World War I marked a huge departure from traditional warfare, largely due to the advent of tanks and more sophisticated weaponry. Among the deadliest advancements was poison gas, which swept through the battlefields, causing excruciating and horrifying deaths. During the Battle of Osowiec Fortress, German forces unleashed a gas attack so catastrophic on Russian soldiers that it became famously remembered in history as the “Attack of the Dead Men.”
Chemical warfare during World War I
Chemical warfare made its debut on the battlefield during the onset of the Second Battle of Ypres during the First World War. The engagement was fought for control of a crucial strategic area, and the Germans were determined to secure victory, even if it meant resorting to the use of a perilous and somewhat uncontrollable weapon.
At around 5:00 PM on April 22, 1915, German soldiers unleashed canisters containing a deadly mixture of poison gases, bromine and chlorine. The noxious fumes drifted across the battlefield toward the Allied line, compelling two colonial French divisions to abandon their positions in a desperate attempt to escape the lethal vapor. With no specialized equipment to counter the attack, troops were forced to fashion makeshift respirators from linen.
As a result of this battle, the British withdrew to a new defensive line. Soon after, poison gas became a familiar presence on the Western Front, despite being deemed a war crime under both the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases and the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare. Both sides resorted to its use and continued to refine the types of gases deployed, with the British using gas for the first time during the Battle of Loos in September 1915.
Among the most notorious gases used during the war was mustard gas, which made its battlefield debut in July 1917. While not as immediately lethal as chlorine, mustard gas had the sinister quality of being heavier than the surrounding air, allowing it to linger and cause harm long after its initial deployment, persisting in the soil for weeks. Its effects were savage, inflicting severe injuries upon the unlucky soldiers who came into contact with it, with the pain being described as unbearable.
Osoweic Fortress
In August 1915, Osowiec Fortress, situated in what is now northeast Poland and originally constructed by the Russian Empire a century before, became the focal point of fierce battles. Strategically positioned amid marshland, the fortress acted as a vital barrier against Germany’s expansionist goals, marking it as a prime target.
During World War I, the Germans launched multiple attacks on the fortress, enduring sustained artillery fire in response. Even the Russians recognized the structure’s resilience under such intense bombardment.
To penetrate its defenses, German forces crossed two trench lines before reaching the imposing walls and battlements, where Russian sharpshooters awaited them. This complex defensive setup enabled the Russian garrison to hold the position with only a small force.
The first major attack occurred in September 1914, when 40 infantry battalions from the German 8th Army, supported by heavy artillery, failed to take the fortress. Another barrage followed that winter, but the fortress withstood it. Despite these setbacks, the Germans were not ready to abandon their efforts quite yet…
Launching the Battle of Osoweic Fortress
Kaiser Wilhelm II was resolute in his goal to eliminate Russia from the conflict, prioritizing the destruction of Osoweic Fortress. In August 1915, he committed many resources to the operation. Although artillery played a role, the strategy centered on a key figure: Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. He was accompanied by 14 infantry battalions, a sapper battalion, 30 artillery batteries, and 24 to 30 heavy siege guns.
With approximately 900 Russian defenders up against an estimated 7,000 Germans, the odds appeared insurmountable. Yet, the robust design of Osoweic Fortress had shielded the defenders before, offering hope it could endure once more. This time, however, the Russians were confronted with an unprecedented threat—a deadly weapon engineered for maximum devastation.
Deploying chlorine gas on the battlefield
Paul von Hindenburg wasn’t just equipped with bullets and bombs—he had thirty canisters of chlorine gas ready to unleash upon the fortress, intending to force the enemy out. The only thing left to do was wait for the right weather. When the wind shifted in the correct direction at 4:00 AM on August 6, 1915, the horrific attack started.
Even before the chlorine reached the Osoweic Fortress, its devastating impact was already evident. The gas seemed like something straight out of a nightmare. Accounts describe a green and yellow cloud ominously moving toward the Russians, darkening the grass—if it could do that to the grass, think of the destruction it would wreak on the soldiers’ lungs.
This tactic succeeded because the Russians had no protection against chemical warfare. As the toxic gas enveloped the fortress, soldiers reportedly covered their faces with undershirts soaked in either water or urine.
Attack of the Dead Men
What happens when chlorine gas is inhaled? It combines with the body’s moisture to produce hydrochloric acid. Essentially, the Russians were being consumed from within by the very air they breathed. With such a deadly weapon, it seemed their fate was sealed. Many perished due to Paul von Hindenburg’s ruthless tactic, but they were far from defeated, as the Germans were about to discover.
Lt. Vladimir Kotlinsky was unwavering in his mission to drive back the enemy. He and 60 other men suffered horribly, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages and coughing up bits of their lungs as the acid ravaged their bodies. Yet, they still charged at the Germans as they breached the fortress.
It became a slaughter—but for the Germans. From the perspective of the Kaiser’s elite, they were facing what seemed like an army of the undead. The sight was so horrifying that they retreated in terror. Some were so overwhelmed with fear that they ran straight into barbed wire.
What happened to Osoweic Fortress after the Attack of the Dead Men?
Osoweic Fortress fell following the Attack of the Dead Men, but not by German hands. The Russians later took it apart themselves that month, when they realized the situation was hopeless. The soldiers that day managed to cheat death, if only briefly, to repel the enemy and maintain their might for as long as humanly possible.
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While he’d led a fierce resistance against the Germans, Vladimir Karpovich perished later that evening. Prior to his death, he’d transferred control of Osoweic Fortress to the 2nd Osovetska Sap Company and Władysław Strzemiński, who himself had been severely injured in the attack.
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