COSSACK DASH.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 January 1917, Page 3

COSSACK DASH.

Brilliant r.cw Tactics. Series of Victories. Remarkable new battle tactics, never before seen in the history of warfare, ate largely responsible for the great advance scored by the Russians this summer, Austrian officers here agree (writes the New York “World” correspondent with the Austrian irrny). In these manoeuvres General Bras, siloff’-s cavalry, the famous Cossacks from the Don and other parts of the Czar’fl far-flung empire, figure prominently. Biussiloff, now in charge cf tie whole southern half of tha Russian front, from the Pnpet Marshes to the Black Sea, is himself a cavalry commander par excellence. He was in charge of a cavalry division at tha beginning of tha war, and, had it Lot been for the great etrnggle,.; which brought out his remarkable ability as a generalissimo, he probably would be to-day simply an expert horseman, unknown outside military circles. It is easy to see Bruss’loff’s hand in the new Russian tactic', say the Teuton staff officer?. CREDIT TO OTHERS. But a large Bharß of credit also goes to Lieutenant-General Ceunt Keller, the cavalry chief of the army of General Lstchitsky, whose troops formed the southern wing of the Brussiloff army group until Roumawia entered the war, Austrian and German officers do not withhold praise aud admiration fer their roes’" “come-bnck” after the terrible defeats sustained at the hands of von Mackensen and von Hindenburg last summer. It is from these officer's, who directed tha Teutons as they were forced to fall back time and again before the hammer blows of Brussiloff, that the following acconnt of tho Russian tactics which have won a large share of Volhynia, Galicia, and the Bukowina is drawn. When a Russian attack begins today the Muscovite infantry advsnees, but suddenly halts about 3.500 yards from the hostile trenches and starts to “ dig in ” furiously. MAD COSSACK DASH, the A2ftcP;Gßfm»g artillery

is endeavoring to got the range of the iuDn’ry, clouds of Cossacks appear. They dash over the quickly-dug trenches in a wild gallep. It looks as though these masses of mad horsemen were about to override the posliions attacked. la some cases, indeed, the Cts 3 rcks have baen known in theirimpetuous sweep to ride up to the wire eutargljments, whece thsy are mowed down by .machine-gun fire. But their orders are to dismount about 1,000 yards from the trenches which are to be taken.

With lightning-like rapidky the Russian cavalrymen jump from their boreea aud throw thgntselvßS to the ground. Ta eir animals have been carefully trriieJ to lie down too. With their badias ia a row, the horses serve as living barricades for the ride s

While the C:ssacka open a hot car bine fire from behind their horses the infantry dtaws up. At the same time tbe rtssrvrs are eet in motion, in eight, ten, twelve, aDd even fourteen successive wsves. losses are heavy: Thelos of the brave Coisacks are invariably verv heavy, because they have to h 11 out in the firing line nn.il the infau.ry columns come up and dash through the wire entanglements, which have Jin the meantime been shattered by the drum fire of the Russian artillery. Often the Cofsacks are not able to stand the hail of shrapnel to which they are exposed but in these cases they never retreat. Jumping on their hairv, ronghlookiug little horses, they again gallop ahead, take the torn entanglements like hurdles, and break into the Austrian trenches where they generally are killed or made prisoners.