seemed to have halted the advance on Lublin. The
army of Von Mackensen had now also come to a stop about halfway
between Zamosc and Krasnostav, an artillery duel on July 7, 1915,
being the last activity noted on the front of this army for some
time.

Their comparative quiet in the region between the Vistula and the
Bug where the main advance of the Teutonic forces on the south
had been under way with great vigor for several weeks until the
check at Krasnik was not interrupted until July 16, 1915. Day after
day the Teutonic headquarters reported "nothing of importance"
in this quarter. When the quiet was finally broken it appeared
that it had been the lull before the storm. Before taking up again
the activities on this section of the front, it will be necessary
to take a glance toward the northern half of the great arc that
enveloped the Warsaw salient on two sides.

In these early days of July, 1915, considerable uncertainty prevailed
among those who were watching the progress of the campaign in Poland
as to where the heaviest blow of the Teutons would fall, whether
from the south or the north. The decisive stroke came with lightning
suddenness. A tremendous attack was launched in the direction of
the Narew by the army of General von Gallwitz.

A laconic announcement of the German General Staff on July 14,
1915, bore momentous news, although its modest wording scarcely
betrayed the facts. It read: "Between the Niemen and the Vistula,
in the region of Walwarga, southwest of Kolno, near Przasnysz and
south of Mlawa, our troops have achieved some local successes." The
Russian report referring to the beginning of the same action was
equally noncommittal, though possibly more misleading. This states:
"Considerable enemy forces between the Orczy and the Lidynja adopted
the offensive and the Russians declining a decisive engagement
retreated during the night of the 13th to the second line of their
positions."

On July 15, 1915, the Germans announced that the city of Przasnysz,
for which such hot battles had been fought in February, and which
had since been strongly fortified by the Russians, had been occupied
by them. The German summary of this action given out a few days
later stated that three Russian defensive lines lying one behind
the other northwest and northeast of Przasnysz had been pierced
and taken, the troops at once rushing forward to Dzielin and Lipa,
respectively west and east of the town. Under attack fro