THRUST HOME

Evening Star, Issue 15692, 5 January 1915, Page 6

THRUST HOME

TO THE HEART OF AUSTRIA VIA HUNGARY. DREAM OF THE GRAND DUKE [By A. Spektce.]

False, alarms and premature victories have come in plenitude- from Poland, and tremendous tilings arc again alleged today. This -time, however, they arc backed by a German admission. At least they say so. Berlin admits that the. lUissian left wing is pressing. This wins lias nothing to do with the hat tips in front of the Vistula,. It is the wing wlv.c.h is entering Hungary, through the province of Bukowina, far south. It is .said that this stall at the heart of Austria, implies that, the longcherished plan of the Grand Duke Xicholiis is taking shape, in earnest. The Grand Duke is, by original training and service, a cavalryman, and tho move on Hungary was. in tho iirst instance, a cavalry move, One of tlio Rome cables, dated "October 5. seated: Tin; Cossacks. have crossed tlio Tesza "River and mt the railway at Szigeth. The object is twofold. First, to .safeguard the .sou;hoi••! tkuik of the two Russian ai inies moving on Cracow ; .secondly, to open a itrir field for cavalry in the llvn/j/jriaii -plain.} an/I disturb the, Hun/jariun drilling. Collateral mc.-'*:iges dated October 6, October 7, Xovember 18, Xovember 25, and November 7>o have pointed to- this movement as a sure enough piece of strategy. It was on November 18 that, General Arintinulf entered C/.ernowitz, the chief city of the province, of Bukowina,. His joke with the "City Fathers" there will be remembered. It will also be remembered that remonstrances by tho Prime -Minister of Hungary have been made to the Austro-Gennan military control more than once. Count 'l.lr/.a-has, in fact, gone so far as to demand that three army corps should be despatched to Hungary for local defence. Vou liindenburg and others must have, frowned at that request, for, as, every military man kuowr;, .such a divergent dispersal of forces wo'.ild be .suicidal. However, Hungary is now being pressed, and, as, tho cable .staled yesterday, the murmuriugs of a. region not too loyal to Austria axe growing. Indeed, the Austrian people, as distinct from tho Austrian aristocracy, never were whole-hearted on the war. Tho last travellers who got back to Kugla.nd from Carlsbad and other health re-sorts deserilxxl heart-rending scenes at the military depots. Husbands and wives', mothers aid sons, toilers and brothers had to be torn apart by the, oilieers directing the mobilisation. That was at the. beginning <;[ the war, and the jmmmurings apparently have grown so much that one Vienna, newspaper tho ' Rciehspost '-- has published, words as follows :--" This Avar is terrible. It is a severe light agair.st, overwhelming forces of men and money, whose fleets and forts command the sea and the traffic with many neutral States." 'Die, Zoil,' glooms pessimistically on a, bloodshed to coin,,, and ' Arbeiter Zcitung' says that the sun of victory shines no .longer, though, the mountain of losses rises higher and higher, j To-day also we see that an editor has been | executed in a -Moravian town, j Such muriunrings mean much. They plainly defy the power of the, Austrian Government to restrain a free .expression of opinion dissentient to tlio war. WHKRK KOSCIUSKO LIES. Too much must not b- read into all this. There is. for instance, a- message slating that if (be Austrian? la.nnot defend Cia.er.v\ —tho fort i lied centre of the battle zones north and south—they uili blow it up. This does not square "with the best news from Europe when, the la-r, mails left. On Xovei.ib-r 33 neutral eyewitnesses we're able (o state that, very .extensive preparation.