Battle of Limanowa

Battle of Limanowa
Part of the Eastern Front during World War I
Austro-Hungarian troops advance in Limonova, December 1914 (illustration by A. Heyer)
Date 1–13 December 1914 Location Galicia, Carpathian Mountains Result Central Powers victory
Belligerents
Austria-Hungary  Germany	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Conrad von Hötzendorf AD. Joseph Ferdinand Svetozar Boroevic Friedrich von Gerok	Nikolai Ivanov Radko Dimitriev Aleksei Brusilov
Units involved
III Army IV Army 47th Reserve Division	III Army VIII Army
Strength
Only combat troops:[1] III Army 68,698 infantry 7,458 cavalry 231 machine guns 551 guns IV Army 74,584 infantry 7,222 cavalry 233 machine guns 616 guns	Only combat troops: 194,930 593 machine gun 907 guns
Casualties and losses
106,472[2]	110,000[3] to 144,648[4]

The Battle of Limanowa-Łapanów took place from 1 December to 13 December 1914, between the Austro-Hungarian Army and the Russian Army near the town of Limanowa (40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of Kraków).

The Austro-Hungarian high command had assumed that the German success would weaken Russian forces in the north and that the Galician front would remain quiet. Both these assumptions were incorrect.

Though the Habsburg 2nd army offensive opened on 16 November and met early success, the Russians proved stronger than expected and their 4th Army yielded little ground. Meanwhile, further south the Russian 2nd Army advanced across the San river and moved into the Tarnów area by 20 November. Further north, the Habsburg 4th Army, supported by the 47th German Reserve Division, moved onto the offensive in the last days of November.

In fierce battles around the towns of Łapanów and Limanowa, the Russian 3rd Army was beaten and forced to retreat east, ending its opportunity to reach Kraków. To avoid being surrounded, the Russian 8th Army also had to retreat, stopping its advance toward the Hungarian plains.

The confrontation was one of the final battles won unilaterally by the Austro-Hungarian Army. Most of its later victories during the war were dependent on German assistance, and it ceased to exist with the disestablishment of Austria-Hungary at the end of the war.^[5]