Events of 1916 World War I. February Revolution

As for Rodzianko’s assessments of the army’s morale, military supplies and command, they were clearly made under the influence of the public atmosphere that existed in the rear, under the influence of the comments of Rodzianko’s companions on his trip to the front, Maklakov and Tereshchenko, and also from the inclination of this authoritarian, but ill-informed doer to judge all things under the sun with absolute certainty. His judgments stand in stark contrast to those of General Knox, a competent British officer who served with the Russian army throughout the war. From the point of view of the British general, “...the prospects for the 1917 campaign of the year were brighter than those that existed in March 1916 at that time ... The Russian infantry was tired, but less than twelve months ago.

... The arsenals of weapons, ammunition and military equipment were, in almost every type, larger than even during the period of mobilization - much more than those that were available in the spring of 1915 or 1916. For the first time, military supplies from abroad began to arrive in significant volumes ... Troop control improved every day. The army was strong in spirit ... There is no doubt that if the rear had rallied ... the Russian army would have won new laurels for itself in the 1917 campaign of the year and, in all likelihood, would have developed pressure that would have made possible the Allied victory by the end of this year.

Despite General Knox's optimistic assessment of the state of the Russian army on the eve of the revolution, a threatening situation developed: Russia's resources were almost exhausted. Surprisingly, this applied primarily to human reserves (although in total during the entire war 8.7 percent of the population was mobilized in Russia, 17 percent in France, 20.7 percent in Germany, and 17.1 percent in Austria-Hungary. However, one must take into account many other factors, in particular, a large number of children in Russian families of that time, that is, the percentage of adult men in the total population was lower than in the above countries, in addition, peasant farms were losing workers and breadwinners - to replace their hard work in plowing, mowing, logging, etc., was extremely difficult for women and teenagers. Ed.). Russia overexerted itself in the mobilization of manpower. Further replenishment of the armed forces threatened to reduce the depleted workforce to such an extent that the operation of the military industry and transport would become impossible. Legislative assemblies objected to meeting the new requests of the Stavka in recruits. Members of the State Council and Duma deputies, who also gathered at the meeting of the Special Conference on Defense Affairs, came up with a well-reasoned memorandum against further mobilization of human resources and proposed alternative measures to increase the combat capability of the armed forces. Although the Stavka rejected their arguments, it was aware that by the end of 1916 the call of the older age groups would face increased opposition.

General Gurko, who replaced Alekseev as acting chief of staff of the Supreme Command in November 1916, initiated a reform of the organizational structure of the Russian army, reducing the number of battalions in the regiment from four to three. Thus, the available battalions were supposed to contribute, with the involvement of some reserves in the rear, to the formation of the so-called "third divisions". So with the addition of a new division to the two previously existing, the total number of divisions would increase by 50 percent. This, according to Gurko's plan, would provide additional operational units that the Stavka needed for the spring offensive it planned in 1917. Gurko's initiative was unsuccessful. The reform started too late. It seriously undermined the strength of the front and threatened to delay the start of the spring campaign. The soldiers who were singled out from the divisions that occupied the front line usually did not meet the proper level, both in terms of physical and moral condition. The front divisions refused to share military equipment and ammunition with the new units. Therefore, the latter remained in the rear, poorly armed and poorly equipped with military equipment, forming something like a third-rate reserve, and not units capable of replacing regular divisions. As the revolution began, these gray-coated "third divisions" disintegrated into lazy, morally unstable, and politically disoriented soldiers who participated in the endless street rallies so typical of those days.

The threat of disorganization of railway transport and the supply of food and fodder to the army also became very tangible in the winter of 1916/17. Its first signs were, apparently, a slowdown in the turnover of rolling stock on the railways and a shortage of steam locomotives suitable for work. This was reflected primarily in the transportation of bulky goods, such as fodder. As alarming as the situation seemed in February 1917, it was safe to expect a temporary improvement in time for the spring offensives agreed with the Allies.

In addition to problems with manpower and transport, a severe agricultural crisis began to develop from the end of 1916. Throughout the war, Russia grew good crops, but the shortage of labor due to overkill in mobilization created great difficulties in harvesting, especially on large farms (primarily on estates). There was a constant plunder of agricultural implements and tools, which was difficult to replace now that industry had switched to war production. Much the same has happened in the fuel industry, especially in the mines of the Donets coal basin, whose productivity has fallen to extremely alarming levels.

It is difficult to say how much of these problems were due to the inability or neglect of the government. Sooner or later, they were bound to emerge as a result of the strain of the military effort, regardless of the ability of the authorities to do something about it. In the same way, they arose in other warring countries of Europe (for example, in Germany the situation was simply tragic, especially with food. - Ed.). However, in Russia they were considered evidence that the government was leading the country "to the edge of the abyss." It was believed that the only means of salvation were constitutional changes and the formation of a "government of people's trust." Just as Rodzianko blamed the Headquarters for the huge losses suffered during Brusilov's offensive in 1916, amateur organizations used any crisis in the war to discredit the government and bring about the desired radical reforms.

