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Show RUSSIANS DO NOT FEAR GERMANS Petrograd (tussle via London. Deo 2Q, 6:20 p m. A general attached to the Russian geueral staff who recently re-cently returned to Petrograd from the Iront reviewed the present military situation today in an optimistic manner. man-ner. "We are now at the close of the first period of the war," he said "It h.is ended, to be sure, with the bat tie rront shifted to the eastward, but without marked advantage tor the derm tns 'The German offensive was begun with the c enter extending from Poseu I to Kalisz. The armies of Generals Afackenzen and Francois advanced to i the River Bzura, occupying positions almost in a straight line from Flock through DOmita and Lodi to Piotrkow, where they fortified themselves. The northern division which proceeded to ilechaaow and Makow was forced back to the frontier. The Austro-Goi-inan troops from Silesia advanced toward to-ward OlkllSZ and Novo Kadonisk, while farther to the south the Vus-trians Vus-trians proceeded to the River Danan-Jec, Danan-Jec, aiming to free Cracow. "To the southwest of Przeinysl an rVustro-Hungarian army attempted to cross the Carpathians, striving to relieve re-lieve Przemysl and free Galicia. The centers of intense operations developed devel-oped in the order above mentioned. "The strategic position of the railroad rail-road lines enabled the Vustro-tiei mans to maneuver their for. es north and south, east and west, and vice versa The total number of Auatro- OermanS opposing Russia is estimated it more than forty army corps i about I COO 000 men). 1 he present aim of the enemy evi-j evi-j dently is to take the Lithuanian for-! for-! tresses of Kovno, Dvinsk and Grodno, snd occupy western Poland as far as ' Warsaw, while the Austrian- are at-umptinc at-umptinc to free- Galicia, push northward north-ward to I.uhlln and occupy southern i oland it the enenu were successful in thus freeing its own territory and I fortifying the lines mentioned, no effort would be made to go farther 1 'tio onnmv vmillt rnnt fint itolt witli lemajnlng on the defensive along this ' front, so that thirty army corps mlgb' .e transferred U the western theatre of war. "These aspirations cannot be real-I real-I ized. because the Russians are being 'rjnforced continually and now are occupying post: ions which may be defended much more effectually tha.i their previous ones "The Sochaeznew country, which is low and marshy offers the most excellent ex-cellent facilities for defense. The rainy weather also faors the Russians Rus-sians in their trench digging, while at the same time it ruins the roads used by the German forces of invasion. "During the temporary lull in this region, the next large battle it, expected ex-pected around Cracow and Przemysl, with the probability also of German demonstrations in force around Mlawa, Suwalki and Wlrballen "The situation on the ('aucaslon front has not changed materially The Russians there are remaining on the defensive on account of the rigorous rigor-ous weather The Turks, with groat iy increased forces, are attempting n invasion along a route which leads from Lrumiah. in northwestern Persia, Per-sia, to the shore of the Caspian sea It Baku, thence to EUzabethpol and on to Tlflls." |
