The Battle of Bolimov
January 31st, 1915
The battle of Bolimov was launched by the Germans on January 31st in part to the third German attack directed against Warsaw. The attack was centered around the town of Bolimov located in the plains west of Warsaw. The battle was fought by the German Ninth Army led by August von Mackensen against the Russian Second Army commanded by Smirnov. This battle was credited to be the first battle were German army had its first extensive use of poison gas. But sadly the attempt of launching several thousand gas shells filled with xylyl bromide or tear gas proved to be unsuccessful. The gas did not only blow back towards the German lines, it also failed to vaporize due to the freezing temperatures causing it to fall harmlessly to the ground. Not only did the Germans suffer failer, but the Russians also suffered failer when they launch a heavy counter-attack that made little gain and made the army suffer 40,000 casualities due to German artillery. The battle was called inconclusive meaning that no side won and the Russians didn't manage to tell their allies in the west about the Germans trying to use poisoneous gas because the Russians had no idea due to the failure of the gas.