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As a result, Prittwitz, fearful of encirclement, decided to retreat and abandon the entire territory of East Prussia. In the flank and rear, was the 2nd army of Samsonov. The 8th German Army, commanded by Colonel-General Prittwitz, was defeated on August 20, in a battle near Gumbinen. The 1st Army under the command of General PK Rennenkampf, and the 2nd Army, under the command of General AV Samsonov.

The Russian offensive was carried out by the forces of two armies. However, the Russian army unexpectedly mobilized quickly and created an offensive on the Eastern Front, thus putting Germany in a bad position. It was assumed that during this time the German army would be able to inflict heavy casualties in France and capture Paris, and then attack Russia.

The Schlieffen plan, which was the basis of the German strategy to win in the First World War, was created from the assumption that the Russian army would delay deployment for necessary mobilization. Hamden, CT: Archon.The Battle of Tannenberg, August 26-30, 1914 was between Russian and German troops during the East Prussian operation in the First World War. Leavenworth, KS: The Command and General Staff School Press. But while the losses in men and material were replaced, the blow Tannenberg inflicted on Russian national morale was never restored throughout the war. Their failure was primarily a consequence of attempting a campaign of maneuver arguably beyond the capacity of any army under the tactical conditions of 1914. The Russians came closer to victory in East Prussia than is generally realized.

Samsonov committed suicide and the Germans turned on Rennenkampf, driving the First Army back over the frontier between September 7 and 14, in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes. That gave a new German command team of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff time to develop plans already outlined by staff officers on the ground - to concentrate their entire force against the Second Army.Īfter five days of hard fighting, between August 26 and August 30, there were 50,000 Russian casualties, and 90,000 prisoners. Poor logistics and intelligence further slowed the advance, particularly in the Second Army's sector. The Russian commanders, however, failed to coordinate their movements and to press their advantage. Both initially achieved local successes against indecisive opposition. The First Army, under General Pavel Rennenkampf, advanced west across the Niemen River the Second Army, under General Alexander Samsonov, moved northwest from Russian Poland. Russia's war plan against Germany involved sending two armies against the exposed province of East Prussia, defended by what seemed little more than a token force. The principal question was whether the attack should concentrate on Germany or Austria, and the Russian army seemed to have ample strength to pursue both options. That in turn justified taking strategic risks.

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On the grand strategic level, the tsarist empire's major problem involved making sure its major continental ally, France, was not forced out of the war before Russia could bring its full strength to bear. The Battle of Tannenberg, in August 1914, was the consequence of Russia's commitment to an immediate offensive during World War I.

Battle of tannenberg