While much has been written of the songs that inspire our own brave
troops on the march, little is heard of those affected by our Allies.
Happily _Mr. Punch's_ Special Eye-witness with General Headquarters in
the Eastern Area has been enabled to send us the words of a song
which, set to an old Slav air, is rendered with immense _elan_ by the
gallant Russians as they go into battle. It is as follows:--
It's a hard nut is Cracow,
It's a hard nut to crack,
But it's not so hard to crack, oh!
When once you've got the knack.
Good-bye, Przemysl;
Farewell, Lemberg (Lwow);
It's a hard, hard nut to crack is Cracow,
But we'll soon crack it now.
By the more cultured Russian regiments, _i.e._, those recruited in the
neighbourhood of the German frontier, the last line is rendered:--
But we'll crack it right off,
to rhyme with Lvoff--the correct pronunciation of Lwow, according to a
contemporary.
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