The large German forces which, under General von Hinden- burg,
had crossed the East Prussian frontier and invaded the Suwalki province, were in the course of last week decisively defeated, and Russian territory was cleared of the enemy. From the official despatch which was issued in Petrograd on Sunday last, it appears that the battle of Augustowo, as it is named, opened on September 25th with an attempt on the part of the invaders to cross the river Niemen, which forms the eastern boundary of the Suwalki province, and runs roughly parallel to the eastern frontier of East Prussia and some fifty miles distant from it. The German attacks at various points along the river were repulsed, after which the Russians took the offensive in turn, and drove the invading forces back across the Suwalki province and over the frontier. The official account speaks of a " disorderly retreat," which was at certain points " in the nature of a flight," but later news seems to show that the German forces were able to reform, and another official despatch from Petrograd in Thursday's papers describes them as offering a stubborn resistance along the line of the frontier.
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