2001 · SPW (Schroeder Publishing & Wargames)
Part of David Schroeder's "Der Weltkrieg" wargame series.
Gorlice-Tarnow Breakthrough: May 1915
The head of the German armies, von Falkenhayn, wants the focus of the German operations in the war to be on the western front. Yet to make this a reality, he feels that relief must first be provided to the endangered Austro-Hungarians. Recent Russian pressure had almost cracked the final Austro-Hungarian defensive lines in the Carpathians, and new pressure was being brought to bear on Germany's weak ally by the Italians, who had just entered the war.
To help the Austro-Hungarians, a new German army is formed under the capable von Mackensen, and placed in the line east of Crackow. After a furious hurricane barrage, von Mackensen attacks and completely pierces the Russian lines. A Russian retreat ensues that enables the Central Powers' forces to recapture most of Galicia.
Von Falkenhayn wanted to stop operations at this point and shift to the west, but pressure from the Kaiser, at the insistance of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, resulted in a widening of the offensive. Attacks were then launched in the northern sector of the eastern front as well. Enveloped on two sides, the Russians reacted with their classic response, a retreat back into Russia, leaving Russian Poland to the Germans.
The Central Powers offensive wound down as they struggled to supply troops hundreds of miles past the supply heads. The offensive has saved Austria-Hungary from immediate peril, but it does not knock Russia out of the war. And instead of enabling von Falkenhayn to focus on the west, most of the newly created German forces are fed into the increasing vastness of the eastern front.
