Eastern front of the First World War. Russia in World War I

The eastern front of the First World War, in short, was one of the main ones in the period from 1914 to 1917.
And if on the Western Front the German troops and their allies were confronted by the combined British-French forces, then on the Eastern Front it was only the Russian army (Romanian troops joined it in 1916).

Peculiarities

In length, it far exceeded the front formed in the western direction. Stretching from the Baltic Sea to the border with Romania, its line was about 900 kilometers. At the same time, its maximum depth, as a result of offensive operations and counter-offensives, was about 500 kilometers. It was here that the largest battles of the entire military campaign of 1914-1918 took place.
After the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, operations on this front were suspended and the warring countries signed first an armistice and then a peace treaty. After the withdrawal of the Russian side from the armed conflict, Romania was forced to sign peace with the Germans.
However, despite the peace agreement, until the last days of the war, the German command did not dare to withdraw its forces from the former Russian front line.

Major hostilities and campaigns

The first operation in this direction was the East Prussian, during which the Russian troops began to advance through the Prussian territories. The main task of the Russian army was to divert the German forces from France and prevent them from taking the French side out of the game in a short time.
At the same time, the successes of the Russian troops forced the German command to change its original plan. In short, when unleashing the First World War, the German Empire believed that Russia was not ready for a confrontation, and actions on the Eastern Front would not drag on for long. Therefore, the Germans concentrated their main forces in the western direction.
However, in the very first days of the armed confrontation, it became clear to the German leadership that they miscalculated and transferred additional forces to the east.
At the same time, the Russian command, inspired by the first successes, made several tactical mistakes. As a result, in the Battle of Tannenberg, the Russian troops suffered a serious defeat, and they were forced to leave all the previously captured territories of Prussia.
In parallel with the Prussian offensive campaign, Russian troops carried out another offensive - in Galicia. Here they were opposed by the Austro-Hungarian troops. And here the advantage was on the side of the Russian imperial army. As a result, Lvov and Galich were taken.
By the end of the first year of the war, the line of the Eastern Front had stabilized. And the German command decides to transfer its main forces here and completely defeat Russia so that it does not interfere with their plans in the West.
As a result of the strengthening of the enemy forces, in 1915 the Russian troops had to start a retreat. Pressed by the Austro-Hungarian and German troops, they left Galicia, part of the Baltic states and even the territory of Russian Poland.
Considering that since the enemy is retreating, he is no longer dangerous, the Central Powers again transfer their main forces to the Franco-British front.
However, the retreat not only allowed the Russian army to maintain its combat effectiveness, but also gave the country's industry time to switch to a military footing.
As a result, by May of the third war year, the army of the Russian Empire was ready for decisive action. The result was the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough, during which the allied Austro-Hungarian and German armies were severely defeated. Galicia, Bukovina and almost all of Volhynia returned under the protection of the Russians.

Depriving the Entente of an ally. Russia's exit from the conflict

The February Russian revolution and the emperor's self-denial violated not only the plans of the Russian command, but also of all the allies of the Entente. This stage of the war for Russia was marked by an event called the Kornilov rebellion. The organizer of this unsuccessful rebellion was the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, L. G. Kornilov, who wanted to restore “firm power” in the country. However, the speech was suppressed, and the general was arrested.
Summing up, it should be noted that during this period, clashes continued on the Eastern Front of the First World War. However, due to the demoralization of the army and the deterioration of discipline in the troops, there was no need to talk about any success.
After the second revolution, which broke out in October of the same year, Russia even concluded a truce with the opposing side. The Bolsheviks called for an end to the war of all participants in the conflict, but its former allies in the Entente chose to ignore these calls.

What is known about that terrible catastrophe that affected many countries to modern man? The year it started was 1914. The First World War ended in 1918. Russia participated in it, but did not become a victorious country. Many people died. Soviet historians called this war imperialist and unjust. Why is that? Because the massacre occurred because of the contradictions of the capitalist countries. Somehow the question of who attacked whom was missed. The chances of winning were not considered, but Russia had them, and one hundred percent. The enemy was forced to capitulate and without the participation of our country, he did not have the resources for further struggle. If the Eastern Front of the First World War had not been practically destroyed by revolutionary events and anti-war propaganda, this would have happened earlier. If…

German militancy

There is a strong stereotype about disciplined Germans, born soldiers who are able to create a powerful and trouble-free military machine. However, there are well-known facts that do not speak in favor of such an idea of ​​natural German militarism.

