NoveraW 7, 1914 
LAND AND WATEB 
Vistula and the San were concerned, may be re- 
membered. It was the object of the Germanic allies, 
the Austrian half of which had abeady been badly 
mishandled by the Kussians in Galicia and pushed 
back half-way between Przemysl and Crakow (see 
Map 1), to get back again to the line of the San in 
the south, continued by the middle Vistula to the 
north, to cross these streams, and to establish them- 
selves firmly in a defensive offensive upon the further 
bank. Tlie capture of AVarsaw, on the extreme north 
of this effort, the relief of Przemysl, on the extreme 
south, would protect the two ends of the advance. 
Later Lemberg would be retaken, and, though the 
allies would not propose to penetrate deeply into the 
Eussian plain — with the vnnter coming on, with its 
poverty of communications and with the great length 
of the line of supply from Germany which such 
further penetration would involve — ^yet it was essential 
to their plan that the line of the middle Vistula and 
the San should be firmly held, and that there the 
Russians should be indefinitely checked, in spite of 
their increasing numbers — making of Russian Poland, 
as it were, a larger Belgium. While the Russians 
were thus held in the East, a definite victory might 
be expected in the West, to which further reinforce- 
ments could be sent when it was apparent that the 
defensive line held by the Germans and Austi'ians 
beyond the Vistula was secure. 
Li pursuance of this plan very large reinforce- 
ments were provided in aid of the defeated Austrian 
armies, and tliese reinforcements came, not into 
Galicia, but, leaving the reoccupation of that field to 
the reconstructed Austrian bodies, the Germans, to the 
number of some 800,000 men or rather more, with 
Austrian reinforcements upon their riglit along the 
southern frontier of Russian Poland, advanced right 
across that province towards the line of the Vistula 
between Sandomir and Warsaw. Before this advance 
the Russians retreated, concentrating beyond the 
Vistula upon reinforcements reaching them from the 
east. No effort was made to prevent this German 
and Austrian advance up to the Vistula itself, and a 
corresponding Russian retirement to take place in the 
south through Galicia up to the line of the San. 
Przemysl was still partially invested by the Russians, 
but onl}'- partially. The western sector of its peri- 
meter was open to the Austrian advance. When the 
shock came, the most important pai-t of this whole 
line, the part along the middle Vistula, stood very 
much as the dotted line upon the accompanying map. 
It had everywhere touched the stream, and was 
prepared to cross it at the points indicated by the 
arrows. It was equally prepared to occupy Warsaw, 
upon which essential northern point of support more 
than a quarter of the Austro-German line upon the 
Vistula was marching. 
Though the Russians allowed the enemy to 
reach the Vistula everywhere above Warsaw, and to 
attempt the crossing, they took the counter-offensive 
at exactly the right moment in front of Warsaw 
itself, and began driving this wing of the Germans 
back westward along the main radroad. Their 
success in this field we know. From extreme 
positions within six or seven miles of the Polish 
capital, the Germans were beaten back at the rate of 
nearly ten mdes a day for three days, until rather 
more than a week ago they were on the line Skieraie- 
wice-Rawa-New Misslo-Radom, and so to the river ; 
the defeat in front of Warsaw involving the abandon- 
ment of all attempts to pursue the crossing of the 
