The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-09

iN A~StOA5 Ine fbuS sians won.
 Attacks by Hindenburg and his Aus trian friends on the grand dukes lef , wing at Czenstochowo and Cracow wer
 notable for artillery duels The colone
 a few days before had had in his hous Polish officer who fought for six week
 here. To Wolborn, north of Cracow. th Austrians brought 90 field howitzers whtcl they stationed on a ridge. The Russians entrenched and at the same time assaile< the Austrian right. This assault wa, made from the town of Mechow Betweer
 Mechow and Wolborn has been desperats
 nghting. The Austrian Forty-first infan
 try regiment was wiped out The bis
 Austrian guns which had inflicted ter.
 rifle losses, disappeared. The Austrian
 afterwards appeared in great force, ant
 showed tremendous fighting spirit "Theil
 infantry said the colonel, "is inferior
 to ours Their heavy artillery is effec.
 tive and their light cavalry good"
 For many tales of Russian endurance
 the colonel guaranteed. The temporary
 retreat of Hindenburg's army near I.odz
 was enforced by two Russian divisions
 which traversed supposedly impossible
 country and surprised the Germans. This
 was near Osorkow. The Germans held a
 tremendously strong position, with their
 left-as they believed-secured by the Tscherkow marshes. During the night of
 November 22-23 the Russians divisions
 waded and dragged themselves through
 mud and water. and next morning at- tacked the unexpecting foe. As result the Germans at Strykow already battered by Russian frontal attacks, retreated on Sgersh. The gain of ground was small.
 but it has been so far the one distinct setback to Hindenburg's invasion
 PrObaDly,' says the colonel Honlv Russian peasant soldiers would have tackled the Tscherkow marsh" He praised also the feat of the Russians during the German counter-attack of November
 l-22, alon gthe Lodz-Kalisch railroad. Here, thanks to earthworks, a single Rus sian corps held off for 27 hours two Ger man corps. The Russians had the order to grin and bear it. however great their losses, and to await endorsements. Frost made it impossible to entrench. One reg iment stood 10 per cent of loss. The re- ward came on the afternoon of the 22d when Russian corps came to the res cue, held off the Germans, and enabled the battered corps to retire. ''The bravest deed of the war; said the colonel, was done on this day by Captain Benjaminoff, who, to encourage some hard-pressed sub ordinates, rushed alone ahead against the advancing Prussians. and met his death"
 I spent four hours hearing these tales. The last thing seen at Warsaw by the colonel was German airship. The colo nel gave me advice about getting to War saw. He said that in the village was the universal agent of Sokoly. Levicky. who could manage anything. Levicky would take my baggage from the cockroach ho- tel, and bring 1t and me next day to a station nearer to War saw than Lapy junction. The advantage was that below Lapy junction no one was asked for permits to travel The colonel said that Ievicky had all automobile not taken by the military authorities for transport because it broke down once a mile 'syous verrez Iauto.". An hour later Levicky turned up. Instead of the auto was springed caleche. Benzine could not be got for the auto In I.evicky's ab- sence, the military had come to Sokoly and seized the benxine All except a pint. which Madame Levicky kept for domes- tic use. Levicky left the caleche in the colonels stable, and said he would call for me next day at 10
 At 10 next morning the colonel said farewell. He kissed me, and when was already seated in . the ca1eche, said 'J fme beaucoup les etrangers. Surtout les Anslo-Saxon." Levicky talked Ger man. It took him two and one-half hours to reach Schtsonepepetowo. We stopped at three Polish villages which irresistibly SSoAiSN Sohi1ihotd d, iTcidIIQ Ne stopped also at Masovec called by the natives a town In Masovec I saw 80 slightly wounded all looking moody. and march, ng in military order. Their blue mood was caused by absence of food. They came from tho triangle Miawa-Prasnych- czechmanow in North Poland where for ! month bloody and indecisive fights have been fought The Germans cannot ad- vance. because of the terrific field forti- fcations of East Prussia. Generals Nor zen and Francois oppose Generals Ken nenkampf and Mitschenko. The fights have only tactical importance, but they have cost 5000 lives
 talked to Sergeant Polivanoff, who left 1 one end of Prasnuch after the Germans had entered the other. The center of the town was in flames: there was block | of traffic--artillery. fugitives carts, Red Cross wagons-in the main street. Citi- | sens roasted to death. <. The flames set l 'n the shells of an ammunition cart. A l panic ensued. Both Germans and Rus | sians imagined that the flying townsmen l were attacking them, and that made the l panic worse. The owner of a rnena gerie, | vho had been entertaining alternate Rus | 'ians and Germans. fied. and his incest eopard got loose. It jumped on the ex-l ,ioding ammunition cart. The scene must | rave resembled Shelley's nightmare pie ure of wild beasts breaking loose on a | burning ship ifl mid-ocean.
 Thanks to their doctor who spent his 1 ast kopeck., the 90 wounded got dinner tt cents a head. Good dinner. too. In erriflc cold. they sat in a barn and sang longs. They sang about Rennenkampfl n Manchuria about Crossing the Dan- ,be in 1S77," and about "Pan Myslawski, | he Devils Chimney Sweeper" Most en- 'rgetic was Sergeant Polivanoff After he chorus had done with the "Devi'sl Chimney Sweeper." he repeated the songl ls a solo: and Inc waved so hercely his wounded slung arm that the doctor rushed o the platform two blanks on chairs) md begged him to desist
 At { D. m., already dusk. started to lover the live miles to Schtschepetowo. horse bucked up, and LevtckyI tarted to sputter German ''In diesern oorf have ich vor einigen Tasen etwas| lnderes gesehen. What have you seen ?" T saw . soldier being buried. His sweet- leart committed suicide on his grave. The Riri had another sw,eetheartr-shel oved both equaliy-and the other sweet leart hanged himself. Next day died of Ii |rlef the girls father" Hero Iev1cky | aid 'prbarsch" to his horse, ana re- H marked. also looking at the horse: s1dIl- H ions Will die in this war who have not N 'een In battle" At echtschepetowo met more wounded K |ome with blood soaking through band- k lR4e. There was a pretty, weil-droseof I vfpl fn1HfVup DnAaa1. &~ A~3 --a-.- II