of 1916-17.

Shortly after returning home in May 1916, I took over charge (under
circumstances to be mentioned in the next chapter) of the War Office
branch which dealt with munitions and supplies for Russia, and I am
consequently familiar with this question. To show what strides were
made towards fitting the military forces out for a strenuous campaign
in 1917, some output figures may be given. (I have none for dates
prior to January 1916.) It should be mentioned that the output of
field-artillery ammunition had already, owing to General Polivanoff's
exertions, been greatly expanded during the latter part of 1915, and
there was no very marked increase in this during 1916; the French
supplied large numbers of rounds, and it had been hoped that great
quantities would come to hand from the United States, but the influx
from this latter source hardly materialized before the winter of
1916-17. Seeing how greatly the Russian armies had suffered from lack
of heavy artillery during the first year of the war, the huge increase
in output of howitzer and 6-inch rounds is particularly worth noting.

January 1916. January 1917.

Rifles.... 93,000 129,000
Machine-guns 712 1,200
Small-arms ammunition 96,000,000 rounds 173,000,000 rounds
Field-guns 169 407
Field-howitzers 33 62
Field-howitzer ammunition 72,000 rounds 369,000 rounds
6-inch guns and howitzers 1 17
6-inch gun and howitzer
ammunition 32,000 rounds 230,000 rounds

By the early weeks of 1917 the empire was not dependent upon its own
resources alone. Great contracts for rifles, machine-guns, small-arms
ammunition, and field-gun ammunition had been placed in the United
States under arrangements made by Lord Kitchener in the summer of
1915. The factories on the farther side of the Atlantic only began to
produce during the summer of 1916, and they had not got into full
swing before the latter part of the year; but by March 1917, 412,000
rifles, 12,200 machine-guns, 240,000,000 rounds of small-arms
ammunition, and 4,750,000 rounds of field-gun ammunition had already
been handed over, and great part of this armament had been shipped
(the field-gun ammunition mainly to Vladivostok across the Pacific);
and