Battle of Łódź (1914)

Battle of Łódź
Part of Eastern Front (World War I)
Eastern Front September 28 – November 1, 1914
Date 11 November-6 December, 1914 Location Łódź, present day Poland Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Russian Empire	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
North-Western front:Nikolai Ruzski 1st army: Rennenkampf, 2nd army: S.M. Scheidemann, 5th army: P. A. Plehve	August von Mackensen
Strength
First, Second and Fifth Armies	German Ninth Army
Casualties and losses
95,000 killed, wounded & captured	35,000 killed, wounded & missing

The Battle of Łódź took place from November 11 to December 6, 1914, near the city of Łódź in Poland. It was fought between the German Ninth Army and the Russian First, Second, and Fifth Armies, in appalling winter conditions.

Background

By September of 1914 the Russians had defeated the Austro-Hungarian offensive in Galicia at the Battle of Lemberg leaving the Austrian fortress of Przemyśl besieged by the Russian Eighth Army. Nikolai Ruzski had defeated the German's first attempt at capturing Warsaw at the Battle of the Vistula River. The Russian high command was split over how to capitalize on these recent successes. Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich favored an offensive into East Prussia, while the Chief of Staff, Mikhail Alekseev, favored an offensive into Silesia. Paul von Hindenburg had recently been appointed commander of the Central Powers along the Eastern Front. Hindenburg had intercepted Russian reports of the proposed invasion into Silesia, and saw an opportunity to repeat his crushing victory at the Battle of Tannenberg, by hitting the Russian flank as it moved into Silesia.

Forces

Hindenburg moved the German Ninth Army, under General August von Mackensen, to the Polish sector. Conrad von Hotzendorf, the Austrian commander, moved the Austrian Second Army to replace the German Ninth Army's former position. General Nikolai Ruzski had recently assumed command of the Army Group defending Warsaw. Ruzski had under his command General Paul von Rennenkampf's Russian First Army which was positioned north of the Vistula River, with the exception of one corps that was on the south bank of the river. Ruzski also had the Russian Second Army under General Scheidemann, which was positioned directly in front of Łódź. The Russian Fifth Army, under Pavel Adamovich Plehve, was ordered to abandon its Silesia offensive, and moved to help counter Hindenburg's new offensive.

The battle

On November 11, Mackensen's Ninth Army struck the one corps of Rennenkampf's First Army which was posted south of the Vistula and routed it, capturing 12,000 prisoners. The route left a gap between the Russian First and Second Armies and the two forces lost contact with one another. The Russian high command had enough of Rennenkapf and relieved him of his command on the spot, replacing him with General Litvinov. In the meantime Scheidemann's Second Army was being flanked and began retreating towards Łódź. The Russians were beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation in Poland. The Second Army was now being threatened with encirclement. The Grand Duke was primarily concerned with saving this army and avoiding a repeat of Tannenberg. Wenzel von Plehve and the Russian Fifth Army had been ordered from Silesia to the Łódź sector and covered 70 miles in only two days. Von Plehve smashed into Mackensen's right flank on November 18 under appalling winter conditions (at times the temperature dropped as low as -10 degrees). The Germans were now threatened with encirclement, but fought their way out by November 26, taking with them the prisoners from the Russian First Army. Pressure on Łódź continued until December but the Germans were unable to break the Russian lines. Short on ammunition, the Russians withdrew to form a new and stronger line closer to Warsaw.

Results

The results of the Battle of Łódź were inconclusive, both sides having achieved their most important objectives. The Russians had repulsed the Germans and saved Warsaw, which had been the objective of the original German offensive. The Germans, for their part, had caused the Russians to abandon their offensive into Silesia.

External links

• Western Front Association account of the battle

Sources

• Tucker, Spencer The Great War: 1914–18 (1998)