"General, the German firepower is overwhelming. They have too many machine guns and rapid-fire light artillery. Our cavalry stands no chance of approaching their defenses, let alone breaking through," reported the commander of a Cossack cavalry division, his face ashen. Watching his troops being slaughtered by the Germans' relentless firepower made his heart bleed.
General Samsonov looked utterly defeated, as if all the strength had been drained from him. His face was pale, and his spirit seemed broken. The other Russian generals were in no better shape. With their retreat cut off by the Germans and powerful forces attacking from the front, they realized that escape was nearly impossible.
"General, the Germans are far too strong. Defeating them is out of the question. We should attempt a scattered breakout. That might give us a slim chance of survival," one of the generals suggested.
Indeed, it was clear that the Germans intended to annihilate them all. Staying together meant no one would escape. But if they dispersed, perhaps some could slip through the gaps. It was their best shot at survival.
Samsonov wasn't foolish. He understood the proposal—using the larger forces as a diversion while the elite troops took the opportunity to break through. If the plan succeeded, a few would escape, even if the rest of the army was sacrificed. Russia had no shortage of manpower, after all. Losing these troops wouldn't matter as long as they could conscript more peasants.
As for Samsonov himself, he had no qualms about trading the lives of over a hundred thousand Russian soldiers for his own survival. He was a high-ranking army general, far above the lives of common soldiers, let alone the peasants who made up the bulk of the army.
"Very well, we'll do as you suggest. I will explain everything to General Zhilinsky. Good luck to you all, and may God be with us. Until we meet again in Warsaw," Samsonov said.
"May God protect us!" the Russian generals prayed devoutly. It seemed only divine intervention could save them now.
Once the decision was made, General Samsonov quickly issued orders for a scattered breakout. The commanders of the infantry and cavalry divisions led their men in different directions. But this was merely a ruse; in reality, these clever generals were using the larger force as a decoy while they themselves, with their most trusted men, escaped. Only a few were captured by the Germans; the rest managed to flee.
However, these fleeing generals, having abandoned their troops, posed no further threat to the Germans. Even Qin Tian had little concern for them. In his eyes, these commanders were less valuable than the common soldiers. At least the strong, able-bodied Russian prisoners could be used as labor.
If Germany emerged victorious, they would gain vast swathes of Russian territory, which was poorly developed. Large-scale infrastructure projects would be necessary, and the captured soldiers would make an ideal workforce, saving the Germans considerable expense. Qin Tian, now hailed as the most successful businessman in the world, considered such factors even in the midst of war.
After Samsonov gave the order for a breakout, the German Eighth Army found it increasingly difficult to encircle and annihilate the Russian Second Army. The German forces were spread too thin, and gaps in the encirclement allowed some Russians to slip through.
When Lieutenant General François, commanding the battle, learned of the Russian breakout attempt, he ordered his troops to block as many of them as possible, aiming to capture or kill as many Russians as they could.
Capturing the enemy was more efficient than killing them. The Russian soldiers, already demoralized, were more likely to surrender than continue fighting.
"Drop your weapons! Surrender, and you won't be killed!"
Tanks rolled forward, blocking the Russians' escape routes. Despite their numbers, the sight of German tanks—the so-called "devil's weapons"—instilled fear in the Russian soldiers.
Upon seeing the tanks, many Russian soldiers immediately raised their hands in surrender. A few tanks captured thousands of Russian troops with ease, a scene unimaginable in later years, but such was the effect of tanks when they first appeared on the battlefield.
After surrendering, the Russian soldiers were quickly rounded up by German infantry, and the tanks pressed on, capturing more prisoners.
This scene played out across the battlefield. The trapped Russian soldiers, eager to save their lives, surrendered en masse. Though they had fought bravely earlier, once their will to fight was broken, they were as docile as lambs. Entire companies of Russian soldiers were guarded by just a few German troops.
The battle continued until sunset, and by the end of the day, the German Eighth Army had secured a resounding victory at Tannenberg. The Russian Second Army, comprising ten infantry divisions and six cavalry divisions, was nearly wiped out. Although some Russians managed to escape due to gaps in the German encirclement, their numbers were insignificant, totaling only one or two thousand. These remnants posed no threat.
In total, over 150,000 Russian soldiers were killed or captured by the German Eighth Army, including more than 100,000 prisoners. Many others were lost in the chaos of the battlefield.