D'AND AND 
XtTEB. 
Beptember 18, 1915. 
far, apparently because the advance of Mackensen 
on the north would have rendered a further Rus- 
sian move westward in the south perilous. 
I.— THE RIGA SECTOR. 
In this sector came the earliest and the least" 
expected of the enemy's successes during the past 
fortnight, but also that which has for reasons 
not yet known to us halted without further 
development. 
At the opening of the month the Russian 
lines defending Riga lay as in the above Sketch 
iV. They ran, to the south and west of the town, 
about twenty miles in front of it, as in the dotted 
line of the accompanying Sketch V. They did 
not control the lateral railway, which runs from 
Mittau directly eastward, but they came near to 
it until just after the station of Gross Eckau, then 
bent up northward again, covering and holding 
the bridge head of Leunen (there is here no 
regular bridge, but most probably a pontoon 
bridge^, and also the more important point of 
(Friedrichstadt, standing on the left bank and 
tinited by a bridge to the further shore. A little 
beyond Friedrichstadt comes in from the south 
into the River Dwina the little stream called the 
ILautze. This obstade was held by the Russians, 
and formed the contLnuation of their line, which 
ran on southward roughly parallel with the Upper 
Dwina and covered Dvinsk. Immediately south 
iof Jacobstadt, about two days' march away, is the 
village and station of Abele, through which a 
road and railway pass on the way to Dvinsk. This 
Station and village was held by the Russians. 
In this sector the enemy attacked in force at 
Lennen and Friedrichstadt on September 2, and, 
as always, by the superiority of his heavy artillery 
he compelled the evacuation of both those bridge 
heads. It was universally expected that, thus 
commanding the passage of the river, and there- 
^re the railway and road uniting Dvinsk and 
[Riga, the enemy would immediately proceed to get 
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T^Ues 
