on the Germans."

The move against Memel was apparently part of a Russian operation
which was intended also to strike at the city of Tilsit. The German
Great Headquarters reported that for operations intended to seize the
northern regions of East Prussia a so-called Riga-Shavli army group
had been formed under the command of General Apuchtin. While portions
of these troops were active in Memel on March 18, 1915, the fourteen
German Landsturm companies holding Tauroggen, just to the north of the
East Prussian boundary, were attacked by superior forces and
practically surrounded. They fought their way through to Langszargen
with some difficulty, and were being pressed back on the road to
Tilsit when on March 23 German reenforcements came up and General von
Pappritz, leading the Germans, went over to the offensive.

A heavy thaw made movement of troops anywhere except on the main roads
extremely difficult. Guns were left stuck in the mud, and the infantry
waded to the knee in water, and sometimes to the waist. It is reported
that one of the horses of the artillery literally was drowned on the
road. Germans attacked Tauroggen, where the enemy had intrenched
himself, under an artillery fire directed from the church tower of the
place. On the 28th the town was taken, after a difficult crossing of
the Jura River in front of it, on the ice. The Germans then exulted in
the fact that not a Russian was left on German soil.

CHAPTER LIV

GERMAN INVASION OF COURLAND--CAPTURE OF LIBAU

On the 20th of April, 1915, an announcement was made by the German
Great Headquarters which took the Russians and the world in general
more or less by surprise. It gave the first glimpse to the public of a
group of operations which caused no little speculation in the minds of
strategists. It read:

"The advance troops of our forces operating in northwestern Russia
yesterday reached on a broad front the railway running from Dunaburg
(Dvinsk) to Libau. Thus far the Russian troops present in that region,
including also the remnants of those which took part in the raid
against Memel, have attempted no serious resistance anywhere. Fighting
is now in progress near Shavli."

The advance into Courland here announced had been made by the German
troops at high speed. The forces were under the command of General von
Lauenstein. They had begun to move early on the 27th of April, in
three columns. One of these crossed the Niemen at Schmalleningken,