The Russian command entered 1915 with the firm intention of completing the victorious offensive of its troops in Galicia.

There were stubborn battles for mastering the Carpathian passes and the Carpathian ridge. On March 22, after a six-month siege, Przemysl capitulated with its 127,000-strong garrison of Austro-Hungarian troops. But the Russian troops failed to reach the Hungarian plain.

In 1915, Germany and its allies sent the main blow against Russia, hoping to defeat her and withdraw her from the war. By mid-April, the German command managed to transfer the best combat-ready corps from the Western Front, which, together with the Austro-Hungarian troops, formed a new shock 11th army under the command of the German General Mackensen.

Having concentrated on the main direction of the counteroffensive troops, twice the strength of the Russian troops, pulling up artillery, numerically superior to the Russian by 6 times, and by heavy guns by 40 times, the Austro-German army on May 2, 1915 broke through the front in the Gorlitsa area.

Under the pressure of the Austro-German troops, the Russian army retreated from the Carpathians and Galicia with heavy fighting, left Przemysl at the end of May, and surrendered Lvov on June 22. Then, in June, the German command, intending to pincer the Russian troops fighting in Poland, launched strikes with its right wing between the Western Bug and the Vistula, and with its left wing in the lower reaches of the Narew River. But here, as in Galicia, the Russian troops, who did not have enough weapons, ammunition and equipment, retreated with heavy fighting.

By mid-September 1915, the offensive initiative of the German army was exhausted. The Russian army entrenched itself on the front line: Riga - Dvinsk - Lake Naroch - Pinsk - Ternopil - Chernivtsi, and by the end of 1915 the Eastern Front stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Romanian border. Russia has lost a vast territory, but retained its forces, although since the beginning of the war, the Russian army by this time had lost about 3 million people in manpower, of which about 300 thousand were killed.

At a time when the Russian armies were waging a tense unequal war with the main forces of the Austro-German coalition, Russia's allies - England and France - on the Western Front throughout 1915 organized only a few private military operations that were not significant. In the midst of the bloody battles on the Eastern Front, when the Russian army was fighting heavy defensive battles, the Anglo-French allies did not launch an offensive on the Western Front. On this occasion, Russian newspapers wrote that England was ready to fight to the last drop of the Russian soldier's blood. It was adopted only at the end of September 1915, when the offensive operations of the German army on the Eastern Front had already ceased.

The pangs of conscience from ingratitude towards Russia were felt very belatedly by Lloyd George. In his memoirs, he later wrote: "History will present its account to the military command of France and England, which in its selfish obstinacy doomed its Russian comrades in arms to death, while England and France could so easily save the Russians and thus would help themselves best ".

Having received a territorial gain on the Eastern Front, the German command, however, did not achieve the main thing - it did not force the tsarist government to conclude a separate peace with Germany, although half of all the armed forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary were concentrated against Russia.

In the same 1915, Germany tried to deal a crushing blow to England. For the first time, she made extensive use of a relatively new weapon - submarines, in order to prevent the supply of necessary raw materials and food to England. Hundreds of ships were destroyed, their crews and passengers perished. The indignation of the neutral countries forced Germany not to sink passenger ships without warning. England, by increasing and accelerating the construction of ships, as well as developing effective measures to combat submarines, overcame the danger hanging over her.

In the spring of 1915, for the first time in the history of wars, Germany used one of the most inhuman weapons - poisonous substances, but this ensured only tactical success.

Failure befell Germany in the diplomatic struggle. The Entente promised Italy more than Germany and Austria-Hungary, which clashed with Italy in the Balkans, could promise. In May 1915, Italy declared war on them and diverted some of the troops of Austria-Hungary and Germany.

This failure was only partly offset by the fact that in the fall of 1915 the Bulgarian government entered the war against the Entente. As a result, the Quadruple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria was formed. The immediate consequence of this was the offensive of the German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops against Serbia. The small Serbian army resisted heroically, but was crushed by superior enemy forces. The troops of England, France, Russia and the remnants of the Serbian army sent to help the Serbs formed the Balkan Front.