For several weeks at the beginning of 1917, the lobbyists of the inter-allied conference in Petrograd were in the focus of Russia's internal political struggle. The allies, especially Lord Milner, were encouraged to petition the Emperor for constitutional reforms. General Gurko, who was persuaded to support the position of amateur organizations, even dared to turn to the emperor on his own. As we shall see, Lord Milner was more diplomatic and cautious than either Gurko or the British ambassador in Petrograd, George Buchanan. Were the doubts that the "government of people's trust" would act more effectively than the ministers appointed by the tsar the reason for his behavior? The lord's statements before leaving Russia on the very eve of the revolution look somewhat ambiguous and are designed to satisfy both sides. However, they reflect the specifics of the situation at that critical moment. Reporting on Lord Milner's last statement before leaving Russia, the correspondent of The Times remarks in his February 25 (March 9) dispatch, which turned out to be his last correspondence sent before the revolution, that Lord Milner's statement was "received here with satisfaction." The correspondent adds in a comment clearly inspired by Russian lobbyists: “The best answer to all the fears and forebodings that could arise as a result of the inability of the state machine to cope with the enormous difficulties of this war will be the future, when the numerous armies concentrated on the Eastern Front will begin the spring campaign. ".

This was not destined to happen. While the correspondent of The Times was proclaiming, on the eve of the great offensive at the front, the words: "Bets are made," the red ball of the revolution began to roll down the snow-swept streets of Petrograd.

By the end of 1916, the superiority of the Entente was clearly revealed, both in the number of armed forces and in military equipment, especially in artillery, aviation and tanks. The Entente entered the military campaign of 1917 on all fronts with 425 divisions against 331 enemy divisions. However, disagreements in the military leadership and the selfish goals of the Entente participants often paralyzed these advantages, which was clearly manifested in the inconsistency of the actions of the Entente command during major operations in 1916. Turning to strategic defense, the Austro-German coalition, still far from being defeated, confronted the world with the fact of a protracted, exhausting war.

And every month, every week of the war entailed new colossal victims. By the end of 1916, both sides had lost about 6 million people killed and about 10 million people wounded and maimed. Under the influence of enormous human losses and hardships at the front and in the rear, the chauvinistic frenzy of the first months of the war passed in all the warring countries. Every year the anti-war movement grew in the rear and on the fronts.

The prolongation of the war inevitably affected, among other things, the morale of the Russian army. The patriotic upsurge of 1914 has long been confused, the exploitation of the idea of "Slavic solidarity" has also exhausted itself. The stories about the cruelty of the Germans also did not give the desired effect. The fatigue from the war affected more and more. Sitting in the trenches, the immobility of trench warfare, the absence of the simplest human conditions in the positions - all this was the background of the soldiers' unrest becoming more frequent.

To this we must add a protest against cane discipline, abuses of superiors, embezzlement of the rear services. Both at the front and in the rear garrisons, there were more and more cases of non-compliance with orders, expressions of sympathy for the striking workers. In August - September 1915, during a wave of strikes in Petrograd, many soldiers of the capital's garrison expressed solidarity with the workers, there were performances on a number of ships of the Baltic Fleet. In 1916, there was an uprising of soldiers at the Kremenchug distribution point, at the same point in Gomel. In the summer of 1916, two Siberian regiments refused to go into battle. There were cases of fraternization with enemy soldiers. By the autumn of 1916, a significant part of the 10 millionth army was in a state of fermentation.

The main obstacle to victory was now not material shortcomings (weapons and supplies, military equipment), but the internal state of society itself. Deep contradictions covered the layers. The main one was the contradiction between the tsarist-monarchist camp and the other two - the liberal-bourgeois and the revolutionary-democratic. The tsar and the court camarilla grouped around him wanted to retain all their privileges, the liberal bourgeoisie wanted access to government power, and the revolutionary-democratic camp, led by the Bolshevik Party, fought to overthrow the monarchy.

The broad masses of the population of all the warring countries were engulfed in fermentation. More and more working people demanded immediate peace and condemned chauvinism, protested against merciless exploitation, shortages of food, clothing, fuel, and against the enrichment of the top of society. The refusal of the ruling circles to meet these demands and the suppression of protests by force gradually led the masses to the conclusion that it was necessary to fight against the military dictatorship and the entire existing system. Anti-war speeches grew into a revolutionary movement.

In this situation, anxiety grew in the ruling circles of both coalitions. Even the most extreme imperialists could not ignore the mood of the masses, who yearned for peace. Therefore, maneuvers were undertaken with "peaceful" proposals in the expectation that these proposals would be rejected by the enemy, and in this case it would be possible to shift all the blame for the continuation of the war on him.

So on December 12, 1916, the Kaiser's government of Germany offered the Entente countries to start "peace" negotiations. At the same time, the German "peace" proposal was calculated on a split in the Entente camp and on the support of those layers within the Entente countries who were inclined to achieve peace with Germany without a "crushing blow" against Germany by force of arms. Since Germany's "peace" proposal did not contain any specific conditions and absolutely hushed up the fate of the territories of Russia, Belgium, France, Serbia, Romania occupied by the Austro-German troops, this gave the Entente a reason to respond to this and subsequent proposals with specific demands for the liberation by Germany all the occupied territories, as well as the division of Turkey, the "reorganization" of Europe on the basis of the "national principle", which in fact meant the refusal of the Entente to enter into peace negotiations with Germany and its allies.

