Chapter 6 Chapter 5 1914: All-Out War

The war on the Western Front began with the German invasion of Belgium, and the fortress of Liege was the first to receive the baptism of war.The city of Liege is the gateway to Belgium from Germany. Four railway lines connecting Germany, Belgium and northern France converge in this strategic city, and then fan out to the Belgian plain.Control of these main railway lines was a prerequisite for the implementation of the "Slieffen Plan".Because the logistics supply of more than 1.2 million roundabout troops mainly depends on the transportation of these railway lines.The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies forming the rotating right wing can only act when the following day is taken.

The fortress of Liège stands on the high ground on the left bank of the Moose River, with a view of all roads. In other words, its 12 powerful fortresses are enough to block all passages into and out of Belgium.The entire fort area is about 10 miles in diameter. It was designed by General Henry Brialmont, an outstanding military engineer in Europe at the time, and it was completed in 1913 after spending about 25 years.The fort is made of reinforced concrete with armored turrets and is shaped like a flat triangular hillock. It is equipped with 400 weapons, ranging from machine guns to 8-inch cannons. Each corner of the triangle is equipped with smaller caliber rapid-fire guns. turret.Each fort is surrounded by a 30-foot-deep dry ditch, equipped with searchlights to prevent night attacks, and the mutual support system between the forts is limited by a 3-mile gap, which Ludendorff later used to break into the center of the fortress.

In order to quickly capture the fortress of Liège, the German General Staff Headquarters transferred 6 brigades and 2 cavalry divisions from the 2nd Army of Bülow to form a 60,000-man "Moose River Force", commanded by General von Emmisch from Attack Liege from the east, south and north. On August 4, 1914, the German army successfully crossed the Meuse River in Visser on the day of the invasion, and sent a former military attache stationed in Belgium to request the commander of the fortress, General Le Mans, who led 25,000 defenders, to surrender. Launch a fierce attack on the four forts at the east end with intensive charges, which happens to be the best target for the Belgian fortress' rapid-fire guns and intensive machine gun fire.Regardless of life and death, the German troops rushed one after another, shoulder to shoulder, and rushed towards the dense firepower net. The fallen people gradually formed one after another "human barricades", which made it very difficult for Belgian machine gunners to shoot.

After the first setback, the German army became furious and desperately invested a large number of troops again, almost as much as it needed, in order to conquer the target on schedule. On August 5, the brigade commander of the 14th Brigade of the German Army was shot dead by machine gun, and the troops fell into chaos. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon on the 6th, they miraculously broke into the commanding heights inside the fortress circle, because when the German army passed through the 3-mile gap between the forts, the Belgian army did not fire at them.On the commanding heights, the German army set up cannons and bombarded the surrounding Belgian fortresses.On that day, Ludendorff sent someone to persuade him to surrender under the banner of a truce, but was still rejected.So the Germans played another trick, pretending to be British soldiers and sneaking into the gate of the fortress headquarters in an attempt to kidnap and kill General Le Mans, but they failed, and all 36 soldiers and 6 officers were killed.In the chaos, Le Mans fled to Fort Ronson, west of the city, where he continued to command. On August 7, Ludendorff and Emmisch attacked the city of Liege without waiting for the arrival of reinforcements.When the news spread to Berlin, the Kaiser kissed the little Maoqi furiously for a while, calling him "dearest General Caesar", and just a few days ago, the Kaiser was still berating the little Maoqi, "Look at what you did, you have no chance Get the British to beat me for no reason!"

Although Liege has been occupied, none of the 12 forts on the outskirts of the city have been captured.Ludendorff insisted on calling the siege artillery from home.When several strange-looking cannons like "overfed slugs" were struggling to the front line in the mud, the German government was still making diplomatic efforts through the US envoys in Belgium and the Netherlands to withdraw from Belgium after the war. Territorial commitments, asking for a free corridor through Belgium. On August 12, the memorandum passed to King Albert, who refused.That night, several 420mm siege guns from the Krupp Arsenal and 305mm siege guns from the Austro-Hungarian Skoda Arsenal arrived at the front line and started firing that night. After hitting the target, the shell exploded in a huge cone of dust, debris and smoke that rose 1,000 feet into the air.The crowd watching a few hundred meters away fell forward and backward, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and all the glass windows nearby were shattered. On the 13th and 14th, all the forts in the north and east of Liege fell under the continuous bombardment of the "Big Mac", and the Kruger 1st Army, the far right of the German army, began to activate. On August 16, a one-ton artillery shell fell from the sky and hit the ammunition depot of the last Longsen Fort that was still resisting, blowing up the fort from the inside.General Le Mans was captured in a coma. After waking up, he handed over his command knife to von Emmisch and said: "I was captured in a coma, please be sure to explain this in the battle report." I gave it back to him, and said: "Your command knife did not tarnish the honor of the soldier, keep it." The day after the fall of the Longsen Fort, the 2nd and 3rd armies immediately moved forward. The great detour, the resistance of the fortress of Liège, only delayed the German operation by two days from the scheduled timetable, instead of the two weeks that were later exaggerated.

The strength of the five French armies was similar to that of Germany's deployment on the Western Front. In Alsace and Lorraine, the 1st and 2nd armies formed the right wing, facing the German 7th and 6th armies. Alsace and Lorraine, driving the Germans back to the Rhine, drove a wedge between the German left and the centre.In addition, an independent group formed by the 7th Army and the 8th Cavalry Division was tasked with liberating Mulhouse and Colmar and holding the Rhine River at the junction of Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland.The 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies were deployed in the area from Verdun to Ilson. The task was to launch a major offensive to break through the German army's middle road.

The French army's attack on Alsace opened the scene of the French-German frontier battle. At 5 o'clock in the morning on August 7, 1914, Bono's 7th Army attacked from the Vosges Mountains. After 6 hours of traditional hand-to-hand combat, the French army captured captured the Alsace border town of Altkirch, but failed to take advantage of the victory to capture Mulhouse. On August 8, the city was occupied only under the strict order of the general headquarters.The Germans retreated for reinforcements. On August 9, the German army counterattacked Mulhouse. On August 10, the French army was gradually exhausted and had to abandon the city in order to avoid being surrounded.As early as August 3 at the High Military Council, Dubay pointed out to Joffre that his troops needed reinforcements for the offensive to be effective, but reinforcements have so far been elusive.Xiafei replied: "That may be your plan, not mine." This made the generals feel mysterious.Now, Joffre felt the need for reinforcements.He first dismissed Commander Bono and the other two division commanders, transferred 1 regular division and 3 reserve divisions to enrich the 7th Army, specially formed an "Alsace Army", and recalled the retired one-armed General Bo to command This army is ready to launch an offensive again.

