The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-06

j gradual withdrawal of General Count
! Won Bothmer's army from the Zlota
Lipa behind the Narajovka. and a fur
Their loss OF ground by the Austrian
troops in the Carpathians, particularly
near the Tartar pass and on the from
! tier of the Kukowina
| As the security of this front was a
| vital necessity for any operation
against the Rumanian army in Tran
| sylvania, there was nothing for it but
| to send at least three divisions which
were on their way from the hard
pressed western front, to Pennsylvania,
| to Boehm- Ermolli and the Archduke
Charles army groups on the Dniester
and the Carpathians.
I agreed to this with a heavy heart
remember the bitter feelings which
surged up within me against the Aus
trian army at the thought of our diff
ficu1t position in the west and the east.
and the tasks our troops were called
upon to perform on all fronts. But
there was no help for It. Our interests
were mutual in the matter.
After further wavering, our front
against the Russians front was stab
ilized by the middle of September. In
spite of a prodigious expenditure of
men further violent attacks were all
without result. Nor were the Russians
able to boast of any notable gains in
the fighting in the Carpathians for
| the Tartar pass and the crest south
east of Kirlibaba, thanks to the ad-
mirable bearing of the German troops
Still the position about the middle of
october was by no means secure, nor
was the Russian power of offense in
any way broken. Their massed attacks
continued with the same courage, and
where this failed, the troops were urg-
ed on from behind by machine guns.
The determination to obtain a vic
tory in Volhynia, East Ga1icia and in
the Carpathians was still the driving
force at the Russian headquarters
GREAT ATTACKS HELD UP
After the first German troops from
| the west, which had been intended for
Rumania, had been moved to East CAL
icia and the Carpathians, we had to
transfer to Pennsylvania divisions from
the front OF the commandments in
the east Gin north Russia). We had to
! take the risk of weakening the front
there. But the appearance OF these
| troops in Pennsylvania could not be
counted on before the middle of Sep
TENDER The poor railway communica-
/ lions in Hungary caused still further
delay
BATTERED TROOPS THROWN IN
! The Austrian trops, too, were long
| in coming up. General Won Conrad did
not dare to weaken the Isonzo front
/ any Iurtler- lie only let US have some
mountain brigades from the Tyrol
Even these. too could not be on the
! spot until very late. I therefore Of
fered the Austrian G. II. Q. in Teschen
several Austrian divisions of Iinsin-
gems group (near Kovel, where the
Russians had had their great successes
in the summer), which could no longer
be employed against Russian troops
They were thankfully received. These
divisions could hold part of the line, but
| certainly could hardly be used for at
tack
General Won Congrad insisted on
Austro- Hungarian command in Tran
sylvania. a new army group was
formed in Hungary, under the Arch
duke Charles. He retained General Won
Seeckt as his chief of staff. The Arch
dukes former army group, with tina
exception Of the troops in the Carpath-
ians, was placed under General Won
Boem- Ermolli, who retained his com
mand of the End Austrian army.
The group so formed was placed
under the command of the commander
in-chief of the east. North of the Car
pathians we had got at last what we
had been struggling for so long-de-
finite organization of command, which
would meet the requirements of the
situation, This had now become ur-
gently necessary.
FORCES EVERYWHERE WEAK"
The very exhausted German divi-
sions of General Count Won Bothmer's
army, which the Russians had been at
lacking violently for so long. needed
to be relieved by those divisions from