German propaganda noisily announced to the whole world that the Entente countries were to blame for the continuation of the war and that they were forcing Germany to take "defensive measures" by means of a ruthless "unrestricted submarine warfare."

In February 1917, the bourgeois-democratic revolution triumphed in Russia, and a movement for a revolutionary way out of the imperialist war was widely developed in the country.

In response to the unrestricted submarine war that began in February 1917 on the part of Germany, the United States severed diplomatic relations with the latter, and on April 6, having declared war on Germany, entered the war in order to influence its results in their favor.

Even before the arrival of American soldiers, the Entente troops launched an offensive on the Western Front on April 16, 1917. But the attacks of the Anglo-French troops, following one after another on April 16-19, were unsuccessful. The French and British lost more than 200 thousand killed in four days of fighting. In this battle, 5 thousand Russian soldiers from the 3rd Russian brigade, sent from Russia to help the allies, died. Almost all 132 British tanks that participated in the battle were hit or destroyed.

Preparing this military operation, the command of the Entente persistently demanded that the Provisional Government of Russia launch an offensive on the Eastern Front. However, it was not easy to prepare such an offensive in revolutionary Russia. Nevertheless, the head of the Provisional Government, Kerensky, began to intensively prepare an offensive, hoping, in case of success, to raise the prestige of the bourgeois Provisional Government, and in case of failure, to shift the blame on the Bolsheviks.

The Russian offensive launched on July 1, 1917 in the Lvov direction developed successfully at first, but soon the German army, having received 11 divisions transferred from the Western Front as reinforcements, launched a counteroffensive and pushed the Russian troops far beyond their original positions.

Thus, in 1917, on all European fronts, despite the superiority of the Entente in manpower and military equipment, its troops failed to achieve decisive success in any of the offensives undertaken. The revolutionary situation in Russia and the lack of necessary coordination in military operations within the coalition thwarted the implementation of the strategic plans of the Entente, designed for the complete defeat of the Austro-German bloc in 1917. And in early September 1917, the German army launched an offensive on the northern sector of the Eastern Front with the aim of capturing Riga and the Riga coast.

The choice by the Germans of the moment for the offensive near Riga was not accidental. It was a time when the Russian reactionary military elite, preparing a counter-revolutionary coup in the country, decided to rely on the German military. At a state conference convened in Moscow in August, General Kornilov expressed his "suggestion" about the imminent fall of Riga and the opening of ways to Petrograd, the cradle of the Russian revolution. This served as a signal for the advance of the German army on Riga. Despite the fact that there were every opportunity to keep Riga, it was handed over to the Germans by order of the military command. Clearing the way for the Germans to revolutionary Petrograd, Kornilov began his open counter-revolutionary rebellion. Kornilov was defeated by the revolutionary workers and soldiers under the leadership of the Bolsheviks.

The 1917 campaign was characterized by further attempts by the belligerents to overcome the positional stalemate, this time through the massive use of artillery, tanks and aircraft.

Saturation of the troops with technical means of struggle significantly complicated the offensive battle, it became in the full sense of the combined arms battle, the success of which was achieved by coordinated actions of all branches of the military.

During the operation of the campaign, there was a gradual transition from dense skirmish lines to group formations of troops. Tanks, escort guns and machine guns became the core of these formations. Unlike rifle formations, groups could maneuver on the battlefield, destroy or bypass the firing points and strongholds of the defender, and advance at a faster pace.

The growth of the technical equipment of the troops created the preconditions for a breakthrough of the positional front. In some cases, the troops managed to break through the enemy defenses to the entire tactical depth. However, in general, the problem of breaking through the positional front was not solved, since the attacker could not develop tactical success to an operational scale.

The development of means and methods of conducting an offensive led to the further improvement of defense. The depth of defense of the divisions increased to 10-12 km. In addition to the main positions, they began to build forward, cut-off and rear positions. There has been a transition from tough defense to maneuvering forces and means in repelling an enemy offensive.

World War I (1914 - 1918)

The Russian Empire collapsed. One of the goals of the war is solved.
Chamberlain

The First World War lasted from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918. 38 states with a population of 62% of the world took part in it. This war was rather ambiguous and extremely contradictory described in modern history. I specifically cited Chamberlain's words in the epigraph to once again emphasize this inconsistency. A prominent politician in England (Russia's ally in the war) says that one of the goals of the war has been achieved by overthrowing the autocracy in Russia!

The Balkan countries played an important role in the beginning of the war. They were not independent. Their policy (both foreign and domestic) was greatly influenced by England. Germany by that time had lost its influence in this region, although it controlled Bulgaria for a long time.

Entente. Russian Empire, France, Great Britain. The allies were the USA, Italy, Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
Triple Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Later, the Bulgarian kingdom joined them, and the coalition became known as the Quadruple Union.

The following major countries took part in the war: Austria-Hungary (July 27, 1914 - November 3, 1918), Germany (August 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918), Turkey (October 29, 1914 - October 30, 1918), Bulgaria (October 14, 1915 - 29 September 1918). Entente countries and allies: Russia (August 1, 1914 - March 3, 1918), France (August 3, 1914), Belgium (August 3, 1914), Great Britain (August 4, 1914), Italy (May 23, 1915), Romania (August 27, 1916) .