On August 6, the French army sent a cavalry unit into Belgium and galloped along the Meuse River for 3 days to scout the German army's build-up strength and main attack direction. Because it arrived too late, it did not find that a large number of German strategic detour troops had already crossed the river.Lang Rezac's French 5th Army was originally going to attack the Ardennes Mountains in the northeast direction, but he had a premonition that the German army would turn around from Belgium. If so, his army would bear the brunt of the brunt. General Roof, the commander of the army group, also expressed the same concern to Joffre, who thought this view was "completely out of date".Therefore, the French army still launched the offensive according to the 17th plan.From August 14th to August 25th, the French and German armies fought across the border between France, Germany and France-Belgium, which was known as "border fighting" in history.

On August 14, 1914, the French army launched the "Battle of Lorraine".General Bo's "Alsace Army" re-launched an attack on Alsace. The 1st Army of Dibai and the 2nd Army of De Castelneau also attacked Sarbour and Mogelang in the Lorraine area at the same time. The Bavarian Crown Prince Ruprecht's 6th Army and Herlingen's 7th Army stationed in Lorraine fought back and retreated as planned in the first 4 days in order to lead the French army into a "trap". On August 20, the French army attacked the solid positions of the Sarbour and Mogeland army. Due to the lack of sufficient artillery cover and tactical mistakes, they suffered serious setbacks under the heavy shelling of the German army.The corpses of French soldiers filled the mountains and plains in Fort Mogeland extinguished the brilliant flame of French military dogma "offensiveism".

Prince Ruprecht was originally unwilling to play only a minor role in such a battle that determined the fate of Germany, let alone retreat when others attacked, although it was out of strategic needs.Now that the French army's offensive was frustrated, he began to put pressure on the general staff headquarters, demanding an immediate counterattack.The German Staff Headquarters, from Schlieffen to Little Moltke, has always had the desire to fight a real "Cannae War", that is, to encircle the main force of the French army on both sides. However, due to the shortage of troops, they dare not take risks and restrain this idea. Go on, adopt the "oblique array" strategy of unilateral encirclement.Now the right wing easily defeated the attacking enemy, reviving the long-suppressed desire for the "Cannae War". Under Ruprecht's strong request, the German General Staff finally changed the plan of the left wing to continue to retreat, and agreed to the 6th and 6th. 7 The two armies immediately launched a counterattack against the French army in front of them, and pursued them in the direction of Urbinal.Originally, two armies were to be drawn from this area to join the right-wing attack force, but now it has been cancelled, and they will counterattack on the spot together. On August 23, the German left wing launched a massive counter-offensive, but a few days later, it was blocked by strong fortresses in Belfort, Urbinal, Tours and other strong fortresses in France, and fell into a bitter battle.

From the perspective of the overall situation, the defeat of the French army in the Battle of Lorraine inadvertently saved the overall defeat of the French army, because the French 1st and 2nd armies did not enter the trap set by Germany, and soon the troops drawn from this direction The main force of the 6th Army in Paris, which formed a side attack on the German right-wing Kruger Army, achieved the "Miracle on the Marne River" and reversed the entire battle situation.The German army made a strategic mistake in the Battle of Lorraine. They pushed out the main right wing of the French army that was entering the trap, and allowed it to hold on to a strong fortress position, shortening the front line. Later, they had the opportunity to divide their forces in the direction of Paris and increase The German army failed to achieve the strategic goal of encircling the two wings.So the German counteroffensive nailed the first coffin nail for the "Slieffen-Little Moltke Plan". The setback in attacking Lorraine did not discourage Joffre. He believed that the main force of the left wing of the German army had been entangled and the time had come to break through to the center. However, the French Army General Staff always believed that the German army was weak in the center and the French had an advantage here. On August 20, Joffre issued an order to attack the Ardennes.Roof's French 3rd Army attacked to the south of the mountain. The task was to drive the German 5th Army commanded by Prince back to the area from Metz to Thonville, and then surrounded it, while recovering the Briere iron ore area.De Langer's French 4th Army attacked from the northern part of the mountain. The task was to encircle and annihilate the German 4th Army commanded by Albrecht. If the two French armies succeeded in the middle, the German right and left wings would be split.However, on August 21, Joffre took away 3 divisions of about 50,000 people from the Luffy Army, and together with the other 4 reserve divisions formed a "Lorraine Army", led by General Maunuri and stationed at Verdun. Between Nancy and Nancy, to cover the attack in the direction of Lorraine and the direction of Ardennes.In the next 4 days, the two sides launched a bloody battle in the Ardennes. The