Aleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov (, tr. ; ) was a career officer in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and a general during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was the commander of the Russian Second Army which was surrounded and defeated by the German Eighth Army in the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

, one of the early battles of World War I. Ashamed by his loss of the Army, Samsonov committed suicide while retreating from the battlefield.

Early military career

He was born in Kherson Governorate of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in what is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. After graduation from the Vladimir of Kiev Cadet Corps and elite , he joined the

at age 18 as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

in the 12th

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s Regiment. Samsonov fought in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78.Barbara Tuchman, ''The Guns of August'' (New York: Random House Trade Paperback, 2014 (first published 1962, Macmillan Publishing)), p. 295. After this war he attended the Nikolaevsky Military Academy in St. Petersburg.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', pp. 341–42. On November 4, 1888, he was appointed senior aide to the staff of the 20th Infantry Division, and from July 10, 1885, to February 4, 1889, served as Senior Staff Adjutant to the Caucasus Grenadier Division. From March 11, 1890, through July 26, 1896, he worked at various assignments at the Warsaw Military District. He subsequently became commandant of the Elisavetgrad Cavalry School. During the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

(1900), Samsonov commanded a cavalry unit. During the

(1904–1905), Samsonov commanded a cavalry brigade of the Ussuri Siberian Cossack Division. He was promoted to command all Russian cavalry forces in the First Siberian Army Corps following the Russian defeat at the Battle of Telissu. His forces subsequently protected the Russian flanks at the

Battle of Liaoyang The () was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city was of great strategic importance as the major Russian military center for southern Manchuria ...

. Through these conflicts Samsonov gained a reputation as an energetic and resourceful leader, but some observers criticized his strategic abilities. He had no command experience preparing him to command an army of thirteen divisions. In 1906, Samsonov became

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Warsaw Military District, and in 1909 was Governor-General of

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

and commander of the Turkestan Military District. He was also

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Semirechye Cossacks.

The Great War

Command of the Russian Second Army

At the start of

, Samsonov received the command of the Russian Second Army for the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

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, which was defeated by the German Eighth Army under the command of General Maximilian von Prittwitz. Samsonov advanced slowly into the south-western corner of East Prussia, intending to link up with the Russian First Army, commanded by General Paul von Rennenkampf, which had started advancing into the north-east section of East Prussia. However, lack of communications between the two armies, and with the rear command of the Northwest Army Group, hindered co-ordination. It is sometimes claimed that the poor coordination between Samsonov and Rennenkampf during the campaign was based on their personal antagonism towards each other. This antagonism is said to have been based on an incident after the

during the

where Samsonov had publicly quarrelled with Rennenkampf on the landing platform of a railway station, and that the two were mutual lifetime enemies.Tuchman, ''Guns of August'', p. 319. However, the original source of this story is considered to be

Max Hoffmann Carl Adolf Maximilian Hoffmann (25 January 1869 – 8 July 1927) was a German military officer and strategist. As a staff officer at the beginning of World War I, he was Deputy Chief of Staff of the 8th Army, soon promoted Chief of Staff. Hoff ...

, at that time a colonel on the staff of the German Eighth Army. His claim of first hand knowledge of the disagreement is contradicted by the injuries to Rennenkampf at the time. Hoffman appears to have advanced this story during planning sessions, in support of his argument that Rennenkampf would not come to the aid of Samsonov. He argued that the German Eighth Army was free to use all of its forces in the attack on the Russian Second Army to their south, without fear of a counter-attack from their rear by the Russian First Army.

Battle of Tannenberg

Rennenkampf and the Russian First Army were the first to encounter the German Eighth Army, winning the Battle of Gumbinnen. The defeat led the German High Command to dismiss von Prittwitz and his chief of staff, replacing them with General (later Field Marshal)

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

and General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Battle of Liège, Liège and Battle ...

. Hindenburg and Ludendorff arrived on the Eastern Front and decided to attack Samsonov's advancing forces with the full weight of the Eighth Army. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were strengthened in making this decision by intercepted Russian wireless communications, which indicated that Rennenkampf and the Russian First Army could not reach the proposed battle in time to be of assistance, and by an intercepted order from Samsonov, showing the movement of his forces. The armies made contact on August 22 and for six days the numerically superior Russians had some success. However, by August 29 the Germans had surrounded Samsonov's Second Army in the woods between Allenstein and Willenberg. The rout that followed was named the

by Hindenburg, to compensate for a defeat of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

by the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

at the same location five centuries earlier.

Retreat and suicide

Samsonov attempted to retreat, but with his army now trapped in a German encirclement, the German forces killed or captured most of his troops. Only 10,000 of the 150,000 Russian soldiers managed to escape the encirclement. At least 92,000 Russian troops were taken prisoner, and between 300 and 500 Russian guns had been captured, out of the Second Army's initial total of some 600. Over 30,000 Russian soldiers were estimated dead or missing.Tuchman, ''The Guns of August'', p. 335. Samsonov and a small group of staff officers and men attempted to escape the encirclement, at first on horseback, and then on foot, over swampy ground, in the darkness of the night of August 29. Samsonov repeatedly was heard to say "The

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

trusted me. How can I face him after such a disaster?" They reached the town of Willenberg late at night, but found it was held by the Germans. At approximately 1 a.m. on August 30, Samsonov slipped away from his party into the forest. A shot rang out. The Russians were not able to find his body in the darkness, but were eventually able to make their way to safety. A German search party eventually found Samsonov's body in the adjacent forest, a bullet wound in his head and a

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

in his hand.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He was a ...

, in ''August 1914'' (1971) which traces the course of the battle, also implies suicide. The Germans buried Samsonov in Willenberg. In 1916, through the intercession of the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

, the Germans transferred his body to his widow, who was able to bury him in Russia.

Honours

Order of St. Anne, 4th degree (1877) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree (1880) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree (1885) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd degree (1889) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree (1892) * Order of St Vladimir, 4th degree (1896) * Order of St Vladimir, 3rd degree (1900) * Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st degree with swords (1904) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 1st degree (1905) * Order of Glory Ribbon Bar

Golden Sword of St. George (1906) * Order of St Vladimir, 2nd degree (1906) *

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, 4th class (1907) * RUS Imperial Order of the White Eagle ribbon

Order of the White Eagle, with swords (1909) * Band to Order St Alexander Nevsky

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

(1913)

References

Bibliography

* Connaughton, R.M (1988). ''The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5'', London, . * Jukes, Geoffry. ''The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). . * Warner, Denis and Peggy. ''The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. (1975). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Samsonov, Alexander 1859 births 1914 suicides 1914 deaths People from Kirovohrad Oblast People from Yelisavetgradsky Uyezd Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Russian military personnel who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in Poland Russian military personnel of World War I Governors-general of Turkestan Graduates of the Nicholas Cavalry College