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The 'Battle of Stalluponen', fought between Russian and German armies on August 17, 1914, was the opening battle of World War I on the Eastern Front.

Contents

Prelude

The Battle

Aftermath

External links

Prelude

Brought on by the aggressive tactics of General Hermann von François in defense of the German province of East Prussia, the battle was completely unexpected by both sides, along with its outcome.
In mid-August, 1914, the Russian army began to execute an invasion of East Prussia at the outbreak of hostilities. At the easternmost extremity of Germany, Russian General Pavel Rennenkampf invaded East Prussia with the Russian First Army, with the city of Königsberg as his ultimate target.
The Germans expected this, and opened the war in a defensive posture because massive attacks against France on the Western Front where commitment of the German troops was greatest. However, François, the commander of the First Corps of the German Eighth Army, was convinced his better trained and equipped forces could slow down, if not halt, Rennenkampf's Russian forces.

The Battle

On August 17, François brought on a general engagement with the advancing Russians in spite of orders from his theatre commander, General Maximilian von Prittwitz, to withdraw if pressed. When Prittwitz learned that François had engaged the Russians, he sent an adjutant to order François to break off the attack and retreat. François by this time was too committed to safely disengage, and had no intention of doing so anyway. He contemptuously, and famously, told the adjutant that "General von François will withdraw when he has defeated the Russians!" With the outcome hanging in the balance, François ordered a general attack all along the line and hammered the Russians' vanguard, inflicting 5,000 casualties and taking 3,000 prisoners.

Aftermath

While the Russians retired to the border, François reluctantly obeyed Prittwitz' order and withdrew 15 miles (24 km) to the west, taking a new position around Gumbinnen.

External links

★ Battle of Stalluponen at FirstWorldWar.com