|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 33
A more serious effort was made against Dvinsk but was equally
unsuccessful and the German losses were immense. Again and again the
attempt was made to cross the Dvina River, but without success; the
German invasion was definitely stopped. By the end of October there was
complete stagnation in the northern sector of the battle line, and
though in November there were a number of battles, nothing happened of
great importance.
Further south, however, Russia become active. An army had been organized
at her Black Sea bases, and for political reasons it was necessary that
that army should move. At this time the great question was, what was
Roumania about to do? To prevent her from being forced to join the
Central Powers she must have encouragement. It was determined therefore
that an offensive should be made in the direction of Czernowitz. This
town was the railway center of a wide region, and lay close to
Roumania's northern frontier.
[Illustration: THE GERMAN ATTACK ON THE ROAD TO PETROGRAD]
The Russian aggressive met with great success. It is true that it never
approached the defenses of Czernowitz, but Brussilov, on the north, had
been able to make great gains of ground, and the very fact that such a
powerful movement could be made so soon after the Russian retreat was an
encouragement to every friend of the Allied cause. This offensive
continued till up to the fourth week of January when it came to an
abrupt stop. A despatch from Petrograd explained the movement as
follows: "The recent Russian offensive in Bessarabia and Galicia was
carried out in accordance with the plan prepared by the Entente Allies'
War Council to relieve the pressure on the Entente forces while they
were fortifying Saloniki and during the evacuation of the Gallipoli
Peninsula." Russia had sacrificed more than seventy thousand soldiers for
her Allies.
During the year 1916 the Russian armies seemed to have had a new birth.
At last they were supplied with guns and munitions. They waited until
they were ready. In March a series of battles was fought in the
neighborhood of Lake Narotch, and eight successive attacks were made
against the German army, intrenched between Lake Narotch and Lake
Vischenebski. The Germans at first were driven back and badly defeated.
Later on, however, the Russian artillery was sent to another section,
and the Germans were able to recover their position. During June the
Russians attacked all along the southern part of their line. In three
weeks they had regained a whole province. Lutsk and Dubno had been
retaken; two hundred thousand men and hundreds of guns, had been
captured, and the Austrian line had been pierced and shattered. Further
south the German army had been compelled to retreat and the Russian
armies were in Bukovina and Galicia. On the 10th of August Stanislau
fell.
By this time two Austrian armies had been shattered, over three hundred
and fifty thousand prisoners taken, and nearly a million men put out of
action. Germany, however, was sending reinforcements as fast as
possible, and putting up a desperate defense. Nevertheless everything
was encouraging for Russia and she entered upon the winter in a very
different condition from her condition in the previous year. Then she
had just ended her great retreat. Now she had behind her a series of
successes. But a new difficulty had arisen in the loss of the political
harmony at home which had marked the first years of the war. Dark days
were ahead.
CHAPTER VI
HOW THE BALKANS DECIDED
For more than half a century the Balkans have presented a problem which
disturbed the minds of the statesmen of Europe. Again and again, during
that period, it seemed that in the Balkan mountains might be kindled a
blaze which might set the world afire. Balkan politics is a labyrinth in
which one might easily be lost. The inhabitants of the Balkans represent
many races, each with its own ambition, and, for the most part,
military. There were Serbs, and Bulgarians, and Turks, and Roumanians,
and Greeks, and their territorial divisions did not correspond to their
nationalities. The land was largely mountainous, with great gaps that
make it, in a sense, the highway of the world. From 1466 to 1878 the
Balkans was in the dominion of the Turks. In the early days while the
Turks were warring against Hungary, their armies marched through the
Balkan hills. The natives kept apart, and preserved their language,
religion and customs.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|