Part 2

Speaking of the weakness of the German front in the West in the month of November, Ludendorf says that it was perfectly natural "that in this situation our eyes should again turn to the East."... Further on he adds that he had asked himself whether it were not better "once and for all to restrict operations on the Western front to a defensive and to carry out the contemplated operations against Russia with all our available forces.... This point of view seemed to me to be the right one, and I asked our High Command for reinforcements from the West...." Thus, such facts as the abandonment by the Germans of all operations in the West for more than a year, as well as Ludendorf's own words, prove with absolute clearness and conclusiveness that the Germans, partly through the firmness of the Allies, but mainly on account of the hard blows from the Russian Army, found themselves compelled for a long time to refrain from an offensive in France. There is no doubt but that the Germans never abandoned entirely the attempt to crush France, for we have seen how such a serious attempt was made by them subsequently at Verdun. But if they were compelled at the end of 1914 to defer this attempt at crushing France for more than a year, it is obvious that the decisive part in this decision of the Germans was played by Russia, in the increasing offensive of her Armies all along the front from the Baltic to the Carpathians.

_Thus, if the taking of the field by unprepared Russia in the beginning of the War contributed to the defeat of the most dangerous and main plan of the Germans, in August and September, the new sacrifices brought by Russia in October and November on the plains of Galicia, Poland and East Prussia compelled the Germans to desist for more than a year from all attempts to win the War in France. August and September, 1914, were the months in which the German forces were brought to a standstill, and October and November saw them already much impaired._ At both important, critical moments Russia played her decisive part.

_At this same period, towards the close of 1914, the Germans were compelled by the operations of the Russian Army to increase the number of their troops on the Russian front up to 43 divisions. If the Germans were unable in the beginning of the War to win out in France where they had all their forces, allotting to the Russian front only 14 divisions and the Austrian Army, so much the less could they have won at the end of 1914, when the Russians had compelled them to have 43 divisions in the field, that is, to treble their forces on the Russian front, to the detriment of their French front._

New Opportunities for the Allies

The third great period of the world-conflict--1915--is the year of Russia's single-handed fight against Germany, Austria and Turkey. This year was hardest for Russia not only because all attention and all efforts of the three enemy powers were directed against Russia alone, but also because in 1915 Russia was less than ever before prepared for the struggle--being without arms, shells and munitions. No matter how much Ludendorf may distort the truth in his memoirs, the whole world knows that in that year the Russian positions were covered not by barbed wire entanglements, but by the naked breasts of the Russian soldiers, and German charges were repulsed not by artillery barrages but by the bayonet, by cold steel--reminding us of the times when the Mexicans, armed only with spears, fought against the rifles and cannon of the Spaniards under Fernando Cortez.

Russia's loss of Poland in 1915 is altogether a result of this situation, unprecedented in any of the wars fought by European nations. It was hard to gain victory when the shortage of arms was so great that some corps counted but 1,500 bayonets instead of 40,000, and at the same time it was impossible to complement these corps with their quota of men because these men had no rifles.

Russia had called millions to the colors, but had rifles only for one-tenth of her men. It is only too obvious that nothing could be accomplished with millions of men of whom only one in ten was armed. But in 1916, when Russia acquired rifles and artillery, Brusilov launched his memorable offensive which netted more than 200,000 prisoners. Another great offensive was in preparation for 1917, but the Revolution interfered with its realization.

However that may be, the Germans had planned to have done with Russia by confronting it with Austrian armies and with four or five additional German corps. But already in 1914 the Germans were compelled to keep 19 corps in the East to the detriment and dislocation of their plans and forces in France. (See diagrams No. 3,4.) Even during the days of the Revolution the Germans were obliged to maintain 78½ divisions on the Eastern front, in addition to 47 Austrian and 15 Turkish, altogether 140 infantry and 22 cavalry divisions, while on the Anglo-French front the enemy had at that time only 142 divisions. If we take into consideration all the Russian theatres of war, including those in Asia, the enemy kept on the Russian fronts 164 infantry divisions and 28 cavalry divisions,--altogether 192 divisions (in May, 1917) while on the Anglo-French front the enemy had in May, 1917, only 142 divisions.