As the war dragged on, the countries participating in the Entente grew suspicious and distrustful of each other. According to a secret agreement between Russia and the allies in 1915, in the event of a victorious end to the war, Constantinople and the straits were to go to Russia. Fearing the implementation of this agreement, on the initiative of Winston Churchill, under the pretext of attacking the straits and Constantinople, allegedly to undermine the communications of the German coalition with Turkey, the Dardanelles expedition was undertaken with the aim of occupying Constantinople.

On February 19, 1915, the Anglo-French fleet began shelling the Dardanelles. However, having suffered heavy losses, the Anglo-French squadron stopped the bombardment of the Dardanelles fortifications a month later.

On the Transcaucasian front, in the summer of 1915, Russian troops, having repelled the offensive of the Turkish army in the Alashkert direction, launched a counteroffensive. At the same time, the German-Turkish troops intensified military operations in Iran. Based on the uprising of the Bakhtiar tribes provoked by German agents in Iran, Turkish troops began to move towards the oil fields, and by the fall of 1915 they occupied Kermanshah and Hamadan. But soon the arriving British troops pushed back the Turks and the Bakhtiars from the oil fields, and restored the oil pipeline destroyed by the Bakhtiars.

The task of clearing Iran from the Turkish-German troops fell on the Russian expeditionary force of General Baratov, who landed in October 1915 in Anzali. Pursuing the German-Turkish troops, Baratov's detachments occupied Qazvin, Hamadan, Qom, Kashin and approached Isfahan.

During the winter of 1914/15, the attention of both opponents was shifted to the Galician front, where Russian troops fought stubborn battles for mastering the Carpathian passes and the Carpathian ridge. On March 22, Przemysl capitulated with its 120,000-strong garrison of Austro-Hungarian troops. But the Russian troops could no longer develop this success. There was an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially shells. The enemy command, greatly concerned about the threat of an invasion of Russian troops beyond the Carpathians, managed to concentrate large forces. In mid-April, the exhausted Russian armies went on the defensive.

Soon the German troops undertook a major operation on the right wing of the Russian Southwestern Front. Its initial goal, according to the German command, was to eliminate the threat of an invasion of Russian troops on the plains of Hungary, but subsequently the operation developed as an integral part of the strategic "pincers" that were supposed to embrace and crush the entire Russian grouping with a simultaneous strike from the Carpathians and from East Prussia troops in Galicia and Poland. The best corps were transferred from the Western European fronts, and a new, 11th German army was formed from them. It was decided to break through the Russian front in the Gorlitsa area. The German artillery in the breakthrough sector outnumbered the Russian six times, and forty times in heavy guns. Russian positions were poorly fortified, rear positions were not prepared at all. On May 2, German troops managed to break through the front. The difficult situation of the Russian armies was aggravated by the wrong tactics of the command, which, instead of quickly withdrawing units to new lines, exhausted them in fruitless and bloody battles with superior enemy forces. As a result, the Austro-German troops managed to push the Russian armies far to the east. At the end of May, Przemysl was recaptured, and on June 22, Russian troops surrendered Lvov. At the same time, the Germans went on the offensive on the northern wing of the Russian front, occupying Libau (Liepaja).

At the end of June, the German high command, in an attempt to clamp the Russian armies into pincers, planned to strike with its right wing between the Western Bug and the Vistula, and with its left wing on the lower Narew. But the "Cannes" designed by Hindenburg and Ludendorff did not take place. The Russian high command decided to withdraw its armies from the impending strike and leave Poland. On July 13, German troops launched an offensive. In early August, they occupied Warsaw, and then Novogeorgievsk (Modlin). In the second half of September, the German offensive began to fizzle out. By the end of the year, the front was established along the line of the Western Dvina - Lake Naroch - the Styr River - Dubno - the Strypa River.

On the whole, the 1915 campaign in the Eastern European theater of operations had significant consequences. Tsarism suffered a major defeat, which exposed all the vices of the military organization and the economic backwardness of the country. The masses of soldiers paid for this with colossal sacrifices: since the beginning of the war, Russia's human losses amounted to over 3 million people, of which 300 thousand were killed. At the same time, as a result of the defeat, the process of revolutionizing the army accelerated.

