German Field Marshal August von Mackensen posing for a photograph in his Hussar uniform, ca. 1915.

Today 108 years ago, on June 30, 1915, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians launched the Bug Offensive on the Eastern Front.

In May 1915, the Central Powers launched the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive and forced the Russians some 310 km eastwards, ending on June 22 with the capture of the city of Lemberg (Lviv).

The Central Powers realized an ambitious, renewed offensive might force a Russian surrender, thus a three-pronged offensive along the Eastern Front was planned.

In the north the Germans would attack in the Courland region, in the middle across the Narew river towards Warsaw, and in the south in Galicia between the Bug and Vistula rivers towards Brest-Litovsk.

Originally planned as a grand pincer movement to encircle the Russians, the offensive was reduced to frontal assaults along the line by German Chief-of-Staff Erich von Falkenhayn, who feared the Central Powers would overstretch their supply lines and believed the war would be won on the Western Front anyways. The offensive was given the limited objective of pushing the Russians out of Poland.

Under the command of German Field Marshal August von Mackensen, the southern attack in Galicia would be carried out by the Army Group Mackensen, composed of the German 11th Army, Austro-Hungarian 4th Army and the German South Army, the latter which would later be renamed to the Bug Army. Together with the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army, they amassed 41,5 Infantry Divisions and 5 Cavalry Divisions.

They were up against some 33 Russian Infantry Divisions and 6,5 Cavalry Divisions of the Russian 3rd, 8th and 13th Armies. Although outnumbered and poorly supplied, these were mostly fresh troops, and the Russians had no initial intentions of retreating.

On June 30, 1915, the Central Powers launched the Bug Offensive after a terrific artillery bombardment, which reduced some Russian units down to 1/3 of their strength.

Comments

THE TERRIBLE STORY OF THE LAST COMMANDER OF ONE GERMAN PANTHER TANK.

On this day in 1945, Americans capture the city of Cologne, Germany. The town had already been shattered by years of aerial raids. Now, as World War II was coming to an end, Germans began to flee before the oncoming American tanks. Yet the commander of one German Panther tank refused to go. Instead, he made a last stand in front of Cologne Cathedral, one of the few buildings to remain mostly intact. The Panther tanks were heavier and tougher than the American Sherman tanks. Indeed, that Panther soon knocked out a pair of M4 Sherman tanks, killing or wounding several of our soldiers. But Americans had another, newer tank: the Pershing. One crew was nearby and swung into action. Its commanding officer hoped to attack the Panther from a side street before the Germans knew what was coming. The move was nearly fatal. Inside the German tank, the crew sensed that something wasn’t right. The tank’s turret was turned so that its muzzle was aimed at the side street. Just then, the Pershing came

THE EXECUTION OF COLONEL HO NGOC CAN BY THE COMMUNIST FIRING SQUAD.

"ARVN Colonel HO NGOC CAN (1940-1975) Ho Ngoc Can was admitted in the ARVN Junior Military Academy when he was 14 years old. After graduation, he served 4 years as an instructor sergeant in the same academy. In 1961, he attended the Officer Candidates Class at the Dong De NCO Academy and was the distinguished graduate of the class in 1962. After commissioned, Can served the Ranger Corps as a platoon leader. He was promoted to captain in 1965, to major in 1968, to lieutenant colonel in 1971, and to full colonel in 1974. He was successfully commanding the 1/33 Battalion (21st Infantry Division), the 15th Regiment (9th Inf. Div.). In 1974, Can was appointed province chief of Chuong Thien Province, Vietnam south area. On April 30, 1975, he refused to surrender to the enemy. Along with his troops, Can was fighting with all his might, holding the provincial headquarters until 11:00 PM on May 1, when his forces were out of ammunition. In the last minutes, he ordered the

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII.

The Heroic Story Of Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Honoring Him For His Extraordinary Actions During WWII. U.S. Army Air Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jay Zeamer, Jr. of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on June 16, 1943, over Buka area, Solomon Islands. In October 1939, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December. His entrance to the program was deferred until after graduating from M.I.T. in June 1940 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Engineering. Zeamer began elementary flight school training as a flying cadet in the Chicago School of Aeronautics, Glenview, Illinois, where his leadership skills earned him the position of Captain of Cadets of Class 41-B. In March 1941, he received his wings and a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps after graduating from basic and advanced flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. On June 16, 1943, Zeamer

THE TERRIBLE ESCAPE OF WILLIAM DYESS FROM THE JAPANESE PRISONERS OF WAR CAMP.

