ole retired to Lagow, beyond which the Russians were not
permitted to pursue them, lest they should break the symmetry of their
own line." It is admitted by the Austrians themselves that their
losses were very severe in this battle. An Austrian source at the time
stated that on May 16, 1915, not a single officer and only twenty-six
men were left of the entire Fourth Company, First Battalion of the
Tenth Austrian Infantry Regiment. By the 17th of May the Austrians had
withdrawn more than twelve miles from the scene of the disaster.

During the following night, May 25, 1915, an Austrian division was
moving from the line of advance of General Bredow's troops along the
Lagow-Opatow road where it is separated by a spur of the Lysa Gora,
the highest mountain group in Russian Poland. The Russians, elated
over their recent victory, crossed the mountains by a forced march,
and fell on the right flank of the German formation, while other
troops opened a general frontal attack against it. Bredow was
compelled to fall back in haste in the direction of Bodzentyn and to
call for assistance from the adjoining Fourth German Landwehr
Division. The sudden withdrawal of that division had the effect of
weakening the German line southwest of Radom near the Radom-Kielce and
the Konsk-Ostroviec railway crossings. The opportunity of thinning the
enemy's line in that sector was too good to be lost, for a Russian
communique of May 17, 1915, states that "near Gielniow, Ruski-Brod,
and Suchedniov our sudden counterattacks inflicted severe losses on
the enemy's advance guards." Having thus checked the German advance
for the time being, the Russians ceased from further troubling to
await developments on the San.

CHAPTER XLV

BATTLE OF THE SAN

When the Austro-German armies reached the line of the San on May 14,
1915, the battle for mid-Galicia was over, and a fresh chapter of the
campaign opened with the battle of the San, which might more fittingly
be described as the battle for Przemysl. The position of Ivanoff's
right has been shown; his right center lay west of the Lower San; the
center east of the river covered Przemysl; his left center extended
along the Upper Dniester, while his left, under Lechitsky, was keeping
Von Pflanzer-Baltin employed. Von Mackensen's "phalanx" was slowly
coming into action again, directing its course toward the Russian
center. The "phalanx" was compelled to travel slowly, for it carried
about 2,000 piece