Battle of Gunbinnen
Part of Eastern Front (World War I)
Eastern Front, August 17–23, 1914
Date August 20, 1914 Location Gumbinnen, East Prussia (now Gusev, Russia) Result Russian victory
Combatants
Russian Empire	German Empire
Commanders
Paul von Rennenkampf, Alexander Samsonov	Maximilian von Prittwitz
Strength
I Army (200,000 men)	VIII Army (150,000 men)
Casualties
?	6,000 prisoners

The Battle of Gumbinnen, started by the Germans on August 20, 1914 was the first major offense in the Eastern Front during the First World War. Combatants German Empire Austria-Hungary Russian Empire Romania Commanders Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Conrad von Hötzendorf Nikolay II Grand Duke Nicholas Constantin Prezan The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 775 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1242 × 961 pixel, file size: 227 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Battle of Stalluponen... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The city of Gusev (Гусев; Gumbinnen, German, until 1945; GumbinÄ—, Lithuanian, until 1945) is in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... Anthem: God Save the Tsar! Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq mi Population  - 1897... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Polish (Posen, Lower Silesia,Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871... Russian General Paul von Rennenkampf, 1905. ... Russian General Aleksander Samsonov, 1913. ... Maximilian von Prittwitz (1848-1917) was a German general of Silesian descent. ... The Russian First Army was a World War I Russian field army that fought on the Eastern Front for two years. ... The German Eighth Army (German: ) was a World War I and World War II field army. ... Combatants German Empire Austria-Hungary Russian Empire Romania Commanders Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Conrad von Hötzendorf Nikolay II Grand Duke Nicholas Constantin Prezan The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... The Battle of Stalluponen was the first German victory on the Eastern Front in World War I. Brought on by the aggressive tactics of General Hermann von Francois in defense of the German province of East Prussia, the battle was completely unexpected by both sides, along with its outcome. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Imperial Russia Austria-Hungary Commanders Nikolai Ivanov Conrad von Hötzendorf Strength 1,200,000 1,000,000 Casualties 255,000 300,000 The Battle of Lemberg was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914 in which the... The first battle of Krasnik started on August 23rd, 1914 in the province of Galicia, in northern Austria, and ended two days later on the 25th. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Combatants Russia Austria-Hungary Commanders Radko Dmitriev Andrei N. Selivanov Hermann Kusmanek Strength 300,000 PrzemyÅ›l Garrison (126,000) Casualties (40,000 casualties were sustained in the first few days of the siege) at least 16,000 dead, the remaining 110,000 surrendered The Siege of PrzemyÅ›l was... The Battle of the Vistula River, also known as the Battle of Warsaw, was a Russian victory against Germany on the Eastern Front during the First World War. ... Combatants Russia Germany Commanders Nikolai Ruzski August von Mackensen Strength Russian First, Second and Fifth Armies German Ninth Army Casualties 95,000 killed, wounded & captured 35,000 killed, wounded & missing The Battle of Łódź took place from November 11 to December 6, 1914, near the city of Łódź in Poland. ... Combatants German Empire Russian Empire Commanders August von Mackensen General Smirnov Vasily Gurko, VI Corps Strength German Ninth Army unknown Casualties unknown 40,000 casualties The Battle of Bolimov was an inconclusive battle of World War I fought on January 31, 1915 between Germany and Russia and considered a preliminary... The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers offensive on the Eastern Front (World War I) in the winter of 1915. ... Combatants Russia Germany, Austria-Hungary Commanders Ratko Dimitriev August von Mackensen Strength III Army XI Army (Germany) IV Army (Austria-Hungary) Casualties 240,000 90,000 To allay Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians on the Eastern Front, and to inflict Russia a decisive blow, the German Chief of Staff... Poniatowski Bridge, blown up by the retreating Russian Army in 1915 only months after its grand opening. ... Combatants Russian Empire German Empire Commanders Alexei Kuropatkin Alexei Evert Hermann von Eichhorn Strength Parts of two army groups (350,000 men + 1,000 guns) Tenth Army (75,000 men + 400 guns) Casualties 120,000 20,000 The Lake Naroch Offensive (Russian: Нарочь; Belarusian: Нарач (Narač) was an inconclusive battle mainly fought... Combatants Russian Empire Austria-Hungary German Empire Commanders Aleksei Brusilov Conrad von Hötzendorf Alexander von Linsingen Strength 40+ infantry divisions (573,000 men) 15 cavalry divisions (60,000 men) 39 infantry divisions (437,000 men) 10 Cavalry divisions (30,000 men) Casualties 500,000+ men killed or wounded 975... Combatants Russia Germany, Austria-Hungary Commanders Aleksei Brusilov von Bothmer Strength XI, VII, VIII Armies South Army (A.H.-Germany) VII and III Army (Austria-Hungary) Casualties 400,000 ? The Kerensky Offensive (aka July Offensive or Galician Offensive) was the last Russian offensive in World War One. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants German Empire Austria-Hungary Russian Empire Romania Commanders Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Conrad von Hötzendorf Nikolay II Grand Duke Nicholas Constantin Prezan The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nikolay II Aleksey Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert H. Asquith D. Lloyd George Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna...

