The German Empire
Deutsches Reich
The German Empire was still a young nation in 1914, having only been formed 43 years prior in 1871. The country had formed from a Prussian-led coalition of the various smaller German states after their defeat of Napoleon III and his French Empire, with the Prussian King Wilhelm I declared German Emperor (Kaiser) in the Palace of Versailles to inaugurate the new, united German state.
The Empire was a federal parliamentary monarchy, with the old German kingdoms, states and free cities remaining semi-autonomous under the new Imperial Government in Berlin, although the Prussians retained a hegemony within the Empire. This empire rapidly industrialized in its early years, quickly building one of the most powerful economies in the world, along with boasting a robust scientific establishment. An excellent rail and communication network existed in the country, along with a massive and well equipped army backed by a navy second only to that of Britain.
As a young power, Germany had been at a disadvantage in the colonial scramble, but had still managed to claim significant lands in Africa as well as a handful of islands in the Pacific, along with a concession from the Chinese in the form of the port of Tsingtao, ending in third place behind the French and British in terms of overseas possessions. A network of alliances had kept it from being isolated by other powers under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, but that had shifted heavily by 1914 to the point that its only firm ally on the continent was the tottering Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Germans found themselves sandwiched between by a hostile Russia and France.
Despite surviving several crises in the early 20th century, peace in Europe finally unraveled in the summer of 1914, subsequent to the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. The resulting actions by Vienna brought tensions to an all time high, with the Russians pledging to aid their fellow Slavs while the Germans did the same for Austria. The situation spiraled out of control, and the German Empire officially declared war on the Russian Empire on 1 August, 1914.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II had taken the throne as Germany’s third Emperor after the death of his father, Kaiser Friedrich-Wilhelm I in 1888, and his grandfather Wilhelm I, who had died three months prior. A grandchild of Britain’s Queen Victoria, he was thus a cousin of both the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and Britain’s King George V, and he had a strained relationship with his relatives. Known for his militarism and lack of tact, the Kaiser was considered a hot-headed and unpredictable leader for a great power.
The Kaiser had pushed the famous Chancellor Otto von Bismarck from office after a growing rift over social policy, with the “Iron Chancellor” resigning in 1890. Following this, the complex network of alliances Bismarck had maintained quickly broke down, as Wilhelm embarked on Germany’s “New Course”. His efforts to create a navy to rival that of Britain in particular would serve to increase tensions, and his allowing for the treaties Bismarck had sealed with Russia to lapse. driving the Tsar into the arms of the French.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, a personal friend of the Kaiser, shocked Wilhelm deeply, and he subsequently offered Germany’s full support to the Austro-Hungarians in the ensuing crisis, but when the Serbians accepted the ultimatum almost in total, he considered the crisis averted. Despite this, the Austrians intended to go to war regardless, and their mobilization was countered by one in Russia, leaving the Kaiser to desperately attempt to deal with the situation. A series of telegrams between himself and the Tsar (referring to each other as Willy and Nicky) failed when neither was willing to back down, and on 1 August the Kaiser, now essentially sidelined by his own military and political leaders, signed a declaration of war with Russia.
Generaloberst Helmuth von Moltke
The Chief of the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL, German High Command) as the Great War began was Helmuth von Moltke the Younger, having held the post for the past eight years. He was the nephew of Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, who had been the first man to hold that post from 1871 to 1888, and as a result the younger man was known as Moltke the Younger.
Moltke was not about to change the long standing plans for the conduct of the coming war, and even when the Kaiser himself ordered him to cancel the attack on France (he had received information that the British might keep the French out of the war) von Moltke refused, citing the risk of causing chaos if the well laid plans were disrupted. He had been planning for and anticipating the coming war for most of his career, and was not about to be deprived of the coming test.
Generaloberst Maximilian von Prittwitz - 8. Heer
The commander of the German 8th Army, the formation charged with the defense of East Prussia while the main force of the German Imperial Army smashed the French, was a 65 year old Prussian veteran of the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian Wars with nearly fifty years of service.