Another important point. Initially, a member of the "Triple Alliance" was Italy. But after the outbreak of the First World War, the Italians declared neutrality.

Causes of World War I

The main reason for the outbreak of the First World War is the desire of the leading powers, primarily England, France and Austria-Hungary, to redistribute the world. The fact is that the colonial system collapsed by the beginning of the 20th century. The leading European countries, which had prospered for years by exploiting the colonies, were no longer allowed to obtain resources simply by taking them away from the Indians, Africans and South Americans. Now resources could only be won back from each other. Therefore, contradictions arose:

Between England and Germany. England sought to prevent the strengthening of German influence in the Balkans. Germany sought to gain a foothold in the Balkans and the Middle East, and also sought to deprive England of naval dominance.
Between Germany and France. France dreamed of regaining the lands of Alsace and Lorraine, which she had lost in the war of 1870-71. France also sought to seize the German Saar coal basin.
Between Germany and Russia. Germany sought to take Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states from Russia.
Between Russia and Austria-Hungary. Contradictions arose because of the desire of both countries to influence the Balkans, as well as the desire of Russia to subjugate the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

Cause to start a war

The events in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as the reason for the start of the First World War. On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand organization of the Young Bosnia movement, assassinated Archduke Frans Ferdinand. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, so the resonance of the murder was enormous. This was the reason for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia.

The behavior of England is very important here, since Austria-Hungary could not start a war on its own, because this practically guaranteed a war throughout Europe. The British, at the level of the embassy, convinced Nicholas 2 that Russia, in the event of aggression, should not leave Serbia without help. But then all (I emphasize this) the English press wrote that the Serbs were barbarians and Austria-Hungary should not leave the murder of the Archduke unpunished. That is, England did everything so that Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia did not shy away from war.

Important nuances of the reason for war

In all textbooks we are told that the main and only reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. At the same time, they forget to say that the next day, June 29, another significant murder took place. The French politician Jean Jaures, who actively opposed the war and had great influence in France, was killed. A few weeks before the assassination of the Archduke, there was an attempt on Rasputin, who, like Zhores, was an opponent of the war and had a great influence on Nicholas 2. I also want to note some facts from the fate of the main characters of those days:

Gavrilo Principin. He died in prison in 1918 from tuberculosis.
Russian Ambassador to Serbia - Hartley. In 1914 he died at the Austrian embassy in Serbia, where he came for a reception.
Colonel Apis, leader of the Black Hand. Shot in 1917.
In 1917 Hartley's correspondence with Sozonov (the next Russian ambassador to Serbia) disappeared.

All this indicates that there were a lot of black spots in the events of the days, which have not yet been revealed. And this is very important to understand.

The role of England in starting the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 great powers in continental Europe: Germany and Russia. They did not want to openly fight against each other, since the forces were approximately equal. Therefore, in the "July crisis" of 1914, both sides took a wait-and-see attitude. English diplomacy came to the fore. By means of the press and secret diplomacy, she conveyed to Germany the position - in the event of war, England would remain neutral or take the side of Germany. By open diplomacy, Nicholas 2 heard the opposite idea that in the event of a war, England would take the side of Russia.

It must be clearly understood that one open statement by England that she will not allow war in Europe would be enough for neither Germany nor Russia to even think about anything of the kind. Naturally, under such conditions, Austria-Hungary would not have dared to attack Serbia. But England, with all her diplomacy, pushed the European countries to war.

Russia before the war

Before the First World War, Russia reformed the army. In 1907, the fleet was reformed, and in 1910 the land forces were reformed. The country increased military spending many times over, and the total number of the army in peacetime was now 2 million people. In 1912, Russia adopts a new Field Service Charter. Today, it is rightfully called the most perfect Charter of its time, since it motivated soldiers and commanders to take personal initiative. Important point! The doctrine of the army of the Russian Empire was offensive.

Despite the fact that there were many positive changes, there were also very serious miscalculations. The main one is the underestimation of the role of artillery in the war. As the course of events of the First World War showed, this was a terrible mistake, which clearly showed that at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian generals were seriously behind the times. They lived in the past when the role of the cavalry was important. As a result, 75% of all the losses of the First World War were caused by artillery! This is a sentence to the imperial generals.

It is important to note that Russia never finished preparing for the war (at the proper level), while Germany completed it in 1914.

The balance of forces and means before the war and after it

Artillery

	Number of guns	Of these, heavy weapons


Austria-Hungary
Germany

According to the data from the table, it can be seen that Germany and Austria-Hungary were many times superior to Russia and France in terms of heavy guns. Therefore, the balance of power was in favor of the first two countries. Moreover, the Germans, as usual, before the war created an excellent military industry, which produced 250,000 shells daily. For comparison, Britain produced 10,000 shells a month! As they say, feel the difference...

Another example showing the importance of artillery is the battles on the Dunajec Gorlice line (May 1915). In 4 hours, the German army fired 700,000 shells. For comparison, during the entire Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Germany fired just over 800,000 shells. That is, in 4 hours a little less than in the entire war. The Germans clearly understood that heavy artillery would play a decisive role in the war.

