German troops resting in Poland. After withdrawing from southern Poland, Hindenburg came from the area southwest of Thorn to strike the Russians who were advancing towards the Silesian border in a flank attack. The Battle of Lodz and Lowicz finally brought the Russian steamroller to a halt at the end of November. A card from Der Weltkrieg 1914-1918, a 1930s German history of the war illustrated (or not) with pasted-in cigarette cards.
Rastende Truppen in Polen. Nach dem Rückzug aus Südpolen stieß Hindenburg aus der Gegend südwestl. Thorn den gegen die schlesische Grenze vordringenden Russen in die Flanke. Die Schlacht bei Lodz und Lowicz brachte Ende November die russische Dampfwalze endgültig zum Stehen. - Unter die schweren Kämpfe bei Lodz zählt auch der berühmte Durchbruch Litzmanns bei Brzeziny.Troops resting in Poland. After the withdrawal from southern Poland, Hindenburg came from the area southwest of Thorn to strike the Russians advancing towards the Silesian border in the flank. The Battle of Lodz and Lowicz finally brought the Russian steamroller to a halt at the end of November. - Among the heavy fighting in Lodz, Litzmann's famous breakthrough in Brzeziny ranks highly.
"The German corps, which were half-surrounded near Lodz, have succeeded in escaping at the cost of appalling hecatombs. The Russian plan failed at the last moment through the fault of General Rennenkampf who was lacking in vision and quickness of movement.The general staff has published a communiqué in the following terms :'The rumours in circulation as to the magnitude of our victory between the Vistula and the Wartha originate in private correspondence, and must be accepted with reserve . . . There is no doubt that the German plan of surrounding the Russian army on the left bank of the Vistula has completely failed. The Germans have had to retreat in unfavourable conditions and suffering huge losses. The battle is developing in our favour, but the enemy continues his stubborn resistance.'The public is grievously disappointed."
Entry from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia, for Saturday, November 28, 1914. Initial reports that reached Petrograd on November 26 spoke of a great Russian victory in the Battle of Lodz and the capture of 150,000 prisoners. The Germans managed to find a gap that was covered only thinly by von Rennenkampf's forces, and escaped the encirclement.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 201, publisher: George H. Doran Company
1914-11-28, 1914, November, Rennenkampf, von Rennenkampf, Paul von Rennenkampf, Lodz, Battle of Lodz
