The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 499: Chapter 394: Russia's Crushing Defeat

As one of the largest European nations in terms of land area, Russia has few neighbouring countries on land within Europe, only Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Romania.

The Central European region bordering Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire inserts itself into Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in a somewhat peculiar shape.

This peculiarly shaped region is Poland, which was divided between Germany and Russia.

Although gaining a part of Poland allowed Russia to significantly expand its influence in Europe, it also faced a dilemma as this region could be pincered by Germany from the north and the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the south. It could threaten both East Prussia of Germany and Galicia of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it could also be threatened by these two nations.

East Prussia can provide Germany with excellent war horses and dairy products. Galicia is also a rich region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, making these two regions extremely important to Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The grand counteroffensive organized by Archduke Nicholas was divided into southern and northern attack directions.

The specific plan was to dispatch 500,000 combat troops straight into East Prussia of Germany.

A 300,000-strong reserve force was formed to defend against the Austro-Hungarian troops in Galicia, but it could also serve as a reinforcement for the troops attacking East Prussia, ready to join the battle in East Prussia at any time.

If the offensive in East Prussia went smoothly, then the reserve force of 300,000 would join local defenders to form an army of about 500,000 soldiers, attack Galicia, and directly annex this rich region.

Since Galicia was separated by the Carpathian Mountains from the target and Hungarian regions, and there were no obstacles with the land controlled by Russia, Russia saw the hope of directly annexing Galicia.

On January 27, 1915, with the support of its allies, Russia's army of 500,000 launched an offensive against East Prussia.

The German 8th Army Group stationed in East Prussia at the time was commanded by Pritchard.

Speaking about this commander-in-chief of the Army Group, Pritchard's reputation wasn't very good because his ascension to commander-in-chief of the 8th Army Group was due to his ability to entertain William II with risqué anecdotes.

Compared to the rather reckless first Army Group commander Crook, Pritchard's reputation was even worse, and his actual abilities were more deficient.

The total ratio of the German and Russian forces in East Prussia was about 1:2.5. Germany had nearly 200,000 defenders, a force that was actually not weak.

However, when Pritchard learned that Russia was deploying two army groups to launch an offensive, he immediately lost his nerve.

In the telegram Pritchard sent to Major Fagan, he mentioned that if the troops did not withdraw in time, it was very likely that they would be caught between two Russian army groups, leading to very severe consequences.

After sending this telegram, Pritchard immediately ordered his troops to retreat, in a rather cowardly manner.

By the time German Major Fagan received Pritchard's telegram, the 8th Army Group had already retreated over ten kilometers away, as if they were prepared to give up East Prussia and retreat to the west bank of the Vistula River.

Pritchard's cowardice and incompetence greatly upset Major Fagan, the new chief of staff who was eager to make a contribution.

On January 29, the second day of Pritchard's order to retreat, in his own headquarters, he received two thunderbolt-like orders. The first order relieved him of his duties as Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Army Group. The second order ordered him to retire immediately. His chief of staff of the Army Group was also dismissed.

The successors of the 8th Army Group, whose names would be widely known in future generations, were Rudolf and Hindenburg.

These two earned a reputation in posterity. Hindenburg even ascended to the German presidency and nurtured Hitler as his successor.

But now, they are just talented commanders of the German Empire and loyal subordinates of William II.

On the train to East Prussia, Rudolf came up with his battle plan very quickly and won Hindenburg's approval.

At this time, Hindenburg, 68 years old, had already been retired for three years, but was reinstated as the Commander-in-Chief of the 8th Army Group due to an order from Fagan.

His partner was Rudolf, the new chief of staff of the 8th Army Group, who had repeatedly demonstrated his merit in wars on the western front and in Belgium.

The cooperation between these two men could be said to be very pleasant. They had a stimulating conversation on the train to East Prussia.

Thanks to Germany's developed railway trunk lines and transportation system, by the afternoon of January 30, 1915, Hindenburg and Rudolf arrived at the battlefield in East Prussia and entered the headquarters of the 8th Army Group.

By this time, the Russian army had pursued for dozens of kilometers. Samsonov's troops had been on a long march through the muddy ground for several days and were lacking many weapons as well as supplies. If it weren't for the ability to replenish some food from the German towns and farms along the way, perhaps Samsonov's troops would first face a food crisis.

In order to express support for Hindenburg and Rudolf, Fagan specially sent two armies to aid the eastern front. These two armies nearly arrived on the Eastern Front battlefield with the two men and assembled on the flanks of the two Russian army groups.

On January 31, 1915, Samsonov, who has already penetrated deep into East Prussia's hinterland, realized his peril. He sent a telegram to his superior, General Rylinski, the commander of the offensive, for help.

