THE EASTERN THEATRE OF WAR.
On page 59 you will see a map of Eastern Germany and Western Prussia. I
want you to examine this map very carefully, because it shows the region
in which the bulk of the fighting between the Russians and the Germans
has so far taken place.
Follow the dotted line which shows the boundary between the two
countries. You see that it zigzags south, then curves west, and
straggles southward again to the border of Austria. As a rule, the
boundary line between two countries follows, partly or wholly, some such
natural barrier as a range of mountains or the course of a river. The
Russo-German boundary, however, runs along neither mountains nor rivers.
There are no mountains until you reach the Carpathians, about three
hundred and eighty miles south of Königsberg; the whole region is a flat
plain with scarcely a hill to break its monotony. Innumerable rivers
wind their way across the country, and in wet weather overflow their
banks and turn wide districts into one vast slough. The boundary line,
however, does not follow these rivers, but cuts right across them. The
dotted line which marks off Russian from German territory is purely
artificial, and for this reason we may almost leave it out of account.
You will notice that the great river which flows right across this
region is the Vistula, which we will now follow from its source to the
German boundary near Thorn. So widespread are the various arms of this
river, that we might call the region the "Land of the Vistula"--the name
by which Poland was known of old. The river rises in Silesia, on the
northern slopes of the Carpathians. It flows through a mountain valley,
and then turns east and north-east, and forms part of the frontier
between Austria and Germany. Next it runs through the Austrian territory
of Galicia, and passes by the old Polish capital of Cracow.
Let us pause a moment and see something of this historic city. You
notice, at once, that it blocks the road along the Vistula valley into
Silesia, and that an invader must capture it before he can proceed to
enter that province. Cracow has been a strong fortress for two and a
half centuries, and now is surrounded by a circle of forts which the
Austrians have strongly garrisoned. For two and a half centuries it was
the capital of Poland. The finest of its thirty-nine churches is the
Cathedral of Stanislaus, which stands on a rocky hill to the south-west
of the old town. It was the crowning-place of the Polish kings, and
within its walls are the tombs of several of the great Poles of history.
Paintings, sculptures, and other objects of art adorn the cathedral,
which dates from the middle of the fourteenth century. There is also a
university with a rich library, and a Polish museum of art. About two
and a half miles to the north-west of the city is a mound of earth a
hundred feet high, which was thrown up between 1820 and 1823 in honour
of Kosciuszko,[26] the great Polish hero. Because of its position,
Cracow is the natural market for the exchange of goods between Silesia,
Hungary, and Russia. There are coal and zinc mines in the neighbourhood.
Leaving Cracow the river runs north-east, and for about one hundred
miles forms the boundary between Austria and Russian Poland. At the town
of Sandomir the Vistula is joined by the San, which rises on the
northern slopes of the Carpathians and flows past the fortress and busy
manufacturing town of Przemysl.[27] About fifty miles to the east of
Przemysl, on the railway which runs from Odessa on the Black Sea into
Silesia, we find Lemberg, an old city which is now a busy place of
trade, because it stands in the broadest part of the Galician plain,
with excellent communications north, south, east, and west.
[Illustration: This picture gives you an idea of a typical landscape in
Poland. Notice the difficulties which the Russians have had to overcome
in bringing up food and ammunition to their armies.
_Photo, Daily Mirror._]
From Sandomir the Vistula runs north and north-west across the high
plateau of Southern Poland, in a broad valley hemmed in by wooded
bluffs. Passing the Russian fortress of Ivangorod on its right bank, it
afterwards receives the river Pilica on its left bank, and crosses the
plain of Central and Northern Poland. About thirty miles north of the
confluence with the Pilica is Warsaw,[28] the most important town in the
whole of Russian Poland. It is a beautifully situated city, and before
the war was one of the brightest and gayest places in Western Europe. A
glance at the map will show you why it is so important both to the
Russians and to the Germans. It is the meeting-place of three great
Russian railways, by which alone men and ammunition can be carried
swiftly into Russian Poland. Warsaw also commands the main stream of the
Vistula, which the Russians largely use for transport. Were it to be
captured, the communications of the Russians would be cut, and they
would be powerless to meet the foe in Poland. Were the Germans to seize
it and hold it, they could keep the Russians so far back from their
frontier that all fear of invasion through Poland would vanish. Warsaw
is the chief stronghold of Poland, and is one of the strongest citadels
in Europe.
