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Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16444, 16 January 1918, Page 6

There is less news than usual from, the battle fronts, on which most activities are prohibited by the season. Only the civil war in Russia, seems to derive fresh stimulus from the elements. According to a correspondent, the Turks haye broken ,the armistice by landing 20,000 troops on. the south coast of the Black - Sea-, Probably they could not resist the temptation now that Bolshevism has been at pains to put the Black Sea as well as the Baltic Fleet out of action. The Russian army in Armenia was powerfully supported by this fleet, and its efforts to continue the war on that front must be severely prejudiced if the support is to. be lacking in future. Sir Auckland Geddes, in presenting the new Man Power Bill, has stated that to date, and including, no doubt, coloured fighters, the British Umpire has raised seven and a half million troops. That is a record •which would certainly have been thought impossible before the war. An interesting statement of Hie strength in divisions of the Central "Empires on the various European, fronts in November has been made as follows by 3lr E. H. Perris, correspondent with the French armies:— West Front. Germans 149 Busso-Roumanian Front. Germans ... ... 83 Austrians ... ... 32 - U5 Italian Front. . Austrians ... 44} Germans ... ... ... 5 49} Balkan. Front. Austrians ... .... , ... 2 Germans ... ... ... 2 / ■ ... 4.. Total Germans and Austrians 317} If these figures are at ail correct they indicate in a striking manner Austria's weakness, due to her enormous losses. With two-thirds of Germany's population she now contributes only one-third as many men to the war—79 divisions, as compared pared with 239. If every Austrian division could be withdrawn from the Rosso-Roumanian front there would be available, to fight with the Germans in a Western offensive, and assuming that the Austrians could be made to go West, less than 400,000 men. * The figures indicate the limits of the force by which so great a diversion has been accomplished on the Italian frontier. Austria had in the field 40} divisions, of which 13} were on the Trentino front, three in the north-eastern mountains, and 24 on the Isonzo front. To these she added four, of which three- came from Bussis, while Germany contributed five, of which three came from Russia and two from France. Of a total of nearly 50 Anstro-German divisions on the whole Italian front, therefore, »» were concentrated in the "Eastern attack—probably less than 300.000 men all told—but powerfully equipped with artillery and special assault troops, and having a complete unity of direction

Even Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador who is returning from Petrograd, fails, in a statement be has made to an interviewer, to bring into any clear relations the tangled state of affairs in Russia. Ho is convinced, however that the Bolsheviki are not likely to be put down yet, though their strength is confined to northern Russia. His statement that "Russia Las finished her role as an active power in this war" is in line with general verdicts on tho situation. A surprising feature is that tho Bolshevik pacifist soldiers seem to fight quite well, when they are fighting Russians. The explanation may bo found in that perversity of pacifists which makes them, in most countries, fight like tigers for their own and in the strangely mixed conditions of Rncsia. which cause them not to bo without skilled leaders, even while they - profess contempt for authority and tank. An American correspondent met many officers of reputation fighting for the Bolsheviki against Kerensky, because, they said. Tverensky had been the first to undermine the anny, and deserved to suffer for it. The Bolshevik soldiers obeyed these officers implicitly while the fighting lasted and followed

-their advice, thougli, as soon as fighting was over, they refused to treat tliem otherwise than as equals. The partnership must have been severely .threatened when a decree was passed that these helpful officers should not receive more pay or pensions than a private.