Atlas of Battles

battle, major, First World War

Battle of Łódź

Battle of Łódź was a battle fought in 1914 at Łódź, in what is now Poland. It was part of the WWI Eastern Front, which ran from 1914 to 1918. The recorded result: See #Aftermath; German plan of encirclement and destruction failed; Planned Russian invasion of Silesia failed. Recorded strength: 180,000 against 367,000 combat troops; 1,305–1,311 guns; 740 machine guns.

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For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Lodz Petrikauer Strasse Einen Tag nach
For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Lodz Petrikauer Strasse Einen Tag nach . Jakubowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1914
WhereŁódź, Poland51.777N, 19.455E
OutcomeSee #Aftermath; German plan of encirclement and destruction failed; Planned Russian invasion of Silesia failed
BelligerentsGerman Empire; Austria-HungaryagainstRussian Empire; Congress Poland
Part ofWWI Eastern Front1914 to 1918

Where it sits in the WWI Eastern Front

Battle of Łódź, 1914Russian invasion of East Prussia, 1914Battle of Kraśnik, 1914Battle of Rawa, 1914Battle of Krzywopłoty, 1914Battle of Bzurą 1914, 1914Battle of Stallupönen, 1914Battle of Gumbinnen, 1914Battle of Komarów, 1914Battle of Gnila Lipa, 1914Battle of Augustów, 1914Battle of Kraków (1914), 1914Battle of Limanowa, 1914Carpathian Front, 1914second battle of Krakow, 1914Battle of Bolimów, 1915Battles of Przasnysz, 1915Battle of Konary, 1915Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive, 1915Narew Offensive, 1915Siege of Novogeorgievsk, 1915Siege of Kovno, 1915Sventiany Offensive, 1915Battle of Ustechko (1916), 1916Brusilov Offensive, 1916Second Battle of Ķekava, 1916Baranovichi Offensive, 1916Kerensky Offensive, 1917Battle of Toboly, 1917Battle of Zborov, 1917Battle of Riga, 1917Battle of Jugla, 1917Battle of Moon Sound, 1917Battle of Rarańcza, 1918Battle of Bakhmach, 1918Battle of Kaniów, 191819141918Battle of Łódź, 1914
36 placed engagements of the WWI Eastern Front in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1914 (year precision)
to 6 December 1914
PlaceŁódź, Poland
51.777N, 19.455E
KindBattle, First World War
Strength180,000367,000 combat troops; 1,305–1,311 guns; 740 machine guns
Casualties and lossesOfficial German medical reports; 25,818 KIA,; 76,451 WIA,; 22,360 MIA; Total 122,055Official Russian medical reports; 25,544 KIA,; 117,882 WIA,; 172,735 MIA; Total 313,283
Commanders
Battle of ŁódźBattle of ŁódźLiberation of ŁódźBattle of ŁódźBattle of DobraBattle of DobieszkowemBattle of Wola CyrusowaLiberation of ŁódźBattle of Wola CyrusowaWarsawWrocławPoznańKielceOpoleInowrocław100 km51.777N, 19.455E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Campaign in Southwest Poland between 28 September and 1 November, 1914
Campaign in Southwest Poland between 28 September and 1 November, 1914. Department of Military Art and Engineering, at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Łódź
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Łódź today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-08-14. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 211 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 174 to 281 m, 107 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 59% built-up, 36% tree cover, 4% grassland.

built-up: 59%tree cover: 36%grassland: 4%built-up 59%tree cover 36%grassland 4%
west to east, 10.0 km193 to 263 mnorth to south, 10.0 km189 to 227 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1914 and 1945.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1914

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: GER 9TH ARMYDefender: RUS NORTHWEST ARMY GROUP
Strength260,000400,000
Casualties60,000 (23.1%)95,000 (23.8%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1085
Outcomeattacker won
Duration2 days
Front width120 km120 km
Attacker advanced169 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 286), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Łódź is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 469 in present-day Poland.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q696300, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Łódź (1914), revision 1370603101, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.