Russian invasion of East Prussia (1914)
The Russian invasion of East Prussia occurred during World War I, lasting from August to September 1914. As well as being the natural course for the Russian Empire to take upon the declaration of war on the German Empire, it was also an attempt to focus the Imperial German Army on the Eastern Front, as opposed to the Western Front. Despite having an overwhelming superiority over the Germans in numbers, the invading Imperial Russian Army spread its forces thin and was defeated in the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, resulting in a complete strategic collapse of the Russian invasion.
Eastern Front, 17–23 August 1914.
"To Prussia!", a drawing by Georges Scott for L'Illustration of 29 August 1914: "On the road to Berlin. The invasion of East Prussia by the Cossack avant-garde preceded the bulk of the Russian army."
The Chevalier Guard Regiment and the Life Guard Horse Regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard in Insterburg, East Prussia. The town was under Russian occupation from 24 August – 11 September 1914.
Obverse of a German silver medal commemorating the liberation of East Prussia in 1914 by Paul von Hindenburg.
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier between Russia and Romania on one side and Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Germany on the other. It ranged from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, involved most of Eastern Europe, and stretched deep into Central Europe. The term contrasts with the Western Front, which was being fought in Belgium and France.
Clockwise from top left: soldiers stationed in the Carpathian Mountains, 1915; German soldiers in Kiev, March 1918; the Russian ship Slava, October 1917; Russian infantry, 1914; Romanian infantry
A timeline of events on the Eastern and Middle-Eastern theatres of World War I
Border changes in favor of Romania as stipulated in the Treaty of Bucharest
World War I caricature from Russia depicting Wilhelm II, Franz Joseph I and Mehmed V. Top: "If only we could get to the top – it would be ours!" Bottom: "Let me help you with that!"