Battle of Galicia

The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Battle of Lemberg, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely defeated and forced out of Galicia, while the Russians captured Lemberg and, for approximately nine months, ruled Eastern Galicia.

Background

When war came the Austro-Hungarian chief-of-staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf planned to launch an offensive into Russian Poland with his northern armies (the 1st and 4th). The Russians would far outnumber the Central Powers in the east (especially the Austro-Hungarian armies, which were Russia's primary target), Conrad believed that their best option was an early advance into southern Poland where the Russians would be concentrating their newly mobilized units.

Conrad knew that his German allies were committed to an offensive in the west to defeat the French in the first ten weeks of the war. Only the German 8th army would be in the east, where they would stand on the defensive in East Prussia. However, their alliance with the French obliged the Russians to attack the Germans promptly, so substantial Russian forces would be sent to invade East Prussia. The 1st and 4th Austro-Hungarian armies would advance into Poland without direct German support. By 23 August, 1914 Conrad's 1st, 3rd, and 4th armies were concentrated in Galicia along a front of 280 km (170 mi).

On 2 August Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a second cousin of Emperor Nicholas II who had made his career in the army, was made commander-in-chief. He had an excellent reputation for training troops, but had never commanded a field army and was staggered by his unexpected elevation. The Russian 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 8th armies were assigned to Galicia. The Russian war plan called for Nikolai Ivanov, the Russian commander of the Southwest Front, to counter an anticipated Austro-Hungarian offensive thrusting eastward from Lemberg. The 3rd and 8th armies would mount an offensive into eastern Galicia. The Russians could bring 260 trains a day to their front, compared to the Austro-Hungarian's 152.

Battles

Main article: Battle of Kraśnik

The Austro-Hungarian 1st Army under Viktor Dankl was moving in the north towards Lublin. Dankl struck and drove back Baron Salza's Russian Fourth Army in what would be known as the Battle of Kraśnik. Dankl's army was able to capture 6,000 prisoners.

Main article: Battle of Komarów (1914)

To the right of Dankl the Auffenberg's 4th Army, aiming at Cholm, drove back the Russian Fifth Army under Pavel Plehve in the Battle of Komarów, capturing 20,000 prisoners and inflicting heavy casualties. However, a planned Austrian enveloping movement around the Russian army failed.

Main article: Battle of Gnila Lipa

As the Russians were being driven back along the northern front, the Austrian 3rd Army and Army Group Kovess made a simultaneous advance against Ivanov's left wing. Along the southern front Ivanov had the Russian Third Army under Nikolai Ruzsky and the Russian Eighth Army under the capable Aleksei Brusilov. Brusilov and Ruszky routed the Austro-Hungarians so thoroughly that even though poor roads necessitated that the Russians halt for two days, the Austrians could not regroup to halt the Russian drive. This attack became known as the Battle of Gnila Lipa.

Main article: Battle of Rawa

With the entire 3rd Army and Kovess Group in full retreat, Conrad pulled forces away from northern front which he believed had been sufficiently defeated. In fact the Russians north of Lemberg were still a potential threat. Ivanov ordered Plehve's Fifth Army to attack and drove the Austrians back as they began to shift forces to the south in an engagement known as the Battle of Rava Ruska. The Austrian Second Army was quickly recalled from Serbia but it was too late and the entire Austrian front collapsed in Galicia and the Russians took control of Lemberg.

Results

As the Austrians retreated many Slavic soldiers in the Austro-Hungarian Army simply surrendered and some even offered to fight for the Russians. A total of some 130,000 prisoners were taken by the Russians by the time the battle subsided on September 11, while they inflicted 324,000 casualties. The Russians suffered 225,000 casualties, including 40,000 captured. The Russians had pushed the front 160 kilometers (100 miles) into the Carpathian Mountains, completely surrounded the Austrian fortress of Przemyśl and started a Siege of Przemyśl which lasted for over a hundred days. The battle severely damaged the Austro-Hungarian Army, destroyed a large portion of its trained officers, and crippled Austria. Though the Russians had been utterly crushed at the Battle of Tannenberg, their victory at Lemberg prevented that defeat from fully taking its toll on Russian public opinion.

Order of battle

Russian forces

Russian South-Western front. Commander-in-chief – Nikolai Ivanov, Chief of Staff – Mikhail Alekseyev

• 4th Army Commander — Anton von Saltza (replaced by Alexei Evert after the battle of Krasnik).
  • Grenadiers Corps
  • XIV. Corps
  • XVI. Corps
• 5th Army, Commander — Pavel Plehve
  • V. Corps
  • XVII. Corps
  • XIX. Corps
  • XXV. Corps
• 3rd Army, Commander — Nikolai Ruzsky – Staff officers: Vladimir Mikhailovich Dragomirov, Nikolay Dukhonin, Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich
  • IX. Corps
  • X. Corps
  • XI. Corps
  • XXI. Corps
• 8th Army, Commander — Aleksei Brusilov – Staff officers Anton Ivanovich Denikin (Quartermaster)
  • VII. Corps
  • VIII. Corps
  • XII. Corps
  • XXIV. Corps

Austro-Hungarian forces

• Army group Kummer
  • 7. Cavalry Division
  • Landsturm forces
• 1st Army. Commander — Viktor Dankl
  • I. Corps (Cracow) – 5 and 46 Infantry Divisions
  • V. Corps (Bratislava) – 14., 33. and 37 Infantry Divisions
  • X. Corps (Przemysl) – 2., 24. and 45. Infantry Divisions
  • 12. Infantry Division
  • 3. Cavalry Division
  • 9. Cavalry Division
• 4th Army. Commander — Moritz von Auffenberg
  • II. Corps (Wien) – 4., 13. and 25. Infantry Divisions
  • VI. Corps (Kaschau) – 15., 27. and 39. Infantry Divisions
  • IX. Corps (Leitmeritz) – 10. and 26. Infantry Divisions
  • XVII. Corps (formed on outbreak of war) – 19. Infantry Division
  • 6. Cavalry Division
  • 10. Cavalry Division
• 3rd Army. Commander — Rudolf Brudermann
  • XI. Corps (Lemberg) – 30. Infantry Division
  • XIV. Corps (Innsbruck) – 3., 8. and 44. Infantry Division
  • 23. Infantry Division
  • 41. Infantry Division
  • 2. Cavalry Division
  • 4. Cavalry Division
• Army group Kövess (later part of the 2nd Army))
  • III. Corps (Graz) – 6., 28. and 22. Infantry Divisions
  • XII. Corps (Hermannstadt) – 16., 35. and 38. Infantry Divisions
  • 11. Infantry Division
  • 43. Infantry Division
  • 20. Infantry Division
  • 1. Cavalry Division
  • 5. Cavalry Division
  • 8. Cavalry Division

Sources

• Tuchman, Barbara, The Guns of August (1962)
• Tucker, Spencer, The Great War: 1914–18 (1998)
• Nikolai Golovin. Great battle for Galicia