@Gargantua:
That may be so ABW…
but…
The Battle of Tannenburg 23–30 August 1914 � (Spread over a week)
Russia:
78,000 killed or wounded
92,000 POW
500 guns captured
170,000 total casualties
Germany:
5,000 killed
7,000 wounded
12,000 total casualties
I would say that was a rather effective test of the validity, of the -human wave- doctorine, and that perhaps the Russians were also the first to use unmodern tactics aswell.
The Battle of Tannenberg’s results have as much to do with Hindenburg skill and knowledge of his own backyard than poor Russian leadership.
The opening months of the war saw many naive attempts to advance large number of men in spirited charges. Many young men were afraid the war would end before they could obtain glory.
Russians at Tannenburg.
The French at the Battle of the Frontiers lost most of the regular prewar army attacking the German fortifications.
Young German recruits ended their lives in mad charges fueled by zeal of nationalism during the Race To the Sea ending in the Battle of Ypres. The Germans refer to this event as the Massacre of the Innocents.
The British were laughed at for digging deep rifle pits before the Battle of Mons’ before even meeting the Germans in battle. The British, however, were the only European country to learn first hand how deadly modern bolt-action rifles in the hands of trained personal were from the Boers in Africa fifteen years earlier.