Having previously served as a corps commander in Metz, von Prittwitz was appointed commander of the 8th Army the day after Germany entered the war, tasked with the defense of East Prussia against the invading Russians as the Schlieffen Plan was enacted to quickly overrun France. With a reputation for harshness as well as corpulence, the experienced Prittwitz seemed an excellent choice to command the critical sector as the Great War began.
Generalleutnant Georg von Waldersee - 8. Heer, Chief of Staff
von Prittwittz’ Chief of Staff was General Georg von Waldersee, was considered an up-and-comer within the German General Staff, and had held the post of Quartermaster General of the Imperial Army until his transfer at the outbreak of war. A long proponent of preventive war against Russia, he now found himself leading men against them in the late summer of 1914.
General der Infanterie Paul von Hindenburg - 8. Heer
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg was living in quiet retirement at his estate in Hanover, having left the Army in 1911. He had served as an officer since 1865, and had seen action against the Austrians in 1866 and the French in 1870, and had been selected for the new Imperial General Staff Academy in 1873. Although he was reccommended by the outgoing Alfred von Schlieffen to take the post of Chief of the General Staff in 1905, he stood aside in favor of von Moltke, and when he retired he had 46 years of experience under his belt.
von Hindenburg had built a reputation for imperturbability as well as integrity, if lacking in innovative ideas, and was well respected by those in the General Staff that knew him. When the war began he had offered his services to the Kaiser should they be needed, an offer that would serve to position him in a pivotal role in history.
Generalmajor Erich Ludendorff - 8. Heer, Chief of Staff
Erich Ludendorff was a relative rarity within the Imperial German Army: a senior officer without a noble title. Born of a relatively low level Junker family, he had risen through the ranks of the Imperial Army and had served on the Oberste Heeresleitung until his lobbying in the Reichstag for additional military funds (political activity was considered taboo within the Army) resulted in his transfer to command a Fusilier Regiment.
When the Great War began Ludendorff was assigned to the post of Deputy Chief of Staff of the German 2nd Army, which formed a portion of the Schlieffen Plan’s thrust through Belgium. It was here, leading a force during the Siege of Liege, that he won his fame. Hs forces were able to break the deadlock created by the strong Belgian forts, giving Ludendorff the title of “Victor of Liege” and leading to him being awarded the Pour le Merit, the German Empire’s highest decoration.
Ludendorff was a man considered to have a thorny personality, being hard for both superiors and inferiors to work with. Considered a brilliant organizer, he was almost always hard at work, and showed very little humor, and had a very headstrong and forceful personality. After his performance at Liege, the OHL would look to him as a solution to troubles elsewhere.
General der Infanterie Herman von Francois - I Korps
Despite his distinctly French sounding surname, Herman von Francois had been born the son of a Prussian general in 1856, and had followed his father into the military after graduating from the academy. He had risen steadily through the ranks over the intervening decades after the formation of the German Empire, including service as Chief of Staff to Paul von Hindenburg with IV Corps at Magdeburg. In 1913 he had been promoted to General der Infanterie and assigned command of I Corps, a contingent of the 8th Army in East Prussia, a post he held when war broke out in the summer of 1914.
Francois had a reputation as something of a maverick, with a forceful personality coupled with an aggressive command style that led to his taking the initiative to an extent that caused some consternation to his superiors. He was displeased with the plan for the defense of East Prussia, and the part his corps was to play in it. he had thus been lobbying the OHL to give him more men and equipment to allow him to launch an attack across the border immediately upon mobilization to interdict the Russian assembly areas before they could invade East Prussia. 8th Army commander General von Prittwitz disagreed, believing that this could risk I Corps sector being open to Russian attack and thus possibly compromising the entire defense strategy.
