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Updated: June 16, 2025
Russian batteries before Dvinsk caused a fire at Ill, the little town just northwest of Dvinsk on the Dvinsk-Ponevesh railway, and so well was this bombardment maintained that the Germans were unable to extinguish the conflagration before it had reached some of their munition depots. In the early morning hours very violent gunfire was directed south of Illuxt.
The danger here was serious enough, for the depletion of the Russian forces and length of their line had left a gap between Dvinsk and Vilna, and into this gap the Germans thrust a huge cavalry force which more nearly turned the Russian line than any other movement in the campaign. The way was prepared by the great ten-days' battle of Meiszagola.
In the early morning hours German airships bombarded railway stations along the Riga-Petrograd railroad as far as Venden, about fifty miles northeast of Riga, and along the Dvinsk-Petrograd railway as far as Rzezytsa, about fifty miles northeast of Dvinsk. At the latter point considerable damage was done by a dirigible which dropped explosive and incendiary bombs.
With the clearing of the weather the firing on the Narayuvka front became heavier than it had previously been. Once again on the following day, July 17, 1917, the Russians had to yield ground under the ever-increasing pressure from the Germans. In the north there was a still more noticeable increase in the fighting activity at Riga, south of Dvinsk, and at Smorgon.
In spite of all the severe fighting before Dvinsk and Riga, neither of these cities had yet been brought within the range of the majority of the German guns, even though continuous local successes had been gained on the part of the German troops. The losses which the latter suffered cannot be stated definitely, because no official figures, either Russian or German, are available.
The Germans made stubborn resistance. With the approach of evening, they counterattacked in dense waves from the direction of Selohy-Kagnka, and, pressing the Russians back, occupied the village of Novica, but were driven out again upon the arrival of fresh reserves. Farther north, too, the lively fighting activity at Riga, Dvinsk, and Smorgon continued.
The possession of Dvinsk at that particular moment would have meant an almost inestimable advantage to the Germans, just as its loss would have been apt to mean the complete rout of the Russians. For once the line broken to a sufficiently great width at that point, all the Russian forces having their basis on Petrograd, Smolensk, and Moscow might have been turned completely.
On the same day they broke through the Russian front between Vilna and the Niemen in numerous places, capturing over 5,000 men and 16 machine guns. Of railroad lines available to facilitate an eventual Russian retreat from Vilna, the northern route to Petrograd by way of Dvinsk had been in German hands for some days.
The new month was opened by the Germans with another intensive artillery bombardment of the Uxkull bridgehead. Farther to the south, before Dvinsk, and also at many points in the Lake district to the south of this fortress, the Russian positions likewise were raked by violent gunfire.
In the region north of Lake Miadziol, south of Dvinsk, the Germans bombarded with heavy and light artillery Russian trenches between lakes Dolja and Voltchino. They then started an offensive which was stopped by heavy artillery fire. A second German offensive also failed, the attacking troops being again driven back to their own trenches.
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