was an alarm. We go off -to the trenches to relieve the 21st Regiment. Our trenches are not very -sound. We are always improving them. The Russians look at us from their -trenches, but do not fire.[4] They, too, are working at their trenches. -Our sixteen-year-old volunteer went out on the Mahlsdorf side _and saw -there_ seven Austrian soldiers. Perhaps they were Russians disguised. -The Brigadier-General has forbidden us to send any scouting parties to -Mahlsdorf. The 21st Regiment sent out a Czech and a German scouting -party, but neither of them came back. We could not hear any firing.[5] -In front of our trenches there is a wire entanglement, at which we put -a sentry, to listen, especially at night, when any danger appears.[6] -By night our outposts fire on the Russians, but the firing soon dies -away.[7] - - -_March 25._--We have come out of the trenches. In the evening we all -sat together and had a good time with music and beer. The news came -that Przemysl had fallen. Probably now the Russians will march on Dukla -and on Krakow. Lots of complaints against our generals. No one has -anything to say in favour of our offensive.[8] - - -_March 26._--We are now in the reserve of the division. The second -company is going off to Dziara, where a Russian attack is expected. We -are leaving the village. - - -_March 27._--The second company has come back. The Russians did not -attack. Jeschko took a scouting detachment and went off towards -Mahlsdorf. There he caught two soldiers of the 21st Regiment. I went -out riding beyond Riechwald. After dinner, work. All round there are -lots of crosses. On the bridge they were carrying a dead soldier; in -front of him was a heap of straw. Infectious disease is beginning.[9] - - -_March 28._--The 26th Regiment has been joined by the 59th. -A Divisional Order has been issued that too many men are -surrendering.[10] At 6 o'clock in the morning two soldiers brought in -by Jeschko were shot.[11] One was twenty-one, the other twenty-five. -They were buried near the road with a third, who was shot by a sentry -for not knowing the password. The first and second companies are -digging trenches. All day rain and snow. Work with the company till 3 -o'clock. In the evening a lot of snow fell. At 8 o'clock in the evening -the company of Kahlen starts off from Ropica Russka, to scout--to find -out what regiments are in front of us. - -In front of the Mahlsdorf crest we discovered that we had the 34th -and 248th Russian Regiments. The Russians use Czechs as scouts. The -Commander of the 10th Division has given a prize of 500 crowns to catch -a man.[12] Nestarowicz is ill; so is our doctor. The Russians every -day get bolder and more impudent. They know when dinner is sent to the -trenches and break out laughing, and before the signal is given they -shout out to the 36th Regiment: "Thirty-sixth, to your coffee!" They -also freely employ N.C.O's who know German. Not long ago a Russian -N.C.O. came up boldly to our wire entanglements of the 18th Regiment -and began abusing our men in German, telling them "they had better not -go catching crows but hide in the trenches at once." And indeed our -brave recruits diligently executed his orders.[13] - - -_March 29._--We are working at the trenches on the Magora. The scouting -detachment of the 59th Regiment sent to Mahlsdorf has lost 14 killed. A -stray bullet killed a N.C.O. of Sappers. In the evening we had dinner -together in honour of the arrival of Major Eisen. - - -_March 30._--Heavy snow is falling. In the morning, work. Cannonade was -to-day weak. After dinner, confession; nearly all the soldiers went. - - -_April 1._--In the morning, work. The Russian artillery is strongly -bombarding Sekov. Strict orders to be on the alert. After dinner our -artillery bombards Ropica. In Sekov the Russians have occupied the -bridge, which was guarded by the Imperial Rifles. Meisler is promoted -to the Second Rifle Regiment. Wittner is going off to hospital.[14] - - -_April 2._--In the morning we dig trenches towards Dziara. Two of our -aeroplanes circle over the Russian trenches. Above Gorlice, there is a -heavy artillery duel.[15] A splendid day. About 5 o'clock three Russian -shrapnels burst over one of our aeroplanes, but it fortunately got -away. In the evening Jeschko is again off to Mahlsdorf with his scouts. -I very much want a drink, but there is no water, nor beer nor wine.[16] - - -_April 3._--We are digging trenches. After dinner we were free. A -magnificent day. Winternitz has brought champagne, cakes, wine ... and -oranges. In the evening we all met at the doctor's. There was a sudden -alarm. - - -_April 4._--At 3.45 a.m. we marched out of Riechwald. At Dukla there -was a strong artillery duel. We go through Laszenian and Lovica to -Prislak. Very warm. Impassable marshes. We met Major Braunlich of the -Second Rifle Regiment. I had dinner with him. We had only just finished -our soup when the order came to go over our positions with Silberbauer. -In the wood I parted with the Major. We came on a post where there -were a colonel, major, captain and a lieutenant. They entertained us -hospitably, but all were anxious for peace.