Battle of Augustów (1914)

The Battle of Augustów or First Augustow operation was a battle on the Eastern Front of the First World War. It was fought between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in September 1914.

Prelude
Following the retreat of the Russian 2th army in the Battle of Tannenberg, Russian forces found themselves defending the parameter of Augustów. The 10th army set up position at the bank of the Neman river. Due to the outbreak of the battle for Warsaw, the command of the Northwestern front decided to conduct an operation in order to secure the rear of the main army. The Russians pulled here the reserves of the 10th army, consisting of 9 infantry and 1.5 cavalry divisions. They were opposed by General Schubert's 8th Army, which numbered 7 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions, as well as Landwehr units. In general, the aspect ratio was the same.

Battle
Fighting erupted against the German 8th Army on 12 September as the German force attempt to capture the fortress of Osovets, other German units attacked Druskeniki, The fighting lasted 3 days and did not bring any benefit to the Germans, on the other hand, the Russians took advantage of the success and The counteroffensive began on 15 September. German units trying to form the Neman were overturned and the fighting began already in the August forests. The German chats were partially blocked and the 3rd Siberian Corps went to their rear, where the Germans were partially destroyed and partially captured. Further fighting was limited to German attempts to force the Neman, which ended in complete defeat, and artillery duels, in which the Russians won. According to one report in the Evening Standard, approximately 20,000 German bodies were floating down the Neman. The Germans retreated eight miles, with the Russian Cossack soldiers in pursuit, leaving behind wounded soldiers, weapons, munitions and convoys. This data is also confirmed by General Flug, who wrote that the German losses were no less than the Russians. The Russian trophies turned out to be 22 guns, several dozen charging boxes, a couple of cars, as well as 3,000 German prisoners. Russians were able to fully recoup their failures at the very beginning of the war, the situation turned 180 degrees, now the 10th Russian army has completely defeated the 8th German army and has already invaded East Prussia itself, occupying several key cities.

Aftermath
The battle ended with an important operational victory for Russia, the skilful actions of the command shackled parts of the 8th army, which helped win the Battle of Warsaw, and also invaded East Prussia, strengthening the positions of the northwestern front. The exact losses of the Germans are unknown, but they are extremely high, according to the participants of the battle, "The Neman was red with Blood after the battle" and "The entire German retreat path was littered with their corpses"