Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-17
CzAR's LINE UNBROKEN,
ALTHOUGH FORCED BACK
Austro-German Offensive Has Been
Unable to Gain Decisive Vic
tory In East.
PROGRESS HAS BEEN GREAT
But Until Front Has Been Shattered,
Kaiser's Forces Will Not Be Free
to Turn Their Attention to Enemy
in West.
by HILAIRE BELLOC,
I:urupc's Foremost Military Writer.

EurOpc's Foremost Military Writer.
LONDON. May 16.-The outstanding
cature of the war during the last fort
night has been the great offensive un-
dertaken by the Germans and Aus
trians against the Russians in Western
Galicia.
Before the magnitude and success OF
that operation all other events-the
undenable blow dealt by the French
north OF Arras, the Gas yeD far-from-
decided invasion of Gallipoli Peninsula
and its object in opening the Darda-
nelles. and the raid upon Courland and
! Libau-all stand upon n second plane
This great offensive against the Rus
slams in Western Galicia had two OBJ
jects. one subsidiary. tho other pri-
mary. The subsfdiary-but important
object was 10 clear the pressure or
| the Russian armies from the crest OF
| the Carpathans and to free Hungary
from any immediate fear of invasion.
The primary object. which. if il be
achieved. will have capital effect upon
the war, was the breaking or piercing
OF the Russian line.
COMPLETE SUCCESS
| IN FIRST OBJECTIVE
| In the first Of these objects the Aus
! tro-Germans have achieved complete
success. The Russian armies have lost
/ hold of all the Carpathian ridge They
were. when the blow was struck. we'll
across the Stry Road passes. the Dukla,
| the Polynaka and Jaslika They also
held the principal railroad pass, the
| Lupkow. Further eastward they had
Just captured the Rostok Road Pass.
and were very near the Czsok Road
and railway pass
The Austro-German offensive was
not launched against these passes 1t
was directed against the flank running
from the mountains to the Vistula
along the Biala Valley and the town
and position of Tarnow and down the
lower Nistula, line about fifty miles
long.
So long as this line remained firm
the Russian rush against and across
the Carpa THAN passes to the east was
possible, but that work was only pos
siole as long as the Biala and Dunajec
line through Tarnow stood unbroken
10 protect the men in the passes from
| flank attack. The effect. therefore. of
the encmy's success against the Dun
ajec line would be TO threaten the
communications of the Russian force
on and over the mountain chain and
compel the retirement of the whole
Russian army from its former hold
upon the Central Carpathian passes.
The attack was delivered in the last
two days of April and the LIST of May
On the third day the Russian retreat
| began. The Dunajec was forced In
several places by the Germans, and
higher up the Biala. at Czernowitz.
! was also forced.
In the Russian retreat a great num-
Der of wounded and stragglers and GER
tain numbers OF disabled guns were
| abandoned, and within the first week of
operations the Teutons could count as
a sober estimate at least 10000 to
| 10000 OF the former and perhaps
| twenty or thirty of the latter.
NO APPEARANCE OF
ROUT uN DISORDER
There was no appearance of rout or
disorder, but the German and Aus
| trian pressure continued to be exer-
cised successfully and uninterruptedly
day after day, and the Russian retire
ment was unable to effect counter
| offensive.
! The Stry Rond passes. of which Dukla
| is the chief, were hurriedly abandoned,
! lastly $50 far as one can Judge for
| il has not been mentioned by name)
the Lupkow.
BY last Wednesday,, May IL, the
latest of which we have official news
of the day, perhaps 100000 prisoners
/ of all kinds had failed TO advance and
| been lost to retirement. while it is GER
tain by that time. with the exception,
perhaps, Of short strip near the Ros-
! tok crest of mountains. the Carpa THAN
| ridge had been abandoned. The line
ran at that moment from point about
| thirty miles castor little less-of the
| Dunajec, the mouth of the Vistula, TO
the upper waters of the San River, i'm
nearly n straight direction northwest
and southeast.
The advance guards of the enemy
| were within days march of Przemysl
and the Russian retirement was still
| continuing.
| Interest in the future of this new
movement Will center entirely upon
two things; one. the ability of the Rus
sions to maintain their line intact
| the chief point of all-for on this de-
ponds the whole campaign in the east;
two. the moment, if they do keep their
line intact, at which they can check
the Austro- German advance, reform
and stand.
AS TO the first OF these there is little
doubt. The failure of the attack to
break the line when that attack was