The Battle of Tannenberg
By:Josh
What Happened in the Battle of Tannenberg and what is the History of the Name?
The German Eighth Army was 80,000 men out manned by the Russians Second Army. But they were not going to surrender during the days of the battle (26-30 August, 1914). The Russian First and Second Armies were attempting a pincer attack around the Masurian Lakes to attack the German Eighth Army. The German Eighth, 150,000 men strong, riskily went straight South to attack the Russian Second Army, numbering 230,000 . This movement led to the confrontation near Allenstein, East Prussia (today it is know as Olysztyn, Poland).
The German generals still named the battle after the town, Tannenberg (30 kilometers to the West) to avenge the defeat of the German Teutonic Knights who were defeated in a battle of the same title in 1410.
A Map
A Massacre
Russian Soldiers
What was a Crucial Flaw of the Russians had that was a Strength for the Germans?
For the Germans, it was totally opposite with the Eighth generals; Paul von Hindenberg, Erich Lundendorff, and Max Hoffman who debated and discussed any suggested order.