While half of Kreysa’s Landwehr division assaulted Miaczyn on a very narrow front, his other two regiments deployed to the north to protect the division’s rear. The Russians had, as he feared, moved to attack his own vulnerable flank and soon enough the Landwehr faced an entire division of Cossacks. The Russians lacked firepower, but had the mobility and the inclination to wreak havoc on the Austrian divisions advancing toward the south-east if only they could get past the infantry.

The Cossacks probed throughout the day, but the Landwehr managed to fend off all but small patrols that filtered past them. Even so, the Austrians had detailed half a division as a flank guard when every man was needed to turn the Russian right flank. The 9th Cavalry Division had been given this task by Auffenberg at Fourth Army, but neither Schemua or Kreysa called on it to fulfill its role, while Archduke Peter dallied at the Hotel Zentral. The Austrians had only a very small window to destroy the Russian Fifth Army, and they were helping to close it themselves.