1 JULY 1916, Page 9

It remains to be said that the total number of

prisoners taken by the Russians is now just over two hundred thousand, and there- fore the estimate of half-a-million total casualties can hardly be called extravagant. It is becoming evident that one of the reasons why the captures were so large was that the Austrian trenches were so deep, narrow, and labyrinthine that when it became neces- sary for them to retire they could not evacuate them with sufficient rapidity, but were caught in their own toils. Very deep trenches may seem very safe, but it is a kind of safety which may turn into the worst of dangers. Even protection can be overdone. The struggle for Kovel, we must add, is as fierce as ever.