While Artamonov's Russian I Corps opened a huge gap in its lines to chase a German Landwehr brigade, Francois' German I Corps attempted to attack into the breach. The Germans went forward without scouting the ground first, with one regimental colonel telling his men to simply "advance towards the rising sun."

The German 3rd Brigade stumbled directly into a hurricane of Russian rifle, machine-gun and artillery lire, as Artamonov's haphazard deployment had placed all of Russian I Corps' 122mm howitzers in this sector. The German artillery added to the misery with several barrages dropped on their own troops. Third Brigade broke and ran, leaving a gaping hole in the German lines. But Artamonov had already decided on a withdrawal and did nothing to exploit his unplanned success.