III-Rising Stars

Such is the appearance and such the sentiment of the two German fighting leaders, now most in the public eye of the world. Because of this fact, and because they are typical of the German military and naval officer, of which they are respectively the highest examples, I have described and reported them for the American reader. Whatever may be thought of the issues involved in the war, let no one imagine that Germany is not well equipped with officers, not only in great numbers, but of uncommon ability and thorough training.

It is safe, also, to say that as the war goes on the names of other men, now unheard of outside of Germany, will become as well known to the world and to history as even Von Hindenburg or Von Tirpitz now are. Already, above the horizon there has arisen one of certainly great talents, and one whom many in Germany think a genius of the first magnitude.

As the summer passes and next autumn comes, let the American reader watch for the name of Von Ludendorff, now Chief of Von Hindenburg's staff; Von Ludendorff may be a field marshal by that time.*

Before the snows of next winter fly, look for the name of Hoffman, now a colonel in Von Hindenburg's military household; Hoffman may be a general by then.

On the west front also there are other younger officers of highest promise. Indeed, in both the eastern and the western theaters of war there are a surprising * Written February 4, 1915.

number of officers with the ability, the will and the daring to make history, and to weave their names into it. Yet, as important, as indispensable as they are, the officers are the smallest factor in this war; it is the people which constitute the vital force in the struggle, and back of the people, their ideals. Other chapters deal with these fundamental elements of this destiny-determining struggle.

A

IV

A DAY OF WINTER BATTLE*

LTHOUGH you do not go to bed until near midnight, and are asleep before your head touches the pillow, you need no thundering on the door to awaken you at half past four this morning. The bellowing wind performs that service for you-you had no idea it could howl with such a penetrating voice. And its tones are arctic. They announce a temperature which makes you shiver before you feel it.

Perhaps your experience the day and night before subconsciously puts an edge on the blasts of the gale in your imagination. For you are in Lodz, in Russian Poland, and you have driven from Posen, nine hours at top speed of a swift automobile in the face of a driving wind, sharpened by particles of snow which sting your face like wasps. You are on your way to a battlefield, some ten miles beyond Lowitsch; and Lowitsch itself is about thirty miles from Lodz. You are soon to see fighting within an hour's automobile ride, in peace time, of Warsaw.

Advised by yesterday's frigid journey, and cautioned by officers, you take extreme measures against the expected chill of the day before you. Three suits

*Lodz, Russian Poland, January 31, February 1, 1915.

of woolen underwear; riding breeches, shirt and coat; a woolen sweater; fur-lined vest; heavy fur coat with a long cape over all; thick, long, woolen, hand-knitted socks; riding boots with heavy wool socks over these, encased from knee to ankle in leather puttees; thick, wool-knit headpiece beneath the cap, covering forehead, ears and chin and warmly circling the neck; automobile goggles for the eyes; gloves, with soft, thick mittens worn over them-such are the fortifications which, you are informed, your softened and unseasoned civilian tissues will require against the cold, speeding in an open automobile.

Although they, too, are warmly clad, the German. officer and soldier need no such padding; for, living, marching, fighting constantly in the open has established good relations between them and the weather.

At the very outset is a meaningful circumstance: your guide in charge of the auto is a gentle-spoken Jewish youth. Not a feature is Hebraic; only his name advertises his origin. He is a volunteer in the automobile corps, as is his father, also. He knows every road, lane and bypath in that whole region. His duties are full of extreme peril-already, he has won the iron cross by intrepid daring and cool intelligence. His fidelity has made him the trusted messenger of the strictest and most secretive military headquarters in the Empire.

You have heard of this young person before, and of his brilliant, hazardous work. He is a symbol and a sign-the people of his race in Germany are displaying incredible devotion to the government, limitless support of the war. Not Bavarian, nor yet Prussian, not

Saxon nor Wurtemburger, nor any person of pure Teutonic blood exceeds the Jew in Germany in his eagerness to sacrifice everything for German victory.

Mile upon mile you fly under the dark sky, low-hanging with clouds from which falls a smatter of snow. The landscape is a study in black and white. Patches of pine forest stand out like sections of midnight on the snowy plain. To the right and left are Russian battery pits and rifle trenches, long since tenantless; it would seem that every foot of the way had been fought over, though not seriously, except here and there where it is plain that a hard fight occurred.

Hamlets, villages, and one or two small towns pass like a bizarre panorama. Naked walls of houses, which unluckily had stood in the line of fire, hardly attract your notice, for such specters have become so familiar that they are commonplace. You do note a big hole, perhaps ten feet in diameter, in the brick tower of a Russian church, a little way beneath its bulk-like, blue-painted, oriental dome, so grotesque is the contrast; a German shell had routed the enemy from this observation point.

Two lofty pine trees, side by side in a field far from the nearest woodland, stamp themselves curiously upon your mind. Again, a tall cross of rough timber, bearing the Holy Image, rises before you at the roadside the cold seems more intense, the gloom of sky and field and wood still more desolate.

Yet now and then where for a hand's space eddies of wind have swept the snow from the fields, you see that all is cultivated, and that winter wheat is coming on.