The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-08-11
THE WAR LAST WEEK
FALL OF WARSAW STARTS A
HUGE GERMAN EFFORT
.AFTERsARMY OF NICHOLAS

AFTERsARMY OF NICHOLAS
Turning Movement Now Being De-
veioped is Attempting to Drive
Slavs From Their Second Line of
Defence and to Force Evacuation
of Bug River Positions.
In reviewing the operations of the
past week that led up to the fall of
Warsaw, a division of the fighting
front into sectors, similar to that OF
several weeks ago, will again be
made and followed. Although the
ultimate objective of all the Teuton
armies on this front was naturally
Warsaw, each of them had func-
ton to perform in regard to a par
ticular objective, and it was a COM
bination of this that was to effect
and did effect the fall of the Polish
capital. Therefore, the various steps
taken can, in their relation to the
whole, be best understood by follow
ing the operations of each Of the va
rious armies.
Around the Gulf Of Riga.
In the extreme northern sector,
that of Courland, the army of Gen.
| wing bmoic39 cetaoinshrdlucmfwyp
Won Buelow is operatin., his left be-
ing at some point on the Gulf Of
Riga, his right extending down into
SuwalEi Province in the neighbor-
hood of Augustowo. The operations
of this force have not been strictly
against Warsaw itself. 1t seems
rathe: heavy raiding force, which,
| in addition to it's offensive operations,
prevents the turning of the German
left, as was done by the Russians in
the earlier campaign against War
saw. \-
Won Buelow's Minor Successes.
Won Buelow's operations have been
largely against the principal Russian
| cities in Courland and the railroad
| running from Warsaw through Grod-
no and Wilma to Petrograd. This
| army has met with considerable
| minor successes. 1t has taken the
| town of Mitau, is seriously menacing
the important gulf port of Riga and,
although stubbornly opposed, has
fought it's way forward some little
distance toward the railroad. But
the railroad is still long way Of
and it will probably be month at
least before it can be reached, If 1t
ever is. Some Of its branches have
been and probably will continue to
be cut, but the main stem is intact.
Railroad Line is Important.
The Importance Of this road is not
primarily that it feeds Warsaw, for
| Warsaw being now in German hands
tneed no longer be considered in this
connection. But the Russians will Of
necessity fall back to new line,
| fighting as they retire, and it is the
fight flank of their new line that
| will be dependent on it for supplies.
In so far as the rest of the new
slime is concerned, it would be but
little affected by the success of Won
| BueIow's operations, as the roads
through Siedlce and Volkovysk, and
through Brest-Litovsk, with their
numerous branches, can bear suffi-
cient traffic to bring up the necessary
supplies.
In so far, therefore, as Won Bue-
lows force has influenced the fail Of
Warsaw, it can not be said to have
| done more than to have effectively
guarded the flank of the forces oper-
ating in the next sector, that OF the
Narew from LomZa to the confluence
of the Narew and the Bug at Serock.
Narew Affords Splendid Defence.
Although the Narew is only about
200 yards wide, it is guarded, as are
most of the rivers of Poland, by a
wide marsh belt on both sides. It.,
therefore, makes an excellent defen-
sive position. In addition to its nat
ural strength its defensive posslblll-
ties have been greatly augmented by
the construction of permanent forti-
fcations at various points within
supporting distance Of each other.
The principal ones are Lomza, Ostro-
lenka, Rozan, Pultusk and Serock.
May Cut. Off Garrisons.
The Narew between Lomza and
Serock screens three railroads radl-
ating from Ostrolenka, all of which
are branches of the Warsaw-Petro-
grad road. It is, therefore, entirely
logical that such heavy fighting de-
veloped along the Narew front, as
the cutting of any of the three roads
would almost certainly result in the
isolation and consequent capture OF
the Russian forces occupying at least
one and probably more Of these for
titled places.
What has been stated repeatedly
in these reviews must be remembered
the objective Of the German army
must be not territory, but men, the
Russian army itself. Grants victories
in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania,
Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, gave
him only territory and otherwise left
him empty-handed. 1t was only when
Lee surrendered at Appomattox and
the army of Northern Virginia ceased
to exist as a fighting entity that
SoA1PSASA
could be put down as a success. 1t
is with an understanding and realiza-
ton of this fact that we must view
the German operations against War
saw.
Germans Were Driven Back.
During the week beginning July
p4 the Germans threw an overwhelm-
ing force aainst the Russian line on
the east bank of the Narew near
Rozan and succeeded in forcing
crossing with considerable force IN
the ighborhood OF Rozan. But the
Russians, reinforced at this point,
put a sudden stop to the German ad-
vance by a, severe counter attack,
drove back some of the troops that
had crossed the river, and held the
others in the heavy forest just east
of the Rozan bridgehead. Official
reports from Berlin have daily men
toned this sector, and every report
emphasizes the severity of the fight
~ poaHn nf O.