Osowiec-Twierdza is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Goniądz __NOTOC__ Gmina Goniądz is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Mońki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. Its seat is the town of Goniądz, which lies approximately north-west of Mońki and north-west of the ...

, in

Mońki County __NOTOC__ Mońki County ( pl, powiat moniecki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Podlaskie Voivodeship, northeastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government re ...

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south of

Goniądz Goniądz (; lt, Goniondas, german: Gonionds, yi, גאניאנדז, Goniondzh) is a town in Poland, located at the Biebrza river, (pop. 1,915) in Mońki county ('' Powiat of Mońki'') in Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. 80% of the ...

, north-west of

Mońki Mońki is a town in northeastern Poland and, as of 1999, is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Białystok Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Mońki County. History In the 16th century, M ...

, and north-west of the regional capital

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

. Osowiec-Twierdza is home to the

Biebrza National Park '' , iucn_category = II , photo = Poland Biebrza Burzyn.jpg , photo_caption = Biebrza River at Burzyn, Poland Park logo with Ruff , location = Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland , nearest_city = Osowiec-Twierdza , map = Poland , relief = 1 , ma ...

History

Excavations have revealed settlements in Osowiec from prehistoric times. Okrasa existed as a village since before 1444 AD. In 1743 to 1827 Osowiec (as Marcinpol) was a city. In the nineteenth century, a railway line was built from

Ełk Ełk (; former pl, Łek; german: Lyck; Old Prussian: ''Luks''; lt, Lukas), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, and passing through Osowiec. From 1882 to 1892, the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

built a regional military defense strategy. Further work built fortifications at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From 1914 to August 6, 1915, the German 8th Army futilely struggled to break the defensive belt represented by

Osowiec Fortress Osowiec Fortress (Polish: ''Twierdza Osowiec'', Russian: ''Крепость Осовец'') is a 19th-century fortress built by the Russian Empire, located in what is now north-eastern Poland. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when it ...

, which successfully defended the Tsarist troops. During the fighting, the German army used gas (

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

), which killed about 2,000 of the Tsar's troops, who made a desperate

last stand A last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tactic ...

during the

Attack of the Dead Men The Attack of the Dead Men, or the Battle of Osowiec Fortress was a battle of World War I that took place at Osowiec Fortress (now northeastern Poland), on August 6, 1915. The incident got its name from the bloodied, zombie-like appearance of t ...

. Finally, due to an unfavorable strategic situation at the front, the Russian troops left the fort at the end of August 1915. The defense of Osowiec is comparable to the 1916 battle of

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Both towers (

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

) were never captured. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, there was no struggle for Osowiec. Today some parts of the fortress are accessible to tourists, especially within the boundaries of

. The visitor information center of the park is located in Osowiec-Twierdza,Lonely Planet guidebook Polan

/ref> a small settlement located within the boundaries of the fortress. The village has a population of 630. It is most famous for its 19th-century

Gallery

File:Osowiec fortress church.jpg, "1st fort" in Osowiec-Twierdza (1915). Church Image:Twierdza Osowiec. Fort I-koszary.JPG, "1st fort" - barracks (2010) Image:Twierdza Osowiec. Fort I-tunel zach..JPG , Fort I of Osowiec Fortress (Gate - west tunnel) File:Twierdza Osowiec. Fort I-koszary front.JPG, Fort I of Osowiec Fortress (Finishing the walls)

References

{{Gmina Goniądz Osowiec-Twierdza,