Dennis Showalter - Tannenberg - Clash of Empires

21Richter, IR 128, 17–18.

22Joseph Steuer, Das Infanterie-Regiment Generalfeldmarschall von Mackensen (3. Westpreussisches) Nr. 129 im Weltkriege (Oldenburg, 1929), 20 ff.

23John Ellis, A Social History of the Machine Gun (New York, 1975) is a brief treatment of the human dynamics of the weapon. Cf. also Balck, “Maschinengewehre und ihre Verwendung,” JAM, 132 (1907), 269–288, 393–411.

24Seydel, Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5, 40–41; Hesse, Feldherr Psychologos, 33–34.

25“Bis zur letzten Kartusche,” in Das Ehrenbuch der deutschen Feldartillerie, ed. A. Benary (Berlin, 1930), 251–252, is a vivid account of the fight and fate of 2736.

260berstabsarzt Leopold, “Der Sanitätsdienst in der ersten Linie,” MW 1903, 26–27.

27It is worth noting that the “Neumann” of jest and song ultimately evolved from a pathetic figure to a combination of Kilroy and Joe the Grinder. With his rank upgraded and his title changed to fit the times, Sanitätsgefreiter Neumann was credited by the end of World War II with the ability to beat the army system and the watchful gaze of chaperones in a thousand ingenious ways—even to inventing the sofa pillow as an aid to spontaneous coitus.

28Diary entry of Aug. 23 by Staff Surgeon Krägel of 11/141, quoted in Schulemann,/^ 141, 16–17.

29Elmar Dinter, Hero or Coward? Pressures Facing the Soldier in Battle (London, 1985), is typical of many works on this theme in focussing on formations with extensive combat experience or with a high number of professional soldiers in the ranks.

30Narrative of Lt. Wendland, 5./141, in Schulemann, IR 141, 19.

31Mackensen, Briefe und Aufzeichnungen, 40–41.

32Report of Lt. Gittermann, 3./71st Field Artillery, in Schulemann, IR 141, 21–22.

33Preusser, IR 176, 23.

34 Reserve-Infanterie Regiment Nr. 3, ed. by Regimental Officers’ Association (Berlin, 1926), 9 ff.; Max Gengelbach, Das Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 36 im Weltkrieg, Part I (Berlin, 1929), 1 ff.; Max Meyhöfer, Das Reserve-Feldartillerie-RegimentNr. 1 im Weltkriege (1914–1918) (Oldenburg, 1926), 12 ff.

35Below presents his peacetime career in stupefying but useful detail in his memoirs, held in Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Nachlass Below, N87.

36The proposed support, the 3rd Reserve Division on the extreme right of the army, was in fact not ordered to advance until 4:30 p.m., and did not reach its assigned position until nightfall. It took no part in the day’s fighting.

37The march and fight of I Reserve Corps has been reconstructed from the summary in Reichsarchiv, Weltkrieg II, 91 ff.; and the more complete and evocative treatments in Hellmuth Neumann, Die Geschichte des Reserve-Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 59 im Weltkriege (Oldenburg, 1927), 12 ff.; Alfred Rothe, Das Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 61 im Weltkriege (Berlin, 1929), 13 ff.; RIR Nr. 3, 14 ff.; Gengelbach, RFAR Nr. 1, 17 ff.; and Meyhöfer, RFAR Nr. 36, 6 ff.

38“The Point of View,” in The Green Curve and Other Stories, by ‘Ole-Luk-Oie’ (New York, 1911), 251–276.

39Germany: Kriegswissenschaftliche Abteilung der Luftwaffe, Kriegsges-chichtliche Einzelschriften der Luftwaffe, Vol. Ill, Mobilmachung, Aufmarsch und erster Einsatz der deutschen Luftstreitkräfte im August 1914 (Berlin, 1939), 94 (hereafter cited as Luftstreitkräfte); extract from XX Corps war diary in Walter Elze, Tannenberg. Das Deutsche Heer von 1914 (Breslau, 1928), 226.

40François, Marneschlacht und Tannenberg, 187.

41Unger to 8th Army, Aug. 20, 1914, in Elze, Tannenberg, 226.

42 Luftstreitkräfte, 94; extract from XX Corps war diary in Elze, Tannenberg, 226.

43Max Hoffmann, War of Lost Opportunities, in War Diaries and Other Papers, 2 vols., tr. E. Sutton (London, 1929), II, 28.

