to make it possible to recognize the shadows on the snow. The
flat, white field is lined with a seam of black trees. Behind these thin
woods stand the cannons. They stretch out in a long line, as far as the
eye reaches, and their irregular positions are shown by the red tongues
of fire which flare up again and again. The noise of the battle, which
had sounded all around us, has now swollen into the roaring thunder of
cannons. At a short distance, where the sky seems to touch the field,
other flashes flare up, these are the German cannons. Sometimes as many
as four of these flashes break forth at one time and tear the dull
twilight with their glaring brightness. For a moment all the surrounding
country with its phantastic shadows and its darting lights is submerged
in blinding brilliancy; then another glittering light captures the eye.
It is a bursting rocket which breaks up into thousands of little stars
and illuminates the vast field of snow everywhere so that it glitters
and glares.

"But again another light appears in the dusky sky. A spray of gold! That
is an exploding shrapnel, and almost at the same point three more of
these missiles burst into their reddish golden glow. Then the giant arm
of a searchlight is thrust out into the midst of the foggy, swelling
atmosphere and shows houses, fences and paths with an unsparing
clearness. Irresolutely the mighty finger of light wanders across the
plain as if it were searching for something and could not find it. At
last it throws its coldling, shining ray on a defile and rests there.
And suddenly out of the darkness there flares up a multitude of little
flashes which look from the distance as if innumerable matches were
struck and gave off sparks. The sparks run in a straight line, and these
bounding lights show the position of the trenches. Another line of
sparks puts in appearance, seemingly only a short distance away. That is
formed by the battalions of the advancing, attacking enemy. Then
suddenly a ribbon of flame cuts through the shadows, and the sharp echo
of machine guns bites into the night air. But so immensely far spreads
the battle panorama that the eye is able to fix only small sections at a
time...."

Among the many small villages and towns in this small sector between
Warsaw and Lowitz, Bolimow saw the most furious fighting. Almost step by
step the Russians fought here the German advance, and when finally they
gave way for a mile or less after days and nig