Armament and military equipment

Production of weapons and equipment during the First World War (thousand units).

	Shooting	Artillery



Great Britain
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Germany
Austria-Hungary

This table clearly shows the weakness of the Russian Empire in terms of equipping the army. In all major indicators, Russia is far behind Germany, but also behind France and Great Britain. Largely because of this, the war turned out to be so difficult for our country.

Number of people (infantry)

The number of fighting infantry (millions of people).

	At the beginning of the war	By the end of the war	Losses killed



Great Britain
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Germany
Austria-Hungary

The table shows that the smallest contribution, both in terms of combatants and in terms of deaths, was made by Great Britain to the war. This is logical, since the British did not really participate in major battles. Another example from this table is illustrative. We are told in all the textbooks that Austria-Hungary, due to heavy losses, could not fight on its own, and it always needed the help of Germany. But pay attention to Austria-Hungary and France in the table. The numbers are identical! Just as Germany had to fight for Austria-Hungary, so Russia had to fight for France (it is no coincidence that the Russian army saved Paris from capitulation three times during the First World War).

The table also shows that in fact the war was between Russia and Germany. Both countries lost 4.3 million killed, while Britain, France and Austria-Hungary together lost 3.5 million. The numbers are telling. But it turned out that the countries that fought the most and made the most efforts in the war ended up with nothing. First, Russia signed the shameful Brest peace for itself, losing a lot of land. Then Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, in fact, having lost its independence.

The course of the war

Military events of 1914

July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This entailed the involvement in the war of the countries of the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, and the Entente, on the other.

Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914. Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (uncle of Nicholas 2) was appointed supreme commander.

In the first days of the beginning of the war, Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Since the war with Germany began, and the capital could not have a name of German origin - "burg".
History reference

German "Schlieffen Plan"

Germany was under the threat of a war on two fronts: East - with Russia, West - with France. Then the German command developed the "Schlieffen plan", according to which Germany should defeat France in 40 days and then fight with Russia. Why 40 days? The Germans believed that this is how much Russia would need to mobilize. Therefore, when Russia mobilizes, France will already be out of the game.

On August 2, 1914, Germany captured Luxembourg, on August 4 they invaded Belgium (a neutral country at that time), and by August 20 Germany had reached the borders of France. The implementation of the Schlieffen plan began. Germany advanced deep into France, but on September 5 was stopped at the Marne River, where a battle took place, in which about 2 million people participated on both sides.

Northwestern front of Russia in 1914

Russia at the beginning of the war made a stupid thing that Germany could not calculate in any way. Nicholas 2 decided to enter the war without fully mobilizing the army. On August 4, Russian troops, under the command of Rennenkampf, launched an offensive in East Prussia (modern Kaliningrad). Samsonov's army was equipped to help her. Initially, the troops were successful, and Germany was forced to retreat. As a result, part of the forces of the Western Front was transferred to the Eastern. The result - Germany repulsed the Russian offensive in East Prussia (the troops acted disorganized and lacked resources), but as a result, the Schlieffen plan failed, and France could not be captured. So, Russia saved Paris, though by defeating its 1st and 2nd armies. After that, a positional war began.

Southwestern Front of Russia

On the southwestern front in August-September, Russia launched an offensive operation against Galicia, which was occupied by the troops of Austria-Hungary. The Galician operation was more successful than the offensive in East Prussia. In this battle, Austria-Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat. 400 thousand people were killed, 100 thousand captured. For comparison, the Russian army lost 150 thousand people killed. After that, Austria-Hungary actually withdrew from the war, as it lost the ability to conduct independent operations. Austria was saved from complete defeat only by the help of Germany, which was forced to transfer additional divisions to Galicia.

The main results of the military campaign of 1914

Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen plan for blitzkrieg.
No one managed to win a decisive advantage. The war turned into a positional one.

Map of military events in 1914-15

Military events of 1915

In 1915, Germany decided to shift the main blow to the eastern front, directing all its forces to the war with Russia, which was the weakest country of the Entente, according to the Germans. It was a strategic plan developed by the commander of the Eastern Front, General von Hindenburg. Russia managed to thwart this plan only at the cost of colossal losses, but at the same time, 1915 turned out to be simply terrible for the empire of Nicholas 2.

The situation on the northwestern front

From January to October, Germany waged an active offensive, as a result of which Russia lost Poland, western Ukraine, part of the Baltic states, and western Belarus. Russia went into deep defense. Russian losses were gigantic:

Killed and wounded - 850 thousand people
Captured - 900 thousand people

Russia did not capitulate, but the countries of the "Triple Alliance" were convinced that Russia would not be able to recover from the losses it had received.

Germany's successes in this sector of the front led to the fact that on October 14, 1915, Bulgaria entered the First World War (on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary).

The situation on the southwestern front

The Germans, together with Austria-Hungary, organized the Gorlitsky breakthrough in the spring of 1915, forcing the entire southwestern front of Russia to retreat. Galicia, which was captured in 1914, was completely lost. Germany was able to achieve this advantage thanks to the terrible mistakes of the Russian command, as well as a significant technical advantage. German superiority in technology reached:

2.5 times in machine guns.
4.5 times in light artillery.
40 times in heavy artillery.

