The army was split into two groups: one, led by the Count of Barby, to operate in Sambia and the other, under the leadership of the Count of Reyden, to operate in Natangia.
The bay is enclosed by a large curve of the shores of Gdańsk Pomerania in Poland (Cape Rozewie, Hel Peninsula) and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia (Sambian Peninsula).
Until 1945, several places in Sambia were named after Kuršininkai, including Cranzkuhren, Neukuhren, Gross Kuhren, and Klein Kuhren.