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Attack of the Dead Men

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Attack of the Dead Men
Part of Eastern Front (First World War)
DateAugust 6, 1915
Location
Osowiec Fortress, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (now Poland)
Result

Russian victory

  • German forces routed and withdrew
  • Russian evacuation on August 18
Belligerents
German Empire Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
German Empire Paul von Hindenburg
German Empire Rudolf von Freudenberg [ru]		 Vladimir Kotlinsky †
Władysław Strzemiński (WIA)
Units involved
German Empire 11th Landwehr Division 226th Zemlyansky Infantry Regiment
Strength

14 battalions

  • ~7,000–8,000 men
  •  • ~60–100 in the counterattack
Casualties and losses
Heavy ~800 dead from gas
(almost all present were wounded or killed)
Lieutenant Vladimir Karpovich Kotlinsky, commandant of the Osowiec fortress during the attack

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 by the Germans. While coughing up blood and often pieces of their inner organs, the Russians covered their faces with cloths and managed to rout German forces.

Battle

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Over twelve battalions of the 11th Landwehr Division, making up more than 7,000 men, advanced after the bombardment, expecting little resistance. They were met at the first defense line by a counter-charge made up of the surviving soldiers of a 13th Company of the 226th Infantry Regiment. The Germans became panicked by the appearance of the Russians, who were coughing up blood and bits of their own lungs, as the hydrochloric acid formed by the mix of the chlorine gas and the moisture in their lungs had begun to dissolve their flesh. The Germans retreated, running so fast they were caught up in their own barbed wire traps. The five remaining Russian guns subsequently opened fire on the fleeing Germans.[1][2][3][4][5]

The 13th Company, under the command of Lieutenant Kotlinsky, counterattacked parts of the 18th regiment along the railway and forced them into flight. During the attack, Lieutenant Kotlinsky was mortally wounded and handed over command of the compound to the 2nd Osovetska Sap Company Władysław Strzemiński, who, despite severe gas poisoning, with the remnants of the company entrusted to him, carried the attack to the end, using bayonet tactics to take possession of the 1st and 2nd sections of the Sosnya position. Kotlinsky died later that evening.[6][7]

The Russians did not hold the area for much longer. The Germans threatened to encircle the fortress with the capture of Kaunas and Novogeorgievsk. The Russians demolished much of the place and retreated on August 18.[2][3]

Legacy

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Russian metal band Aria released a song inspired by the battle, titled "Attack of the Dead", on their 2014 album Through All Times.

Swedish metal band Sabaton released a song about the battle, titled "The Attack of the Dead Men", on their 2019 album The Great War.[8]

The video game, World of Warships and it's developer, Wargaming produced a short film based in the events of the battle.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Petrone, Karen (2015). "7. 'Now Russia returns its history to itself': Russia celebrates the centenary of the First World War". In Ziino, Bart (ed.). Remembering the First World War. London: Routledge. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-317-57371-5.
  2. ^ a b Kauffman & Kauffman, 2016, pp. 112–113
  3. ^ a b Kauffman & Kauffman, 2016, p. 225
  4. ^ Buttar, Prit (2017). Germany Ascendant: The Eastern Front 1915. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing. p. 318. ISBN 978-1-4728-1354-1.
  5. ^ Cherkasov, Alexander А.; Ryabtsev, Alexander А.; Menjkovsky, Vyacheslav I. (15 December 2011). ""Dead Men Attack" (Osovets, 1915): Archive Sources Approach" (PDF). European Researcher, Series A. 2 (12): 1577–1582. Available at: European Researcher (Sochi, Russian Federation)
  6. ^ Svechnikov, Mikhail Stepanovic (1917). The defense of the Osovets fortress during the second, 6 1/2 month siege of it (in Russian). State Public Historical Library of Russia.
  7. ^ Menkovsky, Vyacheslav Ivanovich (2011). ""Attack of the Dead" (Osovets, 1915): Myth or Reality" (PDF). Cherkas Global University Press. 4.
  8. ^ "The Attack Of The Dead Men – Lyrics". Sabaton.
  9. ^ Osowiec. Attack of the Dead Men: Wargaming Short Film. Premiere with English dubbing!, retrieved 2023-12-05

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