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788 For Nov. 18 the Army Higher Command had ordered an enveloping attack by the II. Army on the right wing of the Russian IV. Army at Nowo-Radomsk, an assault on Szczekociny by W'jyrsch's S. and Dankl's N. wing, and the capture of Skala by Dankl'3 S. wing and the Archduke Joseph Ferdinand who were also to gain ground in the direction of Proszowice. But this day again brought only partial suci-ess. The i6th and 3ist Infan- try Divs. of the II. Army reached Kocin by dint of heavy fight- ing, and Hauer's cavalry corps encountered a Russian cavalry division N.W. of Nowo-Radomsk and forced it back.

On the igth only local successes were obtained. The attacks on the S. wing of the Austro-Hungarian I. Army (X. Corps) by the Russian XIV. Corps were repulsed by the 24th Infantry Div. The X. Corps in the end captured the Russian trenches at Saspow and the N. wing of the I. Army also gained ground. The V. Corps made an enveloping attack in the direction of Jangrot, thus enabling the 33rd Infantry Div. to take the heights N. of the Suloszowa church. The I. Corps and the Tschurtschenthaler group stormed the heights 2 km. W. of Wolbrom and also those E. of Kielkowice and Zerkowice. The II. Corps advanced as far as Lgota Murowana.

In the meantime violent attacks on the Landwehr corps of Woyrsch's army had been made by the Russian grenadier corps, and were only repulsed after the left wing division of the II. Army (i6th Infantry Div.) had made its enveloping attack on the line Cykarzew-Kruszyna.

Of the remaining divisions of the II. Army the 35th Infantry Div. reached the area round Miedzno, and th : 3ist Infantry Div. went as far as Brzeznica. The IV. Army attack made no particular progress, except that the XVII. Corps, attacking just N. of the Vistula, won its way to the Kotowiec hollow.

On Nov. 20 the N. wing of Woyrsch's army made a successful advance. The Prussian Landwehr corps took Radostkow and drove back the Russian ist Grenadier Div. through Mykanow; and the 35th German Reserve Div. under Lt.-Gen. Schmettau, advancing to the N. of the Landwehr corps, also gained ground. In the II. Army the 3ist Austro-Hungarian Infantry Div. ap- proached to within about 8 km. of Nowo-Radomsk on both sides of the Brzeznica-Nowo-Radomsk road and Hauer's corps reached Dobryszyce.

On Nov. 2 1. the Russian grenadier corps opened a strong counter-attack, and forced the 3ist Infantry Div. to fall back on Brzeznica. Hauer's cavalry corps was also forced to retire to Wiewiec and Chorzenice. Woyrsch's army front remained as it was; and in the next few days his army went on the defensive, joining up W. of Szczerczow and Widawa with the N. wing of the German IX. Army which, in consequence of the events at Lodz, had also had to be brought back.

Further S., the N. wing and centre of Dankl's army gained a certain amount of ground, but there were no successes worth recording. Neither did the Archduke Joseph Ferdinand's army reap any particular advantages up to Nov. 22. The Austro- Hungarian XVII. Corps did, indeed, drive the left wing of the Russian IX. Army back across the Szreniawa, but the Russian XXI. Corps, which had been fetched over from the S. to the N. bank of the Vistula, prevented any further advance.

The Russian III. Army at the Battle of Cracow. After the fighting on the San and the battle of Chyrow had been broken off, Field-Marshal Ljubii6 led the XI. Corps (nth and 3oth Infantry Divs.) back through Jaslo and Neu Sandcc to join the N. wing of the III. Army. To him and to Field-Marshal-Lt. Nikid's group (consisting of half of the 4ist Honved Infantry Div., the ist and nth Landsturm Bdes. and the 6th and loth Cavalry Divs.), which had been assigned to him by the IV. Army Command, the protection of W. Galicia was entrusted. The IV. Army was to deliver the flank assault towards the N. and the main body of the III. Army was to retire to the Carpa- thian ridge. At the same time Ljubii6 was to prevent the with- drawal of any portion of the Russian III. Army to the N. bank of the Vistula.

