Croats in the Carpathian Winter War and the Breakthrough near Gorlice and Tarnów in 1915

Abstract

Even though more than a hundred years have passed since the Carpathi-an Winter War and the breakthrough near Gorlice and Tarnów in May 1915, these events remain a very interesting topic of scholarly and military research due to their multifaceted complexity. Particularly fascinating is the strength with which military planners and commanders managed to ready their severely exhausted military forces during the Carpathian Winter War and use them to lead a magnificent breakthrough near Gorlice and Tarnów. The breakthrough near Gorlice and Tarnów was practically the only way out of a very complex military-political situation and it prevented the grave danger of a Russian breakthrough across the Carpathians and into the Pannonian Basin.

The participation of Croatian troops in these two operations was signifi-cant, but these activities, especially their exceptional losses, have thus far not been the subject of significant research. This paper covers their most import-ant activities within the frame of the strategic goals of the Russian and Aus-tro-German military forces, with particular focus on the forces that were part of the 36th Infantry and 42nd Home Guard Infantry Divisions as well as indi-vidual units on other parts of the front. It also provides an overview of their losses in light of the total losses of the Austro-Hungarian army.