Paul von Rennenkampf
Paul von Rennenkampf | |
|---|---|
Rennenkampf in 1910 | |
| 17th Commander of the Vilna Military District | |
| In office 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1913 – 1 August [O.S. 19 July] 1914 | |
| Monarch | Nicholas II |
| Prime Minister | Vladimir Kokovtsov Ivan Goremykin |
| Minister of War | Vladimir Sukhomlinov |
| Preceded by | Fyodor Martson |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| 1st Commander of the 1st Army | |
| In office 1 August [O.S. 19 July] – 1 December [O.S. 18 November] 1914 | |
| Monarch | Nicholas II |
| Minister of War | Vladimir Sukhomlinov |
| Supreme Commander | Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich |
| Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff | Mikhail Belyaev |
| Preceded by | Command created |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Litvinov |
| 11th Commander of the 3rd Army Corps | |
| In office 9 January [O.S. 27 December 1906] 1907 – 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1913 | |
| Monarch | Nicholas II |
| Minister of War | Aleksandr Roediger Vladimir Sukhomlinov |
| Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff | Fyodor Palitzin Vladimir Sukhomlinov Alexander Myshlayevsky Yevgeny Gerngross Yakov Zhilinsky |
| Preceded by | Ivan Vasilievich Volkenau |
| Succeeded by | Nikolai Epanchin |
| 3rd Commander of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps | |
| In office 19 September [O.S. 6 September] 1906 – 9 January [O.S. 27 December 1906] 1907 | |
| Monarch | Nicholas II |
| Minister of War | Aleksandr Roediger |
| Chief of the General Directorate of the General Staff | Fyodor Palitzin |
| Preceded by | Nikola Ivanov |
| Succeeded by | Nikolai Fleisher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 April [O.S. 17] 1854 Konofer Manor, Konofer, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1 April 1918 (aged 63) Taganrog, Russian SFSR |
| Resting place | Taganrog Old Cemetery |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Russian Empire |
| Branch/service | Imperial Russian Army |
| Years of service | 1870–1915 |
| Rank | General of the Cavalry |
| Commands | 36th Akhtyrka Dragoon Regiment 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade Transbaikal Cossack Army 7th Siberian Army Corps 3rd Siberian Army Corps 3rd Army Corps Vilna Military District (1913–1914) 1st Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Paul Georg Edler von Rennenkampf (Russian: Па́вел Ка́рлович Ренненка́мпф, romanized: Pavel Karlovich Rennenkampf, IPA: [ˈpavʲɪl ˈkarləvʲɪtɕ ˌrʲenʲːɪnˈkampf]; 29 April [O.S. 17 April] 1854 – 1 April 1918) was a Baltic German nobleman, statesman and general of the Imperial Russian Army who commanded the 1st Army in the invasion of East Prussia during the initial stage of the Eastern front of World War I. He also served as the last commander of the Vilna Military District.
Rennenkampf gained a reputation as an effective cavalry commander during the Boxer Rebellion and the Russo-Japanese War. Following service in the latter, he led the detachment that suppressed the Chita Republic during the 1905 Russian Revolution. This earned him further promotion, and by the outbreak of World War I Rennenkampf was commander of the Vilna Military District, whose forces were used to form the 1st Army under his command.
He led the 1st Army in the invasion of East Prussia and won an early victory at Gumbinnen in late August 1914, but was relieved of command after defeats at Tannenberg, the Masurian Lakes and Łódź, although he was later proved innocent for the mistakes made in the Battle at Łódź by an official inquiry into his actions. Rennenkampf was shot by the Bolsheviks in Taganrog during the Red Terror in 1918.