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The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front during the early stages of World War I. It pushed the Russian First Army back across its entire front, eventually ejecting it from Germany. Further progress was hampered by the arrival of the Russian Tenth Army on the Germans' left flank. == Background == The Russian offensive in East Prussia had started well enough, with General Paul von Rennenkampf's First Army (Army of the Neman) forcing the Germans westward from the border towards Königsberg. Meanwhile the Russian Second Army invaded from the south, hoping to cut the Germans off in the area around the city. Colonel Max Hoffmann claimed that he developed a plan to encircle the Second Army as it maneuvered north over some particularly hilly terrain. His commanders in Eighth Army, Hindenburg and Ludendorff also claimed credit. Regardless of authorship, the plan was quickly implemented, culminating in the destruction of the Second Army at the Battle of Tannenberg between 26 and 30 August 1914. Hoffmann also claimed that their success was made possible, in part, due to the personal enmity between the two Russian Generals — which he had learned about as an observer at the Russo-Japanese War. The commander of the Second Army, Alexander Samsonov, had publicly criticized Rennenkampf some years earlier (about the Battle of Mukden in 1905), and it was rumored that the two had come to blows over the matter. He claimed that therefore they would never cooperate. The official Russian inquiry about their disaster in East Prussia blamed the general commanding the two armies, Yakov Zhilinsky.〔Bohon, John W. (1996) “Zhilinsky, Yakov Grigorevich (1953-c.1920)” in ''The European Powers in the First World War.'' Tucker, Spencer C. (ed), Garland, New York.〕 In their memoirs neither Hindenburg nor Ludendorff mention the alleged feud. When Rennenkampf was finally ordered to go to Samsonov's aid it was too late. By the time the battle proper ended on 30 August (Samsonov disappeared, a probable suicide, on 29 August), the closest of Rennenkampf's units, his II Corps, was still over 45 miles (70 km) from the pocket. In order to get even this close his units had to rush southward, and were now spread out over a long line running southward from just east of Königsberg. An attack by the German Eighth Army from the west would flank the entire army. Of course the Germans were also far away, but unlike the Russians, the Germans could easily close the distance using their rail network in the area. On 31 August, with Tannenberg lost, Zhilinsky ordered Rennenkampf to stand his ground in the event of a German attack. Realizing his forces were too spread out to be effective, he ordered a withdrawal to a line running from Königsberg's defensive works in the north to the Masurian Lakes near Angerburg (Węgorzewo, Poland) in the south, anchored on the Angrapa River. Bolstering his forces were the newly formed XXVI Corp, which he placed in front of Königsberg, moving his more experienced troops south into his main line. His forces also included two infantry divisions held in reserve. All in all, he appeared to be in an excellent position to await the arrival of the Russian Tenth Army, forming up to his south. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「First Battle of the Masurian Lakes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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