ROLL ON, RUSSIA!

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 205, 1 September 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

ROLL ON, RUSSIA!

THE MIGHTY ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR EASTERN ALLY.

By HORATIO BOTTOMLEY In The "Sunday Pictorial."

Roll on, Russia ! Great and wonderf il soldiers of the Tsar, continue 'your mighty work for the freedom of Europ 3 and the emancipation of mankind What now of the Brjt : sh statesman who told us you were "a spent force"? What shall we say of the Doubting Thomases who questioned your powers, who believed the great recuperative capacity of your splendid armies ha 1 been tried past tecovery? Strong in the hour of victory —strong and restrained, revealing nothing of the licence of the hordes of the Hun; noblo and enduring in moments of reverse---you have proved yourselves mighty to conquer. Some cf us have .never weakened in our confidence, never hesitate 1 to do homage to your splendid strengti —your unfaltering heroism. * * * All those peoples great and small, who rose to resist to the death the. barbarous methods of Germany have done heroic deeds. France has covered herself with immortal glory by tho steadfastness of her defence of her so 1 —culminating in the god-like grandeur of the long-drawn battle of Verdun Serbia has done deeds that will live -u history until the worn out earth shall roll up like a scroll—redeeming all her past. Belgium has bled for Freedom"? sake in every vein, until her soil has grown rich with the blood of her best and bravest. We, too, have poured out our blood on land and sea. and will do so until our Causa is crowned with a majest : c triumph—or the last drop if blood is drained from our bodies. But Russia's contribution has been so stupendous, her victories so dazzling and tar-reaching, her sacrifices so appalling, her courage so h : gh, her steadfastness, under reverses, so godlike and grand- • that we of the British Empire lay tho laurels of lova and admiration at her f:et. * » * I speak no. word that is not written in the book of stainless Truth when 1 say that wherever the Russian flag fl : es there is felt a thrill of pride in tho achievements of her hosts. Tho big heart of Britain watched, with exaltation when in the early days of the war the " Steam Roller" crumpled up armr corps .after army corps —the very plums of Prussia's military material. Wa watched the Russian hosts roll onward like a storm into East Prussia, and _ saw the bayonets pointing towards Berlin. Then came the fateful hours when her ammunition ran short, whilst she was so far from her base—and Hmde.iburg, swift to discover the perilous conditions, made his massive thrust. Our agony in those Hours was as great as Russia's. Her armies had" dare! so much, done so much, suffered so much, that our souls were in travail for their safety. Then as we watched and saw with what superlative skill it escape! ■ from the jaws of the gigant : c trap that again and again tried vamly to close upon it, we began to realise in all .ts intens'ty the majesty and might of the glorious Russan Army. In those dark hours some of us did not forget those 'lines:— Eastward the Russian lures us to h'* fold Content in his own land to bid.? his day. From whose toils few feet of old found the returning way. * * * Terrible in their heroism in attack', •the Russians proved themselves supermen in that mammoth retreat, whie'i for genius in planning, and skill in execution, will live in history as by far th.» greatest thing of its kind known in all the annals of war. Men of lesser spir I and weaker fibre would have degenerated into a rabble under the gigantic pressure put upon them; and had that happened the fate of Europe would have lieen sealed —for with the back of the Bear broken, the paralysis ol Europe could hardly have been stayed, and Freedom would have been compelled to hide her head for a century tu come. * • • Demi-gods in assault, the Russian soldiers were colossal in their calmness n retreat: and when at last they had reached the'r objective and turned 11 bay, they proved themselves as goo.! in the trenches as mortal men could be. They held the Germans by th« throat; they stopped the onrush of the pursuing legions, and tamed the Teuton pride by their sturdy and unquenchable valour. In every phase they won the highest laurels—attacking, retreating, defending, recuperating —in each and every aspect of the great game of war they rose superior ta all opposition. But I think their grand. est qualities came out in their darkest days; and we love them, honour them fur it. Then dawned tiie hour toward which tVeless preparation pointed—the hou? .for the advance; and when it came, the armies of the Tsar went forward like a resistless avalanche, irresistible in the'r might. They struck with superb strat-

