They succeeded in forcing the Germans back in several areas. The Battle Begins Alexander Samsonov, commander of the Russian 2nd Army, via Historyįrom August 23 to August 27, the Russian 2nd Army under Samsonov pushed westwards, driving into the German defenses commanded by von François. The distance between the two armies would be crucial to the (in)ability to reinforce one another, and the Germans intended to exploit this distance. The two Russian armies were separated even more when Samsonov was given permission to advance further into German territory while the 1st Army stayed in place, plundering the areas east of Königsberg. Hindenburg sent the bulk of his forces under General Hermann von François to deal with the Russian 2nd Army while sending a smaller force to assess the situation with the Russian 1st Army. He decided to focus on the Russian 2nd Army under Samsonov, as it was closer to Königsberg and a bigger threat. But when reports came in that the two Russian armies had separated due to the 1st Army needing to stop and resupply, it gave Hindenburg a perfect opportunity to attempt to take on the Russian armies one at a time. Hindenburg had planned to defend Königsberg, and defenses were prepared. Opportunity Arises Map of Europe showing the location of the Battle of Tannenberg, via Students of History They had twice as many artillery pieces as the Germans but were of inferior caliber and design. The Russians also had limited ammunition, which would be a significant factor in the ability of the infantry to fight effectively. Poor logistics slowed the Russian advance to a crawl, while the difference in railway gauges between Russian and German territories exacerbated the situation even further.ĭespite the obvious advantage of having numerical superiority, the Russians were also not as well-trained as the Germans and were armed with inferior equipment. Despite the defeat, the Germans had inflicted significant casualties on the Russians and had discovered Russian battle plans on a dead officer.ĭespite the opportunity to advance on Königsberg (now the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad), the situation for the Russians was far from perfect. Hindenburg and Ludendorff replaced General Maximilian von Prittwitz and Field Marshal August von Mackensen two days later. The Russians flee in chaos, from Carl Simon / United Archives / Universal Images Group / Getty Imagesīefore the appointment of Hindenburg to the command of the 8th Army, the Germans had already suffered a defeat at Gumbinnen on August 20 in a hasty assault to catch the Russians off guard. Combined, these armies totaled over 500,000 men. Facing them were the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies under the command of General Paul von Rennenkampf and General Alexander Samsonov, respectively. Under the command of General Paul von Hindenburg and his chief of staff, General Erich Ludendorff, the Germans fielded roughly 200,000 men. The German 8th Army was heavily outnumbered. With the developments on the Western Front, it seemed increasingly unlikely that the Germans would be able to reinforce their army in the east.īy August – barely two months into the war – the situation in the east was precarious. The country was well prepared, but things were not going exactly to plan. At the very outset of the First World War, Germany found itself fighting on two fronts.
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