The eastern front

The Germans did not imagine that Russia would come to such a rapid mobilization of its forces.

The mobilization consists in the call to arms of the forces to be deployed and, given the immensity of the Russian Empire, according to German plans it was to be much slower.

Believing this, the Germans, according to the Schlieffen plan, organized an offensive to lead to the encirclement of the French army, exactly as they had done in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian conflict.

The offensive passed through neutral Belgium and Luxembourg to avoid French fortresses.

The Russians, however, quickly mobilized and then invaded eastern Prussia, surprising Germany, to the north (Masurian Lakes) and to the south (Tannenberg).

The Germans were therefore forced to move a part of their forces, aimed at the offensive on the western front, on this eastern front.

The situation here in the East was not satisfactorily addressed by the general then in office.

Therefore the Kaiser resolved to recall a retired elderly general, the Hindenburgh who, with an extraordinary tactic, managed to beat the Russian army first in Tannenberg then on the Masurian Lakes.

In fact, on the Masurian Lakes, Hindenburgh left a small contingent, a "veil", so that it seemed, from afar, that the army was still there.

With greater force, therefore, he defeated the Russians at Tannenberg, with a double encirclement maneuver (called "double barrels", from the famous battle with which Hannibal defeated the Romans during the 2nd Punic War), which were completely destroyed .

Despite these tremendous defeats, the Russian attacks on the southeastern front, faced by the Austrians, continued.

After the siege of Pratze, however, which cost as many as 100,000 Austrian prisoners, Germany sent to the aid of the contingent ally and launched an offensive in Galicia (now part of Poland).

With the battle of Gorlice, which cost the Russians 300,000 dead, the Empire was practically annihilated.

In the meantime, Italy had committed itself, with the (secret) Pact of London, to enter the war against the central Empires.

After Gorlice, it was feared that the Austro-German forces would swarm to Russia: Italy was therefore urged to enter the war first, forcing the Austrians to divide the front.