BATTLE OF RAWA-RUSSKA

During the time that Auffenberg's army had been retaining the position before Lemberg, a new line of defense had been instituted in his rear. This line ran from Grodek to Rawa-Russka, and thence along the railroad line toward Narol. As the Russian forces between the armies at Tomaszow had not as yet gotten as far as Tarnograd, the far left of Von Auffenberg's troops, or those of the Archduke, which were a continuation of Von Auffenberg's army at this point, were for a brief time almost in touch with the fringe of Dankl's army on its way to the San. But there was no combined and determined stand at any time. The entire army fell back, set upon getting across the river.

It is probable that on the line from Grodek to Rawa-Russka there were more than 1,250,000 men in the armies on both sides. The line was more than sixty miles long, but the struggle was concentrated on certain points and fighting elsewhere was not important. The most critical points were at Grodek on the far south, where a position of considerable strength was occupied by the Austrians, and at Rawa-Russka.

One advantage which accrued to the Austrians was that they occupied positions which had been well fortified before the battle of Lemberg, probably in anticipation of a retreat. Nature, itself, protected their right at Grodek against a turning movement. They had excellent railway facilities in their rear. The advantages possessed by the Russians were those of numbers and the fact that they were encouraged by victory.

The battle had its beginning about September 8, 1914, round the position at Grodek, where the Austrians had retreated after the capture of Lemberg. It was on the extreme north of the line, however, that they first began to give ground. There they were not able to make any extended stand because the enemy, besides attacking them fiercely from in front, began to envelop their left.

The fighting went on over a large extent of ground. At several places large numbers of Austrian prisoners were taken. The upper part of the Austrian line was forced steadily back, not without desperate fighting, and finally the entire line became doubled back on itself at a sharp angle from Rawa-Russka. Here the fighting was terrific.

Rawa-Russka was a small Galician city, inhabited chiefly by Jews. The greater part of the town was old, but there was a modern settlement near the railway station, the town being one of the chief railway centers in that part of Galicia. There, two lines cross, one a branch of the main line to Cracow, from a point near Jaroslav to the frontier at Sokal, and the other extending northwesterly from Lemberg to the Polish frontier at Narol. There were at Rawa-Russka large railroad works, roundhouses, sidings, and storage yards.

As the big battle began to develop on September 8, 1914, it was seen that Rawa-Russka was the place where it probably would be decided and the best efforts of both sides were exerted there. The defenses on the point of the angle of the Austrian line, just behind which was the town, were in extent no longer than six, or at most eight, miles. Nevertheless, during eight days, there were as many as 250,000 or 300,000 men engaged here in night and day fighting.

After the first two days, the Russians concentrated their attack on the very apex of the Austrian angle, atop the bluffs at the edge of the ten-acre battle field. During eight days, the Russians stormed this point repeatedly. In a single mile the Austrians made no less than eight distinct stands.

Some points before being evacuated were taken and surrendered several times, and then retreat was only for a short distance, followed by just as determined resistance. The courage and determination of both armies was equally admirable.

One position held by Austrians for hours was in a stubble field. It was necessary to hold this point while a better position was being dug a few hundred yards behind in a slight dip in the ground. The rain of shrapnel was so heavy about this place that later it was not possible to pick up a handful of dirt from it without finding therein pieces of lead. For a mile across the field where the Austrians had lain, bloody bandages and pieces of equipment were strewn thickly.

Behind this line, two or three hundred yards, was another line just beyond a small ground swell, where the Austrians placed themselves in fairly deep trenches. The Russians took this trench, but being unable to advance farther, dug themselves in on their side. The next day they were driven out by the Austrians. Afterward the trench presented the strange appearance of a ridge of earth with a trench on each side—with Austrian relics on one side and Russian relics on the other.

Day by day the Russians drove the Austrians back farther, until at last, the Austrians were holding a deep trench on the slope of the crest of the last ridge of hills defending the town itself. Immediately over the ridge the Austrian batteries were concentrated. The last trench was not more than four hundred yards in front of the Russian guns.

Nevertheless, the Russians were unable to make any advance against this position until they brought up and put into position a considerable number of heavy howitzers. Then slowly they began to crumble the Austrian defenses. Notwithstanding this bombardment, the Austrians held on for more than a day. Then the Russians stormed the entire top of the hill and seized the few guns which they had not already put out of commission. The hill was taken at the point of the bayonet. This was the decisive moment in the whole conflict.

From the center of the field where this action was taking place the Russian wedge extended to the north and south. The Austrian center was broken when night fell and the Russians were dropping shells into the outskirts of Rawa-Russka. Attacks by the Russians followed, making it impossible for the Austrians to hold the town and it was abandoned by the Austrian forces. In any event it soon would have been enveloped in the rear, considering the way events were shaping themselves on the southerly end of the line, and the defense would have been costly.[Back to Contents]