Marr Murray

“ It was the critical moment of the campaign. With their heavy numerical superiority and strongly fortified position, the Germans would be sure to make a more determined resistance, and in greater force than any which the Russians had yet had to meet. In attacking the line Rennenkampf would be handicapped by a lack of heavy siege artillery, and by the numerical inferiority of his forces. On the other hand his troops comprised some of the finest fighting material in the world, they were flushed with victory and could be relied upon to make a tremendous effort to win the greatest triumph of all. ”

“ The Poles are the most emotional nation in Europe, and from Kalisz to Biala and from Mlava to Stopnika they abandoned themselves to their joy. Thereafter the Polish enthusiasm for the war vied with that of the Russians themselves. The effect was immediately felt in the army. In one of the early dispatches received at Petrograd from the front, mention was made of the furious heroism of the Polish regiments. In Russia, therefore, the results of the Proclamation were to remove the last shreds of apathy and to weld both the subjects and the armies of the Tzar into one pulsating whole. ”

“ Under this sceptre Poland will be born again, free in her religion and her language. Russian autonomy only expects from you the same respect for the rights of those nationalities to which history has bound you. With open heart and brotherly hand Great Russia advances to meet you. ”

“ Every victory has been acclaimed a triumph and every step forward has been supposed to echo menacingly in the streets of Berlin and in the Kaiser’s headquarters.
It has been practically impossible to obtain a clear view of the eastern campaign, and consequently it is not to be wondered at that there has sprung up a general disposition to regard Russia as something of a disappointment. Ignorance of the conditions under which she is fighting caused impossible triumphs to be expected of her. ”

“ It is also in this unanimous enthusiasm of love and eagerness to make every sacrifice, even life, that I am able to regard the future with calm and firmness. It is not only the dignity and honour of our country that we are defending, but we are fighting for our brother Slavs, co-religionists, and blood brethren. In this moment I see also with joy that the union of the Slavs with Russia progresses strongly and indissolubly. ”

“ Apart from the initial handicap of having to fight on the defensive because of the comparative slowness of her mobilisation, Russia is the most advantageously situated of all European Powers for war on the grand scale. Britain is dependent on her command of the sea for her food and trade; the existence of both France and Germany more or less depend on supplies from the outer world. But Russia is self-contained. Her vast “lump” of empire can supply all her needs, from food and trade to an unlimited store of first-class fighting material. ”

“ An army must be national to the core, or it will fail in its object. “What is health to the Russian is death to the German,” is a Russian saying that is very true. And an attempt to force Teuton temperaments into Slav bodies would result only in a bastard production emphasising the defects of both.
Soukhomlinov knew that the Russian is the finest soldier in the world. His bravery, his unquestioning obedience, his infinite capacity for suffering and hardship,46 his stolid fatalism which makes him the same in victory or defeat, all these qualities render him an ideal fighting man. ”

“ On all sides reforms have been effected and a new Russia has emerged. The old ideals and the old standards have passed. But the change has been unconscious, and the Russians, with their chronic fatalism, have not realised they have been taking part in events which have practically transformed the old autocratic regime into one which is almost democratic. Some external shock was needed to rouse the nation to a sense of its new glories. The war provided that shock, and Russia and the world have realised that a new era has dawned in the dominions of the Tzar. ”

“ Another reason why General Rennenkampf’s army was not so large as it was popularly supposed to be was the fact that the Grand Duke Nicholas, the Commander-in-Chief, did not, for reasons that will be subsequently examined, regard the invasion of Eastern Prussia as of such paramount importance as the invasion of Galicia.
In dealing with this campaign, therefore, its secondary importance should not for a moment be forgotten. Both victory and defeat must be tempered with the knowledge that neither will have the far-reaching effect hoped for or feared. ”

“ Germany, following Austria, has declared war on Russia.30 The enormous enthusiasm and the patriotic sentiments of love and faith to the Throne, an enthusiasm which has swept like a hurricane through our country, is a guarantee for me, as for you, I hope, that great Russia will bring to a happy conclusion the war which the Almighty has sent. ”

