Battle of Augustów (1914)
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| Battle of Augustów (1914) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Eastern Front of World War I | |||||||||
 General Flug, who defeated the main German forces and occupied Suwalki | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Russian Empire |
 German Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich Vasily Flug |
Paul von Hindenburg Richard von Schubert | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
10th Army |
8th Army | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 9 infantry and 1.5 cavalry divisions participated in the battle[a] | 7 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 20,000[3] | Very heavy[3][4] | ||||||||
The Battle of Augustów or First Augustow operation was a battle on the Eastern Front of the First World War. It was fought between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in September 1914.
Prelude
[edit]Following the retreat of the Russian 2nd army in the Battle of Tannenberg, Russian forces found themselves defending the parameter of Augustów. The 10th army set up position at the bank of the Neman river. Due to the outbreak of the battle for Warsaw, the command of the Northwestern front decided to conduct an operation in order to secure the rear of the main army. The Russians pulled here the reserves of the 10th army, consisting of 9 infantry and 1.5 cavalry divisions. They were opposed by General Schubert's 8th Army, which numbered 7 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions, as well as Landwehr units. In general, the aspect ratio was the same.[2]
Battle
[edit]Fighting erupted against the German 8th Army on 12 September as the German force attempt to capture the fortress of Osovets, other German units attacked Druskeniki. The fighting lasted 3 days and did not bring any benefit to the Germans.[citation needed] On the other hand, the Russians took advantage of the success, and the counteroffensive began on 15 September. German units trying to ford the Neman were overcome, and the fighting began already in the Augustów forests. The German chats were partially blocked and the 3rd Siberian Corps went to their rear, where the Germans were partially defeated and partially captured.[5] On 18 September, a counter bayonet battle took place. Russian general Stelnitsky personally led the infantry into battle and he achieved complete success; the Germans retreated after losing 600 people killed, the Russians lost only 16 people.[6] Further fighting was limited to German attempts to force the Neman, which ended in complete defeat, and artillery duels, in which the Russians won.[7] According to one report in the Evening Standard, approximately 20,000 German bodies were floating down the Neman. The Germans retreated eight miles, with the Russian Cossack soldiers in pursuit, leaving behind wounded soldiers, weapons, munitions and convoys.[8] This data is also confirmed by General Flug, who wrote that the German losses were no fewer than the Russians.[9][10] The Russian trophies turned out to be 22 guns, several dozen charging boxes, a couple of cars, as well as 3,000 German prisoners. Russians were able to fully recoup their failures at the very beginning of the war. The situation turned 180 degrees: now the 10th Russian army has completely defeated the 8th German army and had already invaded East Prussia itself, occupying several key cities.[1]
Aftermath
[edit]The battle ended with an important operational victory for Russia, the skilful actions of the command shackled parts of the 8th army, which helped win the Battle of Warsaw, and also invaded East Prussia, strengthening the positions of the northwestern front. The exact losses of the Germans are unknown, but they are extremely high, according to the participants of the battle, "The Neman was red with Blood after the battle" and "The entire German retreat path was littered with their corpses".[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Oleynikov 2016, p. 65.
- ^ a b Oleynikov 2016, p. 64.
- ^ a b c Oleynikov 2016, p. 249.
- ^ Битва на реке Немане и разгром немецкой армии генерала Гинденбурга. - М., 1915. С. 16.
- ^ Oleynikov 2016, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Miltatuli 2017, p. 75.
- ^ "The Great European War. The Battle of Augustów. German Troops Crossing the Neman". Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "BATTLE OF AUGUSTOW GERMANS ROUTED; RUSSIANS IN HOT PURSUIT". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ Total Russian casualties are 20,000[citation needed]
- ^ 10-я армия в сентябре 1914 г. С. 256
Sources
[edit]- Oleynikov, Alexei (2016). Россия-щит Антанты [Russia-Shield of Entente]. Foreword by Nikolai Starikov. St.Petersburg: Piter. ISBN 978-5-496-01795-4.
- 10-я армия в сентябре 1914 г. // Военный сборник — Кн. V. — Белград, 1924. — С. 232—260;
- Miltatuli, Pyotr (2017). Россия в эпоху царствование Николая 2 [Russia in the reign of Nicholas 2] (in Russian). Volume 2. Moscow: Русский издательский центр имени святого Василия Великого.
Notes
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