For World War I enthusiasts, Osprey Publishing has issued a new work on a specific battle of the war. Michael McNally has written a very concise yet detailed book titled “Tannenberg 1914: Destruction of the Russian Second Army.”
The battle begins at the start of the global conflict, on the eastern front in East Prussia, between Germany and Russia. The battle would become a microcosm of the war, especially in terms of the Russians. McNally gives painstaking detail of decisions made before, during, and after the battle.
Before the War
The author provides insight into reasons for the animosity in Europe, specifically between France and Germany. He discusses, briefly, the results of the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and the rise of the German political genius Otto von Bismarck. Looking at the situation much closer to the time of the war, McNally begins with the reasons for why the conflict took place, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the demands placed on Serbia by the Austrian government, and the declaration of war by the Austrians on the Serbians. He discusses in short order each country’s inevitable declarations of war on each other.
