ver, yielding any
important results or changing to any extent the respective positions.

While the Russians were developing their attack against Kovel the
balance of the eastern front was comparatively inactive with the
exception of the Galician and Bukowinian sectors. The fighting which
occurred there had as its object the capture of Lemberg and developed
soon into a struggle of the first magnitude. It will be described in
detail in the following chapter.

North of the Stokhod occasional local engagements occurred from time
to time. Thus the Germans gained a slight local success on August 1,
1916, near Vulka on the Oginsky Canal to the northwest of Pinsk. On
the same day considerable fighting took place near Logischin and on
both sides of Lake Nobel, both in the same vicinity. The fighting on
the banks of the lake continued during the next few days, but bore no
important results.

Smorgon, the small but important railroad station on the Vilna-Minsk
railway, just southwest of the Vilia River, which so many times before
had been the center of furious fighting, again was made the scene of
attacks on the night of August 2, 1916. At that time the Germans
launched gas attacks on both sides of the railway. The attack opened
at 1 o'clock in the morning and the gas was released six times with
intervals between the waves. The gas attacks finished at 6 a. m. The
use of gas was discovered in good time, with the result that the
Germans, who were following the attacks, on attempting to advance,
were met with rifle and machine-gun fire and suffered severe losses.

On August 3, 1916, considerable activity was displayed in the vicinity
of Lakes Narotch and Wiszniew. The Russians there attempted to advance
against the German field positions near Spiagla, but were promptly
thrown back. Farther north the Germans gained some slight local
successes by capturing a few advanced Russian trenches northwest of
Postavy. At some other points, especially on the Shara, southeast of
Baranovitchy, the railway center east of Slonin, lively hand-grenade
battles occurred.

On the following day, August 4, 1916, the Russians made an attempt to
cross the Dvina near Deveten, a few miles northwest of Dvinsk, but
were repulsed. Another similar undertaking, attempted August 8, 1916,
east of Friedrichstadt, met the same fate. On that day German
batteries successfully bombarded Russian torpedo boats and other
vessels lying off the coast of Kurland and force