Hanging on the wire: dead Russian soldiers entangled in barbed wire. Attacking infantry found it nearly impossible to overcome the combination of barbed wire and machine guns. Many died trying, some left hanging in the grip of the wire.
"As the result of strong pressure by General Alexeïey, the provision of rifles for the Russian army has materially improved.Present supplies are as follows :(1) Rifles in use at the front : 1,200,000.(2) Rifles landed at Archangel : 155,700.(3) Rifles landed at Alexandrovsk : 530,000.(4) Rifles ready for dispatch from England : 113,000. . . .Between now and the end of April the authorities are anticipating the arrival of a further 850,000 rifles.Unfortunately, the losses the Russian army has just suffered in Galicia are terrible—60,000 men ! At one point alone, Czartorysk, 11,500 men were blinded by a snowstorm and cut down to a man in a few minutes by the German artillery."
In the course of 1915, Russian industry had finally begun to meet the demands in weapons and shells of the war. The Russians had launched an offensive in eastern Galicia on December 27, 1915 expecting significant success, but improved weaponry could not overcome poor planning and preparation.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 151, publisher: George H. Doran Company
1916-01-19, 1916, January, ordnance, shell, rifle, shell shortage, casualties, dead soldier, dead Russian soldier, Russian soldier
