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Remembered Today:

PRZEMYSL FORTRESS


bushfighter

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"Fort No.XIII" of the Przemysl Fortress was the subject of an illustrated article in FORT No.22 (1994). This publication is the journal of The Fortress Study Group, which has its own website for those interested in the study of fortifications.
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Stanley

Thank you. Can we access backnumbers of FORT through that website? I looked but didn't see them.

Harry

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An Austrian balloon above a Przemysl fort
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Fort X. "Orzechowce". Rear view.

This was built as a two-rampart artillery fort between 1884 and 1886.

It was a key fort and the Germans deployed a 42 cm mortar against it during the re-capture.


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Fort X. "Orzechowce". Interior.
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22 March 1915. The last Austrian plane and crew to fly out of Przemysl before the Austrian surrender.
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The horses of Austrian officers, killed to deny them to the Russians.
(The starving Austro-Hungarian soldiers ate them.)
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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi” (see Post 9). rear view of barracks.
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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi” section view of an 8 cm M.98 battery position.


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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi”gun position today.
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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi”. A plot of the incoming Russian artillery rounds before Przemysl surrendered.



Fort XI was a key fort and the Russians sapped forward and unsuccessfully attempted to capture it during their first siege in October 1914.

During the second Russian siege from November 1914 to March 1915 only Russian artillery was used against the fort.
However the Austrian gunners continued to be in action until they were ordered to blow up their guns and emplacements.

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A Russian observation post in a wood near the outer ring of forts.
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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi”. Effect of German 42 cm mortar strike on soft ground.
(See Posts 11, 20 and 23 above)
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Fort XI “Dunkowickzi”. Effect of German 42 cm mortar strike on basement ceiling after impacting on concrete roof.
The metal ceiling seems to have stopped total penetration.


You have to feel sympathy for the Russian defenders. They were probably fighting in the open because the Austrians had already demolished the gun positions, then the Germans come along with 42 cm mortars and create severe headaches - especially if you were the sentry left up on the roof when everybody else was ordered to take cover!
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The Garrison senior officers who surrendered.
(They would have commissioned the fan in happier pre-surrender days.)


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A panorama sketch of the Przemysl terrain.
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The San River railway bridge, dropped by the Austrians just before their surrender.



The Austrian destruction of the local railway system before the surrender hindered Russian efforts to supply food for their 120,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners.

During the siege the Austrian officers had eaten very well whilst their men went hungry, but some Hungarian officers shared the hardships with their men.

When the railways were restored the Austro-Hungarian prisoners were dispatched to Siberia.
They lived in open camps and could leave the camps in daytime.
However they were not allowed back into camp once the gates had been locked at night.
The Siberian weather passed its own death sentence on those who were late.
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Hello Harry,

In answer to your question about the Fortress Study Group, you will not be able to see the article on the FSG site, but you may find that they have some spare copies of FORT which they would be prepared to sell or, as an alternative, the appropriate copy of the journal should be available via inter-library loans.

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Snow helps to display the mass of earthworks and trenches that supported the outer ring of forts.
The Fort at bottom right is Fort XII "Werner".
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Fort VIII "Letownia. Rear view of the barracks, and the private Museum.



This was constructed in the 1850s as a heptagonal artillery earthwork but by 1882 it had been modernised into a one-rampart artillery fort.

The fort has been leased and tidied up. The Museum appears to open only at weekends. (Telephone: 0 604 665756).

The leasehoders have a website at: http://www.fort8.cba.pl/
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The Monument to the Hungarian soldiers from the 23. Honved Division who fell during the defence of Przemysl.
The Monument is in General Joseph Bem Square, near Margaret Bridge, Budapest.


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The Austro-Hungarian Cemetery, Przemysl.


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The German Cemetery, Przemysl.
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The Russian Memorial, Przemysl.
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The Flame for the Unknown Polish Soldier 1914 – 1920, Tarnow.



In 1914 Poland was partitioned between Germany-Prussia, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poles were conscripted into all three armies and they often fought against fellow Poles.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I'll stop now before repetition sets in. Thank you contributors.

The Przemysl Fortress system is waiting for you - why not write the first comprehensive English-language guidebook?
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Thank you Harry for a most interesting thread, a place and subject about which I knew nothing - I keep going back to look at the photo of the Austro-Hungarian Cemetery, a haunting picture.

Cheers

Shirley

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