As we have pointed out elsewhere, even if this takes
place there is no cause for alarm—provided, of course, that the Russian field armies are not destroyed. If they are not destroyed, and we venture to say their destruction will demand
great deal more hammering than the Germans are able to give them, it will be impossible for the Germans and Austrians to disentangle themselves from the Polish campaign. The popular notion that as soon as a great blow has been inflicted upon Russia the Germans will be able to rush back a million, or even half a million, men to the Flanders front, or to the line of the Isonzo, is a pure delusion. They may be able to 'send back an army corps or two, but the great bulk of their xnen will be required to prevent the Russians coming on again. While the Grand Duke's field armies are intact, as they are, Germany and Austria could not, without the greatest danger, afford to leave open once again the door into Hungary. The Russian people fully appreciate this fact, and hence the news has been taken very philosophically in Petrograd.
