1914_0820_01s: Clash of Empires - FWWC 02 East Prussia '14

East Prussia, 19th August 1914: In the second week of August, 1914, with German armies already half way across Belgium, and the Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies marching towards each other in Galicia, two Russian armies went on the offensive in East Prussia. The target was the historic Prussian coronation city of Königsberg, a city which the Prussians were determined not to lose. However, the Schieffen Plan had always intended a defensive posture in East Prussia until victory was won on the Western Front, because it was originally calculated that Russian would need nearly two months to fully mobilize. However on the 20th of August, only two weeks after German declared war on Russia, the Russians were already marching into East Prussia with one army, and another army was nearing the frontier. Russia's modernizations since the original Schieffen Plan was devised greatly shortened its mobilization time, causing a crisis in German planning. The relatively small German 8.Armee was alone, expected to do the impossible. In this opening clash between two empires, only an aggressive and active German defense would save East Prussia and likely the entire German war effort. [Size: huge] *See the notes document for information on scenario design decisions and historical notes.