Farther south, on the Pilica, a German feint was in progress with the object of weakening the Russian defense in the north. But while Petrograd seemed to be resigning itself to the idea of a second withdrawal from before Przasnysz, there was little doubt of the ultimate outcome of this German attempt to gain a firm footing on Russian soil. The German troops were moved forward in close order and only in the daytime, and were entirely dependent on what natural cover they could find between the rushes, as the ground was frozen too hard to permit the use of intrenching tools.
These tactics naturally involved very heavy losses. The German casualties are also understood to have been extremely severe around Simno, especially on their extreme left, where they lost the greater part of their transport. It appeared certain that the Russians had fallen back before an onrush of forces of overwhelming numerical superiority, but it was equally certain that with every yard of the German advance from their railways the shock of their impact weakened while the Russian powers of resistance were enhanced.
BRITISH RELIEVE THE PRESSURE
Just as the French attacked the Germans in the western campaign when Field Marshal von Hindenburg made his rush from East Prussia in February, so the British army operating in Flanders undertook the task of relieving the pressure on its Russian ally when the Russians again were attacked in north Poland. This was part of the general plan of the allied generals. When one was attacked the other attacked, so as to compel the Germans and Austrians to keep strong forces at every point, and endeavor to prevent them from sending new troops where they could do the most good.
In March the Germans were occupied in an attempt to crush the Russians. For this purpose they had an army estimated at nearly half a million men marching along the roads toward Przasnysz. To prevent this army from being further strengthened the British began to thrust at the German line north of La Bassée, and besides reporting the capture of the village of Neuve Chapelle, they advanced beyond that town.
BRITISH AUXILIARY CRUISER LOST
On March 12 the Admiralty issued a report of the loss of the large British auxiliary cruiser Bayano while on naval patrol duty in the Irish Sea. Evidence pointed to her having been torpedoed by a German submarine. Only 27 of the Bayano's crew of 250 were saved. Fourteen officers, including the commander, went down with the ship. The Bayano was a new twin screw steel steamer of 5,948 tons. The survivors were afloat on a raft when rescued. The loss of the Bayano was the most serious of the submarine blockade of the British coasts up to that time.
GERMAN CRUISER DRESDEN SUNK
For several months British warships in the South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans sought in vain for the German cruiser Dresden, one of the German squadron defeated off the Falkland Islands by Admiral Sturdee in December, when she was the only German vessel to escape. On February she sank the British ship Conway Castle off Corral in the South Pacific, and on March 14 she was caught near Juan Fernandez Island by the British cruisers Glasgow and Kent and the auxiliary cruiser Orama. An action ensued and after five minutes' fighting the Dresden hauled down her flag. She was much damaged and set on fire, and after she had been burning for some time her magazine exploded and she sank. The crew were saved. Fifteen badly wounded Germans were landed at Valparaiso, and the remainder of the crew were taken on board the auxiliary cruiser Orama as prisoners of war.
The Dresden was a sister ship of the famous Emden, and was commissioned in October, 1907. In the spring of 1914 the Dresden was on the Caribbean station, and was lying off Tampico when the American forces captured Vera Cruz. Later on in the summer the Dresden was the vessel on which Victoriano Huerta, upon abandoning Mexico, traveled from Puerta to Jamaica. Upon the outbreak of the war the Dresden was still stationed in Central American waters, and for a time was hunted by the British and French cruisers in the North Atlantic. She steamed south, however, and after sinking the British steamer Hyades and the Holmwood off the coast of Brazil, respectively, on August 16 and 26, went through the Strait of Magellan and joined Admiral Count Von Spee's fleet in the southern Pacific.