The twentieth century saw two world wars. Both of them were started by Germany, and in both she suffered a crushing defeat. Innate discipline did not help. The vaunted German technology turned out to be powerless. The famous German generals showed insufficient competence. The most punctual soldiers in the world surrendered in whole armies, led by commanders. Maybe it's the special situation of the 20th century, and before the Nordic spirit was stronger and more invincible? No, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, German soldiers also did not have a chance to cover themselves with laurels of unfading glory. Didn't shine...

The events of the First World War today, despite their chronological remoteness, are of interest not only because of the centenary. History is characterized by repetition, although not literally, but a certain similarity is sometimes visible. It is also interesting to compare two global catastrophes, especially in terms of the participation of Russia and the USSR in them. It would do no harm for historians and politicians to think about the lessons of the past, so that disastrous mistakes would not be repeated.

Between the First and Second, as folk wisdom says, a break ... Twenty-three years is quite a bit, this period does not even fall under the definition of a generation. For a little over two decades, people, for the most part, cannot give birth to children, raise them and create conditions for the next stage of generation reproduction, it is believed that this takes 30 years. But the man manages to survive.

What prepared to fight

The weapons of the First World War were imperfect, but by 1914 three main types of troops had already formed: the land army, navy and aviation. Airplanes and airships were then used for aerial reconnaissance and bombardment. Submarines appeared, inflicting unexpected strikes on warships and merchant ships from the depths of the waters. Sea mines acquired quite modern "horned" outlines. Of course, the First World War differed in many ways from later and modern armed conflicts. Photos taken on its fronts surprise today's man with an abundance of cavalry. The cavalry was still the main mobile striking force, but armored vehicles and tanks gradually took their place in the theater of operations, at first heavy and clumsy. Artillery developed so rapidly that many of its samples of the 10s served for decades. Small arms became fast-firing, machine guns of Maxim, Colt and Hotchkiss could mow down enemy infantry more effectively than conventional rifles.

And, of course, the most terrible weapon of the First World War - poison gases. Even Hitler did not dare to use them at the front in the conditions of the complete collapse of the Third Reich.

Not all of this arsenal was at the disposal of the hostile parties by the start of hostilities in 1914, some were being finalized and created “on the go”, but judging by the speed of the rearmament processes, the groundwork already existed at the level of projects and prototypes. The impetus for the activation of the defense industry was given by the First World War. The table, which shows the volume of production of military equipment and equipment in Russia for four years, illustrates the colossal rise of the domestic industry:

These indicators still seem quite significant today.

Maybe this weapon was bad? No, it fully met the standards of that time, and some samples turned out to be quite suitable for use during the Great Patriotic War. Were the Russian soldiers poorly equipped? No, both the uniform and the ammunition were quite suitable for our climatic conditions, at least better than the Austrian one. No one mentioned anything bad about the food supply either. which experienced deprivation in all countries, did not cause a food crisis in Russia. The “dry law” was in effect, and no one protested against it. The same applies to technical support. Samples of weapons, the production of which has not yet been mastered by domestic enterprises, the Russian army received from Britain and France. The Farman and Nieuport aircraft were built at our factories using allied documentation, and there were quite enough competent engineers and workers. It is time to dispel the myth of a backward "bast-bast" Russia, which was suddenly struck by the First World War in 1914.

Occasion

In 1914, of course, there was no television, let alone the Internet, so the information war was waged only by newspapers, which, with a delay of one day, reported on June 16 the terrible news about the murder of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and his wife. This crime took place in the Serbian city of Sarajevo, and it became the reason for the outbreak of the First World War of 1914-1918, which brought misfortune to many peoples. The government of the affected country demanded the fulfillment of two conditions for a peaceful settlement of the incident: the admission of an Austrian police group to the scene of the murder and the entry of troops. The Serbs agreed to a joint investigation, but the intervention was opposed. Then Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Mobilization began in Russia, accompanied by warnings about the possibility of using force to protect the fraternal Orthodox people. Germany, without waiting for the outbreak of hostilities, declared war. This time, not Serbia, but Russia.

