In general, 1916 can be characterized as a year of a noticeable decrease in the military power of the Central Powers in comparison with the Entente, which already predetermined the fate of the war in favor of the latter. The forces of the Central Powers were depleted in an incomparably greater proportion compared to the forces of the Entente. The former had no sources of replenishment, while the latter were still in abundance.

The Germans began and ended this year with two operations of an offensive nature - near Verdun and in Rumania. The operations did not give positive results, they only exhausted manpower and resources, and in Rumania they ended in a spectacular rush forward, finally dispersing the German forces and making them weak at the main point of the struggle, namely on the Somme. In all other operations - on the Russian front, on the Isonzo, on the Somme - the Central Powers managed to keep the armies of the Entente from developing broad operations, but everywhere their front received noticeable cracks and no longer had the strength to respond to the maneuver with a counter-manoeuvre, and had to be limited only to defense .

The operations of this year, conceived with a broad strategic concept, turned out, with the exception of the Rumanian, primarily into a tactical struggle, into a struggle of attrition. Of all the broad plans of the Germans near Verdun, the French on the Somme, the Russians near Lutsk, the Austrians at Trentino and the Italians at the Isonzo, nothing came of it, and the battles that cost millions of victims resulted exclusively in tactical actions, preserving the same external strategic situation as it was. was at the beginning of the year.

But if from the outside, in the territorial sense, this was the case, then in a covert form, in the broad sense of strategy as the combat power of the warring parties, the powers of the Central Union were so exhausted that they could no longer count on under the prevailing conditions to undertake an offensive operation on any from the fronts. To do this, they had to look for new ways, and they were found in connection with the Russian revolution, which entered the calculations of the German General Staff as a definite operational given. The Central Powers expected salvation only with the withdrawal of Russia from the line, but this withdrawal could no longer be achieved on the battlefields. Verdun, Somma and Lutsk finally exhausted the forces of the Austro-Germans.

On the part of the Entente, 1916 gave more than previous years examples of combined actions of the armies of various powers, but this combination was not enough, and in relation to Romania, the Entente gave a high example of military-political discord. Unified management in the form of conferences in Chantilly did not stand the test, as was to be expected.

The Central Powers fared better. Hindenburg almost succeeded in seizing all the fullness of operational power, but the death at the end of the year of the old Austrian emperor and the accession to the throne of the young Charles again led to the excessive independence of the Austrian ally.

1916 brought into the arena a new datum, which was relatively little taken into account in the preceding years of the war. This is the moral exhaustion of those nations that suffered most from the war or saw its aimlessness, and, as a consequence of this, the aggravation of the class struggle in them.

Wealth in artillery, in technology and in all economic prerequisites is gradually going over to the side of the Anglo-French and makes the fight against them unsuccessful for Germany in the future. The only hope of the latter to establish a balance was the unlimited conduct of submarine warfare, which Germany, for political reasons, did not risk resorting to until 1917.

The battles near Verdun, on the Somme, and partly on the Russian front, showed the difficulty of getting into a maneuverable space during a positional war. This is preceded by a long and systematic struggle to exhaust all the forces and means of the opposing side. On the Somme, this struggle lasted until November, when the Germans, due to the Romanian operation, exhausted all means of struggle there. The exit for the Anglo-French for maneuver was almost open, but they did not have timely concentrated forces for the last onslaught. Somma and Romania are two opposite poles of modern military art.

The operations of 1916 revealed the importance of: 1) aviation air supremacy, 2) the use of chemical projectiles, 3) tanks as a powerful means of attack, 4) large-scale road transport.

At the same time, the organization of a defensive operation begins to take clear forms: 1) a fortified zone 15-20 km deep consisting of 2-3 fortification lines is considered the basis of defense, 2) the first zone is poorly engaged, and 3) defense is considered as a maneuver by operational reserves.

