The Battle of Lutsk took place on the
Eastern Front during
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 June 4 to June 6, 1916. This was the opening attack of the
Brusilov Offensive under the overall command of
Alexei Brusilov. The Russian
8th Army made a decisive breakthrough in the defenses of the
Austro-Hungarian Fourth Army in the area of the city of
Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...
in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
Battle
On the night of June 4, General Alexei Kaledin opened an artillery barrage against Archduke Joseph Ferdinand's Austro-Hungarian defenses. Lasting through the night and into the morning, the Russian artillery broke gaps through the barbed wire trenches. This allowed the infantry to commence a surprise attack in the vicinity of
Olyka.
The complete surprise of the Russian attack caused many of the Austrians to be taken prisoner.
[http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/lutsk.htm] Some entire units surrendered without resistance while others fled in panic. A counter-attack briefly secured the first line of trenches, but overwhelming numbers of Russian infantry pressed the attack and took the second and third line of defenses.
Within days, 130,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers were lost. The influential German high-command requested the dismissal of Archduke Joseph, which was subsequently granted. The success of the Russian breakthrough caused Austria to halt its attacks in Italy and convinced Romania to enter the war.
[http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/lutsk.htm] The Brusilov Offensive would continue with success until running out of steam in late September 1916.
References
{{coord missing, Ukraine
Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...
Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lu ...