On August 6, 1915, the defenders of the Russian fortress of Osovets threw back the German troops, who used poisonous gases against them and then went over to the attack. The actions of the 13th company of the 226th Zemlyansky regiment in the direction of the main attack of the German units were later called "attack of the dead" by historians.
Defense of Osovets
“In the second half of the 19th century, it became obvious to the Russian authorities that a major war in the west was practically inevitable. In this regard, the construction of fortifications has intensified in the border regions. One of such complexes of fortifications was the Osovets fortress, erected to cover the crossing of the Bobr River. The only convenient road from East Prussia to the center of Russia passed here, "Andrei Koshkin, a full member of the Academy of Military Sciences, told RT.
According to him, at the beginning of the First World War, the fortress was located in the rear of the Russian army, but the unsuccessful course of hostilities soon changed the situation. Russian troops retreated, and one of the sections of the front line passed in the area of the Bobr River.
In September 1914, German forces reached the Osovets fortress. Its garrison was small, and it was not even enough to close all the firing positions.
At the end of September, the Germans subjected Osovets to a powerful artillery bombardment and forced the Russian troops to leave the Sosnenskaya position (a part of the fortress's fortification system advanced forward). However, thanks to the courage of its defenders, the fortress itself survived. Soon, the 1st and 10th Russian armies drove the Germans back.
"The Osovets fortress, shelled by numerous large-caliber artillery, put up a courageous rebuff to the advancing enemy, who was pushed aside by the joint actions of the field troops and the fortress garrison," - said the congratulatory order of the commander of the 10th Army, General Vasily Flug.
In October 1914, Emperor Nicholas II visited Osovets.
- Fortress Osovets. Fort number 1
- © Henryk Borawski / Wikimedia Commons
In February 1915, the Germans again approached Osovets. On February 25, they began the second assault on the fortress. According to historians, Osovets was attacked by about 40 German battalions, defended by 17 Russian ones. According to some estimates, about 200 thousand shells were fired at the fortress. However, Osovets held out again, and the Germans switched to positional combat in this sector of the front.
"Attack of the Dead"
In the summer of 1915, the German army launched a new offensive. According to Andrei Koshkin, at this time the military importance of Osovets increased, as the fortress covered the road leading to the rear of the Russian troops. It was extremely important for the Germans to break through the Russian defenses in this place.
“The German command decided to act for sure. Cylinders with poisonous gases - chlorine and bromine - were delivered to the position of the German troops in the Osovets area. The Germans were only waiting for the wind they needed, ”the expert emphasized.
On August 6, 1915, the wind blew in the direction of the fortress. The Germans fired toxic substances towards Osovets and began shelling the Russian positions.
“According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the gas wave passed into the depth of the location of the Russian units for about 20 km, on its way it poisoned all living things - people, animals, plants. A significant part of the Russian military defending Osovets was killed, especially at the front lines. More than 1600 soldiers of the garrison of the fortress were immediately out of action, and almost everyone received a dose of toxic substances. Several mouths died almost completely, ”said Koshkin.
14 assault groups of the 18th Landwehr (formed from reserve soldiers) regiment moved to the attack on the Russian positions. As the expert noted, the German military was confident that practically no one survived after the gas attack, and they hoped to take the positions of the Russian troops without a fight.
However, several companies from among the defenders of Osovets, despite severe poisoning and significant losses, were able to resist the advancing Germans.
- German gas battery prepares to attack
- © berluki.ru
“The 13th company of the 226th infantry Zemlyansky regiment showed the greatest courage in repelling the German attack. She met the Germans in the direction of the main attack of their assault groups - in the area of the railway. Despite the fact that only about 60 people from the company were on their feet, it went with hostility to the enemy. Actually, this event is most often called the "attack of the dead," "said Koshkin.
The 13th company in the battle on August 6 was commanded by the military topographer Second Lieutenant Vladimir Kotlinsky. After he was mortally wounded, the 13th company was headed by second lieutenant-sapper Vladislav Strzheminsky. Under his command, the company expelled the German military from previously captured Russian positions. The soldiers of the 14th company also distinguished themselves in battle.
“Later, this fight was overgrown in literature and the media with many artistic details, such as 'parts of the lungs falling on the gymnastics', running and shouting 'hurray'. This is, of course, an exaggeration. It is unlikely that the people who survived the severe poisoning were before solemn exclamations. But even without such dramatic details, it was a huge feat, ”said Andrey Koshkin.
- Lieutenant V.K. Kotlinsky
- © Wikimedia Commons
According to him, about two weeks after the "attack of the dead" the Russian troops had to leave the Osovets fortress due to the displacement of the front line. Nevertheless, the events of August 6 made it possible at a difficult moment of hostilities to hold positions and prevent the enemy from breaking through to the rear of the Russian troops.
Historians are still arguing about what allowed the German troops to flee.
“The attack was drowned, but not only as a result of the counterattack of the“ dead ”. Firstly, the gas dissipated quickly enough, and secondly, the artillery was actively working, which supported those two companies that launched a counterattack, "Konstantin Pakhalyuk, an expert from the scientific department of the Russian Military Historical Society, said in an interview with RT.
- "Destroyed casemates of Osovets". German photo, August-September 1915.
- © Wikimedia Commons
In turn, Andrei Koshkin notes that the psychological effect of the appearance in front of the German soldiers of Russian servicemen, whom they already considered dead, cannot be disregarded.
“The very name“ attack of the dead ”did not appear out of nowhere. In general, this story, unfortunately, has not yet been fully investigated. We, for example, do not really know what the German archives say about this. I hope that the data concerning these events did survive the Second World War. There is room for new generations of historians, ”the expert said.
According to him, in Soviet times, the events in the region of Osovets were known to scientists, and were repeatedly mentioned in scientific and military literature. However, there was no large-scale coverage of the "attack of the dead", as well as many other events associated with the First World War.
Speaking about the defense of Osovets, Konstantin Pakhalyuk emphasized the high professionalism of the defenders of the fortress.
“From the point of view of military art, everything was done quite competently, the coherence of the actions of the infantry and artillery - this is military professionalism, and you need to appreciate it, and not the fictional heroism-bravery. The transformation of Osovets into a symbol of the heroism of the Russian army from a historical point of view is very successful: it was a mass war, and therefore it is more adequate to single out collective exploits than individual ones, ”he noted.
Andrey Koshkin believes that the history of the defense of Osovets in general and the "attack of the dead" in particular is one of the heroic pages of Russian military history.
“The events in the Osovets region on August 6, 1915 are an act of courage, a heroic feat of Russian soldiers, worthy of being remembered for centuries,” the expert summed up.