In general, 1916 was a year of turning point, which undermined the military power of the Central Powers at the root and, on the contrary, brought the forces of the Entente to a culminating development. It was the year that determined the future victory of the Entente. The year that finally revealed that the peoples, not the armies, are waging war. The question of propaganda, of influencing the entire mass of the people in the cause of war, is part of the work of Ludendorff's operational headquarters, under which at the end of 1916 a special department of propaganda is organized.

The general situation of the past year clearly showed the Central Powers that they had lost the war, and therefore in December they made an attempt to start peace negotiations, but set conditions that did not at all correspond to the balance of forces on both sides, and therefore this attempt did not resonate with the Entente powers.

The main event of the 1916 campaign was the Battle of Verdun. It is considered the longest battle of the First World War (it lasted from February 21 to December 18, 1916) and very bloody. Therefore, it received another name: "Verdun meat grinder."

At Verdun, the German strategic plan collapsed. What was this plan?

In the 1915 campaign, Germany did not achieve significant success on the Eastern Front, so the German command decided in 1916 to withdraw France from the war, inflicting the main blow in the west. It was planned to cut off the Verdun ledge with powerful flank attacks, surround the entire Verdun enemy grouping, create a gap in the Allied defenses, and through it strike the flank and rear of the central French armies and defeat the entire Allied front.

But after the Verdun operation, as well as after the Battle of the Somme, it became clear that the military potential of Germany began to deplete, and the forces of the Entente - to increase.

Battle of Verdun

From the history of the Verdun fortress

After the German annexation of Alsace and part of Lorraine in 1871, Verdun turned into a frontier military fortress. During the First World War, the Germans failed to capture Verdun, but the city was almost completely destroyed by artillery fire. In the vicinity of the city, where the main battles took place, Germany used a powerful artillery strike using flamethrowers and poison gases, as a result of which 9 French villages were wiped off the face of the earth. The battles at Verdun and its environs made the city a household name, denoting a senseless massacre.

Back in the 17th century The Verdun underground citadel Suterren was planned. Its construction was completed in 1838. One kilometer of its underground galleries was turned in 1916 into an invulnerable command center, in which there were 10 thousand French soldiers. Now, in some of the galleries there is a museum exposition, which, with the help of light and sound, reproduces the Verdun massacre of 1916. Infrared glasses are needed to view part of the exposition. There are exhibits related to the history of these places during the First World War.

The front section was small, only 15 km. But Germany concentrated 6.5 divisions on it against 2 French divisions. There was also a struggle for superiority in the airspace: at first, only German bombers and spotters operated in it, but by May, France was able to deploy a squadron of Nieuport fighters.

Before the First World War, this firm produced racing aircraft, but during and after the war it began to produce fighters. Many Entente pilots flew on the company's fighters, including the French ace Georges Guynemer.

The course of the battle

After a massive 8-hour artillery preparation, the German troops went on the offensive on the right bank of the Meuse River. The German infantry from the shock group was built in one echelon. The divisions consisted of two regiments in the first line and one regiment in the second. The battalions were built in echelons in depth. Each battalion created three chains advancing at a distance of 80-100 m. Scouts and assault groups, consisting of two or three infantry squads, reinforced with grenade launchers, machine guns and flamethrowers, moved ahead of the first chain.

Despite a powerful performance, the German troops met stubborn resistance. During the first day of the offensive, the German troops advanced 2 km, taking the first position of the French. Further, Germany led the offensive in the same way: first, during the day, the artillery destroyed the next position, and by the evening the infantry occupied it. By February 25, almost all of their forts had been lost to the French, and the important Fort of Duamont was also taken. But the French desperately resisted: along the only highway connecting Verdun with the rear, they transferred troops from other sectors of the front on 6,000 vehicles, delivering about 190,000 soldiers and 25,000 tons of military supplies by March 6. Thus, the French superiority in manpower was formed here by almost one and a half times. Great assistance to France was provided by the actions of the Russian troops on the Eastern Front: the Naroch operation eased the position of the French troops.

