LAND AND WATER 
January 9, 1915, 
UNDKB THB GRACIOUS PATRONAGE OF 
H.M. QUKEN ALEXANDRA 
AND 
UMS. PRINCESS ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT, 
CITY OF LONDON 
RUSSIAN CAVALRY AMBULANCE PRESENTATION. 
to be covered from the actual fighting line to the base hos- 
pitals conditions which did not exist during former -wars, put 
every army in the greatest difficulty in regard to the trans- 
portation of the "wounded. 
"Almost all the frontier railways in Western Poland havo 
been destroyed by the invaders, and for the most part com- 
munication by motor cars is reserved for concentration pur- 
poses. This involves the Red Cross in great difficulties in 
increasing the number of motor-ambulances', for there are 
not enough motor-cars in Russia, although the number in 
war service is so gigantic, fully to supply this purpose also. 
Every special motor ambulance would, therefore, be of the 
greatest help to the Russian army, and especially to the Rus- 
sian cavalry. 
" I know what it is after being wounded to be carried 
by a horse-drawn ambulance for ten hours, and I can realise 
keenly by my own experience how splendid is the idea to 
help the Russian cavalry. How many thousands of poor 
suffering Russian soldiers would have benefited by such am- 
bulances, how many would have been drawn from the pitiless 
arms of death, and how great will be their thankfulness to 
those who inaugurated such a humane idea and helped to 
realise it I " 
The gift of ambulances, which is under the patronage 
of H.M. Queen Alexandra, will be made direct to Her Imperial 
Majesty the Empress of Russia, as Head of the Russian Red 
Cross. They will be in units of not less than ten ambulances 
each, the first of which it is' hoped will be shipped complete 
in January. Further units will follow, making the presen- 
tation worthy of the City of London, and of the cause to 
which they are dedicated. 
In thus giving expression to the friendship and gratitude 
of the English nation towards Russia, the City of London 
follows ancient precedent. Of late years, und'er the auspices 
of our own Foreign Office, intercourse and commerce between 
England and Russia have immensely increased. To-day, 
throughout the vast Russian domains, comprising one-sixth of 
the habitable globe, the name of Englishman is everywhere 
honoured, and his better acquaintance is eagerly sought. Not 
the least of the beneficent consequences which will result from 
such a gift, made at such a crisis, will be the increase of our 
national prestige and of our friendly and commercial rela- 
tions with this great country. 
The committee, therefore, feel justified in approaching 
with confidence those who have interests, direct or indirect, in 
Russia, or in the numerous Russian affairs that centre in the 
City of London. 
The estimated cost of each unit of ten cars, with acces- 
sories' and maintenance for three months, is £6,500. The 
services of the drivers are voluntary. 
Besides cash contributions, the Committee will gratefully 
consider offers of motor-car chassis suitable for fitting to am- 
bulance bodies, as well as for offers of voluntary serrkw as 
drivers. Arrangements have been made for the publication 
of the subscription lists in Russia. 
This is the only fund being raised specifically by the City 
of London. . . 
All cheques should be made payable to the hon. organising 
eecrctary, Mr. W. E. W. Hall, 33, St. Swithin's Lane, Lon- 
don, E.G. 
Thb Mansion House, 
New Year's Day, 1915. 
Russia is losing thousands of men daily through want of 
proper motor ambulance transports. 
Do we Britons realise what Russia is doing for her Allies? 
Russia hag not the facilities for the manufacture, or the 
possibility of obtaining motor vehides such as England, 
France and other European countries possess. 
As a comparison, Britain's cavalry losses are extensive 
enough on a fighting line of about 40 miles in extent; imagine 
what Russia's are, with imperfect communication, on a front 
extending from the Baltic to the Black Sea, a distance of 
nearly 1,200 miles. 
The object that this committee has in view is to fhow 
England's appreciation of these facts and to remedy as far 
as lies in their power this most trying position. 
It is, to-day, superfluous to point out the vita] assistance 
which Russia is giving the Allies. Without the pressure 
which her magnificent forces are constantly exerting on the 
German- Austrian armies, the redemption of Belgium would 
be indefinitely postponed, and we in England would not feel 
the present increasing confidence that the final victory will 
lie with our troops. 
But while Russia's resources are potentially unlimited, 
her powers of immediately equipping the masses of fighting 
men she is pouring forward are greatly handicapped. The 
territory where the fiercest fighting is taking place had, even 
before its devastation by the Germans, comparatively few rail- 
ways or roads affording quick transport. The brunt of the 
hardship which these conditions impose on wounded Russian 
troops falls most severely on the cavalry, which number more 
than the combined cavalry of all the other Allies, and to whofe 
brilliant operations the successes of Russian arms have been 
largely due. . 
In the Carpathians and in Poland the Russian Cavalry 
operates on a front often fifty miles away from a base, cover- 
ing the flanks of the army and screening its advance. The 
case of the wounded Russian cavalryman, however, is best 
stated by Lieut. -Col. Roustam Bek, in the Daily Express, who 
writes with an intimate knowledge of his subject : 
" The situation of wounded cavalrymen at present is 
terrible. The troopers are obliged to undergo many tortures 
while being carried on horseback or in horse-drawn ambu- 
lances for many hours or days until they reach the field hos- 
pitals. Many of them are dying when they reach these 
refuges, being unable to withstand this terrible journey. If 
they could have been brought in a shorter time to the hos- 
pital their lives could, in many cases, perhaps in the 
majority, have been saved. 
" In general, the Russian ambulance equipment is iiot 
inferior to that of other countries. It can, however, easily 
be understood that in the presence of such an enormous num- 
ber of casaulties as have been recorded during the present 
war as well as in regard to the great distances which have 
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