THE PRELIMINARY PHASE
Apart from the initial handicap of having to fight on the defensive
because of the comparative slowness of her mobilisation, Russia is the
most advantageously situated of all European Powers for war on the
grand scale. Britain is dependent on her command of the sea for her
food and trade; the existence of both France and Germany more or less
depend on supplies from the outer world. But Russia is self-contained.
Her vast “lump” of empire can supply all her needs, from food and
trade to an unlimited store of first-class fighting material. Mainly
agricultural and possessing a comparatively small foreign trade,
Russia could face with equanimity a war of any duration. Until the
end of the seventeenth century Russia was the Tibet of Europe, and
practically cut off from the rest of the world. She could, with very
little inconvenience, retire again behind her frontiers and bid
defiance to the world. Time has always been her greatest ally, and her
strategy is based upon utilising that ally to the utmost.
The boundaries between the Tzar’s dominions and those of Germany and
Austria are, for the most part, purely artificial. They follow no
distinct line of demarcation. The great Russian plain extends far into
Prussia and Austria, and along the whole length of the frontiers the
only obstacles to the advance of an invading army are forests, marshes
and the fact that generally speaking the roads are very poor.
Each country has had, therefore, to take defensive measures to
remedy the deficiencies of nature. Russia has the chain of fortresses
and fortified positions, extending from Kovno to Radom, which are
intended to hold an invading force in check until the mobilisation can
be completed. Special attention has of late years been given to the
defence of the north-western frontier. Plans have been drawn up for the
construction of more fortresses and of strategic railways and military
roads. But these works are not yet in a sufficiently advanced state to
serve any practical end in the present war.
Germany, realising the significance of Russia’s military
reorganisation, has recently spent huge sums on strengthening her
eastern frontiers. The works are by no means complete, but they are
more advanced and of more practical service than those on the Russian
side of the frontier.
To the south where Russia and Austria meet, neither Power has taken or
contemplated taking any such extensive measures for defence. Cracow,
Lemberg and Przemysl are the only fortresses of any value in Galicia,
and they are faced by fortifications of about equal strength on the
Russian side.
Russia, however, possesses a very great advantage over Austria, and
in lesser degree over Germany, in that the inhabitants of Galicia and
Eastern Prussia are mostly of Slavonic origin and therefore more or
less strongly in sympathy with Russia. The Poles being members of the
Catholic Church and having strong nationalistic aspirations, the bond
is less strong in their case. But reference has already been made to
the results of the Russian Proclamation, and it will be seen therefore
that both Germany and Austria are under the disadvantage of having to
defend hostile territories.
At the moment when war was declared, Russia had nine army corps, or
about 400,000 men guarding her western frontiers. Three corps were
stationed at Warsaw, and one each at Vilna, Grodno, Bialystok, Minsk,
Lublin, Rovno and Vinnitza. In addition to these troops, there were
three army corps at Kiev and one at Odessa. There was thus available
for immediate hostilities a total of about 600,000 men. Against these
Germany and Austria could muster about 400,000 men. There were German
army corps at Königsberg, Dantzig, Posen, Breslau, Allenstein and
Stettin. The Austrian corps were at Cracow, Lemberg and Przemysl. This
numerical advantage on the side of Russia was further increased by
the withdrawal of some of the German corps for service in the western
campaign. Russia might, therefore, have made an immediate attack on
Prussia with every prospect of success. But she refrained. In the
first place, time was not of such particular importance as to warrant
the taking of any risks. In the second place Russia needed all her
energies for the successful completion of the mobilisation. And finally
there was the Austrian menace.
Theoretically Austria could muster her two and a half million men, and
invade Russia long before the latter’s mobilisation was complete. To
Austria, then, was assigned the task of maintaining the prestige and
reputation of the Mailed Fist in Eastern Europe. Russian Poland was
to be invaded, Warsaw captured and the Russian army kept at bay until
the conquerors of France could come and complete their victorious
work. Unfortunately for the success of the plan, however, Austria
could not get her rheumatic knuckles into the famous gauntlet. Even
Serbia, exhausted though she was after two hard-fought wars, proved
more than a match for Austria. And when the latter attempted to advance
into Russia, she found herself more or less paralysed by her old
enemy--internal dissension.
In Russia the war was the signal for all internal animosities to vanish
and to leave the nation pulsating with one determination. In Austria
the reverse was the effect. All semblance of unity and loyalty in the
eastern provinces disappeared, the crisis tore aside the artificial
bonds and Austria stood revealed for what she was and always has
been--a ramshackle collection of wrangling races and creeds.
