ON THE DVINA

Taranaki Daily News, 26 February 1916, Page 12

ON THE DVINA

A GERMAN DISASTER. TERRIFIC ATTACK THAT FAILED. VIVID STORY OF STROKE AND COUNTER-STROKE. The first detailed account of the fierce Ighting oil the Dvina, near Riga, in November, when the German failure to cross the river cost them great, losses both in men and positions, is given in the following vivid dispatch received by Home papers from the Petrograd correspondent of the Central News. The Germans at the beginning of November began a well-organised offensive movement on all' the fighting sections of the lijic Dvina-Kek-kau-Olai-Aa-Ivem-jmern and the sea. At first the Russian troops were compelled to retire somewhat; but afterwards they delivered an impetuous counter-offensive which was crowned with success. At all points in this difficult country—a country of marshes, rivers, forest's and other natural obstacles—the success was real. In connection with the. enemy's unsuccessful attempts to cross the' Dvina, no more graphic story of the operations has been told than that which M. Oregon Patrol!', the celebrated correspondent of the Russkove Slovo, has furnished. It wag a cold, damp, and foggy night (he writes), with a piercing wind. Towards 2 a.m. the tramp of thousands of feet became audible from the direction of the German positions, and, just as if they had t swept out of a newly-opened mill sluice, hosts of men emerged from the enemy trenches and flowed forward' over the'hard-frozen earth. The Russian patrols on the watch fired a few shots against the advancing forces, and then rushed back to give the alarm. The Russians in the trenches were warned and waited, with rifles and raa-fhine-guns aimed at half the height of a man. The noise of footsteps became louder, and soon separate words of eom-wa-.d could be diatinguislic'd above the general murmur. ENEMY'S FRENZIED ADVANCE. Then a loud cry rang out, and from the whole of the enemy's line came a roar, to which the Russian rifles and machine-guns made reply. But the Germans came on, right up to the trenches. Russian soldiers gripped them by their collars and swung them aside, or knocked tliem down .with the butts of their rifles;'but the thick columns rushed forward still. Some of the men, without rifles, ran on, with eyes wildly protruding, roaring as they ran". Whole rows of Germans, who had crashed through the first line of defence, flooded the second line trenches as well, while some thousands of Russian soldiers who remained in the first line stabbed wildly at ;the opponents who [rushed past them or made fresh prisoners. Russians were to be seen tying the Germans hand and foot within 60 yards of their fellows. The enemy swept through the Russian first and second lines on a broad front; and, from the noise, it could be gathered that new and great forces were coming along behind them. Then the German artillery began to thunder, and the advancing lines of the enemy cleared a space for their own gunfire. The electric lanterns and rockets of the Germans'" were suddenly extinguished, as though they had been placed under a water douche. From the rear of the German infantry came a voice: "You fellows in front, lie down!" Shells whistled, roared and exploded, but did little damage. The Russians could see plainly the impossibility of retaining' their positions in face of this furious German flood, so, detaining the enemy by rifle and ma-chine-gun fire, they began a fighting retirement to the pontoon bridges. The retreat was conducted in perfect order, and cries of "Straighten the lines!" and such shouts, as though the men had been on parade. The guns halted at intervals and lashed the Germans with whips of steel as they came forward. THOUSANDS OF "HUMAN MOLES." The enemy soldiers lay down on the ground, seized their spades and began to dig themselves in. The Russians held on their way and before dawn had crossed the river and removed the bridges. At sunrise the German vanguard reached the water and saw that the left bank of the Dvina was clear of their adversaries. This they reported to their commander, and soon battalions of men armed wiih spades made their appearance, and commenced to entrench along a line of several versts. It was as though thousands of giant moles were working there. One saw no men, but the earth flew up and fell back In one long dark brown line. /The Germans were digging infantry trenches to cover the crossing of the river. Great forces were being cpllecied in their rear, protected by both artillery and cavalry. In the morning the enemy brought up his guns to the Dvina in considerable numbers and opened an infernal fire on the Russian bank. Attempts were then made, by extending the range, to drive the Russians further back from the river. A strip of land, three to five versts (about 3} miles) broad along a length of CJ miles, was deluged with shells, but the Russian infantry kept silence. RUSSIANS' SELF-RESTRAINT. The Germans brought down pontoons and big piles on chains. The bed of the river is soft at this place, and it was easy to place the piles in position. Tiiey were dragged against the current, and the sappers had only to drive them into the mud. After about five minutes' work the piles were fixed firmly, and the pontoons were drawn up and attached to the chains. The Russian infantry lay on the opposite bank and the machineguns were placed under cover. It was with difficulty that the men were restrained; they wanted to rush on the sappers. "Don't fire! Not a shot!" came the orders. The German bridge grow like a building in a fairy tale. More than twothirds was finished, and it appeared to the strained eyes of the soldiers that in another three or four minutes it would be joined to the bank and the dense columns of the Germans would be pouring across the stream. Meanwhile, on the other shore, strong German forces were being massed awaiting the completion . of the bridge. Squadrons of cavalry came down almost to the water's edge, raw • for the rush, and battalions of : :itjintry stood behind them. Small wonder that the Russian soldiers began to get excited. The bridge came nearer and nearer, but the Russian troops were still silent. "Let us fire," appealed some of the riflemen, but their request was answered by the stern command: "Quiet! Lie down!" All at once the roar of a gun was heard from behind the Russian infantry gnd the wail of « sounded in the

air. The men at first did not understand, but the shell fell on the other side, near the bank, and exploded over the .first pontoon. There was a crash, and sheets of iron and fragments of wooden piles flew upwards. The pontoon was torn from its moorings and began to whirl in the eddying current: The Russian soldiers, forgetting their instructions and oblivious of the circumstances that they were opposite, the machine guns of the enemy, rose lo their feet, took off their caps, and made the sign of the Cross. The Germans were so startled at the well-aimed shot that they did not fire a single volley, but the I Russian soldiers fell to the ground again, whilo the Russian guns continued to speak from the rear, and their shells destroyed one pontoon after another. Then other guns poured a hail of shell into the massed German columns. The German batteries were next attacked, and failed to answer effectively. Meanwhile, the Russian machine guns and riflemen were active, tlie'r lire being directed on the remaining pontoons, 'which were covered with men, and upon the other bank. There terrible confusion reigned, especially among the cavalry, for the horses were maddened by the fire. For a time the Germans sought to retrieve their fortunes by mad rushes towards the bridge, but they met a hurricane of shells. Men dashed into the icy water, but their hands and feet became numbed, and they could not climb the bank on the far side. In less than two hours nothing remained of the bridge works except a few piles, which were swaying loosely with the stream. On the opposite bank heaps of dead Germans wore mingled with the. bodies of horses and the wreckage of carts. Then .the Russians crossed to the other side of the river without hindrance, and drove away the retreating enemy, pursuing them beyond their entrenchments. The Germans' attempt to cross the Dvina had ended in failure and had cost them, according to their own computation- fewer than 12,000. men.