e time the last attempt at breaking through the line
of the besiegers had been ordered. This was carried out on the
night of the 19th of March. It was shattered, however, against the
unbreakable manifold ring of the Russian inclosing lines and against
the superior forces which were brought in time to the threatened
points. Our men were so weakened by their long fasting that it
took them fully seven hours to make the march of seven kilometers,
and even in this short stretch many of them had to lie down from
exhaustion, yet they fought well and were bravely led by their
officers.

"In spite of all this," Captain Lehmann, one of the escaped officers,
reported, "the heroic garrison fought on, after their last sortie,
for fully forty-eight hours, against assaults of the Russians which
now set in with terrific violence. The men of the fortress were fully
informed of the situation by an announcement of the commander. They
knew that the provisions were at an end and this very knowledge
spurred them on to make their last sacrifice. Practically all the
nations of the monarchy were represented in the fortress. Tyrolese
Landsturm held the south, Hungarians the west, Ruthenians and Poles
the north, and lower Austrians the east. To this last battle the
troops marched out singing, striving thus to master their weakness.
On this occasion the above mentioned notice had fallen into the
hands of the Russians and the prospect had thus been opened to
them to seize the fortress with little effort. For two days and
nights all the works of Przemysl were taken under, an uninterrupted
terrible artillery fire, including that of modern howitzers of all
calibers, up to eighteen centimeters. Then followed an assault
at night on the east front, which, however, was again bloodily
repelled."

Starvation is conducive neither to good feeling nor heroism, especially
when it is superimposed upon an unbroken series of more or less
disastrous experiences. Misfortune and the so-called "tradition of
defeat" had dogged the steps of Austria's troops from the beginning
of the war; unlucky generals--Dankl, Auffenberg, and others--had been
relieved of their commands and replaced by "new blood"--Boehm-Ermolli,
Boroyevitch von Bojna, and Von Pflanzer-Baltin. Of these three, two
had as yet failed in carrying to success the German plans which
had taken the place of those of their own strategists. Hence it
is not at all improbable that the reports of dissensions amon