History of the World War

by Jr. Francis A. March; Richard J. Beamish

By the end of March the Russians had captured the last Austrian position on the Lupkow pass and were attacking vigorously the pass of Uzzok, which maintained a stubborn defense. Brussilov tried to push his way to the rear of the Uzzok position, and though the Austrians delivered a vigorous counter-attack they were ultimately defeated. In five weeks of fighting Ivanov captured over seventy thousand prisoners.

During this period there was considerable activity in East Prussia, and the Courland coast was bombarded by the German Baltic squadron. There was every indication that Austria was near collapse, but all the time the Germans were preparing for a mighty effort, and the secret was kept with extraordinary success. The little conflicts in the Carpathians and in East Prussia were meant to deceive, while a great army, with an enormous number of guns of every caliber, and masses of ammunition, were being gathered. The Russian commanders were completely deceived. There had been no change in the generals in command except that General Ruzsky, on account of illness, was succeeded by General Alexeiev. The new German army was put under the charge of von Hindenburg's former lieutenant, General von Mackensen. This was probably the strongest army that Germany ever gathered, and could not have numbered less than two millions of men, with nearly two thousand pieces in its heavy batteries.

On April 28th, the action began. The Austro-German army lay along the left of the Donajetz River to its junction with the Biala, and along the Biala to the Carpathian Mountains. Von Mackensen's right moved in the direction of Gorlice. General Dmitrieff was compelled to weaken his front to protect Gorlice and then, on Saturday, the 1st of May, the great attack began. Under cover of artillery fire such as had never been seen before bridges were pushed across the Biala and Ciezkowice was taken. The Russian positions were blown out of existence. The Russian armies did what they could but their defense collapsed and they were soon in full retreat.

The German armies advanced steadily, and though the Russians made a brave stand at many places they could do nothing. On the Wisloka they hung on for five days, but they were attempting an impossibility. From that time on each day marked a new German victory, and in spite of the most desperate fighting the Russians were forced back until, on the 11th, the bulk of their line lay just west of the lower San as far as Przemysl and then south to the upper Dniester. The armies were in retreat, but were not routed. In a fortnight the army of Dmitrieff had fallen back eighty-five miles.

The Grand Duke Nicholas by this time understood the situation. He perceived that it was impossible to make a stand. The only thing to do was to retreat steadily until Germany's mass of war material should be used up, even though miles of territory should be sacrificed. It should be a retreat in close contact with the enemy, so that the Austro-German troops would have to fight for every mile. This meant a retreat not for days, but perhaps for weeks. It meant that Przemysl must be given up, and Lemberg, and even Warsaw, but the safety of the Russian army was of more importance than a province or a city.

On May 18th the German War Office announced their successes in the following terms: "The army under General von Mackensen in the course of its pursuit of the Russians reached yesterday the neighborhood of Subiecko, on the lower Wisloka, and Kolbuezowa, northeast of Debica. Under the pressure of this advance the Russians also retreated from their positions north of the Vistula. In this section the troops under General von Woyrach, closely following the enemy, penetrated as far as the region northwest of Kielce. In the Carpathians Austro-Hungarian and German troops under General von Linsingen conquered the hills east of the Upper Stryi, and took 3,660 men prisoners, as well as capturing six machine guns. At the present moment, while the armies under General von Mackensen are approaching the Przemysl fortresses and the lower San, it is possible to form an approximate idea of the booty taken. In the battles of Tarno and Gorlika, and in the battles during the pursuit of these armies, we have so far taken 103,500 Russian prisoners, 69 cannon, and 255 machine guns. In these figures the booty taken by the Allied troops fighting in the Carpathians, and north of the Vistula, is not included. This amounts to a further 40,000 prisoners. Przemysl surrendered to the German's on June 3, 1915, only ten weeks after the Russian capture of the fortress, which had caused such exultation."

General von Mackensen continued toward Lemberg, the capital of Galicia. On June 18th, when the victorious German armies were approaching the gates of Lemberg, the Russian losses were estimated at 400,000 dead and wounded, and 300,000 prisoners, besides 100,000 lost before Marshal von Hindenburg's forces in Poland and Courland. On June 23d Lemberg fell. The weakness of Russia in this campaign arose from the exhaustion of her ammunition supplies, but great shipments of such supplies were being constantly forwarded from Vladivostock.

When the German army crossed the San, Wilhelm II, then German Emperor, was present. It is interesting to look back on the scene. Here is a paragraph from the account of the Wolff Telegraphic Bureau: "The Emperor had hurried forward to his troops by automobile. On the way he was greeted with loud hurrahs by the wounded, riding back in wagons. On the heights of Jaroslav the Emperor met Prince Eitel Friedrich, and then, from several points of observation, for hours followed with keen attention the progress of the battle for the crossing."

While the great offensive in Galicia was well under way, the Germans were pushing forward in East Prussia. Finding little resistance they ultimately invaded Courland, captured Libau, and established themselves firmly in that province. The sweep of the victorious German armies through Galicia was continued into Poland. On July 19th William the War Lord bombastically telegraphed his sister, the Queen of Greece, to the effect that he had "paralyzed Russia for at least six months to come" and was on the eve of "delivering a coup on the western front that will make all Europe tremble."

It would be futile to recount the details of the various German victories which followed the advance into Poland. On July 24th, the German line ran from Novgorod in the north, south of Przasnysz, thence to Novogeorgievsk, then swinging to the southeast below Warsaw it passed close to the west of Ivangorad, Lublin, Chelm, and then south to a point just east of Lemberg. Warsaw at that time was in the jaws of the German nutcracker.