6/19 March 1915

Ha! Victory! Lots of prisoners and guns taken at a fortress in Galicia. Alexei knows the numbers of each, but I don’t. I’m happy just to move our white pins forward.

Mama says Papa is very pleased with Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch, the commander-in-chief, and gave him a gold sword with a diamond-covered hilt to celebrate the grand victory. Mama speaks about it with her lips pressed into a thin line, so I can tell she doesn’t believe the grand duke deserves such a reward. For some reason, she doesn’t like him much.