World War I: The Siege of Przemyśl (present-day Poland) begins.
World War I
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Main areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. There were important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 30 million military casualties, plus another 8 million civilian deaths from war-related causes and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
Siege of Przemyśl
The siege of Przemyśl was the longest siege in Europe during the First World War, and the second largest in the entire conflict, after the Siege of Medina. The siege was a crushing defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Army by the Russian Army. Przemyśl was a fortress-town and stronghold on the River San in what is now southeastern Poland. The investment of Przemyśl began on 16 September 1914 and was briefly suspended on 11 October, due to an Austro-Hungarian offensive. The siege resumed on 9 November and the Austro-Hungarian garrison surrendered on 22 March 1915, after holding out for a total of 133 days. The siege has been referred to as "Austria-Hungary's Stalingrad".