G A L 1 C I A 



English Miles 



Galicia: Map of the Polish district, part of the Austrian Empire 1772-1918, and the scene of important fighting during 



the early part of the Great War 



neighbourhood of Tsin (Teschen) 

 to the frontier of Rumania between 

 the Dniester and the Carpathians. 

 The N. boundary of the district 

 begins in the W. on the N. side of 

 the Vistula, then follows the river 

 itself for over 100 m., passes up the 

 valley of the San to the E. of that 

 stream, crosses the Bug to Brody, 

 and finally follows the Zbrucz 

 affluent to the Dniester. 



The S. half of Galicia comprises 

 the foothills of the Carpathians, 

 mainly composed of flysch sand- 

 stones. The heights stretch in long, 

 monotonous ridges from E. to W., 

 except where the granitic Tatra 

 Mts. present rugged Alpine peaks. 

 The whole area is a natural forest 

 region, coniferous trees being 

 common on the higher ground. 

 The deeply cut valleys contain 

 fertile alluvium. The Jablunkov 

 (1,810 ft,), Lupkov (1,916 ft.), 

 Dukla (1,650 ft.), and Uzok (2,651 

 ft. ) are the chief passes from Poland 

 to Czecho-Slovakia. The Magyar 

 or Tatar Gate (3,300 ft.), also 

 known as the Delatyn or Jablonica 

 pass in the Forest Carpathians, is 

 strategically the gateway from 

 Russia to the Hungarian plain. 



The foothills contain deposits of 

 salt and petroleum. The great salt 

 mines of Wieliczka, near Cracow, 

 have been worked for centuries, 

 and the galleries extend for 3 m., 

 1,000 ft. below ground. Rich de- 

 posits of salt are also worked at 

 Bochnia, Sambor, Drohobycz, and 

 Dolina. Drohobycz is the chief 

 centre of the oil district. 



The N. portion of Galicia com- 



prises three lowland areas : in the 

 W. the narrow valley of the Vis- 

 tula; in the middle the Galician 

 plain between the Vistula and its 

 affluent the San ; in the E. the low- 

 land between Podolia and the 

 Carpathians. The Galician plain 

 is trenched by broad alluvium- 

 filled valleys made during the 'Ice 

 Age in which the modern rivers, 

 all too small for the valleys, flow 

 unconformably. Between the 

 valleys the plateaux rise from 50 ft. 

 to 1 50 ft. above valley level ; they 

 are covered with glacial deposits 

 of sand and clay, with many erratic 

 boulders. The forest covering has 

 been cut down ; sand has en- 

 croached over the area and de- 

 stroyed its former fertility. In the 

 N. there are sand dunes. The rivers 

 flood regularly, and prevent the 

 fertile valley alluvium from being 

 well tilled. 



The E. lowland is divided into 

 two parts by the water parting, 

 which passes from W. to E. close 

 to Lembcrg (Lwow), between the 

 Baltic and the Black Sea drainage. 

 Northwards drains the Bug, one 

 of the chief tributaries of the Vis- 

 tula, southwards the Dniester and 

 its main affluent, the Sereth, and 

 the Pruth drain to the Black Sea. 

 The N. portion is level and mono- 

 tonous, with pinewoods, peat bogs, 

 and sand dunes. In the S. portion 

 the rivers have cut deep trenches 

 filled with alluvium ; the spring 

 floods frequently turn the valleys 

 into temporary lakes. 



Galicia is more densely peopled 

 than the rest of Poland to the N., 



or the former Hungarian area to 

 the S. The inhabitants in the W. 

 are Roman Catholic Poles, and in 

 the E. Greek Orthodox Ruthenes 

 or Little Russians. In the towns 

 there are many Jews. The boun- 

 dary zone between Poles and 

 Ruthenes is approximately the 

 valley of the San, although the 

 districts round Lemberg and Tar- 

 nopol in the E. contain more Poles 

 than Ruthenes. Historically, this 

 boundary zone has marked the E. 

 limit of the influence of the Roman 

 Church since A.D. 1000. It con- 

 tained the S. portion of the E. 

 boundary of the kingdom of Po- 

 land in A.D. 1200, although the 

 whole of Galicia was included 

 within the kingdom of Poland 

 during the 14th, 15th, and 16th 

 centuries. In 1740 Galicia, still 

 wholly in Poland, was divided, the 

 W. belonging to the district of 

 Little Poland and the E. to Red 

 Russia. Galicia became Austrian 

 in 1772. That part W. of the San 

 went to Poland after the Great 

 War. and East Galicia to Poland 

 in 1923. 



Galicia, BATTLES IN. Towards 

 the end of 1915 the Russians under 

 Ivanoff undertook an offensive, 

 the immediate objective of which 

 was Czernowitz, but which ex- 

 tended N. over the earlier battle- 

 fields of the Strypa and the Styr. 

 This offensive had in view possible 

 Austro-Gennan action against 

 Rumania, and covered a Russian 

 offensive in the Caucasus. 



In S.E. Galicia the Russian line 

 lay a short distance within the 



