The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front (World War I) in the winter of 1915. The offensive was intended to advance beyond the Vistula River and perhaps knock Russia out of the war. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Republic of Poland, a democratic country with a population of 38,626,349 and area of 312,685 km², is located in Central Europe, between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and... The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... The Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... Paul von Hindenburg President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg (full name Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg) (October 2, 1847 – August 2, 1934) was a German Field Marshal and statesman. ... Central Powers is a term used to refer to the Dual Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria during World War I. They are so called because they all lay between Russia in the east and France and the United Kingdom in the west. ... The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Vistula river basin Vistula (Polish Wisła), is the longest river in Poland. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

Background

German Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn strongly believed that the war was going to be won on the Western Front and was hesitant to lend support to Paul von Hindenburg, commander of the Eastern Front. However Falkenhayn did eventually sanction Hindenburg's planned offensive. Hindenburg would personally lead the northern offensive in the area of the Masurian Lakes (site of the 1914 Battle of the Masurian Lakes). General Alexander von Lisingen would lead an attack against the Russians in the Carpathians aimed at Lemberg, and further south General Borojevic von Bojna would attempt to relieve the besieged fortress at Przemysl. The term Chief of Staff can refer to: The White House Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. ... Erich von Falkenhayn Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn (11 November 1861 - 8 April 1922) was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I. Falkenhayn was a career soldier. ... Categories: Historical stubs | World War I ... Paul von Hindenburg President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg (full name Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg) (October 2, 1847 – August 2, 1934) was a German Field Marshal and statesman. ... The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... This is about the terrestrial mountain range. ... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from suburbs). ... Croatian born Svetozar Borojević von Bojna(Umetić, 1856 - Celovac (Klagenfurt), 1920) was the first non-German field marshall in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ...

Forces

Hindenburg had available for the northern offensive the German Eighth Army, commanded by Fritz von Below. A newly created force, the German Tenth Army was also being sent to the east. Facing Hindenburg was General Sievers' Russian Tenth Army in the area of the Masurian Lakes. To the south along the Russian line near the Masurian Lakes was the Russian Twelfth Army under Pavel Plehve. Fritz Wilhelm Theodor Karl von Below (1853-1918) was a commander in the German Army during the First World War. ...

The Battle

On the 7th of February, in the middle of a snowstorm, Below's Eighth Army launched a surprise attack against Sievers and advanced 70 miles within the week, inflicting severe casualties on the Russians. The Russian withdrawal was disorderly and many of them were taken prisoner. The greatest loss came when the Russian XX Corps, under General Bulgakov, had become surrounded by the German Tenth Army in the Augustow Forest; on February 21 the entire corps surrendered. Yet even though the Russians had lost an entire corps, its heroic stand had enabled the rest of the Russian Tenth Army to form a new defensive position. On February 22, the next day, Plehve's Russian Twelfth Army counterattacked and checked the German advance. The counterattack ended any further German advances and brought the battle to an end. February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about a military unit. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Results

The Second Battle of Masurian Lakes ended the German offensive in the north. The Russians had suffered severe losses of soldiers and ground, but they had prevented the Germans from advancing far into Russia. Germany had also failed to come close to knocking Russia out of the war. Further south, von Lisingen's offensive had failed with the severe losses and the fortress at Przemysl had been forced to surrender to the Russians. Overall the Austro-German offensive of 1915 had failed in its major objectives. The German high command ended operations in which Germans operated as an independent force, supporting Austrian campaigns in the south. From this point on in the war, Germany and Austria functioned under joint operations in the Eastern Front. 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Sources

• Tucker, Spencer C. The Great War: 1914-18 (1998)
  
• http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/masurian2.htm