Siege of Przemysl

Siege of Przemyśl

Part of the Eastern Front during World War I

Przemyśl Fortress in 1915

Date	16 September 1914 – 22 March 1915
Location	Przemyśl, Austria-Hungary (present day Poland)
Result	Russian victory

Belligerents

Austria-Hungary

Russian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Units involved

Przemyśl Fortress Garrison

3rd Army

11th Army

Strength

138,000 men:
93,000 soldiers
45,000 impressed levy

300,000 men

Casualties and losses

203,000
86,000 dead
117,000 captured (including wounded)

115,000 total casualties (40,000 casualties were sustained in the first few days of the siege)

The Siege of Przemyśl was the longest siege of the First World War, and a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungary against the Russian attackers. Przemyśl (German: Premissel) was a fortress town on the River San and a Galician stronghold. The investment of Przemyśl began on September 16, 1914, and was briefly suspended on October 11 due to an Austro-Hungarian offensive. The siege resumed again on November 9 and the Austro-Hungarian garrison surrendered on March 22, 1915, after holding out for a total of 133 days.

In August 1914 Russian armies moved against both German East Prussia and Austria-Hungary's largest province of Eastern Galicia, straddling the present-day Poland/Ukraine border. Its advance into Germany was soon repulsed but its Galician campaign was more successful. General Nikolai Ivanov overwhelmed the Austro-Hungarian forces under Conrad von Hötzendorf during the Battle of Galicia, and the whole Austrian front fell back over 160 kilometres (100 mi) to the Carpathian Mountains. The fortress at Przemyśl was the only Austrian post that held out and by September 28 was completely behind Russian lines. The Russians were now in a position to threaten the German industrial region of Silesia, making the defense of Przemyśl of importance to the Germans as well as the Austro-Hungarians.

50 kilometres (30 mi) of new trenches were dug and 1,000 km (650 mi) of barbed wire were used to make seven new lines of defence around the perimeter of the town. Inside the fortress a military garrison of 127,000 as well as 18,000 civilians were surrounded by six Russian divisions. Przemyśl reflected the nature of the Austro-Hungarian Empire - orders of the day had to be issued in fifteen languages. Austrians, Poles, Jews and Ukrainians were together in the besieged town, that was hit constantly with artillery fire, and as the toll of dead and sick and wounded rose, and starvation threatened, so did mutual distrust and racial tension.

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