Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-25

1
barely one months supplies. Then
| came the heavy fighting between the
Austrian relief army and the Russians
about Przemysl.
Drawn On for Supplies.
| The Austrian forces, whose supply
| trains failed to reach them. drew on the
fortress for large supplies of rations.
| Furthermore. the great numbers OF
| wounded in these battles and the soldiers
| stricken down by cholera and other dis
| eases could be sent nowhere else When
railroad communication at last was restor-
ed in mid-October the stores of the fortress
had been largely depleted. The railroad
| was first used to forward urgently needed
ammunition. Hence. when the Russian
| steam roller was Unexpectedly set in mo-
| ton again, driving Field Marshal Won
| Hindenburg westward from the neighbor-
hood of Warsaw and the Austrians from
Przemysl, provisions had been coming in
| for the Galician fortress for only ten
days. This gave the defenders rations
for eighty days.
Place Reliance on Hunger.
| These supplies might have suficed
had the Russians resumed their bat.
tering tactics, but they placed thei,
| reliance on hunger rather than solid
shot to force the capitulstion OF
Przemysl. They built walled sirdl<
of Notifications about the town, oul
| OF reach Of the guns of the fortress
| and permitted starvation to do iti
| work.
| The final sortie of the garrison wa,
| a last act of defiance rather than 6
serious attempt to break through the
Russian line, which was virtually inn
possible for the hunger-weak kened
force There was bare chance that
they would be able to cut a way
through and effect junction with the
Austrian army in the Carpathians and
when this failed Gen. Kusmanek. the
Austrian commander, received instruc-
the last crumb had been scraped from
the storehouses, and horses, as well as
other animals, had been slaughtered
for food
Campaign One of Relief.
Austrian strategists knew from the
outset how long the provisions would
last, and the campaign in the Carpa-
thians had one of it's aims the re-
lief of Przemysl. But here again a
capricious fate intervened. The mild
est December known in years in these
mountains was followed by bitter
"edtHSi III JstHudi anu reot udi ) ,
which showed up the Austrian often
sive and left Przemysl to its doom
Has Depressing Effect.
The fall of Przemysl has exercised a
depressing effect throughout Austria
Hungary, according to advices. Espe-
cially is this the case in Hungary,
where the danger of Russian inva-
sion has greatly increased. The news
papers, however, are united in declar-
ing the situation in Galicia and the
Carparhlans to be absolutely unaffected
by the loss of the fortress.
In Vienna the news of the capitula
ton of Przemysl was received some
what alphabetically, but it was notice
able that the people sought their homes
from the cafes and restaurants earlier
than usual
Herofsm Is Praised.
The newspapers print lnrerrie " y
with military and political persona ges,
who for the most part. confinc them
selves to praising the heroism of the
garrison. Gen. Schoenaich. the for
mer minister of war, said:
Everything now depends upon the
tremendous battle raging in the Car
pathians If we succeed in defeating
the enemy, then the fall of Przemysl
will remain only an episode of the
war.
Shocking Privations.