The Battle of Tannenberg (27-30 August, 1914) opened World War One with a decisive German victory over Russia - indeed, the Kaiser's only clearcut victory in a non-attritional battle during all four years of war. In this first paperback edition of the classic work, eminent military historian Dennis Showater analyses the battle's causes, effects and implications for subsequent German military policy. He destroys many myths, such as the supposed superiority of the German military commanders. The battle's mystique later served the Weimar Republic and Third Reich propagandists. For years the legend of Tannenberg helped to shape German nationalist ideology and military policy. As a result, in 1941, Hitler's Wehrmacht grossly underestimated Soviet military capability, leading to disaster in World War Two.