On the right flank of the Russian First Army, the army command had formed four cavalry divisions into an ad hoc corps under the command of Huseyn Khan Nakhchivansky. Learning from scouts that a newly raised German Landwehr brigade had just de-trained and started for the front, the Khan decided to welcome them to the war and ordered his horsemen forward on his own initiative.

Most of the Guards dismounted to execute an infantry assault on the surprised Landwehr, but the 3rd Regiment of Lifeguards lined up for a classic cavalry charge, overrunning and capturing the brigade's attached artillery battery. The Khan had scored a victory, but at the cost of nearly 400 casualties plus in riding rapidly to the west he had worn out his horses and assured that his corps would play no role in the Battle of Gumbinnen that broke out the next day.