4/7/2023 0 Comments Battle of tannenberg forest![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We remained at this place (going off individually at times to see the armies) till the late summer of 1915, when the retreat before the advancing enemy made us shift our quarters to Mohileff. When the Emperor came down his train was drawn up on a special siding a little farther from ours, and in the pine forest, but near enough to be reached in two minutes' walk. The headquarters of the Russian armies at the commencement of the war were at Baranovitchi, and were located in various trains drawn up on the sandy soil of some pine forests amid scenery not unlike that of Aldershot.Ī few adjacent huts served as workshops for the staff, but we of the Allied military missions were located in the same train as the Commander-in-Chief the Grand Duke Nicholas. Only the dogged fighting qualities of the Russians and the strenuous efforts of the Allies on the Western Front saved the situation. Lack of these absolute necessities, guns, munitions, flying service, proved too much for any commander, and 1915 was a year of depression and temporary defeat, saved by the gallantry of an army which might with luck to the enemy have been driven back to Moscow. The failure of the East Prussia offensive was very bad luck for the Grand Duke, but he looked at it from a point of view of service to the Allies, inasmuch as it eased the position for the Allied armies in France.Īs on joining I had no cipher it was of course pretty useless for me to wire even the scanty information I received, but the munitions business and the Caucasus trouble brought me into closer touch with the Grand Duke, though I was obliged to go to Petrograd and send telegrams through the Embassy on these matters.īadly supplied as he was, however, the Grand Duke carried out successful operations against the Austrians, and would have held his ground and more, in all probability, if the administrative side of the work had been as good as the fighting side. The two leading events during my time with the Grand Duke Nicholas in the later months of the year were the 'Munitions and Guns' questions, and the events in the Caucasus, leading ultimately to the Dardanelles expedition. Soon after my arrival news came of the East Prussia operations which had such a fatal ending in the battle of 'Tannenberg,' but encouragement was given before long by the Russian successes against the Austrians - a very different job to tackle than the Germans. HEADQUARTERS, RUSSIAN ARMIES IN THE FIELD. ![]()
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