Alexander Samsonov

Aleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov
Born	(1859-11-14)14 November 1859 Andreevka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	30 August 1914(1914-08-30) (aged 54) near Försterei Karolinenhof, Willenberg, East Prussia (now Karolinka Forestry near Wielbark, Poland)
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Service / branch	Imperial Russian Army
Years of service	1877–1914
Rank	General of the Cavalry
Commands	Warsaw Military District (1906–?) Second Army (1914)
Battles / wars	Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Battle of Mukden World War I Battle of Tannenberg †
Awards	See Honours

Aleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Самсо́нов, tr. Aleksándr Vasíl’evič Samsónov; 14 November [O.S. 2 November] 1859 – 30 August [O.S. 17 August] 1914) 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.