The incident received its grim name from the bloodied, corpse-like appearance of the Russian combatants after they were bombarded with a mixture of poison gases, chlorine and bromine by the Germans.

The Osowiec Fortress, located 23 kilometers from the border with East Prussia, was strategically positioned to protect the vital corridor between the Nemen and Vistula-Bug rivers.

In early July 1915, under the command of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, a third attempt to capture the fortress was undertaken as part of a wider German offensive.

[1] The German command opted to employ chemical warfare, using chlorine and bromine gases to flush out the Russian defenders and ensure an easy capture of the fortress.

[3] At approximately 4:00 AM on August 6th, German forces began a massive artillery bombardment, followed by the release of chlorine and bromine gases after waiting ten days for favorable winds.

After the initial chemical bombardment, over twelve battalions of the 11th Landwehr Division, some 7,000 men, moved forward to occupy the supposedly abandoned Russian positions, expecting little resistance.

The Germans fled from the second-line trench network in a mass panic and broke ranks with such haste they were entangled in their own barbed wire traps while under Russian attack, resulting in many casualties.

Despite suffering from the severe effects of the lingering gas attack, Strzemiński rallied the remaining troops and led them in a desperate bayonet charge.

Swedish metal band Sabaton released a song about the battle, titled "The Attack of the Dead Men", on their 2019 album The Great War.