Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-03

VLTHTLE there remains the great problem
wv as TO whether the Russians will success
fully escape from the German net ana re-
establish their lines behind the Niemen ana
the Bug, as the French did behind the Marne,
Il is a good time to review in some detail
the history and the strategy Of the warsaw
campaigns which cover the whole period OIL
the war on the eastern front. What the Ger
mans are accomplishing now Is what they ex-
pected 20 do in the third month OF the con-
aict Their present success represents the
fourth effort
Russian Poland, as the map dscloscs, Is
practically indefensible If attacked from both
the Galiclan and East Prussian provinces at
the same time The reason lies in the fact
that 1t constitutes a salient. A successful
attack from both sides will not merely break
in the side of the salient but It will also en-
danger the safety of all the troops west of
the break that is, in and about Warsaw, be-
cause the enemy, having penetrated the sal
lent. will be in their rear on the line Of their
retreat But an attack from one side is not
dangerous unless the other side of the salient
is attacked at the same time, because as long
as one side Of the salient holds firmly there
is a reasonable hope of escape for the
Warsaw troops along the northern lines If
the southern are broken.
In the opening days of the war the Aus
trians attempted to break in the Polish
salient by sending their masses north from
Galicla upon Lublin with Brest-Bitowski as
the ultimate objective. AS all the German
corps but a few covering formations had
gone west 1t was impossible to exert pressure
on the East Prussan side of the salient at
the same time. Accordingly, the Russians
practically ignored the Lublin thrust and
countered by sending their masses into
Gaica south of the Lublin army, and, hav-
ing compelled the Austrans to flee Lem
berg, actually threatened the rear of the
Lubin army, which narrowly escaped de-
struction.
At the same moment two armies were sent
by the Russians into East Prussia, and one
of them pushed west almost to the Vistula
south of Dantzig. Had this advance been
maintained II will be clear from glance at
the map the Polish salient would have been
abolished and the Russian front would have
run straight from the Baltic TO the Car
pathians. But the defeat of Tannenberg
ended the attempt to break down the East
Prussian salient for some months. on the
other hand, Russian successes in Galicia
Strengthened out one side of the salient. One
flank now rested on the Carpathians.
PREVIOUS herman Drives ran
In this situation German high command
made two separate attempts to drive Russia
out of her Polish kingdom The first was
comprehended in attempts to take Warsaw
by frontal attack advancing straight
against the Russian position which was the
blunted apex of the old triangle. This failed;
at the line of the Bzura-Rawlsa the Rus
slams repulsed frontal attack with terrific
losses.
The Germans tried again in East Prussia,
Early in the year the Russians had made
one more effort to clear East Prussia of the
German corps which defended it, had pushed
west to the lake district and there suffered
the severe defeat of Mazurian Lakes Hard
on this victory the Germans undertook to
strike south from East Prussia at the north
ern side of the Polish salient. They made
some progress, but were at last heavily re-
pulsed along the whole front from Ossowitz
to Novo Georgiewisk.
1t is now clear that with this second fall
ure German high command at last recog-
nized that there could be no destruction of
the Polish position until 1t had been reduced
to it's original state; that is until Russian oc-
cupation of Galicia had been terminated and
the attack upon Warsaw could be made from
the north and south at the same time. AS
long as the Russian line ran straight from
Warsaw to the Carpathians there was no
salient and attacks from the north and west
were merely frontal efforts ending in battles
on parallel fronts, with all the advantage
with the Russians.
Final Campaign Opens
Meantime the German campaign in the
west had ended in complete strategic defeat
France had not been destroyed, and there