It was not possible to withdraw Russia from the war, but the losses on this sector of the front were gigantic: 150,000 killed, 700,000 wounded, 900,000 prisoners and 4 million refugees.

The situation on the western front

All is calm on the Western Front. This phrase can describe how the war between Germany and France in 1915 proceeded. There were sluggish hostilities in which no one sought the initiative. Germany was implementing plans in Eastern Europe, while England and France were calmly mobilizing the economy and the army, preparing for further war. No one provided any assistance to Russia, although Nicholas 2 repeatedly appealed to France, first of all, so that she would switch to active operations on the Western Front. As usual, no one heard him ... By the way, this sluggish war on the western front for Germany is perfectly described by Hemingway in the novel “Farewell to Arms”.

The main result of 1915 was that Germany was unable to withdraw Russia from the war, although all forces were thrown at it. It became obvious that the First World War would drag on for a long time, since in 1.5 years of the war no one was able to gain an advantage or a strategic initiative.

Military events of 1916

"Verdun meat grinder"

In February 1916, Germany launched a general offensive against France, with the aim of capturing Paris. For this, a campaign was carried out on Verdun, which covered the approaches to the French capital. The battle lasted until the end of 1916. During this time, 2 million people died, for which the battle was called the Verdun Meat Grinder. France survived, but again thanks to the fact that Russia came to its rescue, which became more active on the southwestern front.

Events on the southwestern front in 1916

In May 1916, Russian troops went on the offensive, which lasted 2 months. This offensive went down in history under the name "Brusilovsky breakthrough". This name is due to the fact that the Russian army was commanded by General Brusilov. The breakthrough of defense in Bukovina (from Lutsk to Chernivtsi) happened on June 5th. The Russian army managed not only to break through the defense, but also to advance into its depths in places up to 120 kilometers. German and Austro-Hungarian losses were catastrophic. 1.5 million dead, wounded and captured. The offensive was stopped only by additional German divisions, which were hastily transferred here from Verdun (France) and from Italy.

This offensive of the Russian army was not without a fly in the ointment. They threw it, as usual, the allies. On August 27, 1916, Romania enters the First World War on the side of the Entente. Germany very quickly inflicted a defeat on her. As a result, Romania lost its army, and Russia received an additional 2,000 kilometers of front.

Events on the Caucasian and Northwestern Fronts

Positional battles continued on the North-Western Front in the spring-autumn period. As for the Caucasian front, here the main events continued from the beginning of 1916 to April. During this time, 2 operations were carried out: Erzumur and Trebizond. According to their results, Erzurum and Trebizond were conquered, respectively.

Outcome of 1916 in World War I

The strategic initiative went over to the side of the Entente.
The French fortress of Verdun survived thanks to the advance of the Russian army.
Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente.
Russia launched a powerful offensive - the Brusilovsky breakthrough.

Military and political events of 1917

The year 1917 in the First World War was marked by the fact that the war continued against the background of the revolutionary situation in Russia and Germany, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation of the countries. I will give an example of Russia. During the 3 years of the war, prices for basic products increased by an average of 4-4.5 times. Naturally, this caused discontent among the people. Add to this heavy losses and a grueling war - it turns out excellent ground for revolutionaries. The situation is similar in Germany.

In 1917, the United States enters World War I. The positions of the "Triple Alliance" are deteriorating. Germany with allies cannot effectively fight on 2 fronts, as a result of which it goes on the defensive.

End of the war for Russia

In the spring of 1917, Germany launched another offensive on the Western Front. Despite the events in Russia, the Western countries demanded that the Provisional Government implement the agreements signed by the Empire and send troops on the offensive. As a result, on June 16, the Russian army went on the offensive in the Lvov region. Again, we saved the allies from major battles, but we set ourselves up completely.

The Russian army, exhausted by the war and losses, did not want to fight. Issues of provisions, uniforms and supplies during the war years have not been resolved. The army fought reluctantly, but moved forward. The Germans were forced to re-deploy troops here, and Russia's Entente allies again isolated themselves, watching what would happen next. On July 6, Germany launched a counteroffensive. As a result, 150,000 Russian soldiers died. The army actually ceased to exist. The front has collapsed. Russia could no longer fight, and this catastrophe was inevitable.

People demanded that Russia withdraw from the war. And this was one of their main demands on the Bolsheviks, who seized power in October 1917. Initially, at the 2nd Congress of the Party, the Bolsheviks signed a decree "On Peace", in fact declaring Russia's withdrawal from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Brest Peace. The conditions of this world were as follows:

Russia makes peace with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
Russia is losing Poland, Ukraine, Finland, part of Belarus and the Baltic states.
Russia cedes Batum, Kars and Ardagan to Turkey.

As a result of its participation in the First World War, Russia lost: about 1 million square meters of territory, about 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of arable land and 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industry were lost.
History reference

Events in the war in 1918

Germany got rid of the Eastern Front and the need to wage war in 2 directions. As a result, in the spring and summer of 1918, she attempted an offensive on the Western Front, but this offensive had no success. Moreover, in its course it became obvious that Germany was squeezing the maximum out of herself, and that she needed a break in the war.