Prerequisites

Was World War I inevitable? The history of the subjunctive mood cannot stand what was, that cannot be changed. But anyway, people love to fantasize, and from time to time there are versions about what would happen if the student Gavril took it and missed it? Or would he not shoot at all, suddenly seized by an Orthodox Christian aversion to murder?

It appears that in this case, maybe on another day or year, but the First World War would have begun. Its participants were in a state of permanent rivalry in the vastness of the entire globe. Germany wanted colonies, and neither France nor England were in a hurry to share African, Asian and other overseas territories with it. Russia did not want to part with the Baltic States and Poland, moreover, the country was gaining such economic momentum that, according to Bismarck's forecasts, by the 1950s it was simply doomed to the role of a regional, and possibly a world leader. There was a big fight for "a place in the sun."

Calculations of the German General Staff

The eastern front of the First World War was for a long time the main battlefield, but it took some time for the Austro-German command to assess the military potential of Russia. Like Hitler 23 years later, von Moltke, commander of the Austro-Hungarian-German General Staff, believed that victory could be achieved through a swift attack, freeing oneself to fight one enemy. Ignoring the predominantly positional nature of the upcoming battle, the leadership of the Triple Alliance did not take into account the colossal economic potential of the Russian Empire, its food independence and huge human reserves, so the fronts of the First World War were unevenly staffed. The Austrians sent only a tenth of their army to the East, everything else was concentrated on the border of Luxembourg and Belgium. From the 2nd to the 5th of August, in just three days, practically without a fight, they captured both countries and invaded France. By August 25, having defeated the enemy on the Marne River, the Austro-Hungarians and Germans went to Paris. It seemed that victory was near. But…

Meanwhile in Russia

The growth of patriotic sentiment happens at the initial stage of any war. After its announcement, it usually seems to the people that the army will smash the adversary in no time. This is facilitated by visual propaganda in the form of posters, newspapers, and today even more effective media. According to the ideas of many historians, Russia did not rearm, did not have time, but Austria-Hungary had enough time for this. However, the pre-war state of the Soviet armed forces in 1941 is estimated basically in the same way. The result, however, was different for these two unpreparedness. The eastern front of the First World War did not advance deep into Russian territory further than the Carpathians, which indicates that our army was not so badly armed and equipped. The same applies to supply issues. The military industry quickly gained momentum, the weapons and ammunition produced were enough not only until the end of hostilities. After the end of the First World War (1914-1918), Russia was drawn into a long fratricidal slaughter that lasted another four years. All this time, plants and factories were practically inactive, and cartridges, shells, cannons, howitzers, rifles, machine guns and ammunition from the warring parties ("red" and "white") were not transferred, all this was taken from warehouses. were introduced later than in France, England, Germany and Austria-Hungary, and there was no shortage of food until the Bolsheviks came to power.

It is almost impossible to fight against a country with such a vast territory and such a powerful industrial and agricultural potential. The countries of the Triple Alliance did not have enough forces to carry out a rapid offensive with a guaranteed victorious conclusion, and positional combat operations to attrition could only lead to a deplorable result. The Kaiser leadership could only hope for the illusory possibility of taking Russia out of the war by inflicting impressive defeats or some other ingenious tricks.

Further events of the First World War showed that these plans were partially realized, but they did not lead to the victory of Austria-Hungary.

First stage

Russia has always tried to help out its allies in difficult moments for them. The First World War was no exception. The history of the beginning of active operations of the Russian Imperial Army is full of drama. After the defeat on the Marne in August 1914, there was a hasty planning of front-line operations that could have been better prepared. Two armies (under the command of Generals A.V. Samsonov and P.K. Rennenkampf) rushed to attack East Prussia and defeated the Austrian 8th Army of M. Prittwitz. The German Kaiser was dejected by the defeat, but, despite this, he made the only right decision from the military point of view. He suspended the advance on Paris and sent a significant force to the east. The pendulum swung the other way, the Russian high command made a strategic mistake. The blows of the armies were delivered in divergent directions, on Berlin and Konigsberg. Such a split lengthened the Eastern Front of the First World War, it led to a decrease in operational concentration, which the German General Staff did not fail to take advantage of. The Russian armies suffered heavy damage, after which it seemed that there was nothing to think about the offensive. The actions acquired a positional character, which, generally speaking, played into the hands of the Entente. The Austrian troops were pinned down, deprived of the possibility of maneuver, and time worked against them.