German troops and artillery were superior, which was far beyond the expectations of the French army. For the 4 reserve armies that joined in, Xia Fei confusedly took the opponent's 10 armies as 6 armies to fight.This is a typical encounter.The German army's tactics were more correct, digging trenches to fight, the French army always underestimated the training of digging trenches and used bayonets to charge, but they were swept down by machine guns one after another.The artillery of the French army also caused heavy casualties to the German army. "Thousands of dead people are still standing, leaning on the buttresses that look like a 60-degree slope formed by batches of corpses." On August 23, the French army, which had suffered heavy losses, began to retreat. The 3rd Army retreated to Verdun, and the 4th Army retreated to Sterne and Sedan to reorganize the defense line on the west bank of the Meuse River. Since early August, the reconnaissance reports received by the commander of the 5th Army, Lang Rezak, have been more and more in line with his original judgment on the focus of the German attack. He reported to the headquarters one after another the German army's detour to Belgium, but was scoffed.According to the plan on the 17th, his 5th Army should attack the Ardennes Mountains in the northeast.He feared that in doing so he would be cut off from the left flank by the main body of the German army, which was turning around.Lang Rezac repeatedly urged to go north to seize the triangle area where the Moose River and the Sambre River meet, so as to block the right wing of the German army going south.None of these requests were heeded by Joffre and his command personnel.It was not until 7 pm on August 15 that the threat of the German right wing sweeping the French left wing became very clear, and Joffre gave the order for the 5th Army to enter the triangle between the Sambre River and the Meuse River.Joffre's move was just to deal with the threat of the right wing of the German army, not to give up the No. 17 plan aimed at attacking. The 5th French Army needed 5 days to march 80 miles to reach the line of the Sambre River. On August 18, the Belgian army abandoned the favorable position of the Rete River and retreated to Antwerp despite the fact that the French and British troops were heading north.On the same day, Lang Rezak, who was heading north with all his strength, received two proposals from Joffre and asked him to choose.One is that the Belgian, British, and French forces jointly attack the north of the Sambre River as they are doing now; the other is that if the enemy on the west bank of the Meuse River is only a part of the right wing of the German army, the 5th Army of Langrezac will return The Moose River supported the main force attacking the Ardennes, and the Belgian and British armies came to deal with the German troops north of the Sambre River and the Moose River.Lang Rezac completely lost confidence in the judgment of the enemy's situation at the headquarters, ignored the second plan, and continued to advance towards the Sambre River.On this day, the right wing of the German army is making a detour towards Belgium. Kruger's 1st Army, Bülow's 2nd Army, and Houssen's 3rd Army are advancing towards Brussels, Namur, and Dinant from the outer, middle, and inner routes respectively. On August 21, part of Langrezac's troops crossed the Sambre River to the north bank, and met with the vanguard of the German Bülow. Reach the South Bank.At this time, the French 5th Army and French British Expeditionary Force plus one division of the Namurbi Army made a total of 21 divisions, while the German army had a total of 38 divisions in combat in this area.Although Lang Rezac didn't know the exact number of the opponent, he knew that since the German army had adopted a strategy of detouring Belgium, his own army group was now in the first position to bear the brunt.It is difficult for him to bear the pressure with his own strength. On August 22, the 2nd Army of the German Army Bülow launched 3 armies to launch a frontal attack on the 5th Army of the French Army in the Charleroi area.That night, the 3rd Army of the German Army Howson invested 4 armies to attack the right flank of the 5th Army of the French Army. Luo's wrong command directly attacked the relatively solid defensive positions of the French army to the west, so that the retreat channel of the French 5th Army was always unimpeded. On August 23, the cavalry unit on the left wing of the French 5th Army was defeated by the Germans, and the gap between it and the British Expeditionary Force became wider and wider.At noon, the Belgian 4th Division withdrew from the Namur Fortress.In the evening, Houssen's troops expanded the bridgehead on the southern side of Dinan on the other side of the Meuse River. It appeared that they had further swept the rear of the French 5th Army. Immediately afterwards, it was reported that the frontal troops of Charleroi failed to hold their positions and were retreating. , and the news that the 4th Army of the right-wing De Langer was seriously frustrated in the Ardennes and has been retreating since the morning has been confirmed. If they do not withdraw from the battlefield in time, they will repeat the tragic ending of the Battle of Sedan in 1870. Without consulting the headquarters, Lang Rezac resolutely issued an order for the full retreat of the Fifth Army. After the headquarters learned of it, they neither raised objections nor revoked the order.Later, French officials accused Lang Rezac