THE REBIRTH OF THE POLISH STATE 283The Russian Army brings you the blessed news of that union. May the frontiers that
cut across the Polish nation be erased.
May the Polish nation be joined in one under the sceptre of the Russian Emperor.
Under that sceptre Poland will be reborn, free in her own faith, language, and self-rule.
Russia expects only one thing of you, namely, that you show respect for all those other
people whose fate has been bound to yours by History.
Great Russia steps forward to meet you with an open heart and with a brotherly hand
extended in friendship. She firmly believes that the sword which slew the common enemy
at Grunwald has not tarnished.
The Russian battalions stretch from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Northern
Seas. The dawn of your new life is breaking.
May the banner of the Cross shine forth as a symbol of the Passion and the
Resurrection of the nations.
(Signed) Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
General-Adjutant, Mikolaj^12
The sickly, religious tone of the Manifesto fell awkwardly from the lips of a
Romanov, whose predecessors had been responsible for the political and reli-
gious persecutions of the past. Although written in Polish, not Russian, it fell
completely flat when published on posters bearing the Polish flag in an upside-
down position. It was typical of many such manifestos issued by all sides as the
war wore on.
On the southern sector against the Austrians, fortune smiled on the Russians.
By Christmas, the Cossacks were at Wieliczka, in sight of Cracow. But on the
northern sector, they were overwhelmed. Drawing the oncoming hordes into
the woods and backwaters of the Mazurian lakeland, Hindenburg contrived to
surround and annihilate two Russian armies. This great victory, in which
almost two million Russians were taken prisoner, was named by the Germans
after the nearby town of Tannenberg. It was proclaimed to be the final Teutonic
revenge for the defeat of Grunwald on a nearby site 504 years earlier.
The German counter offensive was mounted in August 1915 and continued
through the year. From their first breakthrough at Gorlice in Galicia, the
Wehrmacht tramped relentlessly eastwards. On 5 August they entered Warsaw,
on 25 August, Brest, on 18 September, Vilna. In 1916, Mackensen crossed the
Carpathians and invaded Romania. These victories won territorial gains which
were not reversed for the rest of the war. Except in Polesie and Eastern Galicia,
which were the scene of Brusilov's advance in 1916, German and Austrian con-
trol of the Polish lands was unchallenged for the duration. In 1917, the
Wehrmacht pressed on into the Baltic States, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine. At
the beginning of 1918, they were threatening Moscow itself.
German political dispositions were sensibly delayed until the military situa-
tion was stabilized.^13 At first, the conquered territories were run by the Military.
A German Zone of Occupation was created, with a Governor-General, Hans
von Besseler (1850-1921) resident in Warsaw. An Austrian Zone of Occupation
was centred on Lublin. Beyond the Bug, the Oberkommando-Ost was created
with its headquarters at Vilna. Political debates lasted for nearly two years.