The Terrible Escape Of , William Dyess From The Japanese Prisoners Of War Camp. On this day in 1943, William Dyess was able to escape from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Philippines along with nine other men, and to make his way through the jungle and to a ship that transported him to Australia. Once free, Dyess would be able to reveal to the world the atrocities of the Bataan Death March that had taken place after U.S. and Philippine forces surrendered on April 9, 1942. When the Bataan Peninsula fell to the Japanese, Dyess, as commanding officer, refused to abandon those of his squadron who could not be evacuated. He gave his airplane to another fighter pilot for last bombing run on April 9. Dyess also supervised the evacuation of Philippine Army Colonel Carlos Romulo, a close friend of General Douglas MacArthur, who would survive the war and would later serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly. Dyess was captured by the Japanese on April 9, 1942, north of

THE PAINFUL EXECUTION OF EDITH CAVELL FOR HELP THE ENEMIES EXCAPE SHE IS A BRITISH WAR HEROINE WWII.

Edith Cavell - a British war heroine. Edith Louisa Cavell was born on the 4th of December 1865 at Swardeston, near Norwich, the daughter of a local vicar. Edith trained as a nurse and would become the matron of The Berkendael Medical Institute in Belgium in 1907. She was also active in nurse training there. The first World War broke out in 1914 and at the time Edith was on holiday, visiting her mother in Norfolk. Her family begged her to stay in England but she returned to her job in Brussels. The city would fall to the Germans on the 20th of August 1914. Edith was allowed to remain at her post when the hospital was taken over by The Red Cross. Edith began rescuing and treating injured British and French soldiers and getting them across the border into neutral Holland from where they could return to Britain. She also assisted Belgian civilians. These activities constituted a crime under German Military Law. Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code said: "Will be sente

The Terrible Death Of Captain Ben Salomon The Dentist Of WWII Who Kill 100 Japanese Soldier In His tent.

The Terrible Death Of Captain Ben Salomon The Dentist Of WWII Who Kill 100 Japanese Soldier In His tent. Captain Ben Salomon was a dentist who wound up on Saipan in the middle of one of the largest mass-banzai charges of the entire Pacific War. Before it was over, he killed over 100 Japanese soldiers in defense of his aid station. In 2002, 58 years later, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “...serving at Saipan, on July 7, 1944, as the Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. The battalion was attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese soldiers. It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The enemy soon penetrated the battalions’ perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties. In the first minutes of the attack, approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked, crawled, or were carried into Captain Salomon’s aid station. As the perime

THE HEROIC STORY IF CHOATE HE ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AS A PRIVATE AND SERVED 31MONTJA OVERSEAS...

Clyde Lee Choate of West Frankfort, Illinois, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on October 25, 1944, near Bruyères, France. Choate enlisted in the Army as a private and served 31 months overseas in the European Theatre. By October 25, 1944, he was serving as a staff sergeant in Company C, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion. On October 25, near Bruyères in eastern France, his tank destroyer was hit and set on fire in an attack by German forces. He ordered his crew to abandon the destroyer and reach safety but then returned through hostile fire to ensure no one was trapped inside. Seeing a German tank overrunning American infantry soldiers, he single-handedly attacked and destroyed the tank. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 25, 1944. Choate was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946. In 1946, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. After three decades in the legislature, he retire

Honoring Gene Autry "Cowboy Entertainer" For His Services During WWII .

🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Gene Autry: Cowboy, Entertainer and Proud World War II Veteran "When World War II broke out, Gene Autry was determined to join the armed forces and do his part. On July 26, 1942, during a live broadcast of his radio show Melody Ranch and at the Pentagon's request, he was inducted into the Army Air Forces as a Technical Sergeant. Already a private pilot, Gene set out to earn his wings as a Flight Officer. After basic training at the Santa Ana Air Force Base, and serving at Luke Field, Thunderbird Field, and Phoenix Airport, he was eventually accepted for flight training at Love Field in Dallas." "A week after Gene was sworn into the military, the Gene Autry Melody Ranch radio show became the Sergeant Gene Autry radio show on August 2, 1942. The program was part of Gene’s regular duties in the Army Air Forces and still had his music, comedy, and action in a dramatic story but now with a military theme. The songs were patriotic, the comedy based on

Search This Blog