of finding a scapegoat: they believed that the right wing was threatened and ordered a retreat instead of a counterattack.Rather, a spokesman for the British Army said in fairness that Lang-Rézac's order to retreat saved France from yet another defeat at Sedan, undoubtedly saving the British Expeditionary Force, and at the same time saving the French Army from The catastrophe.General von Howsen of Germany admitted after the war that Lang Rezac's retreat disrupted all German combat plans starting from encircling the left flank of the French army, forcing Kruger to take a lame inner circle detour. On August 25, under the bombardment of the German 420mm and 305mm giant siege guns, the 5,000 defenders of the Namur Fortress were forced to surrender.So far, the Battle of the Sambre River ended with the failure of the French and Belgian armies. After disembarking in Rouen, the British Expeditionary Force assembled in Le Cateau and Maubeuge, and was warmly welcomed by the French and Belgian people along the way. On August 17, Sir French, the commander of the expeditionary force, met with General Lang Rezak, the commander of the French 5th Army. Due to disagreements on some specific issues, misunderstandings and antagonism arose. French changed his meeting with Joffre Time promised to complete operational readiness by 21 August, telling the Allies that he would not be ready until 24 August.Long Rezac was disappointed and came to the conclusion that the British were unreliable. On August 20, the German Kruger 1st Army captured Brussels and marched south towards Mons. At this moment, the British army going north was also approaching Mons, and neither side knew what to do with each other. On August 22, the scouting cavalry in the vanguard of the two sides had an encounter.Kruger was taken aback. He was very frustrated because he did not eat the 5 divisions of the Belgian army in time. The 5 divisions of the Belgian army had already withdrawn to Antwerp. .Now the British army suddenly appeared in front.Kruger asked to continue to the west, looking for the edge of the enemy's flank, so as to "pocket" the opponent into the net.But Bulow, commander of the 2nd Army on his left, feared that there would be a gap between the two armies, prevented him from continuing westward, and ordered him to attack directly towards Mons.As early as August 17, the General Staff ordered Kruger to take command of Bülow.As a result, the furious Kruger had no choice but to attack the front of the British army. On August 23, on the 25-mile-long front, French commanded Haig's 1st Army and Doring's 2nd Army to start the battle. The British army thought that the enemy in front of them was one or two armies, but In fact, the German army has 4 corps and 3 cavalry divisions in combat, as well as 2 reserve troops, one is still 2 days away, and the other is the Belgian army in defense of Antwerp.Kruger's 3rd and 4th armies concentrated on attacking the British 2nd Army in Dolin. After a whole day of fierce fighting, both sides suffered heavy losses. After the British army blew up the bridge over the Mons River, they retreated to the 2nd Army Second line of defense.It was only in the afternoon that Kruger realized that he had made a fatal mistake, that is, he did not put the 2nd and 9th armies on the two wings into battle. He adjusted his deployment and ordered the two attacking armies to contain the British army from the front. Surround its rear on both sides and fight a battle of annihilation.French originally wanted to fight again the next day, but at this time a depressing news came. The French Army Lang Rezac's 5th Army had retreated, and the British army was not notified before the retreat. French took over again that night. I received Xiafei's telegram, saying that various evidences showed that the British army was facing 3 German armies plus 2 cavalry divisions.Therefore, the isolated and helpless British army decided to retreat under the cover of night.Haig's 1st Army was out of range of the Germans' attack, so far almost no shots were fired, and they quickly withdrew.Due to the wrong setting of the headquarters, Doring did not receive the order until 3:00 in the morning. At this time, the German army had pulled up the other two armies. No small loss.So far, the battle of Mons ended with the retreat of the British army, and the border battle between France and Germany also ended. After the border battle, the three armies of the left wing of the French army retreated across the board, and the two armies of the right wing were still struggling on the Lorraine front.The five armies on the right and center of the German army were like a sweeping sickle, cutting from Belgium to France. On August 24, the German army entered the French territory and reorganized the defense line in order to prevent the British and French troops from gaining a firm foothold in order to gain a breathing space.Regardless of the extreme fatigue of the troops and the fact that the logistical supply was close to the limit, the Kruger and Bülow armies marched continuously, chasing the equally exhausted British and French troops all the way, forcing the latter to turn back and fight hard. Dangerous defense.In order to prevent the right wing of the German army from advancing to the hinterland of France, Joffre issued the No. 2 circular on August 25, proposing to transfer troops from the direction of Lorraine to form a new 6th Army and deploy it on the way of the right wing of the German army. The three retreating armies should try their best to maintain