The fortresses protecting Warsaw, still further to the
east, were well garrisoned, and in front of them to the west were troops
intended to delay any German advance from Posen. The Russian
commander-in-chief was the Grand Duke Nicholas, uncle of the late Czar,
and one of the most admirable representatives of the Russian at his
best; a splendid soldier, honest, straightforward, and patriotic, he was
the idol of his men. He had with him a brilliant staff, but the strength
of his army lay in its experience. They had learned war in the bitter
school of the Manchurian campaign.
The German force on the frontier was not less than five hundred thousand
men, and they were arranged for defense. Austria, in Galicia, had
gathered nearly one million men under the auspices of Frederick. The
first movement of these armies took place in East Prussia. The Army of
the Niemen had completed its mobilization early in August, and was under
the command of General Rennenkampf, one of the Russian leaders in
Manchuria. In command of the German forces was General von Francois, an
officer of Huguenot descent.
The first clash of these armies took place on the German frontier near
Libau, on August 3d. Two days later, the Russians crossed the frontier,
drove in the German advance posts, and seized the railway which runs
south and east of the Masurian Lakes.
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