Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-09-05
ter making good their footbold on the

right bank OF the stream.
Menaced by the attack of column
Of Teutonic forces moving from Mi
tau southwest of Riga and by the
+ German naval forces recently report
ed lowering in the Vicinity Of the Gulf
of Riga, the Russian military author
tiles evidently considered the city no
longer tenable and decided to evacu-
ate 1t.
The possible ultimate military con-
sequences of this development are
difficult to estimate. The right flank
Of the entire Russian western front
was anchored On the Gulf Of, Riga at
point to the west Of the city and
this anchorage apparently lost, the
possible strategical developments of
the. situation seem inApite. ys. ,s,,t
Much depends on the purpose OF
the Germans and the size of the
forces at their disposal for operations
in this war theater. 1t is too early
yet for 1T to be made apparent whe-
ther they will be content at present
with occupation Of the Baltic sea-
port the Russians have left to 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 100000 persons before the war,
and aside from Petrograd, was the
most important Russian commercial
and industrial town having access to
the Baltic. 1t Is situated at the SOU
thern extremity 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 icebound during
virtually one-third Of the year. It
had very large German population
before the opening Of hostilities and
it is interesting to note that it was
chants as a storehouse, the city pass
ing through the control Of various
northern nationalities during the CEN
turtles until finally, in 1921, it was
incorporated with the Russian EN-
pire. It's commercial standing is in
dicated by the fact that it was the
third seaport of Russia, only Petro-
grad and Odessa exceeding 1t in i'm
portance.
Riga Long Wanted by Germans.
The Germans long have had their
eyes upon Riga and at the close OF
the great campaign of 1915, when
Poland was 'Over-run 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 Dvinsk, 10
miles to the southeast. The Russians
at that time, however, were able to
hold their grip on the line, being aid
Ell by the advent OF winter. During
last year no serious offensive was
undertaken by the Germans on the
northern front, their energies in the
eastern war theater being directed
elsewhere in resisting the Brussiloff
offensive and In the Rumanian cam
paign.
Ever since the Russian revolution,
with its disorganizing effect upon the
Russian armies, made the military
situation more favorable to the Ger
mans, there have been hints that a
descent was to be made upon the Rus
sian northwest front and several
alarms have been sounded in Petro-
grad that such an eventuality was
pending.
The instability of the Russian
troops, 1T Is indicated by the official
statement, had an important inf1u-
ence upon the decision to order the
evacuation Of the Riga district so
quickly after the winning by the Ger
mans OF their first successes. AS had
been the case in Galicia and Ruma-
MA, some Of the Russian units left
their trenches without making a
fight.
Tho pr,,o D,,,,,,to, o,o,;o. -.
showing a much firmer resistance on
the Rumanian front, repelling all the !
Teutonic attacks. Several such were