-, for a siege had Jong been in progress. A Jieid of fire, eieiit miles deep, all round the city, had been cleared of buildings, woods, and shrubbery. Advanced work*, had been cons! i net. d. and tho main girdle of forts had been provided with steel cupolas. This is the city where lie the bones of tile Polish patriot. Kosciusko, under a, huge tumulus. This tumulus was. built by thousands of peoph, who came from every corner in Poland ea:h with a handful of earth, and raised a. mound of such extraordinary height that, it overlooks many of the approaches to the fortress. Keen this j tumulus, sacied as if must be to the Austrian Pokfi, was being turned to military account. Such preparations betoken an intention That the city shall not be taken easily. They betoken also some resolute military cngineei ing. The, cable, however, dismisses them as " feverish activities.'' and that, is not putting the case, fairly at all. ■ The story that the Austrian garrison mean to pla.y 'the, role of Cuy Favvk.es nc>. d not be, seriously considered. WHAT IT CO.MKS TO. Summed up, tin- position seems to be this; The invasion of Hungary, through Bukowina. is beginning to develop. It is said that the Russians have got hold of the strategic railways. It is not explained how they will run "their sft- rolling stock on the" Austrian u r auue of 4ft SAin ; but, to use the ordinary military phrase. the eacalry will doubtless "1 rot on ahead." A stabbing invasion ..if Hungary is siill much as it was at the beginning of the war. It, is remote. In the. meantime if will make the murmuring in 'Hungary incieas. , for thousands of panic stories will ily through, the. villages and towns. In thr> centre of the, vast re-entrant theatre of war stands Craiww. Jt is in no danger for a. long time. Xorlh of Cracow comes tho Cwnstochowa battle line, on re ugh. gloomy country, with ravines and larches and iirs. Plainly tiie Russians assaulted this position, with a, view to breaking things. Just as plainly they have had to leave if alone for a. time, and swing ! many of their forces north to meet, the threat at. Warsaw. On this front the. ■Grand Duke is at a standstill for the moment. X'orth of this position comes the Hal, boggy legion traversed by the Wart a, Piliea., Z/.ura, ami Rawka. Riveis. This forms the battle of ~\ lid-Poland proper. Tho experts consider that this battle of tho four rivers is ended, but, military experts are of timer wrong tha.n right, indeed, if a correct forecast by a military expert, could be discovered, if would, be worthy ot a place in any museum. Far to the north of all the turmoil stand Ronncnkampf. and the Vilna, army, gloomily looking at the, frozen Fast Prussian lakes, and wondering if there, is anyway to pass them. In front of all is the. might)- ring of German fortresses, one of wbich—Thorn —was described in yesterday's notes. It therefore .seems that tho move through Bukowina into Hungary promises good effect—more moral than military. It will increase tho murnrurings, and this, ap parontiy. is the interpretation, of the fond scheme of the Grand Duke Xicholass On tho German side the new situation is sure to be met by a fresh strategic move. There is, in fa-ct. a suggested transfer of '200,000 German troops eastward to reinforce Von Hindenbttrg. It is said that those were counted as they passed through Cologne. Too much importance need not be attached to the number given. It might be twice as many, or none at all. SIX ARMIES IX THE SPRFXG. Six British armies are to be ready for the cross-Channel passage in the spring. Each is to consist of three army corps. Tlio six new armies, therefore, imply nearly a million new men. There must have been a marked influx- in recruiting lately.* fur latest anticiaatious when the i

mails left were that only four new armies would bo across by the end of March. Two of tho new commanders'— Sir Archibald Hunter and Kir Leslie Bundle—aro old Kitchener men, and the War Lord also entertains friendly feelings for Sir Bruce Hamilton. In tho ease of another general designated for'command private relations are not quite so cordial. If seem a that the poor experts who do tho_ forecasting have fallen in the mud again. To-day s cables say that their prophecy was the Germans would be out of Belgium by March. Now it is to be next summer, and that is more, like it. The experts add that tho preparation for the spring operations will stagger humanity. Tho reference is doubtless to the six new armies. 'LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT.' 'Lead. Kindly Light,' Newman's hymn, which the soldiers sang on Christmas Eve, must have floated weirdly from the trenches, from slayer to slayer. The Germans lit up Christina.:; trees", too, and they and tho English rushed out and shook hands, ami helped each other to bury their dead, and a colonel participated, and one German said that the- Kaiser was a fool, and a new army was coming to the west, and so on. tho man in the street_ will tell you that these things aro often done in war. There havo been informal fraternities in war, certainly, but was there ever anything like this? 'Lead, Kindly Light!' Compare it with tho following cold-blooded piece of writing by a Lancer officer in a recent issue of the London ' Times ' :—■ 1 bagged my first German at 30yds range. He was a Uhlan, and, all unconscious, he walked out of a wood. He never knew anything, and my bullet hit him full in the throat and broke his neck. At a later date I knocked over one it 1 ?00\ik it my nvth shot I ighted to 1 000\d in t with no ic ult lhe.ll I set m\ sjjit to 1,200 md tmd He moied but im next took him h> iwein the shiuldcis and bioudit him down, "Piesumibh tin 1 unci officii wis not one ot tho (dm tun The sing mg indeed lock doubtful nd thr Chiist mi-, tiec 1 i idsh li i m stni k film 111 md tin lonlidentnl adni ion ol tl -> (himans mnu o It it Inppnid fi qtienth men could hj udl\ be {,ot to fight ri hj othe gun It 1 lemnkible that the eonipin md lent il ifhcti, did not stop it riioNuv it <ons win in diffcimt mood on (hn tmas J \e I }\n\ H hj I Aebiugge \ ith lull TOl ibout the hith time MOI I TTKI IT Mox nil n d tnmh Im ic the i< eollms of tin mm nont appealing 111 the Ho io p ip< 1 s No < uoh twre ix cept the mil 11 a Old Whistle Tip >< t i peck con!] hi; mi On j iripctsMith out di living 1 lu dlidi 1!io -spiiim kept the \u turns ining md turn,, In hoi tin r dumm\ hr ids 01 sticks ]„ tno Hteinoen ihe \ustu in binds used ti en <lea\oi ti pli\ in the tirnches j hen tno Vnnn howit/u gm bu \ luciking up th (onuit md ipiin bunging on 1 whohsilo w 1 lo it mfinln in? \t night th" inin \u tmn ■-ank to dci p No pn e' Dog with tins tttirhed ti then ml] 11 weu dc } itched in the dnec tion o£ the \u tii m line Moro hpaw turn,' 1 I hit inn t 1 i turn -wgnetk ol tieni li life th 111 tin other 1 i I W I I \ I >s ' f ilnm 1 Sainton — lecwitncs ' a{ ]} 1 tidi Hi 1 h|uu U is— -mug u is inuch 1- he lihs Tint is not imuh, hut oi« sonslh ne 1 hicee tit tnuli ith win hj he diligl t d tK Modd m 'lhe (riien (u\- iSmie (in 11 he pusmfid tho B tish <i! bei n T Luiin 1 meio pi _, of mud the nfk 1 edwitl eKe tint ldu 1111 it t> in c tin m Vdnjrv he trld Us 01 th libmnt 1 of tiendies „ion m_ il« \ iimiu. m tfo tionts rr 011 Diu_,lis II i nd ii ]jo in DOl 1 m ih hi 1!! K nd (o\iud w i\s lun in/„/ _r- nd if nu tle mteu tin., I ' w * 1 the cuo-iiK 1 thcois dinning the ieu in oil mt' -tnliglit Ifi u ■* ids 1 111 1 tl* a it hn of lit ics li iln li \ lli it thi lout' <ftle pi k <t( 11 line 11 tl s. th< i(nu t 1 s e tnll 1 I 1 tth In , u oik, Ho he j r,oi s en io <ir» idx Ihuus w p "fins is tmhiiis uid tl < 1 d rusted hie srjil it< sol the I nmh rji = icis ] c s putuing uiKtnin, i huh mint ne LI tho tuuh nu th 111 n b 11 1 wig 113 I not Ijon j 1 in '1 us n j, thieilmke to tin Hp ml ni<l li t! tmJs < 1 tat run 1 il nine si l *W \MIISI VI j. I I P iinnl Sh i\\ md H L- Well ut not very nmcli known in Duucdin, but cither of tltn 1 in mr 1 ndoit i\t n \ch, 11 1 m nnc 1 eh n th \mt n 1 nglmd Alo\ II 1 n_,t 11 d th } 111 >\e tht w 11—101 bet 10 0 iii \u c Both 11c ] igd., an , 1 t but Vdl hi thr 1 m.lliii to ich ' k -' 1 1 [iii'm, out tie di ilbei hind it pn cn< Will \ lnt in o ht lc e died ti leh p Kin Ik md In Ji is 1 rcn fniig I it slim I t ]\ hj his te 1 1 tio n tion ' tint 1 liiiiiim m\ 1 1011 of But un vruld n * 1 shot ti piers but a o ild dc In Ji 1 Will