However, the German imperialists did not achieve the main goal dictated to them by the tense economic and political situation in Germany and its allies. Despite the fact that in 1915 more than half of all German-Austrian troops were concentrated on the Russian front, Russia was not put out of action, and Germany and Austria-Hungary suffered very heavy losses.

In 1914-1915. a significant part of Poland became the scene of hostilities. Each of the warring powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary and tsarist Russia - sought to seize all Polish lands. At the same time, the governments of these countries, with the help of false promises, hoped to win over the Polish people to their side and use them in the war. These calculations were connected with the appeals of the commanders of the armies of each of the three powers to the Polish population in 1914, which contained promises of "self-government", the unification of Polish lands, etc.

The bourgeoisie and landlords of Poland and Galicia did not rely on the people's liberation movement, but on the support of one or another of the imperialist powers. The National Democrats (Endeks) and some other bourgeois groups advocated the unification of the Polish lands under the "scepter of the Russian monarch" and for their autonomy within the Russian Empire. The bourgeois-landlord and petty-bourgeois elements of Galicia and certain political groups of the Kingdom of Poland, in particular the right-wing socialists and the Peasants' Union, supported the program of creating a Polish state as part of the Habsburg monarchy. The "Polish National Organization" headed by Piłsudski focused on Germany: it entered into a secret alliance with the command of the German army, which occupied part of the Kingdom of Poland, created Polish legions that fought on the side of the Central Powers.

The Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915, organized on the territory of the Ottoman Empire, became one of the most terrible events of its era. Representatives were deported, during which hundreds of thousands or even millions of people died (depending on estimates). This campaign to exterminate Armenians is today recognized as genocide by most countries of the entire world community. Turkey itself does not agree with this wording.

Prerequisites

The massacres and deportations in the Ottoman Empire had different backgrounds and reasons. 1915 was due to the unequal position of the Armenians themselves and the ethnic Turkish majority of the country. The population was discredited not only by nationality, but also by religion. The Armenians were Christians and had their own independent church. The Turks were Sunnis.

The non-Muslim population had the status of a dhimmi. People who fell under this definition were not allowed to carry weapons and to appear in court as witnesses. They had to pay high taxes. Armenians, for the most part, lived in poverty. They were mainly engaged in agriculture in their native lands. However, among the Turkish majority, the stereotype of a successful and cunning Armenian businessman was widespread, etc. Such labels only aggravated the hatred of the townsfolk towards this ethnic minority. These complex relationships can be compared to the widespread anti-Semitism in many countries of that time.

In the Caucasian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, the situation worsened also due to the fact that these lands, after the wars with Russia, were filled with Muslim refugees, who, due to their everyday disorder, constantly came into conflict with local Armenians. One way or another, but the Turkish society was in an excited state. It was ready to accept the forthcoming Armenian genocide (1915). The reasons for this tragedy were a deep split and hostility between the two peoples. All that was needed was a spark that would ignite a huge fire.

Start of World War I

As a result of an armed coup in 1908, the Ittihat (Unity and Progress) party came to power in the Ottoman Empire. Its members called themselves the Young Turks. The new government hastily began to look for an ideology on which to build their state. Pan-Turkism and Turkish nationalism were taken as the basis - ideas that did not presuppose anything good for Armenians and other ethnic minorities.

In 1914, the Ottoman Empire, in the wake of its new political course, entered into an alliance with Imperial Germany. According to the treaty, the powers agreed to provide Turkey with access to the Caucasus, where numerous Muslim peoples lived. But there were also Armenian Christians in the same region.

Assassinations of Young Turk leaders

On March 15, 1921, in Berlin, in front of many witnesses, an Armenian killed Talaat Pasha, who was hiding in Europe under an assumed name. The shooter was immediately arrested by the German police. The trial has begun. Tehlirian volunteered to defend the best lawyers in Germany. The process led to a wide public outcry. Numerous facts of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire were again voiced at the hearings. Tehlirian was sensationally acquitted. After that, he emigrated to the United States, where he died in 1960.

