Far sooner than anticipated, Russia sent two divisions into East Prussia around the midpoint of August 1914, while Germany, following its war strategy, had the majority of its forces committed westward, toward France. Two highly regarded former generals, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, immediately allowed a vigorous reply against the Russians that Colonel Max Hoffmann had originally planned when they landed in East Prussia. The Germans were victorious in ambushing Samsonov's soldiers. Samsonov repeatedly underestimated the strength of the German battalions surrounding them from both ends, and by postponing the attack, he had given his soldiers a better chance to push further inside the fortress. On August 22, after the German Eighth Army headquarters had been transferred to Mühlhausen in the north, a bomb was detonated as Paul von Hindenburg approached, according to a telegram. When Ludendorff saw Rennenkampf was still close to Gumbinnen, he made the ground-breaking decision to withdraw the remaining German forces from that front and send them briskly in the direction of Samsonov's right flank. When Ludendorff arrived in East Prussia on August 23, he was overjoyed to discover that the activities already in motion were in line with his own flawed plan. He thus gave Hoffmann's proposals his blessing. Later, on August 25, intercepted radio waves made Rennenkampf's lethargic movements apparent to him. He began to think about how he could use Mackensen's XVII Corps as well, entrusting the cavalry with the responsibility of monitoring and occupying Rennenkampf. Samsonov's army was spread out over a nearly 60-mile-long barrier, with his right, center, and left being distant from one another. If they had been mobile and linked, this dimension would have been helpful, but with sluggish soldiers and bad roads, it became dangerous. The conflict reached its full climax on August 27. The Russian left wing's position at Usdau was the target of François' fierce onslaught the following morning, who was now well-armed. The defeated Russian soldiers escaped before the German army could arrive. Helpless, Samsonov continued south on August 28 only to become lost in the forest's dense cover. On August 30, he turned away, and until one fired a shot his staff failed to notice his absence. German soldiers ultimately found his body after he had killed himself rather than facing the tragedy. 30,000 Russians lost their lives or were wounded, compared to only 13,000 Germans. The other half of Samsonov's squad was severely shaken, 92,000 Russian prisoners were taken hostage, and 2.5 troops were killed.