ilnt ib n \ 1 ilt tint w i>. On )' the mist t ling jntuit —ill ib Intel h< stih ) i tun -ol thr But sh \i J 1 1 t ihout ILJtl L Jt w i diawn bv 1 111 1h t iit t nti 11 nt ot tin Am \ "i 1 lib t tmbodi d 111 11 addrc sii lie 111 hj \s>i 1 ttion md fteiwud g nt > uln 11 pet p'o it 11r ok winch 1 ill I 11< ipitlons Wei' \U, ml a lit tun and ill mo dn tl 1 ilr uhocilrd that eiti /ens diould cut clear from tho I'egular Inn r 1 -\ 1 tin it uld ti ;n tin \im 1 i\ it llun) o ei to the Wdi (bin 1 1 1 th dl] lid ei Is to mm e I dim l\e with md 1 nitiouil anny rl th 1 o\ 11 undti 1 di iiphiG urt sui I a n b \idti hit ! 1 1 I dn nil hj nged 1 good dc il IMi ( r \> ih !,, jt W'l s Vntuipi it 1 \hi 11 htlp dte iehn \cth chii 'nt 1* hi t en Mih ig > tho be t tl i „h' in tin \lln\-miluding Kucht it 1 11 'I Irm li 1 oiu igun t tho Wll G'hc -ii .1 K]' nni n f] , rne ] P IC ] L hj 1 Iht jdtndid lii t \im\ of to di\ j 1 Kill HI Is When will this tints* of news cease? A wounded .Indian at Brighton .savs that the Germans aro not good .soldiers. "They have bi.g guns, but when wo get near them they hneei." Then he thoughtfully added : "Tho .sahibs told us to spare "eomo of them." ihe suppliant Germans, and the implication that a swathe could easily have been cut from to Berlin hut for tho injunction of the humane sahibs, show wdiat twiie of Cue London reporters think of the pubiic mind. A. doubtful fitory i.s that v.bidi stales that Captain Lordey, of the. Konnidablo, shouted at tho bust: "All dido down into the sea." The usual word in such emergencies is " Kvery man for himself." There is a. theory that the Formidable writs torpedoed. Hub-surface, attuck at 2 o'clock in the morning in a gale must have been a wonderful stroke, oven by the best of submarine commanders. More news on thi.s point will lie- waited with interest. .Indications are that the men in the Formidable'* nnrets wero badly hurt. These injuries would be caused when the list of the ship became mitfieient to throw the heavy shot out of tho cradles near tho guns. One of the cables is that there is more work than wen in the London docks. When the war began the dockers were glum, but they raised the bogy of unemployment before it came. It has never come yet. File after file of the Homo newspapers indicate that the Port of London Authority hafi had its hands full of shipping all the time. Ramming seems to be a favorite form of attack by light cruiser captains against submarines." An extract from a, Bremen paper is given in the messages indicating that this was attempted on a German submarine on tho Dogger recently, though without succoGS. Xearly every action between surface ships and sub-surface craft discloses this attack. Even so big a ship as the Cressy tried it. Another .diot lias been made by French airmen 011 the dirigible sheds near Brussels. These sheds are two revolving concerns wluch the Germans put in hand in parks near the city almost immediately after Von Kmmich and his live, army corps swung thiough the Belgian capital, marching 40 mi lee a, day, in the tirst big " Jcft whi"*L"

Tho loyal burgomasters who met ai' Ghent to discuss the German levy of 480,000,000 francs eeem to have pasted a very patriotic, not to gay fearless, resolution. As Gorman officers would be present it is hardly believable- that they -were al< lowed to go eo far. The assurance- i.« given that the publics aro taking the loss of the Formidable calmly. Public opinion at Home must be hardening. When the last mails came itr was painfully noticeable that"' Fairplay ' and; other publications were, bitterly attacking Lord Fisher regarding the bombardment off Yarmouth, and also' on certain losses oi merchantmen at sea. There is an amazing intimation to-day that the Turks have definitely abandoned the attack on Egypt, and thai the Asiatio troops are being recalled to Europe. A movement which has been going on for 153 daxs is not usually abandoned at five minutes* notice. Where are they going? To march through fc'cryia, to tho aid cu Austria.?