General Romanoff, who was recently in command of the Sixth
Division of the Russian Army at Liao-yang, but has been incapacitated by a fall from his horse, has given his opinion on the result of the next campaign. It is not optimistic. He does not, he says, despair; but he doubts whether even an army of three hundred thousand men will be able to outflank the Japanese, and believes that General Kuropatkin was greatly hampered by his dread of the con- sequences of a severe defeat, which "might have been the end of the war." In his judgment, victory depends upon the col- lection of an overwhelming force of artillery with an enormous supply of ammunition, and he remarks sadly that the Japanese can resupply themselves in a week, while a similar effort costs the Russians six weeks. It will be noticed that Russian experts who comment on the war no longer claim for their soldiers superiority over the Japanese, but regard the question of comparative numbers as all-important. They also admit that though Japan is tiny in area as compared with Russia, she can place as many soldiers upon the actual field of battle. The idea of ultimate defeat has, in fact, entered into the Russian mind, though it is admitted that another campaign must be fought through for the honour of Russia, and that of her Government in the eyes of its own people.
