For Hindenburg and Ludendorff, it was really God who wanted them to make a difference on the Eastern Front.

On 20 May, after the Russian First Army had fought back the invading German army at the Battle of Combinan, Commander Leinenkamp immediately ordered the entire army to halt its advance and move to a general rest. Because of his German background, Leningkamp's actions were slandered as "sinister and deliberate indulgence" against Germany after the battle, and he was even punished by a military court for treason. However, it was clear to his colleagues that Leningkamp could not have let go of the war in which his fortunes were at stake for the sake of that part of his German blood; He did so solely because of what his current form requires.

For the Russian offensive, the German army had already made detailed retreat arrangements before the war. All the materials stored in the warehouses were transported to the rear, and there was not a single fodder or grain left in the empty farms; Communications equipment and telephone lines were also emptied, and train cars and steam locomotives were nowhere to be found. The Russians, who were notoriously lacking in technical skills and logistical confusion, had only advanced 25 kilometers into German territory before Leningkamp found his troops in a quagmire.

In terms of logistical support, the main forces of the Russian First Army have been disconnected from the supply troops, and the daily consumption of this force is definitely not a small amount. There are 3 corps and 5 semi-cavalry divisions under the command of Leinenkamp, and more than 200,000 troops have to consume an astonishing amount of food every day, and the 5 semi-cavalry divisions and the war horses that tow the cannons and baggage have to eat a huge amount of forage; You must know that a horse eats at least eight times as much as a soldier!

Besides. The Russian army also suffered considerable losses in the battle. Although the Battle of Compinan ended with the retreat of the Germans, the Russians also paid a heavy price: the Russians suffered more than 15,000 casualties and prisoners, and their rear convoys were severely swept and looted by the German cavalry during the battle. The most important thing is that the average Russian cannon has only 25 shells per cannon, and in order to repel the German offensive, these cannons have almost fired all their own shells. Therefore, it is impossible for a commander with a normal IQ to allow his troops to continue to launch an offensive in this situation.

Strategically, Leningkamp's troops could not attack too quickly. According to the plan drawn up by the Russian High Command, the Russian army was not only to occupy East Prussia. More important was the encirclement and annihilation of the German Eighth Army stationed there. Thus opening the door to Berlin in one fell swoop. If his Russian First Army had rushed too hard in the east, it would have frightened the German units that had already retreated at the Battle of Compinan and fled to the Vistula River to the west. In this way, the Russian Second Army, which was fighting from the rear of the German flank and carrying out the task of outflanking, would be in the air. Thus allowing the Germans to flee from the encirclement of the Russian army. Leningkamp didn't just need to rebuild his logistical supplies. It is also necessary to stabilize the German army in front of him and buy time for Samsolov's Second Army to outflank and encircle; So in this case. Stopping became his only option.

However, what Lenningkamp did not expect was that his unjustified decision would allow the Germans to turn defeat into victory in just ten days. And in one fell swoop, all the current declines were redeemed.

On 21 May, when Ludendorff was still being summoned by Moltke Jr. and the Kaiser at the Koblenz base, Hoffmann, deputy chief of operations of the German Eighth Army, had already issued an order through Commander Prittwitz, who had not yet been replaced, that is, the First Army and an infantry division under the command of François should be transferred to the southern front to support Scholz's 20th Army by long-distance maneuver by train. Compared to Leninkamp, the easternmost point of East Prussia, the Russian Second Army, commanded by Samsorov, was clearly more threatening; The Germans had already begun to shift their strategic focus to the south, preparing to first deal with the stubborn enemy in this flank and rear direction.

On 22 May, Hindenburg and Ludendorff arrived at the headquarters in Magburg. After more than two hours of analysis of the situation, Ludendorff came to the conclusion of striking the Russian Second Army first, which coincided with Hoffman's previous order! Feeling that his old acquaintance (Ludendorff lived in the same room with Hoffmann for four years during his work in the General Staff) and Ludendorff, who had a tacit understanding with him, worked out an offensive plan against the Russian Second Army with Hoffman overnight.

Through the rapid movement of the internal railway network and the effective transfer of front-line troops, the Germans would assemble all four corps of the Eighth Army on the left and right flanks of Tannenberg three days later, and then pounce on the Russian Second Army like a tsunami. Although the dispatch of troops and their supplies, equipment, horses, guns and ammunition, the concentration of locomotives, the boarding of trains at stations crowded with refugees, and the dispatch of trains from one line to another were quite complex and difficult problems, both Ludendorff and Hoffmann were convinced that the German railway system was up to the task, because Germany had already spent a lot of effort on the railway lines before the war.