North of Warsaw the Vistula swings round to the west, and at the
fortress of Novo Georgievsk receives the river Bug, which rises not far
from Lemberg, and sweeps across the plain to the east of, and almost
parallel with, the Vistula for more than two hundred miles. A right bank
tributary of the Bug, the river Narew,[29] is worth notice, because
along it we find a chain of Russian forts. About thirty miles west of
Novo Georgievsk the Vistula receives on its left bank the sluggish river
Bzura, which rises within a short distance of the Warta[30] or Warthe, a
northward and westward flowing tributary of the German river Oder. The
Vistula now sweeps north-west past Plock, and enters Prussia some ten
miles above Thorn.
If you look carefully at Russian Poland, you will see that it forms a
salient which projects into Germany and Austria for about two hundred
miles from north to south, and two hundred and fifty miles from east to
west. To the north of this salient is East Prussia, and to the south of
it is the Austrian province of Galicia. Russian Poland can be entered by
an enemy from the north, from the west, and from the south. If you look
at the position of the forts (marked by stars on the map) you will see
how Russia has prepared to meet invasions from these directions. A chain
of forts from Novo Georgievsk north-east to Grodno on the Niemen bars
the way into Russia from East Prussia. Warsaw and Ivangorod hold the
line of the Vistula against an invasion from the west, and Ivangorod and
Brest Litovski on the Bug stand in the road of troops advancing from
Galicia. All these fortresses are linked up by railways.
[Illustration: The Polish Theatre of War.]
When you examine the map you will be sure to notice that in all this
western part of Russia there are but few railways for so large an area
of country. There are also few good roads, for the country is so swampy
that they are difficult to make and to keep passable. Without good roads
and railways a modern army cannot keep the field; it cannot march, and
it cannot supply itself with the necessary provision for men and guns.
The general who has good roads and railways at his command can bring his
men quickly and without great fatigue to the desired positions; he can
move them rapidly to the points where he means to make his attacks, and
he can supply himself promptly and continuously with food and
ammunition. He can also bring up reinforcements rapidly, and carry his
wounded and prisoners to the rear. Without good roads and railways he is
greatly hampered. You can easily see that the Russian commander-in-chief
has great difficulties to overcome because of the lack of good roads and
railways in Poland.
When, however, we turn to the German side of the frontier, quite a
different picture presents itself. The Germans have always paid great
attention to military railways, and have planned and constructed them
throughout the empire with great diligence and foresight. It was by
means of their splendid system of railways that they were able to
mobilize their troops so quickly, and fling them without an hour's delay
into Belgium. Behind the eastern frontier of Poland they have two double
lines of railway, and these are united into a perfect gridiron by
criss-cross lines. By means of this railway system they can carry their
troops rapidly to any part of the frontier, and can readily supply
themselves with food and ammunition. As we shall see later, the German
generals have been able to transfer their men from the north to the
south by railway, and have thus been enabled to carry out rapid
movements which are quite impossible to the Russians.
Before I close this rather dull but very necessary chapter, I must tell
you something about the two provinces which form the northern and part
of the southern boundaries of Russian Poland. Let us look first at the
country which lies between the Lower Vistula and the Lower Niemen, the
region in which the Germans and Russians first came to blows. Along the
coast, which is lined with sand dunes, you see two lagoons almost
entirely cut off from the Baltic Sea by tongues of land. Into the
westward of these the Vistula and the Pregel discharge themselves; by
means of the other lagoon the river Memel finds its way to the sea.
A large map would show you that these rivers form deltas at their
mouths, and this clearly proves that the country is flat and low-lying.
The rivers are sluggish, and the slightest obstacle causes them to
change their beds. The deserted channels remain as stagnant pools and
marshes, and in course of time have become filled with peat. A
bird's-eye view of this region shows a maze of water-courses, swamps,
lakes, peat bogs, dense forests, and green meadows. Farther south the
country rises to a low plateau, which is literally pitted with lakes,
amongst which is the Spirding See, forty-six square miles in extent, the
largest inland lake in Prussia. Some of these lakes are wide and
shallow, with hard gravel floors, but others are simply a film of water
above yards of mud. Bogs abound, and it is very hard to tell where the
meadows end and the swampy ground begins. On the map you will notice
that the lake district is called the Masurian Lake Region; it receives
this name from the Masures, a section of Poles who have long inhabited
the country. Round about the lakes are thick, dark forests, in which
wolves, lynxes, and elks are still found and hunted.
In the valleys of the Pregel and Memel there is fertile soil, in which
rye, oats, and potatoes are grown; but for the rest the country is
largely sterile moor and bog. East Prussia is the headquarters of German
horse-breeding, and there is a great Government establishment for this
purpose a few miles to the east of Gumbinnen.[31] East Prussia has for
many years past been a favourite hunting-ground of the Kaiser.