Of Radko Dimitriev's army, 8 divisions strong, only the XXI. Corps (33rd and 45th Infantry Divs.) and a few cav. divs. had

reached Tarnow and the Dunajec up to the middle of November. These were followed, at a great distance, by the cavalry only of Boroevic's army. Radko Dimitriev's main body was at Jaslo, Krosno and Dynow.

Screened by the Austro-Hungarian 4th Cavalry Div., the transfer of the XI. Corps to the Brzesko-Tymowa area was com- pleted by Nov. 19. Here LjubiCic proposed to hold up the Rus- sians. If necessary, he would be able to fall back on the Raba, or, possibly, on a position stretching from Kolko through Bloto (E. of Niepolomice), Targowisko and Dobczyce to the Kamienik heights S. of Dobczyce and finally on a technically prepared position in the Wieliczka-Dobczyce area, where the strongest resistance could be offered.

On Nov. 17 the cavalry were already engaged. At Strzelce the Austro-Hungarian loth Cavalry Div. drove the Russian 7th Cavalry Div. back towards Rylowa and Borzecin, but were themselves forced to retreat when parts of the Russian 44th Infantry Div. came on to the field at Borzecin. On the S. wing W. of Grybow, actions were fought between the gth Dragoons of the i4th Cavalry Div. and the Russian cavalry.

On Nov. 18 the advanced guards of the XI. Corps had forced back some Cossack sotnias at Tymowa, and on the ipth the 3oth Infantry Div. reached the area E. of Tymbark, the nth Infantry Div. and Nikic's group the areas E. and W. of Brzesko respectively, while the sth Cavalry Div. stopped a Russian column advancing from Zacliczyn. The gap of about 80 km. which had been formed between the XI. Corps and the III. Army's N. wing was protected by the 4th Cavalry Div. and a mixed detachment at Neu Sandec and on the Dunajec. But, as the 4th Cavalry Div. was forced by a Russian cavalry corps to retire on Alt Sandec on Nov. 19, the road now lay open on Ljubicic's flank and also in the direction of the IV. and I. Armies' communications. The closing of this gap therefore called for instant attention.

The protection of the area was entrusted to the commander of the nth Cavalry Div., Field-Marshal-Lt. von Nagy, to whom were allotted the 6th and loth Cavalry Divs. and also a few auxiliary battalions and the Polish legion.

On learning through a radio t2legram that the Russian XXV. Corps had asked the XXI. Corps to come in on both sides of the Vistula, Ljubicic decided to deli /er an attack in a N.E. direction, at the same time covering hims.-lf against Wojnicz and Zacliczyn, with the aim of preventing the Russian XXI. Corps from attack- ing on the N. bank of the VistUi?.

Radko Dimitriev's intention was to group his army on the Dunajec as soon as possible and let the XXI. Corps go to the help of the hard-pressed IX. Army on the N. bank of the Vistula. The bridging preparations on both sides of the mouth of the Dunajec and numerous intercepted messages pointed clearly to the early execution of this project.

When Ljubicic attacked on Nov. 22 he already encountered fairly strong Russian forces. Nikid went into action at Brzesko with but slight results. The nth Infantry Div. attacked the Russian XI. Corps E. of Brzesko, while the 3oth Infantry Div. engaged a column of the Russian IX. Corps advancing from Tarnow. Heavy battles also took place on Nov. 21 and 22, for Nikic's group and the nth Infantry Div. had renewed their attacks, in order to delay the Russian XXI. Corps in their crossing of the river. But the Russians had meanwhile brought up the whole of the IX. and XI. Corps, as well as parts of the X. Corps, thus securing the safe withdrawal of the XXI. Corps. If this corps could not be prevented from reaching the opposite bank, however, the Austro-Hungarian Army Higher Command intended that it should at least be harried during the crossing and prevented from taking part in the IV. Army's battle. Ljubicic had therefore hurriedly to transfer Nikic's group to the N. bank of the Vistula, where, in conjunction with the Austro-Hungarian XVII. Corps, it was immediately to advance against the Russian XXI. Corps. Portions of the XI. Corps were also to make prep- arations to cross over if necessary. But the preparations were not called for, as Radko Dimitriev, on Nov. 23, launched an attack on the whole of Ljubicic's front (the nth and 3oth Infan-