Another important victim of Operation Nemesis was Ahmed Jemal Pasha, who was killed in Tiflis in 1922. In the same year, another member of the triumvirate Enver died during the fighting with the Red Army in present-day Tajikistan. He fled to Central Asia, where for some time he was an active participant in the Basmachi movement.

Legal assessment

It should be noted that the term "genocide" appeared in the legal lexicon much later than the events described. The word originated in 1943 and originally meant the mass murder of Jews by the Nazi authorities of the Third Reich. A few years later, the term was officially fixed in accordance with the convention of the newly created UN. Later, the events in the Ottoman Empire were recognized as the Armenian genocide in 1915. In particular, this was done by the European Parliament and the UN.

In 1995, the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was recognized as genocide in the Russian Federation. Today the majority of states of the USA, almost all countries of Europe and South America adhere to the same point of view. But there are also countries where the Armenian Genocide (1915) is denied. The reasons, in short, remain political. First of all, the list of these states includes modern Turkey and Azerbaijan.

August 1

Opening a talking shop

Chatter during the war has not yet benefited anyone. In this regard, the meetings of the IV State Duma were temporarily suspended. But under the impression of the defeats and lack of supplies, public opinion began to demand louder and louder from the tsarist authorities the resumption of the work of the Duma. On August 1, 1915, the regular session opened.

From the very resumption of the work of the Duma, the course of its leaders towards a tougher opposition was outlined. It was no longer about the extreme left - the socialists. No, those who clustered around the Cadets Party went into a more active struggle. The slogan of the day is the government responsible to the parliament. Unable to bear the flurry of chatter, the emperor in September 1915 again session.

August 2

To the right bank

The Germans are pressing harder and harder in Poland. Having crossed the Vistula higher between Warsaw and Ivangorod, they are trying to drive a wedge between our armies. The pressure on Warsaw itself is also noticeably intensifying.

On August 2, 1915, Commander-in-Chief SZ Alekseev orders units of the 2nd Army to withdraw to the right bank of the Vistula, holding behind them only the line of forts covering Warsaw on the left bank. At the same time, it was ordered not to persist in the defense of the forts, "with the goal of only slowing down the enemy's movement."

Russia's failures entail a slowdown in negotiations with the Balkan countries. As French President Poincaré noted, "the further the victory, the more helpless diplomacy."

August 3rd

Completion of two operations

August 3 is considered the formal end date of two operations - Alashkert and the 2nd battle on the Isonzo River.

The result of the struggle near Alashkert and near Lake Van was the repulse by the Russians of the attempt of the 3rd Turkish Army to destroy the IV Caucasian Corps, with the subsequent development of the offensive on Kars. Nevertheless, our troops surrendered some previously occupied territories.

Even more fruitless for the attacking side ended the second battle on the Isonzo - the Austro-Italian front. Here the struggle was carried out in the best traditions of positional warfare, that is, for the possession of individual objects. In this case, mountains were the targets. Only in some places did the Italians manage to capture some of the positions of the Austrians.

August 4

Abandonment of the last forts

On August 4, the Russian armies of the Northwestern Front abandoned the last forts on the left bank of the Vistula and retreated to the right bank, blowing up the bridges behind them. The 2nd Army actually surrenders Warsaw, the 4th Army leaves the left-bank part of the Ivangorod fortress.

The 3rd Army also moved back. The headquarters is still pursuing the goal of allocating additional forces to cover the Riga direction. Therefore, the planned withdrawal of the armies on the Vistula should lead to a reduction in the front line, that is, to the allocation of the required reserves for the 5th (right-flank) army.

5th of August

Successful withdrawal

All the time of the withdrawal of the 2nd Russian Army, the threat of encirclement from the 12th German Army of Galwitz hung over its rear. The fortress of Novogeorgievsk allowed us to win the flank from the Germans, which significantly hampered the movement of the enemy. In fact, already on August 5, it became clear that even this modest encirclement of the Germans failed.

