Events
Two Russian armies invaded an area called East Prussia, controlled by the Germans. At first they were successful - however, a combination of factors led to Russian defeat:
Result
Two Russian armies invaded an area called East Prussia, controlled by the Germans. At first they were successful - however, a combination of factors led to Russian defeat:
- The slow-moving Russians were not able to take advantage of their early successes
- The Russian generals, Samsonov and Rennenkampf, did not like each other and didn't communicate well
- The Russians sent uncoded messages to each other which were intercepted and read by the Germans
Result
- Samsonov's Second Army was trapped and destroyed - 92,000 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner
- Samsonov shot himself, aware that the Tsar would be angry about the loss of the battle
- After this humiliating defeat the morale of the Russian army was now very low