GRIM RUSSIANS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 92, 14 September 1914, Page 2

GRIM RUSSIANS.

THE'.HARDY MOU-Uiv. UNSHAKEN in". DEFEAT. indifferent to death. 'The campaign of 1!)01 in .Yluucliuria was l'cmarku'ble for the extraordinarily heavy losses which 'the 'Russian Army suil'eml in action, without being del isn't ly defeated in a great 'battle. . . . The fig>ur-cs (ranging up to a losw of 2J per cent, of. cll'ectivcs by a whole army in oil" battle) are an eloquent tribute to the ■discipline and stolidity of 'the Russian soldiers, and prove that failure after failure does not deter the survivors, fi'u.ni suu'eriny heavy loss without being routed.'— Extract of official report by .Lietiicuant-Oolonel Yuttcrs, attached to the Russian Army during the campaign in .Manchuria. When t'no German,* evolved their plan of a rapid, smashing onset ag.iinsi the French, their calculation included two assumptions —(1) a cumbrous slowness of Russian mobilisation; (2) an inferiority in the qualify of Russian troops. The Britii-,h an I French ex per. critics of' 'Orrmain-'s scheme recorded bug ago their op.niou—confirmed since the outbreak of war—that the Kaiser's legions 'hope tu cripple France swiftly ai'.d then to tui'u triumphantly agaiiui the Tsar's hosts, German officers, keen students, were with the .uusa.an ana Japanese armies during the war ol li'Ot-5, and the (ieippani noted sone; grave, defects in the Kuss'in military system. It is probably Germany's be 1 .el; that a decade has not been enough■I J make Russia a iirvst-wljiss military Power.

TUB RUSSIANS' PLUXDER. Tlie -first colossal mistake miade by the Russian O.vt-rnment mil liy the military chiefs was in an underestimate m' Japan's strength and readiness for wur, 'J.'lie little 'brown soldiers were held m contempt till their nkill, [lower of endurance, and courage commanded inspect. The huge Kuropeiin nation's 'lAunder .is written red in history.. That lesson, which cost tens of thousands of lives and miuny miUi'Mis of treasure, will not tie soon forgotten. It is possible that Germany i* as inuen in error regarding a JAussia which acquiredi wisdom through a heavy penalty for folly, as Rusjjia .was in assessing Japan's ability to smite. ' As far a,; mobilisation is concerned - , the reports show that thj Russian plans have surpassed expectations. A S'EVEiTR TRAIXIN'J. When tho fighting qualities of the Japanese were impressed by lead and .steel upon the Russian, the Tsar's 'Generals began to learn jnoro about modern war than they ihad anticipated. British officers who witnessed the various operations throughout have written, with an array of evidence, that the: calibre of the Russian army steadily improved withJJie hard knocks. Scores ol thousands of the men, l-udened in .Manchuria, are fighting in East Prussia am! {jalicia to-day. After months with the Tsar's soldie-s in 'Manchuria, Lieutenant-Colonel Watcrs wrote: "It must be admitted that the Russian infantryman has many admirable military qualities. His great want is good training. With leally cllieiem lt-aderelhip, it is difficult to prophesy what lit: might not lie aide to effect, for he can march, fight and endure. There is no nwre enduring -patient being, I believe, than the Russian soldier. He does .not grumble nor criticise, and bears all the hardships, many of them unnecessary ones, wliich arc in cidental to a campaign, with great foilitude. This patience was proof against poor pay. The wage of the rank and file was fixed at 15 kopeks (a total of one filiilling) a month. This allwiinee of 3d a week was to enable the men to buy tobacco of a common kind, whicdi is \cry cheap in Manchuria.

STOliliD AND SOLID. There is abundant evidence to corroborate that officer's words about lite Russian inoujik's capacity t 0 take punishment. An eye-witness t.f iuci.dents in the Crimean War said: "'A round shot would plough Hs »"i;/ through one of these si lid nwiww oi iven, .sweeping down whole ranks. The men. closed up. The whole body moved on. it was a sight that naturally hl'prcssed those who saw it. That kind of 'induTercnce to death st i! l remains eha :- acteristie, of the Russian Army." Here, too, is a "passage from H. Wdid's "Foreign All'airs for English Readers":—"Probably the first clia-raclemtic of tliu Russian peasant which sokes the foreigner is his sadness, bin mo'vi;cholv temperament, a trait which is ruvtujrcil'ly .reflected in Russian .music .and folk songs. But another character'istio which cannot fail to be 'observed is his doggedness and patience, an ali>.'Oi4 Oriental resignation. It is this very doggedness which nates the Russian one of tho host soldiers' in the -v.oTld. The essential trait of Mm Tsar's 'troops in the Manchunan. campaign was tlieir utter inability to understand when t.hey were djefcatod. They might be repulsed', pursued, wounded and fJaiu. l>y the 'hundred or by tho thousand; but ljcurs or days afterwards, when the scattered forces were once more united* the men were ready again." I

STROXO ON TTIG MARCH. ''The marching ipowers of the Russia:! soldier are very good indeed, excellent, in fact," remarks Colonel Waters, "t'v cept on some rare occasions during the -summer, when his great coat or kit-bag wa.s carried in a cart, he marched during all four seasons oE tho year, carrying a load of from otilb to sSlb, including the clothes he wor-j, but o\cludin.r an extra thirty or forty rounds of ammunition sometimes issued before going into action." For a time some of the regiments carried packs up to !)()lh, but the average dropped ito 56-(i01b. The 'treks ranged from ten to twenty miles a day (occasionally as high as thirty miles). Tke phortcr .'distiant'ea were, 'through deep mud, sand, and over hills. The. iiumetalled tracks, cut up by heavy traffic, 'were a supremo test for burdened infantry after heavy rain, -and the men were "equal to the call.

I' CIJKVMI WITH THE SPADE. The. Russians. are ■cflieicnt with the spade; ihey became adept iii Mnnohum at digging themselves into cover, and they also .stowed fekill in I lie higher branches of (military engineering. "The Russians," 1 says) one reveiwer of the war -with Japan,. "are real experts in held fortification, both in constructing works themselves and in supervising hired labor when the projects are too vast for them to carry out. It tnpy ibe said to be the characteristic of the Russians to salccfc and tie themselves down

to drive. r.HB-::;iiis out of (strong positions, and unless Russia's future adversaries are strong enough in miaii'bers and sufficiently good shots to <io this, tha 'bayonet will have to bo 'used frequently, for which atrnns men arc lemii-iitc'' LESS VODKA TO-DAY. j One. hindrance to tire Russian soldiers' efficiency for previous wars was tho ] .universal indulgence in alcohol—the 'national vodka. This excessive drinking intensified the dullness of the peasant and marred his power to learn the modern -arts of war and peace. Some irrxmths ago the T«i.r sent out mi appeal' to the people *" I'ou'ko themselves' .against the evils of gross intemperance, and reports have declared that his' words- were not in vain. Up till that time the mismanagement of the. f'tate monopoly in the 'liquor traffic liad in'directly encouraged drunkenness; the lower the peasants sank in the alcoholic slough, the ihigher iw the profit to fclic State. Tut the Tsar Ims brought, a change; and one benefit of the reform ' will bo seen in a much better quality of soldier.