After destroying the Russian Second Army at the Battle of Tannenberg, von Hindenburg hoped to do the same to the Russian First Army in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. Visible in the lakes and swamps are cannon and horses of the defeated Russians.
Text on sign at the water's edge:Dr. v. Hindenburgs Kaltwasserheilanstalt Masurische Seen Frequenz Saison 1914 150,000 GästeDr. von Hindenburg's hydropathic establishment Masurian Lakes rate season 1914 150,000 guestsCaption:Hindenburgs Kaltwasserheilanstaltbottom left Wilh. (for Wilhelm) Wachtel [many thanks to Peter Ebner for clearing up my question on the artist's name]Reverse: Serie 259 - 35
"The whole weight of all that is sensuous in an army presses for rest and refreshment. It requires exceptional vigor on the part of a commander to see and feel beyond the present moment and to act at once to attain those results which at the time seem to be the mere embellishments of victory — the luxury of triumph."
Clausewitz quoted by Barbara Tuchmann in The Guns of August. After his victory at Gumbinnen, Russian commander von Rennenkampf allowed a staff officer to rest, but in his uniform. Von Rennenkampf woke the officer an hour later to tell him he could undress and sleep because the Germans were retiring. His failure to pursue the Germans, his German heritage, and his subsequent failures would lead to claims he was a traitor.
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, page 312, copyright © Barbara W. Tuchman 1962, publisher: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., publication date: 1963
Rennenkampf, von Rennenkampf, Insterburg, 1914, August
