THE NEW DRIVE AGAINST LEMBERG

Coincident with their attempt to recapture Kovel, the Russians launched a new drive against Lemberg, the ancient capital of Galicia. This movement was a result of the successes which they had gained in the Bukowina and in eastern Galicia during July, 1916. By the end of that month, as has been previously told, the Russians had reconquered all of the Bukowina, overrun some of the most southern passes of the Carpathians, and were in possession of that part of eastern Galicia located north of the Pruth and Dniester Rivers and east of the Strypa River.

Having gained these advantages, they now attempted to press them and attacked Lemberg both from the north and from the south. In the former direction they advanced from Brody and Tarnopol against the strongly held Styr and Bug line. In the south Lemberg was defended by the Dniester line. Before forcing this line it was necessary to capture Stanislau, an important point on the Czernowitz-Lemberg railway. Between the Bug and the Dniester lines of defense Lemberg was secured in the east, and still farther by a third line of natural defenses. This was formed by a series of northern tributaries of the Dniester, of which the most important were the Sereth, Strypa, and Zlota Lipa Rivers. The former two had already been crossed by the Russians, but there still remained the very formidable and extremely strong line of defenses along the last, which had more than once before proved very difficult to overcome. On the Russian side there were engaged in this struggle three army groups under Generals Sakharoff, Stcherbacheff, and Lechitsky. The Austro-German forces were divided into four groups under Generals Puhallo, Boehm-Ermolli, Von Bothmer, and Von Pfanzer-Ballin.

During the first few days of August, 1916, the fighting along this entire line, though continuous and severe, was not particularly well defined and was more or less split up into comparatively small and local engagements. On August 1, 1916, engagements of this nature took place southwest of Burkanoff and west of Buczacz. In the latter region the ground offered great difficulties. A small but very marshy river—the Moropiec—was strongly defended by the Austro-German forces, and when these finally had to give way, they destroyed all bridges. Nothing daunted, the Russians waded across in the face of severe fire and frequently up to their necks in water, gained the western bank, and after making some hundreds of prisoners, promptly dug themselves in. Other engagements occurred on the same day in the Dniester-Pruth sector—in the direction of Stanislau near Wisniowcza and Molodgonow.

On August 2, 1916, the Russians developed a strong attack on both sides of the railway near Brody against Ponikowica, but were unsuccessful. However, the attacks were kept up and by the next day, August 3, 1916, yielded not only considerable ground, but more than 1,000 prisoners. Fighting was kept up in this locality throughout the following day. The Austro-Germans launched nine counterattacks, all of which were repulsed. The losses on both sides were very severe. For, though the Austro-German forces had to give way, they did so only after the most stubborn resistance. Every little village had to be fought for for hours, and each street had to be cleared at the point of the bayonet. Especially severe encounters occurred near Meidzigory and Tchistopady. By August 5, 1916, the Russians had registered some important successes in this small sector. The number of their prisoners had mounted to over 5,000, and a considerable number of machine guns and bomb throwers had fallen into their hands. The Austro-Germans tried to dislodge their opponents by means of violent artillery fire and a series of strong counterattacks, but were unsuccessful, and by the end of the fourth day, August 5, 1916, the Russians were in possession of the west bank of the Sereth, near and northwest of Zalocze, and of the villages of Zvyjin, Ratische, Tchistopady, Gnidava, and Zalvoce, and the entire ridge of heights between them.

Without let-up the Russians continued to hammer away at the Austro-German lines on the Graberka and Sereth Rivers. On August 6, 1916, the Russian troops captured some more strongly fortified positions in the vicinity of the villages of Zvyjin, Kostiniec, and Reniuv. This region abounds with woods, and lends itself therefore easily to the most determined defense. This resulted again in very fierce bayonet encounters. The Austro-German forces attempted to stop the Russian advance and launched a long series of very energetic counterattacks, especially in the region of the river Koropiec. All of these, however, were in vain. They were repulsed and resulted in considerable losses. According to their official statement, the Russians made about 8,500 prisoners in the Sereth sector on August 5 and 6, 1916, captured four cannon, nineteen machine guns, eleven trench mortars, a large number of mine throwers and much war material of all kinds. The amount of ground captured by August 7, 1916, was claimed to have reached the considerable total of sixty-one and one-half square miles.

Closer and closer the Russians were getting to their immediate objective, Stanislau. On August 7, 1916, strong Russian forces attacked along a front of about fifteen miles on a line between Tlumach and Ottynia and succeeded in forcing back the Austro-Germans along this entire front. They forced their way into the town of Nizniow (about fifteen miles northeast of Stanislau), which was captured, as also were the villages of Bratychuv, Palakhiche, Nodworna, Charnolocza, Krovotula, Nove, and the small town of Ottynia, and finally the town of Ilumach itself.

In spite of the gradual retirement of the Austro-Germans they maintained their counterattacks, which, however, were not successful. By April 8, 1916, they had been forced to take their line back to the west of Nizinoff-Tysmienitsa-Ottynia, or within a few miles east of Stanislau. The Russians on that day crossed the Koropiec, drove their opponents out of their fortified positions, and themselves occupied the left bank up to the point of its juncture with the Dniester. Late on the same day the town of Tysmienitsa was taken as well as a ridge of heights to the northeast as far as the right bank of the Dniester. The fall of Stanislau now had become only a matter of days.

