Postcard of the entry of the allied German and Austro-Hungarian Armies into Lodz, in Polish Russia, after the Russians evacuated the city on December 6, 1914. A Russian officer, presumably wounded, lies on the pavement. The postcard depicts an Austro-Hungarian calvaryman and foot soldier leading the column of German soldiers, but the victory belonged to Germany, not their ally who was at the time being pushed back in the Carpathians and around Cracow. Illustration by F. Höllerer.
Einzug der verbündenten Armeen in Lodz.Entry of the allied armies into Lodz.Signed:F. HöllererReverse:Logo of a mounted knight117 - 1915
September 28 - November 1, 1914
Eastern Front
After the Russian victory in Galicia in September, German Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff created the German Ninth Army to defend Silesia, a mineral-rich, industrial region in southeastern Germany vital to Germany's war effort, support their Austro-Hungarian ally, and take the offensive against Russia. To coordinate their attack, the four Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Eastern Front shifted to the north, with the First Army north of the border in Polish Russia, and three armies in Austria-Hungary. On September 28, Hindenburg’s Ninth Army and the Austro-Hungarian First Army attacked to the northeast in Polish Russia, on a line extending from the city of Lodz to the border. They advanced steadily, and by October 9 had reached the Vistula River, and were approaching the provincial capital of Warsaw and the Russian fortress at Ivangorod.
A few days after the start of Hindenburg's advance, on October 1, the Second, Third, and Fourth Austro-Hungarian armies attacked to the northeast along a line from the Russian border southeast to the Carpathians. By October 7, the forces under Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, chief of staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army, were able to relieve the Russian seige, commanded by General Alexsei Brusilov, of the great Austro-Hungarian fortress of Przemyśl. Brusilov lost 10,000 men in the battle.
As the Central Powers advanced, Russia was reaching full mobilization. Anticipating having his armies at full strength, Grand Duke Nicholas, first cousin once removed to the Tsar and Commander in Chief of the Russian army, had planned an advance through Poland on the German capital of Berlin with seven armies, and had shifted his Fifth and Fourth Armies northwards in preparation for his offensive. He now used these forces to halt the German advance which had reached within 12 miles of Warsaw. The Russian Fifth, Fourth and Ninth Armies, 60 divisions with over 500,000 men, counter-attacked 18 German divisions advancing on Warsaw. From captured Russian orders and Russians transmitting in clear text or codes known to the Germans, Hindenburg and Ludendorff realized the extent of the forces opposing them. On October 17 they retreated. The Russians were slow in their pursuit.
South of the German line, the Austro-Hungarian First Army, having advanced to the San River, were also driven back by the Russian counterattack. Further to the south, in Austria-Hungary, the Russian Third and Eighth Armies pushed back forces under Generals Boroevic and Pflanzer-Baltin in Galicia and the Bukovina, and opened a 70-mile gap between the Austro-Hungarian armies. Germans forces sent to the area managed to stop the Russian advance into the Carpathians, but, under the command of Brusilov, the Russian Eighth Army resumed the siege of Przemyśl.
By November 1, both sides had resumed the positions they had held at the end of September. Austria-Hungary had lost 70,000 to 80,000 men.
Start Date: 1914-09-28
End Date: 1914-11-01
