The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
"The total booty of the winter battle in Mazurian Land, therefore, up
to to-day rises to seven generals, more than 100,000 men, more than
150 cannon, and material of all sorts, inclusive of machine guns,
which cannot yet be approximately estimated. Heavy guns and ammunition
were in many cases buried by the enemy or sunk in the lakes; thus
eight heavy guns were yesterday dug out or hauled out of the water
near Loetzen and Lake Widmin.
"The Tenth Russian Army of General Baron Sievers may, therefore, now
be considered as completely annihilated."
This summary was corrected in a later announcement, which stated that
the number of guns taken as booty in the pursuit after the winter
battle in Mazurian Land had risen to 300, including eighteen heavy
guns. This was published on the 23d of February. In an announcement of
the 26th of February the Great Headquarters amplified its account of
the victory with this statement:
"In the Russian official report the extent of the disaster in the
winter battle of Mazurian Land is either concealed or an attempt is
made to obscure it. It is unnecessary to go further into these
denials. As evidence of the extent of the defeat, the following list
of the positions held by the captured generals, however, may serve:
"Of the Twentieth Army Corps: the commanding general, the commander of
the artillery, the commander of the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth
Infantry Divisions, and of the First Brigade of Infantry of the
Twenty-ninth Infantry Division. The commander of this latter division
succumbed to his wounds soon after being made prisoner.
"Of the Third Army Corps: the commander of the Twenty-seventh Infantry
Division and the commander of the artillery and of the Second Infantry
Brigade of this division.
"Of the Fifty-third Reserve Division: the division commander and the
commander of the First Infantry Brigade.
"Of the First Siberian Cossack Division: a brigade commander."
This brought the total of Russian generals captured up to eleven.
This account of one of the greatest battles of the European War is
necessarily based to a large extent on reports of the Germans, owing
to the fact that material from this source is virtually the only
official account available of the operation as a whole. The Russian
General Staff has contented itself with the following announcement,
made public on February 21, 1915:
"When the Germans, after a series of extraordinary obstinate and
persistent attacks which caused them heavy losses, had recognized the
impossibility of pressing in our front on the left bank of the
Vistula, they turned at the end of January to the execution of a new
plan. After the creation of several new corps in the interior of the
country, and the bringing up of troops from their west front, the
Germans threw important forces into East Prussia. The transportation
of troops was made easier by the extraordinarily developed net of
railways which Germany has at its disposal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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