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As for the Russians, they lost the battle, the war, and everything else. How odd that the Germans won the battle and lost the war. Visiting the monument did cause me to think deeper about its meaning, both past and present. Samsonov’s defeat represented German superiority over the Russians. What mattered was emphasizing Teutonic might as a cover for deep rooted German insecurities. I doubt anyone during the interwar period was interested in how Samsonov’s suicide or the outcome of Tannenberg affected the war’s eventual outcome. His fate was useful for symbolic purposes and nothing more than that. The battle was all but over by the time Samsonov took his own life. Nevertheless, a single general’s suicide had zero strategic or tactical value. A symbol of the devastating loss the Russians had suffered. As for Samsonov’s suicide, it was spectacular and surprising. Tannenberg may have been a smashing victory, but it did not help Germany win the war. The monument existed during the interwar period mainly to make the Germans feel better about being on the losing end of World War I. They were ground truth of burials in the immediate area. It is likely that the monument was placed near this burial spot. When exhumed from the sandy soil, he was still wearing a greatcoat. They may have marked the location of where Samsonov’s body was found in 1915. How the Germans arrived at the exact place Samsonov shot himself is open to question. Going to see the spot where a rival general shot himself is not exactly grounds for a picnic. On the other hand, the monument was never going to be a place where anything other than German nationalist zealots, battlefield buffs and locals would visit. If the Germans wanted more people to visit the monument, they would have moved it closer to the highway between Wielbark (Willenburg) and Nidzica (Neidenberg) which is not very far from the monument. An argument can be made that any location this remote had to be near the actual suicide spot. There are good arguments both for and against the location. Specifically, whether the monument stood in the same place where Samsonov shot himself.

The question that will always be in my mind, is one that will never be completely resolved. Digging down - One of the depressions close to the Samsonov Monument The lack of a rational configuration was perplexing. Oddly, each of the three depressions was widely separated from another. We surmised that it might have been a place of burial. The last time earth had been excavated from it was a long time ago. One of the depressions had a tree growing out of it. We noticed three large depressions where the earth had been excavated long ago. After a few minutes studying the monument, me and my travel companion began to look in the area around it. The monument was not known as a place for pilgrimages. To think that a monument marking the most memorable event of what some scholars consider the only truly decisive battle of World War I has few visitors and very little controversy is surprising. The monument would not have been out of place in a forest reserve, perhaps marking an important event such as a boundary survey. I found it disconcerting just how normal everything seemed. The lone photo of Samsonov at the location came courtesy of a signboard. The pyramid shaped structure made of natural stone looked like it belonged here. The monument’s relative remoteness must have discouraged acts of vandalism or use as a hang out for youths imbibing alcohol. There was nothing ominous about the monument or the immediate area, no trash or debris to be found. Tree branches and their blooming leaves filtered the light. Nature was apparent everywhere except for the road which fronted the monument. The forest was fragrant with the smell of spring. One might think that any place associated with a suicide would be creepy or sinister, perhaps both. Now the question suddenly became, “What next?” After scrutinizing the monument, noting its condition, the cemetery candles sitting at its base, and the shiny plaque affixed to the front, it was time to soak in the atmosphere surrounding the monument. A long-awaited goal had finally been achieved. This had more to do with the experience, rather than the place. Arriving at the Samsonov Monument felt anti-climactic.