The Story of the Great War, Volume 5: Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 5: Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War
World War, 1914-1918
In spite of this the Russians attempted local advance on April 13,
1916, in the region of Garbunovka, northwest of Dvinsk and south of
Lake Narotch; however, though their losses were quite heavy, they
could not gain any ground. This was also true of another local attack
made against the army of Prince Leopold of Bavaria near Zirin, on the
Servetsch River northeast of Baranovitchy. Similarly unsuccessful were
German attacks made the same day between Lakes Sventen and Itzen.
German artillery still kept up its work along the entire front,
especially at Lake Miadziol, south of Dvinsk at Lake Narotch, and at
Smorgon, the little railroad station south of the Viliya River on the
Vilna-Minsk railway.
On the following day, April 14, 1916, the Russians repeated their
efforts in the Servetsch region. After strong artillery preparation
they launched another attack near Zirin, and southeast of Kovelitchy,
but were again repulsed. The same fate was suffered by an attack
attempted northwest of Dvinsk. South of Garbunovka, however, they
registered a slight local success. After cutting down four lines of
barbed-wire obstacles that had been erected by the Germans, they
stormed and occupied two small hills west and south of this village.
This gain was maintained in the face of strongly concentrated
artillery and rifle fire, and repeated German counterattacks, which
later proved very sanguinary to the German troops. German artillery
again directed violent fire against the Russian positions between Lake
Narotch and Lake Miadziol and near Smorgon. A German attack made
northwest of the latter village broke down under Russian gunfire.
At this point the Germans resumed their offensive at daybreak on April
15, 1916, after strong artillery preparation accompanied by the use of
asphyxiating gas. Concentrated fire from the Russian artillery,
however, prohibited any noticeable advance. During the following day,
April 16, 1916, both sides restricted themselves more or less to
artillery bombardments, which became especially violent on the Dvina
line, around the Uxkull bridgehead, and in the neighborhood of the
Russian positions south of the village of Garbunovka, as well as
between Lake Narotch and Lake Miadziol.
Two days later, on April 18, 1916, German detachments temporarily
regained some of the ground lost about a week before south of
Garbunovka. Again on that day the guns on both sides roared along the
entire northern sector of the eastern front. On the 19th the
bombardment became especially intense at the bridgehead at Uxkull and
south of lake.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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