Battle of tannenberg wwi
The aura created by their victory would become the basis of their rise to near-dictatorial power in Germany toward the end of the war.įollowing the outbreak of war in early August 1914, the German high command, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, shifted the vast majority of its troops to the Western Front for a preemptive attack against France. From a military as well as a political perspective, Tannenberg was among the most important military contests of the war for Germany, as it not only repulsed a Russian invasion of eastern Germany and the threat of a quick defeat, but also elevated Hindenburg and Ludendorff to the status of national heroes. It was fought between August 26-30, 1914, chiefly around the East Prussian city of Allenstein, and resulted in a crushing victory for the German forces under Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and his chief of staff, Erich Ludendorff, with the Russian Second Army almost completely destroyed and its commander, Alexander Samsonov, committing suicide. The Battle of Tannenberg was the climax to the opening clash between Imperial Germany and the Russian Empire following the outbreak of World War I. Near Allenstein and Neidenburg, East Prussia (modern-day Olsztyn and Nidzica, Poland)ĩ2,000 captured, 78,000 killed or wounded