“ With the aid of machine guns mounted on church towers and prominent buildings, the Austrians kept up a murderous fire on the Russians. The order was given to storm the town, street by street. In fighting of this description, in which the personal element predominates, the Cossacks excel. With ruthless completeness they scoured the town until there was not an Austrian defender left. Thousands lay dead in the streets; the rest were in full flight towards the main Austrian army defending Lemberg. Several machine guns, some artillery, and numerous prisoners fell into the hands of the Russians. ”

“ Like the Jews they maintain their national traits distinct and unchanged in spite of centuries of foreign domination. Their conquerors have never been able to absorb them. Unlike the Jews, however, this vitality is not passive but active. They have never been subdued. When not actively hostile they are sullenly awaiting the opportunity to throw off the yoke. For nearly five hundred years Serbia was a Turkish province, held in the most ruthless subjection. But during all that time Serbia never forgot that once she had been an empire, nor faltered in her determination to be an empire again. ”

“ It has done more than anything else to raise Russia in the estimation of the world. The oppression of Poland has always estranged the leading democracies of the world from Russia. In France it was used as an argument against the Franco-Russian alliance, in Britain it has caused the Triple Entente to be regarded as a potential danger to ourselves. At the time of the war with Japan it withheld the sympathy of the United States from Russia. Now all is changed. The Proclamation was received with approbation by the whole world, with the exception, of course, of Germany and Austria. ”

“ They have such enormous fighting power that there is no particular reason why either should suffer defeat.
Superfluous men do not add to an army’s efficiency. They only hamper its mobility and throw an extra strain on the commissariat and transport. The ideal army is the one which is large enough to accomplish its object thoroughly and no more. Employing two men to do the work of one is merely a wasteful proceeding. ”

“ It must not be forgotten that the nation itself was largely responsible for the success of the mobilisation. The self-sacrificing enthusiasm of all classes was a revelation to those who believed that Russia was in a parlous condition internally. The inevitable losses and inconvenience were cheerfully borne. The rich came forward in a wholly unprecedented manner. In Russia, owing to the lack of a middle class, the distinction between noble and peasant is most rigorously observed. ”

“ There is hardly a soldier in all Russia’s immense army that does not regard the freeing of all sorts and conditions of Slavs as his most sacred duty.
And there was the religious question to add to the nation’s enthusiasm. Russia is the most religious nation in Europe. Every home, no matter how humble, has its ikon. The festivals of the Church are25 real holy days, and not mere secular holidays. The Church itself is indeed the mother of the people. The simple, unquestioning faith of the mujhiks is without a parallel in Europe, except perhaps in the remote districts of Ireland. ”

“ The victorious army is the one which enjoys the whole-hearted support of a people prepared to face any sacrifice for the sake of its cause. The moral factor is as important as the material or the ethical. History is full of instances of wars being won against heavy odds by the sheer enthusiasm of a people determined to win at all costs. For a modern example20 it is only necessary to glance at the Austro-Serbian campaign.
The Kaiser knew very well how essential it is for a nation to present a united front to the foe. ”

“ The German, of course, with his keen materialism, has a reputation for doing these things with an automatic efficiency. The Slav, on the other hand, is of a very different temperament, and the Tzar’s army has acquired, and deserved, a reputation for mismanagement. It is the most human of armies, for certainly there never was one more given to error. The Manchurian campaign was one of the worst muddles of modern times. In comparison, the South African War was a model of efficient management. ”

“ The Austrian object was to hold Russia in check and so enable Germany to maintain an undiminished army in the west. The issue of the whole war now depended on the efforts of Austria, for even if the Allies in the west were able, as the result of a vigorous offensive, to force the Germans out of France and Belgium, it was extremely doubtful whether they would be able to invade Germany itself with anything more than moderate147 success, unless the Germans were forced to divide their troops more or less equally between the two frontiers. ”

“ It is a region which it is very much easier to defend than to attack. The greater part of it is covered with marshes, lakes and forests, most difficult country for an army to traverse. The means of communication are poor, the roads—a most important consideration in connection with the movement of the heavy artillery necessary for a successful invasion—are in many instances little better than tracks. Moreover, it is strongly fortified. Königsberg is a first-class modern fortress, whilst those on the line of the Vistula at Thorn, Graudenz and Dantzig are even more powerful. ”