Naroch operation

After the start of the German offensive near Verdun, the commander-in-chief of the French army, Joffre, turned to the Russian command with a request to inflict a distracting blow on the Germans. The general offensive of the Entente was planned for May 1916, but the Russian Headquarters complied with the request of the ally and decided to conduct an offensive operation on the northern wing of the Western Front in March. On February 24, the meeting at Headquarters decided to deliver a strong blow to the German armies, gathering for this the largest possible forces. The commander-in-chief of the armies of the Western Front at that time was the Russian Adjutant General Alexei Ermolaevich Evert.

After artillery preparation, which lasted two days, the Russian troops went on the offensive. The 2nd Army south of Lake Naroch penetrated the defenses of the 10th German Army for 2-9 km.

The enemy could hardly hold back the fierce attacks of the Russian troops. But the Germans pulled up significant forces to the offensive area and repelled the Russian offensive.

During the Naroch operation, 17-year-old Evgenia Vorontsova, a volunteer of the 3rd Siberian Rifle Regiment, performed her feat. She inspired the entire regiment with her example, led him, infecting with her enthusiasm, into the attack. During this attack, she died. The Russian and German armies suffered heavy losses.

The German command decided that the Russians had launched a general offensive and were ready to break through the German defenses, and stopped attacks on Verdun for two weeks. In fact, this operation was a distraction, in the summer the German command expected the main blow on its front, and the Russian carried out the Brusilovsky breakthrough on the Austrian front, which brought tremendous success and put Austria-Hungary on the brink of military defeat.

But first there was the Baranovichi operation, which was also headed by A.E. Evert.

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 military operations 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.

In January 1917, the Russian army met its third military year on a huge front that stretched from the Baltic and the Black Sea through Asia Minor to Persia. The state of the army - from headquarters to the trenches - has undergone drastic changes during the war years.

In 1914, the plans of the general staffs of all the great powers were based on the strategy of crushing, the war was not supposed to become protracted. But after the failure of the “victory before Christmas” idea, the fate of the world conflict was most determined by the blockade. In fact, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia stayed in it. Both the Central Powers and their enemy (the Entente) were faced with the task of breaking through to the ally, or at least breaking out of the enemy's ring. And a battle won in a secondary direction could become a guarantee of victory in the main one.

Russian front in the first half of 1916

At the beginning of 1916, three Russian fronts - Northern, Western and Southwestern - stretching for 1200 km from the Gulf of Riga to the Romanian border, consisted of 11 armies, approximately 1 million 732 thousand bayonets and cavalry. The strongest on the Northern Front were 13 corps and 7-8 cavalry divisions (about 470 thousand bayonets per 340 km); on the West - 23 corps and 5-7 cavalry divisions (about 750 thousand bayonets per 450 km). Thus, in the Petrograd and Moscow directions, where the Russian troops were mainly opposed by the Germans, 1 million 220 thousand bayonets and sabers, 36 corps and 15 cavalry divisions were concentrated. These troops were in those areas where fighting was actively going on in the last campaign: on the Riga bridgehead - 3 corps, near Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Lithuania) - 4, in the Sventsyansky direction - 9 and in Vilna - 7 corps.

Romania's entry into the war

In the second half of 1916, a situation of precarious equilibrium arose on the fronts of the world war, which sharply increased the stakes of Romania, which since 1914 had been looking closely at which side to join. Bucharest bargained frantically with the Quadruple Alliance and the Entente on the terms of its withdrawal from neutrality. In the summer of 1916, the option was considered with the opening by the Romanians of a passage through the Carpathians for the Russian army in order to go to the rear of the Austrians. In the end, the decision was made, and on the night of August 27, 1916, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary. Bucharest hoped to maintain peace with Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey. But completely in vain.

10 active and 10 reserve Romanian divisions were poorly trained and supplied. The Romanian command did not want to coordinate their actions with the Russian ally, but preferred to act independently. Soon the Romanian army was defeated. On December 5, the mayor of Bucharest, accompanied by the American ambassador, went out to meet the Germans. After waiting for 2 hours, but without waiting for anyone, they returned to the city, where German troops were already marching.

