Battle of Łódź ( 1914 ) The Battle of Łódź took place from November 11 to December 6 , 1914 , near the city of Łódź in Poland . It was fought between the German Ninth Army and the Russian First , Second , and Fifth Armies , in appalling winter conditions . Background . By September 1914 the Russians had defeated the Austro - Hungarian offensive in Galicia at the Battle of Galicia leaving the Austrian fortress of Przemyśl besieged by the Russian Eighth Army . Nikolai Ruzsky had defeated the German ' s first attempt at capturing Warsaw at the Battle of the Vistula River . The Russian high command was split over how to capitalize on these recent successes . Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich favored an offensive into East Prussia , while the Chief of Staff , Mikhail Alekseev , favored an offensive into Silesia . Paul von Hindenburg had recently been appointed commander of the Central Powers along the Eastern Front . Hindenburg had intercepted Russian reports of the proposed invasion into Silesia , and saw an opportunity to repeat his crushing victory at the Battle of Tannenberg , by hitting the Russian flank as it moved into Silesia . Forces . Hindenburg moved the German Ninth Army , under General August von Mackensen , to the Polish sector . Conrad von Hotzendorf , the Austrian commander , moved the Austrian Second Army to replace the German Ninth Army ' s former position . General Nikolai Ruzski had recently assumed command of the Russian Army Group defending Warsaw . Ruzski had under his command General Paul von Rennenkampf ' s Russian First Army which was positioned north of the Vistula River , with the exception of one corps that was on the south bank of the river . Ruzski also had the Russian Second Army under General Scheidemann , which was positioned directly in front of Łódź . The Russian Fifth Army , under Pavel Plehve , was ordered to abandon its Silesia offensive , and moved to help counter Hindenburg ' s new offensive . The battle . On November 11 , Mackensen ' s German Ninth Army struck the one corps of Rennenkampf ' s First Army which was posted south of the Vistula and routed it , capturing 12 , 000 prisoners . The rout left a gap between the Russian First and Second Armies and the two forces lost contact with one another . In the meantime Scheidemann ' s Russian Second Army was being flanked and began retreating towards Łódź . The Russians were beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation in Poland . The Second Army was now being threatened with encirclement . The Grand Duke was primarily concerned with saving this army and avoiding a repeat of Tannenberg . Wenzel von Plehve and the Russian Fifth Army had been ordered from Silesia to the Łódź sector and covered 70 miles in only two days . Von Plehve smashed into Mackensen ' s right flank on November 18 under appalling winter conditions ( at times the temperature dropped as low as - 10 degrees ) . At the same time from the east , along the banks of the Vistula , Germans were attacked by the columns of Rennenkampf ' s Army . The Germans were now threatened with encirclement , but fought their way out by November 26 , taking with them the prisoners from the Russian First Army . Pressure on Łódź continued until December but the Germans were unable to break the Russian lines . Short on ammunition , the Russians withdrew to form a new and stronger line closer to Warsaw . Results . The results of the Battle of Łódź were inconclusive , both sides having achieved their most important objectives . The Russians had repulsed the Germans and saved Warsaw , which had been the objective of the original German offensive . The Germans , for their part , had caused the Russians to abandon their offensive into Silesia . The Russian high command had enough of Rennenkampf and relieved him of his command , replacing him with General Litvinov .