German troops en route to East Prussia to fend off the invasion of Germany from the east by the Russian Army--an invasion launched although the Russians were not sufficiently mobilized. The Russians had responded to urgent appeals from France for action in the east to divert German resources from the Western Front. This bought time for the French and British, allowing them to better organize their own troops, and hurt the Germans by cutting down on the number of troops invading France. Below: Russian soldiers on the Eastern Front take aim. Men in the second line do not have rifles, indicative of the serious equipment problems affecting the Russian Army from the start. |
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