Francis Joseph is the nominal ruler of a heterogeneous collection of
Germans, Magyars, Czechs, Poles, Ruthenians, Serbs, Slovaks, Croatians,
Rumanians and Italians. Of a total population of fifty-three millions,
half are Slavs. And it was with an army drawn from all these sources
that Austria sought to invade Russia, the protector of all the Slavs.
She foresaw the likelihood of trouble, and took measures accordingly.
The outbreak of the war was the signal for a reign of terror to begin
in Dalmatia, Bosnia and Croatia and other Slav provinces. In order to
get the inhabitants under military control and to take the sting out
of any revolutionary movement, all the men up to the age of fifty were
mobilised. The newspapers were suppressed; clubs and societies, even
the most harmless, were dissolved. The people were forbidden to leave
the towns and villages; the leading Slavs were seized, imprisoned and
held as hostages.
But even these ruthless measures could not crush the rebellious
spirit of the Slavs. In Herzegovina the murder of some government
officials was followed by a wholesale slaughter of priests held by the
authorities as hostages. Everywhere there were savage acts of rebellion
followed by more savage acts of reprisal. In the army matters reached
a climax. The Slav regiments mutinied. Concerted action was impossible
owing to the fact that the authorities kept the Slav regiments
separated and disposed their loyal Teuton and Magyar regiments in the
most advantageous positions for quelling any mutiny on the part of
their “comrades.” Nevertheless thousands of Slavs mutinied rather than
fight against their brothers. They were shot to a man. In some cases
whole regiments refused to serve and were promptly exterminated. The
mutinous spirit spread to Poland and Bohemia. In Prague there were
daily executions and the Moldava ran red with Czech blood.
These measures of wholesale murder were effective. The Slav regiments
were driven to the front at the points of their “comrades” bayonets.
But Austria’s plans were already wrecked. The mutinous spirit of her
army had caused the mobilisation to break down. Time was valuable; the
Russian mobilisation was pressing forward to its triumphant conclusion.
The project of invading Russia and capturing Poland became daily less
likely of accomplishment.
The campaign in the east therefore, opened in the most inauspicious
circumstances for the Mailed Fist. All was well with Russia and all was
wrong with Austria. The troops were sullen and utterly lacking in the
fighting spirit; they were badly led and their equipment left much to
be desired. The Kaiser realised that in relying on Austria he had made
another serious miscalculation. Instead of being a useful ally she
appeared far more likely to prove a millstone about his neck. Cripples
are of little use in war. Desperate efforts were made to obtain more
satisfactory help. Italy and Turkey were alternately coaxed and
bullied. The world was deluged with a frantic flood of wireless lies
which were obviously designed to attract help from anywhere. But they
were all in vain. Fate seemed to have taken especial care to have the
last word.
Accordingly, Germany had to content herself with an attempt to
revitalise the Austrian millions. At any rate the material was there,
if only it could be forced into shape. So German officers were
requisitioned for the Austrian army.
The operations during this preliminary phase of the war, during which
Russian effort was concentrated upon preparing for the coming advance,
were necessarily of a somewhat desultory and unimportant nature. They
were interesting chiefly as showing in what way subsequent and more
important fighting would be likely to develop.
For some days nothing more exciting occurred than a few collisions
between patrols guarding the frontiers. Then, on August 3rd, the
Germans made a definite move. A small force from Lublinitz, a town
near the point where the Russian, German, and Austrian frontiers meet,
crossed into Russia and occupied Tchenstochov. Further to the north
other German forces seized Bendzin and Kalish, in Poland. Russia
immediately answered this move by making a cavalry raid into Prussia,
with the result that Johannisburg was occupied and a rather important
railway was broken.
The Germans, however, continued to be aggressive. Numerous raids were
made at various points along the frontiers. In some quarters it was
feared that these raids were the prelude to an early invasion. They
were, as a matter of fact, designed to harass the Russians and keep
them engaged while the Germans completed the mobilisation of the forces
which were to defend Eastern Prussia and, if possible, invade Poland
during the absence of the first line troops in the western theatre
of war. These new forces were chiefly composed of the Landwehr, and
comprised about twenty divisions of 20,000 men each, with thirty-one
cavalry regiments and six batteries of artillery. This army, under the
command of General von Hindenburg, was mobilised along a line about
thirty miles from the frontier. Its right flank was protected by the
marshes around Arys, while its left rested on Insterburg. Naturally it
took some days to collect this army and prepare it for attack, and it
was not until nearly the middle of August that the Germans were in a
position to contemplate any serious advance.
