But apart from the fact that the capture of Berlin would no more crush Germany than the occupation of Brussels has crushed Belgium, such an advance would be doomed to disaster. The invading army might reach Berlin itself, but sooner or later, it would find itself cut off from its supplies. It would necessarily have left behind it large forces of German troops in Eastern Prussia, and equally strong Austrian armies in Galicia. It could only be a matter of time before Russia would meet with a greater and more disastrous Sedan. Such a move would be a terrible blunder of which no general in his senses would be guilty. It may be objected that the German troops in East Prussia were only Landwehr reserves and that the _moral_ of the Austrians was so bad that it would have been possible for Russians to leave sufficient forces to hold both armies in check. In the first place it has been amply proved, again and again during the present war that the partially trained reserves when capably led, and in sufficiently large numbers, can hold their own with first line troops. In the second place, although the Slav regiments were mutinous, Austria had quite two million Teutons and Magyars in her army. These men were unquestionably loyal and quite capable of giving a good account of themselves. Before, therefore, they could set off on that 180 mile journey, it was necessary for the Russians to remove all sources of danger to their rear. The Germans must be turned out of Eastern Prussia or safely held in their own territories, and the Austrians swept from Galicia. The task of capturing Eastern Prussia is one of unusual difficulty. It is a region which it is very much easier to defend than to attack. The greater part of it is covered with marshes, lakes and forests, most difficult country for an army to traverse. The means of communication are poor, the roads--a most important consideration in connection with the movement of the heavy artillery necessary for a successful invasion--are in many instances little better than tracks. Moreover, it is strongly fortified. Königsberg is a first-class modern fortress, whilst those on the line of the Vistula at Thorn, Graudenz and Dantzig are even more powerful. Königsberg and Dantzig, it should also be noted, have the advantage of being ports as well as fortified towns. In other words, they could be used for large supplies of men and material. An invading army, therefore, could not content itself with merely masking the fortresses unless it was supported by a navy enjoying the command of the sea. The Russian fleet was practically a prisoner in the Gulf of Finland. The German navy was in complete command of the Baltic, and, therefore, to be safe, the invading army would have to storm the fortresses and gain possession of the ports.