trian aircraft, and kept them back from flying over the
country to determine the number of forces opposing. Then the action
of the Russian "steam roller" began, and with more men marching in
every day, unwearied despite their long travel, the steam roller
gathered force. But, in one regard, Russia had miscalculated. She
had never contemplated the terrific wastage of ammunition that is
required for modern artillery duels, gun conflicts that are
necessary before troops can advance, and in the first few weeks of
the war her ammunition was all shot away. Without ammunition the
steam roller could not continue, and the advance of the Russians
upon Austrian territory was first halted and then driven back. Here,
again, then, was a campaign successfully begun because of a better
mobilization of men than was expected, and lost because of a lack of
mobilization of supplies.

A great deal has been said of the slowness of Russian mobilization,
and much of it is undoubtedly true. But little has been said about
the steadiness of Russian mobilization. The Russian officer, almost
always a noble, and belonging to what is probably the most polished
and most cultured class in Europe, an aristocrat to his finger tips,
possesses the power of commanding men, and understands his Slav
soldiers. He knows that no army in the world can begin to compare
with the Russian for enduring hardship, and that no troops in the
world can sustain so large a proportion of loss and still advance.
Forced marches that would kill English troops can be handled by a
Russian army without great fatigue. The principal note in the
gathering of the czar's armies was that day by day, week by week,
from every corner of the empire, men went to the front. It was not
the sudden concentration of Germany, it was not the eager formation
of France, it was not the heroic sturdiness of Belgium, it was not
the accustomedness to active service of the British regulars, it was
a gradual transition of an idealistic people from contemplation into
action.

[Illustration: German-Belgian Frontier, Strategic Railroads on.]

To the Russian, more than to any other of the peoples engaged in the
war, mobilization spells advance, advance in a thousand ways.
Germany, France, and England were practically unchanged in
temperament and viewpoint by the mere processes of mobilization, but
old Russia became new Russia almost within a month. War is the
greatest unifier of racial dissension in the wor