L2 - Development on the Eastern Front

Question 1

Start of the War in the East

Answer 1

• War on the East started w/ russian offensive against germany in August 1914/ Took only 2 weeks to mobilize russian army rather than 6 weeks like the germans expected -> 400,000 russian soldiers smashed into east prussia to try and overrun it + capture capital of Königsberg + draw german forces away from Schlieffen Plan/ Germans anticipated this by russia but w/o quick russian mobilisation so left the area weakly defended w/ 170,000 new recruits that had limited training + under command of bad general called Max Von Prittwitz
• Prittwitz = caught by suprise of larger army -> mass retreat to the coast bc feared being trapped by eastern and southern forces/ fearing fall of Konigsberg -> germany replaced Prittwitz w/ 2 great generals named Hindenburg + Ludendorff as a 2IC

Question 2

Battle of Tannenberg (23-30 August 1914)

Answer 2

-Unlike new german generals, russian generals called Rennenkampf + Samsonov = unexperienced + careless + despised each other -> both refused to meet or even speak to one another / carelessness -> discussed uncoded battle plans of radio -> german intelligence intercepted it
- b/c of knowledge of plans -> Hindenburg planned to surprise + defeat them -> place a holding force against Rennenkampf’s northern force -> sent 1 force to attack Samsonov’s southern force head on outside Tannenberg + 1force to flank from the west
-plan worked perfectly-> Samsonov’s forces were surrounded (poor leadership contributed to this) + annihlated by german forces -> 78,000 germans dead w/ 92,000 being captured + samsonov didnt want to face the humiliation of surrendering -> samsonov took his own life
-10 days later after victory of Tannenberg = germans drew rennenkampf’s forces into 1st battle of the Mansurian lakes/ russians = outnumbered + low on supplies -> Annihilated in battle/ 100-125,000 russians were killed, wounded or captured out of a force of 150,000 men
- success-> russians were forced out of prussia by mid september+ lost 400,000 men

Question 3

Eastern Front by 1915

Answer 3

-Despite losses in east prussia, russian forces had been making progress against AH in the south
-During Battle of Galicia in Aug to sept 1914, russians forced AH forces back over 150km and destroyed approx 1/3 of their entire army / over 300,000 men were killed and captured on the AH side + Russians lost 200,000-300,000 as well
- Russia advance was only halted by the natural barrier of Carpathian Mountains and the decision to place german commanders+ units into the AH armies
- by the end of 1914, a stalemate had settled in on the Eastern Front by 1915 the front in the east would extend to over 1300km
- however unlike the western front, war in the east wasn’t static in trenches + war was much more mobile + the frontlines changed constantly over 4 years