It has already been pointed out that Russia could not advance directly on Berlin and thus expose herself to the danger of being cut off and annihilated by German armies from East Prussia and Austrians from Galicia. A march on Posen would more likely than not have resulted in another and more stupendous Sedan. In the previous chapter it was shown that, for various reasons, the Russian General Staff decided not to threaten Berlin by the northern route through Prussia. The nature of the country was unfavourable for any such movement; it was strongly fortified and capably defended. Moreover, the fact that winter was approaching had to be taken into account. Those who have had the misfortune to spend the winter months at KÖnigsberg or other towns in Eastern Prussia will agree with the Russian Staff that the conditions during that period of the year do not favour military or any other operations. And it was essential that Russia should maintain a vigorous offensive, if only to keep faith with her allies.

That there was another route to Berlin, and one which possessed many obvious advantages, was overlooked by most of the strategists. The route in question lies along the banks of the Oder, through Silesia and Saxony. If Russia could crush the military power of Austria in Galicia and drive the remnants of her armies across the Carpathians, either pursuing them to Buda-Pesth and Vienna or confining them to the Hungarian plains, she would be free to advance upon Breslau and Berlin.

There are many advantages possessed by this route. In the first place, it would be safe, assuming that Austria were thoroughly broken beforehand. The country is open and well provided with railways, excellent roads, and other means of communication; it contains only one fortress of any strength—Neisse—which could be easily masked, and is generally favourable to a rapid advance. An additional advantage is that Silesia is a busy mining and industrial province, with a population of nearly 6,000,000. The invading army would be preceded by armies of panic-stricken fugitives, who would impede any defensive measures and strike terror in Berlin long before the menace of the invaders became serious.

There can be little doubt, in view of (1) that the chief Russian armies are engaged in Galicia and Poland, and (2) that no serious attempt has been made either to follow up General Rennenkampf’s remarkable advance in East Prussia or to retrieve the ground lost as a result of the defeat at Osterode, that an advance on the lines suggested through Galicia and Silesia is the main feature of the Russian strategy. It is the simplest, safest and most effective route by which Germany could be invaded. It is the one route an advance along which, supported by a vigorous offensive from Poland, would have an immediate effect on the war in the west. When once the Russians begin to march on Breslau, it will be only a matter of weeks before they reach Berlin, unless the Germans detach very strong forces from their western army and hurry them across to defend the capital.

But first of all, Austria must be smashed, and Galicia and Poland swept clear of the enemy.

At the end of the preliminary phase of the campaign, the Russians had already gained a footing in Galicia in the neighbourhood of the River Styr, whilst the Austrians had advanced northwards from Cracow and established themselves in Poland. This Austrian army, after being heavily reinforced, so that it amounted to about 500,000 men, began to march northward towards Warsaw. It was then still further reinforced by a German army which had advanced from Posen, and invaded the Polish province of Kalisch. In Poland, therefore, there was a very considerable army which seriously threatened Lublin and Warsaw, and would require heavy and probably extended operations before it could be forced back.

A second Austrian army, smaller than the first, was in Galicia, with Lemberg for its base.

The operations against these two armies constitute the real “Russian Advance,” the movement intended to prepare for the crushing of Austria and a march on Berlin. That it would be slow was obvious. Opposing it were, at the time under review, about 1,500,000 troops, with two first-class fortresses in Cracow and Przemysl and a hardly less strong position in Lemberg. The question remained, how would Russia act? Would she concentrate her attention on driving the first Austrian army on to Galicia, or would she deliver her main attack on the second army, and invade Galicia from the east, trusting on her success and consequent menace to the communications of the first army to force that army back on to its base? The former course would be the safer, for the first Austro-German army was a more formidable force than the second. The latter course, if the more hazardous, had the merit of speed. The Grand Duke Nicholas decided to adopt this plan, much to the surprise of the Austrians. An army was sent from Warsaw to operate against the Austro-German army in Poland, but the main army, under General Russki, had Kiev for base, and immediate preparations began for a vigorous and sweeping movement through Galicia.

