When the new German command team opened the offensive that would become known as the Battle of Tannenberg, XX Corps was expected to hold its position while I Corps moved forward. But at midday the German command became aware of what it believed was a gap in the Russian lines, and ordered Scholtz's corps to strike at once.

Finding an open flank, the Germans rolled up the 2nd Division's 1st Brigade and forced it back against the shores of one of the area's many lakes. Despite the late start, for once German offensive operations went the way the textbooks described them. Artillery bombardment disordered the enemy and then infantry found their flank and made an attack at that weak point. The next four years would see very few such opportunities,