FALL OF WARSAW

Warsaw, the capital of Poland, was taken by the Germans August 5.  Bavarian troops under the command of Prince Leopold carried the forts of the outer and inner lines of the city’s defenses, where the rear guards of the Russian troops made a tenacious resistance.

The German armies under Gen. von Scholz and Gen. von Gallwitz advanced in the direction of the road between Lomza, Ostrov and Vyszkoy and fought a number of violent engagements.  The brave and desperate resistance of the Russians on both sides of the road between Ostrov and Rozan was without success.

Twenty-two Russian officers and 4,840 soldiers were taken prisoners.  The Germans also captured seventeen machine guns.

The fall of Warsaw marked the culmination of the greatest sustained offensive movement of the war.  Thrice before Teutonic armies had knocked at its gates, only to be denied by the strength of its defenses and the resistance of the forces holding it.

Warsaw lies on the Vistula, 625 miles southwest of Petrograd and miles east of Berlin.  It is an important industrial center and its population is estimated at not far from 900,000.

The great Russian fortress of Kovno was captured by the Germans August 17.  More than 400 cannon were taken.  The fortress was stormed in spite of the most stubborn Russian resistance.

The capture of Kovno was the most important German victory in the East after the taking of Warsaw.

Kovno fell under the eye of General von Hindenburg.  The capture of the fortress was the first personal triumph of the “old man of the Mazurian lakes” since the great Austro-German campaign in the East was inaugurated.  The six great forts defending the city from the west and southwest were simply blown to pieces by the incessant pounding of Germany’s great 42-centimeter guns and a host of minor pieces.

The forts were under direct attack for scarcely a week, demonstrating again the superiority of modern artillery over fort structures built by man.

Kovno, capital of the Russian province of that name, is on the right bank of the Niemen.  It is a fortress of the first class.  The civilian population of the city is more than 75,000.

The important Russian fortress of Novo Georgievsk, the last halting place of the Russians in Poland, fell into the hands of the Germans on August 19, after a most stubborn resistance.  The garrison consisted of 85,000 men and of these over 20,000 were taken prisoners.  Over cannon were captured and a large amount of war ammunition seized.

BATTLE OF THE BAY OF RIGA

Russian naval forces aided by British submarines, in the Gulf of Riga won a decided victory August 18 over the German fleet which penetrated the gulf on August 13.