Notwithstanding the lack of arms and munitions the Russian Army rendered the Allies, in the critical days of 1915, assistance that was not less important and serious than that of the days of the Marne and Ypres. Russia, by diverting upon herself, towards the close of 1914, all the efforts of the Central Powers, thereby offered France and England the opportunity for a whole year to prepare for the prosecution of the War. Throughout 1915, when Germany, Austria and Turkey were diverted by Russia, France was enabled quickly to accumulate new reserves, munitions, shells, to recover from the serious wounds of 1914, and to prepare for that inevitable blow from Germany which subsequently took the form of a determined offensive at Verdun in 1916.

At the same time England, owing to the fact that Russia had in 1915 taken upon herself the whole burden of the struggle, was enabled in the course of one year to carry out Kitchener's stupendous plan of expanding the small, 150 thousand-strong English Army of volunteers into the four million-strong Army of the English nation in arms. On the other hand Germany, having called to the colors new reserves, was compelled by Russia to expend these reserves on the Russian front, and not on the main front, in France, where the fate of the whole War was to be decided for Germany.

All these opportunities, all this stupendous preparation in the creation and development of new armed forces by the Allies, took place undisturbed and in favorable circumstances, solely because 1915 was the year of Russia's single-handed fight against three enemy powers, the year of the greatest self-sacrifice of the Russian Army for the common cause. Who knows what might have been the result of the German offensive in France had those German reserves which perished in Russia broken through somewhere in the north of France simultaneously with the storming of Verdun, in February. Who knows how far the German military catastrophe might have been averted had all the fresh reserves of the Germans, which were being incessantly swallowed up by the Russian front, found themselves in the West!

To these questions Ludendorf himself happens to give the answers in his memoirs. Speaking of the offensive of the Germans at Verdun and of the offensive of the Austrians in Italy, he says: "Both offensives suffered from the fact that inadequate reserves prevented the first successes from being followed up."

Where did these reserves, which were lacking for the capture of Verdun, where did they go to after Germany had in 1915 created a great many new formations? _In 1915 they were swallowed up by the Russian front during the German offensive in Poland, and the Verdun operation was frustrated because, as Ludendorf declares, there were no reserves with which to develop the first success of the Germans._ For this reason the unbiased investigator will admit that Russia in 1915 contributed to a tremendous extent towards the calm and systematic preparation of the Allies for the decisive German blow, struck at Verdun, but planned to go beyond Paris. If the firm stand of the French at Verdun, if the talent of Castelnau, who stopped the withdrawal of the French to the other bank of the Meuse, directly repulsed the attack of the Germans, the true ally, Russia, certainly aided by diverting upon herself all the German reserves in 1915 and giving the Allies a whole year of respite in which to create new armed forces.

_The Russian front incessantly drew to itself all new German formations and reserves, and thereby automatically forced the German Army in the West to carry on unproductive operations which never reached their objective._ Not one single German operation in France could obtain full development, and inevitably spent itself just because of lack of reserves which were always opportunely swallowed by the Russian front.

Turning to the operations of 1915 we see that the Germans, notwithstanding all their efforts and partial successes, never gained any decisive results on the Russian front. The Russian Army, having neither munitions nor arms, was naturally unable to win at this time, and was compelled to retreat from Poland. But the Russian Army was not crushed, which, however, had been the main objective of Ludendorf's offensive.

In his memoirs Ludendorf plainly states: "The German General Staff now resolved to try to obtain a decision against Russia." This, translated from military parlance into plain English, simply means that it was the object to settle, to "finish" with Russia, in other words, to crush her Army, for otherwise there would have been no sense in starting operations against Russia, and in wasting against her the reserves so much needed on the main front, against France. Neither does Ludendorf conceal this object further on in his memoirs, _but he admits that it was not accomplished_. For this failure he blames General Falkenhayn, the Chief of the General Staff, who, it was supposed, prevented Ludendorf from crushing the Russian Army. We shall not enter into the personal disputes between Ludendorf and Falkenhayn, whom Ludendorf throughout criticises sharply. We shall only note that Ludendorf attempted four times during the summer of 1915 to surround or break through the several retreats of the Russian Army, but the latter in every instance retreated in perfect order, carrying their arms with them. In which one of these four instances, then, did Falkenhayn interfere? How preposterous this shifting of the blame to Falkenhayn is, may be seen even from Ludendorf's own statement: "Throughout the whole War we never succeeded, either on the Eastern or Western front, in exploiting a big break-through to the full!" In this way he himself admits that the Germans did not even once succeed, at the proper time, in utilizing a big success to the full, i. e., Falkenhayn's role was immaterial. It is but natural that the resistance of the Russians in 1915 prevented the Germans from exploiting that success which they regarded as a big one, but which, as a matter of fact, consisted only in the systematic retreat of the Russian Army which was without arms and munitions. However, the most inopportune statement made by Ludendorf is contained in the following remark of his concerning the operations against the Russians in 1915: "We had brought the final overthrow of Russia a step nearer."

