The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
During the night of May 30-31, 1915, the enemy succeeded in
approaching within 200 paces, and at some points even in gaining a
footing in the precincts of Fort No. 7, around which raged an
obstinate battle that lasted until two in the afternoon of the 31st,
when he was repulsed after suffering enormous losses. The remnants of
the enemy who had entered Fort No. 7, numbering 23 officers and 600
men, were taken prisoners.
Since the 20th of May, 1915, the clearing of the road had been going
on; Von Mackensen battering the western forts and the river line as
far as Jaroslav, and Boehm-Ermolli struggling to force the southern
corner to get within range of the Lemberg railway. On his right, Von
Marwitz had become stuck in the marshes of the Dniester between
Droholycz and Komarno. The Bavarians on the north again let fly their
big guns against the forts round Dunkoviczki on May 31, 1915. At four
in the afternoon they ceased fire; the forts and defenses were
crumpled up into a shapeless mass of wreckage. Now Prussian, Bavarian
and Austrian regiments rushed forward to storm what was left. They
still found some Russians there, severely mauled by the bombardment;
but they could no longer present a front. They retreated behind the
ring. The Tenth Austro-Hungarian Army Corps now made another attempt
on Pralkovice and Lipnik. Von Mackensen's men captured two trenches
near Fort No. 11--"they had to pay a heavy price in blood for every
yard of their advance." Heavy batteries are also spitting fire against
Forts Nos. 10 and 12. When the curtain of night fell over the scene of
carnage and destruction, two breaches had been made in the outer ring
of the forts.
June 2, 1915, dawned--a bright, warm summer's day; the sun rose and
smiled as impassively over the Galician mountains, and valleys, and
plains as it had smiled through countless ages before the genius of
man had invented even the division of time. From all sides of the
doomed fortress eager, determined men were advancing; Fort No. 10 was
captured at noon by the Twenty-second Bavarian Infantry Regiment;
later in the day the Prussian Grenadier Guards took possession of Fort
No. 12; during the night the besieger's troops marched into the
village of Zuravica, within the outer ring. Austrian troops had broken
through from the southwest and also penetrated the inner circle.
June 3, 1915, dawned and again the sun smiles over Galicia and sees
the same iron belt of machinelike men still nearer the fortress; but
the haggard defenders, where are they? Gone! Flown! They have vanished
during the night. Austrians and Bavarians march into the town early in
the morning. The only enemies they meet are the dead.
Przemysl has fallen again--fallen before twenty times as powerful a
blow as that which struck it down seventy-two days earlier.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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