Direction of "dead men's attack"

Poland / Podlaskie / Czarna Bialostocka /
 First World War 1914-1918, historical layer / disappeared object
The Germans on August 06, 1915, on 4 a.m. dropped poison gas from 30 positions in direction to the fortress, and the Russian garrison even being poisoned, approximately on 9 a.m. rose to counter-attack in clouds of remained bromine and chlorine. The counter-attack was called by journalists as the "dead-men's attack". Approximately 60-200 (exact number varries in different sources) poisoned Russian soldiers from Fort No.2’s Position participated in counter-attack. They were supported by fortress artillery and many Germans died in running away from the area without taking combat. Probably such dramatic failure of tactical deployment of chemical gases in offensive, motivated German General Stuff to never use gas in WWII as it doesn’t offer tactical advantages for warfare even for the case when adversary has absolutely no chemical protection.

Gas has no advantages because even in case of protection causaities take place by negligence, so soldiers of the side who deploys gas are not rushing to enter into the poisonned cloud. When gas worked-out kiling all people in the place, the place is basicaly taken back by own forces in reserve (without gas masks) sometimes even earlier than attacking side self (with gas masks) who deploys gases will occupy the place. In all cases soldiers of the side who uses gas are NOT WILLING TO STAY IN THE POISONNED PLACE, i.e. seek any reason how to escape (in direction to "fresh" air) from the place they "conquered".

Finally, within this attack German had no good own anti-gaz protection and had huge causalities by poisonned, who went to attack too early. By irony, such germans got more lethal doze of chlorine (at 6 a.m.) than russians laying in clounds in Fort No.2, before they raised to counter-attack on 9 a.m..
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   53°29'20"N   22°36'46"E

Comments

  • The whole term "the dead men's attacks" appears in 1939 work by a soviet historian which seem to be a piece of propaganda invented to justify the annexation of the Bialystok region under the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. There are no other sources on this and in 1924 work these events are described as a counterattack of advancing reserves.
This article was last modified 9 years ago