In the meantime the Russians, who were collecting considerable forces
under General Rennenkampf, were able to throw back the cavalry which
was harassing them, and to make a tentative advance over the Prussian
frontier. On August 5th they entered Eydtkuhnen without opposition, and
proceeded to advance towards the main German army. It was not until
they reached Stalluponen that they encountered serious opposition. A
sharp action resulted in the Germans being turned out of the town,
leaving 200 dead and some machine guns.
This advance on the part of Russia was hailed in the west as a definite
invasion with the object of sweeping across Prussia to Berlin. It was
nothing of the sort. Russia was only advancing because the Germans had
not yet collected their full forces. Indeed, Russia was by no means
ready, and she carefully refrained from pressing too far forward,
pending the completion of her own preparations. After the affair of
Stalluponen there was obviously the temptation to push forward. But
this would have brought the attacking force dangerously near the main
German army and dangerously distant from Russian support. The advance,
therefore, ceased until stronger forces could be brought forward. The
German preparations, too, were progressing, and they were able to
deliver vigorous attacks on the small invading force. Numerous attempts
were made to recapture both Stalluponen and Eydtkuhnen, but all were
beaten back. Then, after an interval of about a week, the main Russian
army, under General Rennenkampf pushed forward, and the advance into
Eastern Prussia may be said to have definitely begun.
Meanwhile, the Germans had been active further to the south. The
provinces of Kalish and Kelche in Russian Poland were invaded. The
invading forces were not in any great strength, but the Russians did
not attempt to offer any serious opposition to the advance, contenting
themselves with pursuing the same tactics as those adopted by the
Germans in Eastern Prussia. The Germans, for their part, were in no
mind to hurry, and were content to advance slowly and prepare for the
coming shock between the main armies. They established themselves
firmly along a line extending from Sieradz in the north, through
Radomsk towards Kelche.
In the preliminary operations between Russia and Germany, therefore,
neither side could claim any great advantage. The Russians obtained a
footing in Eastern Prussia, and the Germans penetrated into Russian
Poland. As events turned out, however, the latter was the more
permanent advantage.
The operations between Russia and Austria were more decisive. The
invasion of Russian Poland by the Austrians was a very half-hearted
affair. The mutinous spirit of the troops and the wholly unexpected
success of the attack by the Serbians and Montenegrins on Bosnia and
Herzegovina paralysed the Austrian advance. Nevertheless, some progress
was made in Poland, thanks more to lack of opposition than to any
display of military virtues. Forces from Cracow proceeded northward
over the frontier, and joined the Germans between Kelche and Radomsk.
This advance was described in Berlin and Vienna as a triumphant march
on Warsaw, but it was not anything so serious. Warsaw was never in the
slightest danger. However, it was certainly an advance.
The Russian invasion of Galicia, on the other hand, was of definite
significance. As early as August 8th a Russian army advanced from
Rovno, crossed the Styr, and obtained a footing across the frontier.
On the 10th the Austrians had their first experience of the Cossacks.
Two regiments of infantry, supported by a regiment of cavalry, occupied
a position near Brody. They were attacked by a company of Cossacks,
and in the course of a few minutes were in the wildest flight, leaving
ample evidence of the prowess of the Cossacks.
On the 12th the Russians gained an important success by capturing
Sokal, which lies on the River Bug, just across the frontier. The
town is an important railway centre, and its possession was a matter
of vital interest to Austria. A determined advance towards Vladimir
Volynski was a definite part of the Austrian programme. If successful,
the move would have had far-reaching effects, for it would have broken
the railway between Rovno and Warsaw, and so seriously impeded the
completion of the Russian mobilisation and render communication between
her central and southern armies very difficult. For this advance Sokal
was the only possible base of operations. The Austrians, therefore,
defended the town to the utmost of their power. The passage of the
Bug was fiercely contended, but after some hours of furious fighting,
during which both sides lost heavily, the Russians managed to capture
the bridge. This practically settled the engagement. The town was
unfortified, and at the mercy of the attacking force. The Austrians,
with the dreaded Cossacks in pursuit, were soon in headlong flight out
of the town. The destruction of the railway station and bridge rendered
the Austrian advance in this direction impossible for some considerable
time.
When, therefore, on August 17th, a general advance was ordered,
Russia had every reason to be satisfied with the state of affairs.
True, the enemy had established themselves in Poland, but this was
more than balanced by the advances into Eastern Prussia and Galicia.
Russia indeed had achieved more than she had reckoned on. During this
preliminary phase she had fully expected that Poland would be invaded.
She had also expected that her right and left flanks would have been
more or less seriously threatened by forces from Eastern Prussia and
Galicia during the most difficult process of mobilisation. The forces
at Kovno and Rovno were sent to deal with that menace, and to hold it
in check until the main armies were ready. They not only achieved that
object, but carried the attack into the enemies’ countries.