WORLD WAB 420 werp was bombarded on September 29 and surrendered October 8, the Belgian army escaping. Ostend fell on October 15 and the Overmans now held most of the Belgian coast. Late in October between La Bassee and the sea British, French, WOBIJ) WAB THE GERMAN SUBMARINE BLOCKADB and Belgians fought for six weeks and held up the German advance between the Lys and the mouth of the Yser. At the battle of Ypres the British lost 50,000 men, the French 70,000, and the Belgians 20,000, but the Allies won the fight. The battle of the Yser, not less destructive, was won by the Belgians and French. When the struggle ended the Germans had gained some strips of shell-torn ter- ritory, but the main line of the Allies stood and the German attempt to gain Dunkirk and Calais had been frustrated. Germany now occupied most of the in- dustrial regions of France and all but a small strip of Belgium. She had failed to destroy France, the British army was growing, a quick victory could no longer be counted on and meanwhile the Rus- sians were invading the Carpathians. From the day that a state of war was declared to exist between Britain and Germany, the British Fleet under John Jellicoe disappeared to find a safe retreat among the Orkneys, there to wait its chance to strike. At the outbreak of the war two German warships, the "Goeben" and "Breslau" were off the Algerian coast. They succeeded in evading their pursuers and gained Constantinople, where they passed into the possession of the Turkish Government. The first naval engagement between German and British ships was fought in Helgoland Bight, August 28, resulting in the destruction of three German light cruisers and sev- eral destroyers with no British loss. The Eastern Front. — ^Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28, on which date Belgrade was bombarded. An Austrian attempt to cross the Danube on August 6 was repulsed with heavy losses. An- tivari, Montenegro's only seaport, was bombarded by the Austrian fleet on the following day. Serbian and Montene^in forces invaded Bosnia on August 12. The most serious fighting was at Shabatz, which the Austrians won on August 16. They were driven out the next two days and by August 23 the Serbians had cleared the enemy from their country. December 2 the Austrians captured Bel- grade after four months' effort, but were forced to retire December 14. On the Russian front a Russian army invaded East Prussia in the first week of August, and August 16-20 won an important victory at Gumbinnen, and occupied Tilsit. Ruzsky's Second Army meanwhile defeated the Austrians at So- kal and on August 23 joined Brussilov's Third Army and advanced on Lemberg and the Second Austrian Army. The Battle of Lemberg lasted eight days and resulted in the collapse of the Austrians, In the subsequent fighting the Austrians were forced to re&eat over the Car- pathian passes, leaving in Russian hands 250,000 prisoners. The result was the loss of all Galicia to the San, the invest- ing of Frzemysl and a Cossack invasion of the Carpathians and the Hungarian plain. Hindenburg's prompt action saved the armies of the Central Powers from retreat and rout. By August 14 the Hindenburg armies had reached thft outskirts of Warsaw and the attack on the city began. The arrival of eight Russian army corps led to a week's struggle and forced Hindenburg to re- treat on October 21. The Russians had invested Przemysl and were moving on Cracow. Hindenburg was now forced to make an effort to save the Austrians in Galicia. Leaving a force of Austrians to deal with the Russians on the front from Cracow to Kalisz, he turned the Russian flank and moved his armies be- tween the Russians and Warsaw. The Russian position was desperate, for their northern flank had been turned and they were attacked in front by more Germans and Austrians advancing north from
