Battle of the Złota Lipa

The Battle of the Złota Lipa, fought on 26–30 August 1914 east of Lviv, was one of the key engagements of the Battle of Galicia. In it the Russian armies of Generals Nikolai Ruzsky and Aleksei Brusilov routed the Austro-Hungarian Third Army of General Rudolf von Brudermann and the army group of General Hermann Kövess, opening the way to the capital of Galicia.

Name and dates

The fighting took place in two stages, on two parallel rivers, tributaries of the Dniester. First, on 26–27 August, on the Złota Lipa, which lies further east, and then, on 29–30 August, on the Gniła Lipa, closer to Lviv. Historians name and date these events in different ways. Polish literature usually speaks of two battles, on the Złota Lipa and on the Gniła Lipa, although their dates are given variously. In English-language literature the whole is often referred to as the Battle of the Gnila Lipa (26–30 August) or the first Battle of Lemberg. On this page we describe both stages together.

Plans and forces

The Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, staked everything on an offensive to the north, deep into the Kingdom of Poland. There the armies of Dankl and Auffenberg were fighting, and they won the battles of Kraśnik and Komarów. Eastern Galicia was only to be screened. Conrad counted on the Russians being weak here and on their main forces attacking from the north.

Meanwhile the Russian South-Western Front of General Nikolai Ivanov threw two strong armies against Eastern Galicia. Ruzsky’s Third Army was advancing from Volhynia, and Brusilov’s Eighth Army from Podolia, across the border river Zbruch. Together they numbered eight corps, that is about 22 infantry divisions and several cavalry divisions. Brudermann had three corps in the front line and, with Kövess and the reinforcements on their way, about 13 divisions. Estimates of the strength of both sides differ depending on the source, but all point to a clear Russian superiority, especially in artillery.

On the Złota Lipa (26–27 August)

On 25 August Brudermann received the order to attack eastwards. On the morning of 26 August III Corps advanced on Złoczów, XII Corps further south, towards Remizowce (PL), and XI Corps covered the northern flank. The Austrians expected weak detachments, but ran into the vanguards of two armies. A fierce encounter battle was fought near Złoczów and on the hills of Gołogóry. The Austro-Hungarian infantry, attacking in close formation, was decimated by Russian artillery and machine guns. Some units fell back in disorder as far as Lviv.

On 27 August Brudermann tried once more to go over to the attack, but without success. During the night of 27–28 August his army began to retreat westwards to the line of the Gniła Lipa, from the area of Lviv to Przemyślany and Rohatyn. According to some Russian figures, the Russian XI Corps alone took about 3,500 prisoners in these days, losing nearly 4,700 killed and wounded.

On the Gniła Lipa (29–30 August)

Ruzsky slowed his march for a while, which gave the Austrians time to dig in on the Gniła Lipa. The first units of the Second Army, transferred from the Serbian front, were arriving to help. This did not, however, change the balance of forces. On 29 August the Austro-Hungarian counter-attacks were stopped by Brusilov’s corps, advancing from the south-east. On 30 August the Russians broke through the defences, especially in the sector of XII Corps, and Brudermann’s army fell back in disarray westwards, beyond Lviv, to the Wereszyca river in the area of Gródek Jagielloński.

Losses

The losses of both sides are difficult to establish, because they were lost in the overall toll of the Battle of Galicia. According to estimates, the Austro-Hungarians lost tens of thousands killed, wounded and taken prisoner, as well as many guns. One estimate speaks of about 20,000 soldiers and 70 guns lost in the fighting on the Gniła Lipa alone. Russian losses were clearly smaller.

Poles and the civilian population

The battle was fought in Eastern Galicia, inhabited by Poles, Ukrainians and Jews. Many Poles fought in the Austro-Hungarian army, especially in the Lviv-based XI Corps, while conscripts from the Kingdom of Poland served in the ranks of the Russian army. Poles thus faced one another on both sides of the front. For the inhabitants of the villages and small towns on the Złota and Gniła Lipa, this meant marching troops, requisitions, fires and flight from the front.

Significance

The defeat on the Złota and Gniła Lipa decided the fate of Lviv. On 30 August the Galician authorities began evacuating their offices from the city, on 2 September the last Austrian units left it, and on 3 September the Russians entered. Brudermann was removed from his post in the first days of September and replaced by General Svetozar Boroević. The Russian occupation of Lviv and much of Galicia lasted until June 1915. It was accompanied by attempts at Russification, arrests and deportations, and on 27 September 1914 Russian soldiers carried out a pogrom of the Jewish population in the city.

Conrad still tried to reverse the course of the campaign. He sent Auffenberg’s army south to defeat the Russians near Lviv together with the Third and Second Armies. In September there was heavy fighting at Rawa Ruska and Gródek Jagielloński, but the threat of encirclement forced the Austro-Hungarians to retreat beyond the San.