Battle of Waplitz
| date | August 28, 1914 |
|---|---|
| place | Waplitz , East Prussia , now Poland |
| output | russian victory |
| consequences | no influence on the events |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 20.000, 41. Division of the 8th Army | XV. Army Corps of the 2nd (Narew) Army |
| losses | |
|
2,861 dead |
unknown |
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The battle of Waplitz in its bloody outcome represents a tragic event of the victory near Hohenstein at the end of the Tannenberg Battle during the First World War .
history
On the evening of August 27, the 41st Infantry Division stopped with 9 ¼ battalions, 2 Esquadrons and 13 batteries in the 5 km wide front line Januschkau - Albrechtsau - Südende Mühlensee. Shortly before midnight, the XX. Army Corps :
"The 41st Inf. Div. goes around the Mühlen-See on Paulsgut in the rear of the Russians in such a way that they reach the Luttken-Ganshorn line at 4:00 am. "
This meant that a line should be reached by 4 a.m., which was about 3.5 km behind Waplitz. The aim of the order was to move the Russian army to withdraw to the south near Hohenstein. Commander Leo Sontag's grave concerns were ignored.
At around 2 a.m., the vanguard gathered near Wilhelmsdorf. The majority should follow von Albrechtau. A rear guard had been formed to protect the right flank. It was dark and fog obstructed the view. The column oriented itself along the Neidenburg-Hohenstein road until it came to the narrow area near Waplitz. The vanguard, which consisted of the infantry regiment "Hiller von Gärtringen" (4th Posensches) No. 59 , began their march over a dirt road near Ademsheide at around 2.30 in the direction of Waplitz. Most of them only reached the road south of Wittmannsdorf. Vanguard and main body were thus spatially separated from each other. The vanguard did not reach the village of Waplitz until around 4 a.m. when rifle and machine-gun fire was aimed at them in thick fog. Due to night and fog, and above all due to a lack of reconnaissance, the infantry regiment was in the dark about the fact that an entire brigade of the 8th Russian Division with 26 guns had been positioned on the other side of the Marense river. The 30th Russian Infantry Regiment had occupied the village; the 29th Infantry Regiment lurked on the flank.
The German vanguard was slowly advancing north across the bridge and river. A uniform battle management was not possible because of the visibility, only the muzzle flash gave an idea of the strength of the enemy. The machine gun nests of the Russian units were superbly positioned. One was even installed on the church tower in Waplitz. Crossing the bridge in particular cost many people dead. It was only around 5.30 a.m. that the majority reached the battlefield in Waplitz. The 74th Infantry Brigade with the 5th West Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 148 and the Teutonic Order Infantry Regiment No. 152 intervened in the fight. When the fog cleared quickly around 6 a.m., the Russian artillery opened fire on the Elk Mountains and held down the infantry of the 41st Infantry Division advancing in the rifle line . Their soldiers could hardly move in the concentrated enemy fire in the open field, and the accompanying artillery, consisting of six guns, was hardly able to fire. When the order to retreat to Seythen was finally given at about 7.30 a.m., the escaping troops were not only exposed to rear fire, but were also taken under heavy fire from the east flank. The guns were abandoned by the gunners by removing the locks. The regiments that had advanced the furthest and now had the longest way back also suffered the greatest losses; most devastating were the losses in the advance guard. The infantry regiment "Hiller von Gärtringen" (4th Posensches) No. 59 had only ¼ of the crew; Commander Colonel Hugo Sonntag succumbed to serious wounds while in Russian captivity. The six guns also fell into Russian hands. Many dead found their final resting place in the Ehrenfriedhof in Waplitz . On the same day there was a victory in Hohenstein.
Judgments
“The division commander had serious reservations about his (corps command, author's note) implementation. His troops were tired. The reports had not given a clear picture of the enemy, both on his flank and in the front. Since his remonstrations against the advance on Waplitz, which he had brought forward repeatedly that day, had only brought him unkind answers from the General Command, he therefore did not believe that a renewed refusal to attack Waplitz would be successful, and so he walked, albeit reluctant to get involved in running the company. It ended in complete failure. "
"The 41st Inf. Div. had attacked Waplitz in the fog and was beaten off. She had suffered badly, was now to the west of it and was only looking forward to an enemy counterattack with great concern. "
"During August 28th, the bloody wrestling continues."
“The morning of the big decision day shouldn't begin with a lucky sign. The 41st Inf. Div. suffered a setback at Waplitz, which threatened to overturn the whole plan of the AOK. The German army command is to be admired, which with calm nerves and unshakable confidence in the final victory kept all the strings in hand and with swift decision also knew how to master dangerous situations. ... The intention of the AOK was from the 41st Inf. Div. was not achieved, but the sacrificing struggle at Waplitz was not useless, as in the end every great opera is not done in vain, even if it initially failed to achieve an obvious success. "
Literary resonance
Alexander Solzhenitsyn took up the battle of Waplitz in his novel August Fourteen .
literature
Specialist literature
- Dennis E. Showalter : Tannenberg. Clash of empires, 1914 . Brassey's, Washington 2004, ISBN 1-57488-781-5 , pp. 269-273.
- Christian Zentner : The First World War. Data, facts, comments. Moewig, Rastatt 2000, ISBN 3-8118-1652-7 .
Memory books
- Erich Ludendorff : My war memories 1914-1918 Berlin 1919.
- Max Hoffmann : Tannenberg as it really was. Verlag für Kulturpolitik, Berlin 1926.
- Paul von Hindenburg : From my life. Leipzig 1934, p. 77 (report on the entire day).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Max Hoffmann : Tannenberg as it really was. Verlag für Kulturpolitik, Berlin 1926, p. 283.
- ↑ Erich Ludendorff : My War Memories 1914-1918 Berlin 1919, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Paul von Hindenburg From my life Berlin 1934, p. 77.
- ^ Board of Trustees for the Tannenberg Imperial Memorial (ed.): Tannenberg. German fate - German task . Gerhard Stalling Verlag, Oldenburg, 1937, pp. 80 and 87.
- ↑ Alexander Solzhenitsyn: August fourteen . Translated by Swetlana Geier. Luchterhand (= Luchterhand Collection, Vol. 183), Darmstadt and Neuwied 1974, ISBN 3-472-61183-9 , pp. 317-318.