The chief of the German General Staff, Falkenhayn, admitted: "The Narew group could not interfere with the quiet withdrawal of the Russians." The Germans could only move after the retreating Russian troops. The time for dashing tank strikes of the Second World War has not yet come.

August 6

Landing in Suvla Bay

Wanting to break the impasse in the Gallipoli Peninsula, the British command developed a new operation. This time it was supposed to land a fresh landing north of the ANZAC bridgehead - in Suvla Bay. The landing was supposed to involve large forces - up to three divisions (up to 20 thousand soldiers landed on the very first night). The landing was facilitated by the activation of the Australian-New Zealand Corps.

In general, the landing of the British for the Turks was unexpected. On the site of the new bridgehead, they had only about 1.5 thousand people. But the young and unfired British divisions acted indecisively. The units were mixed up, communication between them was broken. The generals did not so much command the troops as they tried to understand the situation. The landing commander, General Stopford, decided to direct the operation from the deck of the ship. That is, he completely cut himself off from the troops.

British attack in the Dardanelles

August 7

Surroundings of Novogeorgievsk

Surprisingly, despite all the words about the termination of the defense of the fortresses in complete encirclement, such a defense of Novogeorgievsk was sanctioned by the commander-in-chief of SZ Alekseev. By the way, one of the most competent Russian generals of the First World War. We had no hope of a speedy rescue of the encircled garrison. For the simple reason of lack of weapons. However, there was no order to retreat.

On August 7, the Germans surround the fortress. Parts of 4 divisions were locked up. Together with the garrison detachments, almost 100 thousand people. Almost 2,000 artillery pieces of all calibers. It must be admitted that with a sufficiently energetic commandant, these forces could defend themselves for quite a long time. But General Bobyr was anything but a combat officer. Since the encirclement, the days of the fortress were numbered.

8 August

Irben operation

The Irben Strait connects the Gulf of Riga with the Baltic Sea. During the First World War, the Russian fleet blocked it with minefields, thus preventing the German fleet from breaking into the bay and at the same time threatening the Germans in Courland.

During the first two summer months, the German fleet was preparing an operation to break through the Irben Strait. By the beginning of August, the Germans had concentrated 10 battleships, 3 battleships and 9 light cruisers, 65 destroyers and 65 minesweepers for this purpose. Overall command is entrusted to Vice Admiral Schmidt. The Russians had only one obsolete battleship, 36 destroyers, 4 gunboats and 6 submarines in the bay.

On August 8, 1915, the German fleet began minesweeping operations at the entrance to the Irben Strait. Soon two minesweepers, a destroyer and a light cruiser were blown up by mines. The operation was suspended for about a week.

August 9

Finest hour of Kemal

The British, who landed in Suvla Bay, made a gross mistake by not immediately developing an offensive deep into the Gallipoli Peninsula. But until August 9, it could still be corrected, since the Turks had neither large forces nor a clear command in the battle area. They themselves hesitated, preparing to retreat without waiting for reinforcements.

Finally, on the evening of August 8, all forces in the area of ​​the Suvla front are subordinate to (seemingly) simple Colonel Mustafa Kemal. He decisively leads the soldiers on the attack. On the night of August 9, a meeting with the British takes place. The whole question is who will ride the top of the mountain range. Kemal's soldiers are the first to arrive and shoot down the enemies rising from below. The British flee to the coast.

In fact, the fate of the operation is decided. Although initially the Allies had a chance of success, after August 9 it was all over for them.

August 10

Last attack

The last attack in the area of ​​the Suvla front was carried out between 4 and 8 o'clock on 10 August. The soldiers fought without interruption for more than a day, everyone was exhausted, and in order to cheer up the fighters, Colonel Kemal personally went to the neutral zone, located between the British and the Turks. The bullet clicked on his wristwatch but did no harm to the future leader of the nation. At 4:30 the Turks rise in the last attack.

Most of the attackers fell under fire from the British artillery. Nevertheless, the last British trenches on the tops of the dominant heights were taken. Although private battles in the ANZAC sector and near Suvla Bay continued for more than one week, the main battle ended in a convincing victory for the Turks.

