The Battle of Łomża was a series of large-scale battles between the Imperial German and Imperial Russian armies in the spring of 1915 on the territory of modern Poland and Lithuania. The Russians were able to repulse the Second German offensive on Przasnysz, but the Imperial German army also repulsed several major offensives of the Russian army.
Background After repelling the German offensive on the Bobr and Narew rivers, the chief of staff of the North-Western Front, Nikolai Ruzsky, had to develop success and return to the January plan for the invasion at Germany. On the night of February 27, the commander of the 1st Army, Cavalry General Alexander Litvinov, sent Ruzsky proposals for the development of the operation - an attack on Willenberg and Janowo, which was supposed to improve the situation of the entire front. But in order to provide from Płock and Mława and support the offensive itself with the forces of two Siberian army corps and the 38th Infantry Division, Litvinov asked to reinforce 1st Army with a fresh division, and preferably a corps.Стратегический очерк войны 1914-1918 гг.,1922, volume 3. p. 77
At Russian Headquarters, by this time, they had abandoned the development of a new offensive within East Prussia. On March 1, Infantry General Nikolai Yanushkevich announced to Ruzsky: no longer be drawn into East Prussia, but deliver strong short blows, pursue only to the border and in no case weaken the armies on the left bank of the Vistula. On March 2, Ruzsky gave a directive on the general offensive of the armies of the front: the 10th to Lipsk and Sopotskin to clear the Augustów Primeval Forest from the Germans and a possible exit to Augustów, Kalvarija and Suwałki; 12th - from Łomża and Novogrod, 1st - to Mława and Khorzhel. The 2nd and 5th Armies were to hold positions on Bzura, Rawka and Pilica. At the same time, the commander-in-chief did not lose hope of capturing the southern part of the Masurian Lakes as a base for further actions. The balance of power was favorable for the Russian army.Вооруженные силы России в Первой мировой войне (1914-1917). volume 2. p. 37-38
German troops from the coast of the Baltic Sea in the area of the state border to Płock went over to the defensive in equipped positions. Taking into account the losses suffered, they were seriously inferior to the Russian troops in manpower, machine guns and artillery.
General Russian offensive in early March During March 1, regiments of the 1st Army Corps (22nd and 24th Infantry Divisions, commander General of Infantry A. Dushkevich) transferred from behind the Vistula arrived in the 12th Army. On the morning of March 2, they launched an offensive, but suffered heavy casualties from the fire of riflemen and artillery (only in the 22nd Infantry Division - 40 officers and 3,500 soldiers) and lay down 200-500 steps from the German positions in the hope of taking them with a night attack. Together with the 22nd Infantry Division, the 2nd Guards Infantry Division of Lieutenant General Pavel Pototsky advanced, which managed to take the high 74.4 south of the Chude village. In the detachment of Lieutenant General S. Savvich, the 10th Siberian Rifle Division took the Kierzek village, heavily fortified and defended by four Landsturm battalions and the 75th Infantry Brigade, captured prisoners (10 officers and 260 soldiers) and 2 machine guns. The commander of the 38th Siberian Rifle Regiment, Colonel B. Dzerozhinsky, died in the battle. 5th Army Corps moved forward slowly, also meeting with increasingly fierce resistance from the Germans. To strengthen the attacks, the 62nd Infantry Division arrived in the 12th Army, removed from the front of the 5th Army on the Rawka River.С. Нелипович, 2022, p. 113
Within a week, the Russian 10th Army was able to recover from the defeat in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. On March 1, the new commander of the army, General of Infantry E. Radkevich again led the troops on the offensive against Lipsk. The 3rd Siberian and 26th Army Corps, reinforced by the remnants of the regiments of the 20th Army Corps that had escaped from the encirclement, moved forward.
The advance of the Russian 10th Army did not meet with such stubborn resistance as in the plots of its neighbors on the left. As early as February 26, the commander of the German 10th Army, Colonel General Hermann von Eichhorn, concluded that it was impossible to attack two strong Russian fortresses with limited forces. He reported this to P. von Hindenburg and took steps to secretly withdraw troops from February 28 to a fortified position along the banks of the Bóbr River to Lipsk and the Augustów Canal.Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918 Bd. VII., 1932, p.277
March 2 E. Radkevich gave the order to attack. The detachment of Major General V. Maidel (1st Cavalry Division, 1st Separate Infantry Brigade) entrenched itself on the banks of the Neman River and began to restore bridges. The southern flank of the army was defeated, met by a counterattack by the German 2nd Infantry and 80th Reserve Divisions. Up to 900 Russian soldiers were captured, the trophies of the Russian 2nd and 26th Army Corps amounted to only 67 prisoners. On March 5, the offensive ceased on almost the entire sector of the Russian 10th Army. The Germans also suffered significant damage, and on the night of March 6, the German XXI Army, XXXIX and XL Reserve Corps were withdrawn to a fortified position along the Augustow Canal, south of Augustow and Suwalki.Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918 Bd. VII, p. 278
The 12th Russian Army, despite a significant superiority in forces on March 3–4, were unable to complete their tasks. The Guards, 5th Army Corps and Savvich's detachment fought stubborn battles for Błędowo, Lipniki. The offensive of the Guards Corps was also repelled. It was decided to reinforce the strike group with a brigade from the 3rd Caucasian Army Corps.
