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Book Cover
E-book
Author Tunstall, Graydon A. (Graydon Allen), author.

Title Written in blood : the battles for Fortress Przemyśl in WWI / Graydon A. Tunstall
Published Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2016]

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 386 pages)
Series Twentieth-century battles
Twentieth-century battles.
Contents Introduction: Fortress Przemysl -- The opening battles, August-September 1914 -- Siege and liberation, October 1914 -- The second siege, November 1914 -- Limanova-Lapanov and defeat, December 1914 -- The first two Carpathian Mountain offensives, January to mid-March 1915 -- The third Carpathian Mountain offensive, early March 1915 -- Breakout attempt and surrender of the fortress, March 1915 -- Gorlice-Tarnov and after -- Conclusion
Summary The Tomlinson Prize-winning, "stimulating and informative" account of one of the most significant clashes on the Eastern Front of the Great War (Journal of Military History). Bloodier than Verdun, the battles for Fortress Przemyl in present-day Poland were pivotal to victory on the Eastern Front during the early years of World War I. Control of the fortress changed hands three times during the fall of 1914. In 1915, the Austro-Hungarian armies launched three major offensives to penetrate the Russian encirclement and relieve the 120,000 people trapped in the besieged fortress. Drawing on myriad sources, historian Graydon A. Tunstall tells of the impossible conditions facing the garrison: starvation, "horse-meat" diets, deplorable medical care, prostitution, alcoholism, dismal morale, and a failed breakout attempt. By the time the fortress finally fell to the Russians on March 22, 1915, the Hapsburg Army had sustained 800,000 casualties; the Russians, over a million. The fortress, however, had served its purpose. Tunstall argues that the besieged garrison kept the Russian army from advancing farther and obliterating the already weakening Austro-Hungarian forces at the outset of the War to End All Wars. The World War I Historical Association awarded Written in Blood the 2016 Tomlinson Prize
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 08, 2016)
Subject World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Poland -- Przemyśl
HISTORY -- Europe -- Western.
HISTORY -- Military -- World War I.
Military campaigns.
SUBJECT Twierdza Przemyśl (Przemyśl, Poland) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2005008806
Przemyśl (Poland) -- History, Military -- 20th century
Subject Poland -- Przemyśl.
Genre/Form Military history.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2016025866
ISBN 9780253022073
025302207X
0253021979
9780253021977