Losses

The fronts of the First World War had a length unprecedented in history. Russia was forced to conduct military operations against Turkey and Bulgaria, which joined the Triple Alliance. 38 countries were drawn into the expanding funnel of bloody conflict. The side of the Entente was taken by Egypt and even the recent enemy of Russia - Japan. Italy did not show integrity, preferring national interests to allied duty. Having started the war on the side of the Triple Alliance, in its course she changed the direction of the bayonets of her soldiers.

Became participants in hostilities and other countries. The First World War, its four years, was enough to maim two tens of millions and kill ten million people. Particular attention should be paid to the ratio of human losses in the armies of the belligerent states. It is characteristic that with a rather large number of dead soldiers (Russia missed almost 1.7 million soldiers), this figure is less than that of the countries of the Triple Alliance. To whom did the First World War bring the most victims? The loss table looks like this:

The Russian army, despite the miscalculations of the command (any belligerent has always had and will have them), has demonstrated a fairly high efficiency. She did not allow enemy troops to penetrate deep into her territory and in many cases beat the enemy not with numbers, but with skill. And yet, for all the years of the First World War, not a single case of the transfer of Russian soldiers to the side of the enemy was recorded, not to mention the acquisition of regiments, divisions or armies from defectors. This simply could not be. In most cases, all sides of this armed international conflict showed nobility and generosity towards prisoners of war.

Positioning and readiness to attack

The Eastern Front of the First World War, like the Western Front, stabilized after 1915. The troops took up positions and were engaged in their strengthening, digging trenches and building fortified areas. At times there were attempts to break through, but neither powerful artillery preparation, nor the use of tanks, nor even poisonous chlorine helped to achieve success and enter the operational space. It was possible to do this only once in all the years of the First World War. The author of this victory was General Brusilov, who in the spring and early summer of 1916 planned and brilliantly carried out a breakthrough in the echeloned defense of the Austro-German troops on the Southwestern Front. The success was facilitated by the low morale of the enemy, skillful management and the successful concentration of Russian units. There were also miscalculations, in particular, the insufficient amount of reserves, which prevented the full use of the results of the strategic operation.

The sequence of hostilities in 1914-1918

Each year of the terrible war was characterized by a certain character of the strategic situation. In 1914, there was a certain dependence of the actions of the Russian Army and the armed forces of the Entente. Distracting part of the German and Austrian forces, they carried out a successful attack on Galicia.

1915 became a positional year, but the Germans nevertheless showed a certain initiative, they managed to capture Poland, part of Western Ukraine, the Baltic states and Belarus.

In 1916, there was a precarious balance that characterized the entire First World War at the final stage. The main direction of the blow of the German troops fell on France, in the Verdun region. again violated the plans of the countries of the Triple Alliance, they had to hastily transfer troops to the east in order to avoid a military catastrophe.

In 1917, Russia withdrew from the war, subsequently concluding (1918) with Germany and Austria-Hungary

The ending?

All troubles and catastrophes come to an end at some point. The First World War also ended. 1918 was the date when the guns fell silent. The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. The victors triumphed, they sought to take advantage of the situation in order to compensate for the material costs incurred during the hostilities, to punish Germany, to impose indemnities on it, to annex part of its territory. Russia did not participate in this process. The February Revolution of 1917, and then the October Revolution, demoralized the army, undermined the economy, and political considerations prompted the Bolshevik leadership to abandon certain regions of the Russian Empire in favor of other states or granting them sovereignty. The First World War, the participants of which signed a peace agreement, left many unresolved problems after its completion. Germany, the main enemy of the Entente, was defeated, humiliated and robbed, but the German people were left with a sense of injustice and resentment. A decade and a half later, a leader was found who managed to take advantage of these emotions, compressed like a spring. The Versailles agreements were annulled, and very little time passed before the moment when the French leadership had to capitulate in the very place where the First World War ended. A photo of a railway car from Kempien, in which a shameful peace for Germany was signed in 1918, will go around all the newspapers of the world.

