Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-01-10
Russians Far From Defeat
ed Says Great Ger
man Leader.
MUCH YET TO BE DONE
Russian Mistake Allowed
Germans to Gain Their
Success.

GERMAN ARMY HEADQuAR-
TIERS, Posen, Dec. 19.-(Delayed in
transmission )-tNia London. Jan. g.,
II p. mD-"Eyen the occupation Of
Warsaw and of the Vistula line would
by no means signify the end OF the
campaign. The Russians with their
immense territories, can fall back in
definitely. Defeated at Warsaw, they
can fall back on kieV, from Kiev on
Moscow, and eventually even on
Nladivostock. or course, We cannot
follow that far"
Thus spoke Germanys popular
hero, Field Marshal Won Hindenburg, !
to the Associated Press in the course |
Of a four hours conversation today, |
He explained how the mid-wntcr
Poland campaign, "A which the Rus |
sian advance was checked and rolled |
back had involved frightfdl blood |
letting. Not since the days Of the bat !
tie Of Tannenberg and the retreat OF
the Russian General Rennenkampf |
army from Mazurlan lake did the |
Russians lose so heavily as in the san
culinary fighting around Wloclawek |
kutno, Lodz and LowicZ, said the |
field marshal. He added that at least |
one hundred and forty thousand Rus |
since November 10, and that 110, 900 |
other Russians had been made prison |
ers. The contest, according to Won !
Hindenburg, had been proceeding |
everywhere favorably to the Germans |
and Austrians since the fall of LODI |
and the commencement of the Rus |
sian retreat. Yet Field Marshal Won |
Hindenburg declared that all the |
fight had not been taken out of the
Russians.
Answering questions, Won Hinden-
burg said
LODI the Turning Point.
The fall of LODI was the turning |
point in the present campaign The |
Russians fought desperately for pos
session Of this city, on which the cen
ter of their line rested The Rus |
sian line was bent, not broken, in this |
battle The Russian leader like |
wise man, did not wait for that, but |
when he saw how affairs were going |
withdrew.
The battle as the most bitter and !
sanguinary of this war, the Russian |
killed and wounded far exceeding the |
figures at Tannenberg. The dead lay |
in heaps on the battlefield. There !
were SIS bodies on one small hill"
The mention OF Tannenberg evoked |
tHt 'OllllllcIl ludl NIUE was kuONll |
of this great battle. Won Hindenburg |
then took pencil and paper and drew
@. rough sketch map of the battle.
Sketohed the Battle.
"Our army" he said, was drawn |
up to the north Of the Mazurian lakes /!
region here" Then he sketched the |
east Prussan frontier and the position |
of the troops to the north and south |
of the line.
when | took command" the field |
marshal continued, the order already |
had been given to retire. The Rus |
sian army under Samsonoff had |
moved in here Indicating a line at !
right angle to the German line.) !
withdrew our troops before Rennen- |
kampf's army and swung them around |
to the right and rear in this fashion |
The corps from the left | sent around |
by the railroads; others had to move |
by forced marches.
Russians Made Mistake.
Had Rennenkampf followed, we /
should have had to turn and face /
him. But he did not move from his |
entertainments and so we marched in |
here, and here, and here (drawing n
series of arrows in circle which |
pointed toward the doomed Samson |
Off until we had them completely !
surrounded without RennenkampFs |
inaction there would have been no
Tannenberg"
rs it true that so many thousa nds |
Of Russians perishod in the Mazurian |
lake swamps?' Won Hindenburg was
asked.
Not at ALL" came the reply that
destroyed another cherished legend !
Of the war. There are no swamps
in TannenbeTg into which we might |
have driven the Russians whose losses |
were chiefly in prisoners taken"
The conversation ran a wide range |
Of topics. The field marshal talked |
Of the changed tactics Of the cavalry. |
to whom he said ne would give bayo- |
nets; of the bravery of his Austrian |
ally; of the clothesbaske fun Of let |
ters he received daily, some of them |
from the United States, and with spe- |
cial amusement of the quantities of |
gifts that were being forwarded to /,
him. Today he received 1000 pints |
OF beer for his personal use, / 900 |
cigars Che does not smokoD, an i'm /
mense cake, which was brought i'm |
during the dinner and which bore
in icing an advertisement Of a ladies' |
blouse which had been named in his I
honor.
At 10 o'clock the field marshal ex- |
cused himself and went into his Of ]
flee with his chief of staff for the 1
.N.NN a