Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-01
NEW TACTICS WIN
FOR RUSSIAN ARMY
Famous CosSackS Under General
BrussiloH Take Promi-
nent Part.
LOSSES ALWAYS VERY HEAVY
Open Hot Fire From Behind
Horses, While Infantry
Draws Up.
LOSSES ALWAYS VERY HEAVY

ACSTRO-II l. NC ARIAN PRESS
HEADQUARTERS ON THE RUSSIAN
FRONT september 3o.-Remarkable
new battle taCtics, never before seen
in warfare. are largely responsible for
the great advance scored by tho Rus.
slams this summer, Austrian officers
here agree. In these. maneuvers Gen.
crai Brusslom's cavalry, the famous
Cossacks from the Don and other parts
OF the Cars far-huug empire, figure
prominently.
BrussiloT. now in charge OF the
whole southern half of the Russian
front. from the Pripet marshes to the
Black Sea, is himself a cavalry COM
mander par excellence. He was In
charge of a cavalry division at the
beginning OF the war. and, had it not
been for the great struggle. which
brought out his remarkable ability as
II gcneraiissimo, he probably to-day
would be simply an expert In horse
men, unknown outside military circles.
II Is easy TO see Brussiloff's hand In
the new Russian tactics, say the Teu-
ton stan officers.
But Il large share of credit also goes
TO Lieutenant General Count Keller,
cavalry chief OF the army OF General
l.ctchitsky, whose troops formed the
southern wing OF the. Brussilotf army
group until Roumania entered the war.
Austrian and German officers do not
withhold praise and admiration for
their foes come back" after the ter
rible defeats sustained at the hands
of Won Mackensen and Won Hinden-
burg last summer. 1t is from these
officers, who directed the Teutons as
they were forced to fall back time
! and again before the hammer blows
OF Brussilor. that the following ac-
count OF the Russian tactics which
! have won large share of Volhynia.
| Galicia and the Bukowina, is drawn.
INFANTRY IIALTS AND
"DIGS IN" FURIOUSLY
When Russian attack begins to-
| day. the Muscovltc infantry advances,
but suddenly halts about $500 yards
| from the hostile trenches and starts to
| dig In" furiously. While the Austro-
| German artillery Is endeavoring to get
tho range Of tho infantry, clouds of
Cossacks appear. yThey dash over the
| quicklyduE trenches in Il wild gallop.
1t looks as though these masses of mad
horscmcn were about to override tho
positions attacked In some cases. In
| deed, the Cossacks have been known
| in their impetuous sweep to ride up to
| the wire entanglcments. whore they are
moved down by machine-g gun fire. But
their orders are to dismount about 1000
yards from the trenches which are to
be taken.
With lghtniuglikc rapidity the Rus
Sian cavalrymen jump from their horses
and throw themselves to the ground.
Their animals have been carefully
trained to lie down. too. With their
bodies in n row, the horses serve as
living harricadcs for the riders. While
the cossacks open hot carbine fre
from behind their horses the infantry
draws UP. At the same time the re-
serves are set in motion. in eight. ton,
twelve, and even fourteen, successive
! waves
MANY BRAVE COSSACKS
KILLED ON FIRING LINE
I The losses of the brave Cossacks are
invariably very heavy, because they
have to hold ont in the firing line until
| inc infantry columns come up and dash
through the wire cntanglcments. which
nave. IN the meantime, been shattered
/ hy the drum fire of The Russian artil-
lcry.
OFTEN the Cossacks are not able to
stand the hail OF shrapnel to which
they are exposed, but i'm these cases
they never retreat. Jumping on their
hairy. rough looking little horses, they
again gail"p ahcad/ take the torn en-
tanglcmcnis like hurdles and break into
the Austrian trenches, where they gen.
orally arc killed or made prisoners
Anothcr spcctncular feat of the Cos
sacks. introduced this summer, is to
serve rs an advance guard when rivers
are To he crossed. Picked men, who are
expert swimmers. leap from their
horses and throw themselves into the
! water stark naked. They carry their
arms and ammunition in bundles on
tl,,i, hn, dc Il
while thcir faithful horses swim by
their side. ON reaching the opposite
shore they strive to cut the Austro-
4 German lines of communication by at
lacking munition and provision trains
ana by blowing up bridges and rail-.
roads. In this way the Cossacks
crossed the illwa. the Stokhod. the
Styr. tho Pruth. tho Czeremosz, the
Moldawa, the StrXyl and even the
wide and rapid pnicster.
MEM TACTICS USED
IN CROSSING RIVERS
New tactics which the Russians have
Just learned from French engineers are
used when rivers are to be crossed
by large bodies of troops Under cover
Of the reeds and bullrushes, long. mar
row RATS are built, In tho night tho
engineers shove these RATS into the
"'''c' """ i"steii ootn endS 10 the shore
) with chains. From the opposite shore
these RATS are not visible In the day
time, being hidden by tho rushes.
When the command to cross is given
the chains are removed from the up
I stream ends OF the RATS The RATS
then are carried out into the river by
the current until the farther ends rest
on the opposite shore.
This same vancouver Is carried out
at forty or hf,y points along a line of
ten miles over the bridges thus con-
structcd the Russian infantry dashes
and storms the Teuton positions, which
arc kept up under heavy fire until the
attacking forces reach them. This
method, however. only can be used to
cross narrow rivers and small creeks.
over wide rivers bridges have to be
built by the engineers in the old man.