44 Ibid., 28–29.

45Reichsarchiv, Weltkrieg II, 102.

46Hoffmann to his wife, Aug. 21, 1914, in BA-MA, Nachlass Hoffmann, NL 37; and War of Lost Opportunities, 29–30; Elze, Tannenberg, 368.

470rders to XVII Corps and I Reserve Corps, timed at 9:00 a.m.; and to I Corps, timed at 9:30 a.m., are in ibid., 253–254. Cf. Elze’s comment on p. 216.

48Prittwitz’s reports of Aug. 17 and 18, OHL’s requests of Aug. 18 and 19, and OHL’s record of the noon conversation are in ibid., 216–217, 220, 233.

49Moltke’s “Comments on the Change of Command of the 8th Army,” dated Aug. 26, is in ibid., 242 ff.

50Mackensen’s report, “dictated from memory” on Aug. 25, is in ibid., 227.

51François to Hoffmann, Apr. 5, 1925, and to Col. Emil Seelinger of the Neues Wiener Journal, in BA-MA, Nachlass François, NL 274/15, 19; François, Marneschlacht und Tannenberg, 190 ff.

52Hoffmann, “The Truth About Tannenberg,” in War Diaries and Other Papers II, 250–251.

53This dispatch, printed in Elze, Tannenberg, 233, was not received in Koblenz until 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 21. The governors of the fortresses of Königsberg, Thorn, Posen, and Graudenz were informed that the army was retreating into West Prussia in messages sent at 10:45 p.m.

54Report of Stellvertretendes Generalkommando I, Aug. 20, 1914, received by OHL at 7:00 p.m., in ibid., 233.

55Wenninger’s reports of Aug. 21 and 22 and an excerpt from his diary entry of Aug. 22 are reprinted in Bernd F. Schulte, “Neue Dokumente zu Kriegsausbruch und Kriegsverlauf,” Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen XV (1979), 154–156.

56OHL’s records of the phone conversations are in Elze, Tannenberg, 233–244. Cf. Reichsarchiv, Weltkrieg II, 104–105; and François to Hoffmann, Apr. 5, 1925, BA-MA, Nachlass François, NL 274/15. A corps commander’s right of direct access to the sovereign lapsed on the outbreak of war.

57Hoffmann to his wife, Aug. 22, 1914, BA-MA, Nachlass Hoffmann, NL 37; Hoffmann to François, Apr. 10, 1925, Nachlass François, NL 274/15; Waldersee to Scholtz, Aug. 22, 1914, Nachlass Groener, NL 46/38. The latter conversation follows Prittwitz’s description of his intentions in his report of Aug. 25, which he described as having been composed before his relief from command. Elze, Tannenberg, 237 ff.

58OHL’s conversations with I Corps (9:30 a.m.), XX Corps (1:50 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.), I Reserve Corps (2:30 p.m.) and XVII Corps (4:30 p.m.) are in Elze, Tannenberg, 236, 245–246.

59Stein’s record of the conversation is in ibid., 235. OHL learned of the move of 8th Army headquarters only at 11:00 p.m., ibid., 236. The impact of the information is discussed in Reichsarchiv, Weltkrieg II, 105–106.

60Helmuth von Moltke, Militärische Werke, ed. Grossen Generalstab, 13 vols, in 4 (Berlin, 1892–1912), Part 3, Vol. Ill, 11.

618th Army received this news from I Corps at 6:00 p.m.; it was noted by OHL at 7:15–7:30 p.m. as part of the conversation between Prittwitz and Moltke. Reports in Elze, Tannenberg, 258, 236. Max Hoffmann also refers to the 1st Cavalry Division’s triumphant return in his letter of Aug. 22. BA-MA, Nachlass Hoffmann, NL 37.

62Schäfer, “Wollte Generaloberst von Prittwitz im August 1914 hinter die Weichsel zurückgehen?” MW, 1921, 45 Reichsarchiv, Weltkrieg II, 106–107; Elze, Tannenberg, 112–113.

63Reitzenstein, “Generaloberst von Prittwitz nach der Schlacht bei Gumbinnen am 20. August 1914,” MW, 1921, 43.