Attack of the Dead Men

The Attack of the Dead Men, or the Battle of Osowiec Fortress, was a battle of World War I that took place at Osowiec Fortress (now northeastern Poland), on August 6, 1915. The incident got its name from the bloodied, zombie-like appearance of the Russian combatants after they were bombarded with a mixture of poison gases, chlorine and bromine by the Germans. While coughing up blood and bits of their own lungs, the Russians covered their faces with cloths and managed to rout German forces by rising like the undead, grabbing their swords, axes, knives, and releasing a blood-curdling battle cry.