Battle of the Dead Men

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Battle of the Dead Men
Part of: First World War
date August 6, 1915
place Osowiec Fortress ,
Poland
output Pyrrhic victory of the Russians
Parties to the conflict

Russian Empire 1914Russian Empire Russia

German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire

Commander

Lieutenant General Nikolai Brschosowski
Vladimir Karpowitsch Kotlinsky †

General of the Infantry Otto von Below
General of the Infantry zD Rudolf von Freudenberg

Troop strength
900 men, 500 soldiers + 400 militia (60-100 counterattack) 14 battalions , 7,000–8,000 men, 30 heavy artillery pieces
losses

High

Unknown

The Battle of the Dead Men was a battle during World War I that took place on August 6, 1915 at the Osowiec Fortress . The fame and name of the battle comes from the bloodied, zombie- like appearance of the poison gas- poisoned Russian soldiers.

prehistory

Location

During the reign of Tsar Alexander III. the fortress Osowiec was built between 1889 and 1893 with the help of the engineer Nestor Buinitsky according to a design from 1873. The fortress was located 50 kilometers from the border with East Prussia on one of the most important crossings over the Biebrza River. The railway line ran through the fortress from Białystok via Lyck to Koenigsberg and was completely ruled by it at this point. The military leadership of Russia considered it impregnable.

General of the Infantry zD Rudolf von Freudenberg

Previous importance in the First World War

Due to the strategic importance of the fortress, it was besieged several times by German troops during the First World War . After the Battle of the Masurian Lakes , parts of the German 8th Army approached the Osowiec fortress in September 1914 . The fortress came under heavy artillery fire for the first time, but the Russian defenders forced the Germans to retreat in a counterattack. On February 3, 1915, the German troops attacked the fortress again. The attack took place in connection with the general offensive of the German armies on the East Prussian section of the Eastern Front , which led to the winter battle in Masuria . This attack also failed.

In May 1915, the Russian army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów and repulsed with the Great Retreat that followed. The German Supreme Army Command wanted to continue a frontal attack on northern Poland by the Commander in Chief East, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg , at the beginning of August . The aim was to establish a connection with the Gallwitz army group attacking eastwards after the Narew offensive by crossing the Bober section .

At the beginning of July 1915, the Germans moved more troops to attack the fortress. The German 8th Army under General der Infanterie Otto von Below , stationed in front of the fortress, was assigned to lead the attack on the fortress Osowiec.

battle

Lieutenant Vladimir Karpovich Kotlinsky, leader of the Russian counterattack after the gas attack

The battle, like many battles of World War I, began with heavy artillery fire. Since a frontal attack on the fortress would have caused very high losses, chlorine gas was used by the German side . On August 6, 1915 at 4 a.m. with a favorable wind, the 11th Landwehr Division under the Württemberg General of Infantry zD von Freundeberg began a concentrated gas attack with chlorine gas against the fortress. The released gas cloud was estimated to be 8 kilometers wide and 10 to 15 meters high.

In a short time, a large part of the defending 226th Zemlyansky Infantry Regiment , none of which had protective masks at their disposal, died or became incapacitated. Since the gas cloud only reached a small height, some men were able to fight. At a time when the German attackers were no longer expecting any resistance, they began the attack on the fortress with 7000-8000 infantrymen.

Sergei Kmelkov, a Russian survivor of the battle, said of the effect of the poison gas:

"Everyone standing on the fortress bridgehead was fatally poisoned ... the grass turned black, petals were scattered everywhere ... meat, butter, fat, vegetables spoiled and became inedible."

The German attackers knew about the effects of the gas and therefore expected little or no resistance. What happened next was subsequently elevated to a legend by the Allied press and described as the "fight of the dead men" ( Russian Атака мертвецов , English The Attack of the dead men ): The German attackers were attacked by Russians in blood-stained uniforms. Put into a psychological state of emergency by the gas attack, the last defenders fought against fear of death with their handguns, two machine guns and the last five guns ready for use. The bloody uniforms were caused by the fact that the Russian soldiers kept spitting blood because of their bronchial tubes, which had been corroded by chlorine gas.

The German side then broke off the attack. Some soldiers panicked and fled. However, there were only 60 to 70 defenders who were still able to defend themselves within the fortress. At 11 o'clock the fallen defense lines were back in Russian hands. Kotlinsky, the leader of the counterattack, died that same day.

A few days later, the Great Withdrawal also began in northeastern Poland. As a result, the Osowiec fortress lost its importance, which is why the fortress was evacuated starting on August 18th. They tried to blow up everything that could not be taken or was already in ruins. On August 22, 1915, the fortress was deserted and on August 25, 1915, German troops occupied the empty and largely destroyed facilities. The fortress was converted into a military prison by the Germans. The fortress was only slightly damaged in the bombardment. It was enough to barricade the casemates to build the prison.

Artistic reception

The Swedish power metal band Sabaton released a song called The Attack of the Dead Men about these events on their concept album The Great War . This song was covered a little later by the Russian artist Radio Tapok. Radio Tapok sang for The Attack of the Dead Men at the Sabaton concerts in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in March 2020 .

The Russian band Arija also released the song Атака мертвецов (de. Attack of the Dead ) about these events on their album Через все времена (de. Through all times ) .

The developers of the video game World of Tanks made a short film about this event, which was released on the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, i.e. November 11, 2018.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Determination to the Dead: The Story of the "Battle of the Dead Men". Retrieved January 25, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b c d 'The Attack of the Dead Men' was a horrifying WWI infantry charge. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
  3. ^ A b c d e f Sabaton History: The Attack of the Dead Men - Gas Warfare on the Eastern Front - Sabaton History 051 [Official]. Retrieved January 25, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Buinitsky Nestor Aloizievich. Retrieved May 8, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b c d The History of the World War II. Volume (Upper Austrian State Library), pp. 129, 130
  6. ↑ a b Creators of World of Tanks shoot film about “Attack of Dead Men” of regiment from Voronezh Region. Retrieved August 2, 2020 .
  7. ↑ 'The Attack Of The Dead Men' Is One Of The Most Horrifying Battles You've Never Heard Of. Retrieved January 25, 2020 .
  8. ^ Kauffman & Kauffman, 2016, pp. 112-113, p. 225
  9. ^ Karl Retzlaw : Spartacus. New Critique Verlag, Frankfurt 1971, p. 103, ISBN 3-8015-0096-9
  10. ^ Sabaton - The Attack of the Dead Men (Feat. RADIO TAPOK) [Live in Moscow]. Youtube, May 8, 2020, accessed May 8, 2020 .
  11. ^ Sabaton - New musical collaboration with RADIO TAPOK. Retrieved May 8, 2020 .