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A review by mike_baker
The Fortress: The Siege of Przemyśl and the Making of Europe's Bloodlands by Alexander Watson
5.0
A true story from World War One about which I knew nothing, this is a riveting account of Przemsyl, the Galician fortress that found itself on the front line of the Austro-Hungarian Empire when Russia attacked. A multi-ethnic location held together under the loose alliance of nationalities that were gathered within the Habsburg dominions, the account tells of how its relative harmony was shattered by the privations of war, the successful battle for its defence (an incompetently led defence force seeing off an arguably more incompetent set of attackers) and the Russian siege.
The latter contains all the juicy details of privations you could ever wish to read. People are forced to go hungry, eat horses and just about anything that's even vaguely nutritious, while waiting for a relief army that never arrives and facing the inevitability of being overthrown. Desperate times result in an all-too typical resort to committing atrocities against certain ethnic groups, the city's Jewish communities as always coming under attack. Przemsyl is never the same again. Things seem as though they can't get any worse, and then they do exactly that.
It isn't an overly long book, and Mr Watson has produced a fascinating tale, focusing in on what was no doubt one of many barely remembered communities that showed new frontiers in suffering during wartime. It's an important read.
The latter contains all the juicy details of privations you could ever wish to read. People are forced to go hungry, eat horses and just about anything that's even vaguely nutritious, while waiting for a relief army that never arrives and facing the inevitability of being overthrown. Desperate times result in an all-too typical resort to committing atrocities against certain ethnic groups, the city's Jewish communities as always coming under attack. Przemsyl is never the same again. Things seem as though they can't get any worse, and then they do exactly that.
It isn't an overly long book, and Mr Watson has produced a fascinating tale, focusing in on what was no doubt one of many barely remembered communities that showed new frontiers in suffering during wartime. It's an important read.