eanwhile
conquered the Magora of Malastow and the majority of the heights
in the Ostra Gora group. On Sunday, May 2, 1915, the Austro-German
armies pierced the Dunajec-Biala line in several places, and by
nightfall the Russians were retreating to their last hope--the line
of the Wisloka. The operations round Gorlice on that day resulted
in breaking the Russian defenses to a depth of over two miles on
a front of ten or eleven miles. Mr. Stanley Washburn wrote from
the battle field at the time: "The Germans had shot their last
bolt, a bolt forged from every resource in men and munitions that
they could muster after months of preparation." Of the Russian
army he said, "it was outclassed in everything except bravery,
and neither the German nor any other army can claim superiority
in that respect."

With the center literally cut away, the keystone of the Russian
line had been pulled out, and nothing remained but to retire. Ten
miles north of Ciezkovice lies the triangle formed by the confluence
of the Dunajec and Biala rivers and the Zakliczyn-Gromnik road.
Within this triangle, commanding the banks of both rivers up to
the Cracow-Tarnow line, the Russians held the three hills marked
402, 419, and 269 which figures express their height in meters.

During February and March, 1915, the Austrians attempted to dislodge
the enemy, but without success. It was now necessary to take those
positions before advance could be made against Tarnow, and the
Fourth Austro-Hungarian Army, commanded by the Archduke Joseph
Ferdinand, undertook the task. At six A. M. on May 2 the Austrian
artillery opened fire against Hill 419 from Mount Val (also within
the triangle), and the opposite bank of the Dunajec. After three
hours' bombardment some regiments of Tyrolese fusiliers, who had
crossed the valley between Mt. Val and 419 and had taken up positions
at the foot of the latter, about 400 yards from the Russian trenches,
were ordered to charge. Dashing up the open, steep slope the fusiliers
were suddenly enfiladed from their right by a spray of machine gun
and rifle fire, killing many and driving back the survivors. Next
day Hill 419 was again fiercely shelled, this time with deadly
effectiveness; but even then the Russians still clung to their
battered ground.

The Austrians now charged the trenches on Hill 412, whence the
fusiliers had been ambushed the previous day. A desperate hand-to-hand
encounter, in which they had to force their way