![]() 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. In this first paperback edition of the classic work, historian Dennis Showalter analyzes this battle’s causes, effects, and. The Russians came closer to victory in East Prussia than is generally realized. The battle of Tannenberg (August 2730, 1914) opened World War I with a decisive German victory over Russiaindeed the Kaiser’s only clear-cut victory in a non-attritional battle during four years of war. 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. 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. Both initially achieved local successes against indecisive opposition. The Battle of Tannenberg, in August 1914, was the consequence of Russia 's commitment to an immediate offensive during World War I. 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. How the 1914 Battle of Tannenberg Emboldened German Forces at the Start of WWI The 1914 conflict dealt a defeat so devastating that it drove a Russian general to suicide. 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. The chief ones were: Hindenburg's 'Aus meinem Leben,' Ludendorffs 'Erinnerungen,' General Danilov's 'Russland im Weltkrieg,' and the German Archives publication 'Der Weltkrieg 1914-18'. That in turn justified taking strategic risks. which, among other subjects, dealt also with the Battle of Tannenberg. The Battle of Tannenberg, in August 1914, was the consequence of Russia's commitment to an immediate offensive during World War I.
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