The Emperor trusted me.

General Alexander Sampsonov, commander, Russian Second Army, north of the Niedenburg-Villeenburg Highway, East Prussia, the night of August 29th through the 30th, 1914.

The night of August 29th through the 30th, 1914. The

The Thank you. I'm Hey folks, welcome to the battles of the First World War podcast and Tannenberg, part four, complete destruction.

On the morning of August 28, 1914, Lieutenant General Friedrich von Schultz believed his German 20th Corps

faced only three Russian divisions to his front and to the north, that is, his left flank. The Russians to his

south had been pummeled into uselessness the day before, and so were of little threat.

He ordered his 41st division to march towards the village of Palsgut, Pavlovo, behind the current Russian lines.

His other troops would attack the Russians directly in front of them, fixing them in place.

Breaking his division up into proto-versions of World War II Kampfgruppen,

the 41st Division Commander got his

men through gaps in the enemy lines. From here, they worked to cut access to roads the Russians

could use to retreat. As they fanned out, one group walked into a wall of fire from waiting

Russian forces near the village of Vaplitz.

Vaplevo.

In short order, the Germans were pushed into Voplitz itself, and the fighting turned house to house.

Elements of the German 59th infantry regiment struggled to stay in the town as Russian guns found the range of the German positions.

Artillery shells screamed into the village, plowing into the streets and houses where the Germans sheltered.

Voplitz sat on both sides of a small river named the Marans, and by morning's light there

were parts of four infantry companies on the north side of the village under the command of one

Hauptmann Beneker. As the artillery fire increased, Benica realized he and his men were trapped in the bridgehead

they'd created.

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