1 66 The Great War while four defeated Austrian corps facing four vic- torious Servian along the Save and the Drina rivers. If General Joffre had ventured to risk a decisive battle before August 20, he would have had but twenty-four corps against an equal number of Ger- mans; if before August 27, he would have had twenty-three corps against twenty-one German far more advantageously concentrated. Now he dis- posed of twenty-three against fifteen. If the Russian triumph in Galicia continued, and the remaining Aus- trian field army were destroyed before German troops came, then still more German withdrawals from France were inevitable. Enormous German losses now becoming known, losses mainly of first line troops, must also be reckoned with as having further modified the relative strength of the two armies. As for the territory now occupied by the Germans in France and Belgium it was a burden at this stage. The garrisoning of Belgium alone required many thousands of soldiers, second line to be sure, but second line troops were already needed on the Vis- tula and before Paris. In addition Germany was compelled to keep further troops in this region against the possible landing at Ostend and Dunkirk of expeditionary forces from England, Russia or British colonies. The wide extension of her lines in France called for more thousands of second and third line troops, who were also needed in the east. Recall once more that the German plan was to