'Ju\y 31, 1915. 
LAND AND W.ATER. 
with swampy banks and in places bordered by 
broad and impassable marshes— some of the worst 
of which he between Rozhan and Pultusk. But 
there are many parts where for miles one or 
other of tlie two banks is of firm, high ground 
and not a few points where both banks are of this 
character. 
It is obvious that the forcing of a defensive 
line of this sort is only of value to the attacking 
army if the breach so made be sulTieiently wide. 
It the hole you tear through a defensive line is too 
narrow, you cannot pour a sufficient number of 
troops through quickly enough. You will get 
tangled up if you try to do so, and the undefeated 
enemy on both sides will pinch your forces before 
they have managed to separate thoroughly the 
opposing armies into two distinct groups. That 
18 what happened to Hindenberg fast December 
in front of Warsaw. 
_ Now it is evident that up to last Sunday 
night the German armies had not forced the 
obstacle of the Narew upon a sufficient front to 
be of use. That front might be extended at any 
moment. The few points at which a crossin?^ 
liad been effected miglit be joined up the next day 
or the day after, but up to Sunday night, at any 
rat«, they had not been so joined, and only three 
taoJated crossings had been made. The fir.st and 
niost important of these was between the mouth of 
the Orjetz and the bridgehead of Pultusk, at the 
point niarked A on Sketch IV. There lies here 
upon the southern bank of the river a small 
wooded district of perhaps twenty square miles 
or thirty, rather swampy at the rivei\ edge, but 
firm a little way inland. The region reproduces 
very nearly the character of the point at which 
the Kussians managed to cross the Niemen last 
February— a crossing which, it will be remem- 
Dered, led to nothing and was ultimately followed 
by a retreat. 
The second place at which the enemy has 
crossed is m the immediate neighbourhood of 
Kozhan ; but those of his forces which reached the 
soutliem bank were thrown back again by the 
Knssians and are again upon the further bank, 
ine third place at which the Germans had crossed 
IS somewhere, not defined in the communiqucls, 
above Ostrolenka, probably near B on Sketch IV. 
A fourth place where an attempt has been made 
(and has so far failed) is at Novgorod, still further 
up stream. 
From this there will be apparent the follow- 
ing rather important inferences : 
(1) The Russians had not by Sunday night 
regarded the enemy's piercing of the Narew line 
as sufficiently advanced to demand a retirement 