The success or failure of this strategy depends entirely on the condition that the Russian First Army, located in the east, continue to lie in place during this period. Because while the Germans opened their doors to the Russian Second Army, they also exposed their weakest flanks and rear to the Russian First Army; If Leningkamp ordered the troops to advance quickly, the Germans would be attacked on their backs, and there was even a risk that the whole army would be defeated. On this point, Hoffmann was convinced that Lenningkamp would stop for two or three days for the usual reasons such as repairing supply lines, and would not be able to reach the battlefield until the Germans had beaten the Russian Second Army; Ludendorff, on the other hand, looked anxious and restless after making his plan, fearing that Leningkamp would appear behind him in the face of battle and kick him in the ass.

In the face of adversity, the flawed side of Ludendorff's personality begins to show. And the report of the airship force on the 23rd that Leningkamp had begun to re-march made him even more anxious, and fell into the same kind of anxiety that his former commander Prittwitz once had. As soon as the battle plan was drawn up, Ludendorff began to hesitate between the two Russian armies. At this moment, Hindenburg's steadfastness and composure played a crucial role; After reviewing the counteroffensive plan, he immediately told Ludendorff that there was no problem and that the Germans would surely achieve a final victory. Infected by this, Ludendorff also recovered from his inexplicable wandering and foresight, and began to devote himself to the preparations before the war.

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On the Russian side, what made General Gilinsky, commander of Army Group Northwest, very troubled was how to choose the right time to allow the two flanks of his pincer offensive to complete a combined attack on the German army at the same time. Since the good news of Leninkamp's repulsion of the German army had reached his hands on the night of the 20th, Gilinsky, who was afraid that the Germans would escape from the Russian encirclement, stepped up his request that the Second Army, which had advanced from the south, make a starry night trip to block the retreat of the Germans.

At the same time, a barrage of unprecedentedly urgent pleas from the French came straight to Gilinsky himself. Because the French army at this time had been defeated by the Germans in the border battle, and was defeated for thousands of miles, the French ambassador almost burst into tears and urgently demanded that the Russian army immediately launch a "desperate attack" on Berlin. These demands were sent from Xiafei to Paris, from Paris to St. Petersburg, from St. Petersburg to Baranovizi (where the Russian General Headquarters is located), and from Baranovizi to Gilinsky, who in turn forwarded all these demands to General Samsonov, commander of the Russian Second Army. Samsonov, on the other hand, was now struggling on the gravel road, and had already begun to curse the French who were not strong enough to fight.

According to the original mobilization plan of the Russian army, his Second Army would not begin to advance until May 21, but it was precisely because of the repeated urging of the French that the commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nikolai, ordered him to attack on the 15th. And with the pace of mobilization in Russia, this is simply an impossible task. Samsonov managed to get his troops forward on the 17th with all his might, and the result of this rush was that the logistical organization could not be perfected. Problems such as the shortage of mules and horses, the lack of vehicles, the shortage of food, and the scarcity of ammunition have been plaguing the advancing Russian army from the very beginning of the departure. It took a week to reach the border from Poland to the German hinterland, and the road was full of gravel gravel roads flanked by unexplored wasteland. Advancing on such a path, the situation of the Russian army, whose preparations have not yet been perfected, can be imagined.

In the face of Gilinsky's urging like a rain, Samsonov gave a detailed account of the difficulties faced by his troops. His soldiers were exhausted from walking for 12 hours a day, and they were already running out of food and fodder while they were still on the Russian border. However, under direct pressure from Grand Duke Nikolai, St. Petersburg and Paris, Gilinsky had no choice but to continue to push Samsonov hard and speed up. He instructed Samsonov, "The Germans are in a hasty retreat, leaving only a few insignificant troops to deal with you, so you must hasten your pace and block the Germans before they retreat across the Vistula." ”

Since the end of the Battle of Compinan on the 20th, the Russian army has disengaged from the German army, and "the German army is retreating in a hurry" is the naïve judgment of the commander of the Russian First Army, Leninkamp. Gilinsky did not doubt him, and directly transferred the original words to Samsonov, who was on an arduous trek. At this time, the German army did not retreat at all, but quickly assembled troops by railway, ready to deal a fatal blow to the invading Russian Second Army. (To be continued......)

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