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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. ==Background== In the early stages of the Eastern Front, the German 8th Army had conducted a series of almost miraculous actions against the two Russian armies facing them. After surrounding and then destroying the Russian Second Army at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff wheeled their troops to face the I Army at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, almost destroying them before they reached the protection of their own fortresses as they retreated across the border. When the actions petered out in late September, the vast majority of two Russian armies had been destroyed, and all Russian forces had been ejected from the Masurian Lakes area of modern north-east Poland losing almost 200,000 soldiers (killed or taken into captivity). Things were not going so well to their south, however. Here the bulk of the Russian army faced an equally large group of Austro-Hungarian units, who started their own offensive in late August, and initially pushed the Russians back well into what is now central Poland. However, a well-executed Russian counterattack in late September pushed them back over their own borders in disarray, allowing the Russians to start the Siege of Przemyśl. The Germans came to their aid by forming up the 9th Army and attacking during the Battle of the Vistula River. Although it was initially successful, the attack eventually petered out and the Germans returned to their starting points. The Russians followed up by redeploying their armies for a further offensive into Silesia, placing both Austria and Germany at risk. When the Central Powers heard of this, the 9th Army was redeployed to the north, allowing them to put serious pressure on the Russian right flank in what developed as the Battle of Łódź in early November. The Germans failed to encircle the Russian units, and the battle ended inconclusively with an orderly Russian withdrawal to the east near Warsaw. Weather prevented further actions over the next months. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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