Last update 7/27/2014 Alex Feller

Timeline

This page is a work in progress.  This page will hopefully describe the events occurring in Rohatyn during World War One.  Photos and family stories are welcome.

TIMELINE OF WORLD WAR ONE

June 28, 1914:   Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, heirs to the Austrian throne, are assassinated by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo.(1)

July 25, 1914:  Partial mobilization of Hungarian troops is ordered. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

July 28, 1914:  Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Serbia seeks help from Russia.  Russia gains allegiance from France.(1)

July 29, 1914:  Austria-Hungary attack Belgrade, capital of Serbia. Russia, Serbia's ally, orders troop mobilization against A-H.

July 31, 1914: Monarchy orders general mobilization of Hungarian troops. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

August 1, 1914:  Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, declares war on Russia. (1)

August 2, 1914:  France, an ally of Russia, mobilizes against Austria-Hungary. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

August 3, 1914:  Germany declares war on France. (1)

August 4, 1914:  Britain declares war on Germany as Germany invades Belgium. (1)

August 6, 1914:  Austria declares war on Russia.

August 7, 1914: The last Jewish birth record is entered into the registry by the Rohatyn Kahal before the start of the war.  Midwives assisting births up until this day include Lea Barban and Esther Falk for Rohatyn, Margula Brater for Knihynicze, and Lea Nachman for Stratyn. Births are not recorded again until September 16, 1915.  Births that occurred in between these dates were recorded later and a note was written in the comments section attesting to the late entry.  In Polish, "Wpisano w myśl polecenia Świetnego c. k. Starostwa z dn(ia)" meaning "Entered in accordance with the order of the Honorable Imperial and Royal District Governor's Office of the day" followed by a date and a file number. Midwives for this period include Marya Myskowska and Sheindel Berger for Rohatyn.  Lea Barban returns to Rohatyn after the war and assists on her first delivery back on April 14, 1918. Esther Falk does not return. 

August 20, 1914: Dr. Terlecki examines his last corpse, a newborn, before the war on this day, and the deceased is buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Rohatyn the next day.  The next recorded burial in the Jewish Cemetery in Rohatyn does not occur until July 10, 1915.  

August 23, 1914:  Russia invades Galicia as Russian armies cross the Galician border. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

August 25, 1914: The Austrians receive reports that a small number of Russian units had crossed the eastern border and were heading towards Tarnopol (2)

August 26- 30, 1914:  The Battle of Gnila Lipa.  See Map of Eastern Front (3)

August 26, 1914:  The Battle of Złota Lipa - Three Austrian corps (XII, III and XI) move east towards the river, Złota Lipa. As they encountered the lead Russian troops, the Austrians launched a series of unsuccessful attacks against what they believed were smaller Russian units. Instead, they were facing the powerful vanguard of two armies containing eight corps. By the end of the day, the Austrians were in headlong retreat.  Two divisions reached Lemberg, 25 miles to the rear.(2).  

BATTLE OF GNILA LIPA

Hungarian Forces on August 29th, 1914:

20th Honvéd Infantry Division (part of VII Corps) lead by Lieutenant General Frigyes Csanády

1. 81st Honvéd Infantry Brigade lead by Major General Jenõ Perneczky

   1. 1st Honvéd Infantry Regiment lead by Colonel Lajos Bartha

      1. 1st Battalion lead by Major Vilmos Gerő

      2. 2nd Battalion lead by Major Imre Békássy

      3. 3rd Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel Károly Schieb

   2. 17th Honvéd Infantry Regiment lead by Colonel Mihály Gombos

      1. 1st Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel István Sréter

      2. 2nd Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel László Bacsynski

      3. 3rd Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel József Tihanyi

2. 39th Honvéd Infantry Brigade lead by Major General Kálmán Patzák

   1. 3rd Honvéd Infantry Regiment lead by Colonel István Stadler

      1. 1st Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel László Jancsó

      2. 2nd Battalion lead by Major Béla Lakatos

      3. 3rd Battalion lead by Major Árpád Tomcsányi

   2. 4th Honvéd Infantry Regiment lead by Colonel Zsigmond Ránffy

      1. 1st Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel Károly Kratochwill

      2. 2nd Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel Barna Balogh

      3. 3rd Battalion lead by Lieutenant Colonel László Reviczky

3. 20th Field Artillery Brigade lead by Major General István Schneeberger

   1. 8th Honvéd Field Artillery Regiment lead by Colonel Albert Pohl

      1. 1st Battery lead by Captain Károly Ambrosius

      2. 2nd Battery lead by Captain Béla Böhm

   2. 20th Field Artillery Regiment lead by Major Robert Wurzel

4. 4th Honvéd Hussar Regiment led by Colonel Miklós Jankovich

5. 20th Honvéd Division Ammunition Depot led by Captain Géza Demény

6. 8th Cavalry Division

Hungarian Forces added on August 30th, 1914:

