There comes a time when all of us must face the truth. The truth about our hopes, our successes, our fears, and our failures. The truth about who we are, who we want to be, and who we will never be. If we do not confront the truth about ourselves, at some point the truth will confront us. It is unavoidable. The more you try to avoid the truth, the more it threatens to confront or consume you. We can only hope to face the truth with courage and resolve. No matter what we say to others or the lies we sometimes tell ourselves, deep down inside we know the truth. The confrontation can only be delayed for so long before the truth is upon us. Sometimes the truth takes a long time to arrive, a slow burn that singes its way into the psyche. At other times the truth falls upon us with such speed that it causes us to act in ways we could never have imagined. This is what happened to Russian General Alexander Samsonov during the final phase of the Battle of Tannenberg.
Coming to a halt – As far as the vehicle could make it towards Malga
A Dreadful Decision – Surrender or Suicide
We can never know for sure when Russian General Alexander Samsonov’s moment of truth arrived. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it arrived on the evening of August 30th when Samsonov tried to make his way to Wielbark (Willenburg). At that point, he was still hoping to reconstitute shattered remnants of the Russian 2nd Army. The moment Samsonov learned that German forces already occupied Wielbark he was confronted with what he already knew. Specifically, that the army he commanded had suffered a devastating defeat from which it could never recover.
At that point, the prudent thing for anyone in Samsonov’s situation to do would be to admit defeat and surrender. That thought surely occurred to him. In Samsonov’s confused mind this presented an insuperable barrier. Surrender would mean living with the shame of not only losing a battle, but an entire army. That was more than Samsonov could bear. Thus, he was faced with the alternative of suicide. Whatever option Samsonov chose would be final. Either his military career would end in shame, or his life would end in the most unfortunate of manners.
There was always another way out for Samsonov right up until the moment there was no way out. With the Germans in Wielbark all hope was lost for Samsonov. That was a strange thing to consider for me and my traveling companion while closing in on Wielbark. It was a beautiful spring day. The sunlight made the leaves on trees appear translucent. Nature’s beauty was a resounding counterpoint to the horrors of war that once scared the same woods and fields glowing with the renewal of spring.
In the woods – Looking for Tannenberg
Vanquished & Vanished – A Very Bad End
As we skirted Wielbark by car, we saw nothing more than a sleepy provincial town slumbering into spring. There was no smoke or haze in the air. The Germans no longer occupied the town they called Willenburg. Neither did the Russians. East Prussia, the German and Russian Empires no longer existed. There was no monument to any of those vanished provincial and imperial entities. Tannenberg may have been the end for Samsonov, but it was also the very beginning of the end for two empires.
The Germans would celebrate their victory at Tannenberg throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s precisely because they had little else to celebrate after losing the war. They won the war on the Eastern Front and then lost all their gains in the postwar peace process. The Russians/Soviets did their best to forget about Tannenberg other than as the first of numerous examples of poor leadership and incompetence that brought the Russian Imperial Army to a very bad end.
There were no monuments in northern Poland commemorating the once mighty German and Russian empires other than scattered military cemeteries and the Samsonov Monument. The latter was still standing despite the region’s tumultuous 20th century history. Later on this same trip, me and my travel companion would have an exchange that was appropriate in light of the surreal nature of the war’s legacy in northern Poland. As we were traveling around the region, I remarked that this area used to be full of Germans. He pondered my comment in silence and then said, “well it is the Poles’ land now.” This was not so much an observation as a judgment, the judgment of history.
Losing Our Way – Location Is Everything
After turning off the highway west of Wielbark we found ourselves on another dusty road surrounded by woods. Google Maps showed the Samsonov Monument a couple of turns off the highway. The monument should have been easy to find now. It was not. For some reason, I imagined the site would be well-marked and obvious. After a few turns we were not exactly lost, but the monument was nowhere to be found. The vehicle’s GPS system was worthless in this netherworld. There were several roads near the supposed spot going in a variety of directions. We had to rely on my phone. At one point, the digital map showed us almost atop the monument. We found nothing.
Three roads diverged in the woods, and I decided to take every one of them. Down one of the roads I finally realized the problem, we were not zoomed in close enough on the digital map. The place marker for the monument was in the wrong location unless I zoomed in as close as possible. My travel companion exhibited patience and a sustained amount of curiosity that made me envious. He said, “we will find it, no matter how long it takes.” By the tone in his voice, I could tell he meant it. After having to drive several hundred meters backwards down one road, I turned onto another that according to Google Maps in less than a minute should have put us within a few meters of the monument. The monument was still out of sight, hidden somewhere in the surrounding woods. We were so close that I could feel it.
Coming soon: A Candle Burning At Both Ends – Searching For Samsonov’s Suicide Spot (Part Nine)
Europe Between East And West 