Editing Battle of Tannenberg (section)

==Aftermath==
[[File:Ruinsoftannenbergdenkmalsmall.jpg|thumb|left|1998 photo of the foundations of the [[Tannenberg Memorial]] – the former burial site of Paul von Hindenburg]]

To [[David Stevenson (historian)|David Stevenson]] it was "a major victory but far from decisive",<ref>{{harvnb|Stevenson|2004|p=69}}</ref> because the Russian First Army was still in East Prussia. It set the stage for the [[First Battle of the Masurian Lakes]] a week later, when the reinforced German Eighth Army confronted the Russian First Army. Rennenkampf retreated hastily back over the pre-war border before they could be encircled.{{sfn|Nelipovich|2023|p=92}}{{sfn|Oleynikov|2016|p=36}}

British [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|Field Marshal Sir Edmund Ironside]] saw Tannenberg as the "… greatest defeat suffered by any of the combatants during the war".<ref>Ironside, Major General Sir E. (1925). ''Tannenberg: The First Thirty Days in East Prussia''. W. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. p. 195.</ref> It was a tactical masterpiece that demonstrated the superior skills of the German army. Their pre-war organization and training had proven themselves, which bolstered German morale while severely shaking Russian confidence. Nonetheless, as long as the great battle in the West continued the outnumbered Germans had to remain on the defensive in the East, anticipating that the Russians would make another thrust from Poland against Germany, and because the Russians had defeated the Austro-Hungarians in the [[Battle of Galicia]]; their allies would need help.

The Russian official inquiry into the disaster blamed Zhilinskiy for not controlling his two armies. He was replaced in the Northwest Command and sent to liaise with the French. Rennenkampf was exonerated, but was retired after a dubious performance in Poland in 1916.<ref>Bohon, J.W. (1996) "Zhilinsky" in ''The European Powers in the First World War'', ed, Tucker, S.C., Garland, New York, p. 768.</ref>

[[File:WWI German Silver Medal East Prussia 1914. Reverse.jpg|thumb|The reverse of a [[World War I]] German Silver medallion liberation of [[East Prussia]] 1914 by [[Paul von Hindenburg|Paul von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg]]. Referring to the Battle of Tannenberg. The [[Heroic nudity|naked]] Gen. Hindenburg fighting the [[Russian Bear]] with his sword.]]

Hindenburg was hailed as an epic hero, Ludendorff was praised, but Hoffmann was generally ignored by the press. Apparently not pleased by this, he later gave tours of the area, noting, "This is where the Field Marshal slept before the battle, this is where he slept after the battle, and this is where he slept during the battle." However, Hindenburg countered by saying, "If the battle had gone badly, the name 'Hindenburg' would have been reviled from one end of Germany to the other." Hoffmann is not mentioned in Hindenburg's memoirs. In his memoirs Ludendorff takes credit for the encirclement<ref>Ludendorff, 1919, p. 59.</ref> and most historians give him full responsibility for conducting the battle. Hindenburg wrote and spoke of "we", and when questioned about the crucial tête-à-tête with Ludendorff after dinner on 26 August resolutely maintained that they had calmly discussed their options and resolved to continue with the encirclement. Military historian Walter Elze wrote that a few months before his death Hindenburg finally acknowledged that Ludendorff had been in a state of panic that evening.<ref>Showalter, 1991, p. 241.</ref> Hindenburg would also remark, "After all, I know something about the business, I was the instructor in tactics at the War Academy for six years".<ref>Papen, F. von. (1952). ''Memoirs''. London: A. Deutsch, p. 177.</ref>

The defeat of the 2nd Army, which occurred almost by accident, inspired the German command with too much self-confidence, as a result, they tried to repeat the success of the battle already in Poland, near [[Warsaw]] in October 1914 as part of the [[Battle of the Vistula River]] and the [[Battle of Łódź (1914)|Battle of Łódź]]. In the first case, the new commander of the same 2nd army [[Sergei Sheydeman]] involved the Germans in protracted unnecessary battles, which is why they eventually retreated.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nelipovich |first=Sergei G. |date=2020 |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Варшавско-Ивангородская операция 1914 года |trans-title=Warsaw-Ivangorod operation, 1914 |place=Moscow |publisher=Квадрига |series=Забытые войны России (Russia's Forgotten Wars) |others=Российская ассоциация историков Первой мировой войны (Russian Association of Historians of the First World War) |isbn=978-5-91791-381-0 |page=259 }}</ref> At [[Łódź]], when trying to bypass Scheidmann's army, they themselves fell into the cauldron thanks to the help of [[Paul von Plehve|Plehve's]] 5th army.<ref>{{cite book |last=Borisyuk |first=Andrey|author-link=Andrey Borisyuk|lang=ru |script-title=ru:Забытая война. Россия в 1914-1918 |trans-title=The forgotten war. Russia in 1914-1918 |date=2024 |place=Moscow |publisher=Вече |isbn=978-5-4484-5078-5 |page=368 }}</ref>