It was, however, essential for the success of the plan that the Austro-German army should be held in check until the menace to its rear was strong enough to force it back. If it were to capture Lublin or seriously threaten Warsaw, the whole scheme would be in danger of collapse.

It must not be forgotten that while these operations were in progress Austria was fighting on her southern frontier against Serbia and Montenegro. The war in the south naturally affected to some extent the war in the north. A series of victories in the south would undoubtedly have provided the Austrians in the north with the moral tonic they so sadly needed. As it happened, however, the war in the south was a complete failure. Seven attempts were made to capture Belgrade, an utterly defenceless town, but each was repulsed. The invasion of Serbia ended in the rout of Shabatz. The Austrians thereupon abandoned their operations against Serbia, and threw all their forces into the northern war. Whatever advantage was gained by this increase in numbers was for the time being more than counterbalanced by the shattered moral of the additional troops. Mutiny had already done much to destroy the spirit of the troops. The companionship of men who had been routed by the despised Serbians was not calculated to improve matters. However, Austria needed every man in the north to defend her reputation as a first-class military power.

Her plan of campaign amounted to an attempt to force the reversal of the Russian plan. The main army was to carry out a vigorous invasion of Poland in two directions, towards Lublin on the north-east and towards Lodz on the north. The latter movement would receive help from the Germans operating in the province of Kalisch. The success of these movements would render a determined invasion of Galicia from the east impossible. Russia would have to change her plan and concentrate her efforts on defeating the invading Austrians and driving them back across the frontier. Obviously this would have suited the German plans admirably, because it would have delayed the Russian advance indefinitely, and so relieve the dangerous position resulting from the unexpected success of the Russian mobilisation and the equally unexpected failure of the attempt to crush France in the course of a few weeks. Viewing the war as a whole, therefore, the main object of both sides was to gain time. The Allies wanted to delay the German advance until the pressure of Russia on the east became unbearable. The Austrian object was to hold Russia in check and so enable Germany to maintain an undiminished army in the west. The issue of the whole war now depended on the efforts of Austria, for even if the Allies in the west were able, as the result of a vigorous offensive, to force the Germans out of France and Belgium, it was extremely doubtful whether they would be able to invade Germany itself with anything more than moderate success, unless the Germans were forced to divide their troops more or less equally between the two frontiers.

The most important operations in the east, therefore, were the advance of the main Austrian army on Lublin and the advance of the Germans through Kalisch. Until these were positively checked the projected Russian advance could not be pushed forward. But, once checked, a successful Russian advance would cause the retirement or downfall of these invaders of Poland unless they were heavily reinforced.

The campaign opened with a serious defeat for Russia. The Austrian army crossed the frontier and established contact with the defending forces in the neighbourhood of Krasnik, a little town some fifteen miles across the border. Details of the engagement are very few. Officially, the Russians ignored it, being wholly taken up with the telling the world about their successes in Prussia. What appears to have happened was that the Russians did not expect the enemy to throw forward such strong forces, and were taken by surprise. Heavily superior in point of numbers and well supported by artillery, the Austrians, while unable to break the Russian centre, seem to have successfully carried out a flanking movement. The Russians fought gamely, and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, but their defeat was inevitable. The Austrians claimed to have captured some thousands of prisoners and much artillery. In view of the results of the battle, it is quite possible that their claims were not exaggerated.

The serious results of this engagement were at once apparent. The heaviness of the defeat made it impossible for the Russians to make a determined resistance against the Austrian advance for some time. The Austrians overran Kelche and pressed forward on Lublin.

In the course of this advance the Austrians made brave attempts to imitate their German allies. The occupation of Kamenetz Podolski was a good example of their efforts to play the Hun. The town was captured after a sharp engagement, in the course of which the Austrian commander had the misfortune to be slightly wounded. His first act was to demand 200,000 roubles, 200 horsed carts, 800 poods of bread and 60 oxen. Unless this levy were forthcoming by eight o’clock the next morning, the mayor was to be hanged and the town sacked. At the best of times this would have been an almost impossible demand on the resources of Kamenetz, which is only a small town. On the approach of the Austrians the Municipal Treasurer, the bankers and all the wealthy families had fled, taking their riches with them. Nobody in the town had so much as twenty-five roubles in his possession.