[17] In the evening we -came to the trenches. We are working hard. There is water everywhere. -As soon as you think of lying down there comes the order to go on. -All are discontented. We marched up to the knees in mud. On the road -we received letters. Mary hopes I will have a pleasant Easter. I was -so tired I could not move a yard. We forded a pretty deep brook. One -soldier, while crossing, sprained his leg. At 3 o'clock in the morning -we reached Kwieton. I drove out the bearers and slept on a stretcher. - - -_April 5._--I cannot stand on my legs, and throw away my socks. I and -the Staff Captain have got a rather nice room. They say that the -Russians at Gorlice wanted a three days' truce,[18] but it was not -granted. In the evening there was heavy musketry fire. One hundred -yards from us a house is on fire. The machine gunners of the 59th -Regiment have lost a lot of saddles and harness. At 10 o'clock there -comes the news that the Russians are repulsed. - - -_April 6._--Splendid day. We were again ordered to join the 8th I.T. -Division as reserve. They have brought a machine which destroys.... To -it were tied an old man and a ten-year-old boy. The boy had eyes like -a hawk; he knows men of all ranks and puts all the work on the old -man. There were salvos of artillery. In the evening a hundred yards -off us the house with our machine guns is set on fire. The ammunition -blows up; the soldiers, barefoot and without uniform, rush out into the -marsh. One soldier and a lot of harness were burned.[19] - - -_April 7._--At 4 a.m. there is an alarm. We put our bags on a cart. We -had a rest at Rona. We spent the night with a Jew. Two pretty Jewesses -offered their services. Ludwig sings, after which he throws out of -the house the Honved Staff Corporal, who was here drinking champagne. -Before this we met in the village a pretty Pole. There were Honveds, -who are worse than Cossacks.[20] In November the Jew entertained here -a Russian General and his staff. The Polish lady entertained us with -cakes, and even knows German. - - -_April 8._--After a wretched night in the Jew's house we occupied some -trenches above Cieszkowice. We are relieving the Honveds. I met by -chance Lieutenant Spalen. I was very glad to see him. The trenches are -very good and dry. The Russians are nine hundred yards off. We have in -front of my squad three machine guns. In the evening they open fire on -us in honour of our arrival. - - -_April 9._--At 2 a.m. a Russian scouting party and two squads came out -of the wood. At 4 our machine guns fired on them. We were exchanging -shots the whole day. - - -_April 10._--The Russians get their breakfast earlier than we do. In -the evening they attacked to our left, where they set a house on fire. -It is very dull; I have a cold and want to sleep. The Russians keep -throwing earth straight into my beer; they shoot so well at my mud hut. -At night I send out scouts. - - -_April 11._--Life goes slowly. We got newspapers a week old and I read -them diligently all through. The Russians fire now and then. - - -_April 12._--The day has gone rather quietly. The 4th Company has taken -prisoner a Russian deserter, a Jew.[21] - - -_April 13._--There are lots of wounded in the 2nd and 4th Companies. At -11 p.m. the Russians attacked the 80th Honved Regiment to the left of -us, but were beaten off. - - -_April 14._--At 5 a.m. the Russians attacked the 56th Regiment on our -left flank. They took prisoner a lieutenant, commanding the company, -and about thirty privates. Our artillery, however, drove them out of -our trenches.[22] - - -_April 15._--The whole day we were exchanging shots. It was a simply -hellish night. The Russians at midnight made six attacks. The Russian -heavy mortars threw about 150 shells at a copse not far from my squad. -Our artillery replied. The attack is chiefly directed against the 80th -Regiment and part of our company, where two huts were smashed. Two men -wounded. - - -_April 16._--A recruit named Szebek was killed close to the trench. He -was carrying wood. In the evening we put up a wire entanglement and -took prisoner a Russian of a scouting party, who came too near to our -wire entanglement. - - -_April 17._--At 3 a.m. a Russian scouting party tried to get through -our wire entanglements, but was observed and beaten off. In the evening -another strong artillery duel. We are improving our trenches. - - -_April 18._--We are almost all ill. The Russians worry us all day. -No one dares to show himself in the communication passage, otherwise -bullets whistle over our head.[23] We are making wire entanglements. - - -_April 19._--The morning was quiet. At mid-day there began a strong -cannonade by our artillery. The Russians replied with only a few shots. -A Russian aeroplane. Towards evening the Russian machine guns again -fire on my house. We were to be relieved. The order was issued, but has -been cancelled. We are waiting for the 9th marching battalion, which -ought to arrive about now. - - -_April 20._--A normal day. The 9th marching battalion arrived and -brought us 54 men. - - -_April 21._--We were relieved by the 90th Magyar Foot Regiment. Awful -disorder. In the evening we slept in Cieszkowice. The Russians, as we -march off, show they know what is happening. - - -_April 22._--Nearly the whole day quiet. I sleep on a sofa. - - -_April 23._--They say that we shall be put in reserve. What a long time -they have left us here! - - -_April 24._--They say that German regiments are coming.