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Attack of the Dead Men | |||||||
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Part of Eastern Front (WWI) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
German Empire | Russian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Paul von Hindenburg Rudolf von Freudenberg |
Vladimir Kotlinsky † Władysław Strzemiński (WIA) | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
11th Landwehr Division | 226th Zemlyansky Infantry Regiment | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
14 battalions
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
Heavy |
~800 dead from gas (almost all present were wounded or killed) |
The Attack of the Dead Men, or the Battle of Osowiec Fortress, was a battle of World War I that took place at Osowiec Fortress (now northeastern Poland), on August 6, 1915. The incident got its name from the bloodied, corpse-like appearance of the Russian combatants after they were bombarded with a mixture of poison gases, chlorine and bromine by the Germans. While coughing up blood, the Russians covered their faces with cloths and managed to rout German forces.