11/23/2023 0 Comments Battle of tannenberg factsDuring the Boxer Rebellion (1900), Samsonov commanded a cavalry unit. He subsequently became commandant of the Elisavetgrad Cavalry School. From March 11, 1890, through July 26, 1896, he worked at various assignments at the Warsaw Military District. On November 4, 1888, he was appointed senior aide to the staff of the 20th Infantry Division, and from July 10, 1885, to February 4, 1889, served as Senior Staff Adjutant to the Caucasus Grenadier Division. After this war he attended the Nikolaevsky Military Academy in St. Samsonov fought in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78. After graduation from the Vladimir of Kiev Cadet Corps and elite Nicholas Cavalry College, he joined the Imperial Russian Army at age 18 as a cornet in the 12th Hussars Regiment. He was born in Ukraine in the Kherson Governorate, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Ashamed by his loss of the Army, Samsonov committed suicide while retreating from the battlefield. He was the commander of the Russian Second Army which was surrounded and defeated by the German Eighth Army in the Battle of Tannenberg, one of the early battles of World War I. Aleksándr Vasíl’evič Samsónov 14 November 1859 – 30 August 1914) was a career officer in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army and a general during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. This had even had an impact on the outcome of the First Battle of the Marne.Andreevka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)Īleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov ( Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Самсо́нов, tr. This was correct in many ways, as the defeat of the Russians had resulted in a significant reduction in forces on the Western Front. However, the Grand Duke Nicholai, commander-in-chief of the Russian Army, stated that it was “an honour to make such a sacrifice”. The defeat was so great that Britain decided to keep it from the public. The defeat was so catastrophic that Samsonov committed suicide. Of the 150,000 men in the Russian Second Army, just 10,000 managed to escape, with 30,000 becoming casualties and more than 95,000 taken prisoner. In fact, many Russian soldiers threw their rifles away and surrendered. Samsonov had realised the severity of his situation on 28th August, but his attempts to breakout near Tannenburg ended in disaster. Other German units were also moved to the Tannenberg region and the Germans surrounded the Russian Second Army. The 1 Corps were then moved into a position that would prevent the Second Army from retreating to Russia, which effectively trapped Samsonov. General Francois, who commanded the 1 Corps, captured Soldau and further weakened the Russian lines of communication. The German’s attack on Samsonov’s Second Army took place on 27th August and was very successful. The Germans, on the other hand, were finding it easy to intercept Russian messages, including one informing Samsonov of Rennenkampf’s marching plan - stating outright that Samsonov would not receive help from the First Army - and another stating the routes Samsonov planned to use to attack the Germans. Struggling with lack of communications, Samsonov was unaware of what Hoffman had planned and he also didn’t that the Russian First Army had halted its advances - he assumed Rennenkampf was moving through East Russia as planned. Ludendorff and Hindenburg were both credited for the events at Tannenberg but it was actually Colonel Maximilian Hoffman who had detailed how they should surround Russia’s Second Army. By 22nd August, the Eastern Front was tabled and the Germans started to surround Samsonov’s army.
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