Page:Emile Vandervelde - Three Aspects of the Russian Revolution - tr. Jean Elmslie Henderson Findlay (1918).djvu/176

 taken mainly in a spirit of curiosity. Flying over the Austro-Turko- German lines at an altitude of from 800 to 900 metres along the whole line of the projected offensive, Lieutenant de Man had been able to make very interesting observations of the organization of that part of the front. And our visit to the trenches of the first line allowed us to take note of many details that it was interesting to know in order to appreciate the conditions in which the coming offensive would be undertaken.

We might sum up what we saw as follows:

We were surprised to find, that the trenches and positions on the Russian front, or at least on that part of the front which we have seen and which we were told was typical, resemble much more what is to be seen on the western front than one would expect. The sector of Koniucki-Brzezany, notably, scarcely differs from that of a "calm" sector on the western front, except that in view of the comparative scarcity of artillery on a given front there are much fewer shell-holes and mine craters.