At five o'clock in the morning fell the fortification Rzesna, soon thereafter Sknilow, and toward eleven Lysa Gora. This work was conquered by infantry regiment No. 34, "William I., German Emperor and King of Prussia." In the Rzesna fortification alone, besides gun limbers and machine guns, 400 prisoners were taken who belonged to no less than eighteen different Russian divisions. In the work there was found, besides masses of weapons and ammunition, a large number of unopened wooden boxes containing steel blinders (Stahlblenden).
At noon of that day the victorious troops set foot in the Galician capital in which the Russians had ruled for nearly ten months. About four o'clock in the afternoon the Austrian commander made his entry into the city, which was quite undamaged and decked with flags. In the streets, in the windows and on balconies stood thousands and thousands of the inhabitants, who enthusiastically greeted their deliverers and showered the automobiles with a rain of flowers. The next day the commander-in-chief, General von Mackensen, congratulated in Lemberg the conqueror of the fortress, the Austrian General of Cavalry von Boehm-Ermolli. The German Emperor, on receiving the announcement of the fall of Lemberg, sent the following telegram to General von Mackensen:
"Accept on the crowning event of your brilliantly led Galician campaign, the fall of Lemberg, my warmest congratulations. It completes an operation which, systematically prepared and executed with energy and skill, has led in only six weeks to successes in battles and amount of booty, and that, too, in the open field, seldom recorded in the history of wars. To God's gracious support we, in the first instance, owe this shining victory, and then to your battle-tried leadership and the bravery of the allied troops under you, both fighting in true comradeship. As an expression of my thankful recognition I appoint you field marshal.
(Signed) "Wilhelm I.R."
At the same time the commander of the Austrian army, Grand Duke Frederick, was appointed a Prussian general field marshal. The faithful working together of the allied armies had borne rich fruits.
THE CZAR’S RESCRIPT
The following Imperial Rescript addressed to the Premier, M. Goremykin, was announced at Petrograd on June 30:
From all parts of the country I have received appeals testifying to the firm determination of the Russian peoples to devote their strength to the work of equipping the Army. I derive from this national unanimity the unshakable assurance of a brilliant future. A prolonged war calls for ever-fresh efforts. But, surmounting growing difficulties and parrying the vicissitudes which are inevitable in war, let us strengthen in our hearts the resolution to carry on the struggle, with the help of God, to the complete triumph of the Russian arms. The enemy must be crushed, for without that peace is impossible.
With firm faith in the inexhaustible strength of Russia, I anticipate that the governmental and public institutions of Russian industry and all faithful sons of the Fatherland, without distinction of ideas and classes, will work together in harmony to satisfy the needs of our valiant Army. This is the only and, henceforth, the national problem to which must be directed all the thoughts of united Russia, invincible in her unity.
Having formed, for the discussion of questions of supplying the Army, a special commission, in which members of the Legislative Chambers and representatives of industry participate, I recognize the necessity, in consequence, of advancing the date of the reopening of these Legislative bodies in order to hear the voice of the country.