Battle of Bolimov

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Battle of Bolimov
Part of Eastern Front (World War I)
Date January 31, 1915 Location near Bolimov, Poland Result inconclusive
Combatants
German Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders
August von Mackensen	General Smirnov Vasily Gurko, VI Corps
Strength
German Ninth Army	unknown
Casualties
unknown	40,000 casualties

Eastern Front
Stalluponen – Gumbinnen – Tannenberg – 1st Lemberg – Krasnik – 1st Masurian Lakes – Przemyśl – Vistula River – Łódź – Bolimov – 2nd Masurian Lakes – Gorlice-Tarnów – Warsaw – Lake Naroch – Brusilov Offensive – Kerensky Offensive

The Battle of Bolimov was an inconclusive battle of World War I fought on January 31, 1915 between Germany and Russia and considered a preliminary to the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

The German Ninth Army led by August von Mackensen attacked the Russian Second Army, under General Smirnov, near the Polish town of Bolimov, laying on the railway line connecting Łódź and Warsaw.

The Battle of Bomilov was the first attempt by the Germans at a large-scale use of poison gas; the several thousand gas shells they fired proved unsuccessful when the xylyl bromide—a type of tear gas—was blown back at their own lines. The gas caused few, if any, casualties, however, since the cold weather caused it to freeze, rendering it ineffective.

The failure of the xylyl bromide caused the German commanders to call off their attack. In response, the Russians sent 11 divisions, led by Vasily Gurko to launch a counterattack; German artillery repelled the Russian troops, who suffered 40,000 casualties.

[edit] References

Duffy, Michael (2005-12-22). The Battle of Bolimov, 1915. First World War.com. Retrieved on August 15, 2006.

Smith, Gordon (2000-12). Military Campaings of World War 1—Russia. Naval-History.net. Retrieved on August 15, 2006.