With the war on the Western Front stalemating, Paul von Hindenburg, Commander-in-Chief of the German armies in the East, and his Chief of Staff, Erich Ludendorff, came up with a plan. The idea was to decisively defeat the Russians in East Prussia, so that overwhelming power could then be transferred to the Western Front. The battle that ensued was called the Second / Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

On 7 February 1915, Hindenburg attacked attacked in the south lakes in a blizzard. He quickly pushed the Russians back by 70 miles and out of most of east Prussia. Two days later he attacked in the north lakes and had the Russians on the run. However, one corps of the Russians fell back into the primeval forests around Augustow(present day Poland) and held on for another 10 days before surrendering. This delay allowed three other corps to escape the German encirclement. Shortly thereafter, the Russains counter-attacked and ended the German initiative. The Russians took horrendous numbers of casualties and captured, but their willingness to take great pain had stopped a total rout.

Hindenburg was a viewed as the saviour of East Prussia to a weary German nation, but his grand plan of delivering a crushing blow that would remove the need for heavy forces in the east had not been completed. In the south, near the Carpathian mountains, the offensive had stalled early. The Germans had to continue on two fronts for most of the remainder of the war. Hindenburg's great rival, Falkenhayn, the German Chief of Staff, was against the plan, but had to concede under a withering attack on his reputation by Hindenburg himself. Eventually, Hindenburg would ascend to take Falkenhayn's place, with Ludendorff becoming the Quartermaster General.

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

I have had a great ride in this area, but I was lost worse than Cooter Brown somehwere west-northwest of Suwalki, near the Russian border, in the area that Hindenburg's northern prong would have attacked through on 9 February 1915. A buddy and I spent 3 hours riding through some beautiful country, but I can't tell you where exactly. However when we did find ourselves again, we travelled through the Augustow area, then west through the middle of the lakes and can highly recommend it as well.

Book Recommendation: Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Map Recommendation: Michelin Poland Map from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Accor Hotels in the Olsztyn area

On 18 January 1919, the warring parties of the First World War met in Paris to discuss terms. Knowing the Germans were on the verge of collapse, both militarily and domestically, the Allied powers exacted a "just peace."
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles are still debated today and, famously, became the basis for the rise of German militarism again in the mid to late 1930's.
The German's sent a list of complaints, but the victors were in no mood to listen.

Books from Amazon.co.uk

On 18 December 1916, the Battle of Verdun* ends after 10 months and almost a million casualties. The Germans had cynically wanted a protracted struggle with the hopes that it would drive the French (and by the French submission, the British) to the bargaining table. The Germans got exactly 1 half of what they wanted...the protracted bit, but the French had more fortitude than expected. The war was to continue for almost 2 more, gruelling years.

*Battle of Verdun ends, http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=17 (last visited Dec 18, 2006).

Books from Amazon.co.uk

Motorcycle Ride

Check out RealClassic.co.uk's trip around Verdun for some great ideas for riding in the area. There are some great pictures of classic bikes at the museum they visited.

Maps