Not until then did it become known that the Russians, in the beginning of their offensive, had had the support of some of their allies.
The Russian offensive had now been under way for more than a week. As so often in the past, it had been launched against that part of the front which was held chiefly by Austro-Hungarians, and also, as many times before, the troops of the Dual Monarchy had been forced to give way under the Russian pressure. German reenforcements, however, now began to arrive and the defense began to stiffen, bringing at the same time more frequent and stronger counterattacks.[Back to Contents]
CHAPTER XCII
THE CAPTURE OF HALICZ AND KALUSZ
The surmise that Halicz, the important railroad point on the Dniester, was soon to fall into the hands of the Russians, provided they were able to keep up the strength and swiftness of their offensive, was proved correct on July 10, 1917. Late that day the news that Halicz had fallen on July 9, 1917, into Russian hands came from Petrograd. The Russians were fighting under General Kornilov and their attacks were so strong that the Austrians under General Kirchbach were unable to resist. In two days Austro-German positions seven miles deep and strongly fortified during a period of two years were overrun by the victorious Russians. More than 1,000 prisoners, seven guns, many trench mortars and machine guns, and a large booty of engineering materials and other military stores fell into the hands of the victors. The Austro-Hungarians were forced to retire behind the lower course of the Lomnitza River, and at the end of the day the road to Lemberg, only sixty-three miles northwest of Halicz, seemed seriously threatened from the south.
Earlier in the day sanguinary battles occurred on the road to Halicz in the region of the villages of Huciska, Pacykov, and Pavelone. In the streets of Pavelone there was bayonet fighting, which ended in a complete rout of the Austrians. Toward evening the Russian troops reached the village of Bukovica, having occupied the villages of Viktarov, Majdan, Huciska, and Pacykov.
South of Brzezany there was intense artillery fighting. In the direction of Dolina the army of General Kornilov continued its offensive in the region west of Stanislau. The Austro-Germans displayed energetic resistance which developed into stubborn counterattacks. Farther north, too, near Riga, Dvinsk, and Smorgon, the fighting activity increased.
The Russians maintained their successes on the following day, July 10, 1917. In the direction of Dolina they continued the pursuit northwestward toward Lemberg of the retreating enemy, who had been broken by General Kornilov's army on the Jezupol-Stanislau-Borgordchan front—a front of almost twenty miles.
At midday troops led by General Tcheremisoff, who had accomplished the capture of Halicz, were thrown across to the left bank of the Dniester. Toward evening they reached the valley of the river Lomnitza on the front from the mouth of the river to Dobrovlany, and advance detachments, crossing over after a short engagement to the left bank of the river, occupied the villages of Bludniki and Babin. Russian troops advancing on the Borgordchan-Zolotvin front, having broken down the resistance of the enemy, reached the line of Posiecz-Lesiuvka-Kosmocz. This was a success in a new sector south of Halicz and threatened the approaches to the northern Carpathians.
In the course of the day the Russians captured more than 2,000 prisoners and about thirty guns. Altogether in the three days' battle from the 8th to the 10th in the direction of Dolina they took more than 150 officers and 10,000 men. Their captures also included about eighty guns, twelve of them of heavy caliber, and a large number of trench mortars and machine guns and a large quantity of engineering material and military stores. On the remainder of the front there was artillery firing, which was more intense in the direction of Zlochoff and south of Brzezany.