The offensive of Brusilov in the following year, which netted him more than 200,000 prisoners and made Ludendorf, as he himself says, frequently worry about the fate of the entire Austro-German front in Russia, demonstrates how the offensive of Ludendorf in 1915 hastened "the final overthrow of Russia." On the contrary, this offensive which cost Ludendorf a great many of his reserves, and afforded a year of quiet preparation to the Allies, did, as we saw, hasten "the final overthrow of Germany."

_At this period of the campaign of 1915 there were on the Russian front 67 German divisions and up to 40 Austrian, altogether 107 divisions, and on the French front about 110 divisions. The Germans could not defeat the Allies in the beginning of the War, although they had then in France almost all their forces. It is natural that in 1915, when they had in France only 50 per cent. of their total forces, the Germans, through the efforts of Russia, were finally deprived of any chance of winning in France. It was only through Russia's military operations that the Germans were driven to such an unfavorable, hopeless grouping of their forces._

Again Opportunities for the Allies

In the following year, 1916, Russia once more came forward with her assistance at a critical moment, when the Austrians had broken the resistance of the Italian Armies on the Asiago-Arsiero front, threatening a further development of their offensive in the rear of the Italian Army, in the direction of Venice. At the same time Ludendorf in his memoirs points out how great were the objects which the Austrians were aiming at on the Italian front, and he says plainly: "In Italy it was a question of an operation on a grand scale."

However, the Russian Army in 1916 had no intention of launching an offensive on the Austrian front, and prepared for an offensive in an altogether different place, on the German front. Our General Staff had prepared for the main offensive in the direction of Vilna, and accordingly it was here that troops and munitions were being concentrated. (See Gurko's "War and Revolution.")

Everything was ready when the Italians, crushed by the Austrians, appealed to Russia for aid. An offensive on the Austrian front held no particular interest for Russia, which naturally had in view the crushing of the main enemy--the Germans. Still, Russia, just as on previous occasions, did not hesitate a minute to help her Allies. Notwithstanding that nothing had been prepared for such an offensive, General Brusilov launched it along a front two hundred miles long, with the troops he just happened to have on the spot. Everybody remembers this celebrated offensive of Brusilov, which netted hundreds of thousands of prisoners, a great number of other trophies, and which compelled the Austrians to immediately abandon their offensive in Italy and to begin the transfer of troops to the Russian front. "Austria gradually broke off the Italian offensive and sent troops to the Eastern front," writes Ludendorf. "The Italian Army now started a counter-offensive in the Tyrol," he remarks further on.

Describing the period of Brusilov's offensive, Ludendorf does not conceal the fact that they passed through some very bad and critical moments. "Our G. H. Q. made heavy demands on both groups (group south of Riga and Prince Leopold group) _and also withdrew divisions from the West_," writes Ludendorf. "Even all the fresh divisions that were thrown in were hardly sufficient to hold the front," says he in describing the situation of the Austro-Germans after the Russian break through at the Dniester. "This was one of the greatest crises on the Eastern front," says he further on, in speaking of the new break by Brusilov at Lutzk.

The effects of Brusilov's offensive proved to be so far-reaching as to affect not only the situation on the Italian front but also that on the French main front. The Allies, in view of the difficult situation of the Germans on the Russian front, launched an offensive at the Somme, and towards fall they had finally cleared the forts of Verdun of the Germans.

