ndenburg, Chief of the German General Staff; von Ludendorff,
Strategist of the General Staff; von Moltke, dismissed by the Kaiser
for incompetency; von Mackensen, Commander in the East; Crown Prince
Rupprecht of Bavaria, Army Commander in the West.

[Illustration: Photograph]
Photo by Press Illustrated Service.
THE GERMAN GENERAL STAFF
von Mackensen, von Moltke, Crown Prince Wilhelm, von Francois,
von Falkenhayn, von Beseler, von Bethmann-Hollweg, von Bulow,
Duke Albrecht, Ludendorf, von Einem, von Hindenburg, von Heeringen,
Crown Prince Rupprecht, von Kluck, von Haeseler, von Tirpitz,
Kaiser Wilhelm II, von Emmich

This action, described as the first battle of Augustovo, was only a
rear-guard action, the Russians desiring merely to delay the enemy for a
day or two. German reports, however, described it as a victory only
second in importance to Tannenberg. Von Hindenburg then occupied
Suwalki. He apparently had become over confident, and hardly realized
that Rennenkampf was continually being reinforced by the Russian
mobilization.

The Russian High Command understood the situation very well. Their aim
was to keep von Hindenburg busy on the Niemen, while their armies in the
south were overwhelming the fleeing Austrians. Von Hindenburg was
deceived, and continued his advance until he got into serious trouble.
His movement had begun on September 7th; his army consisted of the four
corps with which he had won Tannenberg, and large reinforcements from
Germany, including at least one guards battalion, and a number of Saxons
and Bavarians. The country is one vast mixture of marsh and lake and
bog. The roads are few, and advance must therefore be slow and
difficult. Rennenkampf made no attempt to delay him beyond a little
rear-guard fighting. The German army reached the Niemen on September
21st, and found behind it the Russian army in prepared positions, with
large reinforcements from Vilna.

The river at this point was wide and deep, and hard to cross. The battle
of the Niemen Crossings was an artillery duel. The Russians quietly
waited in their trenches to watch the Germans build their pontoon
bridges. Then their guns blew the bridges to pieces. Thereupon von
Hindenburg bombarded the Russian lines hoping to destroy the Russian
guns. On Friday, the 26th, his guns boomed all day; the Russians made no
reply. So on the morning of the 27th he built bridges again, and again
the Russians blew them to pi