But that's another story...

Plan
Introduction
1 The plans of the parties and the deployment of troops
1.1 The balance of power before the start of the war

2 Campaign of 1914: German invasion of Belgium and France
2.1 Border battle
2.2 Battle of the Marne
2.3 "Run to the sea"

3 Campaign of 1915: trench warfare
3.1 Gas attack
3.2 Dogfights
3.3 Further military action

4 Campaign of 1916: bleeding troops
4.1 Battle of Verdun
4.2 Battle of the Somme
4.2.1 Allied equipment and weaponry during the Battle of the Somme

4.3 Hindenburg Line

5 Campaign of 1917: Transfer of offensive initiative to the Allies
5.1 "Unlimited Submarine Warfare"
5.2 Nivelles offensive
5.3 Further hostilities
5.4 Battle of Cambrai

6 Campaign of 1918: Defeat of Germany
6.1 German offensive
6.2 Allied counteroffensive

7 Results of campaigns on the Western Front
8 In fiction
Bibliography
Western Front of World War I

Introduction

The Western Front is one of the fronts of the First World War (1914-1918).

This front covered the territory of Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace, Lorraine, the Rhine provinces of Germany, as well as the north-east of France. The length of the front from the Scheldt River to the Swiss border was 480 km, in depth - 500 km, from the Rhine to Calais. The western part of the theater of operations was a plain with an extensive road network, convenient for the operations of large military formations; the eastern part is predominantly mountainous (Ardennes, Argons, Vosges) limited the freedom of maneuver of troops. A feature of the Western Front was its industrial significance (coal mines, iron ore, developed manufacturing industry).

After the outbreak of war in 1914, the German army launched an invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg, then an offensive into France, seeking to capture important industrial regions of the country. In the Battle of Marne, the German troops were defeated, after which both sides fortified on the achieved lines, forming a positional front from the coast of the North Sea to the Franco-Swiss border.

In 1915-1917, several offensive operations were carried out. Heavy artillery and infantry were used in the fighting. However, field fortification systems, the use of machine guns, barbed wire and artillery inflicted serious losses on both attackers and defenders. As a result, there were no significant changes in the front line.

In their attempts to break through the front line, both sides used new military technologies: poison gases, aircraft, tanks. Despite the positional nature of the ongoing battles, the Western Front was of paramount importance for ending the war. The decisive Allied offensive in the fall of 1918 led to the defeat of the German army and the end of the First World War.

1. Plans of the parties and the deployment of troops

On the 250-kilometer stretch of the Franco-German border there was a system of French fortresses, which were of great strategic importance. The main strongholds of this system were the powerful fortresses of Verdun, Toul, Epinal and Belfort. To the west of this line was another strip of fortifications, in the area of ​​Dijon, Reims, Laon. In the center of the country was the fortified camp of Paris. There were also fortresses on the way from Paris to the Belgian border, but they were outdated and did not play a big strategic role.

The German command took the French fortifications on the Franco-German border very seriously, back in 1905, Schlieffen wrote:

France should be seen as a great fortress. In the outer belt of fortifications, the Belfort-Verdun section is almost impregnable ...

Also of great strategic importance were the Belgian fortresses: Liege, Namur, Antwerp.

On the territory of the German Empire there were fortresses: Metz, Strasbourg, Cologne, Mainz, Koblenz, etc. But these fortresses had no defensive value, since from the very first days of the war, the German command planned an invasion of enemy territory.

With the beginning of the mobilization, the parties began the transfer of troops to the deployment areas. The German command deployed 7 armies and 4 cavalry corps against France, up to 5,000 guns, in total, the grouping of German troops numbered 1,600,000 people. The German command planned to deliver a crushing blow to France through the territory of Belgium. However, despite the fact that all the main attention of the German command was focused on the invasion of Belgium, the Germans took all measures to prevent the French army advancing in Alsace-Lorraine from seizing this region.