a continuous front, with short and violent counterattacks by the rearguard, blocking or at least stalling the enemy's advance, and getting ready to resume the offensive. The German army's imminent sweep of Paris caused panic in the French capital. The government was looking for a scapegoat, and some people scolded Joffre for being an idiot and a fool.There were also threats to skin the Army Secretary Messimy.In the end Messimi and Mitchell were relieved by Poincaré and Vivenier.Messimi was replaced by Millerand. On August 26, Gallieni became the military governor of Paris and the commander of the Paris troops. He took office when the government promised to transfer 3 armies to him.On that day, the core force of the 6th Army, General Maunuri's "Lorraine Army", moved from the right wing to the left wing where it originally covered the Ardennes and Lorraine attacks. It arrived in Amiens via Paris by train and moved forward. .The 6th Army was composed of the 7th Army, the 55th and 56th Reserve Divisions drawn from the 3rd Army, and the 61st and 62nd Reserve Divisions in Paris, with Ebene as the commander. In order to prevent the 6th Army from being overwhelmed by the torrent of the German advance before deployment, Joffre ordered the retreating 5th Army of Lang-Rézac to immediately turn around and attack Saint-Quentin in the northwest direction on August 27. In order to delay the German army advancing westward.Lang Rezac refused at first, and then had to start attacking under the threat of Xiafei. On August 29, Xiafei went to the front line to supervise the battle.As a French officer was captured and the French battle plan was leaked, the French attack on St. Quentin was repelled by the Germans who were ready.The German Biluo Department took the opportunity to launch an offensive to the right flank of the 5th Army.Lang Rezac once again showed his wit and agility, resolutely gave up the attack, regrouped his troops, severely damaged Bilot's troops in Guiz, and won a tactical victory.However, due to the continued retreat of the British army on the left and the French Fourth Army on the right, Langrezac's two wings lost cover and were still in danger of being surrounded, so they had to retreat. Since the retreat of the British army from Mons, its rear has been tightly bitten by the German Kruger. On August 25, General Haig's 1st Army was attacked by the enemy in Landresiere. Asking for help from the headquarters of the expeditionary force, French also became flustered under the influence, and ordered Haig to change his retreat direction from southeast to due south, causing him to part ways with Dolin's 2nd Army.In order to get rid of the entanglement, on August 26, the British Dorin's 2nd Army was forced to turn around and engage in a tough rearguard battle with the Germans at Le Cato. French concluded that the annihilation of Dorin's 2nd Army was inevitable. In a panic, he withdrew his headquarters to Saint-Quentin, and could not give any instructions to Haig's telegram asking how to help Dorin's troops in the fierce battle. As a result, Haig, who was strong enough, had heard the dense traffic in Le Cateau's direction. The sound of gunfire.Unable to help the struggling 2nd Army due to "can't make up his mind", Duolin resolutely turned around and fought to save the left wing of the entire front, and temporarily got rid of the entanglement of the German army. At this time, an episode occurred. On August 27, in order to contain the German army from behind and march southwest, 3 battalions of British troops and 6,000 Belgian troops landed in Ostend, Belgium, but because the British and French troops retreated too far, This back threat has completely lost its meaning.By August 31, the three battalions of the British army had re-boarded and returned home. The unexpected main attack direction of the German army and the oppression of a huge force, coupled with the retreat of the French 5th Army, did not call in advance, and the successive defeats plus the loss of 15,000 people made the emotionally changeable French panic. Angry, frustrated and enveloped in fear of impending doom, his freshman ambition and rhetoric have long since evaporated, and his only thought now is to get out of contact with the Germans as soon as possible to ensure that the British army is not wiped out.He refused Joffre's request to hold his ground and cooperate with the counterattack of the French 5th Army. When the French counterattacked, French continued to retreat, so that the flanks of the French 6th Army on his left and the French 5th Army on his right were exposed. There was nothing left, so he had no choice but to retreat. On August 28, French, who was in disarray, ordered the various departments of the British army to throw away all ammunition, ammunition and non-essential supplies. Obviously, he did not want to fight any more and just wanted to run for his life.But in fact the morale and retreat of the British army were far from as bad as his commander-in-chief imagined, and most of the unit commanders ignored this order. On August 29, French ordered the withdrawal of the main base of the British army to Saint-Nazaire in the south of the Normandy peninsula. Evacuate to the coast as soon as possible, board the ship and return home.Joffre told him that the 5th and 6th armies were being ordered to hold their ground, and begged him not to retreat further and create a gap between the two French armies.In his report to the Secretary of War, Kitciner, French distorted the facts, saying that the army wanted to retreat