its advance
simultaneously, starting from around Tilsit and the Niemen line. The
Russians fell back on strongly prepared intrenchments along the line
Pillkallen-Stallupoehnen, but by February 10, 1915, they had to give
up this line and withdraw still farther south and east toward
Eydtkuhnen, Kibarty, and Wirballen, all places of which we heard
considerable during the previous battling in East Prussia. It was
snowing furiously and the Russians apparently counted with too much
certainty on this as a means of keeping the Germans from following
closely. They procured quarters in these three towns and were going to
enjoy a much needed rest for one night. But during that night the
Germans, overcoming all difficulties of snowdrifts and impassible
roads, attacked and stormed Eydtkuhnen as well as Wirballen and
killed, wounded, or made prisoners almost all the Russian forces
located there, amounting to about 10,000 men with considerable
artillery and even greater quantities of supplies. Gumbinnen also was
retaken by the Germans and by February 12, 1915, they were on Russian
territory and advancing once more against Suwalki.

By the middle of February the last Russian had been driven out of
Germany. This series of battles, known commonly as the "Winter Battle of
the Mazurian Lakes" not only freed East Prussia, but yielded
comparatively large results in the numbers of prisoners taken. In nine
days' fighting about 50,000 men, 40 guns, and 60 machine guns were
captured. Both sides, of course, suffered also heavy losses in killed
and wounded. These great battles here briefly summarized to round out
the account of the operations of the first six months are described in
greater detail in Volume III.

CHAPTER LXXXI

RESULTS OF FIRST SIX MONTHS OF RUSSO-GERMAN CAMPAIGN

This brings us approximately to the end of the first six months'
fighting at the eastern front. It will be well now to pause for a short
space of time and to sum up the results of the tremendous conflict which
has been narrated. However, before we consider these results from a
military point of view and strike the balance of successes achieved and
failures suffered, let us see how they affected those who were the
actors in this terrible tragedy of mankind--the men who fought these
battles and their leaders, and the poor, unfortunate men, women, and
children whose habitations had been thrown by an unkind fate into the
path of this vortex of death and destruct