The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
When the Austro-German armies reached the line of the San on May 14,
1915, the battle for mid-Galicia was over, and a fresh chapter of the
campaign opened with the battle of the San, which might more fittingly
be described as the battle for Przemysl. The position of Ivanoff's
right has been shown; his right center lay west of the Lower San; the
center east of the river covered Przemysl; his left center extended
along the Upper Dniester, while his left, under Lechitsky, was keeping
Von Pflanzer-Baltin employed. Von Mackensen's "phalanx" was slowly
coming into action again, directing its course toward the Russian
center. The "phalanx" was compelled to travel slowly, for it carried
about 2,000 pieces of artillery with ample munitions, and the
railroads had been wrecked by the retreating Russians. What has been
described by military writers as "Von Mackensen's phalanx" was a
concentration of troops along the lines on which the strongest
resistance was expected or where the quickest advance was intended. No
special group of forces appear to have been set apart for that
purpose; there was very little shifting about or regrouping necessary
during the campaign, and so well was the plan arranged that the
concentrations occurred almost automatically wherever and whenever
they were most needed. The infantry marched in successive lines or
echelons, about forty yards apart, while in the ranks the men were
allowed about four feet elbow room apiece. For frontal attacks this
might be considered fairly close formation, but Von Mackensen
calculated more upon the disintegrating effect of his artillery to
first demoralize the enemy and wreck his position, after which the
infantry came into play to complete the destruction. Without an
overwhelming supply of artillery the "phalanx" plan would have been
unworkable--machine guns would exact too heavy a sacrifice of life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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