The Washington times., 1914-11-26
WARS DEVELOPMENTS.

unofhc1al statements from PetrOgrad
all confirm the strong belief that the
German army has received serious
setback in the eastern campaign; a
setback that may amount to a great
disaster. The story goes that one
German army corps has been cap
tured, and that not improbably an
other has been practically destroyed
These things are reported from
the battle region between the Warthe
and the Vistula rivers, which may be
| roughly described as the center of
the long line of operations in the
east. The divisions of this great
struggle are semi-independent bat
ties. The Germans made a great
drive at the Russian advance in this
region, with the purpose to menace
Warsaw. They administered Sc
we're check to the Russians for a
time; but with re-enforcements the
Russians now appear to have re-
sumed the offensive and to have at
tanned distinct victory in this sec
ton.
From the region farther south,
where the Russians have been press
ing their invasion of Austro-Hun-
garian territory, the reports are so
conflicting that it is dangerous to
assume any conclusions. Austrian re-
ports declare that very heavy losses
have been inflicted on the Russians; {;
losses that would amount to a dis
aster if they were not compensated
by the gaining of an important mill
tary advantage. 1t is intimated
strongly that in fact these losses
were the price at which some of the
important passes of the Carpathian
mountains were occupied and are
now held by the Russians. This
mountain barrier has been the great
defense of Austrian territory, and
Russia could we'll afford to stand a
very heavy loss in order to pass it.
Fighting in the east has unques-
tionably been very fierce and it has
continued a long time since the pres
ent battle, or series of battles, be-
gan. There has been apparently a
let-up in the fighting on the western
line, in the north of France and in
Belgium. The reason which the
military commentators assume for
this is that Germany has doubtless
been compelled to withdraw a great
force from the west, hurry it east
ward across Germany, and hurl it
into the fight against the oncoming
Russians. At the same time the Ger
mans have made if their policy to
continue a nominal offensive in the
west in order to disguise as far as
possible the fact that they have
weakened their forces in that sec
tion.
Thus. recently, there have been re-
peated stories from Holland, of great
German re-enforcements coming to
the lines in the north of France.
These stories are to be regarded with
misgiving. 1t is not very plain that
Germany can be rushing huge re-
endorsements to both east and west
at the same time. The next thing to
being able to do that, would be to
make her enemies believe that she
was doing it, and to inspire them
with fear of resuming a violent of
fensive in the west at this time.
On the basis of such meager in
formation about dispositions and
movements of forces, as the outside
world receives, it is dangerous to
undertake confident analysis of
events. For example, if it be true
that the Germans have had to weak
en- their lines in the west, the allies
general staffs must know the sub
stance of the truth. If they do know
that this is the truth, why have they
not resumed the offensive in the
west, as they did after the check of
the Germans at the Marine, and de-
livered another such telling blow as
they smashed at the Germans in the
drive from the Marine to the Aisne?
The very fact that the allies have
not done this warrants some doubts
whether in truth they are yet pos
sessed of any considerable numerical
superiority in the west. 1t is also
true that General Joffre and General
French have all along evinced
much higher regard for the lives of
their troops than the Germans have
shown. Their program seems to
have been to let the enemy hold the
initiative most of the time and bat
ter out the strength of his armies
against the strong lines of the allies.
In the Flanders engagements, by all
accounts, the losses of the Germans
have been very much heavier than
those of the allies. The British and
French have seemed quite willing to
let the greater burden of human toll