# Canonical recap data for Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
# Source: https://recap.at/1914/battle-tannenberg
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: battle-tannenberg
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1914/battle-tannenberg"
title: Battle of Tannenberg
aliases:
- Tannenberg
- First Battle of the Masurian Lakes
- East Prussian Campaign 1914
subtitle: Early WWI Eastern Front victory that decimated Russian army; Hindenburg's breakthrough with strategic consequences.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1914-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1914
decade: 1910
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: This is the order of battle for both the Russian and German armies at the Battle of Tannenberg, August 17 to September 2, 1914.
summaryLong: This is the order of battle for both the Russian and German armies at the Battle of Tannenberg, August 17 to September 2, 1914.
lede: In August 1914, a German army under Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff crushed a Russian invasion force in East Prussia, killing or capturing over 170,000 soldiers. The lopsided victory gave Germany a strategic breathing room in the east while the Western Front deadlocked, and made Hindenburg a national hero whose legend would shape German politics for two decades.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R36715%2C_Ostpreu%C3%9Fen%2C_deutsche_Infanterie_auf_dem_Marsch.jpg/1280px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R36715%2C_Ostpreu%C3%9Fen%2C_deutsche_Infanterie_auf_dem_Marsch.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Battle of Tannenberg (1914) order of battle"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Russian forces engaged
  value: ~180,000 troops (First and Second Armies)
- label: German forces engaged
  value: ~170,000 troops (Eighth Army)
- label: Russian casualties and POWs
  value: 170,000+
- label: German casualties
  value: ~13,000
- label: Battle duration
  value: August 26–30, 1914 (main engagement)
- label: Russian commander
  value: Alexander Samsonov (First Army)
- label: German commander
  value: Paul von Hindenburg
- label: German chief of staff for the operation
  value: Erich Ludendorff
- label: Territory at stake
  value: East Prussia
timeline:
- date: 1914-08-17
  title: Russian invasion begins
  description: General Samsonov's First Army crosses the German border from Russian Poland, aiming to drive through East Prussia toward Berlin.
- date: 1914-08-23
  title: Hindenburg and Ludendorff assume command
  description: Paul von Hindenburg, recalled from retirement, and his chief of staff Erich Ludendorff take control of the German Eighth Army in East Prussia.
- date: 1914-08-26
  title: Battle opens at Tannenberg
  description: German forces under Ludendorff's operational direction begin their assault on Samsonov's First Army near the village of Tannenberg.
- date: 1914-08-28
  title: Russian Second Army collapse imminent
  description: General Rennenkampf's Second Army, which was supposed to support Samsonov from the north, fails to advance decisively, leaving Samsonov's left flank exposed.
- date: 1914-08-29
  title: Samsonov's encirclement becomes fatal
  description: German forces complete the envelopment of the Russian First Army. Samsonov, recognizing defeat, shoots himself; his army begins mass surrender.
- date: 1914-08-31
  title: Main fighting ends
  description: The Russian First Army is effectively destroyed. Over 170,000 Russians are killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
- date: 1914-09-02
  title: Official end date
  description: The Battle of Tannenberg is formally concluded. German casualty count stands at roughly 13,000.
- date: 1914-09-09
  title: Hindenburg's propaganda ascendancy begins
  description: German press and military leadership lionize Hindenburg as the savior of Prussia. His reputation grows to near-mythic proportions, cementing his political influence.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg_(1914)_order_of_battle"
  title: Battle of Tannenberg (1914) order of battle
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Tannenberg shattered the myth of Russian military invincibility and handed Germany's eastern command a propaganda coup at a moment when the Western Front was already grinding into stalemate. The battle's aftermath—and Hindenburg's outsized fame—would accelerate Germany's shift toward military-dominated decision-making, ultimately positioning the general as a political kingmaker by 1925.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- invasion
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: emergent
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: How Hindenburg and Ludendorff destroyed a Russian army in East Prussia, August 1914
wikidataQid: Q7100577
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: Great Russian Disaster in East Prussia - Entire Army Corps Destroyed
  publishedAt: 1914-09-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: The Russian Second Army under General Samsonov has been annihilated in the forests of East Prussia, with entire corps surrounded and forced to surrender. German forces under General Hindenburg achieved a decisive victory that may alter the entire Eastern campaign.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Berliner Tageblatt
  publisherSlug: berliner-tageblatt
  headline: Vernichtung der russischen Heeregruppe - Hindenburg triumphiert in Ostpreussen
  publishedAt: 1914-08-31
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: "DE: 'Vernichtung der russischen Heeregruppe - Hindenburg triumphiert in Ostpreussen' / EN: 'Destruction of Russian Army Group - Hindenburg Triumphs in East Prussia.' German newspapers hail the encirclement and defeat of Samsonov's forces as a masterwork of military strategy that vindicated Schlieffen-era planning."
  significance: 92
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
- publisher: Le Figaro
  publisherSlug: le-figaro
  headline: Catastrophe russe en Prusse orientale - L'armee Samsonov detruite
  publishedAt: 1914-09-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: "FR: 'Catastrophe russe en Prusse orientale - L'armee Samsonov detruite' / EN: 'Russian Catastrophe in East Prussia - Samsonov's Army Destroyed.' French military analysts express alarm at the loss of over 100,000 Russian troops and warn of implications for the broader Eastern Front strategy."
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: Russians Routed in Decisive Battle - Samsonov's Army Trapped and Broken
  publishedAt: 1914-09-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: Dispatches from European correspondents confirm that German forces have achieved a stunning encirclement victory against the Russian Second Army near Tannenberg, with upwards of 170,000 men reported killed, wounded or captured. The defeat reshapes calculations of the Eastern theatre.
  significance: 87
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260410031934/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg_(1914)_order_of_battle"
  capturedAt: 2026-04-10
  label: Battle of Tannenberg (1914) order of battle
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tannenberg_(1914)_order_of_battle"
