Battle of Stallupönen

A German victory over Russian forces on 17 August 1914, the first major engagement on the Eastern Front of World War I.

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Maximilian von Prittwitz: A Prussian general who commanded Germany’s Eighth Army in East Prussia at the start of World War I. He directed the German force that fought at Stallupönen.
Russian invasion of East Prussia: The Russian military campaign launched into East Prussia in August 1914. The campaign created the immediate threat that German forces met at Stallupönen.
Battle of Tannenberg: A German victory over the Russian Second Army in East Prussia in late August 1914. The German victory came after the retreat and regrouping that followed Stallupönen.
Nesterov: A town in present-day Russia, known as Stallupönen under German rule before 1945. The battle takes its name from this East Prussian border town.
Paul von Rennenkampf: A Russian general who commanded the First Army during its 1914 invasion of East Prussia. His advancing army met the German I Corps at Stallupönen.
East Prussia: A former German province on the Baltic Sea, separated from the rest of Germany after World War I. Its border position made it vulnerable to Russian armies advancing from the east.
Battle of the Masurian Lakes: A German offensive that drove Russian forces from much of East Prussia in September 1914. It completed the early German recovery after the Russian advances of August.
East Prussian campaign of 1914: The opening 1914 campaign in which German and Russian armies fought for control of East Prussia. Stallupönen was the campaign’s first major engagement.
German Eighth Army: The German field army responsible for defending East Prussia against Russian forces in 1914. Its I Corps fought the battle under the army’s command.
Schlieffen Plan: Germany’s prewar strategy for defeating France quickly before turning its forces against Russia. Its western concentration left East Prussia dependent on a limited German force.