ushing the retreating Russian armies: being thus outflanked, some of
their lines of retreat would be cut and a dissolution of a large
portion of the retiring forces could hardly have been avoided.
However, all attempts in this direction failed. The Russians gradually
rolled up their line on the Dniester from west to east, keeping step
with the retreat of the armies which were facing west. With strong
reenforcements from Kiev and Odessa Brussilov commanded the Dniester
front under the direction of General Ivanoff. If only the ponderous
advance of Von Mackensen could have been arrested, Brussilov would
have had little difficulty in sweeping Von Linsingen back to the
Carpathian barrier. A somewhat similar condition existed in the north,
where the Austrians were at the mercy of Ivanoff's strong right wing.

The archduke's front was smashed at Rudnik early in June, 1915; his
forces were driven back a day's march and lost 4,000 men in prisoners,
besides many guns. The Second, Third and Fourth Tyrolese regiments
were almost annihilated. German troops were hurried to the rescue.
Boehm-Ermolli also got into serious difficulties at Mosciska, where
the Russians held him up for a week with a furious battle. Ivanoff was
scoring points against all his individual opponents excepting only Von
Mackensen. The "phalanx," always kept up to full strength by a
continuous influx of reserves and provided with millions of
high-explosive shells, not only pursued its irresistible course
eastward, but had to turn now right, now left, to help Austrian and
German commanders out of trouble. Heavy howitzers lumbered along the
way to Rawa-Ruska--not to Lemberg, but to the north of it, on the
flank of the Russian army still holding the Lower San. This army had
therefore to retire northward to the river line of the Tanev stream,
cautiously followed by the archduke's forces. The "phalanx" had again
saved them from disaster. Similarly, at Mosciska, when Boehm-Ermolli
tried to storm the Russian position by mass attacks, his infantry was
driven back with such terrible punishment that they could not be
induced to make another advance. There was nothing to be done here,
but wait till Von Mackensen turned the flank of the Russian position
for them, which he did in one of the most stubborn conflicts of the
war--the battle of the Lubaczovka, a tributary of the San between
Rawa-Ruska and Lemberg. Never were the fighting abilities of Slav and
Teuton more severely t