Siege of Novogeorgievsk

Siege of Novogeorgievsk
Part of the Eastern Front during World War I
Russian guns captured at Novogeorgievsk.
Date 10 August – 20 August 1915 Location Novogeorgievsk, Russian Empire (now in Poland) Result German victory
Belligerents
German Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Hans Hartwig von Beseler	Nikolay Pavlovich Bobyr
Strength
80,000	90,000
Casualties and losses
	90,000

The Siege of Novogeorgievsk was a battle of World War I fought after the Germans broke the Russian defenses at the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and approached Warsaw.

The Russians decided to defend the fortress of Novgeorgievsk (now Modlin Fortress) in Poland at the confluence of the Narew and the Vistula. It was garrisoned with 90,000 men when they evacuated Warsaw on 5 August. The German army led by General Hans Hartwig von Beseler approached Novogeorgievsk with 80,000 men including part of the powerful siege train used to capture Antwerp in 1914, six 16 inch (400mm) and nine 12 inch (300mm) howitzers.^[1]

Novogeorgievsk was surrounded on 10 August and the bombardment began few days later and was concentrated on the north-eastern portion of the defenses, lying north of the Vistula River. The German assault was helped after the capture of the fort's Chief Inspector with detailed plans of the fort's defences.^[1] After a heavy battering the Germans attacked 3 of the forts with 22 infantry battalions and captured two of them. The Russians were forced to the inner defenses north of the Vistula.

With no prospects of being relieved and with their inner defenses vulnerable to bombardment the Russians surrendered at the dawn of 20 August, losing 1,600 cannon and approximately 1,000,000 artillery shells.^[1] Casualties were approximately 90,000, which included 30 generals.^[1]

References

External links

• Media related to Siege of Novogeorgievsk at Wikimedia Commons
• http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_novo_georgievsk.html