energies from peaceful pursuits to those of war, and during this
prolonged, crucial time the Russians never wavered from the attack.
They massed for repeated hammering offensives in Poland, in Masturia
and east of the Vistula in Galicia, so that the German Imperial Staff
could never develop full strength, but had to be content with a
holding campaign in the West while marshalling most forces to oppose
the menacing East.
Not until the beginning of 1916, because of the Russians, could
another effort of masses be made. Then every available man was
concentrated with the Crown Prince's army as he smashed at Verdun to
bring France to her knees, but when the assault was at its height,
again obedient to her trust, and faithful, Russia sprang to the
attack with such heroism and such devoted and reckless courage, that
the controlling German combat divisions which might have gained the
fortress had to be diverted from Verdun to Galicia.
Yet again at the commencement of 1917, at Mitau, and, in the summer
of that year, when the British Empire assembled its legions at the
Somme, Brussiloff struck south to the Carpathian passes, and it was
only when Russia collapsed exhausted, and ghoulish Bolshevism looted
the prostrate stricken gladiator, that the united German armies
marshalled in full strength for a crushing blow. _Only then did
Germany have numerical superiority in the West_.
We can gain an impression of what might have happened from the fury
of that La Fere-Arras offensive, which shocked the world by its
blighting trail of spectral horrors; hardly a British Division was
left intact, and France reeled and staggered in a nausea of mortal
weakness until Clemenceau in agony cried out to the Allies for
sustaining support.
All might have ended then, had it not been for America, but America
could never have come, had it not been for the Russian sacrifice in
the early days, when the German Divisions, fresh and recklessly rash,
were filled with the lust of battle conquest, and the German leaders,
careless of casualties, flung their men to death with a high and free
hand.
It is well to remember these things when we boast (a little noisily)
that American arms won the great war. No one nation won this
appalling contest of the nations embattled at Esdraelon, and, great
as our offering was, how small it was and how feebly comparable to
that of Russia who laid down the lives of more men than all we sent
to France, and paid a ghastly toll in crippled, maimed and battle
losses, a million souls beyond the sum of our whole military effort!
_A joint Resolution, providing for any needed explanations and
reparations which may be due from this country for our invasion of
Russian territory was introduced in the United States Senate at the
second session Sixty-sixth Congress by Senator France, 27th February,
1920._