Thus, by the end of 1916, in addition to the three Russian fronts that opposed Germany and Austria-Hungary, a fourth was added - Romanian, which absorbed almost all the reserves of the Russian Headquarters - 37 infantry and 8 cavalry divisions. The European front of Russia has increased by about 500 km. If at the beginning of 1916 about 70% of the Russian forces were in the north-western direction, north of the Pripyat marshes, then by the end of the year there was a significant shift to the south. Now about 43% of the entire army in the European theater of operations was located south of Polesie.

Russian troops were opposed by 136 infantry and 20 cavalry divisions of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. Military operations were going on in the Balkans, the Thessaloniki front, in Mesopotamia and Palestine.

The state of the Russian army

The Russian army met its first campaign in almost the same way as its opponents in this war, that is, loyal to its commanders, set up for the offensive and ready for a short-term and decisive battle with the enemy. The mobilization was generally successful and gave the command a mechanism ready for action. War Minister V. A. Sukhomlinov proudly recalled: "These were troops loyal to duty and oath." However, those 4.5 million people who became under arms when mobilization was announced in 1914 were practically out of order by the beginning of the revolution.

However, the imperial army had not only advantages, but also obvious shortcomings. One of the obvious ones is the low level of cultural development of the fighters. She was generally inferior to opponents and allies both in quality and quantity. For comparison: in 1907, for 5 thousand recruits of the German army, there was only 1 illiterate, English - 50, French - 175, Austro-Hungarian - 1100 and Italian - 1535 illiterate soldiers. The recruitment of 1908 gave the Russian army only 52% of literate soldiers. Such a composition was fraught with considerable danger, especially against the backdrop of anti-war propaganda in the rear.

Important for maintaining the combat capability of the troops was not only the level of training of the cadre army, but also the continuity of the fighting spirit. The units that went to the front quickly demanded reinforcements. However, often there was no full replacement. Major General K. L. Gilchevsky noted: “The priority regiments took care of their hidden personnel very little. They considered their mobilization a secondary matter and, mobilizing themselves, took all the best from the personnel, weapons, equipment, and so on. The reserve contingent consisted of elderly soldiers who were even in the Japanese war. The mood was not fighting. Military order was poorly observed. Most of the officers treated their own indifferently. All this weakened the Russian army, the combat effectiveness of such units directly depended on the number of regular officers, who did not increase over time.

At the end of 1916, General V. I. Gurko, who temporarily replaced M. V. Alekseev as chief of staff of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander, carried out a reform, the meaning of which was to increase the number of Russian divisions. The number of battalions in the Russian division was reduced from 16 to 12 due to the allocation of the fourth battalion to the regiment when it was transferred to a three-battalion structure. The new division thus received a more flexible and mobile structure, the new corps - the third division, and the army - 48 of these new consolidated divisions. At the same time, front-line officers merged with reserve personnel. Though reasonable on paper, this measure proved far from successful in practice. With few and, moreover, weakened personnel, the natural reaction of the commanders to the reform was the desire to preserve everything that was most valuable and to get rid of the unnecessary.

The morale of the troops and rear

The events that took place at the front did not evoke a sense of danger in the rear of the country. For its capitals, the war was still distant. In Petrograd, unlike Paris, German guns were not heard, Moscow was not bombed by zeppelins, like London. The threat was not as real as in France and England, so that the army and the rear did not live a single life. Society, expecting a victorious end to the war, needed to be given explanations for military failures. The reasons for the defeats lay, as it turned out, in the machinations of traitors and spies. The military prosecutor, Colonel R. R. von Raupach, recalled: “... Processes of treason began to pour out of the Headquarters in a wave after each major military failure ... A general belief was artificially created that the highest command staff with Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich and his chief of staff, General Yanushkevich, headed not could be responsible for failures when they were surrounded by treason and betrayal.