The mayor went to inform the general that it was impossible to fulfil his demands. The general replied that he would bombard the town unless the whole levy were delivered by eight o’clock.

The night was spent by the inhabitants in the impossible task of trying to raise the money. Rings, watches and jewellery of all kinds were collected. The churches were stripped of their crucifixes and plate. A valuable collection of old coins, worth at least 15,000 roubles, left the scales at an appraisement of seven hundred roubles. At half-past six in the morning it was found that not more than five or six thousand roubles’ worth of gold and silver had been collected towards the 200,000 demanded. The mayor went to find the general in the forlorn hope that the latter would relent. The inhabitants crouched in their cellars awaiting the dreaded bombardment.

Eight o’clock passed and nothing happened. The Austrian general had left during the night, leaving a colonel as governor of the town. The latter gravely assessed the levy at 25,000 rubles, returned the crucifixes and church plate and announced that he was perfectly satisfied. Then a few hours later, acting on instructions from Vienna, he returned the whole levy, to the utter bewilderment of the inhabitants.

But in spite of these half-hearted attempts to imitate the Huns, there is no doubt that for a time the advance of the Austrian army was a serious matter. General Bankal, the commander of the force, drove the Russians from position after position in a series of desperate engagements and it was not until he reached the line Lublin Kholm that he was definitely checked, and General Russki was able to advance in earnest.

The primary cause of General Bankal’s check was the fact that he found himself face to face with a strong Russian army, with the fortress of Ivangorod for a base. This army was as large as his own, and occupied an immensely strong position. Bankal, realising the necessity for maintaining the offensive, attempted to break through the Russian centre. After a heavy bombardment he threw his men forward in close formation, hoping by force of numbers to cut a way through. The attempt was a costly failure. A second and third attempt fared no better. Then, realising that his position was hopeless in the face of such superior forces, Bankal retired, and soon was in full retreat towards the south.

In this battle the Russians captured over 5,000 prisoners; whilst the Austrian losses may be estimated from the fact that over 3,000 of their dead were buried by the victors.

A secondary cause contributing to General Bankal’s failure was the lack of German support from Posen. This was the direct result of General Rennenkampf’s successful offensive in Eastern Prussia. In the previous chapter it was shown how, after the battle of Gumbinnen and the rapid advance through Allenstein, the Germans brought up several army corps to cope with the menace. They drove back Rennenkampf, but only at the cost of starving their offensive in Poland. They were unable to reinforce both the defensive line of the Vistula and the armies attacking Poland, unless they withdrew a portion of their forces from the western theatre of war. In spite of rumours, it may be stated for certain that no such withdrawal took place. There was no apparent diminution of German power in the west, and no reinforcements arrived in Poland.

The Germans, however, managed to penetrate as far as Lodz. Their advance was more due to lack of opposition than to their own prowess. They were in no great numbers, and on meeting with a superior force at Pobianitz, they at once began to retire without offering any serious resistance.

Nevertheless, their advance, insignificant as it was, is worthy of attention as affording a comparison between themselves and their Austrian allies. The latter in the course of their advance made half-hearted attempts to win a reputation for savagery, such as the incident at Kamenetz, but on the whole, their conduct, apart from much drunkenness and a little looting, was admirable. The Germans, on the other hand, fully lived up to the reputation which their comrades in Belgium had won for themselves.

Their chief exploit was the sacking of Kalisch. During the German occupation of the town in the early stages of the war it was stated that some of the inhabitants had fired on the soldiers. General Preusker, the German commander, at once indulged in the most savage reprisals. Numerous inhabitants were shot. Some hundreds of the leading citizens, including the priests, were seized as hostages and forced to lie for hours under a broiling sun. Then suddenly they were marched out of the town and were told to prepare for execution. When all was ready, and the wretched prisoners thought that their last moment had come, the order was countermanded. The town was then bombarded by the German artillery. The town hall and all the chief buildings were ruined, hundreds of innocent men, women and children were killed. After witnessing the destruction of their homes the hostages were sent as prisoners to Posen.

