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Battle of Bolimov
Part of the Eastern Front during World War I
EasternFront1915b
Eastern Front, 1915.
DateJanuary 31, 1915
Locationnear Bolimów, Poland
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Flag of the German Empire German Empire Flag of Russia Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
August von Mackensen Vladimir Smirnov
Vasily Gurko, VI Corps
Units involved
German Ninth Army Unknown
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
20,000 casualties 40,000 casualties


The Battle of Bolimov was an inconclusive battle of World War I fought on January 31, 1915 between Germany and Russia and considered a preliminary to the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

Battle[]

The German Ninth Army led by August von Mackensen attacked the Russian Second Army, under General Smirnov, near the Polish village of Bolimów, lying on the railway line connecting Łódź and Warsaw.

The Battle of Bolimów was the first attempt by the Germans at a large-scale use of poison gas; the eighteen thousand gas shells they fired proved unsuccessful when the xylyl bromide—a type of tear gas—was blown back at their own lines.[1] The gas caused few, if any, casualties, however, since the cold weather caused it to freeze, rendering it ineffective.[1]

The failure of the xylyl bromide caused the German commanders to call off their attack. In response, the Russians sent 11 divisions, led by Vasily Gurko to launch a counterattack; German artillery repelled the Russian troops, who suffered 40,000 casualties.[1]

References[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Battle of Bolimów and the edit history here.
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