PICTURESQUE PRZEMYSL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15912, 8 May 1915, Page 5 (Supplement)

PICTURESQUE PRZEMYSL.

A CITY OF THE HILLS. THE STORY OF THE SIEGE. Przkutsl. the great fortress which sinrendered to the Russians in March lies 150 miles cast of Cracow and 60 miles smith west of Umbers on the main Traro-iJalumn line from Cracow, through 'Urnnw. rt/.e.-zow. ami Jams lav to I emher;. 3 Pol'' 1 ! hi origin, a* its name implies, P'zem\.»l is believed t.. have been founded sh«ut the middle ot the loiirteenUi mints by Casimir the l.ieat, who asserted the -Minis '; Poland to Ked K,isslu, as i,*.. la was known m thus- days. A hill cc IV.e south-west side ~, the town is a owned wit,; the rums uf a castle said to have been Wilt by him. In PrzentyfMiiy. a lew miles south ~,,-t of Lemberg', {'..:< mi.-' h.i« « little namesake, which, hewfver. has never made historv. Castm.r, »>> u ai oiihed 'the Peasants' Kir?. . ertainlv deserves to have the ! "uii'ialiou ..I I'iaeuiysl af.iibuted to him. 1' .ei ttliJes the town I,as been one, of tile L'-itden cities of the Caipathians. The mem.': ci the past ioe enshrined in ■•.- i: ir.aii and deck lalhedrals. which. ti-C'tliei wit!, a liuiiibec ot other sored and p. in.ii edit). have sealed its out'■'v : --' Its strivings after more •■.at'-:.a. t .iiii L 's in modern times -.re .11- -'•'"•' li\ ti.i'.es. by tan. lories. . .id tiv '■ ■'■'•■'■■: odour „i petioieum. due to its l.emg Hie -litre of the local industiy. R\t si« <; Hi'! glory has been and remains the „• r.iie <>t gardens and small farms " ii.'.i nestle for seveial miles on the "P- ami hi the folds of the hills that form the winding valley of the San. Poles and Ruthenes. r-/.'iny>i is a liistist lW well as a town. Its ni'-a : they .aniiot be ,a'.ed suburban| nuts emhraie a region large enough to double the population of the urban area.! .Vine 50.000 is the number assigned for the distrnt. not .minting the \ery strong | parrlsun w'lich was thrown into the forties? on the outbreak of Mar. The inhabitants are mostly Poles and Ruthenes. and tnry understand and speak each other's language. some even speak Croatian and l German as well. There is no racial feeling. Not infrequently holv pictures, images of St. Nicholas and other patron spirits, may be seen bearing an invocation in Russian. The sympathy which the Russian* found at Ltmberg they are to find here. too.

In the Lcmbovg district the Russians have made a good start by inquiring into the agricultural need.- of the population, supplying them with seed for their crops, and helping them in every way to overcome their losses. In the Przemysl district there is much *o be made good. Here, where until six months ago rural homesteads were numbered by hundreds, tfie whole country has been laid waste by the Hungarian soldiery in order to obtain a clear field of fire. For miles in every direction the characteristic orchards of trie region have disappeared fruit the-land-scape. Fruit was the peasants' staple lood and their means of exchange. Jt is a serious matter tor them, since in this district they have never relied upon ground crop?. The little white houses, with the painted shutters, have gone the way of the orchards. At Dobromil and farther south the hunted refugees may be met hovering on the outskirts of their native hi Is. They have fled from their own countrymen, and have thrown themselves upon the mercy of those whom the armed defenders of Przemvsl called the enemy. Hut both Russian and Ruthenian are hearing the call of the blood. A Stubborn Defence.. 'Hie complete investment of Przemvsl began late in September, and on September 27 the Grand Duke's staff announced that all communications with the fortress had been cut off. The Russian troops, aft*.'/ the fall of .Taroslau. the fortress to the north, had come up from cast, north and west, and within a few days the eiicmv weie retiring along the whole (rout. From the region of I'rzemysl three Railways cross the Carpathians to Budapest, along all of which the Russians were pushing vigorously, whilst they were also advancing on the west. As far a 6 railway communications were concerned, the fate of Przemysl was scaled by the capture of t.'hyrow. the important junction situated about 23 miles south of the fortress, i'rzemvtl itself was important as a road junction and as a counecting link with the Lupkow and Uzsok Passes. The garrison prepared to make a stubborn resistance, with the object of checking the Russian pursuit. A week later the Russians had brought up their heavy artillery and had begun a steady bombardment'. It was reported that the fortress and the town were being destroyed and the houses set on fire, but this, like many subsequent rumours of the imminent fall of the fortress, was not confirmed. The Austrian*, who were said to liave received German assistance, conducted the defence with extreme energy, and the fortress was apparently well supplied with ammunition. The Russians were exerting persistent pressure, punctuated with sudden night attacks, hut the defenders occasionally m\ A .e successful counter-attacks. On October 11 Vienna announced that one of these had compelled our ally to evacuate the western front, which the .mstrian cavalry occupied. Repeated Sorties Repulsed. Duiing the first German invasion of Western Poland in October, when the cnemv reached the line of the Vistula and were bombarding Warsaw and Iwangorod,the Austrian* made a desperate effort to tak.; advantage of the situation and to advance via Piv.em.v.-d to join hands with {•he Germans in the north. For a time til* investment of the fortress was momentarily abandoned, but. after the crushing defeat of the Germans in Poland, and when a Russian detachment even set foot on German territory at Plesehen. in Posen. the investment was re-established. Following up their success the Russians invaded Hungary, but with the resumed offensive of the enemy over the Carpathians about the end of January the garrison were sustained by fresh hopes of relief During December and subsequently they had made repeated sorties, whim were repulsed with heavy losses, and in one of them the defenders were thrown ba> k within the lines of the forts. Beginning of the End. Ri the beginning of March, the garrison w.;r reduced to great straits, and had reared to make any sorties, lontining themselves t/. a heavy aitillery action. On March 11 the ! M ginning of the end was indicated by the :<■<.- of the village of Ma!kowice. of whiib the Russians, bv a sudden assault. bei;iiii> rnastets. This was an extremely important position lor the defenders. It i.- situated four miles from the central enct.ntc, "in- mile from the two outer forts, and thiee mflei from the intermediate line ot forts, a]! of which it dominates. Thus the must difficult work of effecting a breach o! the outer ring ot lorts was successfully begun. The Aits tndiis continued to make .i great expenditure of ammunition, tiring more than 1000 heavy projectiles daily, but ven little effect was produced on the investing force. The final. and most disastrous. effort was repoited hen .1 was iworded that in a sortie by the entire 23rd division, over 4000 men were taken prisoners.