Russia, urged on by France, sent its armies into action before they were ready. In August of 1914, the Russian commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievich, sent forces across the Galician frontier, and the Russian First and Second armies into East Prussia. German reinforcements rushed to East Prussia from the west under Paul von Hindenburg, a retired general. The Germans were outnumbered, but von Hindenburg was able to deal with the two Russian armies separately because of poor communications between them. In a series of campaigns around Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes (August 26-31), von Hindenburg crushed the Russian armies and cleared them from East Prussia. More than 300,000 Russian troops were killed, wounded, or reported missing. But in Galicia, the Russians killed and wounded more than 250,000 Austrian troops, and captured 100,000 others in the Battles of Lemberg (September 1-October 3). In the south, Austria-Hungary failed in three attempts to invade Serbia.

Sources

F. Lee Benns Europe Since 1914 In Its World Setting New York: F.S. Crofts & Co., 1946
The World Book Encyclopedia Chicago: World Book-Childcraft International, Inc., 1979

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