1. 17th Hungarian Infantry Division

   1. 34th Hungarian Infantry Brigade

      1. 46th Hungarian Infantry Regiment

Austrian Forces: 2nd Army led by General Bohm Ermolli and 3rd Army led by General Bruderman

Russian Forces: 8th Army led by Cavalry General Brusilov and 3rd Army led by General Ruzski

August 27, 1914:  The Austrian commander in chief, General Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, ordered the 3rd Army to form a new line on the river, Gnila Lipa. The Russians, expected to encounter the main Austro-Hungarian army at any moment, advanced slowly and carefully westwards, giving the Austrians the time they needed to create their new line. Even so, the Austrians were badly outnumbered. 115 Austrian battalions with 376 guns faced 292 Russian battalions and 750 guns.(2)

August 28, 1914: The 20th Hungarian Infantry Division moves to positions on the western edge of Gnila Lipa in Rohatyn by noon to support the southern? flank of the 2nd Army at Rohatyn. The 3rd Army was positioned north of the 2nd Army near Przemyslany.  The 20th Hungarian Infantry Division begins to cross the Gnila Lipa bridge at the southern exit of Rohatyn.  The Hungarian 17th Infantry Regiment also enters Rohatyn after marching around the area for the past 3 days.  They are stationed as a reserve behind the front lines at the east side of Mogilka Heights. The Hungarian 1st Infantry Regiment were order to position themselves on hills west of Rohatyn-Potok and Zaluze. The 1st battalion occupies Hill 290 and the 2nd Battalion occupies Hill 314.  The Hungarian 81st Infantry Brigade occupies hills from Zaluze to Hill 314 near Potok. The Hungarian 39th Infantry Brigade supports the front line.  The Hungarian 4th Infantry Regiment positions itself west of Wierzbolowce.  The Hungarian 3rd Infantry Regiment positions itself west-southwest of Babuchow. The 8th Calvary Division was to secure the Koniuski - Babuchow - Jawce area.  In the meantime, the Russian forces were advancing northwest from Konkolniki, burning villages in their path. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

August 29, 1914:  The Battle of Gnila Lipa - The 20th Hungarian Infantry Division battled the Russian Army until 8:30pm in the evening when they fall back to the western edge of Rohatyn and Potok.  Due to lack of ammunition, mounting deaths, and lack of support by other battalions who had retreated (ie the Hungarian 39th Infantry Brigade), the remaining Hungarian regiments retreat.  By the end of the day, the Hungarian Army reports 996 dead and wounded and the Russian Army reports 2950 dead and wounded.   (Source: A Nagy Háború blog)

August 30, 1914:  Rohatyn falls into Russian hands as the Russian Army advances eastward to occupy the heights just west of Rohatyn.  The Hungarian 34th Infantry Division repositions between Fraga and Ruda - Potok.  The Hungarian 17th Infantry Division repositions between Psary and Rohatyn. The Hungarian 46th Infantry Regiment arrives in the morning from Chodorow to secure Hill 354 in Mogilka. The battle lasts the entire day and although they fought with successes,  the Hungarian Armies fall back at night to a defensive position along the river Swirz near Knihynicze and Psary. (Source: A Nagy Háború blog).  The Russians attack and push the Austrians back. This time the Austrians didn't stop retreating until they were west of Lemberg.(2)

August 31, 1914: General Patzák commits suicide as he blames himself for losing the battle at Rohatyn by ordering the retreat of the Hungarian 39th Infantry Brigade. The Russian Army advances from Czercze and Potok towards Knihynicze and then Psary. A general retreat took place this day with battalions marching along the Knihynicze-Chodorow road back to Chodorow..

September 2, 1914:  Stanislau fell to Russia

September 3, 1914:  Russian army captures the capital of Galicia, Lemberg, in the Battle of Lemberg. Austrian army withdraws. Some Jews flee.  Cities come under rule of Czar Nicholas II.  Russian ruble replaces Austrian crone.  Prices rise as inflation devalues wealth.  Russian police and Cossacks patrol the city. Initially, schools are closed only to reopen using Russian textbooks and language. (1)

June 19, 1915:  Lemberg is recaptured by Austrian army.  Men are forcibly conscripted by the Russians.  Russian burn buildings as the retreat back to their border. (1)

June 22, 1915: Liberation of Lemberg.

