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==Background==
On the 15th of August 1914, two huge Russian Armies, number over three quarters of a million men began their advance into East Prussia, part of the German Reich. The Russian Tsar had previously agreed that in the event of a German invasion of France, that his armies would invade German territory.<ref> Hastings, Max. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307743837/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307743837&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=d2e28f7b9925a7947768b803fa0c3f82 Catastrophe: Europe goes to war 1914]</i> (London, William Collins, 2013) p. 281</ref> The Tsar would send his armies deep into eastern Germany in order to relieve pressure on France. It was believed that this would give the western allies, the opportunity to beat back any German invasion of France, by forcing Berlin to fight a war on two fronts.
A war in the east and the west had long been the nightmare of the German High Command. The strategy adopted by the Germans was to invade France and undertake a defensive strategy in the east in 1914. The German High Command under Von Moltke the younger, order the 8th army to defend East Prussia from any Russian attack.<ref>Hastings, p. 282</ref> However, the Germans are taken by surprise by the Russian invasion. They invaded much quicker that Von Moltke had expected, even though the Russians advance was slow. The Russian 1st Army and the 2nd Army moved across the border into Prussia. The two armies were separated by the Masurian Lakes, and their progress was slowed by the terrain.
The two armies intended to meet and then advance to meet the German army and to destroy it in a pincer movement. However, the German 8th army opted to advance to meet the 1st Russian army before it could link up with the 2nd army. By August the 19th, the Russian 1st Army had advanced to the town of Gumbinnen, and here they waited for battle.<ref> Strachan, H. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198208774/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0198208774&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=063d0d2a305e17fb432c2cc6779d73c1" The First World War: Vol. Volume I. : To Arms.]</i> (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001) p.298</ref> The commander of the 8th army panicked and he ordered a general retreat and this left East Prussia open to the Russians. The Russian 1st army was now free to move deep into Prussia and threatened its capital Konigsberg (modern Kaliningrad). The German army was pressing further into France and yet the position in the east was fast deteriorating.
==Prelude to Battle==
Helmuth von Moltke, had ordered the 8th army to go on the offensive before the two Russian armies could meet up and was furious with its withdrawal. Von Moltke fired the commander of the 8th army and he never served in the army again. His best generals were all engaged in the west. He then made an eccentric but inspired choice. He named General Paul von Hindenburg, a 67-year-old retired general as commander of the 8th army. To assist him Moltke named Erich Ludendorff, as his chief of staff, he had become a national hero when he seized the fortresses at Liege. The younger man was supposed to help the older man in the defence of eastern Germany. They formed a unique partnership and one that was to prove very effective.<ref> Stone, David. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700620958/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0700620958&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=f4f8e418f15e5020cbd41077f2aaefc2 The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917]</i>. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. 2015), p. 116 </ref>
The German High Command decided to divert divisions from the west to the east. They were quickly transported by rail and they only took a week to travel from Belgium to East Prussia. Hindenburg and Ludendorff immediately began to reorganise the demoralised 8th army. The old general was able to restore the morale of the army. Ludendorff was a brilliant organiser and he was able to restore some order to the army, but this was very challenging as the roads were thronged with frightened Prussian refugees fleeing the advancing Russians.<ref> Stone, p. 89</ref> The Germans knew that the two Russian armies could not be allowed to join up. If the two armies met they would outnumber the Germans by approximately three to one. Von Hindenburg decided to attack the Russian 2nd army under General Samsunov. This was deemed to be the most dangerous by the Germans, for if it was not stopped it could capture the capital of Prussia. The German High Command hoped that after the Russian 1st army was stopped that the German 8th army could go on to defeat the 2nd army.<ref> Stone, p. 117</ref>
==The Battle==
[[File: Tannenbergschlacht.jpg|thumbnail| Von Hindenburg at the Battle of Tannenberg]]
The Germans planning was very much helped by their intelligence services. On August the 26, the Germans intercepted wireless communications between the Russian First and Second Army. This allowed them to know the positions and intentions of the two Russian armies commanders, they also had aerial recognisance photographs. Based on the intelligence reports the Germans decided to launch a surprise attack. The German army moved forward to meet the Russians near Allenstein. The Russian army was huge and slow moving and the commander was overconfident and arrogant.<ref> Harrison, Richard W., "Samsonov and the Battle of Tannenberg, 1914", in Bond, Brian, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/008040717X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=008040717X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8ae3d51880ebc76b4b4fd8070c6f9f85 Fallen Stars. Eleven Studies of Twentieth Century Military Disaster]</i>, London: Brassey's, pp. 13–31 </ref> Von Hindenburg and Ludendorff ordered the German Divisions to move forward. The forward units of the Russian army were soon sighted but it was such a huge army that it would take some time for it to be in a position to attack the Germans. The German commanders then ordered a three-day artillery bombardment, which inflicted appalling casualties on the Russian Divisions. However, they continued to press forward. On the 26th of August, the Germans launched their attack. They placed their best divisions on the flanks and they easily drove back the Russian flanks.
