Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-10-25

off the enemys retreat Other Ger
man troops penetrated the forest from
the north. and after the capture of
Augustowo reached the Grodno-Lipsk
chaussee and the Bohr below Krasn-
Dor, fighting all the way. At Lipsk
the ring was closed.
The position of our troops before
Grodno was exceedingly hazardous.
on the goth and 21st violent attacks
were made from the fortress. where
the Russian reinforcements had as
sembled. The Russians made repeat
ed attacks from the Augustowo forest
into which they had poured in their
retreat, The German troops stood
firm though suffering heavy losses.
1t was a brilliant piece OF work for
the 21st army corps and its leader,
General Fritz Won Below, who after
ward made good as commander-in-
chief in the west. had reason to be
proud of his troops and his own force
| fulness. The staff of the 10th army
could claim a share Of the glory with
good conscience.
A few days later the masses of Rus
sian troops surging in the Augustowo
| forest and defending themselves des-
perately, surrendered The battle was
at an end.
Another Army Crushed.
The tactical results of the winter
campaign in Masura We're important;
| 10000 prisoners and many hundred
| guns. The Russian 10th army had
| been annihilated, and Russia's
strength was once more perceptibly
reduced.
Meanwhile the attack on Osowiec
and the Bohr had not made any head
way. In spite of our powerful artil-
lery it defied frontal attack as the
commanding heights on the southern
bank of the Bohr could not be reach
ed at all points.
| Under these circumstances l could
not conceal from myself that this
great victory had been deprived of its
fun strategical results, Army head
quarters were called on to make grave
and difficult decisions.
In the first place the order was
given to discontinue the attacks on
the Bohr and Osowiec.
! The 10th army could not remain
where it was. Very strong forces We're
needed to protect our flank on the
east, the Olita-KownO direction, but
they were not available. Communlca-
ton with the rear and the conditions
become too difficult owing to the in
clemency of the weather. They could
not be borne for long.
Has to withdraw Army.
The roads and tracks were too bad,
! the weather too unfayorable and the
horses too exhausted. Our transport
could hardly get on at all on the high
roads with their thin surface of worn
| stones. Besides we had very little
available
The army had to return to condi-
lions under which it could live and
recuperate, An this made it urgently
necessary that the 10th army should
! face about and withdraw.
At the very beginning of the opera
! lions order had been given for the
construction of rear positions east of
Augustowo- Suwalki, reaching as far
as the Niemen. The work was imme-
diately put in hand by labor compa-
I MES as soon as we had conquered this
district. These positions-although
only in an early stage-nOw offered
a certain amount of support. The 10th
army received orders for its right wing
! to wheel and retire to the prepared
| line.
! At the same time the 10th army
!
| forces which were urgently required
! further west. The great Russian
counter attacks had begun against
our long flank on the southern from
tier of west and east Prussia. Fur
Their the Russians were keeping us
! busy to the north of the Niemen The
| battle ragged all around German terri
| tory west of the Vistula.
The Austrian army's offensive for
the relief of PrZemysl had been UNI
successful. The Russians very soon
made counter-attacks. Przemysl
would have to be left to its fate. On
| the whole eastern front We were now
faced by the prospect of heavy Rus
sian attacks.
Russian Attack Fails.
After. the Augustowo forest had
been cleared and the wounded re-
moved, at the beginning Of March,
General Won Eichhorn. in accordance
with instructions, withdrew his right
to the defensive line, and his left
north of the Augustowo forest as far
as Seiny and south of Kalgarya. He
proposed to fall on the pursuing Rus
slams again and defeat them by en-
velOping their right wing.
| The idea was u good one and in ac-
| COIutICS WIFI lllG ltSplulG S4'lllL Plt-
vailing at army headquarters. The
days from March to IL witnessed a
| fresh success for the newly-formed
10th Russian army suffered defeat.
But the troops needed rest so much
and the weather was SO bad that the
army command had reluctantly to de-
eide to give up any idea of further at
tacks and have recourse to position
warfare, especially as more troops
had to be transferred to the Sth army
and Gallwitz's detachment. The left
wing remained in the neighborhood
of Kalwarya- Mariampol- Pilwischki.
About the middle of March the
Russians hurled themselves against
these positions, but period of quiet
gradually set in,
At the beginning of February the
Russians were still on Prussian terri
tory northeast of Tilsit. and we We're
justified in our desire to wrest this
last small corner of German soil
from the power of the enemy. The
task was entrusted to the governor Of
Youngsters, General Won Pappritz
with the Landsturm forces stationed
there, reinforced bY some artillery
Tauroggen was seized on February Is.
Tries to Reward Girl.
The peace which reigned once more
north of the Pregel was rudely brok-
en- on March II by an inroad near
Memel and Tauroggen of a Russian
force composed of home-defense and
frontier guard formations. They took
us by surprise whilst we were still
devoting all our attention to events
elsewhere,
The Russian horde advanced on
Memel, which the Landsturm forces
IA q IA 81