[24] At Gribow a -Russian airman dropped a bomb on the station. At night there was a lot -of shooting in the trenches. - - -_April 25._--Lots of aeroplanes. The Russian cannon and machine guns -are firing at our airships. I am entertaining Spalen. He says that on -one of the lines a Honved battalion has communication with a Russian. -The Russians send champagne and caviare. I myself saw the Russian -soldiers and ours walking about together between the trenches, the -distance being not more than 300 yards. Three German batteries have -arrived. They say that we are going to pass to the offensive. - - -_April 26._--In the morning and afternoon, work with the recruits. -The German General was surprised that we had not taken the offensive -earlier. I have changed my quarters and am sleeping in a bed. In the -evening there was a strong cannonade. The windows shook. Sleep was out -of the question. - - -_April 27._--In the morning it rained. Orders to march at mid-day; -cancelled. The German Guard is marching. They are going in the -direction of Bartieczew. There are already some wounded at the bridge, -for the Russian artillery hits the columns, which scatter over the -slopes. Our artillery replies. In the evening we go into reserve. - - -_April 28._--In the morning we get up late. Two German aeroplanes are -reconnoitring the ground. Two of our companies are to attack, the third -and fourth in reserve. I sleep very badly in a mud hut. - - -_April 29._--Katz is ill. A great attack is in preparation. Six corps -of the German Guard have come from France, to our part of the front. -The post is stopped; writing is forbidden; my poor Mary! - - -_April 30._--We are drawn up in attacking order opposite Rzepeinik. -Four hundred of our cannon thunder against the heights at Gollanka.[25] -At 9 o'clock in the evening we cut through our wire entanglements. The -1st and 2nd company go forward to the attack, and we behind them in -reserve. We lose connexion. The trenches are empty; there is no one -there.[26] At last, after three-quarters of an hour, we find other -trenches. We have advanced 1-1/2 kilometres. We entrench ourselves. -Katz wants us to entrench in the open in front of the wood, but I -advise on the edge of the wood as the enemy's artillery cannonades us -on our flank.[27] We have scarcely begun entrenching ourselves when -heavy Russian mortars open fire on us. That night was awful. I sit with -Janikowski (my orderly); no one speaks. We press our backs against the -clay dug-out. The side of the trench is an admirable defence from the -firing. The shrapnels burst all round us, lighting up the surroundings -with a hellish fire. Janikowski shuts his eyes and does not want to -look. I try to begin talking. The clay keeps on crumbling into the -trench from the impact of the air. I think of every one at home. I -think of Mary. I think of the action of shells and wonder how it was -possible to invent such a terrible thing. It is dawning. Thank God. The -shells no longer shine up in the darkness and do not seem so terrible. -Now our two batteries have begun to talk. Beneath me I hear soldiers -talking. They want to get breakfast. The Muscovite has, perhaps, -stopped already. I remain silent. They get me beams to cover my trench -in case the Russians should think of bombarding us again. I go off to -sleep. - - -_May 1._--About 6 I woke up. Janikowski has made some coffee. Where -he got it is for me a mystery. I stretch myself and feel altogether -knocked up, as my legs were higher than my head. Our artillery thunders -in salvos all round. We wait. At 11 o'clock the guard regiment with -the 21st is to go to the attack. It is already mid-day. It is only now -that musketry fire has suddenly begun. Our men are talking. The Russian -cannon fire straight on to us. We have to go forward in the direction -of Rzepeinik. It is in the valley in front of us. My squad has three or -four men crawling forward. The Russian shrapnel bursts a few yards off -us. I and Katz go to the left. The bullets whistle past us. Our people -are pressing the Russians on the right flank. After two hours we all -go forward. In front of us the village of Rzepeinik is in flames. The -21st Regiment has had enormous losses. We receive orders to take the -southern slope of the hill from Kazalow. The Russians fire on our flank -from the left of Gollanka. The hillock is taken. We have only two or -three wounded. I sleep in a hut in front of which are our trenches. - - -_May 2._--At 8 a.m. orders to march. With the 2nd Rifle Regiments we go -up through the wood on Dobrotyn, Hill 517. We come under fire of the -Russian artillery. We have to go forward as quick as we can. We march -in column. One shell burst on the first column and knocked out 8 men--2 -killed, 4 seriously wounded, 2 slightly wounded. A volunteer is killed. -We go forward at a run. The shrapnel bursts behind us. We several times -march forward round Hill 517. In the end we entrench for the night. - - -_May 3._--Morning. We move forward as the reserve of the I T Division. -Three short advances and then an order came to take Hill 417 (Obzar) -with the Rifles. It is 3 o'clock already. We turn from the road into -the wood. We are to attack at night. At 6 o'clock we are ready. We go -round the wood. It begins to get dark. The 3rd company has to cover -a battalion on its left. We lose connexion with the front line. Katz -runs back and I come out on to the road. Katz is unnerved. He has lost -connexion. He wants to lead his company from behind. I run forward to -Katz and in person order the company to disperse into attack order and -advance up the hill. In front of us are our sentries. I meet the squad -of Ensign Minster. I take it with me. By this time we are come up to -the reserve company