The German troops were opposed by French, Belgian and British troops. The French army was deployed with five armies and one cavalry corps, with 4,000 guns. The number of French troops was 1,300,000. In connection with the offensive of the German army through the territory of Belgium to Paris, the French command had to abandon the “plan No. 17” envisaged before the war, which involved the capture of Alsace and Lorraine. In this regard, the final areas for the location of the French armies and their composition at the end of August differed significantly from those outlined by the mobilization "plan No. 17".

The Belgian army was deployed with six infantry and one cavalry divisions, with 312 guns. The number of Belgian troops amounted to 117 thousand people.

British troops landed in French ports as part of two infantry corps and one cavalry division. Only by August 20, British troops numbering 87 thousand people, with 328 guns, concentrated in the area of ​​​​Maubeuge, Le Cateau. It is worth noting that the allied forces did not have a unified command, which had the most negative effect on the actions of the Entente troops.

By the end of the deployment, the forces of the parties were approximately equal in number (1,600,000 German troops against 1,562,000 Allied troops). However, the strategic initiative was on the side of the Germans. Their deployed troops represented an almost closed concentrated force. The Allied troops had an unfortunate location. The front line of the French troops curved from Verdun to the northwest along the French-Belgian border and broke off at Irson. British troops were deployed in the Maubeuge area, the Belgian army had its own deployment area.

1.1. The balance of power before the start of the war

To implement the Schlieffen plan for the rapid defeat of France, Germany concentrated significant military forces on the border with France, Belgium and Luxembourg: seven armies were deployed (1st - 7th, 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions, up to 5 thousand guns) numbering about 1 million 600 thousand people under the command of Emperor Wilhelm II.

Allied armies:

French forces consisted of five armies (1st - 5th, 76 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions, more than 4 thousand guns) numbering about 1730 thousand people under the command of General Joseph Joffre;

· the Belgian army (six infantry and one cavalry division, 312 guns) numbering 117 thousand people under the command of King Albert I;

· British Expeditionary Army (4 infantry and 1.5 cavalry divisions, 328 guns) numbering 87 thousand people under the command of Field Marshal John French.

2. Campaign of 1914: German invasion of Belgium and France

Map of the 1914 campaign

In August 1914, the implementation of the adjusted Schlieffen plan began, which assumed a quick attack on France through Belgian territory, bypassing the French army from the north and encircling it near the border with Germany. On August 2, Luxembourg was occupied without resistance. On August 4, the German generals Alexander von Kluk and Carl von Bülow launched an invasion of Belgium, which rejected the demand for the passage of German troops through its territory.

The siege of Liege from 5-16 August was the first battle in Belgian territory. Liege covered the crossings across the Meuse River, so for a further offensive, the Germans had to capture the city. Liege was well fortified and was considered an impregnable fortress. However, on August 6, German troops captured the city itself and blocked the fortifications. On August 12, the Germans brought siege artillery and by August 13-14 the main forts of Lie fell, and the main streams of German troops poured deep into Belgium through the city, on August 16 the last fort was taken. The impregnable fortress fell.

On August 20, the 1st German Army entered Brussels, and the 2nd Army approached the fortress of Namur, and blocking it with several divisions, moved on to the Franco-Belgian border. The siege of Namur continued until 23 August.

The pre-war French "plan number 17" provided for the capture of Alsace and Lorraine. On August 7, the offensive of the 1st and 2nd armies began on the Saarburg in Lorraine and Mulhouse in Alsace. The French invaded German territory, but the Germans, pulling up reinforcements, drove them back.

2.1. border battle

After the capture of Belgium and Luxembourg, the German armies (1st, 2nd, 3rd) on August 20 reached the northern border of France, where they ran into the French 5th Army and several British divisions.

On August 21-25, the Border Battle took place - a series of battles, the main of which were the Ardennes (August 22-25), Sambro-Meuse (August 21-25), the operation at Mons (August 23-25). The border battle was one of the largest battles of the First World War, the total number of troops participating in it exceeded 2 million people.

In the Ardennes operation, the 3rd and 4th French armies were defeated by the 5th and 4th German armies, in the Sambro-Meuse operation and in the Mons operation, the British and the 5th French army were defeated by the 1st, 2nd 1st and 3rd German armies. On August 20-22, the 1st and 2nd French armies, which launched an offensive in Lorraine on August 14, were defeated by the 6th and 7th German armies.

