With troops of both sides reeling from exhaustion and short of food and ammunition, the Germans pressed forward in hopes of finishing off the Russian Second Army. The 41st Division, unable to advance as ordered, put together battle groups as best it could and pushed them into the darkness. At the small town of Waplitz, a shallow stream held up the German advance.

The Germans got across the bridge, and then their advance faltered. Combat engineers tried to widen the bridgehead, but failed to break through. The Russians squeezed the Germans into the town of Waplitz, where 300 of them surrendered. The 41st Division began to break up, and fell back rapidly to its starting lines. Several of the division's batteries deployed in the open to cover the retreat, holding off Russian infantry with shrapnel fired over open sights before they were obliterated by Russian artillery fire.