THE LAST STAND AT OSOWEIC FORTRESS: THE BATTLE THAT INSPIRED SABATON'S "THE ATTACK OF THE DEAD MEN"

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 24 August 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1915, Russian defenders launched a gruesome counterattack that repelled the German invaders. What made it so gruesome? The Russians were the victims of German gas warfare, involving chlorine and bromine gases, which devastated the Russian garrison at Osowiec Fortress. It did not quite work out the way the Germans planned however. The Germans had underestimated the sheer will and determination of the Russian defenders. In this episode, part of our series, Summer of Last Stands, we give you the gore and the glory, the details of the Russian countercharge by survivors that were walking dead men, their flesh dissolving before the eyes of the terrified German offence, as the enemy scrambled in panicked retreat.

Resources used
"Attack of the Dead Men” - History Insights
"Attack of the Dead Men” - Wikipedia
"Attack of the Dead Men: The World War I Battle That Was Like a Scene Out of a Horror Movie" - War History Online
"How Did Russian Soldiers Continue To Fight Following Exposure To Deadly Gas During World War I?” - ScienceABC
"Osowiec Fortress” - Wikipedia
"Representations of the Poison Gas War on the Eastern Front, 1915–1917” - The Cambridge World History of Genocide (Chapter 27)
"The Defense of Osowiec Fortress in WWI” - Gordon Hesterberg, Prezi
Links to Song mentioned in the podcast:
Aria - “Attack of the Dead” https://youtu.be/6MY-g2FcN90?feature=shared
Sabaton - “Attack of the Dead Men” https://youtu.be/-AFdwoyNT24?feature=shared

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1915, World War I, the Great War, also called the war to end all wars.
0:14.0	Russian defenders launched a gruesome counterattack that repelled the German invaders.
0:19.0	What made it so gruesome? The Russians were the victims
0:22.5	of German gas warfare involving chlorine and bromine gases, which devastated the Russian garrison
0:28.8	at Osawaiic fortress. It did not quite work out the way the Germans planned, however.
0:35.5	The Germans had underestimated the sheer will and determination of the
0:39.0	Russian defenders. In this episode, a part of our series, Summer of Last Stans, we give you the
0:45.9	gore and the glory, the details of the Russian countercharge by survivors that were walking dead men,
0:52.2	their flesh dissolving before the eyes of the terrified
0:55.0	German offense, as the enemy scrambled in panicked retreat. Welcome fellow travelers to
1:01.8	another journey through the annals of courage, sacrifice, and the enduring human spirit on 1001
1:07.8	Heroes, Legends, Histories, and Mysteries Podcast. I'm your host, John Haggardorn.
1:13.9	And this year we're celebrating 10 years of sharing history with you. And it's been a fantastic
1:18.8	journey so far, thanks to each and every one of you. This is the last of our series.
1:24.3	This is the last of our summer series, our summer of last stands, bringing you epic
1:28.7	adventures filled with first-hand accounts to put you right in the action. We go to the source,
1:33.5	giving you the feeling you are there, making history come alive. We always try to learn from history,
1:40.5	and there's a great lesson to be learned here. The Russian people, be they Ukrainian,
1:45.2	or Russian, or any other blend of Russian, have been known throughout history to fight to the
1:50.7	death for their homeland. Germany learned that very costly lesson twice. If there's one thing
1:56.4	that is needed in that part of the world, it is peace.
2:43.2	Music is needed in that part of the world. It is peace. In this episode, we plunge into a tale so harrowing, so utterly mind-blowing, that it sounds like something ripped straight from the silver screen, a scene born of the darkest horror movie.
	...

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