The First Battle of Galicia was a prolonged defensive action fought between September 1939 and February 1940 in the Carpathian Mountains, specifically in the western part of The Kingdom of Yurislanzia. It is remembered as one of the most desperate holding battles of the early war.
Following the Soviet breakthroughs in East Prussia and Poland, Yurizlansia found itself surrounded on the east by the Moscow Pact (MTO) and on the south by the South European Pact (SEUROP). The 14. Armee of the Deutsches Heer, along with a few surviving Polish divisions and the entire Yurislanzian Army, were ordered to hold Galicia as a bastion while German forces regrouped in the west.
From September onward, the Eurasian Axis launched repeated assaults from all directions, seeking to crush the encircled defenders. Eisenpakt troops, supported by Yurislanzian irregulars resisted fiercely, exploiting Galicia’s rough terrain and extensive woodlands. The defending force sought to capitalise on their superior knowledge of the terrain, local animosity against the invading force and irregular warfare. Cut off from resupply after October, the defenders lived on dwindling stockpiles. However, due to the protagonism of the beleaguered Eisenpakt soldiers in Galicia in the German press, the Luftwaffe organised desperate night-time airlifts, challenging Soviet air superiority. Despite starvation, fuel shortages, and mounting casualties, the 14. Armee and its allies continued resistance into early 1940.
By February 1940, Soviet forces had reduced the pocket, annihilating the last organised Eisenpakt formations. The destruction of the 14. Armee marked a catastrophic loss for Germany and eliminated Yurislanzia as an effective combatant for the time being. Yet, the prolonged resistance tied down multiple Soviet armies for months, slowing the overall Axis advance westward. The fall of Galicia hardened Western resolve. Survivors of the defence were celebrated as martyrs, and their sacrifice was later credited with buying time for Germany to stabilise its front before the Battle of Berlin.