RUSSIA REJUVENATED.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13931, 2 March 1916, Page 7

RUSSIA REJUVENATED.

— I HER RECUPERATIVE POWER. QUITE CONFIDENT IN VICTORYLO'NDO'N, Jan. 14. For the second time' the -fetrograd correspondent ot the Tinius spent uio Russian Christmas with the army m Uie Held, and he has mucii of interest to tun us. Russia has renewed her lighting strength, and is as determined as in-*' Allies to press forward to final victory over the Teutonic foe. A year a-go ttio whole Russian army was reduced to oneshot per gun per day. The contrast between then and r.ow in the matter oi shells affords matter for the heartie.-i congratulations to our Allies. Moreover, the magnificent armies assembled on the Austro-German front are eivdenco oi the recuperative power oi Russia — it power which the Germans boasned the,) uad broKen. The Germans declared tnim tne ltussian army would remain inactive at least for six months; they deceived themselves, and the lnistalso w.ji cost them dear. As /the Times correjpondent says : — "While Russia was supposed to be crippled, the enemy reckoned that there would tie sumciem< time to send 15 to 'dJ divisions hence 'to '-conquer the Bai.Kaiiy, and XQt/Ui'ii in time to hold us m m cnecK. too confident were they on in-t> point that neither the Anglo-French ■ onensive of isoth-Si9th iSoptemoer, nor tne sharp lessons receiveu by Huaderi- <qj burg m Kiga and J)Yinxn. sectors, notably a»t. .fiatonoVKa iri tue beginning of November, could persuade tneni to reconsider their plans. But Russia, ever mindful of the interests or tnu Alliance, made ready to strike hard in the soutn. Tho utmost secrecy was observed regarding the movements 'ol troops. uut, as in ttn'e case of France and Flanders in September, the Germans got wind of what was going on. .Immediately they began .to witndraw their troops from the Danube. The recent conference at {Sofia, at which MaeKensen urged the Bulgarians to continue the marcn. on Salonika, should be interpreted in .the light of these withdrawals. The. ■Germans were ; doubtful whether the Buigars would pursue the offensive once Mackensen's troops liad to return, but nevertheless back they came. The Russian initiative could not be« gainedsaid. Once more Russia had drawn oil the enemy by a. vigorous counter. "In the early days of October Id German and two Austrian divisions had assembled on the tierviah frontier. The whole of this force was drawn from the other fronts, leaving only 46 German divisions facing the Russian army, and 109 in the West. A fortnight ago the missing divisions began, to reappear. According to the army organ, five German divisions are at present in the Bukowina. The enemy forces are probably' distributed on onr south-western front in the following .approximate order; Between points^Kbvel to Lemberg is the Archduke Joseph" Ferdinands group, containing the First Austrian Army under Punalle, and the foecond under Boehm-iJrmolli, altogether about 245 battalions and 85 squadrons. Then southward to the ßumanian border . stands Mackensen's group of armies under Bothmer and Pfianzer, of about 260 battalions and 75 squadrons, including 24 German battalions. To this force must now be added the divisions returning from the Danube. " AUSTRIA'S LOST, MILLIONS. Russia has inflicted enormous damage on -her foes. "Ota. a conservative estimate, three or four millions of the inhabitants of Galicia- migrated ea^twaru before and during the retreat. The population of Lemberg alone fell from. 6UJ,---000 to 30,000. These Galician millions were . safely shepherded through the south-western termies, thanks to the admirable care and forethought of General Ivanoff's staff. Something hko two miUions of working men and larm hands were thus added to Russia, not counting the prisoners of war. . Thanks to them Russian industries are thriving, and agriculture prospers; while, on the other hand, the enemy is hard pressed for labor, and is actually resoitting to forcible and illegal employment ol Russian prisoners .of- war to act as drivers of transport and stretcher-bear-ers, because the whole. male population, including old men, have been conscripted." •.'":'. .. General Ivanoff sends, the following message: — "We can. gobri as long as we are wanted. Our technical services are constantly improyijuj, , Within a year our output of munitions will have, g doubled. It does not matter so much where the, fighting line extends, be- - cause the outcome of the: war will be ' ■settled, not by the occupation of territory, but by the 'destruction of the enemy's armies and resources. We are m resuming the process of attrition oil a larger scale, undeterred by the mud, and ■ are calmly and patieiitly confident in our strength, and in; the readiness ot _, the country to endure -any trials that may come. At the same time we doubt " not lor an instant* that our Allies share our views, and will exert themselves to ( the uttermost to utilise the wonderful technical resources and determination of their people 'to vanquish tho inveterate Teutonic foe." ,