The Scarlet Fortress: the Siege of Przemyśl and the Coming Catastrophe in Europe

Przemyśl Fortress is located on the eastern border of Poland. It is a settlement of Russian, Polish and Ukrainian ethnic groups. It has always been favored by wars and ethnic conflicts. In the early days of World War I, the Russian army surrounded the Przemysl Fortress, hoping to quickly capture the fortress and march into Central Europe. However, the weak defenders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire put up fierce resistance and held on for six months. This book shows this important battle that affected the course of World War I, especially the daily details and psychological states of the generals on both sides, countless soldiers and civilians. It also tells the cruel past of mutual hatred and massacre by various ethnic groups in this multi-ethnic disputed area. This battle had an important impact on the situation of World War I and ushered in the anti-Semitic wave and ethnic conflicts in Eastern Europe in later generations. This was a ridiculous siege. The corrupt and incompetent imperial rule, the armchair commander and his stupid and absurd military orders, the cowardly officers and the poor soldiers who were dragged to death without training, and the innocent citizens struggling on the front line formed a chaotic war picture, which eventually brought down the two ancient empires of Austria-Hungary and Tsarist Russia. This fortress is a purgatory of ethnic conflicts in Central and Eastern Europe. Hungarians and Poles hate Ruthenians and Russians. It is also the center of anti-Semitism, and all ethnic groups are persecuting Jews. After the end of World War I, the ethnic conflicts and ethnic cleansing generated by this battle intensified, eventually turning into the greatest tragedy of mankind in the twentieth century, and conflicts and chaos in Central and Eastern Europe that have not subsided to this day.