After this savage display, General Preusker issued a proclamation to the Poles, stating that the Kaiser, in return for their help, would effect the regeneration of the Polish nation through the influence of Western culture. Needless to say, the proclamation met with no response.

The news of this event naturally caused something of a panic in Western Poland. At Lodz, for instance, the approach of the Germans resulted in the town being in danger of falling into a state of anarchy. The administrative authorities and the bankers immediately fled to Warsaw, leaving the town, which has over 600,000 inhabitants, without protection and without money. The manufacturers, to their credit, stayed in the town. The closing of the banks rendered them for the time being penniless, and there was danger of riots from their employÉs who could not be paid. The workpeople, however, kept their heads, and notes were issued by a committee of leading citizens. Owing to the impossibility of providing them with food, the prisoners had to be released. For a time the fate of the town hung in the balance. The most trivial event might have inflamed the workpeople. But, thanks in no small measure to the fact that all the taverns had been closed since the beginning of the mobilisation, calm was gradually restored. It was almost a relief when the Uhlans at last appeared and the thoughts of the people were distracted by the new menace.

The fighting around Lodz, although temporarily decisive in that it resulted in the Germans being driven back over the frontier, was of only small extent. It was here, however, that the Cossacks gave the Nemetz a taste of their qualities. Indeed, the exploit of Kusma Krutchakov and his companions was one of the most courageous feats of the whole war.

He was out on patrol duty with his comrades, Stchergolkov, Astachov, Ivankov; and Rvatchov, when they learned that twenty-seven German horsemen had been seen in their immediate neighbourhood. Rvatchov was at once despatched to headquarters with the news, while the others, without a moment’s hesitation, set out to tackle their formidable antagonists, whom they had seen disappearing behind a hill. After making a detour to escape observation, the Cossacks divided into pairs, Krutchakov and Ivankov approaching the Germans from the rear, the other two from the front. The leader of the patrol attempted to inveigle the Germans into a bog, but in this he was unsuccessful, and the whole party charged down upon the Cossacks, who made off on their swift horses.

As soon, however, as the Germans gave up the chase Krutchakov and his companion, who had meanwhile been joined by the other two, followed them and continued the pursuit for four miles. At last, getting the enemy in full view in the open country, they dismounted and opened fire. The Germans now saw that they had only four men to deal with, and charged down upon them at a gallop.

At this the Cossacks mounted and prepared for a hand-to-hand struggle. As the Germans approached, their officer was shot dead. They then closed in upon Ivankov, who was nearest to them, and attacked him with their lances.

Before they could get him down, however, his three companions had sprung in to his assistance.

Krutchakov swung to one side and engaged three of the Germans, while his comrades together got into a close scuffle with the rest. While one German was trying to run Astachov through the body, he himself was pierced by the lance of Stchergolkov and fell to the ground. Another German aimed a blow at the head of Stchergolkov, but was just in time put down by Ivankov. Three Cossacks then broke free from the mÊlÉe, Ivankov and Astachov on one side, pursued by six Germans, and Stchergolkov on the left, with three of the enemy on his heels. When the Germans abandoned the pursuit Ivankov and Astachov dashed in to the assistance of Krutchakov, who, at first beset by three Germans, now had a dozen round him.

Against these desperate odds he was defending himself with coolness and address. A non-commissioned officer aimed a blow at his head, but he parried it by swinging up his carbine. His fingers were slashed, but not severed, and, dropping the carbine, he seized the sword and chopped his assailant down.

When at length help arrived, only five Germans remained alive. Krutchakov had received sixteen wounds, and his horse eleven. Stchergolkov was wounded in two places, whilst Ivankov escaped with only one hurt.

The retreat of General Bankal from Lublin and the driving back of the Germans from Lodz left General Russki free to move forward in earnest. The conditions were at once reversed. Hitherto the successful advance of General Bankal had caused his army to be the most important factor in the campaign. Now it was only of secondary importance. The centre of interest had shifted from Poland to Eastern Galicia.

