Tannenberg: August 26, 1914 — I Like to Hear Myself Talk History

Counterattack

Just after midnight on 26 August the men of the German I Corps were shocked by the arrival of new orders from Francois, instructing them to move to their jump-off points. They had, until this point, not been privy to the plans for counterattack. They reached the Russian lines at Seeben ay 0500, and despite the requests of Francois to postpone the attack due to a lack of ammunition, 8th Army headquarters ordered the attack to commence, setting a 1200 deadline for them to be in Usdau.

The attack is difficult, and by 1100 Seeben has not fallen, a report to that end enraging Ludendorff. Despite this, the fact remains that the entirety of I Corps is simply not in position, and won’t be until 1200. In some cases, the trains bringing up men actually bypassed the stations to stop on the battlefield itself, the men disembarking as Russian bullets whizzed off the locomotive. With the corps artillery also arriving at 1200, the attack was able to begin in full, and by 1230 Seeben had been taken, with the Russians retreating back toward Usdau with the Germans in hot pursuit.

***Francois with one of his divisonal commanders***

Despite the rapid success at Seeben, the attack soon slowed. The 1st Division was forced to halt as heat exhaustion took its toll on the men. Subsequently, the 2nd Division, now unsupported, found its attack bogged down by midafternoon. Thus ended the attack on Usdau by the German I Corps, but farther east another attack was also to begin.

XX Corps had halted for the day when orders came down from 8th Army to attack at once, as they had discovered a growing gap between the Russian forces facing them. Probing attacks were ordered at 1300, and this began almost three hours later, at 1545. The XX Corps’ 41st Division struck the Russian 1st Division near Lake Lake Kownathen, quickly enveloping it. By 1800 the Russian lines had been broken, and the Germans charging ahead, with artillery engaging the Russians at point blank range. The Russian 2nd Division began to collapse, with officers shooting their own men to try and restore order until they too fall, leaving the route to continue. By nightfall the 2nd Division had been effectively destroyed, with the 1st Division in serious danger.

Even further to the east, Mackensen’s XVII Corps launched its attack toward Bischofsburg at 0800 with two divisions, even though one, the 35th, is too tired to actually make the move after all the marching the day and night before. Meanwhile, the scouts from the 36th Division sent out into the foggy morning did not return. This was soon followed by reports of an entire Russian division around Bischofsburg, and the Germans began to dig in.

***A German field gun battery in action*** *(photograph in Galicia)*

The Russians attack came soon after, and the exhausted 35th Division collapsed almost immediately. Even when the attack was stopped by the German field guns, the Russians beleived they had achieved victory, with only mop-up operations needed in the area. As a result, the Russian VI Corps moves on almost in its entirety toward Allenstein, leaving only one brigade to deal with whatever German stragglers may remain. This opinion was reinforced by the fact that Russian air reconnaissance had reported a formation from Rennenkampf’s 1st Army just north of Bischofsburg, misidentifying the German I Reserve Corps.

This brigade launched its attack on the Germans at 1230, running into not the exhausted remnants of the 35th Division, but the still full strength 36th. Additional Landwehr units were also in the area, and the I Reserve Corps was moving up to take up the slack as well. The fighting continued until just after nightfall, when the Germans sound a charge and break the Russian lines, taking Bischofsburg.

Orders were immediately issued for the Russian 16th Division, which had just departed for Allenstein, to come about, but this took time on the narrow roads. To make matters worse, as they advanced they neglected to screen their flanks, and were thus attacked by I Reserve Corps near Lake Dadley, which eventually resulted in the badly mauled Russian division turning back again toward Allenstein. With the situation as it was, the opportunity now seemed available for the Germans to destroy the Russian VI Corps, provided that they were able to move quickly enough along their entire front.

The Russians, for their part, had taken both Allenstein and Tabigotten with the XIII Corps, while the XV Corps had taken Grieslienen and Hohenstein. In addition, at Mlawa just over the border, reinforcements were detraining, including elite guards units just arrived from Warsaw. Finally, in the north, Rennenkampf’s 1st Army advanced and captured Gordauer and Drengfurth in the German rear, much to the distress of Ludendorff. Hindenburg had to step in and calm his chief of staff following this news.

***General Rennenkampf at Russian 1st Army headquarters at Insterburg, East Prussia***

Rennenkampf’s troops had been ordered by the Northwestern Front today to alter their primary objectives. With the senior Russian leadership now beleiving that the 8th Army had been effectively destroyed, the 1st Army was ordered to shift its attack to besiege Konigsberg with two corps. Shortages were to be ignored, with forage intended to supplement short rations. The remainder of the 1st Army was to join with the 2nd Army to destroy what remnants of the German forces could be found. Despite all of this, Rennenkampf had only advanced some fifty miles over the past three days, despite next to no German opposition to their advance.

In the evening, the Germans further expanded their hold around Bischofsburg. As the troops of the 36th Division advanced into the surrounding forests under cover of artillery fire, they encountered only abandoned trenches and dead Russian soldiers strewn about. The VI Corps line had collapsed, providing an opening for the 8th Army.

With the VI Corps collapse, the Germans could move to envelop the Russian XV Corps, destroying it before the XIII Corps could arrive to reinforce them. In order to accomplish this, the entire 8th Army must move quickly, and in the evening Ludendorff issued the necessary orders:

I Corps is to take Usdau before turning on Neidenburg to roll up the Russians’ flank. Several battalions from XX Corps will be detached to reinforce I Corps
The remainder of XX Corps is to continue today’s advance
I Reserve Corps is to hold the line in the rear, from Hohenstein to Waplitz

The situation continued to improve for the Germans. The Landwehr units stationed in Schleswig-Holstein to guard the coasts from potential British invasion had been released to reinforce the 8th Army, and even better, with the fall of Namur in Belgium, both the German IX Corps and the Guards Reserve Corps are detached from the German 2nd Army and sent east. In the evening, Ludendorff called OHL, boasting of the imminent crushing victory.

Not all was rosy, however, when a report arrived from I Reserve Corps near Bischofsburg that the situation there had taken a drastic turn for the worse. This led even the famously imperturbable Hindenburg to show stress, with a sudden hitch in what was otherwise a chance at total victory.

Wednesday, August 26

Counterattack

Thursday, August 27

Tuesday, August 25

I Like to Hear Myself Talk History