The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1915. THE WINTER CAMPAIGN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 7, 11 December 1915, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1915. THE WINTER CAMPAIGN.

Owing to the early and severe winter in Europe the normal hardships of the men at the front have been much intensified, and in Flanders, Russia and the Balkans, the heaviest demands are being made on the endurance of the troops. Great Britain has a very much larger number of soldiers in the held this winter as compared with the number engaged in active warfare a year ago, and it is quite' reasonable to presume that experience gained last year by the military directors will ensure better protection for the troops now in the lighting line against cold, wet, and exposure. With the method and forethought which has characterised the Germans, great and elaborate preparations had been made at Loos and in the surrounding district, to ensure comfortable winter quarters for their troops, but the British and French offensive which resulted in the Allies driving the enemy further hack largely undid the good work so far as the Germans are concerned. The wea-| ther conditions last winter made it j impossible for either side to attempt a large offensive movement, and prolonged siege warfare was the rule. There is but little likelihood of any change occurring in this respect so far as the western theatre is concerned. In northern France and Flanders winter converts the ground into a morass, in which the movement of troops becomes difficult, and the transport of heavy guns impossible. In Russia, the ease is different. The hard frosts on the Dvina front, as well as elsewhere, freeze the marshy ground and provide a surface over which transport vehicles and guns can move, but there the intensity ol the cold makes campaigning difficult. We had dared to hope that another winter of strenuous warfare might not be necessary, but it has come and will ho bravely mot. What the Germans now think of Kaiser Wilhelm s solemn pledges that the war .should end in October would make interesting reading.