The fall of Przemysl was preceded by a sortie of the garrison in a last desperate attempt to hack its way through the enemy's lines. After a seven hours' battle they were compelled to retreat with a loss of nearly 4,000 prisoners. Only three days' rations were left. In the surrender of the city the Russians announced the taking of nearly 120,000 prisoners, including nine generals, 93 officers of the general staff, 2, officers and officials, and 117,000 soldiers. Twenty-four thousand soldiers of the Przemysl garrison were killed during the long siege, according to dispatches from Petrograd. Twenty thousand more were wounded making the total casualties of the Austrian defenders 44,000 men. Depleted by disease, subsisting on horseflesh, and surrounded by a superior force of Russians, the garrison of Przemysl was forced to surrender, but fell with honor, the gallant character of the defense under General von Kusmanek being conceded on all sides. The Russian commander who received the surrender was General Seliwanoff. In the early days of the siege a Bulgarian, General Radko Dimitrieff, was in command of the investing forces. General Seliwanoff commanded the Russian forces at Vladivostok during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05. The duration of the siege compared with the length of time it took the Germans to capture such strongholds as Liège, Namur and Antwerp was due to two causes, one being the desire of the Russians to keep the loss of life among the besieging army at a minimum, the other to the lack of great guns which the Germans had in Belgium. The investment was not a close one, the garrison having had a radius of about twelve miles in which to move about. An aeroplane post was maintained almost up to the last, and it is said that even some scanty food supplies were carried in by aeroplane. Although the victory was a big one, it cost the Russians dearly. It is estimated that 150,000 Russians were killed and wounded during the months that the siege went on. Not only were many Russians killed by the efficient fire of the Austrian gunners, but the fierce sorties where attackers and defenders fought hand-to-hand resulted in heavy casualties. Przemysl was the greatest fortress in the Austrian empire. Hill, rock, marsh and river combined to give it strength and the work of nature had been supplemented by the labors of the finest military engineers in central Europe. The gallant defense which the garrison put up for days is recorded as Austria's most noteworthy contribution to the war. For a long time the fortress had faced famine. With the fall of Przemysl the only important fortified town in Austrian Galicia which was not in the hands of the Russians was Cracow, close to the German border. A large Russian army with artillery was released for action. The Russian left wing stretched from the province of Bukowina on the southeast to Tarnow and the Vistula River near Cracow on the west. ON THE EASTERN FRONT