From this brief description you will clearly understand that East
Prussia is neither a rich nor a very attractive country; yet it is the
very apple of the Prussian eye. You will remember that it was stolen
from Poland by Frederick the Great in 1772. When he was only Elector of
Brandenburg he was King of East Prussia. Königsberg, which you will find
near the mouth of the Pregel, was the first capital of the kings of
Prussia, and to them it is almost a sacred city. They still have a
residence in Königsberg, and are still crowned[32] in its cathedral.
Every year the victory of Sedan is celebrated in Königsberg with great
rejoicings. Most of the great Prussian families who have given their
sons to the Prussian army have estates in East Prussia, where they are
lords of the soil. Their farm-servants, though supposed to be free, are
really their serfs, and are kept down with a heavy hand. The Kaiser and
his nobles regard East Prussia as the very citadel of their power, and
to lose it would be their ruin.
[Illustration: Insterburg.
_Photo, Exclusive News Agency._]
From what has been said about East Prussia you would suppose it to be
the last region in which the Russians would willingly fight battles.
Why, then, did they invade it? I think for two reasons. First, because
they could push into it very rapidly; and, secondly, because they knew
that, immediately it was attacked, the Germans must come to its rescue.
You know that the German General Staff believed that six weeks at least
would elapse before the Russian mobilization could be completed. In that
time they hoped to beat France so thoroughly that a few army corps would
be sufficient to hold her down. Then they meant to swing their
victorious troops to the eastern theatre of war, and overwhelm the
Russians in the same way. Such was their calculation; but, like so many
of their calculations, it went all wrong.
The Russians mobilized in sixteen days, and they had sufficient troops
ready for the field on 3rd August, less than three days after the
declaration of war. They could not send these troops against the western
Polish front, because they were not strong enough in numbers, and they
were then by no means sure that the Poles would not rise against them.
They could, however, fling them into East Prussia, which was, as it
were, on their doorstep. This they did, and though the invasion finally
ended in defeat, it served a good purpose, for the Germans had to
withdraw a number of their army corps from France and hurry them
eastward to defend their beloved East Prussia. The Belgians by their
gallant fight had upset the German programme; the withdrawal of these
corps from the western front played further havoc with it, and no doubt
did much to save France.
[Illustration: Russian Troops entraining for the Frontier.
_Photo, Record Press._]
Now let us look for a moment at the province of Silesia, which, you will
remember, Frederick the Great wickedly tore from Maria Theresa in the
year 1741.[33] You will see from the map on page 38 of our first volume
that Silesia forms a wedge between Bohemia and Hungary on the south, and
Russian Poland on the east. Whoever holds Silesia can turn the line of
the Oder, and pass behind the barrier fortresses which Germany has built
upon her eastern front. He also holds the road northward to Berlin and
southward to Vienna. At all costs the Germans must defend Silesia, not
only because it is the key to Germany from the south-east, but because
it is the German Lancashire, a great industrial province which supplies
the empire with much of its cotton, linen, woollen, and metal
manufactures. Should this province be captured, Germany would suffer a
blow from which she could hardly recover.
There is another but a less important reason why Silesia must be held by
the Germans. Silesia is, as it were, a wedge between the Slav peoples of
the east and those of Bohemia. Should Russia conquer Silesia, she would
be able to join hands with the Slavs of Bohemia, and it is possible that
they might rise in her favour. These Czechs,[34] as they are called,
formerly dwelt in the Carpathians, but were driven westward into Bohemia
about 570 A.D. They number about eight millions, and they speak a
Slavonic language. About 37 per cent. of the population of Bohemia
consists of Germans, and between them and the Czechs there is a bitter
race enmity, which has grown greatly in recent years.
[Footnote 26: _Kosh-tsyūsh´ko_, born 1746, died 1817. In 1794 he raised
the standard of Polish independence at Cracow, defeated the Russians,
and defended Warsaw for two months. He was defeated, and, after being
imprisoned, was released and retired to Switzerland, where he died.]
[Footnote 27: _P´shé-mee-sell_.]
[Footnote 28: _Var´show_.]
[Footnote 29: _Nā-ref´_.]
[Footnote 30: _Var´tay_.]
[Footnote 31: _Goom-bin´-nen_.]
[Footnote 32: See p. 80, vol. i.]
[Footnote 33: See p. 44, vol. i.]
[Footnote 34: _Che_ch_s_. Pronounce the _ch_ underlined as in the Scottish
word "loch."]