General der Kavallerie August von Mackensen - XVII Korps
August von Mackensen had been born into a commoner family, and had entered the Prussian Army as a volunteer in 1869 before receving a field commission as an officer in the Franco-Prussian War the following year. He quickly made his name as an excellent horseman, and was assigned as a tutor to Crown Prince Wilhelm, a post that would pay major dividends later in his career. The resulting relationship with the Kaiser would lead to his enoblement in 1899, adding the “von” to his name. He would later serve as adjutant to the Kaiser, and remained a personal contact of the sovereign by 1914, when he served as commander of the 8th Army’s XVII Corps in East Prussia.
General von Mackensen was known as a disciplinarian as well as a hard driver, although doubts remained as to his abilities to command a large force under war conditions. His reputation as a cavalry officer kept him in the good graces of that service, but he was distrusted by the infantry. von Mackensen’s corps had been thoroughly and humiliatingly defeated by I Corps in the 1910 East Prussian maneuvers. His career was saved mainly due to his connections with the Kaiser, and was by 1914 eager to prove that he and is men were ready to meet the challenge posed by Russian invasion.
General der Artillerie Friedrich von Scholtz - XX Korps
A veteran artillery officer, the commander of XX Corps had been serving the German Empire for its entire existence, having entered the Army in 1870. He had commanded XX Corps since 1912, stationed at Allenstein as a component of the 8th Army for the defense of East Prussia, despite the prevailing attitude within the German Army that artillery officers were too specialized to effectively lead large formations of troops.
Friedrich von Scholtz had developed a reputation within the Imperial Army as something of a careerist, but with a calm and steady approach to command which combined with a charming. joking personality that endeared him to both his men and his superiors. A favorite method of resolving petty disputes within his command was to assign the officers in question to file endless reports until one or both gave up on the issue. He had been tasked with organizing XX Corps when it was organized in 1912, and had knew his men well. His Chief of Staff, Colonel Gustav Hell, was a fellow artilleryman and an East Prussian native, who meshed will with his commander, as both had similar hard driving but cheerful personalities.
Generalleutnant Otto von Below - I Ersatzkorps
Otto von Below was a native of Danzig, on the Baltic coast at the western edge of East Prussia. With a military career that spanned four decades as well as the entirety of the German Empire, von Below was the Army’s most senior divisional commander when he was selected to command the newly formed I Reserve Corps on August 1, 1914. The appointment had not come a moment too soon, as von Below had chafed under the command of von Francois in I Corps, and was on the brink of retirement when the post was offered.
The concept of an entire corps made entirely of reservists was a novelty in the German Army, and von Below had his work cut out for him with his men being all freshly mustered reservists. It remained to be seen how well the corps or its commander would cope with the coming Russian onslaught.
8. Heer (8th Army) - Imperial German Amy
With just over 150,000 men the German 8th Army was tasked with the defense of East Prussia from a Russian Empire that already enveloped it on two sides, the East and South, with the Baltic to the North. Formed on August 1, 1914 with its headquarters in the old Prussian capital city of Konigsberg on the Baltic, its core consisted of six divisions of regular Army troops arrayed into the I, XVII and XX Corps, in addition to the two reserve divisions of I Reserve Corps and an additional detached Pomeranian Reserve Division. The Army could also count the local Landwehr units amongst its ranks (retired veterans of the regular army and reserves up to 45 years of age, organized as local defense forces). All this was bolstered by the garrisons and fortifications of the cities of Konigsberg, Thorn, Posen, Graudenz and Breslau, with each mustering between a division and a brigade.
Despite the significant Russian force expected to oppose them, 8th Army was under orders to mount an aggressive defense of the region, theoretically in concert with a concurrent Austro-Hungarian attack into Russian Poland from Galicia. In addition, von Prittwitz was led to believe that he must maintain contact with the River Vistula in his rear at all costs, and that it would serve as his primary fallback line should the Russians exert too much pressure.
German Jager (light infantry) at a field command post in East Prussia