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Battle of First World War

The Battle of the Vistula River, also known as the Battle of Warsaw, was a Russian victory against the German Empire and Austria Hungary on the Eastern Front during the First World War.

By mid September 1914 the Russians were driving the Austro Hungarian Army deep into Galicia, threatening Kraków, and the Austro Hungarian invasion of Serbia was floundering. The armies that the Russian commander Grand Duke Nicholas was assembling in Poland were still enlarging, including the arrival of crack troops from Siberia, freed by the Japanese declaration of war against Germany on 23 August. Stavka (Russian supreme headquarters) intended for the forces assembled south of Warsaw—500,000 men and 2,400 guns—to march west to invade the German industrial area of Upper Silesia, which was almost undefended. On their Eastern Front the Germans had only one army, the Eighth, which was in East Prussia. It already had mauled two Russian armies at Tannenberg and at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. To support the reeling Austro Hungarian Armies, OHL (Oberste Heeresleitung, German supreme headquarters) formed a new German Ninth Army in Silesia, to be commanded by General Richard von Schubert, with Erich Ludendorff, transferred from Eighth army, as chief of staff. Ludendorff quickly evaluated the situation in Silesia and convinced the new commander at OHL, Erich von Falkenhayn, to strengthen the Ninth Army and also to make Paul von Hindenburg commander of both German armies in the east. By the end of September, Ninth Army, with headquarters in Breslau, consisted of the XVII, XX, XI, Guard Reserve Corps, Graf von Bredow's Landwehr Division, 8th Cavalry Division, and the 35th Reserve Division, with Woyrsch's Landwehr Corps linking the German Army with the Austro Hungarian forces on the right. According to Prit Buttar, "Several Siberian divisions were now gathered around Warsaw, and it seemed likely that these would march southwest to support a westerly drive by the forces of Southwest Front. In order to oppose this, Conrad and Ludendorff agreed, the k. u. k. Army would extend its northern flank north of the Vistula, and the German Ninth Army would then take up positions alongside." On 28 September, the Germans started their advance, while Dankl's First Army crossed the Vistula, reaching Bogoria on 1 October. On 30 September, the Germans reached Przedbórz, and Radom five days later. The Russian response was for Ruzsky to advance towards Kalisz, while Ivanov's Second, Fourth, Ninth, and Fifth Armies concentrated along the Vistula. The Russian Third and Eighth armies would remain in Galicia.

To face the threat from Silesia, the Russians withdrew men from East Prussia and from the front facing the Austro Hungarians The geographical barrier that separated the bulk of the opposing armies was the Vistula River. The Russian corps marching north to fill the gap moved along the east bank of the Vistula, which protected their left flanks. The troop movements involved both the Southwest Front commanded by Nikolai Ivanov and the Northwest Front under Nikolai Ruzsky. Their movements were poorly coordinated. To guard the crossings for their Fourth and Ninth Armies, on the west bank of the Vistula the Russians deployed the 75th Reserve Division (Fourth Army) at Radom, as well as the group of General Delsalle, consisting of the Guard Rifle Brigade, 2nd Rifle Brigade and 80th Reserve Division, at Opatów Klimontów. Both groups were screened by the Cavalry divisions of the Corps Nowikow. On 28 September German Ninth Army began a meticulously planned advance toward the Vistula River. German XI, Guard and Austro Hungarian I Corps marched in heavy rain toward Delsalle's group. Because German Army wagons were too heavy for the woeful Polish roads, submerged in several feet of mud, they used light Polish carts hired along with their peasant drivers. As they advanced they improved the roads and bridges so they could support heavy artillery and adjusted the rails to the narrower European gauge. (The Vienna Warsaw line was already European gauge.) Explosives were cached at road and railway bridges so they could be destroyed if necessary. On 6 October, Dankl's First Army cavalry had reached Sandomierz, and though the Russians lost 7000 of General Delsalle's infantry killed or taken prisoner near Opatów, the remaining forces had withdrawn across the Vistula. On 7 October, Archduke Joseph Ferdinand's Fourth Army captured Rzeszów, while Svetozar Boroević's Third Army advanced towards Przemyśl. On 11 October, Austro Hungarian troops captured Jarosław, and 5000 prisoners, but once, again, the Russians were able to withdraw across the San River. Three Russian armies were concentrating against German Ninth Army, relieving the pressure on the Austro Hungarians in the south. On 10 October, the Russians were ordered to attack from their positions along the Vistula. The Russian Fourth Army was deployed with its XIV, XVII and Guards Corps along the lower San and Vistula. North of them was the Ninth Army with the XVI, Grenadier, and III Caucasian Corps. Fifth Army was still be deployed north of them, while closest to Warsaw was the Second Army, consisting of I, XXVII and II Siberian Corps. On 13 October, Grand Duke Nikolai placed command of the Second and Fifth Russian armies under the command of the Northwest Front, responsible for the major thrust into Poland, while the Southwest Front tied down the German and Austro Hungarian armies along the Vistula. However, on 11 October, the German Ninth Army XVII Corps, under the command of Mackensen, was to attack Warsaw, securing the Ninth Army's northern flank. According to the Austro Hungarians they arrived too late to prevent the crossings. In any event, the Russians were able to bring enough men quickly over the river to force the Austro Hungarians to retreat to a line ,to the west. According to Max Hoffmann, the third ranking member of Ninth Army Staff, they pulled back without alerting the nearby German units—they escaped only because they were warned by a German telephone operator. In fact the Austro Hungarians did properly inform their allies

According to Buttar, "Both the German and the Austro Hungarian commanders attempted to emphasise that they had been forced to retreat because their allies had not delivered what was required. Despite taking an estimated 12,000 Russian prisoners, First Army had lost over 40,000 men, and had failed to eliminate any of the Russian bridgeheads across the Vistula." On 30 October, the Russians reached Łódź. The retreat " filled the Russian army with confidence in its strength to deal with Germany". Now Russian troops had beaten both Germans and the Austro Hungarians. But they dissipated their advantage by indecision about their next move and confusion in their administrative arrangements

On 1 November, Hindenburg was given command of all of the German forces on the Eastern Front. Mackensen was promoted as commander of the Ninth Army, the majority of which was deployed by rail to Thorn, so as to threaten the Russian northern flank. Yet, for the Austro Hungarian forces, in the words of Buttar, "All the gains of the October campaign were to be abandoned, and a new line would be held through the winter, running along the Carpathians and then to Krakow."