Commanded by General Paul von Rennenkampf, the Russians repelled German attacks at Gumbinnen. Abandoning prepared defensive positions, the German 8th Army advanced toward the Russian 1st Army. Roads were clogged with East Prussian refugees fleeing westward. The advance of Russian troops onto German soil, preceded by marauding Cossack cavalry, sent a wave of panic through Germany. Honoring their agreement with France, the Russians attacked on day 15 of the war, even though their mobilization was far from complete. The Russians, their forces divided between the German and Austro-Hungarian fronts, had two armies available for an invasion of East Prussia, giving them considerable local superiority in manpower. The German 8th Army, commanded by General Maximilian Prittwitz, was to act as a holding force until troops could be transferred from the west. Russia planned to begin its role in the war by taking the offensive against Austria-Hungary.įollowing the dictates of the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans had sent seven of their eight armies to Belgium and France. The Russians, however, had promised the French that Russian forces would launch an attack against Germany within 15 days of the outbreak of war. Germany assumed Russian mobilization would take at least 40 days to complete. The Battle of Tannenberg brought great honor and appreciation for them as they displayed a great piece of war strategy, which successfully destroyed Russia’s second army and forced the first Russian army to retreat.At the start of the war, Germany intended to stand on the defensive against Russia until France had been defeated in the west. On the contrary, both of the commanders acted quickly to pass orders and keep the army intact and well-prepared for the upcoming war.
It was a risky move as both of them were unfamiliar with the majority of the staff. On the other hand, the German army appointed two new commanders for the Eighth Army to face Russians on Eastern Front, General P.V. In spite of attacking Germans utilizing the most of those six armies, Russia reserved four of its armies to handle much less threatening forces of Austria and Hungry.
Another major mistake the Russians made was sending just two armies out of six available armies to attack Germany. Russian agencies failed badly in decoding and intercepting German Wireless communication. There were no proper means of communication and cooperation between the two Russian armies as they were attacking from different fronts. The biggest mistake Russians made in this battle was appointing General Rennenkampf and General Samsonv, knowing that they both hated each other. Swiftly attacking Germany from two fronts could have resulted in a disaster for the German army, but because of numerous poor tactical and strategic flaws, it resulted in a great victory for German forces. It was a smart move by Russia to attack Germany while it was mainly busy dealing with Luxemburg, Belgium, and France on its western front. Russia faced heavy causalities and material losses including a sizeable number of guns and ammunition. Russia’s poor war strategy resulted as one of the worst defeats to Russia, where Germans damaged both Russian armies to the point where the second Russian army was completely destroyed and its General committed suicide. With time, Germany successfully counter-attacked both Russian armies and turned it into a nightmare for Russia. To their surprise, Germany encountered the Russian army with great fury using fast troops movements through railways. The Russians attacked Germany with a smart strategy, following which the first Russian army attacked Germany from the northeast, while the second Russian army invaded from the southwest to trap and destroy the German forces. The Germans were busy celebrating their successful invasion of Luxemburg and Belgium and were planning to swiftly invade France. Samsonov, two Russian armies attacked Germany’s eastern border from Tannenberg, present-day northeastern Poland. The Battle of Tannenberg is famous for being one of the first main events of World War I.