Throughout the next two days, August 9 and 10, 1916, the battle for the possession of Stanislau continued to rage incessantly. One after another the Russians overcame all the obstacles in their way. River after river was crossed, trench after trench was stormed, and village after village was captured. At last, about 8 o'clock in the evening of August 10, 1916, the Russians under General Lechitsky entered Stanislau from where the Austro-German troops had previously retired in good order in a northerly direction against Halicz.

Farther north, in the region of Buczacz and Zalocze, the Russian advance likewise progressed, though somewhat slower. Although by August 11, 1916, the ground between the Zlota Lipa and the Horovanka from the village of Kraseczuv up to the village of Usciezelione had been captured, the Russian line had not been able to push quite as far west toward Lemberg as in the region of Stanislau. In spite of this fact, however, the Russians continued to push their advance. On August 12, 1916, they occupied Podhaytse on the Zlota Lipa, halfway between Buczacz and Brzezany, and Mariampol on the Dniester.

The Austro-German forces continued their stubborn resistance all along the line, and every bit of ground gained by the Russians had to be fought for very hard. On August 13, 1916, fighting occurred along the entire Galician front, from the Dniester up to the upper Sereth. The Zlota Lipa was again crossed on that day at some of its numerous turnings. After a very stubborn fight the village of Tustobaby, northwest of the Dniester, strongly defended by fortifications and machine guns, fell into the hands of the Russians. Russian attacks in the region of Zboroff on the Tarnopol-Lemberg railroad were repulsed, as were also attacks made west of Monasterzyska. "In addition, there were taken a large number of rifles, 30 versts of small-gauge railways, telegraphic materials, and several depots of ammunition and engineering materials."

Throughout the next few days the Austro-Germans resumed the offensive along the entire line. In spite of this the Russians managed to advance at some points. At others they stubbornly maintained their ground, and only in a few instances were they forced to yield slightly. As the end of August approached the fighting along the entire eastern front decreased very much in importance and violence. Local engagements, it is true, took place at many points. But the result of none of these had any important influence on the respective positions of the Russians and Austro-Germans. The latter had lost considerable ground during the Russian offensive and, if the Russian reports were at all reliable, had suffered even more severe losses in men and material. In this respect, however, the Russians had fared no better, and possibly even worse. At any rate, neither Kovel nor Lemberg, apparently the two chief objectives of the Russian operations, had been reached, so that in spite of the Russian gains the advantage seemed to rest with the Austro-Germans.

At the same time at which the Russians advanced against Kovel and Lemberg the Austro-German forces renewed with increased vigor their activities in the Carpathian Mountains, undoubtedly with the object to reduce, if possible, the Russian pressure on their Bukowinian and Galician positions. To a certain extent the Central Powers met with success.

On August 4, 1916, a strong force of about one division, belonging to the army group of the then Austrian heir-apparent, Archduke Charles Francis Joseph, attacked the Russians in the mountain passes southwest of Kutty on the Cheremosh, drove them back in a northeasterly direction and captured some 400 men and a few machine guns. Again on the next day, August 5, 1916, the Austro-Germans attacked in force, this time somewhat farther west on the Pruth River in the vicinity of Jablonitza south of Delabin, without gaining any noticeable ground.

On August 6, 1916, the Austro-German successes of August 4, 1916, were somewhat extended by the capture of some additional heights on the Cheremosh River. For the next few days there was little fighting in these regions. But on August 11, 1916, an attack begun the day before south of Zabie on the Cheremosh resulted in the capture of about 700 Russians and a few machine guns.

Gradually this movement spread until on August 14, 1916, the Russians saw themselves forced to evacuate Jablonitza on the Pruth, which, together with some near-by villages, was immediately occupied by the Austro-Germans. Over 1,000 Russians were captured. Additional territory was regained by the Austro-Germans in this vicinity on August 15, 1916. During the next few days the Russian resistance gradually stiffened. In spite of this fact, and in spite of some local successes gained by the Russians on August 15, 1916, south of Delatyn and north of Kimpolung and again on August 17, 1916, south of Jablonitza near Korosmezo, the Austro-Germans continued to gain ground and increased the number of their prisoners. On August 19, 1916, the Russians reported some additional successes in the Jablonitza sector as well as on the Cheremosh and in the neighborhood of Kirlibaba, northwest of Kimpolung near the Hungarian-Bukowinian-Rumanian border.

On the same day, however, August 19, 1916, the Austro-Germans occupied some heights south of Zabie, which they succeeded in holding against strong Russian attacks launched on the same day, as well as on August 20 and 21, 1916. During the balance of August, 1916, the fighting in the Carpathian Mountains deteriorated as a result of the new developments farther south on the Rumanian border in a number of small local engagements. The results of none of these had any particular influence on the general position of either side, and in most instances amounted to little more than fighting between outposts. The only exception was the fighting in the neighborhood of Nadvorna, a few miles south of Stanislau, where the Russians in the face of stubborn resistance made some slight advance toward the Hungarian border, from which they were, on August 29, 1916, still some twenty miles distant.[Back to Contents]