Von Hindenburg decided to attack the Russian 2nd army under General Samsonov. If the two armies met, they would outnumber the Germans by approximately three to one. The Germans knew that the two Russian armies could not be allowed to join up. Ludendorff was a brilliant organizer, and he was able to restore some order to the army, but this was very challenging as the roads were thronged with frightened Prussian refugees fleeing the advancing Russians. The old general was able to restore the morale of the army. Hindenburg and Ludendorff immediately began to reorganize the demoralized 8th army. They were quickly transported by rail, and they only took a week to travel from Belgium to East Prussia. The German High Command decided to divert divisions from the west to the east. They formed a unique partnership and one that was to prove very effective. The younger man was supposed to help the older man in defense of eastern Germany. He had become a national hero when he seized the fortresses at Liege. To assist him, Moltke named Erich Ludendorff as his chief of staff. He named General Paul von Hindenburg, a 67-year-old retired general, as commander of the 8th army. He then made an eccentric but inspired choice. His best generals were all engaged in the west. Von Moltke fired the commander of the 8th army, and he never served in the army again. Helmuth von Moltke had ordered the 8th army to go on the offensive before the two Russian armies could meet up and was furious with its withdrawal. The German army was pressing further into France, yet the east's position was fast deteriorating. The Russian 1st army was now free to move deep into Prussia and threatened its capital Konigsberg (modern Kaliningrad). The commander of the 8th army panicked, and he ordered a general retreat, and this left East Prussia open to the Russians. By August the 19th, the Russian 1st Army had advanced to the town of Gumbinnen, and here they waited for battle. However, the German 8th army opted to advance to meet the 1st Russian army before linking up with the 2nd army. The two armies intended to meet and then advance to meet the German army and destroy it in a pincer movement. The Masurian Lakes separated the two armies, and the terrain slowed their progress. The Russian 1st Army and the 2nd Army moved across the border into Prussia. They invaded much quicker than Von Moltke had expected, even though the Russians' advance was slow. However, the Germans are taken by surprise by the Russian invasion. The German High Command under Von Moltke the younger order the 8th army to defend East Prussia from any Russian attack. The strategy adopted by the Germans was to invade France and undertake a defensive strategy in the east in 1914. War in the east and the west had long been the nightmare of the German High Command. It was believed that this would allow the western allies to beat back any German invasion of France by forcing Berlin to fight a war on two fronts. The Tsar would send his armies deep into eastern Germany to relieve pressure on France. The Russian Tsar had previously agreed that in the event of a German invasion of France, his armies would invade German territory. On the 15th of August 1914, two huge Russian Armies, number over three-quarters of a million men, began their advance into East Prussia, part of the German Reich. Ultimately, the Battle of Tannenberg secured eastern Germany from further Russian incursions. Germany benefitted from poor Russian coordination and superior artillery. It was an extraordinary victory for Germany. In 1914, the Battle of Tannenberg was fought between Imperial Germany and Russia.
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