Dead man attack

[vostok]

Osovets - supporting Russian fortress on the river in the town of Beaver Osovitse (now Poland) west of the city of Bialystok. Built in the 23 km from the border with East Prussia, it was intended for the defense of the strategic corridor between the rivers Vistula and Niemen-Bug. Fooling Osovets was not possible because of continuous wetlands, "In this area there are almost no roads, very few settlements, individual households are interconnected by rivers, canals and narrow path" (People's Commissariat of Defense, 1939). According to the plans of Russian General Staff, Osovets had to defend against German attack crossing Beaver and transport hub of Bialystok, taking that opened the way to Vilna, Brest, Grodno, Minsk and then everywhere: "The objective was to block the enemy nearest and most convenient way to make him lose time for a long siege or search detours "(SA Hmelkov, a member of the defense Osovets, later Lieutenant General of the Military Engineering Academy of the USSR). European armies moved by this time highly artillery ammunition, which devalued the existing fortifications, and the Russian Ministry of Defence has taken steps to improve the defenses of the fortress, brick walls of reinforced concrete. Objects built entirely of reinforced concrete and bronedetaley.
By the beginning of World on the south bank of the Beavers, 2 km from the railway bridge was a fort number 1 ("Central") - a defensive object in a hexagonal area of ​​1 km2. His main positions were inside the shaft height of 16 m (open artillery positions) and the outer shaft (infantry shooting positions) with a thickness of 50 m at the base around the moat was protected caponiers and filled with water on three sides. In the inner courtyard of the fort were barracks, arsenal garrison church. North-east of the fort on the hill was built Skobeleva fortified object. Shooting positions with strong reinforced concrete shelters for infantry company, equipped with two observational bronekolpakami. In the northern parts - a battery of field artillery. In the center - the only time in the Russian armored artillery bunker from the cupola of the system «Gallopin» company Schneider-Creusot under the guns of 152 mm. These towers are widely used in the fortresses of Verdun, Toul, Epinal and Belfort. There was also an ammunition dump for 2000 charges. On the north bank of the Beavers to protect the railway bridge was built fort number 2 ("Zarechniy") of 400 x500 m, surrounded by a moat with caponiers. Inside the fort were barracks for the infantry company and an artillery platoon. 2 km west of the fort fort was number 1 number 3 ("Swedish") to protect the river crossing, there is still induced by Karl XII in 1708. The fort was composed of one shaft with infantry and artillery positions. 3 km west of the fort number 3 has been erected concrete fort number 4 ("New"), surrounded by an earthen rampart with the shooting position and a deep moat. Inside there were concrete barracks, deep cellars with vaulted ceilings (shelter and Arsenal). Due to lack of funds to the fort in 1914 was not ready and served as a support facility. The castle was a hospital, weapons workshops and even a cemetery.

The First World War started. 8th and 10th German armies began to move from East Prussia in the direction of Russia. On their way was Osovets. 60 km front is holding 27 infantry battalions (19 army and militia 8), 13 hundred cavalry, and 26 field guns. The garrison of the fortress consisted of an infantry regiment, two artillery battalions (72 guns with ammunition 750-1000 rounds each), an engineering and support units. Arrows were armed with rifles and light machine guns Madsen obr.1902-03., Heavy machine guns Maxim obr.1902-10's., Turrets Gatling.
German siege corps was composed of 40 infantry battalions, an engineering and aeronautic battalion and auxiliary units. Thus, the superiority was on the side of the Germans. An even greater superiority was in the military. It was a siege equipment consisting of: 4 420 mm caliber gun "Big Bertha" (with a range 14 km), 16 305-mm guns "Skoda" (13 km), 16 210-mm guns (11 km), 20 guns 150 - mm, 12-mm guns 107 - total 68 heavy guns. Corps were assigned to the 7th Heavy Artillery Regiment and a few batteries of the 12th mortirnogo Saxon Regiment. The most powerful guns were obsolete Osovets 150-mm gun mod. 1877 (8 km firing range) and 107-mm gun mod. 1877 (with a range of up to 10 km). Already during the siege of Kronstadt came two long-range 150-mm naval gun.

