PICTURESQUE PRZEMYSL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12541, 12 May 1915, Page 2

PICTURESQUE PRZEMYSL.

A CITY OF THE HILLS

THE STORY OF THE siege

Przanvsl. the great fortress which surre.nde'red to the Russians in March lies 100 miles east ol Cracow and GO miles, south-west of Lemberg, on the main Trans-Galician line from Cracow, through Tarnow, Rzeszow. and Jarosluv to Romberg. Polish in origin, as its name implies, Przemvsl is believed to have been founded about the middle of the fourteenth ceiiturv by Casimir the Great, who asserted "the claims of Poland to Red Russia, as Galicia was known m those days. A hill on tho south-west side of the town is crowned with the ruins of a castle said to have been builtbv him. In Przemyslany, a -few miles south-east of Lemberg, Przemysl has a. little namesake, which, however, has never made history. Casimir, who was called "tho Peasants' King," certainly deserves to have the foundation of Przemysl attributed to him. For centuries "the town has been one of the garden cities of the Carpathians. The memories of the past are enshrined m the Roman and Greek cathedrals, which, together with a number of other sacred and secular edifices, have sealed its outlines long ago. Its strivings after more material things in modern times are attested by factories, by tanneries, and bv a strong odor of petroleum, duo to its"being the centre of the local industry. But its chief glory has been and remains the girdle of gardens and small farms which nestle for several miles oh the slopes and in the folds of | the hills that form the winding valley of the San. —Poles and Kuthenes. —

Przemv.-I is a district as well as atown. Its rural (they cannot be called suburban) limits embrace a region large enough to double the-population of the urban area. Some 50,000 is the number assigned for the district, not counting the verv strong garrison which was thrown into the fortress on the outbreak of war. The inhabitants are mostly Poles and Rutheius. and they understand and speak eVK'h other's language. Some even speak Croatian and German as well. There is no racial feeling. Not. infrequently holy pictures, images of St. Nicholas and other patron spirits, may be seen bearing an invocation in Russian. The sympathy which the Russians- found at Lemberg thev arc to find here, too. .

Jn the Lemberg district the Russians have made a good start by inquiring into tilt' agricultural needs of tlie population, supplying them with seed for their crops, and'"helping them in every way to overcome their lessen. In thePrzeinysl district iliere is much to be made good. Here, where until six months "ago rural homesteads were numbered bv hundreds, the whole country has been laid waste bv the Hungarian soldiery in order to obtain a clear field of tire. Kor miles in every direction the characteristic orchards of the region have disappeared from the landscape. Fruit was the peasants' staph? food and their means of exchange. It is a serious matter for them" since in this district they have never relied upon ground crops. The little white houses, with the painted shutters, have gone the way of the orchards. At Dobromil and farther south the hunted refugees may he met. hovering on the outskirts of their native hills. They have fled from their own countrymen, and have thrown

themselves upon the mercy of those whom the armed defenders of Przenvysl called the enemy. But both Russian

and Ruthenian are hearing the call of the blood.

—A Stubborn Defence. —

The complete investment of Przeinysl began late in September, and on September 27 the Grand Duke's staff announced that all communications with the fortress had been cut off. The Russian troops, after the fall of Jaroslau, tiie fortress to the north, had come up from east, north, and west, and within a few days the enemy were retiring along the whole front. From the region uf Przeinysl three railways cross the Carpathians to Budapest, along all of which the Russians were pushing vigorously, whilst they.were also advancing on the west. As far as railway communications were concerned, the fate of Przeinysl was staled by the capture of t'hyrow, the important junction situated about 'lO miles south of the fortress. I'rzeiny-I itself was important as. a road junction and as a connecting link with the Lunkow and Uzsok Passes.

The garrison prepared to make ji. stubborn resistance, with the object of checking the Russian pursuit. A week later the Russians had brought up their lioavy artillery and had begun a -steady bombardment. It was reported "that the fortress ;ind the town were being destroyed and the houses set on fire, but."this, like manv subsequent rumors of the imminent fall of the fortress, was not confirmed. The Austrians, who were said to have received German assistance, conducted the defence with extreme- energy, and the? fortress was apparently well supplied with ammunition. The Russians were exerting persistent pressure, punctuated with sudden night attacks, but the defendersoccasionally made successful counterattacks. On October 11 Vienna announced that one of these had compelled our ally to evacuate the western front, which the Austrian eavalrv occupied.

—Repeated Sorties Repulsed.—

During the first German invasion o" Western Poland in October, when the enemy reached the line of the Vistula and wdi-v bombarding Warsaw and Iwangurod, the Austrians made a desperate effort to take advantage of the situation and to advance via Przemysl to join hands with the Germans in the north. For a time the investment of the fortress was momentarily abandoned, but after the crushing defeat of the Germans in Poland, and when a 'Russian detachment even set foot on tierman territory at Plesehen. in Posen. the investment was re-established. Following up their success the Russians invaded Hungary, but with the resumed offensive of the enemy over the-,Carpa-thians about the end of January th" garrison were sustained by fresh hopes of relief. During December and subsequently they had made repeated sorties, which were repulsed with heavv losses, and iu one of them Ihe defenders wore thrown back within the line-; of the forts.

—Beginning of the End.—

By the beginning of 3Larch, the garrison were reduced to great straits, and had ceased to make any sorties, confining themselves to a heavy artillery action. On March 14 the beginning of the end was indicated by the loss of the village of Malkowice. of which the Russians,by a sudden assault, became masters. This was an extromelv important position for the defenders.' It is situated, four miles from the central eilciente, one mile from the two outer forts, and three miles from the intermediate line of forts, all of which it dominates. Thus the most difficult worjj of effecting a breach of the outer ring of forts was siicccssfullv begun. The Austrians continued to'make a great expenditure of ammunition, firing more than 1000 heavv projectiles daily, but very little effect was .produced on the investing force. The final, and most disastrous, effort was reported when it was recorded that in a, sortie by the entire. 23rd division over 4000 men were taken prisoners.