James Patton
On 23 August1914, the Austrian k.u.k. (kaiserlich und königlich) army boldly launched a pre-emptive strike in Galicia against the still-arriving Russians. Rawa was one of several individual battles fought in this action, which are collectively known as the Battle of Galicia, a large scale army-level engagement involving millions of soldiers.
At the beginning of the campaign, driving northward from Galicia, the k.u.k. First Army under General der Kavallerie Viktor Dankl (1854-1941) defeated the Russian Fourth Army of General Alexei Evert (1857-1918?) in the three-day Battle of Kraśnik that started on 23 August.
Click on Map to Enlarge
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| Positions of Austrian Fourth Army, Rawa Ruska, and Lemberg Indicated by Star |
To the right of Dankl's army, the k.u.k. Fourth Army under General Moritz von Auffenberg (1852-1928), drove to the northeast,where they met and defeated the Russian Fifth Army of General Pavel von Plehwe (1850-1916), a professional officer of Baltic German descent, in the Battle of Komarów during 26-31 August. As a result, Auffenberg’s army was positioned between the towns of Niemirów and Rawa Ruska. So far so good.
On Auffenberg's right, the k.u.k. Third Army under General Rudolf von Brudermann (1851-1941) was falling back under the combined pressure of the Russian Third Army of General Nicolei Ruzsky (1854-1918), later known as “The Conqueror of Galicia”, and the Russian Eighth Army of General Alexsei Brusilov (1853-1926), later to be famous as the architect of the 1916 Russian Offensive.
Auffenberg moved his four corps to the south and turned to the east to boldly confront Ruzsky’s five corps on 3 September. By 6 September, two corps of Brudermann’s army were were also engaged by three corps from Ruzsky’s army which had succeeded in turning Auffenberg’s left flank. As the battle progressed, the k.u.k. forces also faced increasing pressure from Plehwe’s reorganized Fifth Army, which threatened to complete an encirclement.
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| Depiction of the Fighting by Austrian Artist Anton Marussig |
In turning east, Auffenberg had opened a wide gap between his left wing and Dankl’s army. By 8 September, the situation for the k.u.k. forces had become precarious, as they were now outnumbered two to one. Nevertheless, they dug in at Rawa and continued to resist the Russian advances, particularly on Auffenberg's northern flank. It was here that the ‘Child Hero’ Rosa Zenoch bravely carried water to Auffenberg’s men. (Article HERE.)
Austrian Archduke Joseph Ferdinand (1872-1942), commanding a corps of Brudermann’s army, had only one division available to counter two Russian corps that were advancing from Komarów. To Auffenberg's north, the Russian Ninth Army of General Platon Lechitsky (1856-1921) had joined Evert’s army in its battle against Dankl’s army, and by 9 September, they were also driving the k.u.k. forces back. To the east, Plehwe's army had taken advantage of the enormous gap between the armies of Dankl and Auffenberg and, by 8 September, they were behind Dankl's army.
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| Depiction of the Death in the Battle of Lt. Herbert Conrad von Hötzendorf of the 15th Dragoons, Son of the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff |
On 9 September Auffenberg’s position had become untenable and he ordered his army to fall back westward to the river San, abandoning their defensive positions in the face of overwhelming Russian pressure.
At this point, the k.u.k. Chief of Staff in Vienna, Feldmarschall Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (1852-1925), finally realized the dangerous situation that his forces were in, and on 11 September he ordered a general retreat. This turned into a rout that did not stop at the river San, but continued for another 100 miles westward to the Dunajec and Biala rivers, not ending until 26 September. The k.u.k. casualties were estimated at 130,000 (including prisoners), while the Russian casualties were about 34,000. Never again was the k.u.k. army strong enough to launch an offensive against the Russians without substantial German assistance.
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| Victorious Russian Troops Ready to Advance |
Things soon got even worse. The Russian victory led to the fall of Lemberg (Lviv), while the Przemyśl Fortress was left surrounded and would later capitulate after a grueling 133iday siege. Over 120,000 k.u.k, Landwehr and Honved personnel were taken prisoner at Przemyśl. Rawa Ruska was re-occupied by the Central Powers on 21 June 1915, during the German-led Gorlice–Tarnów offensive.
Sources include: World War One Today, History Maps and The Vienna Review
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