Masurian Lakes, Battles of

In World War I, two battles in which German forces defeated the Russians between the Masurian Lakes (now the Mazowsze region of Poland) and Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

First Battle 5–15 September 1914: following the German victory over the Russian general Paul Rennenkampf at the battle of Tannenberg, the German field marshal Paul von Hindenburg attempted to catch and destroy the retreating Russians. Rennenkampf ordered a counterattack to hold the Germans while the remainder of the army made good its escape, avoiding encirclement by the Germans.

Second Battle February 1915: the Russians had assembled about 120,000 troops in four corps with the intention of advancing into East Prussia, but Hindenburg brought up reserves until he had a force of over 300,000 troops, divided into two army fronts. As soon as the Russians realised the size of the opposition, they began to withdraw, but the Germans moved quickly and on 7 February drove the Russians out of Johannisberg (now Pisz, Poland) and advanced north to capture Lyck (now Elk) and then make a sweeping movement to encircle the Russians. The Russians were able to resist this move and fall back behind their defensive lines on the River Niemen, inflicting severe losses on the Germans as they went.

On the northern part of the front the Germans were more successful, driving the Russians out of Tilsit (Sovetsk), Pilkallen (Dobrovolsk) and Gumbinnen (Gusev), forcing them to retreat toward Kovna (Kaunas). This rapid retreat exposed the Russian flank, which was promptly attacked by the Germans, and the only thing which saved the Russians from utter destruction was the terrain – swamps and marshes in which organized fighting was impossible and through which small groups of Russians soldiers were able to make their escape. The German offensive ended with their forces established on a line within the Russian frontier.