WAR- CHRONICLE

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orders attendant thereupon, demands the greatest attention and
adaptability from the leaders; the bringing up of reinforcements is
rendered extremely difficult and the troops are obliged to undergo
the utmost exertions as regards marching, persevering, and fighting
against a crafty enemy, well trained in entrenching and retreatfights.
It does one good to see the fervour and enthusiasm, with which
officers and men—mostly reserve and Landwehr troops—carry on
this very fatiguing warfare, and how well and fit they and their
horses are after 10 months of war. They have but little rest, and
often there has been barely time for the reformation of units, when
fresh operations are begun. But success keeps them fresh, and
several consecutive single engagements may bring final results
equalling a great victory. An account of the fighting going on to
the North of the Njemen, which is also of a most interesting
character, although differing greatly from above described, will be
given later on. W. T. B.
From the Railway War.
Main Headquarters sends us the following:
So as to have an idea of the preparation for the "Railway
War, " we must consider the conditions obtaining in Germany during
the critical days at the beginning of August 1914: It was the
holiday and travelling season. The large military exercising grounds
in each of the Corps Districts were filled with troops, while railway
goods traffic was carried on as usual. Up to the last moment,
every one thought that war could be avoided; and martial preparations
on the railways had to be suppressed for political reasons.
War was declared on 2nd August. Everybody rushed to the
railway stations, so as to reach home before the great military
transports should be begun, relatives visited their sons and brothers,
so as to say farewell before their departure for the field. The
troops that had been at the exercising grounds were sent back to
their garrisons with all speed. Our armies had principally to be
mobilized on the industrial western frontier territory. Thousands
of long military trains were to carry the troops thither. The railway
stations had to be cleared of the large quantities of filled and
unfilled goods waggons, so as to avoid delays and stoppages for
the military transports.
Simultaneously with this, other military transports began, intersecting
our Fatherland in all directions. Long trains with empty
carriages and rows of locomotives coupled together, went to the
points allotted to them by a careful administration as being short
of carriages or engines. The location of the differeat neighbourhoods
where traffic is great or poor, allows the principal arrangements
to be guessed at. Then the real mobilization transports: The
forwarding of millions of reserves and Landwehrmen to the different
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