However, Rylinski's response was: "Don't play the coward, let your subordinates keep attacking."

Higher rank overpowers. Regardless of whether the superior's orders are right or wrong, as long as a higher authority does not question the order, a soldier can only execute it with loyalty and courage.

Left with no choice, Samsonov could only command his troops to advance, while sending a telegram to his colleague Ronan Kempston, asking for aid.

It should be noted that there was a considerable conflict between Samsonov and Kempston.

Luckily, during the war between the Island Nation and Russia, in order to counter the Island Nation Army's attack, Samsonov had once asked General Kempston for help.

Kempston adamantly refused to send reinforcements, which not only led to Samsonov's defensive failure but also resulted in animosity between the two generals.

Ironically, a few days later, the two bumped into each other at a train station. The two, who were already enemies, instantly glared at each other, quickly starting a verbal and physical fight.

Russians have a fiery temper, and Samsonov swiftly took down Kempston, laughing victoriously at this civil strife among the high-ranking commanders of the Russian army.

Naturally, this behavior deepened the hatred between the two. The conflict between Samsonov and Kempston may not be deep-seated enmity, but it is indeed a hatred that will not easily dissipate.

Facing the plea for help from his old rival, Kempston chuckled and had the plea for reinforcements blatantly thrown aside.

With his superiors and colleagues ignoring his plea for aid, the army group led by Samsonov not only faced the hardship of lacking clothing and food but was also surrounded by the German main forces while being extremely exhausted.

On February 1st, Samsonov's troops stopped advancing because the German main force was right in front of them.

Unable to breach the Germans' position and lacking logistic support, Samsonov intended to order his troops to retreat, only to quickly discover that his retreating path was also completely blocked by German soldiers.

Sansonov had no choice but only command his army to charge full-steam ahead, aiming to create a breakthrough, and withdraw as many as possible.

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But the Russian army's weaponry and equipment were far inferior to Germany's. With Samsonov's troops lacking logistic supplies, they were not capable of overpowering the German army in terms of firepower.

Shortly after, the Russian artillery was suppressed by German forces. The Russian army, surrounded by German forces, tried to break out several times but suffered heavy losses, suppressed by the Germans' artillery and machine guns.

Samsonov once again sought help from Rylinski and Kempston. Rylinski, who only had two army groups, ordered his other subordinates, Kempston, to assist Samsonov.

A superior's order is imperative, but the enmity with Samsonov is equally real.

Striking a balance between the two, Kempston made a decision that led to heavy losses for the Russian army-- he postponed the order for two days before going to assist.

What Kempston didn't expect was that Samsonov's troops couldn't hold on for two days and were overwhelmed by the German artillery fire.

On February 3, 1915, Samsonov's troops, who had struggled for two days, suffered heavy casualties. After nearly 40,000 casualties, Samsonov, pale-faced, commanded his troops to surrender to the Germans. He then walked into a dense forest, pointed a gun at his own head, and pulled the trigger.

The initial count of Samsonov's Second Army Group was 200,000 soldiers, out of which a whopping 150,000 were surrounded by the German Army.

The remaining 50,000 soldiers were either injured from previous wars and transported to the rear, or were unimportant units that Samsonov commanded to defend the occupied territories, also to protect the logistic supply line at the rear.

It implied that the 150,000 soldiers who were surrounded were nearly the entire main force of the Second Army Group led by Samsonov.

The combat quality of the Russian army was evident. Having suffered more than 40,000 casualties, the Russian soldiers lost the will to fight.

Even if Samsonov did not surrender actively, he would ultimately face mutiny from his soldiers and eventually be escorted to the Germans.

As a result of this battle, the Russian Second Army Group had 40,000 casualties and 108,000 captives, while the German Army only lost 15,000 soldiers.

By the time news of the near annihilation of the Second Army Group reached Rylinski on February 4th, the next day.

Rylinski was greatly stunned and ordered Kempston to immediately move south to find Samsonov and the surviving strength of the Second Army Group.

By that time, Kempston was already shaken by Samsonov's quick defeat. When Rylinski's orders arrived at the First Army Group's headquarters, Kempston, who was the Commander in Chief of the 1st Army Group, had already secretly returned to Russia by car.

Kempston's desertion enraged Rylinski, who directly sent a telegram to Archduke Nicholas, demanding that Kempston be relieved of his duties.

The Grand Duke did as he was asked, and at the same time, Rylinski was also relieved of his duties.

But this could not change the defeat the Russian troops in East Prussia were currently facing. Having deployed an entire 500,000 combat army, the Russian army suffered heavy casualties, and the 8th Army Group led by Hindenburg and Rudolf suppressed them back to the border.