Tanemberg War

It was fought between August 27th and 31st, 1914, in the region of the Masurian Lakes in East Prussia, and

It gave the Germans a victory over the Russians .

The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army.

The battle is notable particularly for a number of rapid movements of complete German crops (army) by train, allowing a single German army to concentrate forces against each Russian army

The Battle of Tannenburg was Russia’s worst defeat in World War One. I

The Battle of Tannenberg was the first major battle in World War I on the eastern front. It pitted (enfrento) the forces of Russia against those of Germany.

The result of the battle was near total annihilation of the Russian forces. There were many factors which played a part in the German victory

.

These included

• logistics,

• intelligence,

• terrain

• communication among others.

The start of World War I on the eastern front found Germany in a risky position. The majority of her troops had been sent to the western front and committed to the offensive there as outlined by the Schlieffen plan.( El plan consistía en que Alemania sacrificaría en el este la Prusia Oriental y se retiraría al Bajo Vístula, en beneficio de un poderoso frente ofensivo en la frontera francesa. El Ejército Alemán movilizaría 1.500.000 hombres para el ataque en el Oeste, mientras mantendría 500.000 en el Este para rechazar el ataque de los rusos, que sumaban 2.700.000 hombres)

This left the eastern front ill prepared to defend against a Russian attack. The reason why Germany took such a risk was because the German had not expected the Russians to be capable of mobilizing in less than six weeks.

The Russians gained an advantage in surprise by sending the first of their troops into East Prussia a mere eight days after the start of the war. The speed of this mobilization was primarily achieved due to the Russian's negligence of logistical preparations. The result of this speedy mobilization was that Germany was threatened with a two front war with only a token force stationed on the eastern front.

Reasons for victory

It is clear that supply troubles had contributed greatly to the Russian defeat.

In addition to reconnaissance, intelligence played a huge part in the German victory at Tannenberg.

destruction of the Russian Second Army in late August 1914 virtually ended Russia's invasion of East Prussia before it had really started.

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