Poison gas was first used in WWI at the Second Battle of Ypres. The Germans initiated this step forward in making war even more inhumane. On the Eastern Front, the German army faced the Russians. One of the most strategic locations was the Osowiec Fortress in Poland. The Germans were determined to capture it, but it was a very hard nut to crack and many attacks failed. Finally, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg tool personal charge of the operation and decided to use chlorine gas. At 4 A.M. on August 6, 1915, the gas was released from thousands of cannisters. The yellowish green gas was blown by the wind to the fortress. Chlorine damages eyes, flesh, and lungs. When it mixes with moisture in the lungs, it becomes hydrochloric acid that eats away at the body. The Russian soldiers did not have gas masks. All they had were their undershirts which they had soaked in urine. When they saw the gas approaching, they pulled their shirts over their mouths. Not surprisingly, most of the 900 defenders were incapacitated before the 7,000 German assault troops arrived. Lt. Vladimir Kotlinsky led 60 men in a bayonet attack on the Germans who were entering the fort. Kotlinsky and his men staggering forward while coughing up blood and parts of their lungs. They looked like zombies! The Germans panicked and ran. Many of them got entangled in their own barbed wire. Kotlinsky and most of his men died, but the fort held. The incident became known as The Attack of the Dead Men” which was part of the Battle of Osowiec Fortress. The incident became legendary in Russia. Songs were written about it. Like “Russians Won’t Surrender.” Here are some of the lyrics:
But tens of soldiers
Hadn’t reconciled to fate
Burned to the bones
They rushed to the battle
And enemy has flown
The fear drove away the last
Who have never seen
The attack of the dead
And the band Sabaton has a song about it called “The Attack of the Dead Men”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_of_the_Dead_Men
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/dead.html
https://www.ranker.com/list/attack-of-the-dead-men-facts/laura-allan
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