HOW THE RUSSIANS ADVANCE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1340, 24 December 1914, Page 4

HOW THE RUSSIANS ADVANCE.

A correspondent of the London Times, who recently spent a month with the Russian Army, asserts that the steam roller is now gathering momentum. He writes : During the past' 'week I have seen transport columns moving in various directions which it would be improper to name, but which in places stretch out 50 miles on end, sometimes two abreast. This huge army is moving with a precision which is remarkable. The army is advancing with incredible rapidity, and smothering every rearguard action with its numbers. The transport is keeping pace everywhere, moving forward night and day. Towns which in the morning are filled with soldiery and transport are deserted by nightfall. The front is advancing so rapidly that it is difficult to keep pace with the troops save in a motor car. While it is true that the recent rearguard actions were not serious stands, and that the stand which will probably be made soon by the enemy will be much more stubborn, it is equally true that the constantly improving morale and condition of the Russian troops are going to bring them into the next big action with enormous efficiency, and I believe that any checks that may be

suffered will be followed by constant aggressions with fresh troops- The determination of the soldiers and their officers to win regardless of cost or losses, presages ultimate victory. Russia can keep filling up her ranks indefinitely, while from the captured prisoners, both Austrian and German, whom I have seen, I am inclined to believe that the enemy already have all the available men in the firing line. From personal observation I am inclined to believe that the enemy are retiring south much more reluctantly than towards the west, as the frontier actions seem to be much more vigorously contested. The Austrians seem to be constantly pushed into rearguard positions, and practically all the prisoners seen in the vicinity of Radom and Kielce were Austrians. It is stated that these are officered by Germans, and that their resistance, though vigorous at first, evaporates after a few days’ fighting.

From conversation with the inhabitants of Kielce I gather that the conduct of the Germas during the occupations was reasonably good, though the Russian authorities inform us that Russian prisioners have been badly treated by the Germans. One hears occasional atrocity stories, but they must originate from the narratives of individual soldiers, and I personally think there is no undue license in this theatre in the conduct of the war, either on the Russian side or the German. From the treament I have personally observed of the prisoners in the hands of the Russians I am of opinion that the individual hatred between the armies is here fading away, I saw 400 Austrian prisioners, with a sprinkling of Germans, being conducted by possibly a dozen Russians, Both the Austrians and the Germans told me that their treatment was good, and none of the Russians or the Germans showed anything but friendliness towards each other. Both sides have apparently reached a feeling of mutual respect for the courage of their adversaries.

The general opinion of Poland has crystallised miraculously into intense loyalty to Russia and hostility to Germany. The check suffered at Warsaw and Ivangorod, together with the realisation of this sentiment, have undoubtedly caused the abandonment of the German programme here.