The advance which was now beginning was the most important move in the war. On its success or failure depended the issue of the whole war. If the Austrians had been powerful enough to inflict a really decisive defeat on General Russki, the whole plan of the Allies would have been thrown to the ground. Russia, instead of advancing, would have been forced to act on the defensive, at least for a time, and her Allies in the west would have had to abandon all hope of help until the lost ground could be retrieved and a fresh advance begun. In view of the supreme importance of success and of continued success, every care was taken to render the advancing army as invincible as human endeavour could make it. It represents the flower of the Russian army, from general to rank and file the Tzar could put no finer force into the field. Its failure would appear to be impossible.

The Russians crossed the frontier at several points. It is at once apparent that they would have the advantage of operating in a friendly country. The Ruthenians welcomed them as heaven-sent deliverers. Every man up to the age of fifty had been summoned to the Austrian armies, but the women, children and old men who were left were wild with delight. Processions, headed by priests, went forward from the villages to greet the invaders; food and provisions were gladly given to the troops.

The first action of any magnitude was the storming of Tarnopol. The Austrians were in strong force, well entrenched and supported by artillery. On the morning of August 23rd the Russian attack began. For some time an artillery duel raged, and then the Russian infantry began to advance. It was received with a hail of bullets from rifles and machine guns. For four hours the battle continued, the Russians gradually pressing forward. Meanwhile their shrapnel was working havoc in the Austrian trenches. The defence was showing signs of flagging. A bayonet charge settled the affair. Unable to keep back the Russians, the Austrians, rather than face the bayonets, abandoned their positions and fled into the town.

But victory was not yet achieved. With the aid of machine guns mounted on church towers and prominent buildings, the Austrians kept up a murderous fire on the Russians. The order was given to storm the town, street by street. In fighting of this description, in which the personal element predominates, the Cossacks excel. With ruthless completeness they scoured the town until there was not an Austrian defender left. Thousands lay dead in the streets; the rest were in full flight towards the main Austrian army defending Lemberg. Several machine guns, some artillery, and numerous prisoners fell into the hands of the Russians. This victory forced back the Austrian centre, and gave the Russians possession of the north-eastern corner of Galicia.

The next move was to force back the Austrian right on to Lemberg, and so gather the enemy into a suitable position for a decisive attack and also gain possession of all the means of communication in Eastern Galicia. This was effected successfully by the engagement at Halish, a small town on the Dniester, on which the Austrian right rested. Here the victory was in the main due to the dash and courage of the Russian cavalry. Early in the engagement the enemy’s cavalry was put out of action. In the meantime their artillery had been playing with good effect on the Russian infantry. But a cavalry charge on the flank silenced the guns and the infantry was able to advance. The Austrians made a desperate resistance, but were soon forced into flight.

General Russki, now master of all Galicia east of Lemberg, immediately began his preparations for the attack on what was now the chief Austrian army, defending that important town.

Before, however, dealing with the operations round Lemberg, it is necessary to refer to the other Austrian army—that under General Bankal. After its defeat between Lublin and Kholm, this army retreated southwards in the direction of Tomasov. Any further advance into Poland being out of the question, General Bankal’s object was to join forces with the army defending Lemberg, and so present a greater resistance to General Russki’s advance. The troops, which had been occupying the Polish province of Kielce were also hurriedly withdrawn towards Lemberg. In order to prevent this threatened junction of forces, the Russians made the most determined efforts to overtake the Austrians. For some days, however, Bankal, in spite of heavy losses of artillery and stores, managed to elude his pursuers. It was not until he was within a few miles of Tomasov that he was forced to give battle. There he was met by a force sent forward from the right flank of General Russki’s army. Hastily entrenching himself, he prepared for a desperate attempt to throw back the Russians and force his way to Lemberg. His position, however, was hopeless. Faced by a force superior in every way, and attacked on his left flank by the Russians, who had been pursuing him, defeat was inevitable. Nevertheless, the Austrians fought desperately, and inflicted heavy losses on the Russians. But their own losses were terrible. Entire regiments were annihilated. A shrapnel shell killed Bankal himself, and several of his staff officers. Within a few hours the remnants of the army were pouring over the frontier in full flight for Przemysl.