German troops continued their offensive on Paris, winning at Le Cateau (August 26), Nel and Prouillard (August 28-29), Saint-Quentin and Giza (August 29-30), by September 5 they reached the Marne River. Meanwhile, the French formed the 6th and 9th armies, reinforcing their troops in this direction, and the Germans in August transferred two corps to East Prussia against the Russian army that invaded East Prussia.

From the very first days of the war, two fronts were formed in Europe - the Western (in Belgium and France) and the Eastern (against Russia). The Russian front was divided into Northwestern (from East Prussia to the Bug River) and Southwestern (from the Russian-Austrian border to the Prut River). The German headquarters proceeded from the idea of ​​"blitzkrieg" and the desire to defeat opponents one by one. At first, the defeat of France was planned. Austro-Hungarian troops were thrown against Russia from Galicia, between the Vistula and But. But Russia, at the request of the allies, began active operations in East Prussia, Poland and Galicia. Germany transferred a significant part of its troops from the Western Front, and the East Prussian operation was lost by Russia.

More successfully for Russia, battles unfolded on the Southwestern Front. For a month of intense fighting, the Russian army occupied the whole of Galicia. Austria-Hungary lost more than 400 thousand people and 400 guns. Thoroughly upset army rear, lack of ammunition, the German offensive in Poland forced the Russian command to stop the offensive. The main thing is that Germany's ally lost its combat capability for a long time.

However, in the spring and summer of 1915, taking advantage of the lull on the Western Front, the German armies concentrated and, surpassing the Russian troops 2.5 times in machine guns, 4.5 times in light and 40 times in heavy artillery, dozens of times in number shells on the gun, broke through the Eastern Front in Galicia. In early June, Russian troops left Lvov, and by the end of June, most of Galicia. In the northwestern direction in the Neman region, by mid-July, the Germans captured the sea fortress of Libava and approached Mitava. During July-August, Kovno, Vilna, Vilkomir, Svennyany, Mitava were taken.

After heavy fighting in 1914-1915. The Eastern Front stabilized along the Riga-Dvinsk-Smorgan-Baranovichi-Pinsk-Dubno line. Thus, Russia lost Poland, part of the Baltic States, Western Belarus and Ukraine. Russia's human losses amounted to 3.5 million people.

In March 1916, the Russian army launched an offensive in the southwestern direction, trying to weaken the fierce German attacks on the French Verdun. The successful breakthrough of the army of General A.A. Brusilov (included in military textbooks) led to the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian troops.

Germany was forced to transfer a mass of its troops to the Eastern Front. The Russian offensive saved the Italian army near Trentino from defeat, helped the defenders of Verdun, pushed Romania on August 27, 1916 to take the side of the Entente. The strategic initiative passed to the Entente. Germany and Austria-Hungary several times turned to Russia with a proposal to conclude a separate peace. The king hesitated.

In 1916, during the war, there was a turning point in favor of the Entente, but it was not possible to achieve a complete victory over the enemy. The forces of both sides were extremely exhausted. The Eastern Front remained the main theater of operations. The activity of the Russian troops was more profitable not for Russia, but for its allies.

The summer offensive of the Russians in the southwestern direction was not supported by the allies, the Russian armies were unable to develop it. In addition, the entry into the war of Romania, whose territory by December 1916 was almost completely occupied by Austro-German troops, had a negative effect on the general strategic position of Russia. This forced Russia to allocate a quarter of the active army to the secondary 500 km Romanian front. On the other hand, Russia's Western allies benefited from this, since actions against Romania diverted significant enemy forces - 20 divisions - from France and Italy.

During the hostilities of 1914-1916. the dependence of the allies on Russia was clearly manifested, which, regardless of the victims, carried out their instructions. In 1916, the Headquarters even sent several Russian brigades to France. Thus, Russia's participation in the World War was not an urgent need, since the socio-political situation in the country had stabilized, and most importantly, agrarian reform had begun. In addition, she was unprepared militarily. Military operations on the Eastern Front assumed more and more positional forms, exhausting and bleeding both sides.