Second German offensive on Przasnysz The German 8th Army formed a section of the XXXVIII Reserve Corps (commander General of the Cavalry Georg von der Marwitz, the 75th Reserve and 4th Cavalry Divisions, the Königsberg Reserve and the 5th Infantry Brigade) with the task of pushing the Russians back beyond the Narew River and blocking the crossings near Nowogród. On March 4, the Marwitz group struck at the Guards Corps, knocked out the 2nd Cavalry Division from Lipnik. The withdrawal of the cavalry pulled the 5th Rifle Brigade along with it. The further advance of the German Marwitz group was stopped in stubborn battles on March 5.Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918 Bd. VII, p. 278
The troops of the Russian 1st Army showed themselves most actively. On March 3, 1st and 2nd Siberian Army Corps began fighting near Dębsk. 1st Turkestan and 27th Army Corps occupied Stump-Pole; a brigade of the 79th Infantry Division from Novogeorgievsk was introduced into the battle, but further movement was stopped by the Germans.
Taking into account the threat of a breakthrough of the front near Mlava, artillery general M. von Gallwitz, after holding a meeting with the corps commanders and with the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East, Lieutenant General E. Ludendorff, decided to launch a counterattack covering the flank of the 2nd Siberian Army Corps. The operation was entrusted to the group of Lieutenant General С. von Morgen, although he was more inclined to strike at the 1st Cavalry Corps, as being weaker in defence. Morgen's group was reinforced by two regiments of the 76th Reserve Division and the 5th Guards Brigade. The offensive was to begin after March 7.Gallwitz M. von. Meine fuerertaetigkeit im Weltkriege 1914/1916, 1929, p. 223
On March 6, the cavalry detachment of Lieutenant General V. Himetz, 1st and 2nd Siberian Army Corps again failed to break through the German positions fortified with barbed wire, despite the assistance of the 17th Infantry Division. 1st Turkestan Army Corps with the 38th Infantry Division again fought for the village of Pieńpole, which they lost at night. The left flank of the 1st Army managed to move forward, during the five days of the offensive, the 1st Army captured 10 officers and 727 German soldiers and captured 4 machine guns.
On March 7, the situation on the right flank of the 1st Army was repeated. Parts of the 1st Cavalry and 2nd Siberian Army Corps could not take Rycice and were driven back by counterattacks. The 1st and 4th Siberian Rifle Regiments broke through two rows of barbed wire at Grzybowo-Kapuśnik, but were surrounded and barely made their way to their trenches with the loss of 390 prisoners. The Turkestan corps captured Budy Sułkowskie, which was defended by the 61st Landwehr Infantry Regiment, but the counterattack of the 99th Landwehr Regiment drove the arrows out of the village and lost up to 900 prisoners.Gallwitz M. von. Meine fuerertaetigkeit im Weltkriege 1914/1916, 1929, p. 224
On March 8, the Morgen's group launched an offensive with the forces of the 1st and 76th Reserve Divisions and the 11th Reserve Brigade. During the day, the 42nd Infantry Regiment and the 5th Guards Brigade joined the attack. The attackers took a strong Russian position at Grabowo (2,000 prisoners). The threat of a detour and the failure of the night attack forced Generals V. Oranovsky and A. Sychevsky to retreat.
Continuing to develop success, parts of the Morgen group on March 9 during the day threw back Russian troops to Przasnysz. The threat of being cut off forced A. Sychevsky to begin withdrawing the 2nd Siberian Army Corps to Przasnysz. The commander of the 1st Army at 21 o'clock ordered to withdraw to the Przasnysz positions, and the cavalry corps to provide reconnaissance on the right flank and ensure communication with the 12th Army, stubbornly defending the crossings on the Orzyc. Following the Siberian corps, under pressure from the enemy, the Turkestan and 27th Army Corps retreated.
N. Ruzsky, concerned about the situation in the 1st Army, allocated two corps to support it: the 23rd Army Corps (3rd Guards and 62nd Infantry Divisions), which had already arrived, and the 2nd Caucasian, crossing the bridges in Novogeorgievsk (Caucasian Grenadier and 51st Infantry Division). By the evening of March 10, the Cossacks of the 4th Don Cossack Division managed to stop the advance of the Germans. Under the onslaught of the Germans, the Siberian corps again retreated to Przasnysz. Having captured 1,200 prisoners in a day, the troops of the Morgen's group occupied Kluczewo, Rzęgnowo.Gallwitz M. von. Meine fuerertaetigkeit im Weltkriege 1914/1916, p. 230-231
On March 11, the German troops of the Morgen's group continued to advance. The number of prisoners reached 1,400. After air reconnaissance detected the approach of Russian troops from Ostrołęka to Rusetsk (23rd Army Corps), the 3rd Infantry and 9th Landwehr Brigades were sent. The Russian troops of the 1st Army in the morning entrenched themselves in new positions near Przasnysz, forcing the Germans to lie down and dig in 1,500 steps away. Considering that 9 corps and 5 cavalry divisions were operating against his incomplete 6 corps and three cavalry divisions from the Russian side, Gallwitz ordered to stop attacks, go on the defensive and staunchly defend the achieved lines, preventing the Russians from leaving their defensive lines at Przasnysz.С. Нелипович, 2022, p. 118
On March 12, units of the 1st Army were already able to push the Germans at Stegna with the forces of the 4th Cavalry Brigade and the 8th Cavalry Division, the 15th Cavalry Division occupied Lipa; under dense artillery fire of the 2nd Siberian Army Corps, the Germans left Mchowo and Kijowice. The second offensive of the Gallwitz's army group on Przasnysz was stopped.
Offensive Russian 1st and 12th Armies