🌹World War I Unit 4 – Eastern Front: Russia's Wartime Collapse

Key Players and Pre-War Context

• Russia entered World War I under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II who had been in power since 1894
• Russia was a vast empire spanning from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean with a population of over 150 million people
• Russia had a rapidly growing economy in the early 20th century driven by industrialization and foreign investment
• Russia formed the Triple Entente alliance with France and Britain in the years leading up to the war to counter the growing power of Germany and Austria-Hungary
• Russia's military was the largest in Europe with over 1.4 million men in the standing army and millions more in the reserves
  • However, the Russian military was poorly equipped and trained compared to other European powers
  • Russia had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 exposing weaknesses in its military
• Ethnic tensions simmered within the Russian Empire with many non-Russian minorities (Poles, Finns, Ukrainians) seeking greater autonomy or independence
• Political opposition to the Tsarist regime was growing with liberal, socialist, and revolutionary movements gaining support among the educated classes and urban workers

Outbreak of War on the Eastern Front

• Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914 by declaring war on Austria-Hungary in response to its invasion of Serbia, a Russian ally in the Balkans
• Germany, allied with Austria-Hungary, declared war on Russia on August 1 opening a second front in the east
• Russia's war plan, known as Plan 19, called for a rapid invasion of East Prussia, the heartland of German militarism
  • Russia hoped to knock Germany out of the war quickly by striking deep into its territory
  • However, Russia's mobilization was slow and its forces were not fully prepared for a major offensive
• Russia also faced a second front against Austria-Hungary in Galicia, a region of modern-day Poland and Ukraine
• The Russian invasion of East Prussia ended in disaster at the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914 where German forces under Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff encircled and destroyed the Russian Second Army
• In Galicia, Russian forces had more success initially, defeating Austrian troops and occupying the regional capital of Lemberg (Lviv) in September 1914
• However, by the end of 1914, the war on the Eastern Front had settled into a stalemate with both sides dug into trenches stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathian Mountains

Major Battles and Campaigns

• The Eastern Front saw some of the largest and bloodiest battles of World War I as Russian and German forces clashed in a series of offensives and counter-offensives
• Key battles included:
  • Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914): German victory that destroyed a Russian army in East Prussia
  • Siege of Przemyśl (September 1914-March 1915): Russian forces captured the Austro-Hungarian fortress city after a lengthy siege
  • Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive (May-September 1915): German and Austro-Hungarian forces broke through Russian lines in Galicia, forcing a massive Russian retreat
  • Brusilov Offensive (June-September 1916): Russian offensive that inflicted heavy losses on Austro-Hungarian forces but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough
  • Kerensky Offensive (July 1917): Failed Russian offensive that led to mass desertions and mutinies in the Russian army
• The Eastern Front was characterized by wide-ranging movements of armies across vast distances, unlike the more static trench warfare on the Western Front
• Cavalry played a larger role on the Eastern Front than in the west, with mounted troops used for reconnaissance, raiding, and pursuit
• The Eastern Front also saw the first use of poison gas as a weapon when German forces deployed chlorine gas against Russian positions at Bolimów in January 1915

Russian Military Strategies and Challenges

• Russia's military strategy on the Eastern Front was shaped by its vast size, limited transportation infrastructure, and the need to defend a long frontier
• Russia initially sought to take the offensive against Germany and Austria-Hungary, hoping to knock them out of the war quickly
  • However, Russia's offensives often outran their supply lines and left them vulnerable to counterattack
  • Russia's invasion of East Prussia in August 1914 ended in disaster at the Battle of Tannenberg
• After 1915, Russia adopted a more defensive posture, seeking to hold its ground and wear down the enemy through attrition
  • However, this strategy put a heavy strain on Russia's economy and society as the war dragged on
• Russia faced numerous challenges in waging war on the Eastern Front:
  • Its transportation network of roads and railways was underdeveloped, making it difficult to move troops and supplies quickly
  • Its industrial base was smaller than that of Germany, limiting its ability to produce weapons and ammunition
  • Its army was poorly equipped, with many soldiers lacking basic items like boots and rifles
  • Its officer corps was often incompetent and corrupt, leading to poor leadership and low morale among the troops
• Russia's military was also divided by ethnic and political tensions, with many soldiers from minority groups (Ukrainians, Poles, Muslims) distrusting or resenting their Russian officers
• As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, Russia's military began to disintegrate, with mass desertions, mutinies, and revolutionary agitation spreading among the ranks

Impact on Russian Society and Economy

• World War I had a profound impact on Russian society and economy, ultimately leading to the collapse of the Tsarist regime and the rise of the Bolsheviks
• The war placed a heavy burden on Russia's economy, as the government diverted resources from civilian to military production
  • Food and fuel shortages became common in cities as supplies were requisitioned for the army
  • Inflation soared as the government printed money to finance the war effort, eroding the value of wages and savings
• The war also disrupted Russia's social fabric, as millions of men were conscripted into the army and sent to fight on the front lines
  • Women were forced to take on new roles in factories, farms, and offices to replace the men who had gone to war
  • Family life was disrupted as husbands, fathers, and sons were separated from their loved ones for years at a time
• The war exposed and exacerbated the deep inequalities and injustices of Russian society
  • Peasants and workers bore the brunt of the war's hardships while the wealthy and privileged often escaped the worst effects
  • Ethnic minorities faced discrimination and persecution, with Jews and Germans targeted as "enemy aliens"
• As the war dragged on and conditions worsened, popular discontent with the Tsarist regime grew
  • Strikes, protests, and riots broke out in cities across Russia, as workers demanded better wages and living conditions
  • Soldiers and sailors mutinied against their officers, refusing to fight or even turning their weapons against the government
• The war ultimately undermined the legitimacy and authority of the Tsarist state, paving the way for the revolutions of 1917 that would topple the monarchy and usher in a new era of Soviet rule

