The Russian Campaign, April to August, 1915 / Being the Second Volume of "Field Notes from the Russian Front"

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Russian Campaign, by Stanley Washburn, Illustrated by George H. Mewes
HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE TSAR OF ALL THE RUSSIAS.
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN
APRIL TO AUGUST, 1915, BEING THE SECOND VOLUME OF “FIELD NOTES FROM THE RUSSIAN FRONT”
By STANLEY WASHBURN (Special Correspondent of “The Times” with the Russian Armies)
WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY GEORGE H. MEWES
LONDON: ANDREW MELROSE, LTD. 3 YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.
The illustrations in this book are from the photographs of Mr. George H. Mewes, who accompanied Mr. Washburn in all his tours. They are reproduced here by courtesy of the “Daily Mirror.”
Dedication. To Lord Northcliffe and the Editors of “ The Times ” London In Appreciation of a Year of Loyal Support and Co-operation.
Many of my friends have urged me not to publish this, the second volume of Field Notes from the Russian Front, on the ground that the fortunes of Russia and the Russian armies were on the wane, and that the optimism which I have always felt has proved itself unfounded by the events of the past few months. It is for the very reason that conditions in Russia are momentarily unfavourable that I am glad to publish this book at this time, as a vindication of my faith and belief in the common soldiers and officers of an army with which I have been associated for nearly a year.
During the advances and successes in Galicia and Poland a year ago I found the Russian troops admirable, and now in the hour of their reverses and disappointments they are superb. I retract nothing that I have said before, and resting my faith in the justice of the cause, the unflinching character of the people, and the matchless courage of the Russian soldiers, I am glad in this moment of depression to have the chance to vindicate my own belief in their ultimate victory in the East.
The Russians for more than a year have laboured under innumerable difficulties. Without munitions, and handicapped in a hundred ways, they have held themselves intact before the relentless drives of the most efficient army in the world. Though they have fallen by the hundreds of thousands, their spirits have not been broken. The loss of Warsaw and numerous other positions has not shaken their morale . History will record this campaign as one in which character fought against efficient machinery, and was not found wanting. In the final issue I have never doubted that character would prevail. When the Russians get munitions and their other military needs, they will again advance, and no one who knows the Russian army doubts that within it lies the capacity to go forward when the time is ripe.