August 1914 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Author:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn [Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2015-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

[57]

(31 AUGUST)

Still, even if Sirelius had not got cold feet on the night of 30–31 August he could not have held Neidenburg. He had been too long getting there, and his troops were overextended. The Germans were as resilient and quick to react as ever. François had three divisions outside the town and two more on the way before the night was out. He himself was poised like a tightrope walker on the ribbon of road through the village of Modlken, with no other support, groups of Russians were breaking through from the north, one of them had put his searchlight out of action with rifle fire just outside the village, and they might even force their way through to his headquarters, but he gave the five divisions detailed written instructions as to how they should form circles around Neidenburg and take it. Meanwhile the High Command of the Russian northwestern front was as bonelessly pliant as ever, and it was on the evening of the 30th, just when Nechvolodov and Sirelius were at the height of their success, when many powerful Russian groups (that around Willenberg was fifteen thousand strong) were still getting ready to try to break through the ring during the night or early in the morning, that Zhilinsky and Oranovsky ordered the corps on both wings not to try to rescue the encircled forces but to retreat.

And to make a good job of it Blagoveshchensky was to withdraw twenty versts if he was not under pressure from the enemy, and all the way to Ostrolenka (another thirty-five versts) if he was “under pressure”! Dushkevich would withdraw thirty versts, or possibly as far as Novogeorgievsk (another sixty). The sagacious Kondratovich had got it exactly right—he had fled to the new line without awaiting instructions.

In the night watches the eyes of fear grew bigger still.

Postovsky had hared off on the 31st to install Army HQ (saved by dragoons) forty versts to the rear of its previous location at Ostrolenka, and Army Group HQ’s permission—“Your move agreed”—caught up with him later. Normal telephone and telegraph links with Army HQ were now conveniently restored and dispatches exchanged. Army Group HQ at last gave HQ 2nd Army written permission to move the 1st Corps beyond Soldau if necessary.

What of Rennenkampf? “General Samsonov has failed completely and there is now nothing to stop the enemy from turning against you.” After all its shilly-shallying his cavalry chose this moment to penetrate more deeply. Suddenly the Khan of Nakhichevan’s cavalry corps was poised to strike at Allenstein! General Gurko’s cavalry division was moving up to breach the eastern arc (the weakest) of the ring; 31 August was the day when General Gurko entered without difficulty the unlucky town of Allenstein, from which all the misfortunes of the 13th Corps had flowed. If there were Germans anywhere around they had their backs to him, and his horsemen could have cut an even bigger hole in the German encirclement with little further effort. This was the third place in twenty-four hours at which the Russians had cut through the German ring.

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