On October 16, 1915, the Germans decided to attempt this maneuver and made a rather unexpected attack east of Mitau and north of Eckau and forced the Russians back of the Misse River, an eastern tributary of the River Aa, near Basui, on which occasion they claimed to have captured over 10,000 men. Some more ground was gained in that neighborhood during the next three days. Immediately the Russians retaliated by an equally unexpected naval operation far to the north, at the western entrance to the Gulf of Riga. A Russian fleet appeared there and bombarded the ports of Domesnaes and Gipken. Detachments were landed. Although they destroyed some of the fortifications that had been erected there by the Germans and scattered the small forces which the Germans had there, they withdrew within a few days. This operation had practically no influence on the further developments along the balance of the front, except that, threatening as it was for the time being to the German rear, it resulted in a temporary reduction of the pressure that the Germans were trying to exert from the south. One other attempt to reach Riga before the coming of winter was made toward the end of October. Apparently the German plan was to make a triple attack on the Baltic fortress. From the south another drive was made against Dalen Island. From the southwest the new offensive started from Mitau in the direction of Olai along the Mitau-Riga railroad, and from the west reenforcements that had been concentrated at Tukum advanced on both sides of Lake Babit. However, this offensive, too, was unsuccessful. Especially that started along the north shore of Lake Babit proved costly to the Germans. There the stretch of land between the gulf and the lake is nowhere more than three miles wide, and in many places not that wide. Through its entire length flows the Aa. It is only sparsely wooded. Comparatively small Russian forces successfully opposed the advancing Germans, whose narrow front was easily dominated and driven back by machine guns and field artillery; from the gulf, too, Russian war vessels trained their guns on the Germans, and the attack was quickly broken up with considerable losses to the attackers and only small losses to the defenders. Against these conditions the Germans seemed to be helpless. They fell back along the north shore of Lake Babit and along the Aa toward their base at Schlock. This, of course, necessitated a simultaneous withdrawal of the German forces on the south shore of the lake. The Russians immediately followed up their advantage, and by November 6, 1915, the Germans had withdrawn all their forces from along the north side of the Tirul Marshes. About that time the Germans withdrew beyond the Aa to its west bank, and on November 8, 1915, the Russians stormed the village of Kemmern, about five miles west of Schlock. During the next two weeks, November 8 to 22, 1915, continuous fighting took place to the north of the Schlock-Tukum railroad. This