The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1915-02-03
BAD ROADS SAVE CITY
WARSAW CONFIDENT GERMANS
CAN NOT CAPTURE 1T.
Fighting Goes on Within Thirty-five
NileS-How Won Hindenbers De-
stroyed Paved Roads.

stroyed Paved Roads.
A Warsaw dispatch says: What
with reinforcements for the front and
a continuous stream of wounded and
refugees passing toward the east, this
city is the busiest and most animated
in all Russia. To the eastward so
ing stream must be added the enc
my's aeroplaneS, which have come
again in great numbers.
The last German aeroplanes have
dropped no bombs, but have circles
the city and sometimes flown off to
the east at great heights. Their
indicated that they have
been watching the railway station
here and at Praga and counting troop
trains.
The feeling here is reasonably op-
timistic. 1t is believed that the new
Bzura-Rawa line can be held more
easily than the LodZ-Lowitsch line,
and that at worst the limit of inva-
sion will be the Vistula. On both
occasions of German advance the sue
cess and intensity of the attacks have
declined as the invader got east.
That" says NJ. Ershoff, compe-
tent authority, ''is because of in
creased difficulty in moving supplies
and heavy guns"
The nearer to Warsaw the worse
are the roads. The cause is that all
lines of supply and of artillery from
the east converge on this city and di-
verge, with ramifcations, from it to-
ward the west.
AS a result the roads near the city
both to east and west, bear the heav,
lest traffic. AS they diverge the traf.
fic gets relatively less. As the Ger
mans advance they have to crowd ar
unchanging volume of traffic on tt
fewer and more damaged roads.
This applies also to railways, as
far as they can be used. The three
great railways Of West Poland dwin'
die to two east of Lowitsch and Skier.
newice. For transport and artillery
the enemy is relying mainly upon his
ample and well organized motor ser
vice. Against this bad roads are the
great enemy.
The destruction of the roads BY
Field Marshal Won Hindenberg during
his November retreat has done rather
less harm than has the natural usage
The destruction is effective so far a:
it goes. Quadrangular holes have
been dug alternately to right and t.
left of all the paved roads. Sucf
roads can not be repaired quickly.
Troops and wheeled traffic move
by the roadside, through the fla
fields. But rain falls, snow melts
and the roadside track soon become!
unusable. Near Grodsisk I saw aban
doned refugees carts with the axle
ieep in mud. When stretch Of ielt
becomes impracticable soldiers ant
transport drivers adopt as road F.;
stretch of field a little to the right
This. soon wears into an axe deel
marsh, and new stretch is tried
Thus the road stretches to endless
breadth.
How Field Marshal Won Hinden
berg-if he gets near enough to thi
city to start siege operations-wil
bring up heavy artillery is mystery
On the fact that the eficiencs of tn,
invaders supply and artillery trans
port declines in geometrical proper
lion as he advances owing to tactica
successes is based the firm faith o
Warsaw that it can not be taken
These are the prevailing views.
Since the retirement from th'
Miazza positions the five weeks olt
battle seems to have advanced almos
20 Warsaw's gates. From the :nne
parts Of the city one can hear littl,
and see nothing; but once clear o
the houses one sees that fighting i
aot far OF. The nearest fightin.
point is the Bsura, which is thirty
i've miles away; and there is heavie
lighting around Skiernewicz. q httl'
further off. A staff officer estimated
that more than four thousand fell
guns are in use.
The rear of the fighting line Cal
not be approached. A Gordon
stretches north and south. All tina
can be seen of the battle is the hori
zon glow, and that only at night. l
is caused by burning villages. /
4 iSl uSSO lSilS LIS lllciL d11 lliC lSA II
ages which lie almost in a straigh
line between How and Lowitsch hav'
been set fire to by shells.
Mr.. Belin, a Franco-Pole, who's
house was destroyed, tells me that OF
his way east he w overtaken a
Sresin by German cavalry. Bresil
was deserted and burning. The in
yaders in vain tried to stem th'
1ames. Mr. Belin crossed the trencl
grave in which are burned 1000 mel
Of the two corps of Gen. Mackensen
Ninth army, which broke through th'
Russian lines ct Piontek only to FIND
themselves enveloped at Tushin ant
8sgow, and to suffer heavy loss il
escaping.
The escape was due to the devotion
Of two or three battalions which at
tackled the strongest part of the Rus
sian lines. while the mass of the sur
rounded corps took advantage OF the
surrounded corps took advantake O.
the diversion and broke through at {
weaker spot.