of Canicani. I determine to attack along the road. -Canicani goes first. We make our way for a whole hour parallel with the -crest of the hill. It is dark. Left of us the houses are on fire, where -the Russians were in the morning. We have certainly gone forward a -long way, and the Russian left flank is able to turn us. We turn back. -Midnight. We want to stay on the road in the wood. We have found a -company of the 18th Regiment to the left, and to the right is the 80th. -We entrench. - - -_May 4._--Three a.m. Obzar is in our hands. We may expect a Russian -artillery attack. We entrench ourselves on the Obzar Hill. In a hut by -the road they have got us breakfast. I entrench myself with the chief -of scouts, Altman, who was a volunteer from Liebertz. At 11 o'clock we -get wine and something to eat. Katz and Hoffmann go off to hospital. -Lieutenant Kahl takes over the company. At 5 a.m. we are relieved by -the 98th, and go in the direction of Wyzjowa, Hill 419. Between Obzar -and Wyzjowa we entrench for the night. - - -_May 5._--The Prussian Guard is attacking to the right of us. All round -huts are burning. The Russian batteries fire past us. Our batteries -are going off to their positions. Behind, one catches sight of a group -of cavalry. We bivouac in a courtyard. The second company of Canicani -sends out sentries towards Wyzjowa. What is Mary doing? May is the -month of love, and my dear one is asleep at home. Shall I return? I -believe, I believe; it is by belief that I live. We have taken prisoner -a Russian N.C.O., a gunner. - - -_May 6._--Alarm at 4 a.m. We march in the advanced guard and are to -go to the river Wislok. With fifteen men I go scouting, direction of -Wyzjowa, Dembow and Blazkow, or rather south of Blazkow, Hill 291. We -are to reconnoitre the course of the river Wislok to see if the enemy -is there. I go with Polnerycz; he goes off a little to the north. We -get to Czerinne. In the morning there were Cossacks here everywhere. -Every one is afraid of the Germans.[28] On the road, we buy some eggs. -We got to the top of the hill, and in front of us lay the Wislok. We -could not advance further. German scouts. The Russian artillery is -cannonading us from the opposite heights. I and my men look for cover -in a deep ditch. Only two go forward on their knees up the hill, and -keep a look out; two I send to a hut to cook some potatoes. Columns are -moving along the road to Blazkow. I think it is our battalion coming -up. I send two men to the village and meanwhile read the newspaper. At -my order the thinned ranks go forward. God of Mercy have mercy on us. I -wonder who of us will survive. Two o'clock. We eat some potatoes. The -battalion is in the village. I go forward to it. We got there safely. -In the village two of our batteries are taking up position. We get some -dinner. Unexpectedly there arrive two civilians. I thought I knew one -of them. Just then he came up to me and said in pure German, "Sir, I -have the honour to report myself from captivity." It was Tandler of -my squad, who with Palme, of the Rifles, was taken prisoner by the -Russians in December and escaped. They were disguised as Poles. Tandler -spoke Bohemian well, and the Russians took him for a Pole. The other -pretended to be dumb. The schoolmaster of the village of Blazkow helped -them. The first company went forward towards the river. At night we -were to attack the heights beyond the river. The Russians have burned -the bridges. We must ford the river. I left my knapsack in the kitchen -and took with me only my field glasses, ... spade and revolver. At 12 -o'clock we get up, have a meal and drink black coffee. We come to the -river, the 4th company in front, at 2 a.m. The road was very dusty. -Behind us a Russian shell set the hut on fire. Our 4th company arrived -at the burned bridge. Just then we came under a rain of bullets. All -lay down. Next to me was Sub-Lieutenant Bader. I call Kahlen and want -to give orders but it is no use. We run along the marsh to the bank -of the river; I see its shining surface. Just one plunge forward and, -with the name of God, we are in the water. Some fall behind in the -water. I see that the copse on the opposite bank is full of our men -and hear the rear ranks coming through the river. About 600 yards from -us a hut was set on fire, and lit up the house to the right. We are -going towards the flaming hut. The sub-lieutenant doesn't want to go -forward, saying that he has no orders. I lost him. Our right flank is -already engaged. We hear a Russian machine gun. I send an orderly to -the left and want to know who is there, as so far there is not a sound -on that side. We run forward about 300 yards and begin going up the -hill. At 100 or 115 yards in front of us we see the trenches. I don't -know whether they are Russians' or ours. The firing does not slacken. -If the Russians have gone, then they may come back. "Forward," I shout, -"first battalion, forward, hurrah," but no one wants to move. All our -men turn to the left, and no one listens to me. Only when I repeat the -order and explain that there are very few Russians, they go forward. -Three or four Russians are still firing; the rest throw away their guns -and throw up their hands, about seventy. I leave four men with them and -go forward. To the left of us the Russian machine guns are firing on -our flank. We are joined by a company of the 2nd Rifles. I direct them -quickly to the left, where I see flashes of musketry