eparation. They were repulsed at some places by hand fighting. At
the same time a strong Russian attack west of Trembowla (south of
Tarnopol) broke down under Austrian fire. West-northwest of Tarnopol
there was bitter fighting. Near Sopanow (southeast of Dubno) there
were numerous attacks by the enemy. Between Mlynow, on the Ikva, and
the regions northwest of Olyka, the Russians were continually becoming
stronger, and the most bitter kind of fighting developed.

Especially heavy fighting developed in the region before Lutsk. There
the pressure from the Russian army of General Brussilov had become so
strong that the Austrians had found it necessary by June 6, 1916, to
withdraw their forces to the plain of Lutsk, just to the east of that
fortress and of the river Styr. This represented a gain of at least
twenty miles made in two days. The official Russian statement of that
day claimed that during the same period General Brussilov's armies had
captured 900 officers, more than 40,000 rank and file, seventy-seven
guns, 134 machine guns and forty-nine trench mortars, and, in
addition, searchlights, telephone, field kitchens, a large quantity of
arms and war material, and great reserves of ammunition.

On the other hand, the Austrians were still offering a determined
resistance at most points south and north of Lutsk, and Russian
attacks were repulsed with sanguinary losses at many places, as for
instance at Rafalowka, on the lower Styr, near Berestiany, on the
Corzin Brook, near Saponow, on the upper Strypa, near Jazlovice, on
the Dniester, and on the Bessarabian frontier. Northwest of Tarnopol
were repulsed two attacks. At another point seven attacks were
repulsed.

The Russians also suffered heavy losses in the plains of Okna (north
of the Bessarabian frontier) and at Debronoutz, where there were
bitter hand-to-hand engagements.

[Illustration: The Russian Offensive from Pinsk to Dubno.]

It was quite clear by this time that the Russian offensive
threatened not only the pushing back of the Austrian line, but their
very existence. Unless the Austrians either succeeded in repulsing the
Russians decidedly or else found some other way of reducing
immediately the strength of this extensive offensive movement, it was
inevitable that many of the important conquests which the Central
Powers had made in the fall of 1915 would be lost again. In spite of
this and in spite of the quite apparent strength of the Russian
forces, it