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THE EASTERN THEATRE-SEPTEMBER 9TH Brest-Litovsk fell to Mackensen's attack on August 27th and Grodno fell on August 30th to an attack in force which it was able to hold off only four days. All the Russian fortresses in Poland had now passed into the hands of the Teutons, and nothing except the obstacles imposed by Nature stood between the Russian central army and the Teutonic allies. The

operations of the Germans had been carried on vigorously in Courland while the campaign was developing in Poland. After much very hard fighting a firm footing and bases had been established at the seaports and points in the interior, particularly at Shavli. At this place and in the area around it were assembled about 500,000 men who came from parts of the line in Poland and from other units brought from the

interior. All the railroads were repaired with the

greatest dispatch by the Germans, and supplies of all sorts brought up. The Russians meanwhile rushed reinforcements to their lines along the Dvina River between Riga and Dvinsk so as to prevent the Germans from forcing it and menacing the Petrograd railroad. The fall of Kovno practically divided the Russian army into three parts, the northern wing

along the line of the Dvina River between Dvinsk and Riga, the central in the area around and south of Vilna, and the southern south of the Pripet Swamps. Of these three Russian armies the central one was the strongest

Odessa and, later, Sevastopol by land attack, the Russian navy would have no base to go to, and would be greatly at the mercy of torpedo craft, and would have no adequate means of re-supply. In other words, if such an Austro-German move were successful it would pretty well settle any aspirations Russia may have about Constantinople.

From a military standpoint such a move at this time naturally ought to be sub

ordinated to a crushing of the Russian army's central mass, because once this were destroyed the Germans would be at perfect liberty to concentrate the major part of their forces against either Russian wing, which would give them an overwhelming superiority. For these reasons a determined attack was launched by the Austrians against the Russian positions east of the Bug and Zlota-Lipa rivers during August. The move was successful in driving the Russians back at all points and in capturing the permanent fortresses of Lutzk and Dubno, which, with Rovno, form a triangle of forts for the defense of the approaches to the area around Kiev. The advance was so sudden and so strongly sustained that the Russians reinforced this area with large forces of men and material, with which they not only brought the Austrian offensive to a stop in front of their fortress of Dubno and west of Tarnopol, but by vigorous attacks in many areas they also more than held their own and forced the Austrians back.

Just as these apparent successes were being heralded by the Russians the main stroke for a decision against the central Russian army was launched, by Hindenburg. This took the form, first, of a movement in force against the Russian bridge heads on the Dvina River at Friedrichstadt, Jacobstadt, and Lindenburg, where the Russians were driven to the north side of the river and German columns moved forward from Mitau in the direction of Riga and along the railroad from Shavli toward Dvinsk. Here, then, we had all the elements of the characteristic German strategy-demonstrations at both extremities of the whole strategic front (in this case along the Dvina and south of the Pripet Swamps) to distract attention from the main move in the direction of Vilna, the centre. When the columns had made sure their ground along the Dvina the forces for the main attack on Vilna were placed north of that city and forced crossings over the Vilia River.

At the same time that these movements were taking place in the second week in September-the mass of the German cavalry was launched at the railroad between Vilna and Dvinsk. This cavalry,

about 50,000 strong, advanced on a front nearly 100 miles wide, crossed the railroad at many points, and kept on at great speed for the railroad connecting Molodechno and Polotsk, 80 miles away. Detachments

were also sent to cut the railroad from Vilna to Molodechno, while infantry columns followed them with all speed. These roads were reached and the railroad east from Vilna was cut by September 18th, with the infantry close behind to keep the successes which the cavalry had won. This was the culmination of the battle for Vilna which may be considered to have been going on for the better part of a month.

Meanwhile General Mackensen had pushed on at great speed through the city of Pripet and on September 18th was only twelve miles from the Vilna-Rovno railroad, at which point he was stopped by the Russians. In the centre the armies of the Archduke Ferdinand and Prince Leopold of Bavaria had crossed the line of the Seuzara River and were in some places only twenty miles from this same railroad on that date. The Russians then found their communications cut and were unable to hold their foe at any place on this front. On September 19th the victorious German army entered Vilna while the Russians, without railroads and with a very difficult country at their backs, attempted to cut their way out between two lines of their enemies.

The country through which the German cavalry moved forward between the Vilna-Dvinsk railroad and the Moloand the Molodechno-Polotsk line is a comparatively high, undulating ridge with good roads checker-boarding a country which abounds in forage and food. Although the Russians in their retreat attempted to destroy a great deal of supplies in order to hinder the advance of their enemy, great stores of food and fodder still remained which enabled the German cavalry to do a remarkably rapid march, the leading forces making as much as fifty miles a day notwithstanding the opposition of the Russian horsemen.

The Russian army now found itself in a terrible position. It had attempted to cut its way out to the northeast of Vilna but

had been thrown back with loss. Part of its force retired along the railroad toward Lida, but this was crossed and cut by the German forces advancing from the west. The key point was Vileika and Molodechno, and against these places the Russians threw their forces with redoubled energy.

As this article is being written the battles in the Molodechno-Vileika area are of the most stubborn nature. Positions pass from the hands of one side to the other in some cases several times in the same day. The Germans are bringing up all the forces they can possibly transport to that area and hurling them headlong at the Russians. The Russians have succeeded in driving the Germans away from the railroad itself, but its tracks are all torn up and the German cavalry is meanwhile extending its lines further and further toward Minsk and the railroad running northeast from that place.

