The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-07

Pfnsk have been fortified since the German army took its position here last September as probably no other section on any front, east, west, or southeast. The Pripet swamp, which on hccourlt eso9 the mild winter mas 1cr7nAd a natural barrier between the German and Russian lines, has check ed both the German advance and the, Russian countef attacks. But Lac Ger mans have realized that single coio ! anap might make the swanps PassaeIe and to forestah such thing, they have resorted to eveTys known expe-- didn't to rrlaaxtsI aver loot Afsstheir po- sitions impf9sna ab fe.es.a -
 Pinsk, irl and about which the Ger man forces are lying Is an overgTown Russian village of AS, 900 5in nhasoitants' Isolated, on-a tongue of land project I ing eastward into the swamps An i Assoctated Press correspondent, the first newspaper man to visit P1nskl since the Germans occupied 1t, mas { just returned from a tour of the i Pinsk ffonE and although he has pre- vfously visited several positions in both the eastern and western theatres or war. the fortress-like appearance of 1.-the peninsula. of Pinsk" impressed him remarkably. The city is fianked ! on the south by the swift running riv- CT Pima Beyond the river lies half 9 1nileso Of swamp. Then comes the riv- CT Strunen which, to the westward turns gradually and jo1ns the Pima. Still further beyond 1ies3 more swamp lands, which extend for several Tnlles ito the mainland and the Russian posi- tionsf To the northward runs the riv- CT Jaesolda, fanked op both sides by l miles of swamp lands, on either edge Of which lie the German and Russian i forces
 Fortunately for the troops which hold the northern section, the only rlace where an offensive can reason ably be expected, the swamp land terminates. in dunes which are easily adapted for defensive purposes Along this northern section regiments of cav airy have laboriously dug themselves into the ground and have perfected evzs cry means to make it impossible for xhe Russians to break through.
 The defense scheme. is a series of ssStuetzpunkte'' or supporting, points At one place the supporting point is a 4flla completely surrounded by trench
 shelters and entanglements- At #nother it is a sort of fort built into the earth, with subterranean passages,
 Protected by sand bags, earth and wood. and ringed about with hun. dreds of thousands of running feet of barbed wire Each supporting point is not over 500 yards distant from some other, and they are con nected by wire entanglements from II 001 tot120 feet in width
 The cavalry regiments that are. gaatding the northern section are among the finest in the German army. Their officers include some of the greatest nobIes in the empire whose names are known all over the world. For almost six months now they have lain in their position, living a1ternate- 1y in underground shelters and in the great ella that stands on an elevation plainly in view of the Russian posi- tions-
 How is it,'' asked the correspon= dent of Count s--4.. cousin of a fla nous German naval commander and chief of the bfdgades that the Rus aians dolnQt shootyour villa to pieces fThe nearest Russian artillery position isn't more than six kilometers away.''
 The Count laughed. There seems { to be an unwritten and unspoken ! ag1eement that we wont touch the Russian headquarters if they leave ours aaone-z They have had ample evidence of the accuracy of our guns a-sd kNeMEgz that we could demolish thes< villa if we wanted to-
 Thanks to the fact that there is an { almost unlimited quantity of wood on 1 hand, for Ptnsk in peace times is one ! of the timber centefs of Russia, the 1 Germans have been. able to build out across the swamps and in this way to establish ar-hung outposts on every humKnoek of ground that is large enougnto bear a b1ockhouse. 1 PaxaIIeling the Strunnen half a mile to the south is a narrow, muddy dike or dam thatswas built some time ago 1 by the. Russians. partly to check the swamp waters, and partly as a pros l pective railroad bed. This dam ex- tends to within few ki1ometers of the Russian outpost positions at Ljuhans- kayvo and Gornoye-
 With theAhelp of wooden stagings ! that cr1sscross the swamp in almost
 
 | and easy access to-thfs dike and have 1 erected omit series of b1ockhouses I or supporting positions which are yer { ltA.b1e arsenals. Each is equipped with machine guns, and from each I extends, again on the stagings, run ways to ..Horchposten' - listening sentry positions.
 So near together are the bIockhouses that care has to be exercised not to sweep one with the artillery of the 1 other. lTo prevent such an occurrence 1 great painted signs have been erected in the swamp in front of each block house. indicating how far to right or left the machine guns of any one fort may swing without bringing neigh boring fort under German fire.
 Almost due south of the farthest | such bIockhouse, which is said to be the most easterly position which the l Germans now, hold, are the Russian positions, at a distance of. about 800 meters. Between the two lie a series of hay piles or stacks, piled up long before the war.
 Because the swamp effectuaI1y pre- vents any attack of major nature, and because the men on both sides grow restless from inactivity, these hay piles have come to play an interesting if unin1portant position in the warfare at Pfnsk.
 Each time that a frosty night stiff fens up the swamp a bit. both Russian and German sentries make for the piles in an effort to carry off a little hay on the one hand, and to take pot shots at each other on the other hand. The Russians thus far have the best of 1t so far as the hay is concerned, for the piles are nearer them. but the