WITH THE RUSSIAN REARGUARD

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2554, 31 August 1915, Page 5

WITH THE RUSSIAN REARGUARD

GRAPHIC STORY OF THE FIGHTING ; THE RETREAT TO LUBLIN ' INVISIBLE POISON GAS By Tsleerauli—2-ress Association—Cony right. Turin, August 29. Signor Pisani, tlie newspaper "Stam« pa's" correspondent with tuo Russian ' armies, gives a graphic narrative of tho rearguard fight towards Lublin. The > enemy fortified himself at every step "of 1 his advance, until the German and Bus-, 1 sian trenches were only 3000 yards apart. The Russian centre stood in the ' fields of' AVilkolaz, southward of the ' railway, their right stretclied along the ' Ugonova, lVivcr, ; their left preserving ' opportune. freedom of. movement, and ' 3 bemg able to converge • on the river V along two parallel lines formed by the " Krasnik Road,'- and the course of the 5 Bystricza.; '. ' ' Tho Germans concentrated all their common centre along the Krasnik Road, ■ because tho lack of,any-other road impeded tho gunners, who were directly sustaining tlie wing of their front, and " for five hours there was a fierce _ artil--5 lery duel, directed to the demolishing ' of each other's batteries. The Russian ; right;'wing was entrenched within ' eleven yards of the river. Tlie soil was saturated with, tlie water! and the men " Were soon iraihersed to their ,waists; . 3 but not a sonl quitted his post. On the 3 left, near the deep, treacherous Bys-'V tricza,' tho Bavarians, despite terrible t losses from the Russian' machine-guns, Were continually .advancing and atj tempting to force a passage. Finally, ? they threw forward a section behind a> J' hillock only 150 yards, away, which hid them from the Russian fire. ] ' A New Poison Horror. ' f While the Russians were regulating 3 their fire a Russian officer leapt from : j the first .treiich with a number of men, 1 shielding their faces with their liauds, I- and all fell forward. ' Tho Germans 1 were pouring out now poison gases, tho composition of which is I . unknown. Masks were useless. ' Tlio , poisonous vapours invaded tho trenches, and the Russians dropped in files with blackened faces."" v . The.left wing was driven to abandon its position, and a Bavarian regiment wheeled forward, and flung a bridge \ t across the river and oocupied tho trenches. Suddenly the wind , veered, ■ and tho enemy's barbarous weapon re> t coiled on himself, tho poison soon sufb" focating the, Germans. The Austrian . reinforcements, were obliged to fall 3 back. Tho Russian left wing was re- . formed. The men were buoyed up by f fresh courage. A shell smashed a ,f bridge, leaving the Bavarians isolated* 5 Vengoanoe! it; The Russians advanced with their - bayonets through tho trenches, and ■ found that many of their comrades who had fallen fainting 011 account of tho, gas fumes .had been'mercilessly-, massacred by tho Austriaus.;/ . { This carnago ,las'ued the Russians into fury, and they pursued tlio ißavarians along the Bystricza river-becU • Vainly tho 'enemy, called for pity; the , S. left bank, was swopt clean in a few. ' minutes. The so-called Siberian Regif ments, in /reality composed largely oi 0 Poles, then crossed a ford near Laro- ' - veck, and by superhuman effort rout'ee'i C tho enemy. '