On 24-29 August 1914, the Battle of Tannenberg was fought between the Germans under Paul von Hindenburg against the Russians under Alexander Samsonov during the First World War.
Why did it happen & Who was involved?
At the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the Germans initiated the Schlieffen Plan, which planned to defeat the French and capture Paris before turning German armies east to defeat the Russians before they could mobilise their armies. However, in August 1914, two Russian armies under Generals Paul von Rennenkampf and Alexander Samsonov advanced into East Prussia, surprising the German commander, Maximillian von Prittwitz. Prittwitz was sacked by German high command and replaced by Paul von Hindenburg on 23 August. From intercepted radio messages, Hindenburg learned that Rennenkampf had no intention of supporting Samsonov’s advance. Hindenburg decided to concentrate all German forces in East Prussia against Samsonov. Leaving a single Cavalry Division to face Rennenkaampf, Hindenburg moved his 210,000 troops via rail to confront Samsonov’s 150,000 Russians.
What happened?
On 24 August, the Russian and German armies encountered each other near Orlau and Frankenau. Over the next several days, both armies sought to envelop each other with the Germans, supported by 774 artillery, gaining the upper hand. On 27 August, the German left and right wings forced back the Russian left and right wings from Allenstein to Bischofsburg and Usdau to Neidenburg, respectively. Samsonov, realising the danger he was in, withdrew his army’s centre into the deep forest on 28 August, which only caused his troops to become disoriented in the darkness of the night. The German centre subsequently launched a heavy attack against the Russians from the front while the German wings pressed on to Passenheim and Neidenburg, enveloping the Russian forces. Samsonov, who realised that all was lost, committed suicide by shooting himself. With the Russian wings driven off, the Germans completed their double envelopment on 29 August and captured 95,000 Russian troops and 500 Russian artillery. Only 10,000 Russians escaped the encirclement, leaving behind 45,000 fallen comrades. The Germans casualties numbered less than 20,000 men.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Tannenberg was a decisive German victory. Bernard Montgomery later wrote, "Tannenberg was the most brilliant tactical feat of the 1914/18 war” (Montgomery, 1968, p.468). If the Russian armies under Samsonov and Rennenkampf had combined, they would have been able to defeat the German armies on the Eastern Front and occupy Berlin. The war would then have been over by Christmas, as the Allies and the Central Powers expected. As it was, the German war effort could continue, and with their defeat at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914, the long and bitter trench warfare on the Western Front would follow. Tannenberg was also Russia’s most disastrous defeat of the First World War. Although it would continue to fight for another three years, Russia never truly recovered from this initial disaster.
Bibliography
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Montgomery, Bernard. A History of Warfare. London, Collins, 1968.
Overy, Richard. A History of War in 100 Battles. London, William Collins, 2014.
Robinson, Tony. Battles That Changed History. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2018.