refacp.blogg.se - Verdun vs tannenberg

Also the trenches dug for defence had not been completed. In fact, all the forts around the area had been weakened as the French High Command had moved ammunition out of the forts to other areas on the Western Front. However, Falkenhayn’s plan also had one major weakness – it assumed that the French would be an easy opponent and that it would be the French who would take massive casualties – and not the Germans. The forts were very much part of the French psyche and they would fight ferociously to keep the Germans out of the area. If they do so the forces of France will bleed to death.” Falkenhayn to Kaiser William IIįalkenhayn’s plan had credibility. Within our reach there are objectives for the retention of which the French General Staff would be compelled to throw in every man they have. A mass break-through – which in any case is beyond our means – is unnecessary. Your browser does not support the audio element.“The string in France has reached breaking point.

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Take a ten question quiz about this page. The city of Allenstein is called Olsztyn.

The land where the battle was fought is today part of Poland.

Although the plan to defeat the Russians was Colonel Hoffmann's, it was Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff who were considered heroes by the German press.

This likely contributed to their failure to take over France.

Germany also sent soldiers from the western front to help fight the Russians.

The Germans were well aware that the two Russian generals did not like each other.

These were easily intercepted by the Germans allowing the Germans to know exactly what the Russians were planning.

The Russians had to use unencrypted radio transmissions to communicate.

Interesting Facts about the Battle of Tannenberg Although the Russian Army was not completely defeated, they never entered German lands again in World War I. Another 100,000 were taken prisoner.Īfter defeating the Second Army, the Germans turned to the Russian First Army and were able to drive them from German lands. Out of the 206,000 Russian soldiers, around 50,000 were killed or wounded. The Germans pursued the Russian Second Army and completely destroyed it.

The Germans soundly defeated the Russians and soon the Russian Second Army was in retreat.

The Germans concentrated all their forces in one area and attacked the Russian Second Army on the left flank. They used trains to transport troops very quickly around the region. This left them very exposed to an attack from the north, but they decided to take the risk. The Germans decided to take all their soldiers and attack the Russian Second Army. However, the First Army, under the command of General Rennenkampf, decided to pause for a few days. The plan was to encircle and destroy the German Eighth Army. The Second Army was attacking to the south-east while the First Army attacked to the north. It was Colonel Max Hoffman who proposed the risky battle plans that helped the Germans to win the battle.īefore the battle, the Russian Army was invading eastern Germany with some success.

The leaders of the German Army were Paul von Hindenburg, Erich Ludendorff, and Max Hoffman. Rennenkampf was largely responsible for the Russian defeat because he did not coordinate his movements with Samsonov, leaving Samsonov to fight the Germans alone. Samsonov killed himself when he realized he had lost the battle. The leaders of the Russian Army were Alexander Samsonov (commander of the Second Army) and Paul von Rennenkampf (commander of the First Army). There were around 166,000 German soldiers and 206,000 Russian soldiers. The Battle of Tannenberg was fought between the German Eighth Army and the Russian Second Army. By naming this victory after the city, they thought that the people would see this as a return of Germany to power. During the Middle Ages the German Teutonic Knights had been defeated at Tannenberg. The battle actually took place closer to the city of Allenstein than to Tannenberg, but the victorious German command decided to call it the Battle of Tannenberg for propaganda reasons. Why was it called the Battle of Tannenberg? It was a resounding victory for the German army and proved that they could defeat larger armies through superior tactics and training. It took place from August 23 - 30 in 1914. The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the first major battles of World War I.