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The '''Battle of Tannenberg''' was the climax to the opening clash between [[Germany]] and the [[Russian Empire]] following the outbreak of [[World War I]]. It was fought between August 26-30, 1914, chiefly around the East Prussian city of Allenstein, and resulted in a crushing victory for the German forces under Field Marshal [[Paul von Hindenburg]] and his chief of staff, [[Erich Ludendorff]], with the Russian Second Army almost completely destroyed and its commander, Alexander Samsonov, committing suicide. From a military as well as a political perspective, Tannenberg was among the most important military contests of the war for Germany, as it not only repulsed a Russian invasion of eastern Germany and the threat of a quick defeat, but also elevated Hindenburg and Ludendorff to the status of national heroes. The aura created by their victory would become the basis of their rise to near-dictatorial power in Germany toward the end of the war.

The '''Battle of Tannenberg''' was the climax to the opening clash between [[Imperial Germany]] and the [[Russian Empire]] following the outbreak of [[World War I]]. It was fought between August 26-30, 1914, chiefly around the East Prussian city of Allenstein, and resulted in a crushing victory for the German forces under Field Marshal [[Paul von Hindenburg]] and his chief of staff, [[Erich Ludendorff]], with the Russian Second Army almost completely destroyed and its commander, Alexander Samsonov, committing suicide. From a military as well as a political perspective, Tannenberg was among the most important military contests of the war for Germany, as it not only repulsed a Russian invasion of eastern Germany and the threat of a quick defeat, but also elevated Hindenburg and Ludendorff to the status of national heroes. The aura created by their victory would become the basis of their rise to near-dictatorial power in Germany toward the end of the war.

==Background==

==Background==