Saturday, August 29
The 2nd Army Collapses
Hindenburg and his staff on the field in East Prussia
In the predawn hours of 29 August the Germans moved to consolidate their gains from the day before. Additional troops were dispatched to Neidenburg to reinforce those already there, and the men of XVII Corps, having missed the orders from headquarters to halt for the night, marched onward to Ortelsburg and occupied it by 0630, unwittingly cutting the last major avenue of escape for the Russian 2nd Army. In addition, orders were sent to the garrison of the fortified city of Kongisberg to begin probing attacks to distract the Russian 1st Army and prevent them from intervening. Seeing the unfolding disaster, General Zhilinsky had ordered the 1st Army to march as quickly as possible to relieve Samsonov’s men, and the only German forces blocking them were a handful of cavalrymen and reservists.
The morning’s fighting began in earnest when the XX Corps, which had been engaged throughout the night around Hohenstein, launched a large attack toward the town via Griesleinen, supported by heavy artillery that devastated the Russian positions. Despite heavy casualties the Germans enter the blazing town of Hohenstein by 1030, as the Landwehr troops cut the causeway leading to the south. Snipers remained a notable problem, and when General von der Goltz is almost killed by one he orders his Landwehr troops to conduct a methodical sweep and clear operation. By 1400 the town was secure, and the mood jubilant. In an amusing anecdote, when the Germans attempted to share rations with the Russian prisoners, they were refused, with the Russians believing that the brown bars were poison.
As the rest of the XX Corps took Hohenstein, the 41st Division was sent toward Jedwabno, but their slow and cautious approach allowed the remnants of the Russian XV Corps to hold them up. The lines were broken by 1300, but the advance was still agonizingly slow. They arrived in Orlau at 1700, pushing the Russians out of the pocket through a small gap between XX Corps and I Reserve Corps lines.
In response to the threat posed by the advancing Russians in the north, the I Reserve Corps was ordered to redeploy its entire force along the road between Allenstein and Osterode. The complete destruction of the 2nd Army is now possible, even likely, and the need to do so quickly before turning on Rennenkampf’s 1st Army was now tantamount.
On the western flank, the German I Corps was deployed along a line from Neidenburg to Willenburg to block the 2nd Army withdrawing southward into Poland. The remnants of the Russian XV Corps reached the town in the afternoon, and were destroyed by a German charge. Francois’ men captured 1,000 wagons and 5,000 prisoners. A flying column was also sent southward toward the Russian border, causing further chaos in the Russian lines.
Other elements of the German I Corps pushed toward Orlau, overrunning Russian supply columns, with one infantry company converting in the field to mounted infantry after capturing a large number of Cossack horses. By 2000 the detached XX Corps units under Francois’ command reached Willenburg, by now the last major crossroads in Russian hands. Almost 2,000 prisoners are taken in the area by nightfall as I Corps settles in, its objectives to form the right wing of the German pincer complete.
Russian dead are buried in shell craters near Usdau
On the Eastern Flank, Mackensen had moved XVII Corps headquarters to Passenheim, and the 36th Division had been deployed to block the road from Orlau as the 35th marched from Ortelsburg to link up with I Corps at Neidenburg. As the entered Jedwabno they liberated a number of prisoners as they marched past the lines of abandoned Russian supply wagons, and two miles from the I Corps line.
For the Russians the entire day was a state of utter chaos. XV Corps had been desperately trying to reach Neidenburg before dawn, unaware the Germans had already taken the town, and in the confused movement the corps commander, General Nikolai Martos, had lost contact with his staff, thus being rendered unable to coordinate the movement at all. By nightfall the remnants of the corps was massed around Muschaken, with the men aimlessly bivouacking with no clear idea of who was in command.
A Russian column moves down a road (Later Photo)
For the XIII Corps, they had reached Kurken by noon, but two hours later urgent orders arrived from Samsonov to pull back quickly to cover XV Corps as they lead the withdrawal of the army back into Poland. The army commander himself had attemted during the day to ride back to his headquarters, but had found the route impassible due to the jumble of abandoned wagons. An attempt to return to XV Corps was also a failure, as Willenburg was found to be in German hands. WIth the situation seeming hopeless, Samsonov ordered his attached Cossacks to save themselves, proceeding with his staff on foot through the forest to attempt to locate his own lines.
By the end of the day the 2nd Army was in a state of general collapse. Only one hope remained as Hindenburg called the Kaiser to personally declare victory in what he requested be called the Battle of Tannenberg (the name was chosen due to the general proximity, as well as the fact that the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410, where the Teutonic Knights had been defeated by the Poles). That hope was Ortelsburg, which had changed hands twice during the day as the limited German forces in the area fought with Russian remnant units. Samsonov ordered VI Corps to move on the town with everything it had left, and then to hold it all costs as what remained of the 2nd Army made its desperate escape.
East Prussia: 29 April, 1914
Fortress City of Konigsberg
Konigsberg Garrison launches harassing attacks against the Russian 1st Army
Allenstein - I Reserve Corps redeploys to block the threat of the 1st Army
Ortelsburg - XVII Corps blocks the road to trap 2nd Army, Samsonov orders Russian VI Corps to dislodge them and reopen the road
Neidenburg - German I Corps holds the town and destroys what remains of Russian XV Corps
Hohenstein - Taken today by German XX Corps
Mlawa - German scouts report limited Russian movement
Russian 2nd Army is now enveloped and collapsing
Russian 1st Army is now moving to relieve 2nd Army