Background

At the outbreak of the war, von Prittwitz's orders were very strict and very clear: with his Eighth Army, he was just to keep his positions in East Prussia, without attempting any offensive action, as all German efforts must concentrate on the Western Front against France, according to the Schlieffen Plan. Not only must he not advance, but, should the Russians increase their pressure, he was authorized to fall back as far as the Vistula River. Maximilian von Prittwitz (1848-1917) was a German general of Silesian descent. ... The German Eighth Army (German: ) was a World War I and World War II field army. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Combatants Belgium, British Empire, France, United States, other Western Allies of WWI Germany Commanders No unified command until 1918, then General Ferdinand Foch Kaiser Wilhelm II Casualties ~4,800,000 Unknown though considerably higher Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the German army opened the Western... Alfred Graf von Schlieffen The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staffs overall strategic plan for victory on the Western Front against France, and was executed to near victory in the first month of World War I; however, a French counterattack on the outskirts of Paris, the Battle of... The Vistula (Polish: ) is the longest river in Poland. ...

Three armies were deployed in the theater: von Prittwitz's Eighth Army (three corps led by Hermann von François, August von Mackensen and Otto von Below, plus one cavalry division) was facing the Russian First Army (under Paul von Rennenkampf) and Second Army (under Alexander Samsonov). The Russians enjoyed considerable numeric superiority. General der Infanterie Hermann von François, commander of I Korps at the Battle of Tannenberg, 1914. ... Field Marshal August von Mackensen August von Mackensen (December 6, 1849–November 8, 1945), was a German Field Marshal, born August Mackensen in Haus Leipnitz, in the Prussian province of Saxony, to Louis and Marie Louise Mackensen. ... Otto von Below (1857-1944) was born at Danzig, Germany. ... The Russian First Army was a World War I Russian field army that fought on the Eastern Front for two years. ... Russian General Paul von Rennenkampf, 1905. ... Russian General Aleksander Samsonov, 1913. ...

In the previous Battle of Stalluponen, von François had launched — on his own initiative and orders to the contrary notwithstanding — an attack against the enemy. Then he had to retreat to Gumbinnen, but managed to capture about 3,000 Russian prisoners. The Battle of Stalluponen was the first German victory on the Eastern Front in World War I. Brought on by the aggressive tactics of General Hermann von Francois in defense of the German province of East Prussia, the battle was completely unexpected by both sides, along with its outcome. ...

German attack and retreat

With these premises, von François managed to persuade von Prittwitz to launch an offensive. His arguments were that his troops — many of whom were native East Prussians — would not have been happy to retreat and leave their homeland into enemy hands, and that the Russians were not as strong as they appeared to be. Thus, von Prittwitz decided to engage Rennenkampf's First Army, which meant 150,000 Germans against 200,000 Russians. It must be noted as such a decision went against the orders that von Moltke (Germany's Chief of Staff) had issued, and that categorically ruled out any offensive on the Eastern Front until France's defeat in the West. Helmuth von Moltke Chief of the General Staff Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke (May 25, 1848–June 18, 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a nephew of Field Marshal Count Moltke and served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. ...

Moreover, von François — a restless commander who showed a level of insubordination quite uncommon among the German military — acted in excessive haste, moving his army corps in the morning of August 20, hours before Mackensen's and Below's corps were ready. This premature attack alerted the Russians, which were able to deploy their heavy artillery in such a way as to repel the enemy offensive. The Germans were forced to withdraw in disarray, leaving 6,000 prisoners in Russian hands. August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

At this point, von Prittwitz feared that his army could be trapped between Rennenkampf and Samsonov, although the former did not seem eager to pursue the retreating German troops. Von Prittwitz panicked and, with a decision out of proportion to the effective severity of the situation, ordered a general retreat to the Vistula River, leaving East Prussia to the Russians.

German countermeasures

Part of von Prittwitz's panic contaminated von Moltke as well, who feared Berlin itself could now be threatened by the advancing Russians. The Chief of Staff reacted with two countermeasures: He removed von Prittwitz and his deputy von Waldensee, replacing them with Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff; He transferred some divisions from the Western Front. This transfer is generally considered a wrong move, as it weakened (some scholars say fatally) that "marching wing" which — running across Belgium as fast as possible — should have outflanked the French army and caused it to surrender. Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, known universally as Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman. ... Ludendorff in 1918 Erich Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as Erich von Ludendorff) (April 9, 1865 – December 20, 1937, Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany) was a German Army officer, noted as a general during World War I. // Ludendorff was born in Kruszewnia near Posen, Prussia (now PoznaÅ„, Poland). ...

On the Prussian front, Hindenburg and Ludendorff — who were far more competent than their predecessors — halted the German retreat, and decided to take the initiative again. This would result in the Battle of Tannenberg, one of Germany's greatest victories. Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

• Battle of Gumbinnen