The Sentinel=record., 1915-02-24
Men Were Sacrificed by the Thousands That Artillery and Ammunition
 Might be Saved.
Germans Practically Closed Ring Around Their Enemy and Killed and Wounded 3O,000 and
 Took 60000 Prisoners

of the Russian northern army may be compared to a gigantic rabbit drive or surround, in which men wers he prey.
 While the attention of the Russians was concentrated on the Warsaw line, Field Marshal Nou Hndenburs. quietly assembling am overwhelming force in East Prussia behind the Ma zurian lakes. suddenly launched 1t in two columns against the uususpect- mg General Sievers.
 one column drove in from the south and threw back the Russians who for months had been besiegiu4 lhe lake gateways to East Prussia and the other column from the north swung around in wide circles to the eastward and to the southWard, aim ng to join hands with tle southern German column and cut off the re- reat of the retiring Russians
 The two wings Of the drive closed to the east of SuValki and AJg1 toN3 only few hours too late to catch the
 entire army Most ot tte units of the Russian force, however. were laesej.
 The delay which cuat ed tho rem- uaut to escape was due Co nature The line of advance O the southern column lay through the hets ot swamp. which form a natural defense of the Rus sian frontier It is almost without roads and troops attempting to u-a the cross country trails became almost 1opelessly begged The correspond. eut saw columns of infantry many of whom had pas ed taroe-h mires more Gan ankle deep Detachmeut7 ot -o- diers assisted in dragging tho guns forward through inc mud but their progress was extremely slow
 Nature" said inc commander of one of the German cor engaged Q the correspondent. always he ped the Russians Two days of hard frost auj We should have had every man.
 The correspondent accompanied the right wing of the German armies eu- gagged and it was 10 these troops fiat the heaviest part of tbc fighting feiL The left wing sweeping down from the north wa- called upon mostly for leg work 10 accomplish marches oi forty miles in pursuit of the Russians who fled after the four days engage ment on the Mazurian lakes.
 The battle in the south was of un- jQue character Again nature aided the Russians. II was fought in a driving snoWstorm, a fierce cuttin4 wind drie- ng the flakes into the faces and eyes of the advancing Germans until they could scarcely see.
 When the Germans came to grips with the Russians they found their ri fles so covered with ice and the mU zles so c1oa1ed with snow that the weapons could not be fired The troops and these were young troops of one newly formed corps, were left only with their bayonets but they stuck t- their work despite heavy losses.
 The Russians were assuming the oc fonsiye when artillery which aithertc had been unable to get up through the forests to the south of the Mag urian lakes arrived just in time and turned the scale. The troops of this column pressed forward along the fair way only a dozen miles wide between the Mazurian lakes and the Russian frontier, drying the Russians before them, but they were forced to ura three times to beat off the flank at tacks from the south
 The Russian cOmmander-in-chiei made desperate efforts to come to the help of this army whose plight by now was recognized.