ENEMY VIEWS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXV, Issue 8274, 20 October 1915, Page 7

ENEMY VIEWS.

' GERMAN STATEMENTS

A war correspondent of the Paris "Journal" obtained from a highlyI placed Russian official, through whose hands thousands of German prisoners i have passed for. examination, some interesting statements as to the estimates German soldiers have formed of : tho men they are fighting. "Very curious what these rascals of Germans have; to say—at any rate those who have i fought on both fronts in turn," said the Russian officer. "First there are the knowing ones, who, even when prison-1 ers, try to be useful to their country by making insinuations against those fighting on the western front. 'Ah i' they murmur, 'you Russians are truly irresistible! Happily for us, those in i the west are not like you! It is you who are doing oil the work I' "There is no doubt about it, the tow-haired German is a sly fellow. We pay no heed to such talk. But certain prisoners, Danes, Poles, Alsatians, and LorrainorM —those who are Prussians against their will —give us sincere and instructive information. 'Which of the three allied nations,' I ask, 'has the best artilleryP' "They all reply as one man: 'France!) Its guns are terribly eil'ective.' "'And which is the best infantry?' " 'The one which-proportionately kills most, the infantry of the British pro- | fessional regiments, the regiments I which appeared at the very outset of the campaign. Those men never shoot for nothing. They take aim as at- a target, and they have not their equals i for putting a bullet in your brain. The French, carried a.way by their ardour, are forever seeking hand-to-hand lighting, in which they are terrible. But it is a general observation that they fire too high, and we hear their bullets whistling over our heads. The same observations apply more or less to the Russian infantry. But the professional British soldier with his cool aim kills more; he does more work; therefore, individually, he is the best.' '"Ami the best cavalry?'

"Without question it is the Russian. It is the most numerous, the most indefatigable, the one with the most skilful men and hardest horses.' " 'What about your allies, the Austria ns?* " 'They are and led by officers in slippers.' "