Alexander Samsonov commanded the Russian Army at the Battle of
Tannenburg. This battle was a disaster for both Samsonov and the
Russian Army. Samsonov was born in 1858 and he spent his
earliest years in the Russian Army as a cavalry officer.
Samsonov served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and in
1914, was given the command of the Russian Second Army when
World War One broke out in 1914. The Russian Second Army, along
with the First Army, was given the task of invading East
Prussia. The attack was Samsonov's first real military challenge
and it ended in disaster. He failed to co-ordinate the movements
of the Second Army with those of the First Army as he had fallen
out with Rennenkampf who commanded the First Army. As a result
of this personal quarrel, Samsonov found himself and his army
surrounded by the German Eighth Army, commanded by Hindenburg
and Ludendorff, at Tannenburg. The Second Army was all but
destroyed. Out of 150,000 men, less than 10,000 escaped capture
by the Germans. The Battle of Tanne