The final issue in this theatre remains to be determined and will require days if not weeks in settlement. The Russians appear to have few reserves left in the interior for use at Minsk or to attack from Polotsk the rear of the German columns in this area, partially weakened because both ends of their strategic front were reinforced at the expense of their centre. In order to try to relieve the pressure on the Vilna army the Russians are launching against the Austrians south of the Pripet Swamps determined attacks which have had a good deal of success locally but have failed to make the Teutons send many more troops into that territory. Even if the Russians make a great advance in that area they will expose their forces to a flank attack from the north, in which area the Germans hold all the railroads. The Russians are attacking strenuously all along the line of the Dvina River between Dvinsk and Riga. Could they make good in this area, the whole German position in Courland would be turned and the forces in the Vilna area would be taken in reverse. At the same time the Russians would have their own communications straight behind them. This is the reason why such tremendous battles are taking place along the Dvina River and why the

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THE BATTLE OF VILNA-SEPT. 13TH-24TH

The German plans aimed to destroy the Russian central army covering Vilna. To distract Russian attention from this place, demonstrations were made at the extreme flanks, that is along the Dvina River and south of the Pripet Swamps against the fortress triangle Lutzk-Dubno-Rovno. Both of these demonstrations were determined moves in great strength and gave the impression of main operations. In the north the Russians were pressed back to their outer works around Riga and Dvinsk, while in the south the fortresses of Lutzk and Dubno were taken and Rovno menaced. These drives caused the Russians to

reinforce both ends of their line which were the most

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Germans are holding that part of their lines so strongly. From a strategic standpoint the attempt of the Russians to break through in that area is the best thing they can do. The Germans so far have not only thrown them back along the Dvina River but have themselves advanced considerably.

While the Russian central army has been by no means destroyed, it has been thrown back with great loss without much probability of a strong offensive return. If this is so a hole has been blasted in the Russian strategic centre which will have the effect of allowing the Germans to concentrate on either the northern or southern groups of the Russian field army. The supply arrangements for the German army are mammoth in the extreme, because not only do all the railroads have to be rebuilt but all the ammunition and supplies for the vast armies have to be brought up from the home countries. Moreover, as winter is approaching all the equipment that will be necessary for that season is being brought up.

A great deal of comment has been indulged in by the lay press on the similarity between the present operations and those of Napoleon over some of the same territory one hundred years ago. The only point of similarity is that the operations are taking place in the same country. A

remote points from their central army. On Sep-glance at any railroad map of that region tember 12th the great mass of the German cavalry, about 60,000 sabres, was launched at the VilnaDvinsk railroad. They reached it on the 13th, and steadily maintained their advance. By the 17th, the German horsemen appeared on a 100-mile front along the Molodechno-Polotsk railroad, seizing the station of Molodecheno. The cavalry was followed by light infantry, which by tremendous marches reached the vicinity of Molodechno on the 19th. The main German armies were launched by Von Hindenburg against the Russian position as indicated on the sketch. The Russians found their communications cut in all directions and the enemy pressing them on the front and both flanks. At first the Russians

attempted to break out to the northeast of Vilna but were thrown back on the banks of the Vilia River. The only hope, then, for extricating the army lay in a retreat to the east through Molodechno toward Minsk.

From the 20th to the 24th of September tremendous fighting took place on both flanks of this force. It was the greatest opportunity the Germans had for inflicting a decisive setback to the Russians. They therefore did everything in their power to carry their left wing forward toward the Minsk-Borisof railroad. To re lieve pressure on their central army the Russians attacked in a determined manner along the Dvina front and south of the Pripet Swamps

will show that as the Germans advance they keep the best and most numerous railroads at their backs, which allow them to concentrate on threatened points much more easily than the Russians. They are much better equipped with motor transportation than the Russians. When the country freezes, the motors are no longer prevented from crossing the swamps but can go anywhere over the frozen surfaces. A deep thrust into Russia is, of course, a very serious operation, but it is by no means an insurmountable one with troops that have a very high degree of fighting ability. At present, then, there appears no indication that the German campaign into Russia will be relaxed until either they get a decision over the Russians or the Russians administer a severe repulse or defeat.

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HOW THE OLDEST DEVICES OF COMBAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK INTO
PRACTICAL USE BY THE EFFECT OF THE NEWEST DEVICES
UPON THE TACTICS OF THE BATTLEFIELD

HIS war is in its weapons the most primitive as well as the most scientific of all modern conflicts. It is a war of one-ton shells and hand grenades, of the most distant artillery duels and hand-to-hand combats, of asphyxiating gases and stinkpots, of airships and shovels, of shrapnel and sling shots. Every device by which man has slain man, from the boulder in the hands of Ab the Cave Dweller to the machine gun in the hands of Albert, don of Oxford, is in deadly use on one or another of the battlefields of Europe. The newspapers have told of

T

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A SKODA HOWITZER READY FOR ACTION

One of the great Austrian siege guns. It can be transported in sections on tractors at twelve miles an hour and set in place in forty minutes

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WHAT THE BIG GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN GUNS DID AT LIÈGE The destruction of the Loucin forts, a part of one of the strongest fortresses in Europe

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