The Battle of Stallupönen, fought between Russian and German armies on August 17, 1914, was the opening battle of World War I on the Eastern Front. The offensive failed, due to strong resistance by the Wehrmacht. He was also unaware that the Russian First Army had halted its advance after its success at Gumbinnen. [3]:133, According to Buttar, "It had been a day of mixed fortunes. In complete calm and good order and without any interference by the enemy, it made its withdrawal. [3]:127[6], To the south, Mackensen's XVII Corps and Below's I Reserve Corps were still moving up and were not ready for combat. Russia lost about 50,000 killed and 100,000 captured (150,000 total). A radio message that did not use codes supported this assessment. Following their retreat, the Germans re-engaged Allied forces on the Aisne, where fighting began to stagnate into trench warfare. However, this speedy penetration had left them lacking in ammunition and food while the Allies were gathering thousands of soldiers and artillery in the city of Amiens. The opposing German forces, from the Third Panzer and Fourth Armies, were aided by the presence of substantial fortifications, and had been heavily reinforced. Chernyakhovsky's plan involved using the 11th Guards and 5th Armies to break open the German defensive lines, before pushing through exploitation forces from the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and 28th Army. 16,000. [37] "[3], The Eighth Army comprised four corps: I Corps (Hermann von François), XVII Corps (August von Mackensen), I Reserve Corps (Otto von Below), and XX Corps (Friedrich von Scholtz), plus 1st Cavalry Division, facing the Russian First Army (Paul von Rennenkampf) and Russian Second Army (Alexander Samsonov). As a result, it is largely known through German accounts of the defense and because of the atrocities that were committed by troops of the 11th Guards Army, most notably the Nemmersdorf massacre. Stavka permitted Chernyakhovsky to further exploit this success by attacking along the Gumbinnen – Insterburg – Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) axis deep into East Prussia. By the time he withdrew to Gumbinnen after this battle, his corps had inflicted 5,000 casualties and managed to capture about … The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on August 20, 1914, was the first major German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War. Originally, Prittwitz had intended to hold the line of the Angerapp and allow Rennenkampf to suffer heavy casualties while trying to force the position. Mackensen's corps, by contrast, had been effectively knocked out of action; its troops streamed back in disarray, with Mackensen and his staff swept along in the flood. The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on 20 August 1914, was a German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War. The numbers were overwhelming; in perhaps as little as a month, the Russians could field around ten complete armies, more men than the Germans could muster on both fronts put together. "[3]:134–141[7], Prittwitz's panic affected Moltke, who feared that Berlin itself could now be threatened by the advancing Russians. A retreat to the Vistula could allow both Russian armies to combine. There was a minor outcome of the Battle of Gumbinnen that ended up leaving long-lasting effects. The Battle of the Marne also marked the end of mobile warfare on the Western Front. In the meantime, Samsonov was delayed in his advance because of the lack of good railways and roads, and Rennenkampf was slow to pursue the withdrawal because of his losses and limited supplies. The German official history estimated 50,000 Russians killed and wounded, which were never properly recorded. Virtually decimating his army he suffered the loss of 130,000 men in just two days; the scale of the setback consequently broke his career, with Austria-Hungary's … He was unaware of what Hoffman was trying to do despite the fact that the Germans were moving around a vast number of men and supplies. Jilinksy, commanding the Northeast Army Group, had lost one of his two armies. Despite being outnumbered, the Germans, outnumbered by two Russian field armies, managed to inflict a huge defeat on the Russians at Tannenberg, considered by some to be the mos… Samsonov assumed that Rennenkampf was moving as planned through East Prussia. End Date: 1914-08-30 François's I Corps, joined by the 3rd Reserve Division, would move by train to the west of XX Corps. At first the German advance went well, but it faltered once it came under Russian artillery fire, and the Russians were able to turn the German flanks and force the enemy to retreat in disorder to the Insterburg-Angerburg lines, leaving 6,000 prisoners in Russian hands. Casualties and losses. Despite suffering losses, François' two divisions had been largely successful. Paul von Hindenburg, and Erich Ludendorff, assumed their roles on 22 August. On the 17th he launched, on his own initiative and against orders, an attack against the Russian First Army at the Battle of Stallupönen. Frustrating this plan was the Russians' lack of a good quality railroad network. The I Reserve Corps and XVII Corps would withdraw westwards. Some 92,000 Russian prisoners were taken, two and a half army corps annihilated, and the remaining half of Samsonov’s army severely shaken. François' scouts, following his success at the Battle of Stallupönen, reported the northern flank of the Russian First Army was exposed, and requested the 2nd Infantry Division for an attack, with support by the XVII Corps and I Reserve Corps. Yet other believes that the Ottoman resisted the Allies with relative ease. On the 17th he launched, on his own initiative and against orders, an attack against the Russian First Army at the Battle of Stallupx nen. The Germans also