Evening star., 1934-08-07

his new command, "and do our duty
together"
The Marne was lost because two
vital army corps were detached and
sent east; but the Marne was lost
idle on the road. Tannenberg was q
recreation Of the Battle of Cannae.
This writer once asked Hindenburg
to name the greatest general In his
tory. He named Hannibal. Charac-
teristically, he paused and added: do
not make the mistake Of calling me a
military genius. Beside such men as
Napoleon and Won Moltke I am a
pure technician. In my opinion there
was no military genius in the last
war; If there had been, the war would
have been over sooner. 1t is the
business Of a commander to end a
war"
The Russians, greatly outnumbering
the Germans, were planning a con-
centric movement, with Rennekampf
at the north, passing the Masurian
Lakes toward Insterberg and, then,
TO Koenigsberg, and with Samsonoy
to take the Germans in flank. Hin
denburg resolved to stake everything
on a thoroughly destructive battle
the Russians must not merely be de-
feated, they must be destroyed. He
committed himself to the policy of
feinting at Rennenkampf, while he
struck with full strength at Samsonov.
Plan Was Opposed.
This development went beyond the
plan bequeathed to Hindenburg by his
predecessors in command, and all the
generals opposed it, convinced that
Rennekampf was coming up with re-
Inducements. To which Hindenburg
replied, Attack the enemy with in
creased severity and risk everything,
and, if Rennenkampf is approaching
with the other army, with Gods help
we will fight them Also
The Hannibal touch came when he
made the German center very thin.
Where Hannibal employed convex
crescent, letting the out-thrust center
be driven in and thus enveloping the
pursuing Romans in a death circle,
Hindenburg merely placed a line
which, as he said, might bend, but
would not break, for behind them
were their homes, wives, children,
parents. and relatives, and everything
they had" They we're East and West
PrussianS.
Samsonov's army of the Narew per-
ished in the cauldron; Samsonov
rushing into the woods and there
shooting himself. The battle had
taken most of five days; during all
of which, Rennenkampf, idol of the
Japanese War, warily eyed the screen
of German troops toward Koenigsberg
and slyly edged his way toward moth
ing. Rennenkampf, so long without a
decision, now made one. He retreated.
"Old Hindenburgl" chorused q re-
leased Germany; and so the legend
was born. And, as the full extent of
the victory became apparent, Hinden-
burg realized, as he told this writer,
one of the three supreme moments
Of his life. He added that it was the
most important battle, by way of
operations and strategy Of the war.
''In view of the achievements and suf-
ferings of the troops, that of the Ma
slrian Lakes; another satisfying en-
gagement was at Warsaw, when the
troops were drawn back to the left
wing, and then cut OF the Russians /"
1t was, at least, the one conclusive
battle between men of the entire war.
After 1916, the war was one of metals
and chemicals. Yet, as Gen. Won
Seeckt pointed out to this writer,
while citing Tannenberg as Hinden-
burg's outstanding achievement as a
soldier, and applauding it as a great
victory and a spectacular one that
freed East Prussia-Tannenberg did
not affect the outcome of the war.
(Copyrisht. 1884, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc)