INTERESTING WAR NOTES

Lake County Press, Issue 2635, 8 June 1916, Page 7

INTERESTING WAR NOTES

20,000,000 RUSSIANS. f \ The Russian army, drawn from an i oinpiro with a population of over ' 170,000,000 is naturally a very large one, and includes in it a number of I different nationalities. From men duelling within tho Arctic circle, to tho swarthy Orientals of the Caucasus, all serve* under a flag which to many of them convoys but little, so remote is all that it stands for from their own dis- , tant corner of tho world. Nearly all I the peoples constituting the Russian Empire come under the law of conscription. There are, however, strange as it may seem, some who are so uncivilized that they are not even pressed into service. The standing Russian army does not appear very great in comparison to the population; hut the real lighting strength of Russia lies not only in her standing army, hut also in her reserve forces, which are immense. These are so vast that to many they appear almost limitless, and it is said sho can put in the field, if necessary. The permanent Russian army is composed of such diverse elements, and is so unwieldy, that it has been necessary to divide it into three separate armies; the army of European Russia ; the Caucasus; and the Asiatic, army. These are practically distinct from one another, and even the terms of service vary slightly. The army now devotes iix months instead of three to manoeuvresj oi these, three months, instead of _six weeks, are spent in camp. Less time is devoted to parades, and more to proper drilling. Tho old guns and rifles have been almost entirely roplaced by , newer patterns, and tho artillery has been reorganized, the French artillery being taken as a model. QUEER JOBS FOR WARSHIPS. A couple of French warships wore sent out into the Mediterranean somo years ago to wage war against a school of porpoises which were doing an immensity of damage to the fishing industry in those waters, and after three clays ' hostilities, during which quickfiring guns were used with considerable effect, the vessels returned to port triumphant, having practically annihilated tho enemy. A year or two ago a warship of the . Australian fleet was given the si.-at.go job of capturing or destroying a mysterious sea monster which had been reported off the Falkland Islands, the scene of the recent German naval defeat. It is pretty safe' to say that the officers, if not the crew, entertained grave doubts of tho actual existence of tho frightful creature which had been described; it was too terrifying, hideous, gigantic, and ferocious. But shortly after the ship arrived in the waters where the monster was supposed to lie in wait for vessels, the officer of the watch descried a strangelooking beast making towards his ship, and it was immediately guessed that this must bo tho substance of all the alarming tales. And a pretty good substance it proved, too. An attack was made upon it. and after some hours' fighting with harpoons and quick-firers, the mysterious monster, which proved to be a sea-ele-phant between thirteen and fourteen yards long, was slaughtered and taken aboard. Some years ago the Norwegian Government sent out a powerful little fleet of warships, armed with mines, torpedoes, and quick-firing guns, to exterminate a vast horde of seals which was denuding the sea on the northwest coast of all fish life. But the Government had reckoned for tens, of thousands of seals, whereas there were millions, and so unending was their number that the fleet had eventually to admit itself defeated, with the loss of one man and two slightly wounded, owing to an accident, and to "retire in order." having exhausted its entire supply of ammunition. RUSSIA'S HERO. Stories of General Ivanoff. After the dark and gloomy days, when at one time it seemed as though Russia's army would not escape the grip of Von Hindenburg, the Czar's forces turned, as did the French and British at tho Marno, and not only checked the German advance, but smote tho enemy with such effect that thev compelled 'them to retreat and evacuate places they had won at fearful cost. The man who engineered this magnificent offensive movement—General Ivanoff—is to-day the hero of Russia, while the grudging admissions of the Germans that "Ivanoff operated with good fortune" shows how they respect and fear him. General Ivanoff was not unknown beforo tho war. As head of tho fortress artillery at Kronstadt, ho was responsible for introducing many new methods of training which resulted in bringing the Russian artillery up to the highest pitch of perfection. Original m his methods, ho does not believe in placing discipline first and individual capacity second. He is fond of saying that the first thing a young- artillery officer has to remember is that he has a bead, which he has to keep cool in all circumstances and to use to tho best of his ability. Strict execution of orders alone does not count much with him. . "Were a hundred guns thundering ahmt the General's ears," says one who knows Ivanoff intimately, "hewould still light his cigarette without a tremor and inquire casually of anyone who might know about the health of his family. He sleeps a normal eight hours only on the eve of great battles and great events, when, as he says, one has to keep his head cool. Officers love to work under Ivanoff. for he is a soldier who is always giving his men opportunities of distingmshI ing themselves. He issues his orders I only in general terms, demanding that ] all 'details shall bo worked out by sub- ! ordinate officers, thus developing m- ' dependent thinking and initiative ] anions.-: them. And they well know that j should they succeed in carrying out and executing some successful strateI gic movement on their own initiative, i the General will be the first to see that it is brought to the notice of those high in authority in order that . the officer may be duly rewarded. One of the greatest strategists Russia has ever possessed, General Ivanofl ■ has nianv military achievements to his , credit, 'incidentally it might be men- , tioned that it was he who introduced -1 the new mode of simultaneous firing by I all coast batteries, which was adopted

later on the coast fortresses in Russia, and which rendered such good service in tho defence of Fort Arthur.

WAR ANNIVERSARIES. Following the example of Lord Roberts, who planned the siege of the Boers at Paardeberg so that the surrender of Cronje should fall on February 27th, the anniversary of the British defeat at Majuba, the Germans entered Belgrade on October 9th, the anniversary of the capture of Antwerp. The Germans are earnest anniver-sary-mongers. The first victory of 1870 was gained on August 4th; on the same day in 1914 the Germans streamed into Belgium. January '27 th, the Kaiser's birthday, was another date selected for a showy victory. On that day a fierce attack was made on the British line at La Bassee with the object of breaking through to Calais. It failed, with very heavy loss. During the last few months the Germans havo kept anniversaries steadily in view. They won the crossing of the Narev on August 23rd, the anniversary of their victory at Mons. They took Grodno on September 2nd, the anniversary of the surrender at Sedan. They wili probably attempt to join hands with the Turks and carry out some great enterprise on November sth, the anniversary of the British declaration of war on Turkey. ENEMY'S SECRET. Because of the failure to destroy the sights of their rifles before abandoning them, the Austrians have placed in the hands of the Italians a valuable invention. These sights, which are only on some of the captured rifles, consist of what might be called a prismatic eyeglass, the objective consisting of a little convex lens, which reflects objects at a long distance. The object reflected is transferred to small prismatic mirrors fixed on axes which are not parallel with each other, and which reflect the object upon a flat iridescent surface. When the person aimed at appears on the intersection of the lines contained in the sight, it is impossible for the soldier to miss him. Tins .instrument is supplied to all sharpshooters with instructions to pick off officers. The Austrians were instructed to destroy the sight if they wero obliged to abandon their rifles, or were made prisoners, but some omitted to do so. COST OF MODERN WARS. The cost of modern warfare is well I illustrated by Great Britain now having to spend a little over £3,000,000 a day, I and Germany over twice as much. It is interesting to note what the expen- j diture of other countries was in former wars. Towards the close of the great • Russo-Japanese War in 1904-5, Russia was spending over £1,097,000 a week. : The war in South Africa totalled , £211,948,000. The total cost of the Crimean War was about £313,000,000. Of this Russia, paid £142,000,000, France £93,000,000, and Great Britain j £78,000,000. | France, however, up to 1874 paid the most heavilv for making war, for she . had to part with £316,000,000 during j the great Franco-German War. The Napoleonic wars, which practically j ended with Waterloo, were compara- ; tively cheap for France, seeing that her ■ total bill amounted to only £255,000,000, while that of Great Britain, ineluding the financing of many small Rowers in their struggle against the Emperor Napoleon, amounted to I £831,000,000. | HORSES IN WAR. In spite of the motor, whose usefulness in haulage of big guns to the Front is undenied and undeniable, there are several sorts of ground where the functions of the traction-engine end, and those of the equine gun-team j begin. Generally sneaking, horses have ; the honour of galloping their gun on . to the field of action and standing the j hellish racket of the bursting she..'* and the percentage of killed among tiu gun-teams is always a very high one. : The powerful beasts, excited by their j surroundings, maddened by the rush j they hav\i just taken part in, sweating and covered with foam, often get out of hand, and, rearing and plunging, threaten to break away from their harness. To contend with a pair of these half-frightened, half-infuriated animals is all one man's work, and the authorities do well to pick out powerfull v-built men for the R.A. drivers. Should one of the team be hit with a piece of shrapnel, or even should a shell burst in close proximity to the pulling, straining horses, the drivers energies receive an even greater call upon them. A "BAC" OF FORTY SNIPERS. The following story of a wonderful marksman; told by a Canadian gunner, appears in the Montreal "Star." The best recent Canadian incident from the front relates to a full-blooded Indian in the Canadian Infantry, who is a marvel with his rifle. He has a telescopic sight attached to his rifle, and goes about as he likes. He is a most silent man, talking hardly to any one. He wanders about the trenches and waits for a chance to pick off a German. One German sniper was recently giving a lot of trouble. Officers with glasses tried in vain to locate him. The Indian came along and, without saying a word to any one, was seen to fire at a big- tree. Down fell the sniper. The Indian saw with his naked eye what the officers with their glasses failed to discover. . He told me he put a little nick in the stock of his rifle every time he was sure he had killed a German. I saw thirtyeight nicks on the stock. With gleeful countenance he said he was just about to add two more nicks. For some unaccountable reason this Indian never fires twice at the same man If he misses his mark he will not fire again, and lets the man alone. . WOLVES IN WAR. Historv tells that on Napoleon's fatal retreat from Moscow the wearied troops were constantly harassed by

i that wolves have gathered from their \ fastnesses in the forests of" Poland and I hungry wolf-packs. Now it is said •South Russia to gorge upon the.battle-;, fields of the eastern front. . ", *- . ,' Some time ago an officer gave a,. graphic description of the lines of wolves stealing from the coverts .. at nightfall, passing within a few feet' lif him as he lay wounded. He said. | mat the sight of their gaunt forms,' :limlv limned against the dark sky, »s they busied themselves' with their j ghastly feast, would never be effaced from his mind. Referring to the movements of wild boarß, M. Cunisset-Carnot states that by the middle of August, when heavy cannonading was proceeding alorf£ : " a. ' vast front in Northern France, rumours of strange occurrences began to come in. Foresters and woodmen reported that south of the lines of battle herds of wild boars' began to invade country to which they had been entire strangers. So rapidly did. their numbers increase that soon they were , to bo met nearly everywhere. ROYAL CROWNS. « The crowns of Spain, Portugal, and . Poland .ire all three of the same 'and arc described by a recent writer" as ducal coronets heightened up with ' eight arched diadems supporting a .mound, cnsignei with a plain gold i cross. The crowns of Denmark and Sweden are of almost similar shape, ( consisting of the eight arched diadems i arising from a marquess's coronet (a 1 circle of gold bordered with ermine, ' set around with four strawberry leaves ' and four pearls on pyramidical points ,'of equal height, alternate), which conjoin at the top under a mound ensigned with a cross. . - The kings of most other continental countries are crowned with circlets of gold, adorned with precious stones, and heightened up with trefoils and closed by four, six, or eight diamonds | supporting a mound surmounted by a : The Sultan of Turkey wears over his arms a turban, enriched with pearls and diamonds, under two coronets, , the first of which is made of, pyramidical points, heightened up with large pearls, and the uppermost is surrounded with crescents. . .