captured between 350 and 500 Russian guns. Additionally, Russian trains operate… 84,000. Following the failed Russian invasion of East Prussia, the Russians managed to inflict a defeat on the Germans at Gumbinnen and make a push toward the West. By the time he withdrew to Gumbinnen after this battle, his corps had inflicted 5,000 casualties and managed to capture about 3,000 Russian prisoners. On 16 October, the 5th and 11th Guards Armies went onto the offensive and initially penetrated some 11 km into the German defensive belt. The casualties in this battle were 18,839 Russians and 14,607 Germans. The defeat was so severe that the Russian Second Army commander, Samsonov, walked into the forest near … The battle took place in Gorizia, Italy and was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary. [5], On the morning of 20 August, after a night march, the German 2nd Infantry Division advanced through the Züllkinner Forest and outflanked the Russian 28th Infantry Division, having been left unprotected by Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski's cavalry. The numbers were overwhelming; in perhaps as little as a month, the Russians could field around ten complete armies, more men than the Germans could muster on both fronts put together. German casualties totaled around 12,000-20,000. The Germans suffered 10,000 to 15,000 casualties. I Reserve Corps to the south had acquitted itself well, but had ended just short of a decisive success. There was more fighting in the operation's immediate aftermath: on 28 October, the 31st Army retook Gołdap in a surprise attack. Samsonov was severely hampered by a lack of communications. They were only about 75km away from Paris. Moltke responded with anger since the German strategy of defending against one Russian army and then moving to confront the second army was now at risk. Casualties: Germany lost about 1800 killed, 7500 wounded and 4700 missing (14,000 total). With this, they were able to surprise the Germ… The Battle of the Bulge; The Battle for Omaha Beach: The Men of the D-Day Invasion ... His finger moved from the Soviet frontline positions through the initial German defenses to the town of Gumbinnen. The Soviet troops ran into extremely strong resistance. 8,672 killed or wounded. The battle occurred amid a Russian offensive into German East Prussia, and it resulted in the destruction of the Russian 2nd Army and the Germans' vengeance for their defeat at nearbyGrunwald in 1410. With his initial success, François had persuaded Prittwitz to launch an offensive against the Russian First Army while the Second Army was still far to the south. The Russians enjoyed considerable numerical superiority, but were hampered by significant deficiencies in their services of supply and field communications. Prittwitz suffered a lack of confidence, especially when he learned that reconnaissance showed the Russian Second Army consisted of five corps, and a cavalry division, with six of those Russian divisions about to cross the border and move towards Mlawa. All that was required was for Prittwitz to avoid defeat, and to hold his nerve. The flanking armies commenced operations the next day, when units of the 11th Guards Army had already crossed the East Prussian border. There were over 30,000 Rus… Although the Russians were victorious in this battle and forced the Germans to retreat to Vistula and abandon East Prussia, there was a note found on a dead Russian officer that contained plans for the Russian campaign. At Tannenberg the actual ratio of Russian to German troops was 29 to 16. The troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts had succeeded in pushing the Third Panzer Army back to the East Prussian border, surrounding the city of Memel and reaching the shore of the Curonian Lagoon. The German 3rd Reserve Division, commanded by Curt von Morgen, arrived too late on the scene to intervene. The Hundred Days Offensive was a series of offensives delivered by the Allies. François argued that his troops, many of whom were native East Prussians, would be demoralized by retreating and leaving their homeland to the Russians, and that the Russians were not as strong as they appeared to be. Sixty trains were required to take captured Russian equipment to Germany. The Germans quickly moved to consolidate the German Eight Army to halt the Russian advance. Casualties. The Russians in this area were well aware of German intentions due to François's attack, and had spent the time preparing for the assault by moving up their heavy artillery. Going into battle, his men were met with concentrated artillery followed by a Russian … Eventually, Prittwitz changed his mind and decided nstead to attack the Russian Second Army. On the 17th he launched, on his own initiative and against orders, an attack against the Russian First Army at the Battle of Stallupönen. For the battle in the same area during World War I, see, Гумбиннен-Гольдапская наступательная операция, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, https://web.archive.org/web/20161216063344/http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/failures.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gumbinnen_Operation&oldid=1011694659, Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II, Military operations of World War II involving Germany, Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles lacking in-text citations from October 2008, Poland articles missing geocoordinate data, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 318 tanks, assault guns and tank destroyers, This page was last edited on 12 March 2021, at 08:55. Gumbinnen was taken by 22 October but was retaken by German forces on the 24 October after the Germans had committed the 5th Panzer Division, and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505 (equipped with Tiger IIs).