Among the Cossacks, who are, of course, a less reliable people than the ordinary peasants, the mobilisation was no less smooth. A Government official in the Ural provinces gives a vivid account of the scenes. The Cossacks, it may be noted, supply their own horses, uniforms and equipment.
“On July 31st the village awoke to find a red flag waving before the Government building, the sign that a general mobilisation had been ordered. Immediately everything was in a state of uproar. Nobody knew who was the enemy and nobody cared. It was sufficient that there was war. Only the women made wild conjectures as to whom it was against. There was no thought for work. Horses were groomed, uniforms donned, rifles and sabres cleaned with enthusiastic vigour. Soon the Government veterinary surgeon took his stand before the chief building and the work of examining the horses began. Each man in turn brought up his horse and put it through its paces. The test was most strict, and any animal showing the slightest defect was promptly branded as useless. All day the work continued, a crowd of women and children watching the proceedings. At night the red flag was pulled down and a red lamp was hoisted in its place. In the evening there was a great feast. A whole ox was roasted, there was dancing among the younger people, but owing to the new regulations there was practically no vodka. All through the night men came riding into the village from the outlying districts.
“On the Sunday when the preparations were almost complete the consecration service was held. The whole village assembled before the little wooden church. It was a stirring sight to see these great warriors in their full battle array kneeling before their Maker and solemnly asking His aid. At the conclusion of the service each man was blessed by the priest and anointed with holy water. Then he led his horse away and received the blessings of his family.
“On the following day they set off on journey of thousands of miles. The women, children and old men watched them. Their eyes gleamed with tears and their breasts heaved. Then, when the last man had disappeared from view, they turned away, walked to the fields and took over the labours which the men had left unfinished.”
In the simple narrative of Vasili Grigorovich and the description of the Cossack scenes may be found all the causes which contributed to the startling success of the Russian mobilisation.
The organisation, thanks to the genius of Soukhomlinov, proved perfect. The smallest detail had been prepared, and every possibility foreseen. In no direction was there any fluster or confusion. The commissariat and transport arrangements worked splendidly; the equipment of the troops with the new service uniform—an idea borrowed from the results of Britain’s South African experiences—was an unqualified success. The uniform has been designed for business purposes only, and with no regard for show. It is very similar to the British uniform; the chief differences being that the Russian tunics are looser, and in place of puttees, long boots are worn. Special attention has been given to this latter detail. Manchuria taught Russia to realise the advantages enjoyed by a well-shod army.
But perhaps the greatest triumph of the mobilisation was the prompt and businesslike way in which the financial question was settled. All who had suffered any loss as a result of the dislocation of trade and traffic caused by the requisition of the railways and other means of transport, were recompensed without delay. By utilising the organisation of the zemstvos or local councils, it was possible to prevent all distress and to make ample provision for the wives, families, and other dependants of the men called to the colours. Indeed, in Moscow and Southern Russia money has seldom been so plentiful as it was during the period of the mobilisation, and many families are better off now than they ever were.
Another contributing cause was the conduct and efficiency of both officers and men. The former proved that they have taken the reforms of the last few years thoroughly to heart. The latter showed that even the lowest ranks felt that they were “Soukhomlinov’s men.” To some extent, of course, their efficiency was due to their enforced sobriety. But much of it arose from an honest determination to rise to the occasion. Ivan Ivan’ich is taking this war very seriously. He is calmly confident of his ability to win, and he is immensely proud of the new army, of which he is a member. Moreover, he had an unlimited enthusiasm for the war. He was anxious to be killing the hated Nemetz, who threatened his own liberty and that of his brother Slavs, and he knew that the better he behaved the sooner he would be at the front. There was no mistaking his eagerness to do the right thing.
The following is an extract from the diary of a traveller, who spent nearly thirty hours in Kiev waiting for a train to be available for civilian passengers to Petrograd.
“Everywhere there are soldiers. There must be tens of thousands of infantry, cavalry and artillery. They are constantly on the move. In their peasant blouses, baggy trousers, and birch-bark shoes, they pour in ceaseless streams into the barracks, where they are served with their equipment. They issue forth transformed into as smart soldiers as could be wished. All the uniforms are new, and appear to be made of excellent material. They are greyish khaki in hue, and not unlike the British service uniform in appearance. Seven million brand-new uniforms of the finest quality! That gives some idea of the millions which Russia has been quietly spending on her army!
“The men are as proud as peacocks, and tremendously in earnest. Ivan Ivanovich is a very important person just now, and he knows it. Physically, he is splendid. Seldom tall, but always thick-set and well proportioned, he is a first-class fighting man, and, with his experience of Russia’s climate, he can endure practically any hardship. I doubt if there are any troops living who will suffer more and grumble less. That is the advantage of being a Russian. And it is all done on the most frugal of vegetarian diets! What would our Tommies say to a diet of black bread and fermented cabbage!
“Those who doubted Russia’s military value should spend a few hours in Kiev and note how regiment after regiment marches through with never the slightest hitch or confusion. They should see these sturdy Tommies, with their cruel rapier like bayonets always fixed. They should hear their deep-throated war chants. Then they would realise that Russia is going to play a very important part in this war....”
It must not be forgotten that the nation itself was largely responsible for the success of the mobilisation. The self-sacrificing enthusiasm of all classes was a revelation to those who believed that Russia was in a parlous condition internally. The inevitable losses and inconvenience were cheerfully borne. The rich came forward in a wholly unprecedented manner. In Russia, owing to the lack of a middle class, the distinction between noble and peasant is most rigorously observed. The old days of the serfdom have not been entirely forgotten. But during those early weeks of August the national call was responded to with equal enthusiasm by rich and poor. Mansions were placed at the disposal of the peasant soldiers. Food and gifts were showered upon them; even carriages were offered to help them on their way. The owner of an estate near Novgorod, not only entertained, at his own expense, nearly three hundred troops a day, but his wife and daughters served them with their own hands. A year ago such an action would have meant social ostracism. To-day it is an example which is being followed everywhere.
This rapprochement between the classes will have effects extending far beyond the mobilisation. They give promise of a new and happier Russia, for Ivan Ivan’ich never forgets a kindness.