Rumors, like rust, corroded the trust of the army and the country to the top, and the lack of visible achievements in the war accelerated the growth of discontent in society and unwillingness to defend the monarchy. At this moment, the weak motivation for Russia's participation in the war manifested itself as never before. On February 12, 1916, V. M. Purishkevich declared in the Duma: “War was sometimes the mother of revolution, but every time a revolution was born in the throes of war, it was the fruit of the disappointment of the people in the ability of their government to protect the country from the enemy.” By the end of 1916 - the beginning of 1917, not only the circle of the emperor, but also himself, and especially the empress, were accused of treason.

Petrograd Allied Conference 1917

In Russia, the 1917 campaign did not promise fresh and original solutions. The front commanders offered to repeat the offensive, each in his own direction. “It was a period,” recalled General A. S. Lukomsky, “when the nature of the positional struggle, expressed primarily in the cordon system and the desire to be strong enough in all directions, suppressed the mind and will of the senior command staff.” Small reserves were pulled apart in different sectors of the front. In this situation, the success of the offensive planned for 1917 depended entirely on the formation of a combat-ready reserve. And additional parts, in turn, were unthinkable without an increase in the artillery fleet.

The last attempt to get out of this impasse was made at the beginning of 1917: on February 1, official meetings of the Petrograd Inter-Allied Conference began in the building of the Russian Foreign Ministry. From the very beginning, disagreements arose over the direction and timing of the combined offensive. The Russian side sought to link these decisions with military supplies. Already at the first meeting, V. I. Gurko, opening the conference, called for the pooling of resources and coordination of actions.

But there was no need to talk about a deep analysis of the military situation. The idea of ​​crushing Germany along the shortest strategic path arose again. When discussing plans for 1917, French General Noel de Castelnau suggested that the war should end this year and the planned operations should be decisive. As a result, the following decision was made: "The campaign of 1917 must be conducted with the highest tension and using all available means in order to create a situation in which the decisive success of the Allies would be beyond any doubt." The conference participants agreed on simultaneous strikes on the Western, Eastern and Italian fronts.

The Russian army was preparing an offensive on the Southwestern Front, turned against Austria-Hungary. The Allies believed that in March-April 1917 their armies as a whole would be ready for the offensive. Chief of Staff of the Stavka V. I. Gurko believed that the Russian front would not be able to advance until the reorganization that had begun was completed, and that before May 1 (according to the new style), the army would not be able to conduct major operations. In the event that the Allies do this, she will be forced to confine herself to secondary operations in order to keep the Austro-German forces in place.

The state of the army could be considered combat-ready, its reserves amounted to 1.9 million people, and the call of 1917 was supposed to add another 600 thousand recruits to this. The situation with the quality of these replacements, especially reserve officers, was somewhat worse. “Six-week training ensigns are no good,” one of the front-line soldiers noted. - As officers, they are illiterate, like youngsters whose milk has not dried on their lips, they are not authoritative for the soldiers. They may die heroically, but they cannot fight intelligently.”

In 1917 the old cadre army, which bore the brunt of the struggle against the revolution in 1905-1907, was gone. On January 20, 1917, the representative of British military intelligence in Petrograd, Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Hoare, sent to London his analysis of the current situation in Russia and possible ways out of it: “In my opinion, three scenarios are possible. The Duma or the army may proclaim a Provisional Government. I myself do not think that this will happen, although these events are much closer than one can imagine (emphasis added - O.A.). Secondly, the emperor can retreat, as he did in 1906 when the Duma was installed. Third, things can continue to drift from bad to worse, which is what is happening now. The second and third alternatives seem to me the most possible, and of these two, in my opinion, the third is the most probable.

The revolution thundered in a month ...

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 Bosporus 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
United Kingdom
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
United Kingdom
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 the 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, sending 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 Party Congress, the Bolsheviks signed the Decree "On Peace", in fact declaring Russia's withdrawal from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. 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 winners themselves determine the amount of these reparations 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