LAND AND WATER 
December 5, 1914. 
Strykow are pointing outwards towards the Rus- 
sian line (whicii I everywhere indicate by one broad 
black continuous stroke), and while the bodies (3) 
and (4) are also pointing outwards towards the 
^Russian line, the two further bodies (1) and (2) 
are pointing backwards from that line as though 
in retreat from the bottom of the purse or pocket 
B, C, while sundry smaller bodies F, F, F, F are 
left isolated behind B, C. ■ 
What happened was this : Of the German bcdv 
that got through the Russian line a week ago these 
comparatively small groups F, F, F, F were cut 
off. Two whole army corps (1) and (2) were cut 
off by the advancing reinforcements of the Russians 
in the aforesaid pocket A, B, C, D. Lest the 
mouth of the pocket should be closed by the con- 
tinual advance of Russian numbers two more army 
corps (3) and (4) were sent in to save (1) and (2) — ■ 
to hold the mouth of the pocket open while (1) and 
(2) got away; and further strong bodies were sent 
forward by the Germans to Zgierz and Strykow to 
still further hold open the exit from the pocket. 
In so holding the gate or neck open the Ger- 
mans have been successful, and the remnants of 
the massed bodies which got through the Russian 
line, and which nearly paid the penalty by total 
envelopment, will probably escape. But though 
the Russians cannot apparently succeed with the 
forces at their disposal in closing the neck at its 
narrowest between A and B, they are trying higher 
up at Sobota, beyond the marshes and in front of 
Lenczyca, to close in upon the line of the main 
German retreat. Lest they should have too many 
forces at their disposal free for this attempt to cut 
off the German retreat northward, the Germans 
"with their reserve near Plock far oft" on the right, 
are making a determined counter-attack at G on 
the Russians who have recently captured the town 
of Gomblin, while 100 miles away to the south, or 
left, another German force at H, coming from 
Wielun, twenty-five miles from Sieradz, is threat- 
ening that extreme Russian flank also. But 
neither of these two German attempts on the ex- 
treme of the Russian line appear so far to have had 
much effect, and indeed they are too far off to have 
much effect. That the Russians will succeed in 
closing tlie neck of the bottle is doubtful. They 
have failed to do so between A and B, and the at- 
tempts to the north bythe attacktowards Lenczvca 
and in front of Sobota, which I have marked K 
and L, are too far apart perhaps to be effective. 
It is more probable that the Germans in the pocket, 
A, B, C, D, will escape, though with very heavy 
losses. 
Nothing is certain in war, and we have heard 
only one side of the storj-, for the simple reason 
that people only tell their own side. We heard of 
the Russian losses from the Germans during the 
Russian retreat behind the Bzura, and of the " Vic- 
tory of Kutno," and of Hindenburg being made a 
Field-Marshal on the strength of it. After that we 
heard nothing from the Germans, but a great deal 
from the Russians, most of it in somewhat exagge- 
rated private telegrams. We must wait a little 
longer to learn what the total and final result of 
this unparalleled position may be. It has turned 
against the Germans upon the whole so far. It has 
threatened them with a very real disaster. It has 
almost certainly, but not yet quite certainly, de- 
stroyed their initiative in this district. But I have 
not at the moment of writing (Tuesday evenin<») 
any suflicient basis for guessing, let alone judging, 
the final result. Meanwhile, it may interest the 
reader to appreciate that we are dealing here with 
a German line of about 500,000 men, of whom 
both those holding the neck of the pocket, A, B, 
C, D, and those enclosed within it and fighting 
their way out, and thus stretching the mouth 
opeh, as it were, at Zgierz and Strykow, come to 
more than a quarter, but rather less than a third, 
of the total line. P.S. — Since writing the above -a 
later, telegram makes it fairly clear that the 
pocket has not been closed by the Russians, and 
that — though with very heavy losses — the two 
corps contained in it have escaped. For the rest — 
whether a continual Russian offensive will drive 
the Germans back from the line Lodz-l'lock we 
cannot yet tell. 
THE WESTERN THEATRE 
OF WAR. 
THERE is in Flanders and along the whole 
line of the French front nothing new 
to record at the moment of writing, of 
such importance, at least, as to warrant 
either a sketch-map for this week's 
news, or any detailed comment. There is a 
rmnour not officially confirmed that the last of the 
passes over the Vosges has been taken by the 
French; allbutoneof those passes we already knew 
to be in their hands. The very small forces acting 
in the Argonne have had no perceptible effect one 
upon the other; the lines are there almost identical 
with what they were a couple of months ago, save 
for the French advance to Mezicourt and the Ger- 
man capture of the corresponding height of Vieniie 
le Chateau. The whole business in this theatre of 
the war is on so small a scale that the movements 
here are hardly worth recording, and it is not 
without significance that the German news agency 
and official communiques should lay such emphasis 
upon the skirmishes that have recently taken piace 
between such depleted forces. 
In Flanders there has also been a lull. There 
has not been any heavy fighting now for ten days, 
and though at the moment of writing there is a 
report of, a heavy cannonade having been renewed 
upon the front between Ypres and the sea, ther? 
is as yet no official news to that effect ; only a 
French line telling us that an unexpectedly strong 
attack had been made and had been repelled north 
of Arras. 
In connection with the fighting in France 
there is, however, one little point worth noting 
before we leave it. It is a point which illustrates 
in a high degree the value of the censorship. 
The German habit of giving casualty lists, 
though these lists are not full, has enabled us to 
estimate with some accuracy, by process of 
analogy and comparison, the probable full losses 
of our enemy, and such an estimate is not without 
its moral value. It enables one to fix more or less 
the position of the enemy and to view the whole 
situation with justice and even with a cei'tain con- 
fidence, in view of the great number of the casual- . 
ties thus discovered. 
Now the German authorities have f i;r the first 
time in the last few days tried their hand at the 
same game, and it is interesting to notice the pro- 
cess whereby they have arrived at their results. 
Of French and Russian casualties thev know 
nothing. At least, all they can get at is the num- 
ber of prisoners tiiey actually hold and some very 
