The Victorious Russians
Everything continues to go remarkably well in Russia. The German Command, still hoping that it may not need to announce the capture of Velikie Luki, is continuing its counter-attacks. The heaviest of these are being directed from the north-west and it seems clear that the Russians have had to give ground a little. There is, however, no suggestion that the town is not firmly held, and the reluctance to admit its recapture measures its importance. The south-eastern offensive continues to make headway. The two most important recent developments are the tendency of the German defence to harden in the arc covering the Donetz from the north round to the Don about Orlovka. But the Russians have made further progress towards Salsk ; and between the lower Kalmuck region and the Central Caucasus the enemy has been compelled to carry out a considerable withdrawal. That two trains filled with troops were captured in one place and officers caught in bed in another suggests that the retreat is not•being carried out according to plan. The Russians have been advancing for about ten days at a rate of ten miles per day, and the line of the Kuma has already been captured. The question arises how far the retreat is designed to go. There are still positions that might promise to safeguard Maikop and cover the railway communications up to Salsk and the 'Don. But the maintenance of such a position will be determined by the movements which threaten Rostov ; and it is not at all certain that these may not make the situation of the troops farther south suddenly precarious.
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