ON THE EASTERN FRONT.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLII, Issue 88, 12 May 1916, Page 7

ON THE EASTERN FRONT.

NIGHT IN A DUG-OUT. SIMPLICITY OF RUSSIANS. The "A's" are a lierce and hairylooking people ; that is the first iuipress.on; the next is that of a conquering simplicity and good humor (writes Bernard Pares, to the London 'Telegraph'). 1 had come to spend the niglit with them. I always find that the night life of the front is a perfectly different atmosphere and much more interesting than the day. In the night "the wild beasts of the forests do unove," and the Russians go stalking, too. It began at one of the observation points. A little grouf of our men had gathered, when vq .suddenly saw, over the intervening plain, numbers of Germans dashing one by one across an unsheltered part near a high wood. Six or seven passed at a time, and the fire that- was opened on them quickened their passage. The answering shots did no damage. In the night, which I spent in a dug-out, I was able to folJow the reports of the various .scouting parties. These reports are very good reading in their written form. One lvads of attempt after attempt to elicit some activity orv the part of the enemy, ending, for instance, in a given report, in the Germans beckoning to the intruders, but not even opening fire. It shou'd be said that there have latterly been' cases of Germans coming over of themselves, even bringing their inachinegun.s with them as a peace offering. The example, from what we know of the condtions of the German trenches, lirglu easily spread. ATMOSPHERE OF RO.MANCI'. This night three distinct attempts were made in one section alono to get in touch with the enemy. Nothing that daring could suggest was left undone. Our people freeiy crossed the dividing stream and rummaged ab„ut on the fringe of the German tienches. Really, one might have fiad no other idea than that the whole of the "play-ground" was ours. Night lends mystery, and as the simple short sentences came in over the telephone, the atmosphere of romance was all round tis, for wo were ourselves near enough to feel part, of the general scheme; but the records themselves had nothing in them even to suggest the sense of daring or danger.

I do not know how, but. somehow the i connection in my mind is of a fearless ' English athlete of my acquaintance, i who once told me that in his night- . mares -he was himself always pounding I someone else. This, without expression, was the atmosphere of all these reports. They were looking for "him"— • m Russian, the enemy is always "he" — | and they could not find hiiai. liv the ! middle of the night a whole new- party ; of would-be scouts, with an N.C.O. as > spokesman, came into our dug-out to j ask for work, but when directed to an j old hunting-ground said they "were sick of going there, because there was nothing interesting—nothing would i draw 'him.' " The next day I got just j the same impression of absolute one- | sided nests in a good talk that I had with I the Chief of Scouts. _ i Russians can ahvays be critical of Themselves; their talk is singularly : honest and free of all gloss; and they j find no difficulty whatsoever in admir- j ing the energy. It was natural enough . to discuss whether the German plan of j concealment was not rather a good one; it was carried out consistently enough; | and if it was only their sentries "who fired, there was notling to indicate the j strength of the forces in position. Of i course, one draws no sort of inference j as to wavering of quite a different kind—for the great days of battle when i Uclmique decides so 'much. RUSSIAN ASCENDANCY. But, all said and done, I lannot think that in a time of pause, when both armies are training numl>ers of new men on the front, there is any comparison between the advantage of the two methods. It is quite surprising how trifling are the losses of these frequent Russian incursions, and how many men have been at this work throughout the , war. The moral gain of a superiority thus asserted every night- and the training in individual resource and initiative, would be more than repayment for a far larger wastage. This night. a s in several others whose doings J have followed, there wa.s no casualty at all. How much more this contrast may imply can be gathered from the following incident. To the lines of the regiment there came, not. long ago, a party of over ;10 men in rough peasant clothes, many of them armed with muskets. They were escaped Russian prisoners from very different parts, some of them from far in the Gennian rear; there were also a few of the local inhabitants. But the nucleus was a group of men escaped from a prisoners' camp, organised by the enterprise of a non-com missioned officer. They prepared to fight their way back if necessary, and weapons were to hand, Finding an escaping officer, they put themselves under his orders. The whole party, growing o'i its way, by a mixture of precaution and l daring, made good their long journey. At times they were ( detected, and engaged by troops of the enemy, but they Ultimately forced their way through a weak spot in the German lines, and rejoined the Russian Army—an addition of value altogether" out of proportion to their numbers. In tile morning I completed my journey along the front of tlie "A's." i I found' iiv this fine regiment a smart young officer who was half English. There was- the same familiar attitude , towards the enemy, or rather towards his positions, upon which the Russian i insists on being closely afld daily informed. Here, there was more to he seen of the Germans. Our people fired at some new works which were in progress, and a German stood up and waved his spade at them. At another point there was a cry, "Look where he's j standing," and several of our men had a shot. The most interesting part of our line came last; here I went out and had a good look, and from thence I -passed on to the trenches of another regiment.