Samsonov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich definition of Samsonov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Samsonov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich (əlyĭksän`dər vəsē`lyəvĭch səmsô`nəf), 1859–1914, Russian general. Early in World War I, when his army advanced into East Prussia (see Masuria Masurian Lakes region, where more than 2,700 lakes are located, was the scene of heavy fighting early in World War I. Two Russian armies, commanded by generals Samsonov and Rennenkampf, were defeated in the region—Samsonov by Hindenburg at Tannenburg (Aug.
..... Click the link for more information. ) in order to relieve German pressure on the French, it was virtually annihilated by German field marshal Hindenburg in the battle of Tannenberg Tannenberg (tä`nənbĕrk'), Pol. Stębark, village, Warmińsko-Mazurskie prov., NE Poland, near Olsztyn.
..... Click the link for more information. (Aug., 1914). His defeat was partly caused by the failure of General Rennenkampf to bring his forces to Samsonov's aid. Samsonov shot himself on the battlefield.

Bibliography

See A. Solzhenitsyn, August 1914 (1972).