6io THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



they did in the old days. The soldiers in the present war will suffer 

 from the cold; the icy roads will make it difficult for horses to keep 

 their footing; the snow will block roads and delay marching and trans- 

 portation, just as has happened in the wars of the past under similar 

 weather conditions. Modern methods of transportation are so well- 

 organized that winter storms and cold do not interfere as much as was 

 formerly the case, yet the movements. of the heavy guns, the automo- 

 biles and the motor trucks of the present-day army are likely to be 

 blocked by deep snows at least as effectively as was once the case when 

 horses were exclusively used. 



From Galicia, with its high ground and its exposure northwards, 

 towards the great Russian lowland, came, in mid-September, the first 

 mention of the suffering of troops from the cold. Early in October we 

 read that the soldiers there were marching and camping in the snow. 

 The Russians, well protected by their heavy overcoats, suffered little 

 discomfort, but the Austrians whose winter clothing had been captured 

 by the Russians in Lemberg were less fortunate. Whatever may have 

 been the other reasons for the Russian advance into Austrian Poland, it 

 is clear that this southern route into Austrian and perhaps later into 

 German territory would naturally give the longest open season for the 

 prosecution of the campaign. In the northeast, the Germans seem to 

 have been surprised by the setting in of cold weather in the first half 

 of October, and, not having heavy clothing, they are reported to have 

 suffered severely. The Russians, on the other hand, were well pro- 

 tected, having fur caps covering both their heads and necks and being 

 otherwise well equipped with requisites for a fall and winter campaign. 

 It is not unlikely that the Germans, even if they were distinctly vic- 

 torious in this zone, would think of penetrating far into Russia, to face, 

 as did Napoleon, the might of Generals January and February. 

 Heavy rains and sleet made speedy movements of troops difficult in 

 early October. Toward the latter part of October snow was interfering 

 with the offensive of the Russian army in Poland, because delaying the 

 movement of their transport. The German and Austrian troops, there- 

 fore, retreated less rapidly, and made a more determined resistance. 

 They were, however, themselves greatly hampered by a breakdown of 

 their own supply trains. It is probable that the German activity against 

 Russia in the east has been at least in part due to the desire to gain a 

 distinct advantage before the setting in of the rigorous Russian winter. 

 The capture of Warsaw before winter would have greatly strengthened 

 the German line in East Prussia, would have endangered the Russian 

 frontier in Galicia and would have had a distinct moral effect on the 

 Poles. Further, if a large body of German troops could then be trans- 

 ferred to France, a new campaign against Paris might perhaps be at- 

 tempted during the milder French winter. The Russians are more ac- 



