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WarChron - February 1915 - East Prussia - Poland - Galacia |
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The Year 1915
On 11 February, German forces took Serpets in northwest Poland, but were repulsed at Kosziowa.
On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarians reached the line of the Sereth River. The Tsar arrived at Sevastopol for a two day visit. While there he inspected units of the Black Sea Fleet. On the 13th he visited a hospital at Ekaterinoslav.
On 12 February, in Poland, the Germans occupied Mariampol and Kalvaria. The German 8th Army was progressing towards Lyck in East Prussia.
On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarians forced Jablonitsa Pass, rapidly advancing in east Galicia.
On 13 February, the Russian 10th Army was being trapped in the Masurian Lakes region. There was a general Russian retreat from East Prussia.
Count Sergius Vitte (Witte), President of the First State Duma died of a stroke at the age of 67. His death dashed German hopes for a separate peace with Russia. Since December the Germans had sent him various peace feelers.
Between 14-17 February, the German 8th Army captured Lyck in heavy fighting, taking 5,000 prisoners. Lyck was defended by the III Siberian Corps, which escaped encirclement and withdrew via Augustow behind marshes of the upper Bobr River. The Germans cleared all Russians from East Prussia. It was not long before the Kaiser visited Lyck to award medals and receive the cheers of his troops.
On the Southwest Front, the Russians were holding their ground in the west Carpathians. The Austro-Hungarians took Nadworna in east Galicia.
On 15 February, on the Northwest Front, the German 10th Army reached Suwalki. The Russian 10th Army's XX Corps was virtually surrounded at Augustovo, but continued to hold its lines. The German 8th Army continued moving on Osowiec, but was stalled by very strong Russian resistance and heavy snow drifts.
The Tsar returned to Tsarskoe Selo, and heard rumors of plans to assassinate Rasputin.
General P.A. Pleve's Russian 12th Army, with Guard, IV Siberian, II Siberian, V and III Caucasian Corps, was ordered to abandon their offensive toward East Prussia and rush north to assist the Russian 10th Army.
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The Year 1915
The Russian 1st Army moved elements north to resist Germans under von Gallwitz in north Poland. The Germans moved Oberost HQ from Posen to Lotzen to be closer to the front action. The Russian UEVK (Squadron of Flying Ships) carried out the first combat mission from their airfield at Yablonna, north of Warsaw, with one of Sikorskiy's Il'ya Muromets four-engine bombers hitting military targets in East Prussia.
On 16 February, there was continued heavy fighting on the East Prussian frontier. The Russian 9th Army was falling back on the Niemen River. There were further German advances at Kosziowa.
On 16 February, the Russian 1st Army, HQ at Yablonna near Warsaw, composed of the XIX, XXVII, I Turkestan, and I Siberian Corps, led by General Litvinov, was holding a line from Rozhan to the Lower Vistula, west of Warsaw.
The Russian 2nd Army, HQ at Rozhan, headed by General V.V. Smirnov, divided the front west of Warsaw with the Russian 5th Army, commanded by General A.E. Churin, which was holding a line from the lower Vistula to the Pilitsa River.
On the Southwest Front, von Pflanzer-Baltin's Austro-Hungarian 7th Army captured Kolemea in the Bukovina.
On 17 February, in northwest Poland, the Russians were defeated on the line Plotsk – Ratsionzh. The Germans occupied Plotsk. On the Baltic coast, the Germans captured Memel.
On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army took Czernowitz, capturing 60,000 Russian troops. There was very heavy fighting near Nadworna and Kolomea.
The Russian Supreme War Council ordered the Black Sea Fleet not to leave Sevastopol unless the Allied attack on the Dardanelles required it.
On 18 February, on the Northwest Front, the German 10th Army was pushing closer to Grodno. General von Pappritz's German forces seized Tauroggen. Violent snowstorms alternating with thaws made roads almost impassable with mud and floods.
On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army opened an offensive against the Russian 3rd Army on the Dunajec River near Tarnow.
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The Year 1915
On 18 February, on the Caucasian Front, Turkish troops began the massacre of Armenian civilians, as some had provided assistance to the Russians.
On 19 February, the Russian 10th Army attempted a counter-offensive on the East Prussian frontier. The German 8th Army was engaged in heavy fighting from Lomzha to Osovets.
On the Southwest Front, Austro-Hungarian units attempting sorties from Przemysl were repulsed. The Austro-Hungarian offensive on the Dunajec was checked after a slight advance, while the Russians were forced to retreat near Nadworna.
On 20 February, Russian seaplane carrier Orlitsa was commissioned in the Baltic Sea Fleet. She could accommodate up to four flying boats, and was used primarily as a harbor seaplane tender.
On the Northwest Front, the Russians turned back German attacks at Kosziowa.
On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army took Stanislau in the Carpathians, marking the end of the Austrian offensive.
On the Turkish Front, Allied warships continued their bombardment of the Dardanelles forts, but due to four days of heavy storms it was halted. The Russians are very much hoping for an allied success at the Dardanelles. After the Turks had time to reinforce their defenses they beat back a more serious British naval effort on 18 March.
On 21 February, on the Northwest Front, the Russian 10th Army's XX Corps surrendered in the forest of Augustow. The XX Corps courageous defense enabled three other Russian Corps to escape encirclement. The Germans had advanced 112 km in fourteen days. Russian 10th Army commander General F.V. Sivers was discredited. During the German offensive the Russians lost some 200,000 men, including 90,000 as prisoners.
On the Caucasian Front, the Russians drove the Turks back across the Ichkalen River.
On 22 February, General P.A. Pleve's newly formed Russian 12th Army counterattacked between the Narew River and the East Prussian frontier near Lomzha and Plotsk. The action brought the German 8th Army advance in the Masurian district to a halt.
In north Poland, there was heavy fighting along the front, especially near Przasnysz, where strong German attacks by von Gallwitz were repulsed.
In Poland, the Russian 1st Army was holding a line from Prazasnysz to the Orzhits River, west and northwest of Warsaw.
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