fire. Myself I go -at a quick pace to the hill. I see that the Russians are returning -and can easily turn our 4th company. Quickly forward. It is sad to -think of so many lives. The will of God be done. Just then I heard from -behind shouts of hurrah and bullets whistling. This was the reserve -of the 98th Regiment, which was going to attack the Russians whom we -had already taken prisoners, and took us for retreating Russians. They -fire at us with machine gun. I shout out, use my whistle and at last -succeed in stopping the fire. I look round to the left and see that -Captain Tezera coming up. I am very tired, tortured with thirst and can -hardly stand on my legs. With a gesture I explain to him the position -of affairs to the left. He is wounded in the hand. Our men quickly -entrench on the hill. Czwanczara takes me to a hut and makes some -coffee. They now suggest that I should go to the first-aid point. I am -in the village of Bukowa. I wait for Janikowski with clean linen, so as -to change. The Russian shrapnels are bursting in Bukowa, above which -are our trenches. After paying the hostess I go to look for the doctor. -Everywhere there is a mass of wounded, ours and the Russians. Some dead -Russians lie on the road. In the hut I happen to meet our major. I tell -him that I am going off. He seems very annoyed, and says that he has -no one to replace me. The doctor of the 2nd Rifles looked me over. He -was anxious about my lungs, otherwise it was simply fatigue and a bad -cold. At the first-aid point there were a mass of wounded; lots of them -ours. I met Janikowski. I heard from him that among the wounded were -Boguslaw, Minster, Klein, Tepser, Werner, Silberbauer, seriously; and -killed Radlenbacher, Gezl, Scoutmaster Malina, and Altman. The field -hospital was in the school. There were many wounded in head and chest -and stomach. I slept with the slightly wounded, and had a fairly good -night. - - -_May 8._--We went by cart to Tuchow. The road was broken up. We stopped -in Jedlowa. I had a talk with the commander of the corps, Kraliczek. -After dinner we arrived in Tuchow. The bridge had been burned by the -Russians. Lots of houses had been smashed by our artillery.[29] There -were thousands of wounded lying there. Colonel Szeol of the 21st told -me of the fighting in Serbia where he was earlier with the 79th.[30] -He is a Czech. Boguslaw is angry because they won't allow us to bury -Silberbauer, in case of his death, in the garden of the estate, where -many Russians were wounded. In the town nothing was to be bought. - - -_May 9._--They have brought in lots of wounded. In the evening it -turned out that there were 600 new wounded. I wrote to Mary. - - -_May 10._--Slept well, and had a walk in the town. Appetite returned. - - -_May 11._--We were invited to supper by the staff doctor. To-day there -arrived sisters of mercy and with them a captain, under whose orders -they were. The wife of the doctor, who is in prison in Russia, is -living with the captain, as husband and wife; rather early. - - -_May 12._--They promised us a cart from the corps field train, but it -went off under our noses. Luck brought us a Jew from Sanc with a trap. -We got off through Ryplica, Jedlowa and ... to Wielopole. - - -_May 13._--Got up at 6. The cart was already at the door. Our men are -already beyond Rzeszow. At 8 p.m., very tired, we reached Rzeszow. -Everywhere we could get bread, rolls, etc. They say the Russians have -sent off from here lots of prisoners (to Russia). - - -_May 14._--Got up at 6. Travelled very fast, but in spite of a -four-hour drive did not catch any one up. We dined in despair, waiting -for our servants. Only towards evening to our joy we found them at -last. We travelled on; the springs of our cart broke. In the evening we -catch up the field train. Lieutenant Koblentz has been killed by a shot -in the mouth. Lieutenant Szipdelarz has been wounded in the leg. - - -_May 15._--Went forward to my battalion through Zolinia, Bidaczew -and Lezaisko. At 12 o'clock, found my company at the manor near -Zwiedzinicz. Presented myself to the major and went off to cover the -artillery. The Russians sent us about 800 shells and burned 3 houses -behind us, killing 6 men, wounding 3 and killing 2 horses. The 30th -Regiment standing in reserve had 3.... Two telephonists were wounded. -The San is only a kilometre off. - - -_May 16._--Slept in mud hut. Firing all night. In the morning the -Russian artillery was trying to find ours. All afternoon a vigorous -artillery duel. - - -_May 17._--At 2 a.m. we got breakfast. Near us were twelve batteries -and behind two batteries of heavy mortars. The Russians kept firing -incessantly. The 1st company has six dead. Towards evening the 30th -Regiment arrived to relieve us; however, it will only do so at 11. -The Russians keep on entertaining us with salvos of artillery. We are -going along a lime alley; behind us near a cottage is the staff of our -regiment. - -Shrapnels are bursting. The major is hiding in a mud hut. My company -runs past the village. Janikowski calls out that he is wounded. The -wound is in his right elbow. I give him an arm and we go forward. The -battalion comes up in half an hour. We go about 1000 yards parallel -to the railway embankment and stop to have a rest. Rain. At 4 o'clock -we are about 10 kilometres south-east of the village of Chalupka. We -bivouac. Janikowski has forgotten to hand over my chest with toilet -case, which is very tiresome for me. At 4 we reach the San; my new -orderly is called Schütz. - - * * * * * - -Shortly after this, at Sieniawa on the east bank of the San, the writer -was taken prisoner and this diary was found on him. He was one of -7000 prisoners who were taken with a battery of heavy artillery when -Sieniawa was stormed by no more than 6000 Russians.