11th August

Bulgaria

Any diplomatic arguments were easily outweighed by the military successes of the opposing side. The summer retreat of the Russian army made the work of Entente diplomats in Bulgaria extremely difficult. Hindenburg's victories on the Eastern Front cannot be argued with bare words. If only money would ...

But the money was given to the Bulgarian government by the Germans. In August 1915, a syndicate of German and Austro-Hungarian banks opened a loan to the Bulgarian treasury in the amount of 120 million francs. In response, Bulgarian Prime Minister Radoslavov announced through the press that the recent victories of the German army in Poland had broken the back of the Russians, and the entire political structure of the Entente was about to collapse.

12th of August

Looking for an exit

The hopeless situation on the main fronts is forcing the Entente to seek new paths to victory. The Gallipoli option has finally failed, and the supply situation in Russia is getting worse. Therefore, the views of French politicians and the military are turning to Greece. Around these dates, the issue of the Thessaloniki version of the solution begins to be raised.

On August 12, the military representatives of France in Montenegro and Serbia give a favorable conclusion about the possibility of landing in Thessaloniki. At the same time, it is assumed that in this way it will be possible to establish contact with Russia: through Thessaloniki, Serbia and Romania. True, a couple of little things remain - the governments of Greece and Romania, but who is going to ask them?

Hero of the Defense of the Dardanelles Mustafa Kemal

August 13

Direction — Kovna

By August 13, there is a note from Hindenburg (commander of the German Eastern Front) to Falkengine (the actual supreme commander in chief). It notes that the Russians, having slipped out of Poland and straightened the front line, are able to transfer the liberated troops wherever they need. That is, the strategic situation for Germany in some respects even worsened.

The conclusion from the analysis of the situation is the following. It is urgent to strike another strong blow on the Russian front. A strike is proposed in the direction of the Kovna fortress, where the enemy's front has been weakened by the recent retreat. At the end of the note, Hindenburg asks to be reinforced with new troops.

That is, at the very least, and even in the retreat, the Russians pulled more and more German divisions onto themselves, facilitating the actions of the French and British, who were in no hurry to start their offensive

August 14

Duma games

The recently assembled State Duma continued to shake the regime and the air with more and more loud speeches. On August 14, a meeting was held that surprised even the worldly-wise French. The deputies began with the complexities of military supplies, proceeded to discuss the question of organizing a supply committee, which stands above the War Ministry, and then, carried away, rushed to smash the government and tsarist power.

Interestingly, the deputies demand the appointment of "competent" people to all responsible posts. Of course, by this term everyone means his own. No, not themselves, as it might seem to someone. Why would these bastards take responsibility? It's just that everyone considers different people competent.

Who would argue, the tsarist government demonstrated its inability to cope with the military crisis. But the Duma talkers made an even more miserable impression.

August 15

Kovna

Hindenburg began to develop his idea even before it was approved by Falkengine. For several days now, battles have been raging on the outer contours of the Kovna fortress. It should be noted that, unlike Novogeorgievsk, Kovna is not completely surrounded. Its fortifications can be regarded as a powerful center of defense, a fortified area included in the front line.

Several days of unsuccessful assault on August 15 ended with an important success for the Germans - the capture of the outer bypass of the Kovna defense. Some researchers attribute such a sudden breakthrough to the demoralization of the leadership of the fortress, which followed the loss of consciousness of its commandant, General Grigoriev. The commandant generally proved himself a coward, deserting the next day from the fortress. For this, he was stripped of his rank and sentenced to 15 years in hard labor.

August 16

Irben operation, second part

On August 16, Vice Admiral Schmidt resumed the assault on the Irben Strait. Minesweepers went to mine banks under the cover of artillery ships. Russian forces were insufficient to prevent the gradual advance of the enemy forward. Worse, our battleship Slava simply lacked the range of fire to reach the Germans. The same could hit the defenders from a safe distance. Only towards evening did the minesweepers advance deep enough for the Russian shells to reach them.

By 18:00 on the first day of the breakthrough, minesweeping operations were suspended due to darkness. Light forces remained on duty in the strait. This day cost the Germans one minesweeper blown up by a mine.

