How Russian 'Zombies' Fought Off an Entire German Offensive in WWI

Never count Russian soldiers out. In the face of death, these soldiers turned and fought with everything they had, knowing it was their last day on Earth. 

In 1914, WWI raged on. German and Russian forces faced off in the town of Bialystok, Poland. The German forces were targeting a Russian outpost called the Osowiec fortress. This outpost forced the German troops to remain in the northeast section of Poland, but they wanted to march south. So, they decided to overtake then Osowiec fortress. 

Their first attempt at overtaking the stronghold was unsuccessful, despite the fact that they used heavy artillery and planes. 

So, the German forces decided to attempt more extreme measures. 

On August 6th, 1915, German forces released chlorine gas from canisters launched over the walls of the stronghold. The Russians were not prepared for a chemical attack, so the Germans waited and watched as the grass outside of the fortress turned black and the chlorine gas dissipated. 

The German troops had an easy time pushing through the weakened Russian barricades. Very few Russian soldiers survived. It is estimated that roughly 100 Russian troops were even healthy enough to stand, let alone fight. The gas masks that the Russian soldiers had did not protect them from the Chlorine gas, and those who were wearing protective equipment at the time found the masks melted to their faces as their skin bubbled and their eyeballs oozed out of their sockets. 

As the German troops busted through the Russian barricades, the sole surviving Russian troops were furious, to say the least. As their lungs bled and their flesh melted, they stood and used their fury to crush the German forces. 

This marks the "Attack of the Dead." Roughly 100 surviving Russian troops were able to scare the German troops away. They didn't use extreme combat measures, and they barely even fought back. Just the sight of 100 bleeding, oozing, angry men was enough to scare an entire army away. 

But, alas, the stronghold did not last. The next year, the German forces returned with the Austrian army, and they were able to overtake the fortress with ease.

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Post originally appeared on History Obsessed.