Battle of Tannenberg
Allenstein, East Prussia, German Empire (present-day Poland)
What happened
German generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, with staff officer Max Hoffmann, fought the Russian Second Army of General Alexander Samsonov. At the start of World War I, two Russian armies invaded East Prussia. The Germans moved troops quickly by railway, and the Russians broadcast their marching orders in the clear, which let the Germans learn their plans. The Germans surrounded Samsonov's army near Allenstein and nearly destroyed it.
Why it matters
Result: German victory. Leaders: Paul von Hindenburg / Erich Ludendorff against Alexander Samsonov / Yakov Zhilinsky. Why it matters: It was a major German victory early in the war and damaged Russian confidence. Hindenburg and Ludendorff became heroes in Germany.
What came next
A week later the Germans drove the other Russian army out of East Prussia at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. Hindenburg later led the German army and in 1925 became President of Germany.
Did you know?
Hindenburg named the battle after the nearby village of Tannenberg to 'avenge' the defeat of the Teutonic Knights there in 1410.
Timeline
- August 1914Russian armies invade East Prussia.
- 26-30 August 1914The Germans surround and defeat the Russian Second Army.
- September 1914Germany wins the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes.
- 1925Hindenburg becomes President of Germany.