bout twenty miles south of Suwalki, and forty
miles northwest from Grodno.

The German advance clearly suggested an attempt on their part to force a
crossing of the Niemen. This in itself was a very difficult undertaking.
The river is more than 600 feet wide, too deep to ford, and naturally
none of the few bridges over it were available for the Germans.
Furthermore its right bank, which was held by the Russians, is very
high, commanding absolutely and practically everywhere the low left bank
which in many places is almost as swampy as the worst parts of the
Mazurian lakes. West of the Niemen and between it and the frontier the
country is full of lakes, much as in the Mazurian region. The Germans,
of course, were under the same disadvantages there as the Russians had
suffered from in East Prussia. Of railroads there were none except one,
running in the shape of a semicircle from Grodno through Augustovo and
Suwalki to Olita.

On September 25, 1914, in spite of these conditions and disregarding the
weakened state of their forces, the Germans attempted to cross the
Niemen simultaneously at two places. About thirty miles north of Grodno
they had constructed a pontoon bridge and began to send across their
infantry. It was only then that the Russians opened up their murderous
fire from well-protected positions. Against it the Germans were
practically helpless. In spite of large numbers of guns that they
brought up, and in spite of repeated efforts of crossing in massed
formations, the result was the same: immense losses on the part of the
Germans and comparatively slight ones on the part of the Russians.
Indeed, the last attempt was not only frustrated, but the Russians even
forced back the Germans some miles.

Somewhat farther south the other attempt met with a similar fate. There
not only had the Russians posted their heavy guns on the right bank, but
infantry had been strongly intrenched on the left. Their combined
opposition forced back the Germans under heavy losses after they had
fought all day and all night. During the last week of September, 1914,
the Germans were gradually forced back along their entire front. Much of
the fighting was done in the dense forests east of Augustovo and was
hand-to-hand fighting. In the afternoon of October 1, 1914, the Russians
recaptured Augustovo after the Germans had made a determined stand,
yielding only when heavy guns bombarded their positions from the west
and northwest. On the