rmans could come up in
strong enough numbers to risk attacks, smaller detachments here and
there lost contact with the main body and fell in the hands of the
Germans and Austrians, so that there passed hardly a day when the
official reports did not contain some claims about a few thousand men
having been captured.

South of the Niemen the Russians attacked Von Eichhorn's army along
the Dvina River, but were thrown back with severe losses. On August
11, 1915, Von Scholtz's group occupied the bridgehead at Vilna, which
had been stubbornly defended until the Russian retreat had progressed
far enough to make its further possession unessential. The same forces
succeeded in crossing the Gac River, south of the Nareff, capturing
during three days' fighting almost 5,000 men. Von Gallwitz with his
army stormed on the same day Zambroff and then pressed on through
Andrzejow toward the east. South of the Nareff, toward the Bug and
Brest-Litovsk, the fighting continued throughout the following days.
Wherever possible the Russians resisted, and every little stream was
used by them to its utmost possibilities in delaying the advance of
the enemy. On August 13, 1915, a strongly fortified position in the
Forest of Dominikanka fell into German hands. On the same day an
outlying fortified position north of Novo Georgievsk had to surrender
and other forces fighting between the Nareff and Bug reached the Slina
and Nurzets Rivers. The latter was crossed late on August 15, 1915,
after the most severe kind of fighting.

Kovno's garrison attempted on that day another unsuccessful sortie,
resulting in the capture of 100 men and in slight gains on the part of
the besieging forces. The latter success was also repeated before Novo
Georgievsk. By this time the general retreat, and the ever-increasing
pressure on the part of the advancing enemy made itself felt even in
the most northern part of the Russian line. There, as well as in the
farthest south of the line, the least changes took place. But on
August 15, 1915, German troops attacked the Russians near Kupishky, at
the point where the original Russian front turned toward the
southwest, and threw them back successfully in a northeasterly
direction, capturing at the same time some 2,000 officers and men.

August 17, 1915, marks the beginning of the end for Kovno and Novo
Georgievsk. On that day both of these fortresses lost some of their
outlying forts, and before Kovno alone 4,500 Russians and