egy where the allied enemies least expected they would strike. Like an Alpine avalanche bursting from its bass—sweeping forests from its path, leaping chasms, uprooting rocks —so in these latter days have the glorious soldiers of Russia swept against the foe. The ta'c of their dead has been as the tale of sands on the seashore. The Tsar's conquering lies .3 have captured prisoners, not in regiments, brigades 0: battalions, but in hundreds of thousands—not fleeing frightened peasants, but trained and tried soldiers inured to war. A hundred and fifty thousand prisoners in a few day: makes even Napoleon's glowing victories look beggarly. # * I recall, with pride and sorrow, that Russia's wonderful recovery (aided by Brit'sh capital and labour) was com pletcly foreseen and fully allowed for by our great lost War Lord cf Whitehall; and that at the moment of his trag'c end he was on a mission big wit'i military import, and bearing Bnta : n'; cordial greetings to tne Tsar. As our trusted envoy he would have saluted the Emperor of All the Russias; for n the stress of war the political bond between London and Petrograd has become a living fact. * * And, though his voice is for ever silenced, I have a mes -ge for the Tsar : I greet you, Nicholas, not merely us the august head of a frienly State, not as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armies, but as t!.: "Little Father'' of a people whom in the agony of war we have come to know and love. No fair-weather friendship has been ours. Through dark and stormy days we have waited confidently for the change of fortune that we knew must come; and now that the dawn of victory lights no the Eastern horizon, our pride and joy are equal to your own. From the Au?trian marshes to the plains of Mesopotamia, your star is in the ascendant- - your soldiers fight with sublime devotion; the skill of your generals is the admiration of Europe. Your armies are inspired not merely by devotion to your Imperial Throne—tile sign and symbol of "Holy Russia" —but by a zeal for humanity and a hatred of oppression that have won the respect of al! the free peoples of the West. It is no small satisfaction t) us to know that in the grand advance winch is now changing the "map of war" our Navy, too, has borne its part. * * # I can imagine, sir. no more fitting moment for a renewal of those vows oi friendship which our peoples hava sworn. Partners in war, we will be collaborators in peace. The victorious advance of your Armies is hastening the day of doom for the Central Empires. Your gains of territory consist not of baren fields, but of rich harvest plains, the loss of when spells famine to the Germanic Powers. To Kings is due the courtesy of candour, and I would tell you, frankly, that your personal conduct since the war began has been something of a revelation to those who had thought of you only as the Autocrat of All the Russias. You might so easily have fallen a victim to the subtle sway of Potsdam. It was with a thrill of glad relief we saw you take your stand as the valiant leader of 1 regenerated Russia. To our own royal House you are linked by ties of blood and sentiment; and of that bond of kinship we think to-day with unmixed pride. And in tho mighty effort which has placed your People 111 the van of internat'onal Freedom you have borne a Kingly part. # * * Rest assured, great Tsar, and let •your people be persuaded—the friendship of Britain will endure. You will not be cheated of the fruits of victory In the past we have made mistakes. We have been swayed by petty jealousies—vexed by unworthy suspicions. But in the grim school of war we have been taught many lessons; Ave have learned to know our real enemies, and to recognise our true friends. At Yersaillcs or wherever the Allies may gather to seal the peace of Europe, WE SHALL NOT FORGET. From greater knowledge has come mutual respect. Between our peoples ther e is a living bond. The hammer-strokes of General Brusiloff upon the Austro-Gorman front, and the wonderful achievements of your Grand Duke Nicholas in Asia. .Minor, are blows struck not alone for the aggrandisement of the Russian Empire, but for the liberties of Eastern Europe. I predict for your people and for the Empire of the Romanoffs a future of transcendent glory. Roll, on, great Russia ! From to-day we stand or fall together—Eastern anil Western Europe are united in an everlasting bond, and for all time so Ion.; as we have breath within us. when we shout "God save the King!" we will also say "God bless the Tsar—the 'Little Father' of a great and mightv oeople," HORATIO BOTTOMLEY.