Paul von Rennenkampf
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Paul von Rennenkampf (or Pavel Karlovich Rennenkampf) (Russian: Павел Карлович фон Ренненкампф) (April 17, 1854 in Estonia - 1 April 1918 in Taganrog) was a Russian general who served in the Imperial Russian Army for over 40 years, including during World War I.
Of Baltic German extraction, he joined the Russian Army at 19 and attended the Nikolaevsky Military Academy in St. Petersburg from 1879 to 1882. Enjoying a rapid ascent in the army, he was appointed to the General Staff, in 1882, after graduation and reached the rank of Major-General by 1900.
Rennenkampf commanded a cavalry unit during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900-01, and was responsible for the capture of Tsitsihar and Kirin. He also participated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, but was criticised for his campaign in north-eastern Korea. After the Battle of Mukden in 1905, General Alexander Samsonov accused Rennenkampf of failing to assist him during the fighting and the two came to blows.
After the Russo-Japanese War, Rennenkampf restored part of his reputation dealing with revolutionaries in Siberia. His harsh suppression of Chita Republic was a good promotion further. Afterwards he was appointed Chief-of-Staff of the Vilno Military District.
At the start of World War I, Rennenkampf was given command of the Russian First Army for the invasion of East Prussia, advancing from the North East. His behaviour during the Battle of Tannenberg, particularly his failure to coordinate with Samsonov's Second Army, resulted in much criticism from sector commander Yakov Zhilinski and attempts by some members of the military high command to have him removed from command.
After relative success at the Battle of Gumbinnen in mid-August, failure at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes that same month, which forced a Russian withdrawal from East Prussia, and at the Battle of Łódź in November 1914 led to Rennenkampf's dismissal amid recriminations of incompetence and even treason (due to his heritage). Rennenkampf gave his resignation on October 6, 1915, was arrested during The February Revolution of 1917 and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. He was set free after October Revolution and moved to the city of Taganrog on Azov Sea coast, where he lived illegally under the fake name of Greek citizen Mandusakis, was discovered by the Bolsheviks on March 16, 1918. The Bolsheviks approached him and offered a command in the Red Army to serve during the Russian Civil War. He refused the offer and was promptly arrested and executed on 1 April 1918.
The general's personal belongings and art objects that he collected during his travels across China are now displayed in the Alferaki Palace in Taganrog.