“ Cracow, Lemberg and Przemysl are the only fortresses of any value in Galicia, and they are faced by fortifications of about equal strength on the Russian side.
Russia, however, possesses a very great advantage over Austria, and in lesser degree over Germany, in that the inhabitants of Galicia and Eastern Prussia are mostly of Slavonic origin and therefore more or less strongly in sympathy with Russia. The Poles being members of the Catholic Church and having strong nationalistic aspirations, the bond is less strong in their case. ”

“ By sheer force of numbers Russia was going to bring both Austria and Germany to their knees. In the first place there is a limit to human organising power, and it is doubtful whether any general can successfully direct the operations of such vast quantities of men. Napoleon himself never fought with a million men, and no modern general has yet proved that he possesses the military genius of the Corsican. Numbers are all190 very well up to a certain point, but in excess they are only a hindrance and a menace. The larger the army the slower it moves. ”

“ The great Russian plain extends far into Prussia and Austria, and along the whole length of the frontiers the only obstacles to the advance of an invading army are forests, marshes and the fact that generally speaking the roads are very poor.
Each country has had, therefore, to take84 defensive measures to remedy the deficiencies of nature. Russia has the chain of fortresses and fortified positions, extending from Kovno to Radom, which are intended to hold an invading force in check until the mobilisation can be completed. ”

“ The area of the Russian Empire is forty times that of Germany, but its population is only three times as great. The units to be concentrated are diffusely scattered; they have to be gathered singly. The aggregate length of the Russian railway system is only twice that of the German lines, and few of the Russian railways have been laid with a view to meeting military needs. ”

“ The real Russia is not to be found in the towns, but in the villages and hamlets and amongst the peasants. With them the war is a religious war. It is a battle between the Orthodox Church, which is the peculiar property of the Slavs, and the Western, which seeks to impose its tenets on the “true believers.”
It is from these simple peasants with their racial hatreds and rock-like faith that26 Russia draws nine-tenths of her soldiers. As fighting men they can be compared only with Cromwell’s Ironsides.
In the rural districts the popular enthusiasm for the war found an outlet in religion ”

“ Russia has no intention of putting all her eight million men in the firing line. Her object is to place adequate armies in the field and to maintain those armies at their full strength of first-class fighting men. She has no particular ambition to make herself bankrupt.
191 In view of the difficulties with which she had to contend and the gigantic nature of her task, Russia may be said to have accomplished a brilliant feat in rendering the ultimate defeat of Austria inevitable and in opening up the most advantageous road to Berlin. ”

“ Those who doubted Russia’s military value should spend a few hours in Kiev and note how regiment after66 regiment marches through with never the slightest hitch or confusion. They should see these sturdy Tommies, with their cruel rapier like bayonets always fixed. They should hear their deep-throated war chants. ”

“ A century and a half has passed since the living body of Poland was torn in pieces, but the soul of the country is not dead. It continues to live, inspired by the hope that there will come for the Polish people an hour of resurrection, and of fraternal reconciliation with Great Russia. The Russian Army brings you the solemn73 news of this reconciliation which obliterates the frontiers dividing the Polish peoples, which it unites conjointly under the sceptre of the Russian Tzar. ”

“ The country is open and well provided with railways, excellent roads, and other means of communication; it contains only one fortress of any strength—Neisse—which could be easily masked, and is generally favourable to a rapid advance. An additional advantage is that Silesia is a busy mining and industrial province, with a population of nearly 6,000,000. The invading army would be preceded by armies of panic-stricken fugitives, who would impede any defensive measures and strike terror in Berlin long before the menace of the invaders became serious. ”

“ Francis Joseph is the nominal ruler of a heterogeneous collection of Germans, Magyars, Czechs, Poles, Ruthenians, Serbs, Slovaks, Croatians, Rumanians and Italians. Of a total population of fifty-three millions,89 half are Slavs. And it was with an army drawn from all these sources that Austria sought to invade Russia, the protector of all the Slavs. ”