East Prussia Campaign, 1914

In the outbreak of war, the Russian commander-in-chief, grand duke Nicolay, sought to accelerate the invasion of East Prussia in order to ease German pressure on the French allies. At the beginning of the campaign the Germans were outnumbered by each of the Russian armies. If Rennenkampf and Samsonov could be coordinated by Jilinski, they would surely be in a position to crush the Eighth Army, dominate East Prussia, and reach Berlin without encountering resistance. The scenario of the wargame that will be used will allow to reinforce four important factors for the success of the campaign, which certainly would have been thought and executed to face the Germans, much stronger than the Austro-Hungarians in the south: greater amount of siege artillery; better preparation and use of communications; a logistics with more support troops, particularly for the left wing, and with the possibility of using from the enemy sources of supply conquered; and effectiveness in the use of intelligence, cavalry and reconnaissance aviation.