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On October 16, 1915, the Germans decided to attempt this maneuver and made a rather unexpected attack east of Mitau and north of Eckau and forced the Russians back of the Misse River, an eastern tributary of the River Aa, near Basui, on which occasion they claimed to have captured over 10,000 men. Some more ground was gained in that neighborhood during the next three days.
On its southern and southeastern sides the salient followed, for some ten miles, first the post road and then the railroad from Mitau to Kreutzburg on the Dvina about fifty miles northwest of Dvinsk and then turned to the northeast for another twenty miles or so. On this latter stretch it crossed two tributaries of the River Aa, the Eckau and the Misse.
The plan succeeded as far as beyond the Aa, when Grawert, supported latterly by Kleist, repulsed Lewis, and following the Russians closely as far as Eckau, defeated them there entirely, Lewis fled in disorder as far as the Düna, which he recrossed by fording it, leaving behind a great number of prisoners. Thus far Macdonald was satisfied.
The two weakest were to make two false attacks; the first by proceeding along the coast of the Baltic sea, and the second directly on Mittau; the third, which was the strongest, and commanded by Lewis, was at the same time to retake Eckau, drive back the Prussians as far as the Aa, cross that river, and either capture or destroy the park of artillery.
With the exception of the Mitau-Riga railroad there are only two means of approaching Riga, a fairly good road that leads along Lake Babit from the Aa to Riga, and another that runs from Gross Eckau on the Eckau River through the woods by way of Kekkau to Riga and in its northern part parallels the Dvina.
The Prussians, after a rather warm affair, took Eckau from the Russian General Lewis; after which both sides remained quiet for twenty days. Macdonald employed that time in taking possession of Dünaburg, and in getting the heavy artillery brought to Mittau, which was necessary for the siege of Riga.
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