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BATTLE OF TANNENBERG (TANNENBERG BATTLEFIELD)

December 9, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Olsztyn, Poland (1914 AD)

The Battle of Tannenberg was one of the few truly great German victories of the First World War.  More importantly for the Germans, it was one of the few battles of the war that did not also drain the victor of manpower through the loss of major casualties.  This was due in large part to the fact that it took place at the very outset of the conflict, before the hellish trenchlines were established.  Although Tannenberg was not the decisive engagement of the Eastern Front, the lopsided victory essentially gave the Germans the initiative against Russia for the rest of the war, and ultimately was a contributing factor to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

History

While World War I usually conjures up images of the endless carnage of the muddy trenches of the Western Front, it was in the east where the first major blows were struck.  Following the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia, Russia came to Serbia’s aid and immediately began to mobilize massive armies in Eastern Europe.  Germany in turn came in on the side of Austria and began to send a large force to its ally’s assistance.

In August, barely a few weeks after the start of the war, Russia invaded East Prussia intent on delivering a quick knock-out blow to the Germans.  However, the Russian army, while far larger than the forece available to the Germans, was poorly equipped, poorly trained and poorly led.  Moreover, the Russian commanding generals were at great odds with each other and did not effectively coordinate their forces.

As the Russians advanced on Konigsberg, the Germans fell back in a feint.  While they were doing this, they learned of the Russian battle plans and troop movements thanks to intercepted telegraph messages.  Because of this the Germans were able to completely outmaneuver the Russians, who effectively marched headlong into a trap.

When the two sides met at the end of the August, the two Russian invasion armies were two far apart to edffectively aid each other.  In most areas, superior German military capabilities kept the Russians from advancing.  On the southern end of the battle line, the Russian second army was forced into a pocket at Tannenberg, where they were quickly surrounded.  Within a few days they were forced to surrender, losing nearly two hundred thousand of their best soldiers within the first month of the war.  By far the greatest German victory of World War I, this hobbled the Russians on the Eastern Front for the duration of the conflict.

Visiting

The Battle of Tannenberg was actually fought near the city of Olsztyn, but was named Tannenberg for propaganda purposes.  Because it was fight between the Russians and Germans, the site is not well commemorated by modern Poland except for its historical significance.  The battlefield can still be visited, though it is not well marked.

The Tannenberg battlefield is located on the outskirts of Olsztyn, approximately 120 miles north of Warsaw.  As of this writing no visitor information was available.  Web: www.poland.travel.en (official tourism website of Poland).

Filed Under: Battlefield Tagged With: Poland/Lithuania

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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