But the appeal was also addressed to the Polish subjects of the Kaiser and the Emperor Francis Joseph. It was an open invitation to them to revolt. In the circumstances, the German and Austrian Poles who have so often experienced Teutonic methods of stamping out rebellion, can hardly be blamed for accepting the proposal in a cautious spirit. They were quite unprepared for open rebellion, and at the best would have stood but little chance of success against the armies already mobilised in their midst. In addition, the cream of their manhood was with the forces of the Kaiser and Emperor. Only in Austria did a Polish regiment dare to mutiny, with the result that it was shot down to a man. For the rest, wiser if less heroic counsels prevailed. Everything possible was done covertly to assist the Russian advance. Both German and Austrian commanders complained of the extreme activity of innumerable spies, lamented that the whole population seemed to have combined in an effort to be of every possible service to the enemy, and admitted that fighting in Eastern Prussia and Galicia was fraught with all the difficulties attending operations in a hostile country. But the Proclamation, and the obvious sincerity which prompted it, have had effects extending far beyond military exigencies and the future of the Poles. It has done more than anything else to raise Russia in the estimation of the world. The oppression of Poland has always estranged the leading democracies of the world from Russia. In France it was used as an argument against the Franco-Russian alliance, in Britain it has caused the Triple Entente to be regarded as a potential danger to ourselves. At the time of the war with Japan it withheld the sympathy of the United States from Russia. Now all is changed. The Proclamation was received with approbation by the whole world, with the exception, of course, of Germany and Austria. It was realised by all that Russia is indeed advancing, that the short-sighted autocratic government is giving way to the finest ideals of democracy, and that Russia is an ally worthy of the most ardent lover of liberty. CHAPTER IV THE PRELIMINARY PHASE