June 22-30, 1915:  The Austrian Army continues its advance eastward toward Rohatyn after recapuring Lemberg. About this time, the Russian Army take 570 Jewish men from Rohatyn and deports them to Russia to avoid them from becoming Austrian soldiers.  They are marched to Kiev and then by railway to Chembar (current Belinsky, Russia), a town in the Penza Province of Russia.  There they remain until the summer of 1915 when they are sent to Tarnopol where they remain until 1917.  In the summer of 1917, the men returned to Rohatyn. (5, 7)

June 26-30, 1915: The German-Austrian Army battles the Russian Army around Rohatyn. (6)

July 1, 1915:  von Linsingen's German South Army crosses Gnila Lipa south of Rohatyn and captures Russian soldiers.(4)

July 5, 1915: Mr. Rubin Glicksmann, present on the battlefield, and part of the German South Army under Graf Bothmer writes a letter from Rohatyn to Dr. Heinrich Schiffmann in Vienna. (5) It is probable that Rubin Glucksmann is a writer/correspondent for the Jewish Free Press of Vienna while Dr. Heinrich Schiffmann is a board member of a Zionist organization in Vienna. The letter titled About the Russian Dominance in Rohatyn (Galicia) was preserved in Judische Archiv:

Letter from Mr. Rubin Glicksmann, at present on the battlefield. 30,5 cm Mortar Battery 2, 1. Corps Graf Bothmer, German Southern Army, to Dr. Heinrich Schiffmann, Vienna.

Rohatyn, Ju [ne] [ly] 5, 1915

Dear Friend,

      When I last met you in Vienna I promised you a vivid letter exchange. The events triggered by the war don?t always allow keeping a promise. It is however war events which urge me to write to you at this time?. The tragedy, the Jewish people had to endure in Galicia in these recent days, exceeds even the kind of agony which could have sprung from Dante?s imagination. I drove here yesterday from Stryj passing by Zydaczow, Chodorow, and Knihinicze, south of Rohatyn. All is destroyed by fire and the sword. Bare chimneys rise from the rubble to the skies. Most residents of these small towns are Jews. Women and children lie in the streets between ruins and rubble. Most men have been deported to Russia. The residents of Knihinicze are trying to contain the fires laid by the Moskalen [cognomen for Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine] while the Cossacks shoot at them. I myself dressed several gunshot wounds and burns. The grounds are filled with the tears and laments of the despaired women and children.  Their homes incinerated, their fathers and husbands deported to Russia towards an uncertain future.

     It is only now in Rohatyn that I am able to conduct a more precise census as we are taking a more extensive rest. In this small, picturesque town, resembling South Tyrol with its scenery and layout, the rage of the Russian Beast has been at its worst. Here the Russians set fires twice. The first time when the Cossack patrols marched in, the second time in an even more thorough fashion, when the Moskalen [cognomen for Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine] were forced to flee. A Russian back area command which has been in charge over the past six month was lead by a  Commander by the name Porebna whose atrocity can be described as on the verge to perversion. One example out of many more: Two women, Esther Schorr and Sure Botfeld, both beyond 50 years of age, allegedly sold soap for 2 Kopecks beyond the mandatory maximum price. For this reason the Commander ordered each of the women to be punished by 51 strokes carried out with a Nagaika [typical Cossack horsewhip]. One of the women died on the spot.

When the Russians sensed the end of their reign they tried to entice the Polish and Ruthenian population with promises and threats to move to Russia. But the latter replied that they would only bend to force. Finally the Russians let up.  But all Jews were rounded up and nearly all men that were left, 570 in total were escorted to Russia. One day, when the Russian Beast will be held responsible for its atrocities it will be difficult for them to argue that they were displacing the future Austrian soldiers. Because amongst the abducted were many old people and children. A few examples:

Srul G o t t l i e b, age 85

Berl E i g e n, age 78

Meier S t e l z e r, age 94

Samuel B r u n n, age 90

Moses F a u s t, age 70

Wolf S c h w a r z, age 72

Mendl B l o c k s b e r g, age 12

Moses S t o c k, age 85

Leib Michael P o c z t e r, age 70

Srul P o c z t e r, age 13

Hersch H i r s c h e n h a u t, age 12

Juda H i r s c h e n h a u t, age 10

Isak S p i e g e l, age 65

Elias Aron K l a r i n e t a r, age 65

Aron B e r e n f e l d, age 70

Eisig S c h a r l e r, age 70

Osias Kalman F u c h s, age 65

Jeanette R o t r a u b (a woman who was deported to Russia in lieu of her hiding husband)

