The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-09-04
Germans Had Fate of Port
EHectually Sealed Sew
eral Days Ago.
NEXT POSSIBLE MOVE
GERMANS DOUBTFUL
Possible Ultimate Military
Consequences Are Diff
cult to Estlrnare.
ASSOCIATED PRESS SUMMARY.

ASSOCIATED PRESS SUMMARY
Riga, Russia's principal Baltic sea
port, has been abandoned to the Ger
mans under the threat of an offensive
by land and sea in which the decid-
ing stroke on the land side was de-
,livered by the Germans last Satur-
ksday.
The fate of Riga wa, virtually
sealed when German troops, power
fully initiating their offensive, forced
crossing of the Dvina southeast of
the city and began to push northward
after making good their foothold on
the right bank of the stream.
Menaced also by the attack of
column of Teutonic forces moving
from Mitau southwest of Riga and by
the German naval forces recently re.
ported lowering in the vicinity of the
Gulf of Riga, the Russian military
authorities evidently considered the
city no longer tenable and decided to
evacuate it.
The possible ultimate military con-
sequences of this development are diff
ficult to estimate. The right flank of
the entire Russian western front was
anchored on the Gulf of Riga at a
point to the west of the city and with
this anchorage lost, the possible stra-
tegical developments of this situation
seem infinite.
Much depends on the purpose of
the Germans and the size of the
forces at their dis, osal for operations
in this war theatre. 1t is too early
yet for it to be made apparent
whether they will be content at pres
ent with occupation of the Baltic sea-
port, the Russians have left 10 them,
- or If the advantage is to be pushed,
and an attempt made to swing back
the entire Russian line on this front,
creating another opening for opera
ton by land and water with Petro-
grad as the objective. Riga, capital
of the government of Livonia, had
population of more than five hundred
thousand persons before the war. and
aside from Petrograd, was the most
important Russian commercial and IN
d-strial town having access to the
Dlltic.
1t is situated at the southern ex-
tremity of the Gulf of Riga, a stretch
of water 100 miles long and 60 miles
wide, Riga lying at the point where
the Dvina empties into the gulf. The
port is ice-bound during virtually one
third of the year. 1t had very large
German population before the open
ing of hostilities, and it is interest
ing to note that it was founded IN
1853 by German merchants as store
house, the city passing through the
control of various northern national
tiles during the centuries until finally
in 1921 it was incorporated with the
Russian Empire. It's commercial
standing is indicated by the fact that
it was the third seaport TO RUSSIA,
only Petrograd and Odessa exceeding
it in Importance.
The Germans long have had their
ewes upon Riga and at the close OF
the great campaign OF 1913 when
Poland was overrun and large sec
tions of Russian soil occupied by the
Teutonic forces, an extraordinary ef-
fort was made by Field Marshal Won
Hindenburg to break the line OF the
Dvina between Riga and Dvlnsk. l1o
miles to the southeast. The Russians
at that time, however, were aole TO
hold their grip on the line, beng
aided by the advent of winter. Dur
ing last year no serious offensive was
undertaken by the Germans on the
northern front, their energies IN the
eastern war theatre being directed
elsewhere in resisting the Brusslloff
offensive and in the Rumanlan cam
paign.
Ever since the Russian revolution
with its disorganizing effect upon tne
Russian armies, made tie military
situation more favorable to the Ger
mans, there have been hints that q
descent was to be made upon the nus
sian northern front and several
alarms have been sounded in Petro'
grad that such an eventuallty was
pending.