by itself and let the British army stand alone, so he had to do so. (French still wrote this in his memoirs after the war, so that his compatriots had to present him with a word: lie.) Secretary of War Kitciner did not approve of French's approach, and several telegrams exchanged Afterwards, Kitciner rushed to Paris, France on the morning of September 1, and had discussions with French in the British Embassy. The final result was that the British army continued to deploy on the battle line and cooperated with the French army. The right wing of the German army opened a 75-mile wide strip left and right, marching in the direction of Paris.The one chasing at the forefront is Kruger, who is going to go to the "right-wing end of the Sleeve Strait" in the "Sliffin Plan", and is also the curved tip of the "Sickle", and will follow the smooth progress of this knife. The tip will become more and more curved and longer until it meets the "handle" of the Franco-German border near Switzerland to form a "circle". On August 30, his 1st Army repelled several detachments of the French 6th Army on the right wing, and found a large amount of ammunition and luggage hastily discarded by the British army when they retreated in the middle. His left wing reported that the French 5th Army had already Being beaten to the ground, Kruger felt that the decisive moment had arrived. On the one hand, he was determined not to let his opponent get the slightest respite. On the other hand, he judged from the retreat direction of the French Fifth Army that the French defense line was facing west The extension is not as far as imagined, so there is no need to rigidly carry out detours and large-scale sweeps from the west and southwest of Paris according to the original plan, and the French army can be swept from the north of Paris, which can also fill the gap between Bilo The always worrying notch.At 6:30 that night, Bilow called and asked Kruger to take an outflanking operation in the inner circle. This suggestion was in the latter's arms. Kruger resolutely made a wrong decision that would affect the course of the subsequent war and changed the direction of the march. That night, Xiao Moqi called back to approve. , because the density of the right wing of the German army is already lower than the attack required, if the original plan is to turn around from the west, the front line will inevitably have to be extended by 50 miles or more. So think Kruger's advice brings luck. On August 31, the German 1st Army moved from south to southeast, sweeping through the French 5th Army.In this way, Paris was no longer included in Schlieffen's original encirclement plan, and the "right wing" of the German army could not "sweep the strait", but passed by the front of the French Sixth Army northeast of Paris. Kruger's vanguard has broken through the gap left by the retreat of the British army between the French 5th Army and Paris. The 5th Army is still in danger of being surrounded, and the German outflanking movement seems to be unstoppable. On September 1, Joffre issued Circular No. 4, determined to retreat to the other side of the Seine to stabilize the front line, then spend a week to adjust the deployment, and re-launched the offensive on September 8. On September 2, Gallieni, who was in charge of the defense of Paris, was finally authorized to command the 6th Army. The 45th Division and the 4th Army transferred from Verdun to the 3rd Army also arrived in Paris by train in the next 2 days.In the middle of the night, the French government withdrew from Paris and moved to Bordeaux. On September 3, the French reconnaissance plane reported that Kruger's troops were passing by the northeast of Paris and moving from west to east. The chief of staff, Célégerie, and Colonel Girodon couldn't help shouting: "They sent the flanks to the door!" Gallieni immediately saw this fleeting opportunity. He decided to flank the exposed German right flank as soon as possible, and persuaded Joffre to stop retreating to the Seine and immediately resume the offensive along the entire front.Obviously this strategic move depended on Joffre's consent and the cooperation of the British Expeditionary Force.At this moment, Joffre is also busy with the counter-offensive, but instead of considering the specific location and time, he is replacing the commander of the 5th Army, Lang Rezac. Since the very beginning of the war, he has been bumping against the commander-in-chief on many issues, which made Xiafei's command extremely difficult. In order to ensure that his subordinates carried out his will to fight, Xiafei finally made up his mind to dismiss him and appointed the former commander of the 1st Army Franche Despere served as commander of the corps. At dawn on September 4, the French pilot's report further confirmed that Kruger's detour to the southeast had made his rear troops an obvious target for the French 6th Army and the British Expeditionary Force.At 9:00 a.m., Gallieni ordered General Maunuri to deploy immediately without the consent of Joffre, and set off in the afternoon of the same day as the vanguard of the 6th Army's all-out attack to the east. Joffre's headquarters, proposed an attack on the north bank of the Marne on 6 September.Now Joffre has to choose between the original plan to withdraw to the Seine River and then counterattack, or seize the current opportunity to immediately take risks and fight the enemy. The staff officers of Xiafei General Headquarters were shrouded in tension and excitement. Xiafei walked out of the house, and