RUSSIAN ARMY OF CRUSADERS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14074, 18 August 1916, Page 7

RUSSIAN ARM Y OF CRUSADERS

EFFICIENCY OF THE NEWLY ; TRAINED TROOPS.

MOTOR CAR PURSUIT

BUCHAREST/ June 2. | ..The Bpic.lai .correspondent of 'the Adeverul, m a despatch from the Russian frontier, gives, the following .graphic do- 1 sci;ipti6n of some: • fewvpf th« pfiaaes, of J the groat Russian advanco against the., >'Austrp-Qerman forces on tha eastern front: — , i ; | "It,, (was. ■ jn, the .ear^y houvs of ■ the , morning of Suriday, June 4; > few ,min- 1 ,utes .aftei^auririaej .that- the .Rvssiarr'artil- j lery preparation for? lhe advance began. j During th«, preeedihg ■ .weiejcs .-'there had been feycpish. activity l behind the f front. piie. ? .trfin^p9rt '..at- shells . was inqreaseft, ptorps of,,a|i, Jdnds ; were . brought ;-up, m inotoi'v lprries,\ ;the Gza> had i^isp'ectted the troops 'in many sections qf tHe Ifront. ; ; s . ' 'Oft. Jun e 4> wJiilo the ;Rusv ?iaaartUle;iy was;! thundering.:' forth : its , rightful' destr l uptjy^ne,ssy i . .divine "seryioe was ; ev^ry wh«^o .ceiotira|^.d f pr tjie ; in r fantrry, io. th^,>^cc6mpanune n t of tl\e roar o| Jguns. „ /The . offiQia^iilg,. priests;? laid stress on the sacl'edriess of thp. duty>,of ,and ,lts ;libertiesj fthd it .holy ;!orusader i s r 4n s pii'Qd:jby ideal >on^nuajasm, that,;the Prussian -soldiers responded to . tUe call ;.f oiv a general, advanco when th 0 ; artjllery . had completed its .work* of devastation. • .. v; , NJBW JIITS^TAN ■- GtTNS.i- '", \ ''Tho %i?siqp;- artillery , Thad, • achjeyed: its ttask officie^itly.:'; Line iaf bar, .lihetjof barbed , wire had r >been le^e^ti'tp^ th^ ground ; the . foremost, Austyan trenches !>yere nothing r but;4ieaps; of e4"^in«;which :^ad becpme' th° graves' of, the ••- Austrian' .troops holdinp «(hem. The ' Rijssi»n ? guns' .wiere ..new^ .the r artillery - officers^ Aveio new, < their Runnorg wero fresh ; recruits, but e\(]e rything- wprkedv like - macljinejy.The precision of' the firing was;,piftTvei-, lous ; the continuous supply of ,. ammunl-' tion bore testimony to 'the. flXceUerice of the transport ; organisation m the • rear. The Russian army, written off as i a negligible quantity by the misguided Germans and their Austrian . dupes, .'■ has proved that it is rejuvenated arid *ior-' midable m /hrg highest degree. ', "The Russian infantry ' was «• superb.

The advance was accurately timed, carefully executed. efficiently! achieved. There was no useless sacrifices of precious lives. The officers had instructed thsir men how to advance with the least pos- • sible risk, how to seek coyer at desirable points, how to open out into ' exj tended formation at the *right time, and . ho\v to closeY up into dense masses again • when the moment came to deliver the | smashing blow against the enemy. } "In some sections the troops we're hardy veterans who had gon« through ! the earlier battles of the war, and .it j was clear that they were as, good as, or ' even better than, they were before the j gi'jSat retreat of last year. Their spirit t had/not been broken by adversity and i long inaction; their splendid qualities ! were, more conspicuous than ever. In other sections, and -probably m most of them, the great majority of the, troops employed, were entirely fresh .Jjecruits, but .there was. no. sign of inexperience, or 'battle-shyness' about them. They;kjiew their work, -/and they • did > it (eagerly, j bravely j " thoroughly. Their equipment was 1 , excellent; supplies came up regularly, keeping their stomachs w^ll filled .with stitngthrgivmg nourishment. They stormed the -Austrian trenches efficiently, they pushed their pursuit of the eremy .with untiring zeal, and they fought ferociously when v it came to hand-to-hand struggles with the more stubborn regiof the foe. ... '.'TRULY GREAT. " "Some of the marches achieved by -the Russian infantry were fabulous : their were so quick that the enemy .'was overwhelmed by: their, sudden ap•pearance at the most Un^xpebted points. .The • Russian, army is truly -great. , fJ "It was a gre^t'monifenb^yn'en >i :afc ohq .point \yhere^ jth.e . Austro : German j.Kliii^ had been, broken, Russian, arntjjr'en-motor-cars dashed up to tekiovtKs place of cavalry pursuing . -.and throwing ijitcj' wnfjusion tho retreating enemy. They ■\vere N American . bars, armed with ma-chine-guns, and the havoc they created was terrible. Large numbers of the eri-emy threw away their rifles and surrendered ;• the remnant fled panic stricken m .the most disorderly flight imaginable. jOhj^vof thes9 ai*mored cars overtook and captured ; the officers of :one of the 1 Austrian divisional staff s v "It will take a long time to collect

and 'classify the arms and munitions of all kinds which the Austrians and ' Germans left behind them m their wild flight for safety. Rifles and cartridges by thje million ; field-kitchens and tents aiiid ( wireless station and telegraph and telephone equipments; heavy guns and field artillery and machine guns; huge stacks of shells and enormous cjuatititifja of food ; reservoirs of poisonous ga» with the apparatus for ejecting it ; flags uild emblems; code books; documents piepared by staff officers; maps And confidential communications from headquarters — a • vast booty.".