AUSTRIA-HUNGARY’S LAST WAR, 1914-1918 (ÖSTERREICH-UNGARNS LETZTER KRIEG, 1914-1918) EDITED BY THE AUSTRIAN FEDERAL MINISTRY OF THE ARMY AND WAR ARCHIVE Under the Direction of Edmund Glaise-Horstenau Edited by Josef Brauner, Eduard Czegka, Jaromir Diakow, Friedrich Franek, Rudolf Kiszling, Eduard Steinitz, and Ernst Wisshaupt Translated by Stan Hanna Vol 2 (1915) FROM THE BATTLE OF LIMANOWA-LAPANOW FINALE TO THE TAKE OF BREST-LITOWSK With 40 leaflets and 36 sketches 1931 Publisher of Military Science Releases Vienna © 2005 Stan Hanna. All Rights Reserved. Austria-Hungary’s Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TO THE SECOND VOLUME (1915) I. The Situation at the End of 1914 and Start of 1915.............1 A. Summary of the Situation on the Various Fronts..........................1 B. Condition of Austria-Hungary's Land Forces..............................6 1. The soldiers and their equipment......................................6 2. The military leadership..............................................22 3. Morale...............................................................29 4. The national make-up of the Army.....................................32 II. THE CARPATHIAN WINTER, 1914-1915.............................53 A. The Pursuit of the Russians after Limanowa-Lapanow.....................53 1. The pursuit on 13 December is unsatisfactory; decisions of theleaders on both sides...........................................................53 2. Operations of 3rd and 4th Aus-Hung. Armies through 17 December.......56 3. The Russian retreat north of the Vistula (15-18 December)............63 B. The Last Actions of 1914...............................................67 1. Events south of the Vistula..........................................67 a. The Russians build a new front; Austro-Hungarian measures on 17 December..............................................................67 b. Actions at Tarnow and the Dunajec (18-20 December).................69 c. 3rd Army's offensive falters (18-20 December)......................72 d. The conference at Oppeln (19 December).............................74 e. The Russians begin to counterattack (21-24 December)...............77 f. Intervention of X Corps on the right wing of 3rd Army, and Pflanzer- Baltin's attacks through 25 December..................................83 g. Retreat of 3rd Army to the Carpathian crest and defensive fighting of the south wing of 4th Army (25-27 December)...........................86 h. Events at Przemysl and in Pflanzer-Baltin's Group through the end of the year..............................................................90 i. Deliberations and plans of the leadership on both sides (27-28 December).............................................................92 j. 3rd Army moves further back (28-31 December).......................93 k. 4th Army's defensive battle (28-31 December).......................96 2. Events north of the Vistula..........................................98 a. 1st Army's actions on the Nida (20-31 December)....................98 b. 2nd Army's actions at Tomaszow (19-31 December)...................101 3. The New Year's conference of the allies at Berlin...................109 C. The First Offensive in the Carpathians and the Russian Response.......112 1. The allies' new plans for an offensive..............................112 2. The aftermath of the December fighting..............................116 3. Preparations for the January offensive..............................124 4. Orders of battle on the East front, January-April 1915..............130 5. The Russian plans...................................................148 6. The offensive begins and breaks down................................150 a. The attack of 3rd and South Armies, 23-26 January.................150 b. Changeable actions by South Army and at the Uzsok Pass, 27 January-5 February.............................................................155 c. Brussilov's counterattack against the k.u.k. 3rd Army, 27 January-5 February.............................................................159 7. Measures taken to recapture the Mezölaborcz area....................170 8. Re-arrangement of the command structure in the central Carpathians and simultaneous events, 6-15 February.....................................173 ii Austria-Hungary’s Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 2 9. Pflanzer-Baltin's offensive to Kolomea-Nadworna (31 January to 16 February)..............................................................180 10. The Winter Battle in Masuria and its results.......................185 11. The basis for new decisions by the AOK.............................190 12. Carpathian actions through 26 February.............................193 a. The right wing and its attack toward Dolina (16-26 February)......193 b. Activities of 3rd and 4th Armies (15-26 February).................199 D. The Second Carpathian Offensive.......................................206 1. The 2nd and 3rd Armies make new preparations to thrust over the mountains..............................................................206 2. Events on the flanks of the allied forces, through 22 March.........213 a. Pflanzer-Baltin's actions against increasingly superior Russian forces (27 Feb-22 March).............................................213 b. South Army fights with varying fortunes (27 Feb-23 March).........218 c. Events north of the Vistula through 22 March......................221 3. The final attempts to relieve Przemysl..............................222 a. Results of the first attacks by 2nd and 3rd Armies, and the reaction at Teschen...........................................................222 b. The attack by 4th Army (27 February-17 March).....................224 c. Climax of the actions by 2nd and 3rd Armies (2-10 March)..........227 d. The relief attempt is finally shattered (11-20 March).............231 4. The fall of fortress Przemysl.......................................237 E. Ivanov's Counter-Offensive............................................250 1. Decisions of the Russian and allied commanders......................250 2. Increasing pressure on 2nd and 3rd Armies...........................253 3. The Crisis of 26-31 March...........................................260 4. Last actions of Pflanzer-Baltin's Armeegruppe and the South Army during March..................................................................267 5. The Easter Battle in the Carpathians, 1-6 April.....................270 a. 2nd Army pulls back behind the Carpathian crest...................270 b. 3rd Army holds off the Russian attack (1-5 April).................275 F. The Carpathian Fighting Winds Down....................................282 1. Brussilov's attacks after Easter week; the Germans capture the Zwinin (6-14 April)...........................................................282 2. Fighting ebbs in the second half of April...........................285 3. Results of the Carpathian Winter....................................291 G. The Transition from a Two- to a Three-Front War.......................296 1. Austria-Hungary's political-military situation in April 1915........296 a. The pause in operations in the Balkans............................296 b. Italy abandons the Triple Alliance................................301 1) Italy's military forces and plans...............................304 2) The Monarchy's defensive measures against Italy.................308 2. The Central Powers decide to attack the Russians....................315 a. Development of plans for the Gorlice offensive....................315 b. The intentions of the Russians....................................326 3. Orders of battle in spring 1915.....................................329 H. From Gorlice to Lemberg...............................................368 1. The breakthrough battle at Gorlice, 2-8 May 1915....................368 a. Deployment for the battle.........................................368 b. The thrust to the Wisloka, 2-5 May................................371 c. The capture of Tarnow and advance by Dukla, 6 May.................384 d. Continuing the attack over the Wislok, 7-8 May....................388 1) The Russians decide to retreat over the Wislok..................392 2) The allies break the Russian front at Krosno and Rymanow........394 e. Events in the forest Carpathians and in Pflanzer-Baltin's sector in the first week of May................................................396 f. The Aus-Hung. high command between 4 and 9 May....................398 iii Austria-Hungary’s Last War, 1914-1918 Vol 2 2. The Russians retreat to the San, 9-13 May...........................401 a. The Battles of Sanok and Rzeszow, 9-10 May........................401 b. The Russian counterattack.........................................405 c. The Russians decide to retreat to the San, 10 May.................412 d. Pursuit actions on 11-12 May......................................414 e. The Russians start to pull back west of the Vistula...............420 3. The recovery of central Galicia, 12 May-5 June......................422 a. Orders of both sides for continuing the campaign, 12-13 May.......422 b. The Battle of Jaroslau, 14-20 May.................................424 1) The allies thrust over the San..................................424 2) The Russians counterattack......................................433 c. The Battle of Opatow, 15-22 May...................................436 d. Start of the (III) Battle of Przemysl.............................441 e. Actions on the allied right