The first assault

The first onslaught of the enemy launched in September by attacking the fortress infantry battalions. Edging out the field to defend Russian infantry lines, which allowed to shoot at the forts of the guns, the Germans opened fire on September 26. It lasted six days. The Germans went on the attack, but were suppressed by fire fortress artillery. The next day, two flanking the Russian counter-attack forced the Germans to retreat hastily. This failure has caused them to go to the positional actions. To prevent the bombardment of the forts, try to increase the distance Russian occupation of new positions in the 8-10 km from the fortress. After this, the Germans decided to "crush" the fortress sverhpushkami and began to build up its big guns, throw Konigsberg Osovets under siege mortar "Skoda". The enemy has deployed these giants out of reach Belashevskom garrison artillery in the woods for 12 km from the fortress.

The second attempt

February 3 Germans again stormed. Struck up a tough fight in the first line of Russian outfield positions. Foot soldiers in the trenches were kept 5 days. Under the onslaught of the enemy garrison command at night on February 9 led them to the second line. Over the next two days, despite the fierce attacks of the Russian defense held. This allowed the enemy February 13 to resume shelling forts. The fire was volleys every four minutes. During the week it was released 200,000 heavy shells, and all during the siege - 400,000! Most of them are absorbed by the marsh, river beaver, water ditches, but more than 30,000 shells hit the objects of defense. Russian commanders asked the garrison to hold out at least 48 hours, promising to rescue.
February 25th the enemy launched a new fire, which lasted until March 3. The main objectives were Skobeleva mountain forts number 1 and number 2. Shells kicked up huge columns of mud and water, beat out a ground whole craters; brick buildings collapsed, burned wood, concrete given huge cracks in the walls and vaults, a wired connection is interrupted, ruined highway funnels, trenches, machine gun nests, bunkers were razed to the ground . This is very impressed European correspondents, "is terrible view of the fortress, shrouded in smoke, through which, here and there escaped the huge tongues of fire explosions pillars of earth, water and whole trees were flying up, the earth trembled, and it seemed that nothing could withstand this fire, no one will come out of an iron Hurricane "(Major Spalek in the Polish magazine" Minesweeper and military engineer "). Fortress clouded cloud of smoke and dust. In dungeons it was hard to breathe. The situation worsened firing 420-mm shells were produced 30, the fort № 1-8. Top Osovets bombed by German airplanes.
It is extremely difficult was the work of Russian artillery. Especially active armor battery on Skobeleva mountain. On the same day, when the "Big Bertha" opened fire on the fort, two of them were hit by direct hits. The Germans were careless attitude to disguise the giant guns, suggesting that "Ivan" they will not reach. Guns found air reconnaissance, and agents confirmed this data. February 28 arrived from Kronstadt two 150-mm gun was hit by several bursts of "Bertha" and blew up the ammunition dump. It made a bad impression of the Germans so that they evacuated the remaining "Bertha" and more of them fired on the fort. Otherwise, the fight for Osovets could end up sad, because it could not withstand the dungeons of 420-mm shells.

The shelling did not return any results, the fortress did not give up. The second line of products also resisted. Having spent a huge amount of ammunition, the Germans stopped the bombing of March 7 and limited firing on batteries and rear of the fortress. The failure forced them to go back to positional actions that lasted until early July. Exploration denunciation of active fortification works. Digging in the afternoon and at night, they tried to approach the Russian trenches, and their trenches entangled huge amount of wire network, fearing attacks from the garrison. Osovets at that time lived relatively peacefully. Beaver spilled, canals overflowed, marsh swollen with water, the fortress was impregnable in every sense. But the commander said that this is the calm before the storm, and ordered to reconnoiter the entire front of the defense, strengthen and renew attacks fortification work, especially at the forward position (in the trenches), number 2 in front of the fort on the right ("enemy") shore.
"Attack of the Dead"

