1914_0820_05s: Forced to Give Battle - FWWC 02 East Prussia '14

Gumbinnen, East Prussia, 20th August 1914: Following the first skirmishes at Eydtkuhnen and Stallupönen, von Prittwitz reigned in von Francois, the rogue commander of the I.Armeekorps, and had him rejoin the rest of 8.Armee near Gumbinnen. Rennenkampf's 1st Army was not far behind, advancing steadily westward. Von Prittwitz knew that the Russian 1st Army must be decisively engaged, for it was known that the Russian 2nd Army was advancing in the southwest and it would be disastrous to fall back again and allow both full strength Russian armies to concentrate against him from two directions. However, von Prittwitz was not convinced where he should give battle to the Russian 1st Army, and preferred to avoid that possibility until he had a better view of the situation from the XX.Armeekorps commander, von Scholtz, the sole corps in front of the Russian 2nd Army's axis of advance. Late in the evening of August 19th, von Francois forced the decision: he telephoned von Prittwitz and said that he was sending his 2.Infanterie-Division through Zulkiner Forest to attack the Russians on their right flank. He begged von Prittwitz to attack with the rest of the army in support of this move. Von Francois' determination overcame von Prittwitz's cautiousness and the 8.Armee was forced to give battle at Gumbinnen. [Size: medium] *See the notes document for information on scenario design decisions and historical notes.