La prise de la forteresse autrichienne de première classe de Przemysl avec une garnison de 120 000 soldats et officiers Circa 1915

This powerful circa 1915 original Russian poster commemorates the capture of the Austro-Hungarian fortress city of Przemyśl during the First World War, one of the Russian Empire’s most significant military victories on the Eastern Front.

“Capture of the First-Class Austrian Fortress of Przemyśl with a Garrison of 120,000 Soldiers and Officers.”

The wording reflects the military terminology of the period, where “first-class fortress” referred to a heavily fortified strategic stronghold of the highest defensive category within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The composition vividly depicts the chaos and violence of urban combat during the siege. Russian infantry storm the defensive positions amid collapsing buildings, smoke, bayonet charges, and hand-to-hand fighting. The scene is rendered with remarkable dynamism and narrative intensity, characteristic of wartime popular prints and illustrated propaganda produced during the First World War.

At the center of the composition, advancing Russian troops overwhelm Austrian defenders in dramatic close combat, while flags, artillery smoke, and burning structures amplify the sense of momentum and triumph. The crowded imagery conveys both patriotic fervor and the scale of the battle, presenting the Russian army as an unstoppable force breaking through enemy fortifications.

The Siege of Przemyśl was one of the largest and most important sieges of World War I. Located in present-day Poland near the Ukrainian border, the fortress served as a major Austro-Hungarian defensive position in Galicia. After months of encirclement and severe shortages, the fortress finally surrendered to Russian forces in March 1915, with approximately 120,000 soldiers and officers taken prisoner.

At the time, the fall of Przemyśl was celebrated throughout the Russian Empire as a monumental military achievement and became the subject of newspapers, patriotic imagery, illustrated journals, and propaganda posters intended to boost morale and support for the war effort.

Artistically, the poster belongs to the tradition of early twentieth-century Russian military popular imagery, combining documentary ambition with dramatic visual storytelling. Unlike later Soviet propaganda posters characterized by bold graphic simplification, this work retains the detailed narrative style inherited from nineteenth-century battle illustration and popular print culture.

The lower section of the poster includes explanatory text describing the battle and the victory, reinforcing its educational and propagandistic role. Such posters were often distributed to inform civilians about events at the front while cultivating patriotic sentiment during wartime.

Today, original World War I Russian posters relating to the Eastern Front are increasingly scarce and highly sought after by collectors of military history, Russian imperial art, and wartime propaganda. This particular example is especially notable for its historical significance, large-scale battle imagery, and direct connection to one of the defining sieges of the First World War.

Original Poster

Military - War 1914-1918 - Russia

Printed in Moscow

Good condition