Simche Natan R o t r a u b, age over 50

Jonas R a p p a p o r t, age 75

Simche T o t f e l d, age 80

Salom. W e i l e r, age 73  

If one wanted to precisely describe the tribulation of the Jews in Galicia during the Russian reign, one would have to expand the history of martyr of the Jewish people by many volumes. It is just as our unequaled Z u c k e r m a n n quoted. The blitheness of triumph mixes with the pain over the destroyed values, our desecrated land and our disgraced people. Those who are not on the battlefields first and foremost must take on the following duty: Vehemently stir up the public conscience and put all your strength and efforts to saving the people who have been stripped of all their possessions, so they will be spared from starvation and find at least provisional shelter. Our armies are constantly pressing ahead. Once we gained ground in Bessarabia and Volhynia, we will be able to do the same for Galicia as Hindenburg did for his East Prussia through imposition of contributions in conquered Lithuania. Until then the worst hardship must be alleviated. The rail connection is perfect. By means of public subscription rights, subsistence trains must be outfitted to provide the people with food. It might be possible through the intervention of a neutral government, by repressive measures to obtain the return of the abducted men.  To engage in obtaining all this with energy and without any loss of time is now your duty.  

The heads of Jewish families were expelled in August of 1914.  They were released a few months later but were only able to reach Tarnopol as Rohatyn was on the other side of the war front.   They finally arrived in Rohatyn in 1917 except for 150 men who died of plagues.[8]

June 4, 1916:  The Russian army attacks the area 10 miles east of Rohatyn in a battle known as the Brusilov Offensive.  190,000 Austrian soldiers are taken prisoner.(1)

November 21, 1916:  Emperor Franz Josef dies. (1)

March, 1917:  The Russian Revolution.  Czar Nicholas II abdicates his throne to the Socialist Provisional Government.  The end of the Romanov monarchy. (1)

1918: Jewish Hospital established for short period

July 16, 1918:  Nicholas Romanov and his family are executed by Bolsheviks in the Ural Mountains.(1)

November, 1918:  The Austrian Hungarian Empire collapses.(1)

November 11, 1918:  World War One ends.(1)

SOURCE:

1. The Galitzianer, Vol 17, No. 1, Nov. 2009.  Lemberg to Warsaw by Jacob Weiss.

2. Rickard, J (28 August 2007), Battle of Gnila Lipa, 26-30 August 1914 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_gnila_lipa.html also see http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_lemberg1914.html

3. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/EasternFront1914a.jpg

4. http://www.warchron.com/russiansLoseZamoczPrzasynz.htm

5. Letter printed in Judisches Archiv by Komitee "Judisches Kreigsarchiv" published by R. Lowit in Wein in January 1916.  Translation from German provided by member Edgar.

The complete book can be found online at http://www.archive.org/details/jdischesarchiv00komiuoft

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/23/items/jdischesarchiv00komiuoft/jdischesarchiv00komiuoft.pdf

The following links are images of pages from this book describing the events of WW1 in Rohatyn.

Lists of names and ages for elderly and young people exiled into Russia are included in these pages.

Jewish War Archive page 1: PDF File (See below under 'Attachments') or Online

Jewish War Archive page 2: PDF File (See below under 'Attachments') or Online

Jewish War Archive page 3: PDF File (See below under 'Attachments') or Online

6. http://www.archive.org/stream/timeshistoryofwa05londuoft#page/338/mode/2up

7. Howard Steinmetz

[8] Pinkas for Rohatyn

Additional links:

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Battles_Round_Lemberg_(Lvov)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Galicia

http://www.consimgames.com/docs/Golovin%20Battle%20of%20Galacia%20article.pdf

Random Acts of Heroic Love

http://www.naval-history.net/WW1AreaBaltic1914-19.htm

Aryeh Rebisch, the grandfather of Ruthy Erez, wrote an account in Yiddish of events occurring in Knihyncze during World War One for the publication of the Rohatyn Yizkor Book. 

"The real trouble for the Jews began with the outbreak of World War I. A few Jewish families, including mine, saved themselves by fleeing to Bohemia. Most Jews remained, however, and suffered great hardship at the hands of the Russians and, more to the point, at the hands of the local Ukrainian population. When the Russian Army left Knihynicze, in 1915, they deported the entire male population of the shtetl, including Rabbi Berel, into the depths of Russia. The women and children remained in the shtetl, untouched. The yoke of earning a livelihood now fell upon the women. The shtetl was nearly empty. Even worse was the situation of the children, as at this point, there weren't even any cheders. Children grew up without supervision and without education. This generation of youth didn't know a letter from a hole in the ground.

We returned in the beginning of 1918. The Austrian monarchy had fallen. The Western Ukrainian Republic was established in our area, and our troubles grew greater. We put up with a lot from the Ukrainian soldiers who openly robbed and plundered the Jews, who simply let them do it. On top of this, the Ukrainians organized their own cooperatives in competition with the Jewish businesses. Strong propaganda was circulated, instructing the non-Jewish population not to buy from Jews. "