![]() This had even had an impact on the outcome of the First Battle of the Marne. This was correct in many ways, as the defeat of the Russians had resulted in a significant reduction in forces on the Western Front. However, the Grand Duke Nicholai, commander-in-chief of the Russian Army, stated that it was “an honour to make such a sacrifice”. The defeat was so great that Britain decided to keep it from the public. The defeat was so catastrophic that Samsonov committed suicide. Of the 150,000 men in the Russian Second Army, just 10,000 managed to escape, with 30,000 becoming casualties and more than 95,000 taken prisoner. In fact, many Russian soldiers threw their rifles away and surrendered. Samsonov had realised the severity of his situation on 28th August, but his attempts to breakout near Tannenburg ended in disaster. Other German units were also moved to the Tannenberg region and the Germans surrounded the Russian Second Army. The 1 Corps were then moved into a position that would prevent the Second Army from retreating to Russia, which effectively trapped Samsonov. General Francois, who commanded the 1 Corps, captured Soldau and further weakened the Russian lines of communication. The German’s attack on Samsonov’s Second Army took place on 27th August and was very successful. The Germans, on the other hand, were finding it easy to intercept Russian messages, including one informing Samsonov of Rennenkampf’s marching plan - stating outright that Samsonov would not receive help from the First Army - and another stating the routes Samsonov planned to use to attack the Germans. ![]() Struggling with lack of communications, Samsonov was unaware of what Hoffman had planned and he also didn’t that the Russian First Army had halted its advances - he assumed Rennenkampf was moving through East Russia as planned. Ludendorff and Hindenburg were both credited for the events at Tannenberg but it was actually Colonel Maximilian Hoffman who had detailed how they should surround Russia’s Second Army. Zhilinskiy, the commander and co-ordinator of both Rennenkampf and Samsonov’s armies, and Rennenkampf each had a codebook, but Samsonov did not.By 22nd August, the Eastern Front was tabled and the Germans started to surround Samsonov’s army. The Germans had also cracked Russian codes prior to the war, and while the Russians were aware of this, and there were some provisional new codes in place, new codebooks had not been fully distributed. There was a particular problem imminently prior to the battle, as messages had to circumvent the great Masurian Lakes. The Russian generals were operating with insufficient communication lines. German forces would encircle the Russian Second Army. Once the armies were separated, Samsonov’s flanks would be crushed quickly, and the Russian centre completely surrounded. Restoration by Adam Cuerden / Commons.īy engaging Rennenkampf’s forces with cavalry troops in the north, the Germans hoped to delay the ability of the First Army to reinforce Samsonov’s Second Army in the southwest. Reproduction of a 1914 photograph of Paul von Hindenburg. Here Ludendorff and Hindenberg took a calculated risk, and withdrew the rest of the German troops, aside from a light cavalry screen, from the Rennenkampf front, sending them against Samsonov’s wing. Ludendorff immediately concentrated six divisions against Samsonov’s advance, but this force was not as strong as the Russian Second Army, and would have made little headway on its own. ![]() He was replaced by the markedly more aggressive combination of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, and the pair immediately went on the offensive. German defeat saw the recall of François’ superior, Maximilian von Prittwitz. Rennenkampf, having driven back the overconfident German General François in the Battle of Gumbinnen, paused to consolidate his forces. Mitch Goodrum at Canterbury Christ Church University. But why was America reluctant to enter both wars earlier? How did its involvement change the course of both wars? Rob Weinberg asks the big questions to Dr. Two Russian armies invaded Germany East Prussia and were to attack. The Russians agreed to help relieve the French, who were under attack by the Germans, by attacking them in East Prussia. ![]() It took the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 to bring America into the Second World War. The Battle of Tannenberg was a four day battle between the Russian army, led by Alexander Samsonov, and the German army, led by General von Hindenburg. only officially entered the conflict three years later. When World War I broke out in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the United States would remain neutral.
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