Baranovichi offensive

Baranovichi offensive

Part of: Eastern Front , First World War

Sketch for the introductory battles at Baranowitschi in June 1916

date	July 3, 1916 to July 29, 1916
place	Baranavichy
output	German victory
consequences	Russian offensive repulsed, destabilization of Russia

Parties to the conflict
German Empire Austria-Hungary	Russia
Commander
Remus von Woyrsch Arthur von Brietzke Wilhelm von Woyna Johann von Henriquez	Alexei Ewert Alexander Ragosa Leonid Lesch
Troop strength
Army division Woyrsch Landwehrkorps k.uk XII. Corps 3rd Landwehr Division 4th Landwehr Division 5th Reserve Division 47th Reserve Division	4th Army Grenadier Corps IX. Army Corps I. Turkestan Army Corps X. Army Corps XXV. Army Corps XXXV. Army Corps

The Baranowitschi Offensive or the Battle of Baranowitschi in Belarus resulted in a loss-making defeat of the Imperial Russian Army in July 1916 .

prehistory

The eastern front in front of the offensives, Pinsk and Kovel in the Pripyat Marshes , south of it the Brusilov offensive and north of it the Baranovichi offensive

Almost simultaneously with the Brusilov Offensive in the southeast and the Battle of the Somme in the northwest and the Battle of Verdun in the southwest, the Baranowitschi Offensive was a large-scale offensive in the northeast, designed to threaten the Central Powers from all sides and the war to finish victoriously this year.

The German-Austrian Army Group Linsingen suffered heavy losses from the attacks on the Russian Southwest Front under General Brusilov in the Lutsk area . The entire front of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army had been overrun, whose troops were almost completely taken prisoner. During this tense situation in the southern sector, the Stawka also ordered the Russian Western Front under General Ewert to attack. The aim was not only to prevent the German 9th Army from clearing its reserves for the threatened section in the south, but also to tear down the central eastern front. The main attack of the Russian 4th Army under Alexander Ragosa northeast and south of Baranowitschi was directed against the front of the Woyrsch Army Detachment . On the southern section of the attack, the north wing of the neighboring 3rd Army under General of the Infantry Leonid Lesch had to support this attack by tactical advances against the front of the German Beskid Corps .

Location and locality

The fighting areas of the Baranowitschi offensive and the Brusilov offensive were separated by the Prypiat marshes , which both sides could hold with little troop expenditure and were unsuitable for far-reaching and extensive military activities.

Course of the battle

Alexei Ewert, Commander in Chief of the Russian Western Front

On July 2, General Ragosa had finished his march. On the north wing of the attack area opposite the kuk XII. Corps under General von Henriquez , the Russian 3rd Grenadier Division was in position to the north of Zirin. Behind it was the XXV, which was kept ready for pushing. Army Corps the Army Reserve. The III. The Caucasian Corps, with the 21st Division in the front and the 52nd Division in the second meeting, was set up against the line between Kartschewa and Serwetsch-Knie. Opposite Skrobowa the Russian had XXXV. Corps with the 55th and 67th Divisions. Then followed the section of the IX to Saossje. Army Corps (85th and 42nd Divisions), whose opponent was the German Landwehr Corps .

The Russian Grenadier Corps marched south as far as Lake Koldytschewo: with the 81st Division on the right, then the 1st Grenadier Division to the north and the 2nd south of the Krashin-Baranovichi railway line. Opposite the German 3rd Landwehr Division , the Russian X. Corps (9th and 31st Divisions) was deployed, reinforced on the left wing with the 11th Siberian Division. Behind it, the I. Turkestan Army Corps had been brought in as a breakthrough corps.

The main Russian thrust on July 3 struck the positions of the 3rd Landwehr Division in the Darowo-Labusy section. The northern Austrian XII. Corps was violently attacked at Gorodishche, the positions of the Austrian 16th and 35th Divisions between the Vygoda and Skrbowa were breached. The counterattack of the 5th Reserve Division mastered the critical situation on July 4th.

On July 5th, after regaining the lost Darowo Höhe, the situation of the Landwehr Corps could be regarded as restored. On July 7th, the 4th Landwehr Division attacked near Krashin-Odochowschina rejected the opposing breakthrough attempts . Between July 25 and 29, 1916, the Russian troops renewed their attacks, which the 3rd Landwehr Division were again able to repel.

consequences

For the Russian armed forces, it ended in the same way as the previously completed battle on Lake Narach : Despite multiple superiorities, the battle for Russia was lost with the loss of many soldiers.

literature

• Reichsarchiv (Ed.): The battles of the world war. Volume 9: The struggle for Baranowitschi. Summer 1916. Verlag Gerhard Stalling , Oldenburg / Berlin 1925.

Web links

Commons : Baranovichi Offensive  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Reichsarchiv (ed.): The battles of the world war. Volume 9: The struggle for Baranowitschi. Summer 1916. Verlag Gerhard Stalling , Oldenburg / Berlin 1925, p. 39 f.