nfluence was being felt; and, furthermore,
the French army, though much less numerous than the Russian, was a more
formidable adversary on account of its greater effectiveness, as well as
of the certainty of its much quicker movements.

Russia had a preponderantly large advantage in numbers over Germany. The
result of this fact, from a strategic point of view, was that Russia
could dare much more than her adversaries. She could strike stronger,
quicker, and with greater frequency in more directions, and could risk
to extend her operations much farther. The fact that means of
transportation, as has been pointed out, were much better developed in
the German frontier provinces than in those of Russia, was a
disadvantage only as long as Russia fought on its own territory, though
even then, necessarily, the invading enemy would be hampered at least
equally by the lack of transportation facilities.

Russia's natural advantage of greater numbers pointed clearly to an
immediate offensive which would bring with it the promise of more
advantages, while both German and Austrian conditions indicated with
equal clearness as the safest and sanest strategy a policy of "watchful
waiting," at least until such time when large enough forces could be
spared from the western front or concentrated from available reserve
sources to promise to a more aggressive policy a fair chance of success.

Thus Russia decided to strike immediately against Germany as well as
against Austria. With the latter campaign we are not concerned here. How
she devoted herself to this twofold task with all the power and means at
her command we shall see in the following narrative.

The hosts of Russia were standing on the German frontier. In the four
provinces adjoining Austria-Hungary a total of sixteen army corps, or
one-half of all the Russian army in European Russia, were available. By
July 31, 1914, the czar had ordered the general mobilization of army and
navy. The German Ambassador in Petrograd was instructed to notify the
Russian Government that unless this order was countermanded within
twelve hours, Germany would immediately respond by mobilization of her
army and navy. As the Russian mobilization had continued, Germany
officially took the same step in the late afternoon of August 1, 1914,
after a state of war had already been proclaimed for the entire empire
on July 31, 1914.

The fighting forces on the German side at the beginning of the war on or
ne