Friday, August 21
The Germans in Crisis
German wounded disembark from a train at Allenstein
The disaster that had befallen the German XVII Corps on 20 August sent shockwaves throughout the 8th Army and the German Empire as a whole. In a telephone call to the OHL (Oberste Heeresleitung, German High Command) at 0745, General von Prittwitz reported that the 8th Army had withdrawn back behind the Angerapp. This prompted a return call two hours later, with Chief of the General Staff General von Moltke demanding to know if Prittwitz intended to retreat tothe Vistula, thereby abandoning East Prussia to its fate. The call did not go well.
Meanwhile, the German XX Corps, holding the line in the south against the attack from Russian General Samsonov’s 2nd Army, reported that they were pulling back in the face of Russian breakthroughs. Requests from von Prittwitz for reinforcements from the west are denied by Moltke, who was by now very concerned as he saw the 8th Army appearing on the verge of collapse.
With this in mind, XX Corps was able to stop their retreat, digging in to await reinforcements from the units further north around Gumbinnen, with the possibility of a massing of troops in the Masurian Lakes area to hit Samsonov’s right flank. Despite these movements, Moltke had almost certainly by this point lost all faith in Prittwitz, and resolved to replace him as soon as possible. With rumors circling OHL about Moltke’s own failings in the west, the Chief of the General Staff needed to move quickly to restore the situation in the east.
German signalmen running field telephone lines
German Federal Archives
Despite the victory at Gumbinnen, the Russians were not fairing much better. Their logistical system was in complete disarray. Supply wagons were broken down or stuck in the muddy, sandy roads for miles into their rear, and by now some units were almost entirely out of food and ammunition. Communications are also in a poor state, with the Russians broadcasting radio information without encryption, and many officers forced to rely on the civilian telephone system to relay orders and reports. The solar eclipse that occured today was interpreted by many in this jumbled mess as a grim omen of the future.
Meanwhile in the south, the 2nd Army was indeed pushing deeper into East Prussia. Cossack patrols had confirmed the Germans were dug in at Neidenburg and Ortelsburg, and Samsonov prepared to attack the German line on the morning of 22 August. Orders went out for the Russian VI Corps to move on Ortelsburg, and the Russian I Corps and XV Corps to take Neidenburg and Soldau. The XIII Corps is to remain in reserve near the border, and XXIII Corps is to march to Mlawa before turning north to cross the border and flank the Germans.
East Prussia - August 21, 1914
Fortress city of Konigsberg
Nordenberg - German 8th Army Headquarters
German positions in Masurian Lakes
Ortelsburg
Neidenburg
Soldau
Russian 1st Army
Russian 2nd Army