On the Eastern Front in October, in the fortress of Przemyśl the Austro-Hungarian defenders were enjoying a temporary respite after a brutal period of siege and assault from Russian forces. Earlier in the month, troops from the Austro-Hungarian Third Army had forced the Russians to withdraw. But this would only be a brief respite.
By November 10, a second siege would begin following the withdrawal of both German and Austro-Hungarian armies. That winter would be a grim one for the Austro-Hungarians. The fortress would be bombarded ceaselessly and conditions would steadily worsen. Outside the fort, almost a million soldiers would be killed and wounded trying to force a way through the Carpathian mountains to relieve Przemyśl – many from hideous weather conditions and disease.
Part of Przemyśl today.
The last relief effort was in February, and after that failure the commander at Przemyśl was told that there would be no help coming. The garrison maintained their resistance until March 22, first destroying anything of value within the city. When there was nothing more they could do, more than 110,000 men surrendered, including nine generals. The loss of Przemyśl and the disastrous attempts to save it might have broken the back of the Austro-Hungarian army barely 8 months after the war had begun… and it would be more than three years before it ended.
The Designer and the Professor
Last year, Tannenberg designer Jos Hoebe sat down with Professor Alexander Watson from Goldsmiths, University of London to discuss the history of Przemyśl and the operations surrounding it. You can watch the full discussion on YouTube!
Four days remain
The Water and Blood 1914 campaign will be running for another three days, until October 31st. Currently the Entente have a lead of 91,000 casualties - will they manage to increase that to a lead of 100,000 by the end of the campaign?
It's in your hands!