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Osowiec Fortress (Polish ''Twierdza Osowiec'') - Is a 19th-century fortress located in north-eastern Poland, originally built by the Russian Empire. The Russian name is ''Крепость Осовец'' i.e., ''Krepost Osovets''. In English sources it is variously given as ''Osowiec'',〔The eastern front, 1914-1917 By Norman Stone ()〕 ''Osovets'', ''Ossovetz'', ''Osovetz'' and ''Ossovets''. It saw heavy fighting during World War I when it was obstinately defended for several months by its Russian garrison against German attacks. The fortress was built in the years 1882-1892 as one of the defensive works to protect the western borders of Russia against Germany, and continuously modernised afterwards to cope with advances in heavy siege artillery. In 1889-1893, military engineer Nestor Buinitsky took an important part in the creation of the fortress. It was located on the river Biebrza about 50 km from the border with the German province of East Prussia, in the one place where the marshlands of the river could be crossed, hence controlling a vital chokepoint. The extensive marshlands and bogs that surrounded it made attack difficult. The strategic Białystok - Ełk (Lyck) - Königsberg (Kaliningrad) rail line ran through the fortress and crossed the Biebrza river there. The fortress saw heavy fighting during the beginning of World War I in the eastern front from September 1914 until the Russian Army abandoned it in August 1915. In the interwar years the fortress was used by the Polish Army. During the German invasion of Poland in 1939 it was bypassed and did not see much fighting. Today, some parts of the fortress are accessible to tourists, especially the parts within the boundaries of Biebrza National Park. The visitor information center of the park is located in Osowiec-Twierdza,〔(Lonely Planet guidebook Poland )〕 a small settlement located within the boundaries of the fortress. Other parts of the fortress still belong to the Polish Army and access is restricted. == 1st German Assault - September 1914 == In September 1914 the fortress was put under siege by parts of 8th German army - 40 infantry battalions that attacked straight from their marching order. By 21 September, having huge advantage in numbers, Germans troops were able to push back Russian field defenses to the point where the artillery could fire upon the fortress itself. At the same time German command has added reinforcements of 60 artillery pieces of caliber up to 203mm. But those pieces could only start firing on 26 September 1914. In two days the Germans decided to try frontal assault of the fortress, but it was cut down by a fierce fire from Russian artillery. Next day Russians made two flanking counter-attacks that forced Germans to quickly relocate artillery to a safer place, but they were no longer able to fire upon the fortress. 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「Osowiec Fortress」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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