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
This was now the seventh day of the new Russian offensive, and on it
another valuable prize fell into the hands of General Brussilov, the
town and fortress of Dubno. This brought his forces within twenty-five
miles of the Galician border and put the czar's forces again in the
possession of the Volhynian fortress triangle, consisting of Lutsk,
Dubno, and Rovno.
Dubno, which had been in the hands of the Austrians since September 7,
1916, lies on the Rovno-Brody-Lemberg railway, and is about eighty-two
miles from the Galician capital, Lemberg. The town has about 14,000
inhabitants, mostly Jews, engaged in the grain, tobacco, and
brickmaking industry. It was in existence as early as the eleventh
century.
So powerful was the Russian onrush on Dubno that the attackers swept
westward apparently without meeting any resistance, for on the same
day on which the fortress fell, some detachments crossed the Ikva. One
part of these forces even swept as far westward as the region of the
village of Demidovka, on the Mlynow-Berestetchko road, thirteen miles
southwest of the Styr at Mlynow, compelling the enemy garrison of the
Mlynow to surrender. Demidovka is twenty-five miles due west of Dubno.
Thus the Russians have in Volhynia alone pushed the Austro-Hungarian
lines back thirty-two miles.
CHAPTER XXI
THE RUSSIAN RECONQUEST OF THE BUKOWINA
Simultaneously with the drive in Volhynia, the extreme left wing of
the Russian southern army under General Lechitsky forced the
Austro-Hungarians to withdraw their whole line in the northeastern
Bukowina, invaded the crownland with strong forces and advanced to
within fourteen miles of the capital, Czernowitz. On the Strypa the
Austrians had to fall back from their principal position north of
Buczacz. In spite of the most desperate resistance and in the face of
a violent flanking fire, and even curtain fire, and the explosions of
whole sets of mines, General Lechitsky's troops captured the Austrian
positions south of Dobronowce, fourteen miles northeast of Czernowitz.
In that region alone the Russians claimed to have captured 18,000
soldiers, one general, 347 officers, and ten guns. Southeast of
Zaleszcyki on the Dniester the Russians again were victorious and
forced the withdrawal of the Austrian lines. Fourteen miles north of
Czernowitz the Austrian troops tried to stem the tide by blowing up
the railroad station of Jurkoutz. At the same time they made their
first important counterattack in the Lutsk region. Making a sudden
stand, after being driven over the river Styr, north of Lutsk, they
turned on the Russians with the aid of German detachments rushed to
them by General von Hindenburg, drove the Muscovite troops back over
the Styr and took 1,508 prisoners, including eight officers. At other
points, too, the Austrian resistance stiffened perceptibly, especially
in the region of Torgovitsa, and on the Styr below Lutsk.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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