g Russia quickly at the beginning of the war,
before she would have had time to get ready, and then to turn against
France in full force. The Austro-German Galician campaign was planned
and undertaken with that specific object, and now, although defeated
and in full retreat, the Russian troops still formed an army in being,
and not a fugitive, defenseless rabble. So long as an army is not
captured or annihilated, it can be reorganized and again put in the
field. It is on this consideration that so much importance attaches to
the handling of an army in retreat. The Russians did not, of course,
run away; on the contrary, they fought desperately and stubbornly
throughout the retreat, for their pursuers did not average more than
six miles per day--a fact which testifies to the steady and orderly
character of the Russian retirement. They suffered from the
consequences of inadequate preparation and lack of foresight on the
part of their leaders.

The Russian troops on the Lower Wisloka held their positions longest,
but they also fell back about May 8, 1915, and for the next two days
engaged the enemy near some villages southwest of Sanok. Here a strong
force had collected, which not only offered a powerful resistance, but
even attempted a counterattack against their pursuers. Over a front of
145 miles, extending from Szczucin near the Vistula north of Tarnow,
down almost to the Uzsok Pass, a fierce battle progressed between May
8 and 10, 1915. In the region of Frysztak, where the Russian line was
weakest, the main German offensive was developing its strongest
attack. Reenforcements were on the way, but could not arrive in time.
For the moment disaster was averted by an aggressive Russian
counteroffensive halfway between Krosno and Sanok, from the
Besko-Jacmierz front, by which move sufficient time was gained to
enable the main forces to retreat. The Russian defense in the Vistok
Valley collapsed on May 10, 1915; the German center had almost arrived
within striking distance of the important railway line from Tarnow via
Dembica and Rzeszow to Jaroslav north of Przemysl. At Sanok the
battered remnants of the Russian troops who had escaped from the
passes maintained themselves with the greatest difficulty. Heavy
German artillery followed the Bavarians to Rymanow, five miles from
the Russian line at Besko, and were now playing fiercely upon the
positions west of Sanok. The Tenth Austro-Hungarian Army Corps as well
as the Seventh