At the beginning of hostilities on August 11, 1914, the chief offensive against Russia was intrusted to the First Austrian Army under General Dankl. This was composed of about seven army corps, having various additional units, or amounting in all to about 350,000 men. This army had its base on Przemysl and Jaroslav, and the work which had been assigned to it was to advance upward between the Vistula on the left side and the Bug on the right, on to Lublin and Kholm. There it was to sever and hold the Warsaw-Kiev railroad so the line would be exposed in the direction of Brest-Litovsk and the chief communications in the rear of Warsaw. The First Austrian Army, while it advanced to this position, would have as protection from attack on its right and rear from the east and south the Second Army under General von Auffenberg. This army, advancing northeast from Lemberg, would control eastern Galicia from the Bug to the Sereth and the Dniester. The numerical strength of Von Auffenberg's army at the start probably was about 300,000, and consisted of five army corps with five divisions of cavalry. This, however, was only its initial strength. As hostilities developed Von Auffenberg added to his strength until he is reported to have had no less than six corps and additional cavalry. At first this increase came from the Third or Reserve Army, over which Archduke Joseph Ferdinand had command. While General Dankl was advancing toward Lublin on August 28, 1914, being protected on his right flank by Von Auffenberg, the army of the Archduke appears to have been pushed out in a similar manner on the left. CHAPTER LXIII AUSTRIA TAKES THE OFFENSIVE The Austrians crossed the Polish border on August 29, 1914, and moved on as far as Kielce and toward Radom without encountering serious opposition. That may have been as far as it was intended to proceed. In all three of the armies of Austria there were about 1,000,000 men, and against these forces were arrayed three Russian armies--a small force on the Bug, which may be called the First Russian Army; a Second Russian Army under General Russky, which was moving on Sokal from the Lutsk and Dubno fortresses; and a Third Army under General Brussilov, which was proceeding against the Sereth. There were about 300,000 men in each of the two latter armies. Now the Russian strategy on September 1, 1914, was this: It was intended that their First Army should retire before Dankl, the Second Army to menace Lemberg from the northeast and put its right wing between Dankl and Von Auffenberg, and the Third Army to advance from the Sereth to the town of Halicz on the Dniester, and so finish the investment of Lemberg on the south and east.