During the Battle of Galicia, which opened the war with Russia, Conrad ordered Brudermann's army to take on a defensive role around Lemberg while the First and Fourth Armies went on the offensive against the Russians to the north of the Third Army. Brudermann had difficulties with his superiors at the Army High Command, and his troops suffered major defeats at the hands of Imperial Russian Army forces during the Battle of Komarów, particularly around Złoczów on 26–27 August 1914, and in the Battle of Gnila Lipa on 29-30 August 1914, resulting in enormous losses among Austro-Hungarian troops. After Lemberg fell to the Russians, he was dismissed from his post on 4 September 1914 shortly after the beginning of the Battle of Rawa. He left the army at his own request on 23 November 1914 and officially retired on 24 March 1915.