So did Russia once more fulfill her obligation towards her allies, as soon as her Army had received some quantity of munitions. This quantity was not yet sufficient in 1916, and it was only in 1917 that the Russian troops were at last more or less provided. The lack of munitions during the period of Brusilov's offensive was pointed out by the Russian Staff, and Ludendorf himself emphasizes it. He writes that the situation was relieved thanks to the fact that "the Russians were also contending against extraordinary difficulty of supply." From this it may be seen that the Russian Army, having obtained only the first consignments of inconsiderable and insufficient munitions, did not hesitate, in 1916, to offer her allies generous assistance on the largest scale.

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Still earlier, during the Verdun period, the Russian Army, not yet recuperated from the hard blows of 1915, did by no means stand by as an idle onlooker of the heroic efforts of the French at Verdun. When at the end of February, 1916, French Headquarters appealed to the Russian Army for assistance, preparations were begun for an offensive. "The Russian Army had not lost its spirit after the heavy fighting of 1915," says Ludendorf. On the 16th of March operations were begun by the Russian troops in the territory to the northwest of Dvinsk, continuing until the 26th of March. This partial offensive, solely in aid of the French, was attended by success of a local nature. Ludendorf criticises this operation and says that "it was choked in swamps and blood." Of course, the terrible weather conditions, the rains and the impassable roads, interfered with a broad development of this offensive, but still it had a sufficiently serious effect. "From the 11th to the 21st of March," acknowledges Ludendorf, "the situation of the 10th (German) army was critical."

Salvation of Roumania

At the close of 1916 the Russian Army again had to offer most effective assistance at the critical moment of Mackensen's and Falkenhayn's invasion of Roumania. General Alexeiev pointed out to the Roumanian High Command the excessive length of the Roumanian frontier line which rendered operations in the border district difficult for the small Roumanian Army. General Alexeiev, as well as the Allied military experts, advised the Roumanians to shorten their front line, by means of a retreat, to a shorter line in the East which could be held by the comparatively small Roumanian Army. But the Roumanians, calculating upon a weakening of the Austrians, preferred to choose a new plan and invaded vast Transylvania.

This too daring move, which at first met but feeble resistance, was, however, soon checked by the enemy. When thereupon the enemy himself took the offensive and invaded Roumania and began to threaten Bucharest, the Roumanian representative at Russian headquarters, General Coanda, appealed to Russia for aid.

The Russian Army had not yet succeeded in recuperating from the effects of its great summer offensive of 1916. Russia's reserves and supplies had been to a considerable extent spent during the period of Brusilov's offensive. Nevertheless Russia, again as always, did not hesitate for one minute to come to the assistance of the Allies. The Russians even proposed to take upon themselves the defense of the Roumanian capital--Bucharest--but this offer was turned down by the Roumanians with some show of embarrassment; they pointed out that the railroads leading to Bucharest were blocked with evacuated freights from the capital and could not therefore carry the Russian troops. Probably certain political considerations played not a small part in this.

However that might be, Russia did not refuse her aid in the form desired by the Roumanians. From the long Russian front which, in turn, stood in need of reserves, troops were taken off and sent to Roumania. Two armies, under Letchitzki and Sakharov, and the great mass of cavalry under Mannerheim, were assigned by the Russians to assist the retreating Roumanians. This effective help by Russia achieved its purpose, stopping the offensive of the enemy, and towards 1917 the Russian Armies also took upon themselves the none too easy task of defending the greater part of the Roumanian front.

For the following year, 1917, Russia prepared for a decisive offensive on the German front, in common with the Allies. That was the first year that the Russian Army had at last obtained sufficient armaments and supplies. The Germans realized that most serious danger threatened them, and the Germano-Bolshevist provocation was now chosen as the means of disarming Russia. And yet, even during those terrible days of the collapse of the Russian Army and the Revolution, Russia was indispensable to the Allies.

During those revolutionary days of 1917 Russia compelled the enemy to maintain on the Russian front =162 divisions= of German, Austrian, Turkish and Bulgarian troops, to the enemy's detriment on the French main front. On this front the enemy was enabled to maintain only =140 divisions=.

Russia, although sapped by the Germano-Bolshevist conspiracy, was still formidable, and the enemy did not risk the moving of any of his troops from the Russian front. Russia was growing faint, but that honest Russia which had saved her allies in East Prussia, Galicia, on the fields of Poland, Lithuania, Roumania, in the Caucasus and Armenia, did not lay down her arms to the very last moment, remaining true to her obligations.

Russia's Losses--12,000,000