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The Attack of the Dead Men, or the Battle of Osowiec Fortress, was a battle of World War I that took place at Osowiec Fortress (now northeastern Poland), on August 6, 1915. The incident got its name from the bloodied, corpse-like appearance of the Russian combatants after they were bombarded with a mixture of poison gases , chlorine and bromine ...
Osowiec Fortress (Polish: Twierdza Osowiec; Russian: Крепость Осовец, romanized: Krepost' Osovets) is a 19th-century fortress built by the Russian Empire, located in what is now north-eastern Poland. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when it was defended for several months by its Russian garrison against German attacks.
The defenders were somewhat aided by fortifications from previous eras, including a major Imperial Russian-era fortress complex at Osowiec on the Biebrza River that was a scene of several battles during the First World War. It was partly demolished by Wehrmacht troops in 1939 before its hand-over to the Red Army.
At the end of January 1915, the regiment found itself in Osowiec, taking the perimeter of the fortress under guard. After leaving Osowiec, the regiment retreated to Grodno. During its defense, the soldiers expressed heroism, clearing the eastern part of the city from the enemy.
On 17 August, the German Tenth Army captured Kovno and the Kaunas Fortress. The Novogeorgievsk Fortress was encircled by the Germans on 10 August, and Hans Hartwig von Beseler's siege guns forced its surrender on 20 August. The Osowiec Fortress was also eventually abandoned by the Russians, followed by a German chlorine gas attack.
The Germans launched a full frontal offensive on Osowiec Fortress at the beginning of July; the attack included 14 battalions of infantry, one battalion of sappers, 24–30 heavy siege guns, and 30 batteries of artillery equipped with poison gases led by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. Russian defenses were manned by 500 soldiers of the ...
The Osowiec garrison was defending on the distant approaches to the fortress. Commandant Lieutenant General K. Shulman asked to send at least a few battalions. The 3rd Caucasian Army Corps was sent to the fortress, but the first battalions of the 84th Shirvan Infantry Regiment arrived at the fortress only in the evening. [16]
Osowiec, Złotów County in Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) Osówiec, Greater Poland Voivodeship , Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) Osowiec Fortress , Russian fortress built in the 19th century in modern-day Osowiec-Twierdza , defended during World War I, today in Poland