Political Upheaval and Revolution

• The strains of World War I on Russian society and economy ultimately led to the collapse of the Tsarist regime and the rise of revolutionary forces
• In February 1917, mass protests and strikes in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the formation of a provisional government
  • The provisional government, led by liberal and moderate socialist politicians, sought to continue the war effort while also introducing democratic reforms
  • However, the government faced opposition from more radical groups like the Bolsheviks who called for an immediate end to the war and the establishment of a socialist state
• In April 1917, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, returned to Russia from exile and began agitating for a second revolution to overthrow the provisional government
  • Lenin argued that the war was an imperialist conflict that only served the interests of the capitalist class and that Russia should withdraw immediately
  • He also called for the redistribution of land to the peasants and the nationalization of industry under worker control
• Throughout 1917, the Bolsheviks gained support among soldiers, workers, and peasants who were disillusioned with the provisional government and the war
  • The Bolsheviks organized a network of soviets (councils) in cities and towns across Russia to challenge the authority of the government
  • In July, the Bolsheviks attempted an uprising in Petrograd but were suppressed by government forces
• In October 1917, the Bolsheviks launched a second, successful revolution, seizing power from the provisional government in Petrograd and Moscow
  • The Bolsheviks, now renamed the Communist Party, established a new government based on the soviets and began implementing radical socialist policies
  • They also signed an armistice with Germany in December 1917, ending Russia's participation in World War I and ceding large amounts of territory in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Collapse of the Russian War Effort

• The collapse of the Russian war effort on the Eastern Front was a gradual process that accelerated in 1917 with the outbreak of revolution and the Bolshevik seizure of power
• By 1917, the Russian army was in a state of crisis, with widespread desertions, mutinies, and a breakdown of discipline and morale
  • Soldiers were poorly equipped and supplied, often lacking basic necessities like food, clothing, and ammunition
  • Many soldiers had lost faith in the war effort and the Tsarist regime, seeing the conflict as a pointless slaughter that only served the interests of the ruling class
• The February Revolution of 1917, which overthrew the Tsar and established a provisional government, further undermined the Russian war effort
  • The provisional government sought to continue the war, but faced opposition from soldiers and workers who demanded an end to the conflict
  • The government's decision to launch a new offensive in July 1917 (the Kerensky Offensive) ended in disaster, with mass desertions and mutinies among the troops
• The Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 marked the final collapse of the Russian war effort
  • The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, had long opposed the war and called for an immediate peace with Germany
  • Upon seizing power, the Bolsheviks signed an armistice with Germany in December 1917, ending Russia's participation in the war
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918, formalized Russia's withdrawal from the war and its surrender of vast amounts of territory to Germany and Austria-Hungary
  • The treaty was a humiliating defeat for Russia, which lost control of Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states, and other regions
  • The treaty also allowed Germany to shift its forces from the Eastern Front to the Western Front, changing the balance of power in the war
• The collapse of the Russian war effort had far-reaching consequences for the course of World War I and the future of Europe
  • It allowed Germany to focus its resources on the Western Front, prolonging the war and increasing the scale of destruction and loss of life
  • It also created the conditions for the rise of the Soviet Union and the spread of communist revolution across Europe and Asia in the years following the war

Consequences for the War and Beyond

• The collapse of the Russian war effort on the Eastern Front had significant consequences for the course of World War I and the future of Europe and the world
• In the short term, Russia's withdrawal from the war allowed Germany to shift its forces from the east to the west, changing the balance of power on the Western Front
  • Germany launched a massive offensive in the spring of 1918, hoping to win the war before American troops could arrive in large numbers
  • While the German offensive initially made significant gains, it ultimately failed and the Allies were able to counterattack and push the Germans back
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russia's participation in the war, also had far-reaching consequences
  • The treaty forced Russia to surrender vast amounts of territory to Germany and Austria-Hungary, including Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states
  • This created a power vacuum in Eastern Europe that would be filled by the rise of nationalist and revolutionary movements in the years following the war
• The Bolshevik Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union also had profound consequences for the future of Europe and the world
  • The Soviet Union became a global superpower and a rival to the capitalist West, leading to the Cold War and decades of ideological and geopolitical conflict
  • The success of the Bolshevik Revolution also inspired communist and socialist movements around the world, leading to the spread of revolution and the establishment of communist regimes in countries like China, Cuba, and Vietnam
• The collapse of the Russian Empire and the rise of the Soviet Union also had significant consequences for the peoples of the former Russian Empire
  • The Soviet Union brutally suppressed nationalist and separatist movements within its borders, leading to decades of conflict and repression in regions like Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia
  • The Soviet Union also imposed a totalitarian system of government that denied basic freedoms and human rights to its citizens, leading to widespread suffering and oppression
• The legacy of the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union continues to shape the world today, from the ongoing conflicts in the former Soviet republics to the ideological and geopolitical divisions that define much of global politics
• The collapse of the Russian war effort in World War I was a pivotal moment in history that had far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for Europe, Asia, and the world