The almost miraculous outcome brought considerable prestige to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and his rising staff-officer Erich Ludendorff. It is also notable for the failure of the Russians to encode their radio messages, broadcasting their daily marching orders in the clear, which allowed the Germans to make their movements with the confidence they would not be flanked. The battle is particularly notable for fast rail movements by the German Eighth Army, enabling them to concentrate against each of the two Russian armies in turn, first delaying the First Army and then destroying the Second before once again turning on the First days later. A series of follow-up battles ( First Masurian Lakes) destroyed most of the First Army as well and kept the Russians off balance until the spring of 1915. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. ![]() The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. 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.Vivat ribbon commemorating the Battle of Tannenberg, showing Wilhelm II and " Hindenburg the victor of Tannenberg" 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.
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