August 17

One divided by two

Too long a front line and a huge number of troops (eight armies) created significant difficulties for the commander-in-chief of the NW. Even with later means of communication and a developed control theory, it was impossible to effectively manage combat operations in such a space.

Therefore, on August 17, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief issues a directive by which the North-Western Front is divided into two: Northern (General Ruzsky) and Western (General Alekseev). The main task of the Northern Front is to cover the Petrograd direction. For the Western Front - a cover for the Moscow direction. Each front receives four armies. In addition, the Baltic Fleet is also subordinate to the Northern Front.

August 18

Strength and weakness of the fortress

The strength and at the same time the weakness of the fortress is determined by the determination of the defenders. The Russian fortresses of the early 20th century were frankly unlucky with their defense leaders. The canonical example is the Stessel in Port Arthur. But Port Arthur at least fought for several months. The fortresses of the First World War were much less fortunate. Is that Osovets fought long and desperately. The rest gave up without exhausting the resource.

Surrounded Novogeorgievsk for several days in a row repelled the attacks of the Germans. However, the commandant Bobyr on August 18 finally lost heart and ordered (after a successfully repelled assault, it should be noted) to leave the outer forts. Leaving 5 fortifications at once completely destroyed the defense, and the next day Bobyr capitulated. To prevent his own officers from reaching him, he had to literally run across to the protection of the Germans. After spending the rest of the war in captivity, he moved to the Crimea, where he was shot by the Bolsheviks in 1920.

Captain 2nd rank Cherkasov and his gunboat "Sivuch"

August 19

Feat "Sivuch"

On August 18, the Germans finished trawling the Irben Strait and on the 19th penetrated into the Gulf of Riga with large forces. There was no one to meet them. The main forces of the Russian squadron promptly retreated across the Gulf of Finland Moonsund. On the way, the Germans met only the gunboat "Sivuch" under the command of the captain of the 2nd rank Cherkasov.

Already the initial forces of the Germans - a cruiser and two destroyers - were prohibitively large for the Sea Sivuch. But Cherkasov did not give up, began to shoot back and tried to leave. However, the speed of the gunboat cannot be compared with the speed of destroyers or cruisers. Soon, seven more German destroyers and even two battleships approached the battlefield. The Russian gunboat was destroyed in a half-hour battle. She fired until the very last minute. Of the 148 crew members, about forty survived. Captain 2nd rank Cherkasov died.

August 20

Birth of a soldier

On August 20, 1915, an event occurred that practically did not affect the fate of the First World War, but decisively affected the Second World War or the Great Patriotic War. On this day, Georgy Zhukov was drafted into the army. After selection, he was enrolled in the cavalry. During the war, he rose to the rank of non-commissioned officer, received two St. George's crosses.

It seems that if Zhukov had not entered the army during the First World War, he would not have subsequently become a world-famous marshal. That's how sometimes the curve takes out. You don't know where you will find and where you will lose.

August 21

Come on, this bay

Despite the successful breakthrough into the Gulf of Riga, the Germans were visibly nervous. These recognized masters of submarine warfare themselves suddenly became frightened of the underwater threat. Not without reason, of course. Back on August 19, a British submarine (yes, it was British) attacked in the bay and seriously damaged the German battlecruiser. The Germans soon spot a Russian submarine and unsuccessfully attempt to destroy it.

Not wanting to risk large surface ships, Vice-Admiral Schmidt on August 21 simply curtails the operation to oust the Russians from the Gulf of Riga. The German squadron retreats. Thus, the German fleet did not fulfill the assigned task and did not provide any support to the coastal flank of its land front. The Gulf of Riga until 1917 remained with the Russians.

August 22

Vilna operation

After the fall of Kovna, Novogeorgievsk and Osovets, Hindenburg receives the long-awaited freedom of action, which was previously fettered by Russian fortresses. The Germans open the way to Vilna and Dvinsk. A new operation, the Vilna operation, has been developed and is beginning to be put into action. The main blow is delivered north of Vilna with the right shoulder to encircle the Russian troops in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis city.

