the net that was gradually being tightened
around them. Meanwhile, General Ewarts's Army of the Nida, which
formed the connecting link between the Russian northern and southern
armies, had fallen back above Tarnow to the River Czarna in order
to keep in touch and conformity with Dmitrieff's shrinking line,
which was now actually broken by the Wisloka failure. The Russian
position was extremely critical, for it seemed that the German
general would roll up the two halves and thereby inflict a crushing
and decisive defeat. General Ivanoff appears to have recognized Van
Mackensen's intentions in time to devise measures to counteract
the peril and save his left (Brussilov's army) from disaster. By
pushing forward strong columns from Sanok on the Upper San to impose
a temporary check upon the advancing tide, he gained a brief respite
for the troops entangled in the passes. To that sector we will
now turn to review the course of events.

On May 4, 1915, the Russians began to evacuate the positions they
held south of the range when Von Mackensen's extreme right approached
Krempna. Forging along at high speed the Germans and Austrians
occupied the towns of Dukla and Tylava, and arrived at Rymanow--still
farther east--on the following day. The town of Dukla lies some
fifteen miles due north of the Galician debouchment of the pass
of that name, and Rymanow is about another fifteen miles east of
that. Hence the German strategic plan was to draw a barrier line
across the north of the Carpathians and hem the Russians in between
that barrier and the Austro-Hungarian armies of Boehm-Ermolli and
Von Bojna. It must distinctly be borne in mind that these two forces
are also north of the passes: that of Von Bojna being stationed
at the elbow where the Germanic line turned from the Carpathians
almost due north along the Dunajec-Biala front, or across the neck
of our hypothetical jar. The Dukla and Lupkow passes were still in
Russian hands; these were the only two that the Germanic offensives
of January, February, and March, 1915, had failed to capture; all
the others, from Rostoki eastward, were held by the Austrians and
Germans. It was through the Dukla and Lupkow that the Russians
obtained their foothold in northern Hungary, and it was the only
way open to them now to get back again. Around the Laborcza district
stood the Seventh Austro-Hungarian Army Corps under the command
of the Archduke Joseph, who now began to harass them, aided by