Evening star., 1914-12-27
Austrians Lose All Interest.

FINALLY the Russian armies took the
offensiss along the entire front. The
Austrians 9t all interest In their
third >-GaIf h campaign when they
failed to feteve PrzemysL They be-
gan with high spirits and large hopes,
based on the cooperation of fresh Ger
man troops, which had not as yet
fought in Russia; reliance was placed
also on a simultaneous attack on a
large scale by the German army before
Warsaw. -.
AT the present time there is fighting
going on On the Bzura near Bolimow
in the valley of the Pilica; on the banks
of the Nida; along the river Dunajec
in Galicia, and In the foothills of the
carpathians. There Is no cohesion
other than that resulting from isolated
episodes. Although large forces are
engaged on both sides, there is no
fundamental unity to the strategy of
the enemy. Even the daily struggles
about Sochaczew show that the German
perseverance is merely the hope of
breaking through the Russian right,
but these attacks are far less fierce
than they were when the Austrians
we're in full swing. In this fighting
the Germans. used the bayonet to. u
much greater extent than in their pre-
vious operations.
The fighting on the Bzura shows al
most unbelievable endurance on the
part Of the Russian troops. This leads
kto the belief that, having held these
positions for so long on the swampy
banks of the Bzura, the Russian forces
can now spriAg at the enemy and over
whelm him."
Russians Wade Rivers.
"On the Galician flank everything
favored the Austrians. They had taken
positions on the banks of rivers and
hoped to hold out against the Rus
SLAMS, but the manner in which the
Russian troops crossed these rivers
| wading waist deep and sometimes even
| up to their necks in the icy waters and
under a continuous fire of small arms
and artillery fire. overthrow the Aus
| trian calculations.
Russian soldiers crossed the Dunajec
river. They were neck deep in the
| water and even lost men by drowning
a similar exploit is recorded on the
Liske front Here two Russian ,regi-
ments waded the Ytslo river, stormed
| the opposite bank. held back the Aus
| triap artillery and infantry and took
four officers and $50 men prisoners.
I'm contrast to this there is the uni
versal lack OF success on the part OF
the Germans in similar operations. The
Germans generally build their pontoon
| bridges and get to the opposite shore
with little or no opposition, only tc
| be overwhelmed and often annihilatsd
before they can establish themselves
on the Russian side. The Russians
| follow the plan of waiting before loos.
! ing themselves on their enemy
Prevents German Food Supply.
| The military observer of the Novoe
vremya next refers to the Vistula-
Russian control of the right bank Of
the Vistua,'' he writes. "for distance o.
forty miles below How, has been q
decided advantage. since it put stor
to the delivery of food and ammunition
to the Germans by boat from Thorn.
"a soldier who has been invalidee
from the forces besieging Przemys
says that the garrison within the
fortress is short of ammunition and i,
economiz'ng in its use Of shells ant
cartridges The fuel supply, however
, evidently is good since free use i.
made of several powerful electri.
searchllshts mounted on the forts. De
| cember 23 one of the Przemysl fort.
displayed a flag OF truce. This was fol
lowed by the coming out in an automo
bile of two Austrian officers to NEE
the Russians. After a few moments a.
conversation the Austrians were blind
folded and conducted to the Russian
siege headquarters. Half an hour la
ter they were escorted back to thei
lines, and then within ten minutes tn.
white flag was lowered and the genera
bomtardment was resumed.
Promises Poles Freedom. s..
ing into Warsaw packages of printe,