eces. On the 28th he gave the order for
retreat.

He realized that the game wasn't worth the candle; he might easily be
kept fighting on the Niemen for months, while the main armies of the
Russians were crossing Austria. Von Hindenburg conducted the retreat
with a skill which came to him naturally from his knowledge of the
marshes.

Rennenkampf followed him closely, keeping up persistent attacks through
the woods and marshes. The path of the retreating army lay through the
forest of Augustovo, a country much like that around the Masurian Lakes,
and there the Germans suffered heavy losses. Von Hindenburg managed,
however, to get the bulk of his forces back across the frontier and
continued his retreat to the intrenchments on the Masurian Lakes.

The Germans lost 60,000 men in killed, wounded and prisoners, and von
Hindenburg handed over the command of the German armies in East Prussia
to General von Schubert, and hastened south to direct the movement to
relieve the Austrians at Cracow.

But quite as important as the campaign in East Prussia was the struggle
in Galicia. When the war began the Germans contemplated merely defense
in their own domain; such offense as was planned was left to the
Austrians farther south.

Galicia is a long, level country lying north of the Carpathian
Mountains, and in this country Austria-Hungary had gathered together a
force of hardly less than one million men. A quarter of these lay in
reserve near the mountains; the remaining three-quarters was divided
into two armies; the first, the northern army, being under the command
of General Dankl, the second was that of von Offenberg. The base of the
first army was Przemysl; that of the second was Lemberg.

The first army, it was planned, was to advance into Russian territory in
the direction of Lublin. The second army, stationed southeast of the
first army, was to protect it from any Russians who might strike in upon
the south. The first army, therefore, contained more picked material
than the second, which included many troops from the southern parts of
the empire, including certain disaffected contingents. The first army
made its advance as soon as possible, and entered Russian territory on
the 11th of August. It went forward with very little loss and against
very little resistance. The Russian forces which were against it were
inferior in number, and fell back towards the Bug. The Austrians
followed, turning somewhat toward the east, whe