Autumn 1918

The decisive events in the First World War took place in the autumn. The Entente countries, together with the United States, went on the offensive. The German army was completely ousted from France and Belgium. In October, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria signed a truce with the Entente, and Germany was left to fight alone. Her position was hopeless, after the German allies in the "Triple Alliance" essentially capitulated. This resulted in the same thing that happened in Russia - a revolution. On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II was deposed.

End of World War I

On November 11, 1918, the First World War of 1914-1918 ended. Germany signed a complete surrender. It happened near Paris, in the forest of Compiègne, at the Retonde station. The surrender was accepted by the French Marshal Foch. The terms of the signed peace were as follows:

Germany recognizes complete defeat in the war.
The return of France to the province of Alsace and Lorraine to the borders of 1870, as well as the transfer of the Saar coal basin.
Germany lost all its colonial possessions, and also pledged to transfer 1/8 of its territory to its geographical neighbors.
For 15 years, the Entente troops are located on the left bank of the Rhine.
By May 1, 1921, Germany had to pay the members of the Entente (Russia was not supposed to do anything) 20 billion marks in gold, goods, securities, etc.
For 30 years, Germany must pay reparations, and the amount of these reparations is set by the victors themselves and can increase them at any time during these 30 years.
Germany was forbidden to have an army of more than 100 thousand people, and the army was obliged to be exclusively voluntary.

The terms of "peace" were so humiliating for Germany that the country actually became a puppet. Therefore, many people of that time said that the First World War, although it ended, did not end with peace, but with a truce for 30 years. And so it eventually happened ...

Results of the First World War

The First World War was fought on the territory of 14 states. Countries with a total population of over 1 billion people took part in it (this is approximately 62% of the total world population at that time). In total, 74 million people were mobilized by the participating countries, of which 10 million died and another 20 million were injured.

As a result of the war, the political map of Europe changed significantly. There were such independent states as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Albania. Austria-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Increased their borders Romania, Greece, France, Italy. There were 5 countries that lost and lost in the territory: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.

Map of the First World War 1914-1918

The military campaign of 1915 on the Western Front did not bring any major operational results. Positional battles only dragged out the war. The Entente moved to an economic blockade of Germany, to which the latter responded with a merciless submarine war. In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the English ocean-going steamer Lusitania, which killed more than a thousand passengers.

Without undertaking active offensive military operations, England and France, thanks to the shifting of the center of gravity of hostilities to the Russian front, received a respite, and concentrated all their attention on the development of the military industry. They were gathering strength for the next war. By the beginning of 1916, England and France had an advantage over Germany in 70-80 divisions and surpassed it in the latest weapons (tanks appeared). The grave consequences of active offensive military operations in 1914-1915 prompted the leaders of the Entente to convene a meeting of representatives of the general staffs of the allied armies in December 1915 in Chantilly, near Paris, where they came to the conclusion that the war could be ended victoriously only with coordinated active offensive operations on the main fronts. .

However, even after this decision, the offensive in 1916 was planned primarily on the Eastern Front - on June 15, and on the Western Front - on July 1. Having learned about the scheduled dates for the offensive of the Entente countries, the German command decided to take the initiative into their own hands and launch an offensive on the Western Front much earlier. At the same time, the main blow of the attack on the area of the Verdun fortifications was planned: for protection, which, according to the firm conviction of the German command, "the French command will be forced to sacrifice the last man," since in the event of a breakthrough of the front at Verdun, a direct path to Paris will open. However, the offensive launched on February 21, 1916

Verdun was unsuccessful, especially since in March, due to the advance of Russian troops in the area of the city of Dvinsky, Lake Naroch, the German command was forced to weaken its onslaught near Verdun. Nevertheless, bloody mutual attacks and counterattacks near Verdun continued for almost 10 months, until December 18, but did not produce significant results.

The Verdun operation literally turned into a "meat grinder", into the destruction of manpower. Both sides suffered colossal losses: the French - 350 thousand people, the Germans - 600 thousand people. The German attack on the Verdun fortifications did not change the plan of the Entente command to launch the main offensive on July 1, 1916 on the Somme River. The battles in the Somme escalated day by day. In September, after a continuous barrage of Anglo-French artillery, British tanks soon appeared on the battlefield.

However, technically still imperfect and used in small numbers, although they brought local success to the attacking Anglo-French troops, they could not provide a general strategic operational breakthrough of the front. By the end of November 1916, the Somme battles began to subside. As a result of the entire Somme operation, the Entente captured an area of 200 square meters. km, 105 thousand German prisoners, 1500 machine guns and 350 guns. In the battles on the Somme, both sides lost over 1 million 300 thousand killed, wounded and captured.

Fulfilling the decisions agreed upon at a meeting of representatives of the general staffs in December 1915 in Chantilly, the high command of the Russian army scheduled for June 15 the main offensive on the Western Front in the direction of Baranovichi with a simultaneous auxiliary attack by the armies of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Brusilov in the Galicia-Bukovina direction. However, the German offensive on Verdun, which began in February, again forced the French government to ask the tsarist government of Russia for help by attacking on the Eastern Front. In early March, Russian troops launched an offensive in the area of Dvinsk and Lake Navoch.