Ludendorff and Von Hindenberg ordered the centre of the German army to give way before the Russian centre, where the bulk of the enemy’s forces had been concentrated. In the words of Ludendorff ‘’In the first place, we opposed a thin centre to Samsonov's solid mass. I say thin, not weak. For it was composed of men with hearts and wills of steel. Behind them were their homes, wives and children, parents and relatives and everything they had. It was the 10th Corps, brave East and West Prussians.’’ <ref>Paul Von Hindenberg, "A summary of the Battle of Tannenberg." <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H5CQOG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000H5CQOG&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=2ff53e6462897f2c3c8c1ee1c17e52e5 Source Records of the Great War, Vol. II]</i>, ed. Charles F. Horne (National Alumni, London, 1923)</ref>
The Russians were unaware that they were entering into a trap until it was too late. The German artillery pounded the Russians and they smashed the advance, the divisions of the Tsar were soon in disarray. The commander of the 2nd army ordered his men to retreat but it was too late. The Germans had outflanked the Imperial Russian units and they had effectively trapped them. The Russian army disintegrated and suffered appalling casualties and it was every man for himself.<ref>Strachan, p. 113</ref> Many Russians escaped through the marshes and woods of East Prussia, but even more were killed or captured. Samsonov knew that his army was surrounded and that he was no longer in control, he resigned his command and went into a nearby forest and he shot himself. The Germans had secured a remarkable victory.
==The Battle and its impact on the war==
The Battle of Tannenberg allowed the Germans to sweep the Russians out of East Prussia. However, Ludendorff and Von Hindenburg did not have enough men to go on the offensive. However, the Russian army was never again to threaten German territory. Tannenberg allowed the Germans to concentrate their forces in the west. <ref> Hastings, p. 113</ref> Once East Prussian was secure the German High Command was able to concentrate all its efforts on the western front.<ref> Strachan, p. 114</ref> Ludendorff and Von Hindenburg used the victory to establish their reputation in Germany, they are widely seen as the saviors of the nation. Their victory and later successes allowed them to eventually to become the commanders of the German Army and the de-facto military dictators of the Reich by 1918. On the face of it, the Battle of Tannenberg was a great victory. However, this German victory may have come at a cost. Not long after the great victory at Tannenberg and as the Germans were sweeping the Russians from all over East Prussia, they suffered a defeat in the west. At the Battle of the Marne, the French and British defeated the Germans and halted their advance on Paris.<ref> Harrison, p. 29</ref> The troops that are diverted by Von Moltke to the east could have titled the balance in the west and allowed the Germans to capture Paris and end the war. As a result, many historians have questioned if the Battle was such a great victory for the Germans.<ref> Strachan, p. 118</ref>
==Reasons for the German Victory==
