The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-09-14
Brest : Litousk 4 - fTsrHl

NttfI IAN oil one alter another OIL the great fOr-
tresses Of the Russian western line of de-
lenses, coming Just year after the fall OF Liege,
Antwerp and MauEerg, supposedly impregnable to
assault shows that little reliance be placed in
concrete and stone when opposed to the modern
artillery evolved by the Austrians. and Germans.
The capture of fortress, depending upon its own
guns, appears to be only question Of bringing up
sufficient heavy guns to batter it to bits. H..t,
On the other hand, feldworks along a thousand
miles today defy assault and such natural defenses
the British are encountering in the land lighting
on the Gallpoli peninsula and as the Italians are
attempting to pierce in their invasion OF Austria,
appear to be defended with more case now than
in olden days. before the advent Of the high pow
cred rifle and the machine gun. r. s.. . .. ~, ..
| The great fortress Of Novo- Georgieysk, huge
entrenched camp, was designed and .garrisoned to
hold back the German progress for, an indefinite
period. Ii fell after assault OF comparatively
few days Then followed the fall of Brest Litovsk,
the strongest Russian fortress, believed to be UNI
conquerable by any field army 1t was designed
/ to be the central point for both the defense and
the offense of the Russian army, and around 1t
were to be regrouped the Slav army corps for the
final defense and the eventual ofense against the
invading Teutons. r...
| description of the Brest7 Litovsk fortress is
given in recent historic sketch issued by the Ma
| tional Geographic Society, which says. o.. -.
/ "Brest- Litovsk, a powerful fortified Russian
stronghold, is one Of the oldest important for
tresses in Northern Europe, and its history has
been changeful and stirring one.
1T is first mentioned on the occasion of its cap
ture by Bolesav the Brave, of Poland, in 1927.
Next, Casiinir the Just, of Poland, built tight
castle here in country where the outposts Of sew
eral nations met. Princes of Galicia, Volhyna,
I4ithuania grand masters Of the Teutonic knights,
4 Tartar chieftains and kings Of Poland held and
stormed the city in turn and from its Notifications
ravaged the region around. g..
! f.Tartars swept over the place like. plague in
| l24l moving most of the town into its muddy
river. The Teutonic knights devastated its sub
Eurbs in 1897, and Mengly Ghyrey, Kahn of the
Crimea, burned the city with conscientious atten-
ton to detail his visitation coming in the latter
part of the fifteenth century. Polish diets were
held here 1t was out OF the deliberations of
cornell of bishops from Western Russia, held at
Br&st in 1894, that the Unat rite was born The
Swedes gave the city its last thorough pillagng in
/ 1906, Al the second partition of Poland, it was
incorporated in Russia and patience, technique and
money have been lavished upon it by the great
notherrAemRire to make it as near mpregnable as
possible.
"Brest- Litovsk is situated at the junction of the
navgable rivers, Bug and Mukhovets, and at the
point Of confluence stands the city fortress 1t
lies upon, the right bank of the Bug here sharply
cut, werethe river turns from north to northeast.
Railways from Odessa, Kiev Moscow, Warsaw,
Vilnauand East Prussia intersect here. Further it
lies upon the inland waterway from the Baltic to
the Black Seattle course of which is connected up
by canal behind Brest, between the upper Muk-
hovets River and the Pripet River. Thus, the city
is served by we'll nigh perfect system of com
manicatons reaching to the north, the east the
south and to points in the nterioRbetween, and ex-
pandiig again from Brest toward the northeast,
the west and southwest.
"BrcSt lies in the government of Grodno, l3l
miles south of the city of Grodno 1t has popu-
lation of about As yOOO more than half Of which is
Jewish. The synagogue at Brest during the Six
teenth century regarded as the first in Europe.
Probably due toits large Jewish population, Brest
LitovSk has never developed industry, but
rather thriving commerce.
Grains hides, Slap, wheat and timber are the
staples of its trade. The lumber in which it deals
was hoated in great RATS down to Danzig before
the war. Flax and hemp are extensively grown in
the country around, and also form important arti-
5 cles of its trade
The older Notifications lie about mile east
of Brest, and have a circumference OF four miles
The field works have been kept up to date, and
, everything possible has been done by Russia to
+ make them unconquerable Brest-Iitovsk was re-
, garded in Russia as the most powerful individual
\ ktronghold in the empire"
10 --<s---
\ A series Of slanderous statements regarding lIa-