In July, the German army launched a major offensive, the purpose of which was still unconquered Osovets. The key to his defeat was the capture of field positions between n. § pine and Byalogrondy and fort number 2. To do this, the Germans pulled into a fist 14 infantry battalions (5, 8, and 76th regiments, more than 7,000 soldiers), one battalion of sappers, 30 heavy siege guns, 30 batteries (several thousand bottles) of poison gas. By the end of July they reached the trenches for 200 m to the Russian wire networks, dug in and camouflaged gas battery and waited for a favorable wind. August 6 was for the defenders Osovets black day ...
That morning at Sosnenskoy positions were 5 companies (1, 9, 10, 11, 12th) 226th Infantry Regiment Zemlyanskii and 4 companies militias. 3 interchangeable Company (8, 13, and 14-I) were in the fort number 2. Rely on the help of the fortress was not necessary. Barrage of enemy fire made ​​it impossible to transfer reinforcements on the right.

At 4:00 the Germans opened artirrelic fire to all targets, while having started gases. Dark green mist mixture of chlorine with bromine flowed on Russian positions and covered them in 5-10 minutes. Launched at the front width of 3 km gas wave reached the size of 8 km wide and 20 km in depth. In this "zone of death" killed all living things. The leaves on the trees turned yellow, curled up and fell off, the grass turned black and fell to the ground. Copper objects (parts of guns and ammunition, basins, tanks, etc.) were covered with a thick green layer of chlorine monoxide. Food without hermetic sealing (meat, butter, lard, vegetable) was poisoned. Russian units suffered heavy losses: all died 9th, 10th and 11th the company, from the 12th left 40 people with a machine gun, from the three companies to protect Byalogrondy left 60 people with two machine guns. Gas stagnated in the forest, lowlands and near water ditches. Secondary poisoning led to the death. Large losses incurred fortress artillery. People who were in the barracks, shelters, homes, saved, tightly closed doors and windows, abundant spraying water
After the gas attack on the signal 14 battalions of Germans moved to occupy positions burned. But when the German chain approached the Russian trenches, to meet them in a bayonet counterattack with a shout, or rather, with a grunt of "hurray" rose surviving defenders - the remains of the 8th and 13th mouth, a little more than 100 people. Barely able to stand, they still got to fight that seems to be lost. View them was terrible. With traces of chemical burns on their faces, wrapped in rags, they spit blood, literally spitting out pieces of light on the bloody shirt.
The surprise attack and the type of opponent plunged the Germans in such a fright that they broke. Three infantry regiments (7000 bayonets!) Herd rushed back, trampling their own. Entangled in the barbed wire the second line of trenches, many of them were killed by shrapnel Russian batteries. Concentrated fire on the first line of trenches, already occupied by the Germans, was so strong that they fled from there, leaving the captured guns and machine guns. By 11 o'clock it was all over. Sosnenskaya position has been completely cleared of the enemy fortress artillery suffered a fire on the German trenches, completed begun.
Thus ended the gas blitzkrieg on which great hopes. Gas was a powerful means of destruction, could easily compete with shells of high power. But the Germans, falling into a heavy knock-down, do not dare to tread. Although the situation was extremely favorable.
By this time the castle was held for six months. August 6 showed its complete helplessness of the gas attacks. It was necessary to take action. Intelligence reports that the enemy is preparing to attack using even more gas. However, at this time, the situation has changed. Russian army began to retreat from Poland, the strategic need for defense Osovets disappeared. The order came to evacuate. It began on August 18 and was not panic, according to the plan. Departing, the army and organized the evacuation of the civilian population. Anything that can not be evacuated, as well as the surviving fortifications were blown up. August 22 last left deserted fortress commander, Major-General Nikolai Brzhozovsky. Approaching the sappers half a kilometer away, he turned the knob fuse and Osovets flew into the air. Going on August 25 at the ruins of the German troops did not find any patron, no cans of canned food.

Dicke Berta