Gorlice–Tarnów offensive
| Gorlice–Tarnów offensive | |||||||||
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| Part of the Eastern Front of World War I | |||||||||
Gorlice–Tarnów breakthrough and Russian withdrawal | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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German Empire Austria-Hungary | Russian Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Erich von Falkenhayn August von Mackensen Hans von Seeckt Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf E. von Böhm-Ermolli Svetozar Boroević Paul von Brlog Archduke Joseph Ferdinand |
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolay Ivanov Radko Dimitriev | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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11th Army South Army 2nd Army 3rd Army 4th Army 7th Army |
3rd Army 4th Army 8th Army 9th Army 11th Army | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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On 1 May 1915 Total: 1,248,319 men 1,440 machine guns 2,911 guns On 15 May 1915: Total: 1,502,844 men 1,636 machine guns 3,111 guns On 31 May 1915: Total: 1,613,360 men 1,884 machine guns 3,259 guns |
On 1 May 1915 Total: 1,059,576 men 1,459 machine guns 1,756 guns On 15 May 1915 Total: 1,211,060 men 1,712 machine guns 2,369 guns On 31 May 1915 Total: 1,424,158 men 1,768 machine guns 2,383 guns | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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2 May – 13 July 1915 Total 487,821 men German Empire: 24,063 KIA 66,540 WIA 8,050 MIA Total 98,653 Austria-Hungary: 44,191 KIA 180,385 WIA 164,592 MIA Total: 389,168 men |
2 May – 13 July 1915 Total 1,019,953 men 118,112 KIA 402,346 WIA 499,495 MIA | ||||||||
The Gorlice–Tarnów offensive during World War I was initially conceived as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the Central Powers' chief offensive effort of 1915, causing the total collapse of the Russian lines and their retreat far into Russia. The continued series of actions lasted the majority of the campaigning season for 1915, starting in early May and only ending due to bad weather in October.
Mackensen viewed securing a breakthrough as the first phase of an operation, which would then lead to a Russian retreat from the Dukla Pass, and their positions north of the Vistula.