In this engagement the Russians captured five thousand prisoners and twenty pieces of artillery.

In the meantime the remaining Austrian forces in Poland were faring but little better. At Podgorzo, the troops from Kielce who were endeavouring to join General Bankal’s army, and push forward to Lemberg, were forced to give battle as a result of a successful turning movement from the north-east. Here again the fighting was of a desperate character, but again the issue was inevitable. Three thousand prisoners and large quantities of artillery and stores fell into the hands of the Russians.

Thus ended to all practical intents, the preliminary Austrian advance into Poland. It was not until later, when the German victory at Osterode enabled large forces to be thrown into Poland, that the enemy were able to make any definite impression in that quarter.

Meanwhile the movement which it was supposed to prevent was developing strongly. The battle for the possession of Lemberg had already been fought and won.

That the Austrians were determined to defend the town at all hazards may be judged from the fact that they had accumulated there sufficient stores for a year. The defending army formed a semicircle facing north and east, with the fortress in the centre. By pushing forward his right wing towards the west, General Russki formed another outer semicircle. Then the Russian semicircle began to contract, and with vice-like pressure forced the Austrian line back and back.

The battle lasted for seven days, and the fighting was of the most stubborn nature. By means of successive bombardments and infantry attacks on the defending forces, the Russians gradually forced themselves forward. But every inch of ground was contested, and the losses on both sides were enormous. As the days passed, however, the superiority of the Russian artillery began to assert itself, and the Austrian fire weakened. At all points the Russians were increasingly successful. At length on the seventh day the main Austrian force, comprising five army corps, was driven back with heavy loss on to the town itself.

This was the beginning of the end. At half-past two in the morning the actual storming of the town began. The Austrians attempted to reform their forces, but were thrown into confusion by repeated artillery and cavalry attacks. The Austrian left was driven in. The whole army was in danger of being surrounded.

At this stage of the conflict an episode occurred which finally sealed the fate of the Galician capital. A particularly searching fire was directed by the Russian batteries at the centre before the town, their object being to impede the retreat of the Austrians, who had been beaten on the right flank, and, if possible, to surround the town completely before its garrisons could be withdrawn.

In the hope of checking the Russian advance till the town had been evacuated, the Austrians threw out a rearguard screen of Slav troops with a backing of Magyars, who received orders to shoot the Slavs down from behind the moment they showed any hesitation. This circumstance became known to the Russian commander, and at the critical moment a terrific artillery fire was opened over the heads of the Slavs upon the retreating Austrian columns. This dropping hail of projectiles set up a wild panic in the ranks of the enemy. Abandoning guns, ammunition, and stores, his troops broke into frantic disorder, and fled helter-skelter along the road to Grodek.

This was shortly after nine o’clock, and proved to be the decisive stroke of the battle. It appeared that the Austrians then lost all hopes of holding the town, for the strong forts by which it was defended rapidly fell one after another.

It was now that the strong Russian forces poured into the town from the north, and the final battle began in the streets. For some time the fierce fight was kept up, but the Austrian detachments, recognising the hopelessness of their position, surrendered one by one.

The Slav inhabitants received the conquerors with demonstrations of delight and shouts of “Long live the army of the Russian liberators.” The singing of the Russian National Anthem mingled with the last shots fired at the routed Austrians in the neighbourhood of the town.

Then the progress of the Russian regiments through the town became like a triumphal procession. As they passed down the streets cheers were raised, and flowers were showered upon them from the crowded windows. At half-past ten the Russian flag fluttered out from the staff on the roof of the Town Hall.

Russia thus achieved the first great triumph of the war and ensured the accomplishment of the first step towards Berlin—the smashing of the military power of Austria. In addition they had won 637 guns, 44 quickfirers, flags, and 64,000 prisoners, in addition to immense stores of ammunition and provisions.