The attacks of the Russian troops continued until March 15, but they only led to tactical successes. As a result of this operation, the Russian troops suffered heavy losses, but pulled over a significant number of German reserves and this eased the position of the French near Verdun. French troops were able to regroup and strengthen the defense. The Dvina-Naroch operation made it difficult to prepare for a general offensive on the Russian-German front, scheduled for June 15. However, after the help to the French, a new insistent request from the command of the Entente troops to help the Italians followed.

In May 1916, the 400,000-strong Austro-Hungarian army went on the offensive in Trentino and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Italian army. Saving the Italian army, as well as the Anglo-French in the west, from complete defeat, the Russian command began on June 4, ahead of schedule, the offensive of troops in the southwestern direction.

Russian troops under the command of General Brusilov, having broken through the enemy's defenses on almost a 300-kilometer front, began to advance into Eastern Galicia and Bukovina (Brusilovsky breakthrough). But in the midst of the offensive, despite the requests of General Brusilov to reinforce the advancing troops with reserves and ammunition, the high command of the Russian army refused to send reserves to the south-western direction and, as planned earlier, launched an offensive in the western direction. However, after a weak blow in the direction of Baranovichi, the commander of the northwestern direction, General Evert, postponed the general offensive to early July.

Meanwhile, the troops of General Brusilov continued to develop the offensive they had begun and by the end of June they had advanced far into the depths of Galicia and Bukovina. On July 3, General Evert resumed the attack on Baranovichi, but the attacks of the Russian troops on this sector of the front were not successful. Only after the complete failure of the offensive of the troops of General Evert, the high command of the Russian troops recognized the offensive of the troops of General Brusilov on the Southwestern Front as the main one - but it was too late, time was lost, the Austrian command managed to regroup its troops, pulled up reserves.

Six divisions were transferred from the Austro-Italian front, and the German command, in the midst of the Verdun and Somme battles, transferred eleven divisions to the Eastern Front. The further offensive of the Russian troops was suspended. As a result of the offensive on the Southwestern Front, Russian troops advanced far into the depths of Bukovina and Eastern Galicia, occupying about 25 thousand square meters. km of territory. 9 thousand officers and over 400 thousand soldiers were taken prisoner.

However, this success of the Russian army in the summer of 1916 did not bring a decisive strategic result due to the inertia and mediocrity of the high command, the backwardness of transport, and the lack of weapons and ammunition. Nevertheless, the offensive of the Russian troops in 1916 played a major role. It eased the position of the allies and, together with the offensive of the Anglo-French troops on the Somme, nullified the initiative of the German troops and forced them to further strategic defense, and the Austro-Hungarian army after the Brusilov strike of 1916 was no longer capable of serious offensive operations.

When the Russian troops under the command of Brusilov inflicted a major defeat on the Austro-Werger troops on the Southwestern Front, the Romanian ruling circles considered that an opportune moment had come to enter the war on the side of the winners, especially since, contrary to the opinion of Russia, England and France insisted on the entry of Romania into the war.

On August 17, Romania independently launched a war in Transylvania and initially achieved some success there, but when the Somme battles subsided, the Austro-German troops defeated the Romanian army without much effort and occupied almost all of Romania, receiving a rather important source of food and oil. As the Russian command foresaw, 35 infantry and 11 cavalry divisions had to be transferred to Romania in order to strengthen the front along the Lower Danube - Braila - Focsani -

Dorna - Vatra. On the Caucasian front, developing the offensive, on February 16, 1916, Russian troops captured Erzurum, and on April 18 they occupied Trabzond (Trapezund). The battles developed successfully for the Russian troops in the Urmia direction, where Ruvandiz was occupied, and near Lake Van, where the Russian troops entered Mush and Bitlis in the summer.

The army retreats to the island of Corfu.

Notes:

* To compare the events that took place in Russia and Western Europe, in all chronological tables, starting from 1582 (the year the Gregorian calendar was introduced in eight European countries) and ending with 1918 (the year Soviet Russia switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar), in the column DATES are indicated date according to the Gregorian calendar only , and the Julian date is shown in brackets along with a description of the event. In chronological tables describing the periods before the introduction of a new style by Pope Gregory XIII, (in the column DATES) dates are in the Julian calendar only . At the same time, the translation to the Gregorian calendar is not done, because it did not exist.

Read about the events of the year:

Spiridovich A.I. "The Great War and the February Revolution of 1914-1917" All-Slavic Publishing House, New York. 1-3 books. 1960, 1962

Vel. book. Gabriel Konstantinovich. in the marble palace. From the history of our family. New York. 1955:

chapter thirty four. Autumn 1915 - winter 1916. A trip to the Crimea - Bad things at the front - Nicholas II takes over the post of Supreme Commander.

chapter thirty-five. Summer-autumn 1916. Arrival in Russia of my cousin, Prince Nicholas of Greece - I enter the Military Academy and become a colonel at the age of 29 - Housewarming with Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich.

chapter thirty six. December 1916. The murder of Rasputin - Our attempts to alleviate the fate of Dmitry Pavlovich.