[31] - -At the same time was captured the interesting postcard which I append. - -Translation of a postcard, May 25, 1915, from Kralowskie Winogrady -(Bohemia). Written in Czech. - - "MY DEAR FRIEND, - - "We have got your postcard and we wish you a happy return. We are - often thinking of you. Here there is no news, only hunger and - shortage of bread. Many of the bakeries are closed. Flour is not to - be bought; meat is very dear. Soon there will be a general crisis." - - - [Illustration] - - - - -INDEX - - - Alexander I, 4 - - Alexey of Jaroslav, 133 - - Alexeyev, Mr., 14 - - Armenians, the, 134 - - Arndt, 83, 146 - - Austria, 2, 3, 6, 26, 109, 140, 162, 175, 176, 202, 221 - Army of-- - airmen of, 164, 168-71, 199, 200, 227, 228, 233 - artillery fire of, 154, 158-9, 218, 232, 261 - cholera in, 266 - clothing of, 87 - disaffection of, 84, 85, 174, 201, 212, 265, 268 - methods of advance, 88 - nationalities of, 84, 87, 174, 192, 201, 266 - prisoners and wounded, attitude and spirit of, 19, 55-8, 79-80, - 108-9, 121-2, 133, 135, 174, 184, 185, 253-4 - question of excesses of, 45-7, 51 - treatment of Czechs, 85, 175, 201 - use of churches, 151-2 - violence of, 29, 30 - - "_Austrian officer_," diary of, 263-82 - - - Bartieczew, 272 - - Bavarian troops, atrocities of, 83, 108 - - Belgium, 4, 7, 45, 108, 176 - - Bergen, 8, 9 - - Beskides, the, 186-7 - - ----, the eastern, 180-1 - - Beskides, fighting in, 188-90 - - Biecz, fighting at, 208, 257 - - "Birds, The," visit to, 147-51, 196 - - Bismarck, 160 - - Blaskow, 277 - - Blonie, 38 - - Bobr, River, the, 28, 35 - - Bobrinsky, Count George, 21-3, 25, 75, 95 - - ----, ---- Vladimir, 23, 25 - - ----, Countess O., 15, 95 - - Bohemians, the, 24, 80, 84, 85, 87, 139, 161 - - Böhmerwald Mountains, the, 161 - - Borodino, battle of, 164, 201 - - Bosnia, 2 - - Bosnians, 87 - - Braunlich, Major, 268 - - Bruselov, General, 27, 28 - - Bug, River, line of, 26, 28, 48, 59 - - Bukovina, the, 23, 176 - - Bukowa, 279 - - - Caillaux Case, the, 3 - - Carpathians, the, 161-3 - - ----, Austrian advance on, 263-82 - - ----, difficulties of movement in, 190-1 - - ----, fighting in, 181-6, 188-9, 198-9, 209-12, 224-6 - - ----, German rally in, 203-5 - - ----, ---- tactics in, 216-21 - - ----, Russian advance lines in, 151-4 - - ----, Russia's task in, 175-8, 180 - - ----, with German advance over, 272-82 - - Carpathians, the, with Russian advance over, 97-104, 115-22, 126-54, - 178-90, 193-9, 203-5 - - ----, with Russian retreat from, 205-16 - - Caucasian Corps, the, 209 - - Chalupka, 282 - - Christmas, celebration of Russian, 99-101 - - Constantinople, 176 - - Cossacks, 30-1, 233, 251 - - Cracow, road to, 53-7, 59 - - ----, Russian advance to, 61, 265 - - Czenstochowa region, fighting in, 249 - - Czerinne, 276 - - Czieszkowice, 270, 272 - - - Dardanelles, 153 - - Dmitriev, General Radko, 67, 74, 86, 112, 139, 223 - - ----, staff of, 88 - - Dmowski, Mr., 1, 2, 47 - - Dniestr, River, the, 29 - - Dobrotin, General, 179-81 - - Dobrotyn Hill, 275 - - Dolgorukov, Prince, 153 - - Dolina, Mary, 71 - - Dombrowski, 139 - - Dowager Empress, hospital of, 25 - - Dresden, battle of, 146 - - Dukla, 264, 265, 268 - - Duma, the, 12 - - ---- lazaret, 62, 63 - - Dunajec River, the, 126 - - Dynuw, 225, 226 - - Dziara, 267 - - - Easter, celebration of, 171-3 - - Elchingen, heights of, 104 - - England, 4, 7, 8, 26, 47, 120, 137, 153, 154, 172, 176, 184, 192, 193, - 242, 243 - - Erzegebirge Mountains, the, 161 - - Eulogius, Archbishop, 66, 76 - - - Flamborough, Miss, 235 - - France, 4, 7, 8, 26, 47 - - Francis Ferdinand, Archduke, 109, 157 - - Francis Joseph, Emperor, 116 - - Friedmann, Mr., 12 - - - Gagarin, Princess, 15 - - Galich, 29, 30 - - Galicia, 21-3, 26, 47, 59, 61, 157-8, 175, 250 - - ----, battlefields of, 26 - - ----, road to, 73-5 - - Geneva Convention, 115 - - George Cross, the, 200 - - Germany, 2, 3, 6, 7, 13, 26, 68, 108, 122, 162, 163, 175-6, 184, 202, - 242-3, 247 - Army of-- - artillery fire of, 218 - cavalry advance of, 233 - heavy artillery of, 33, 46, 202-3, 208, 216-17, 219, 224, 232, - 245, 273 - methods of infantry advance of, 88, 94-5, 108, 244-6 - prisoner of, chat with, 242-3 - question of excesses of, 45-7, 51, 215 - rifle fire of, 33, 50 - wounded, attitude of, 107, 134 - Attitude of, to war, 107, 108 - - Giant Mountains, the, 161 - - Gnila Lipa, battle of, 26 - - Gollanka, artillery duel on heights of, 273-5 - - Goremykin, Mr., 12 - - Gorlice, battle of, 250, 251, 267, 269 - - Gorodok, 28 - - Gozhansky, Colonel, 38 - - Grey, Sir Edward, 4 - - Gribow, 262, 272 - - Guchkov, Alexander, 72 - - Gurko, 247 - - - Hamburg, 242 - - Harchin, 206, 207 - - Hindenburg, General von, 183, 202 - - Homyakov, Mr., 25 - - Homyakov, Miss, 155 - - Honveds, the, 269 - - Hopper, Miss, 235 - - Hungary, army of, attitude towards war, 24, 87, 109, 140, 201 - - ----, ----, horse artillery of, 65 - - ----, defence of, 221 - - ----, Magyars of, 161-3, 176 - - ----, Slavs of, 161-3 - - ----, survey of, 161-3, 176, 178 - - - Irish conflict, the, 2, 3 - - Irmanov, General, 250-1, 254-8 - - ----, ----, staff of, 253-4 - - Italy, 7, 8, 243 - - "Ivan," 134 - - Ivangorod, fighting near, 48 - - Ivanov, General, 200 - - - Japanese War, the, 247 - - Jaslo, 213; bombardment of, 214 - - Jews, the, 12, 17 - - ---- of Galicia, 25, 31, 33 - - ---- of Poland, 41 - - - Kasso, Mr., 2 - - Kazalow, 274 - - Kazimierz, fighting at, 36, 43 - - Kearne, Miss, 148 - - Kemble, Mrs., 71 - - Kielce, 55, 250 - - ----, fighting at, 49-50, 53, 56-7, 249 - - ----, scenes at, 56 - - Kiev, 73 - - Körner, 83, 146 - - Kosienice, desperate fighting at, 48, 49, 249 - - Krasnik, battle of, 19 - - Kristiania, 9 - - Kruchkov, 18 - - Kusmanek, commander of Peremyshl, 157, 158 - - Kutuzov, 200 - - Kwieton, road to, 268 - - - Leipzig, battle of, 164 - - Lemberg (_see_ Lvov) - - Lerche, 25 - - Liebertz, 262 - - Lithuanians, the, 12 - - Lodz, 45 - - London, Bishop of, 100 - - Lowicz, 38, 39 - - ----, Poles of, 38, 39 - - Lützen, field of, 147 - - Lukich, Commander, 141-3 - - Luther, Martin, 147 - - Lvov (Lemberg), 22-3, 25-6, 28, 60, 74-8, 222 - - ----, Prince George, 12, 14, 72, 234 - - ----, N. N., 10, 13 - - ----, Nicholas, 72 - - - Magyar, the, 161-3, 176 - - Mahlsdorf, 264-6 - - Maklakov, Mr., 13 - - Metz, 159 - - Mezolaborcz, 192, 193 - - Mlawa, 61 - - Mokra, 40 - - Moravians, the, 161 - - Moscow (1812 and 1914), 13-16 - - ----, Press of, 71 - - Muchowka, battle of, 179 - - - Napoleon, 40, 86, 139, 164, 167, 242 - - Narev River, the, 28, 35, 48 - - Naudeau, M., 57 - - Newlands Corner, 186 - - New Year, keeping Feast of, 105, 106 - - Ney, Marshal, 104 - - Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, 2, 4, 13, 16, 72, 247 - - Nicholas, Grand Duke, 9, 17, 18, 36, 61 - - Niemen River, the, 28, 35 - - Nikolayevich, Nikolay, 97, 98 - - Norwegians, the, 9 - - - Obzar Hill, 275-6 - - Olga Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess, 20 - - - Pavlovich, Pavel, 141-3 - - Peace Society of Moscow, 153 - - Peremyshl, fall of, 157-60, 176, 265 - - ----, fortifications of, 157, 158 - - ----, garrison, etc., of, 157, 159 - - Petrograd, 13 - - Plock, 61 - - Pochayev Monastery, 66 - - Podymov, Colonel, 190 note - - Poland, 2, 40, 47-8, 112, 135-6, 253 - - ----, cottages of, 126 - - ----, Russian, 26, 28, 177 - - ----, scenes in, 41-4 - - ----, wounded children in, 135-6 - - Poles, the, 16, 17, 47, 50-3 - - ---- of Lowicz, 38-41 - - ---- of Galicia, 61, 79, 87 - - Prislak, 268 - - Protopopov, Mr., 1 - - Prussia, East, 26, 28, 47, 48, 62, 175 - - Prussia, strength of, 161, 176 - - Pruszkov, fighting at, 35, 37 - - Pushkin, 144 - - - Radom, 49, 51-3, 57, 59 - - Rakitna, fighting at, 36-8 - - Rakoczy, 193 - - Rava Ruska, 27, 29, 31-4, 177, 179, 197 - - Red Cross Organisation of Russia, 11, 16, 25 - - ---- ----, keenness and enthusiasm of, 122-5, 148, 156, 191-2, 15-16, - 222 - (_see also under_ Russia and Zemstvo League) - - Religious questions in Galicia, 21, 22, 76 - - Riechwald, 263, 265, 268 - - Rona, 263, 269 - - Ropica Russka, 266 - - Roshkov, Dr. Vladimir Petrovich, 125, 147, 148 - - Rumania, 162, 176 - - Russia, 2-4, 7, 109, 162-3, 177, 185, 247 - Army of-- - airmen of, 163-8, 271-2 - ambulance points of, 95-104, 215, 221-2 - artillery fire of, 30, 36, 46, 116, 154, 165, 244, 269-71, 275, 277 - cavalry of, 46 - chaplains of, 66-7, 100 - field hospitals of, 20, 62-7, 96 - first-aid stations of, 112-15 - growing enthusiasm of, for England, 120, 137, 153-4, 192-3, 195-6 - losses of, 177, 196-7, 199, 207, 213-14, 222-4, 249 - method of infantry advance of, 88-9 - Siberian regiments of, 35-6 - spirit of, 19-20, 24, 33-4, 41-4, 54, 58, 60-1, 64-6, 98-9, 125, 133, - 228, 259, 261 - treatment of prisoners by, 24, 174 - winter kit of, 87 - wounded of, stoicism of, 64-6, 133-4, 222-3 - Peasants and people of-- - attitude to war, 10, 11, 53, 68-78, 88, 199, 259 - characteristics of, 7, 8, 120, 125, 128 - - Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, work of, 11 - - Ruthenian troops, the, 30, 179 - - Ruzsky, General, 27 - - Rzepeinik, advance on, 274-5 - - Rzeszow, 226, 227 - - - San River, Austrian advance to, 282 - - ----, defence of, 228-34, 236-41, 247-8, 250-7 - - ----, fight for, 26, 114, 177, 179, 197 - - ----, German tactics at, 232 - - ----, line of, 28-9, 35, 59, 62, 65 - - ----, passages of, 48 - - ----, Russian retreat to, 227, 244 - - ----, Russian Retreat from, 257-8 - - Sandomir, 61 - - Saxony, King of, 45 - - Sazonov, Mr., 3, 10 - - Schiller, 146 - - Sczydlowiecki family, monuments of, 54 - - Sekow, bombardment of, 267 - - ----, fight at, 263 - - Seniawa, Russian advance on, 251, 282 - - Serbia, 2, 3, 7, 109, 247 - - Shchepkin, Mr., 14 - - Shingarev, Dr., 63 - - Silesia, southern, population of, 61 - - Skiernewice, 38, 40, 41, 44 - - Skobelev, 39 - - Slovaks, the, 161 - - Slovenes, the, 24 - - Sochaczew, 38, 41 - - Stakhovich, Mr., 25, 74 - - Surrey Hills, 1, 2, 186, 187 - - Suvorov, 247 - - Swedes, the, 9 - - Szydlowiec, 49, 54 - - - Tarnow, bombardment of, 106-7, 110-11, 155-7, 214-15 - - ----, fighting at, 81-2 - - ----, hospital scenes at, 82-6, 155-6 - - ----, journey to, 79-81 - - ----, Russian lines outside, 92-5 - - Taslo, visit to, 173-5 - - Thüringerwald Mountains, the, 161 - - Tikhon, Father, 99-101, 103, 105 - - Tirolese, the, 131, 132 - - Tisza, Count, 163, 176 - - Tolstoy, Count, 167 - - Transylvania, 162 - - Trubetskoy, Princess O., 15 - - Tryphon, Bishop, 100, 101 - - Tuchow, 280 - - Turkey, 89 - - - Uhland, 146 - - - Verdun, 216 - - Vilna, 16, 17 - - Vistula River, crossing of, 249 - - ----, Middle, 28-9, 35, 48 - - ----, Upper, 46 - - Volkonsky, Prince, 63 - - "_V. S._," 89-92 - - - Wagram, 32 - - Warsaw, 28, 35-7, 45, 48, 51, 59 - - "War Song-book for the German Army, 1914," the, 145-7 - - Wells, H. G., 164, 257 - - "_Wiggins_," 136-9, 158, 163 - - William II, Kaiser, 7, 109, 202, 231, 254 - - Wisloka, 59 - - Wislok River, the, 276-8 - - Wyzjowa, 276, 277 - - - Zemstva, 12-13 - - Zemstvo League, 14, 234 - - ---- ----, Red Cross Staff of, 77-8, 80-1, 234-5 - - Zwiedzinicz, artillery duel at, 281 - - - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY - RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, - BRUNSWICK ST., STAMFORD ST., S.E., - AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. - - - - - PAUL VINOGRADOFF, F.B.A. - - Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence in the University of Oxford, - sometime Professor of History in the University - of Moscow. - - - =The Russian Problem= - Demy 8vo. 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LTD. - - 10 Orange Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Colonel Podymov was himself killed later, while defending the San -line against an overwhelming force of artillery. Peace to him, and -honour to his memory. - -[2] In Bohemia. - -[3] One Austrian regiment usually had twenty-four to thirty-two machine -guns. - -[4] Haphazard firing in the Russian trenches is not encouraged. - -[5] The Russians were always masters of the neutral zone at night, -and took many enemy scouting parties, often with ludicrously inferior -numbers. The Russians planned and executed new enterprises every night. -They never fired unless it was necessary. - -[6] This was usual among the enemy at all points which I visited. The -sentry had orders to retreat at the first alarm, and in some parts none -of the enemy came any nearer to our trenches. - -[7] This firing was ordinarily wild and general. It seldom took any -effect, and our men did not reply to it, not wishing to give the -desired information as to the whereabouts and strength of our forces. - -[8] The first allusion to the projected Austro-German advance through -Galicia. - -[9] Previous to this Austrian prisoners interrogated by me bore witness -to widespread enteric and to shortage of food. Cholera came to us from -the Austrians during their advance, but was quickly isolated. - -[10] The numbers were enormous. In our interrogations we usually had -to distinguish between "Did you surrender?" and "Did you come across -of yourselves?" The mass surrenders of Austrians took the following -order in respect of nationalities: Serbians and Bosnians, Ruthenians, -Rumanians and Italians, Poles, Czechs, and later in lesser numbers, -Magyars, and Germans of Austria proper, last of all Tirolese; and -Croats, not at all. - -[11] Evidently Austrian deserters. - -[12] On our side there were always plenty of volunteers to catch "a -tongue," or person who could talk. No prizes were offered. - -[13] This is typical of the mutual relations which I witnessed. - -[14] These frequent references to officers going off to hospital -without mention of any wound or illness would be difficult to parallel -on the Russian side. One Russian officer's principle was "You may be -killed, but you mayn't be ill." - -[15] Gorlice is the point from which later the Austro-German advance -began. - -[16] The Russian soldiers cannot get any stimulants and Russian -officers very seldom. The Staff of our Army was teetotal throughout. - -[17] The universal desire of all our Austrian prisoners, also of most -of the Germans. - -[18] For Easter. - -[19] There are throughout several references to the accuracy of the -Russian fire, which was nothing like so sporadic as the enemy's. - -[20] A verdict given to me several times by Austrian prisoners. One of -our men escaped from the Honveds with his tongue cut out for not giving -information. I have seen old peasants who had been shot by the Honveds. - -[21] This almost isolated reference to Russian prisoners is suggestive. - -[22] The Austrian infantry seldom did so. - -[23] I have seen nothing like this attitude on the Russian side, even -where our trenches were sixty or even twenty-five yards from those of -the enemy. - -[24] For weeks before, the Austrian officers tried to keep up the -spirits of the men by this promise. - -[25] About 240 heavy and 160 field artillery. - -[26] This is the ordinary advance into an empty space when all trenches -and all life has been destroyed by the enemy's artillery. - -[27] This circumspection should be noted; this is the day of one of the -greatest Russian losses. - -[28] This was my general experience when retreating with the troops in -front of the writer. - -[29] This was the state of Tuchow before all this fighting; there had -now been another terrible artillery canonnade. - -[30] Austrian prisoners say that the hardest fighting is in Serbia. - -[31] _Cf. supra_, p. 251. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: - - Text in italics is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Emboldened text is surrounded with equals signs: =bold=. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation have been - preserved. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Day by Day With The Russian Army -1914-15, by Bernard Pares - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY *** - -***** This file should be named 55702-8.txt or 55702-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/7/0/55702/ - -Produced by David E. 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