January 27, 1916. 
LAND AND WATER 
meant for the seizure of a good observation point 
or of a knot in local communications, or for 
anything definable at all except the general 
necessity of keeping up such local offensives as 
part of the enemy's defensive policy in the West. 
\ITALIAN, BALKAN AND 
RUSSIAN FRONTS. 
On the Italian front there has been even less 
movement ; before Salonika nothing but the great 
French air raid agains'; Monastir ; and on the 
Russian front only further details — of the greatest 
interest, hower-or — upon the nature of the recent 
hghting in Volhynia. There came through in the 
course of the week a most vivid description of the 
way in which this almost immobile lighting on the 
300 miles south of the Pinsk marshes inflicts waste 
upon the enemy. 
We have had, in some detail and most vividly 
related to us, the crossing of the frozen Strypa 
by one Austrian division at the moment when, a 
fortnight ago, the Russians cleared the Austro- 
(iermans off all the eastern bank of the river. The 
single wooden bridge was destroyed. The troops 
could only cross through slushy water more than 
ankle deep, covering the rotten ice. This ice 
had not the strength to bear wagons, and though 
it appears that the artillery had already been 
withdrawn over the bridge before, a considerable 
mass of the wheeled material must have fallen 
into Russian hands. The crossing had hardly 
begun before it was subjected to the fire of the 
Russian field artillery and before it was concluded 
great numbers of the unfortunate division had 
been drowned where the ice had proved treacher- 
ous or been shot down or destroyed by the breaking 
of the ice in which it was fired. Many more had 
been left behind upon the eastern bank, wounded 
or stragglers, and, in thg result of this particular 
unit perhaps one-third reached the western bank, 
of whom we know not what proportion, but some 
fragment or other, may still be fit for service. 
It would be of the utmost value if pictures 
of this kind could be multiplied, and if we in the 
west could actually visualise, as we can now only 
occasionally do from inteUigently described 
glimpses of this kind, what the Polish campaign 
has come to mean for the enemy. To most of us 
in the west that campaign is but a series of un- 
pronounceable names. Even to a close daily 
student of the war it is but an unmoving line 
across a map, to which may be added by those 
who know how to reason upon such affairs, cer- 
tain rates of wastage. But the reality which would 
make us understand how the Austro-German forces 
will lie when the ordeal is over, what the strain is, 
and what this winter is costing in general health 
and nerve as well, to great numbers of the enemy, 
are only got by such very rare examples as that 
which i have quoted. 
THREE MOVEMENTS IN ASIA. 
The Asiatic movements are, as I have said, the 
most arresting to us in this country. 
There arc at present in the Asiatic field of the 
war three movements. Their unity is recognised 
by the general, if imperfect, term " Caucasian '' 
invented by the enemy and particularly by the 
German General Staff, to designate the forces 
operating in this field. 
There is in the first place the Russian army of 
the Caucasus proper at A, A, of what strength we 
do not know, but operating, perhaps, against four 
Turkish corps, or perhaps five. These forces have 
defeated the Turks thoroughly in the last few days 
and are now holding various points in the rough 
mountain land between Lake Van and the Black 
Sea, but their main advance has been up the 
only road worth calling a road in the whole dis- 
trict : To wit, the road leading from the Russian 
railhead to Erzerum. , 
The Russians have pushed along this road, 
captured numerous Turkish prisoners and guns 
and are now in touch with the outer forts of 
Erzerum, which they have already begun to shell : 
— though we may be quite certain that they have 
not there at present any heavy siege train. , 
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