rd Dukla, the Russians now threatened the Austrian
mountain positions between Lupkow and the Vetlina-Zboj road from the
western flank as well. Violent winter storms raged across the
Carpathians on April 2 and 3, 1915; nature spread a great white pall
over the scenes of carnage. While the elements were battling, the
weary human fighting machine rested and bound its wounds. But not for
long. Scarcely had the last howls of the blizzard faded away when the
machine was again set in motion.

South of Dukla and Lupkow and north of Uzsok fighting was resumed with
intense vigor. Painfully digging through the snowdrifts the Austrians
retired from the Smolnik-Kalnica line, now no longer tenable. Storm
hampered the pursuing enemy, who captured the Cisna railway station on
April 4, 1915, with all its rolling stock and large stores of
munitions.

On April 6, 1915, a Russian communique announced that "during the
period from March 20 to April 3, 1915, we took prisoners in the
Carpathians, on the front from Baligrod to Uzsok, 378 officers, 11
doctors, and 33,155 men. We captured 17 guns and 101 machine guns. Of
these captives 117 officers, 16,928 men, 8 guns, and 59 machine guns
were taken on a front of fifteen versts (10 miles)."

The Russians again advanced along their whole front on April 4, 1915;
forcing their way along the Rostoki stream, they carried the village
of Rostoki Gorne with the bayonet and penetrated the snow-bound
Rostoki Pass. Their first line arrived at a Hungarian village called
Orosz-Russka, five miles from Nagy Polena, at the foot of the pass.
The Austrians attempted to drive them back, but they held their
ground.

While fortune was steadily following the efforts of the czar's troops
in the Lupkow-Uzsok sector, the German War Staff were preparing their
plans for the great decisive blow that was soon to be struck. South of
the Carpathians, barely thirty miles away, formidable reenforcements
were collecting; they arrived from the East Prussian front, from
Poland, and even from the west, where they had faced the French and
British. There were also new formations fresh from Germany. General
von der Marwitz arrived in the Laborcza Valley with a whole German
army corps. These gigantic preparations were not unknown to the
Russians; they, also, strained every nerve to throw all available
reenforcements behind and into the battle line, strengthening every
position _except one_. South of the Lupkow the Germanic forces o