A General Sketch of the European War: The First PhaseBelloc, Hilaire
History
A General Sketch of the European War: The First Phase
Belloc, Hilaire
World War, 1914-1918
The first army went forward with very little loss and against very
little resistance. The Russian forces which were against it, which we
may call the first Russian army, were inferior in number, and fell
back, though not rapidly, towards the Bug. It relied to some extent in
this movement upon the protection afforded by the forts of Zamosc, but
it was never in any serious danger until, or unless, things went wrong
in the south. The Austrians remained in contact (but no more), turned
somewhat eastward in order to keep hold of the foe, when their advance
was checked by the news, first of unexpected Russian strength, later
of overwhelming Russian advances towards the south. Long before the
third week in August, the first Austrian army was compelled to check
its advance upon the news reaching it from the second, and its
fortunes, in what it had intended to be a successful invasion of
Russian Poland, had ended. For the whole meaning of the first Galician
campaign turns after the 14th of August upon the great Russian advance
in the south.
It was upon that day, August 14, that the Russian force, under General
Russky (which we will call the second army), crossed the frontier.
Its right occupied Sokal, its centre left moved in line with the right
upon von Auffenberg's force directly before it.
The Russian mobilization had proceeded at a greater pace than the
enemy had allowed for. The Russian numbers expected in this field
appeared in far greater strength than this expectation had allowed
for, and it was soon apparent that von Auffenberg's command would have
to resist very heavy pressure.
But it would be an error to imagine, as was too hastily concluded in
the press of Western Europe at the time, that this pressure upon the
front of the second Austrian army, with its dogged day after day
fighting and mile by mile advance, was the principal deciding factor
in the issue. That deciding factor was, in fact, the appearance upon
the right flank of von Auffenberg of yet another Russian army (which
we will call the third) under Brussilov. It was the menace of this
force, unexpected, or at least unexpected in its great strength, which
really determined the issue, though this was again affected by the
tardiness of the Austrian retirement. Russky's direct advance upon
the front of his enemy extended for a week. It had begun when it had
destroyed the frontier posts upon Friday, the 14th. It was continued
until the evening of the succeeding Thursday, regularly, slowly, but
without intermission. It stood upon the Friday, the 21st--the day on
which the first shots were fired at the main Franco-British forces in
the West, and the day on which the first shell fell into Charleroi
station--not more than one day's cavalry advance from the outer works
of Lemberg, but it was just in that week-end that the pressure of
Brussilov began to be felt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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