Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-10
MANY STORIES RELATED
OF RUSSIAN CLEVERNESS
German Soldiers Find They Employ
Strategy and Cunning to an
Unexampled Degree.

Correspondence OF the Associated Press.
P1NSk, Russia, March 20.-Though the
average German soldier has the highest
respect for the fighting qualities of his
English and French opponents it is the
Russian. according to officers stationed
in the east. who employs strategy and
cunning to an uncXampled degree. There
are almost many stories Of Russian
cleverness going the rounds as there are
officers who have met with it.
In the great German drive eastward.
| according to Lieut.. Won D.. the Ger
mans and Russians finally took up their
positions. respectively. on the west and
east banks of a river The Russians were
not taking their defeats with eauanimity
and every possible occasion were dis
posed to develop counter offensive move
ments.
Through underground channels the
Germans learned that the Russians in-
tended. at night. to recross the bridge
which, undeStroyed. spanned the river.
and attempt to surprise their rivals. The
Germans in consequence very carefully
and quietly destroyed one small section
of the bridge nearest them leaving
slight gap, and lay in wait for the Rus
slams.
Send Horse to Scent Way.
The night was fairly dark. but not so
dark but that the Germans could see
the Russians suddenly turn big.
embarrassed horse loose at their end of
the bridge. and with few whip lashes
start him at gentle canter toward the
German lines. Puzzled German rifemen.
lying in hiding. withheld their fire the
animal advanced steadily toward them.
| In moment or two the horse reached
the gap in the bridge and with the in
, stinct and keener sight at night possessed
! by animals stopped anod peered at the
dark water flowing past. He paused only
| a moment then turned about and trotted
| back to the Russian lines. The Russians
| made no attack that night.
| At a number of points the Germans
have adopted what is a very old precau-
| ton for giving warning of the approach
| of the enemy-the stringing of empty bot
| ties on a wire around their positions,
which clink and jingle when any one APP
proacheS and stumbles onto the wire. Tn
fortunately the bottles know neither
/ friend nor foe. and clnk when German
sentries, scouting at night, strike the
| wire.
| Formerly it was the custom of such
: German sentries to shout out instantly
| the password or parole of the day so that
other sentries behind the bottle-strung
line should know that friends were APP
preaching and should not shoot their own
! men down. But Russian cunning again
| interviewed to make even this hazardous.
| The Russians. it was found. sent out
little squads numbering at least one man
with a knowledge of German. These
squads would then conceal themselves in
the marsh grass, allow German sentries
| to pass unmolested, and then listen care
| fully for the password when it was
shouted out by those stumbling into the
wire.
| Possessed of the password. the Rus
sian squads then would approach the
| German lines boldly. disarm suspicion by
giving the parole correctly. and inf1ict at
least slight damage before vanishing in
| the dark.