under a weeping willow, he thought about it for most of the afternoon, and finally made up his mind.He issued an order to the entire army: "Expand the partial actions envisioned by the Paris defenders to a full-scale counterattack on the left wing of the Allied forces." In the course of this war, no separate peace shall be negotiated".On the morning of that day, Joffre was shocked when he learned that French's British Expeditionary Force refused to participate in the counterattack. He drove 115 miles to the headquarters of the British Army at 2:00 p.m. The decisive moment has come. No matter what happens, the last company of the French army will go to fight to save France. The lives of all French people, the land of France, and the future of Europe depend on this attack. "I can't believe The British army will shirk its responsibility at this critical moment... History will judge you harshly for your non-participation in combat."In the end, Xia Fei punched the table and said: "Mr. Marshal, the honor of Britain is in danger!" Marshal French kept blushing and listened excitedly, and was finally moved to tears by the "honor of Britain" With a smile on his face, he finally agreed to cooperate with the French army and participate in the counterattack. From September 2, Little Moltke became more and more disturbed by the exposed flank of Kruger after he turned inward, so he issued a general order to Kruger, on the one hand approving the southeast turn, and on the other hand requiring The Kruger Army formed an echelon, followed the 2nd Army, and covered the flanks of the two armies.Kruger was unwilling to implement the plan, which would give the French army a respite. He ordered the troops to continue their pursuit towards the Marne River and cross the river tomorrow.Kruger telegraphed three times to the Supreme Command of his intention to cross the Marne River. Due to communication difficulties, these three telegrams were not received until the next day. The German Supreme Command lost contact with Kruger's 1st Army at a critical moment. Today, when Kruger found out that he was refusing to carry out the orders given to him earlier, his vanguard had already crossed the Marne.At this time, the German High Command found that although the German army had continuously defeated the French army for more than ten days, there were very few prisoners and the number of captured cannons was also small. Xiao Maoqi judged that the French army was making a planned retreat.Then he received information that the two armies of the French army were withdrawn from the Lorraine front, and there was an endless stream of trains heading for Paris. attack. 早在8月25日，德军参谋本部就从克鲁格和比洛的部队中各抽去一个军，增援东普鲁士，因为俄国出人意料地提前发动了攻势，同时也以为法军已被击破，西线即将大获全胜。这样原定应在进攻中不断得到增强的德军右翼，非但没有得到计划中的6个军，反而从攻击主力中抽去2个军。小毛奇不从德军左翼抽兵，一来是被两面包围的前景所吸引，二来可能是迁就领兵的将领，因为他们是王储。9月4日，小毛奇打算从左翼抽调兵力支援右翼，但鲁普雷希特和冯·克拉夫特反对从左翼调走一兵一卒。恰好德皇视察鲁普雷希特的第6集团军前线，对攻破南锡的法军防线深信不疑，也极力支持鲁普雷希特等人的意见。小毛奇既然无兵可调，只好决定右翼停止前进。当晚他草拟了一份命令指出：法军已摆脱德军第1、第2集团军的包抄，部分已与巴黎守军会合，摩泽河战线上的法军正向西移动，很可能要在巴黎附近集中优势兵力，威胁德军右翼，因此第1、第2集团军必须停在原处，面对巴黎以抗击对方的任何进攻。这份命令反映了小毛奇在许多人沉浸于胜利在望的喜悦时，能够保持清醒的头脑和对局势的准确判断。他虽有遇事犹豫的缺陷，但毕竟不像后来指责他的人所说的那样，是个地道的庸才。如果不是加利埃尼反应迅速的话，这道命令尚能及时挽回危局。 9月5日，渡过马恩河的克鲁格集团军继续全力向前推进，企图卷击法军侧翼，4个军浩浩荡荡向大莫兰河挺进。他的部队疲惫不堪，士兵到达宿营地倒地就睡，强行军使重炮部队落在了后面。上午7时，他接到小毛奇电令，要他转身对付巴黎方向的威胁，克鲁格对此命令不屑一顾，仍全速前进。是夜，小毛奇派参谋本部情报处长亨奇上校从卢森堡驱车175英里赶到前线，向克鲁格解释命令的原委，敦促第1集团军务必撤到马恩河北岸。亨奇告诉克鲁格，左翼鲁普雷希特集团军在法国边境堡垒线上已陷于僵局，后者和其参谋人员大吃一惊。接着又有沮丧的消息传来：在马恩河北岸担任侧翼后卫的德军第4后备军发来报告证实，法军已开始行动。这正是从巴黎向东进攻的莫努里的先头部队。强悍的克鲁格这次不得不屈服，决定于次日，即9月6日晨，开始后撤。 就在亨奇警告克鲁格的同时，法军这边，霞飞回到总部走进作战室，对聚集在那里的军官们说：“先生们，让我们在马恩河战斗吧。”不过，为了在万一失败时推脱责任，霞飞在给总统和总理的电文中说：“由于加利埃尼过早地发动了进攻，我已下令停止退却，接着我也转入了进攻。”后来霞飞想贬低加利埃尼在此战中的作用，企图从作战记录里抹去某些事实时，白里安发现了这份电文，他出示给加利埃尼说：“这'过早'两字值千金。” 马恩河会战实际上在9月5日已经打响，起端于格罗劳指挥的德军第4后备军对莫努里指挥的法军先头部队的袭击，整个过程达7天，从凡尔登到森里斯的整条战线上战潮起伏，包括了无数的小型战斗。9月6日上午，德军林辛根的第2军奉命赶到提里普特，增援苦战中的第4后备军，在6小时内，这支极度疲劳部队便同法军第6军团整个正面展开激战，这时莫努里手中已达15万部队，攻势凌厉，林辛根深感危机，向克鲁格紧急求援，后者又调阿尔林的第4军前往助战，于9月7日清晨到达战场，这天战况对德军越来越不利，巴黎方向的第6集团军气势磅礴的攻势有席卷德军整个右翼之势，克鲁格不得不把第3、第9两个军调转身来全力对付来自巴黎方向的压力（9月6日黄昏，德军从战俘身上搜出霞飞的反攻命令，方知局势严峻）。9月7日这天，莫努里的第6集团军情形也十分危急。当时有一个师的生力军赶到，在巴黎下了火车，距前线尚有40英里，加利埃尼情急生智，紧急征用出租汽车600辆，竟用两个来回便把一个整师送上火线，成为战争史上第一次大规模使用汽车运输军队的先例。 德军若想取胜，关键是豪森的第3集团军需击退新成立的福煦第9军团，这样就可迂回法军第5集团军右翼，迫使其后撤，这样巴黎方向的法军第6集团军就孤掌难鸣了，即便有英军相助，克鲁格也能应付裕如。但福煦还是顽强地守住了阵地。战至9月8日，莫努里已将克鲁格整个集团军调转过来，被吸引在奥里奎河上，德斯佩雷指挥的法军第5集团军也返身击退比洛的德军第2集团军，迫其向东北退却。于是，克鲁格与比洛之间出现30英里宽的缺口。弗伦奇的英国远征军3个军乘隙而入。按富勒的说法，战争史上没有比这种时刻更需要速度了，但弗伦奇的精神状态跟不上从自己差点被全歼到可以全歼对手的时间和角色的快速转换。面对2个师的德军警戒部队，他总觉得自己正在进入一个巨大的埋伏圈。3天内英军在这个缺口里小心探路，竟推进25英里，从而成为后世笑柄。如果弗伦奇以一个真正的骑兵老将的姿态，迅速插入，便可轻松地从背后将克鲁格军团包围起来。 小毛奇为前线的局势感到万分焦虑，他又派亨奇视察前线5个军团，同时授予他代表最高统帅部发布命令的权力。9月9日，亨奇在第1集团军司令部接到比洛已经撤退的电报，而且获悉英军已进入第1、第2两军团之间的缺口，于是这位参谋本部的全权代表下令克鲁格全面撤退，从而避免了德军右翼的崩溃。然而，这同时也就宣告了德国人苦心孤诣的“史里芬计划”已彻底破产。具有戏剧性的是，当弗伦奇带着3个军慢吞吞爬进克鲁格和比洛之间的缺口时，便创造了“马恩河奇迹”，而他自己却还莫名其妙。 马恩河会战的意义在于：它使法国避免了军事上的全面崩溃，重新组织起一条新防线，从而稳住了西线，粉碎了德国先西后东，对法国、俄国实行各个击破的战略计划，使德国陷入它所竭力想避免的东西两线作战的困境。法国也付出了相当大的代价，从开战到马恩河会战结束为止，法军120多万部队有60万人死伤和被俘。 大战爆发后，俄国出乎意料地提前在东线发动了攻势。德国参谋本部原来估计俄国需要6个星期的动员时间才能开始进攻，但俄国在法国一再催促下，把进攻的时间提前了4个星期。 俄国参谋本部制订了两份对德作战计划，视德国如何行动而选择使用。其中之一是，如果德国以主力攻打法国，俄国就用主力攻打奥匈。在此种情况下，以4个集团军投入奥匈战场，用2个集团军来对付德国。对德作战计划规定：吉林斯基指挥的西北方面军的第1、第2集团军向东普鲁士发动钳形攻势，莱宁坎普指挥的第1集团军在北面首先采取行动，以便最大限度地将东普鲁士的德军主力吸引过来；萨姆索夫指挥的第2集团军将从南面绕过马祖里湖，插入德军背后，切断德军向维斯瓦河的退路，达成围歼后，第二步就是向维斯瓦河西面150英里的柏林进军。 东普鲁士地形条件使德国参谋本部判定，俄军势必沿着马祖里湖泊地带两侧发动钳形攻势，所以德军作战计划的基本原则是：利用东普鲁士境内完善的铁路网，进行迅速的集中和机动，充分发挥内线作战的优势。两路进攻之敌哪一路提供了最有利的机会就先打击哪一路。对此，史里芬有言在先：投入全部兵力，对首先进入我军射程的一路俄军，予以痛歼。 早在8月5日，法国大使帕莱奥洛格在谒见沙皇时就恳求说：“请求陛下命令麾下军队立即采取攻势，否则法军有遭覆没之虞。”他还为此拜访了俄军总司令尼古拉大公，大公向法国大使保证，为履行动员第15天行动的诺言，他准备不等部队全部集结完毕，于8月14日就开始向德国大规模进攻。 