Rare to find Austro Hungarian mountain troops ice hook nice solid relic condition recovered from Lutsk in the Ukraine from the Russian Brusilov offensive of summer 1916

This is a rare to find Austro Hungarian mountain troops ice hook used by the soldiers to knock in to the ice when climbing up mountains. The metal head is in relic but solid condition it is rusty but not braking up or falling apart it has been has been very well cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection and is 6 inches long in size. This hook was recovered from Lutsk in the Ukraine from the Russian Brusilov offensive of summer 1916.A very nice relic from this famous Eastern front battlefield.

Brusilov Offensive, Brusilov Offensive, (4 June–10 August 1916), the largest Russian assault during World war 1 and one of the deadliest in history. At last the Russians had a capable commander, General Aleksey Brusilov, and in this offensive, he inflicted a defeat on Austro-Hungarian forces from which their empire never recovered. It came, however, at a heavy price in terms of casualties, and Russia lacked the resources to exploit or repeat this success. The blow, when it fell on 4 June, appalled the Austrians who were unable to believe the Russians capable of such a massive and accurate assault. Russian shock troops led attacks that broke the Austrian lines on the first day. Soon the Austrians collapsed, and many Slav units, who had no love for their Hapsburg rulers, deserted en masse. So many Austrian guns were captured that Russian factories were converted to manufacture shells for them. As Russian forces pushed into the Carpathian Mountains, it appeared Austria-Hungary would collapse, and the emperor was forced to beg for German help. Russian commanders in the north did not maintain the pressure on the Germans that Brusilov expected, so the Germans were able to send assistance that stabilized the front. However, the blow to Hapsburg prestige was irreversible, especially among the Slav minorities, and Germany was forced to divert critical forces from the Western Front to the East.Losses: Russian, 500,000–1,000,000 dead, wounded, or captured; Central Powers, some 1.5 million casualties (Austrian, 1,000,000–1,500,000 dead, wounded, or captured; German, 350,000 casualties; Ottoman, 12,000 casualties.

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