South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-04-11
COSSACKS DRIVE
RUSS TO ATTACK
Germans Claim Cars Men
Are Forced to Battle by
Bated HorSemen.

international News Service.
BERLIN. April III war CORE
spondent who has been at the east
ern front since August 1914. pens
an interesting description Of the
present Russian armies for a Berlin
newspapers.
After 20 months Of continuous
contact with the enemy the Ger
man officers have "A pretty clear idea
Of the present condition of the Rus
sian army. the correspondent says.
The information comes partly from
prisoners. but the tales of suffering
told by the captured Russian SOL
1iers are taken with more than the
proverbial grain Of salt. because the
men generally labor under great eX-
element or hope 20 get better treat
ment by picturing the situation be-
hind their front as dark as posi-
bile.
Many of the prisoners complain
that they were driven into the firing
line 10y cossacks whom they hate
bitterly. These stories were not be-
lieved az first. bat they have been
verified beyond all doubt. a Ger
man brigade commander and his
staff recently observed "A detach-
ment OF cossacks which emerged
from a village and attacked a way
ering Russian infantry regiment
from the rear TO drive il forward
a concentrated German artillery
FIRE was directed against the cos
sacks and prisoners later said that
they never experienced greater joy
when they saw the hated drivers"
moved down.
The use of ths co@sacks for the
purpose of driving other troops into
battle may be of local advantage to
the Russian commanders here and
there. but these barbarous methods
work more harm than good Know
ing that they are continuously under
two fires, from the front and from
the rear If they try TO retreat. the
Russian soldiers have become very
nervous. They lost their confidence
and what little initiative they for
merry possessed.
For the soldiers there is no choice.
although they know that their at
tacks against the German fortifca-
tons with their thousands Of cannon
and machine guns are hopeless. They
must advance or die. because if they
waver and turn they are threat
ened by machine guns and cossacks
behind their front.
Wherever the Russian soldiers
succeed i'm reaching German po-
sition they fight like demons. be-
cause the capture of trench means
life or death 10 them. Their first
line generally only carries hand
while the third advances unarmed
and picks up the rifles and other
arms OF the killed and wounded.
The men of "a captured Russian
company recently complained that
they were not able TO fire a single
shot when they had 20 attack be-
cause they were given rifles which
they had never used before The
rifles had been taken from wounded
or captured Austrians. and the Rus
sian soldiers who were To fight with
them Cid not understand then mech
anism
The Russian artillery is still ex-
cellently trained and would have
10 be feared with better technical
equipment. Most of the Russian
artillery officers are capable. highly
educated men. but they can accom-
plish nothing with the limited ma
terial az their disposal They lack
guns and ammunition and what they
have is mostly of inferior quality.
A recently captured commander OF
an artillery regiment declared that
the guns obtained from Japan are
of little use and much of the am
munition bought in America is
worthless.
All Of these disadvantages are. Of
course, well known to the Russian
commanders and the army admins
tration AZ Petrograd, but they still
nope 20 overcome them by throwing
enormous masses of men into the
fray and wearing the Germans and
Austrians down.