实际进攻的日期又提前2天，8月12日拂晓，莱宁坎普第1集团军先遣部队的1个骑兵师进入德境，占领距边境5英里的马格拉博瓦镇，揭开了东普鲁士的战幕。接着他的主力，3个军和5个半骑兵师约20万人，于8月17日展开攻势，沿35英里的正面越过边境，向距37英里的因斯特堡峡口前进，此峡口北通柯尼斯堡要塞，南至马祖里湖区，是为军事险要。 德军在东普鲁士的兵力为普里特维茨指挥的第8军团，计有4个半军，1个骑兵师，柯尼斯堡的卫戍部队和一些地方部队，人数为俄军进攻兵力的一半。小毛奇给第8集团军的命令是保卫东、西普鲁士，不得让自己为优势兵力所压服或被赶进柯尼斯堡要塞区，如果发觉受到非常强大的部队的威胁，就撤到维斯瓦河西岸，将东普鲁士放弃给敌人。于是，普里特维茨决定采取先击退北路，再对付南路的作战顺序。他派第20军去东南方向，尽可能地缠住正在逼近的俄军萨姆索夫集团军，集中另3个半军和1个骑兵师在莱宁坎普集团军到达因斯特堡之前，在距边境的25英里的贡比楠地区迎击该部。 桀骜不驯的德军第1军军长冯·弗朗索瓦先期到达贡比楠后，不顾上司命令继续向边境挺进。8月17日下午，在距俄国边界5英里的施塔卢珀楠，德军第1军与俄军第3军开始交火，弗朗索瓦以迂回战术击溃俄军第27师，俘获3000人，并于当晚退回贡比楠。莱宁坎普不顾前锋受挫，重新前进。但才两天，到8月20日便停止了。原因不在于后勤补给已捉襟见肘和道路、通讯状况日益恶劣，而是顾虑推进太快，德军的迅速后撤会使俄军的钳形夹击落空，他想诱敌前来，好让萨姆索夫集团军有时间进到德军背后，给予致命一击。 莱宁坎普8月19日用简单密码发出的无线电令，被德军第8集团军的密码员（一位数学教授）毫不费劲地破译了。德军得知莱宁坎普停止了进军，更难抉择了。德军放手攻打一路而不受另一路的干扰的时间只有6天，现已3天过去了，如果德军仍等待俄军进攻，几天后势必陷于两支俄军的夹击中。这时第20军来电称：俄军萨姆索夫集团军已在上午越过边境。现在德军要么立即击溃面前的莱宁坎普，要么脱出身来南下对付萨姆索夫。普里特维茨选择前一个方案，他命令弗朗索瓦于次日，即8月20日晨在贡比楠地区发动进攻。 黎明前，弗朗索瓦第1军开始了左翼进攻。在中路，冯·马肯森指挥的第17军于上午8时赶到战场。在右翼，冯·贝洛指挥的第1后备军直到中午才抵达前线。战至黄昏，德军中路马肯森军在俄军猛烈炮火下向后溃退，右翼贝洛军失去左翼掩护也被迫后撤，只有左翼弗朗索瓦重创对手，颇有收获。总的来说，贡比楠会战是俄军获胜了。当晚，普里特维茨感到会战已经失败，如果俄军一鼓作气，穷追猛打，势必将第8集团军冲裂为两部分，一部向北退往海岸地区，一部向南退向马祖里湖地区，最后会被俄军各个击破。为避免这种局势，他决定放弃东普鲁士，退到维斯瓦河西岸，并将自己的建议电告最高统帅部。 第8集团军作战处副处长、原参谋本部俄国军事问题专家霍夫曼上校认为，情况虽属严峻，但事情尚有可为，利用内线作战特点和铁路便利进行重新部署，就足以对付两路俄军，如果北面俄军行动不出他所料，继续停滞不前的话，还可以集中全部力量来对付其中的一路。他说服了集团军参谋长冯·瓦尔德泽，后者居然说服了原先不同意的普里特维茨，霍夫曼立刻开始草拟命令，并向各军发出指示，这些内容是：弗朗索瓦军立刻乘火车赶到南面索尔茨军的右翼布阵，马肯森军和贝洛军立即脱离同莱宁坎普集团军的接触，强行军南下，在索尔茨军的左翼展开。当依此计划的调动已开始时，他又后悔了，他在电话里对小毛奇说必须得到增援，否则他甚至不能保证守住维斯瓦河。 小毛奇决定撤换普里特维茨和他的参谋长，8月22日上午9时，正在那慕尔前线的鲁登道夫接到命令，被任命为第8集团军参谋长。15分钟内他就坐车启程，傍晚6时到达科布伦次，3小时内，听取了东线局势介绍和有关指示，还受到小毛奇和德皇的接见，当晚9点乘专车前往东线。鲁登道夫当即给第8集团军发了一些命令，内容是第1军乘火车南下支援第20军，第17军和第1后备军在8月23日这天要完全与俄军脱离接触并休整好。这些命令和霍夫曼的命令相同，体现了德国军事学院和参谋本部军官团对同一命题作出同样答案的严8格要求。是日下午，退休的兴登堡将军在汉诺威家中接到最高统帅部命令，命他立即前往东线接任第8集团军司令，该集团军新任参谋长鲁登道夫将在东去的列车上同他会面。兴登堡匆匆忙忙穿着旧军服上路了。次日清晨4时，专列开进汉诺威车站，鲁登道夫走上月台向兴登堡报到，两个人开始了历史性的合作。 莱宁坎普赢得贡比楠胜利后并没有乘胜追击，其思路同上次发布停止前进的命令一样，生怕南面俄军在断敌退路前，德军撤过维斯瓦河。他的上司吉林斯基将军的判断也是如此，以为德军正在向维斯瓦河撤退，所以他连连催促萨姆索夫赶快发动强有力的进攻，以拦截莱宁坎普前面正在退却的德军主力。8月19日，萨姆索夫集团军越过边境后即向德军第20军大举进攻，占领德国境内10英里的佐尔道和奈登堡。索尔茨因援军未到被迫后撤。8月23日，俄军再次猛攻索尔茨部，在付出较大伤亡后迫使德军又后退10英里。是日，北面的莱宁坎普集团军终于又前进了，但他并不斜插向南，去和萨姆索夫会师，而是向正西进军，因为南下唯恐弗朗索瓦击其背。8月24日，正当鲁登道夫和兴登堡对先应付哪一路俄军难下决心时，他们截获了萨姆索夫给所属5个军第2天的作战指令，虽然北面的莱宁坎普意向不明，却知道了如何迎战萨姆索夫，这就解决了问题。现在，鲁登道夫和兴登堡决心把全部力量投入对萨姆索夫的进攻，在北面只留下第1后备骑兵军与莱宁坎普集团军进行周旋。战斗将在第2天，即8月25日打响。 俄军进入德境才几天，后勤运输便几乎陷于瘫痪，早先俄国为防德国入侵时利用自己的铁路，便将铁路设计成宽轨，大军进入东普鲁士后，德国人已将火车头全部撤走，俄军无法利用德国的铁路。许多军用物资都堆积在靠边境的宽轨铁路线尽头，只能用马拉的大车费劲地往前拖，才深入德境20多英里，许多部队已经断粮数日，人和马匹皆饥肠辘辘。通讯部队的管理几乎处于混乱状态，战地电话线短缺，只够军部与所属各师部联系，与集团军司令部和各军之间的通讯只能靠无线电报了。由于俄军第6军没有密电码，萨姆索夫只好用无线电明码发布命令，结果让德军截获，使德军定下作战决心。 8月25日上午，德军又截获两份俄军电文，一份是萨姆索夫当天清晨6时发出的，从内容来看，他把索尔茨军的撤退误认为德军的全面后退，同时规定了俄军追击的具体时间和路线。另一份是莱宁坎普当天清晨5时30分发出的，内容为所部的进军路程，他第2天的目的地并不远，不足以威胁已经转过身来，即将向南进攻的贝洛军和马肯森军的后方。鲁登道夫的作战计划是：索尔茨第20军继续在中路作正面牵制，贝洛第1后备军和马肯森第17军在左翼进攻俄军右翼，弗朗索瓦第1军在右翼进攻俄军左翼。两翼得手后实施包围，全歼俄军第2军团。作战命令与8月25日午夜前全部发出后，鲁登道夫得到飞行侦察报告，说莱宁坎普的部队正向自己逼近，他顿时陷于紧张中，此刻，兴登堡用坚定的语气使他镇定了下来。 是夜，鲁登道夫接到遥远的最高统帅部作战处处长塔本上校电话，说要调3个军和1个骑兵师增援东线战场。鲁登道夫感到吃惊，此刻西线最需要兵力，是何原因导致统帅部作这一调动，他甚感惶惑。不过，他对塔本说，东线并不需要这些兵力，即使来，对目前这一战也为时过晚，战斗已经打响。塔本说这些部队还是抽得出来的。调兵东线是德国参谋本部惊慌失措之举，史里芬对东线的兵力安排是基于俄国军队大量地被日本吸引在远东的考虑上。目前形势剧变，8月15日，日本宣布参加协约国，这就使大量俄军从东亚脱出身来，又因俄军如此迅速攻入东普鲁士，实出德皇和小毛奇的参谋本部的意料，凭第8集团军这点薄弱兵力能否顶住俄国这个庞然大物，确实令人担心，慌忙之中作出了调兵的决定。后来这些被调动的部队既没能参加决定性的西线进军，也没能赶上坦能堡会战。 8月25日夜，萨姆索夫也做好了战斗部署。第15军和第13军再加第23军的1个师，在中路攻击前进。第1军掩护左翼，并得到第23军另一个师的加强。第6军扼守右翼。8月26日拂晓，在贡比楠溃退后已迅速重整旗鼓的德军马肯森军猛扑俄军右翼的第6军，由于萨姆索夫频繁地更换给第6军的命令，导致该军在混乱的调动中仓促应战。日落西山时，贝洛第1后备军也赶来投入进攻。战至第二天早晨，俄军右翼第6军已向后溃败。俄军中路2个半军奋勇向前，攻下了阿伦施泰因。不过，萨姆索夫已意识到现在不是包围敌人而是自己如何不被包围。当晚，他也不知道右翼的第6军已被彻底击溃，德军正从那个方向直插自己后方，他决定第二天继续打下去。8月27日清晨，弗朗索瓦终于等来了他足足盼了两天的全部炮兵部队。鲁登道夫曾命令他对俄军左翼第1军的进攻，必须在8月25日打响，但遭到他的有力拒绝，因为他的炮兵尚在赶往前线的途中。天还未亮，弗朗索瓦一顿炮弹劈头盖脸砸在乌斯道俄军阵地上，不到中午，赫赫有名的俄军第1军便放弃了整个阵地。8月28日黎明，弗朗索瓦第1军再次用大炮开路，不顾鲁登道夫再三要他向左转，对猛攻德军正面的中路俄军进行侧击的命令，笔直地向东前进，他觉得“从中间咬破鸡蛋，蛋黄可能滑掉”。他决心包围萨姆索夫已经崩溃的左翼，并切断整个俄军的退路，将整个“蛋黄”吞进嘴里。 吉林斯基已清楚德军根本不是在向维斯瓦河撤退，而是向第2集团军进逼。他要求莱宁坎普的左翼尽可能向前推进。但他指示的目的地过于偏西，路程也不远，也没有要求部队作急行军。由于后勤的拖累，莱宁坎普仍然在向西作蜗牛爬行。8月28日，萨姆索夫见两翼已折断，深感大势已去，便亲临前线指挥。是晚，他下达撤退令。但这时德军已将中路2个军完全包围。以后3天里，饥饿、混乱的俄军在包围圈里左冲右突，无济于事，抵抗逐渐消失。 8月31日，会战结束。俄军被俘9.2万，2名军长被活捉，萨姆索夫逃进森林后开枪自杀。另外3个军只剩下2个师和1个旅。德军大获全胜。于是，根据霍夫曼的建议（也许是鲁登道夫的建议），将这场会战用附近一个叫做坦能堡的小村庄来命名，以雪1410年条顿骑士团在此败于波兰和立陶宛联军的耻辱。坦能堡会战结束后，德军立即转向东北进击。在9月9日至9月14日的马祖里湖战役中，俄军莱宁坎普第1集团军被德军击败，损失12.5万人，德军损失约1万人，俄军退出东普鲁士向涅曼河撤退。 奥匈帝国参谋总长康德拉对俄作战计划是：从加里西亚发动迅速进攻，夺取华沙与布列斯特－里多夫斯克之间的铁路线。战前，康德拉与小毛奇有约在先，当奥匈对俄国进攻时德军应作配合，从东普鲁士向谢德耳策进攻。开战后德国人自顾不暇，无法兑现当初许诺。但康德拉仍无意打消进攻的念头。伊凡诺夫指挥的西南方面军作战计划是：击溃加里西亚方面奥军，阻止其撤到德涅斯特河对岸和向西撤到克拉科夫，以便实施大规模包围作战，在喀尔巴阡山以北的平原地带摧毁奥军主力。 8月20日，康德拉亲自指挥第1、第4、第3共三个集团军以200英里的宽正面向北、向东运动。在普里匹亚特沼泽地西南同伊凡诺夫指挥的俄军第4、第5、第3、第8共四个集团军发生遭遇战。经两天激战，奥军首战告捷，在克拉希尼克，奥军第1集团军击败俄军第4集团军，并继续向北追击。接着经8月26日到9月1日的鏖战，奥军第4集团军在科马罗夫一仗中打败俄军第5集团军，使其陷于即将被合围的困境而不得不后撤。奥军在北线进展较顺利，但其侧翼战线上，即东线作战的奥军第3集团军情况不妙。俄军第3集团军和第8集团军正在此向利沃夫迅猛突进，似有包抄整个奥军战线后方的模样。奥军第3集团军在得到从塞尔维亚前线调回的第2集团军的增援后，仍不能稳住局面。8月28日，奥、俄两军在东线的格尼拉亚利帕河上展开持续3天的主力会战。俄军第3、第8集团军以优势兵力和猛烈的火炮击败奥军第3、第2集团军，9月3日，俄军进入已被奥军放弃的加里西亚首府利沃夫。是日，伊凡诺夫下令俄军转入总攻，计划在维斯瓦河与桑河之间的三角地带围歼奥匈第1和第4两个集团军。9月4日，俄军第4、第5和新组建的第9集团军在北线突破奥军阵地一直向前推进，奥军损失惨重，加入奥军左翼作战的德国沃尔希后备军亦遭重创。 康德拉发现由于德国人不能履行向谢德耳策进攻的诺言，奥军继续向北发展进攻已毫无意义，甚至对没有及时改变战前计划而发动这场会战感到后悔，他决定战役重心南移，命令第4集团军调头南下，与第2、第3集团军一起对利沃夫实施向心进攻，击退俄军第3、第8集团军，收复加里西亚。9月10日，奥军奉命转入进攻，战至9月11日，奥军3个集团军的攻击均无见效，俄军第5集团军乘机在腊瓦－立斯卡亚奥军第1和第4集团军的结合部实施突破，攻到奥军第4集团军后方，大有将其合围之势。是夜，康德拉不得不停止进攻，发出向桑河对岸撤退的命令。俄军步步进逼，奥军节节败退。9月26日，奥军退守杜纳耶茨和比亚瓦河一线。加里西亚会战遂告结束。此战奥军死伤25万人，被俘10万人，超过其军队总数的三分之一，其优秀的军官几乎全部丧生。俄军损失23万人。奥匈军队已被打残，再也不可能恢复元气。奥军残部15万人留在普热米什尔要塞，被围攻6个月后，终因粮弹不济而投降。 8月12日，奥军第5、第6两个军团约20多万人在波提奥里克将军指挥下，渡过沙瓦河和德里纳河，分别从西面和西北面越过边境侵入塞尔维亚。塞尔维亚第2、第3集团军立即进入预设阵地，塞军在其参谋总长普特尼克卓越指挥下，采取诱敌深入的战法，迫使奥军在不利的地形条件下作战，并使其进攻受阻。8月16日，得到增援的塞军在雅达河上发起反攻，重创奥军并迫其退回到沙瓦河和德里纳河。原定用于俄国战场的奥军第2集团军被迫增援塞尔维亚战场，严重影响了加里西亚的