Aleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov (, tr. ; ) was a career officer in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army and a general during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. He was the commander of the Russian Second Army which was surrounded and defeated by the German Eighth Army in the Battle of Tannenberg, one of the early battles of World War I. Ashamed by his loss of the Army, Samsonov committed suicide while retreating from the battlefield. Early military career He was born in Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in what is now part of Ukraine. After graduation from the Vladimir of Kiev Cadet Corps and elite , he joined the Imperial Russian Army at age 18 as a cornet in the 12th Hussars Regiment. Samsonov fought in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78. After this war he attended the Nikolaevsky Military Academy in St. Petersburg. On November 4, 1888, he was appointed senior aide to the staff of the 20th Infantry Division, and from July 10, 1885, to February 4, 1889, served as Senior Staff Adjutant to the Caucasus Grenadier Division. From March 11, 1890, through July 26, 1896, he worked at various assignments at the Warsaw Military District. He subsequently became commandant of the Elisavetgrad Cavalry School. During the Boxer Rebellion (1900), Samsonov commanded a cavalry unit. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Samsonov commanded a cavalry brigade of the Ussuri Siberian Cossack Division. He was promoted to command all Russian cavalry forces in the First Siberian Army Corps following the Russian defeat at the Battle of Telissu. His forces subsequently protected the Russian flanks at the Battle of Liaoyang. Through these conflicts Samsonov gained a reputation as an energetic and resourceful leader, but some observers criticized his strategic abilities. He had no command experience preparing him to command an army of thirteen divisions. In 1906, Samsonov became Chief of staff of the Warsaw Military District, and in 1909 was Governor-General of Russian Turkestan and commander of the Turkestan Military District. He was also commander of the Semirechye Cossacks. The Great War Command of the Russian Second Army At the start of World War I, Samsonov received the command of the Russian Second Army for the invasion of East Prussia, which was defended by the German Eighth Army under the command of General Maximilian von Prittwitz. Samsonov advanced slowly into the south-western corner of East Prussia, intending to link