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Russian invasion of East Prussia (1914)
Military operation in the First World War / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Russian invasion of East Prussia occurred during World War I, lasting from August to September 1914. As well as being the natural course for the Russian Empire to take upon the declaration of war on the German Empire, it was also an attempt to focus the Imperial German Army on the Eastern Front, as opposed to the Western Front. Despite having an overwhelming superiority over the Germans in numbers, the invading Imperial Russian Army spread its forces thin and was defeated in the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, resulting in a complete strategic collapse of the Russian invasion.
East Prussian campaign | |||||||||
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Part of the Eastern Front of World War I | |||||||||
![]() Eastern Front, 17–23 August 1914. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Units involved | |||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||
Initial: 209,000 men[lower-alpha 1] 1,044 guns[4] |
Initial: 1st Army: 150,000 and 702 guns 2nd army: 100,000 men and 402 guns Total: 250,000 men and 1,100 guns[5][lower-alpha 2] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Calculation of Nelipovich: Other estimates: Stallupönen – 1,300;[9] Gumbinnen – 14,600;[10] Tannenberg – 12,000;[11] Masurian lakes – 10,000[12] or 40,000[13][14][15] Total: 37,000[16]–100,000[17] |
Calculation of Nelipovich: Other estimates: 160,000-180,000 total Tanneberg: 70,000[Note 1][19] Masurian Lakes: 60,000[20][21][Note 2] Gumbinnen: 18,000 Stalluppen:6,000[22] Total: 160,000–240,000 60,000-100,000 taken prisoner[17][19] |
The shock of the invasion served to assist the German war effort according to one historian, who argued that "Outrage at the violation of national territory and Tsarist atrocities strengthened German solidarity, cemented conviction in the righteousness of the national cause, and acted as a terrible and lasting warning of the penalties of defeat".[23]