The main strike force of the Germans is the 10th Army of General Eichhorn. Left and right, it is reinforced by the Neman and 8th armies. The Russian command just at that time was weakening parts of its 10th Army in the Vilna region. As always, the Supreme Commander fears for the Riga direction and orders additional forces and the last reserve to be transferred there.

August 23

Shooting of Ivanovo weavers

Ivanovo-Voznesensk workers showed heightened activity in the struggle for their rights. In May 1915, they held mass strikes, led by the Bolsheviks. Some results have been achieved: wages have been slightly increased, bread prices have been reduced. But these were all economic demands.

In August 1915, the Bolsheviks decided to start a strike with political demands. The guards acted ahead of the curve. On the night of August 23, the entire Bolshevik leadership was arrested. But this only provoked and hastened the action of the workers. About 25,000 people took part in the general strike on August 23. This time it came to the slogan "Down with the Tsar!" and before the firing of the soldiers into the crowd. Dozens of people were killed and wounded.

24 August

Overhang from the north

During the offensive on August 22-23, units of the German 10th Army occupy the town of Koschedary and move on. This onslaught sobers up the Russian command, which, without waiting for the German landings in the Gulf of Riga, begins to transfer troops to the Vilna direction.

And very timely, since on August 24 large forces of the German army were deployed on the front north of Vilna. A deep detour from the north is already planned. To speed up the offensive, the Germans also begin to transfer reinforcements here. In particular, the guards corps. To the north of Vilna, protracted battles begin without a decisive result.

Now the Russians desperately need an effective offensive by the French and British, but they are not yet ready.

Armored train "Hunhuz"

25-th of August

Brest-Litovsk

Brest is another powerful Russian fortress, prepared before the war for a long defense. However, by the twentieth of August, its defense was already meaningless. Firstly, before everyone’s eyes there was an example of Novogeorgievsk surrendered with all the garrison and supplies, and secondly, the deep detour of Eichhorn’s 10th Army created the position of the German front hanging over Belarus. The Russian command ordered to leave Brest-Litovsk without a fight.

The garrison, supplies and population began to withdraw in advance. On August 24, the Austrians came to the fortress. On the night of August 25-26, they launched an assault. Practically no resistance was offered to them, and the fortress passed into the hands of the enemy.

August, 26th

Armored train "Hunhuz"

During the First World War, armored trains failed to gain fame comparable to that of the civil war. Nevertheless, almost all countries were armed with this type of armored vehicles.

The first Russian armored trains can be considered a series of "Hunhuz". Initially, they were designed for Manchuria. Hence the name. The train consisted of an armored locomotive in the center, in front and behind it was symmetrically attached to casemate-type machine-gun cars and a turret gun mount. In total, 4 armored trains were made in the series. The first one was ready in August 1915.

"Hunhuzy" served in the Russian army until the end of the war.

August 27

Activation in the south

On August 27, the Austro-German troops will intensify their operations against the Southwestern Front of General Ivanov. The main blow is delivered to the 8th army of Brusilov. The enemy is making attempts to bypass it from the north, that is, to drive a wedge into our solid front. Brusilov, following the order of Ivanov, begins a systematic retreat.

As can be assumed, these actions of the enemy were intended to pin down the Russians in the south and prevent them from transferring reinforcements to the north, where the decisive events of the 1915 campaign were expected. But the Russian armies, withdrawn to reliable positions, occupy a solid defense, and parts of the southwestern front serve as a source of replenishment for the armies of Ruzsky and Alekseev.

August 28

Falkenhain Directive

On August 28, 1915, Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, issues a directive intended for the command of the Eastern Front. It indicated to carry out an offensive north of the upper reaches of the Neman with the infliction of the greatest possible harm on the Russians.

The final milestone, which must be reached by the beginning of winter, was left to determine the Hindenburg. Also at the mercy of the command of the Eastern Front is the determination of the nature of the future line of defense - deaf or mobile. It is only important to bear in mind the need to minimize the expenditure of troops and ammunition in the next campaign.

Thus, Falkenhayn determines the end of the active phase of the war in the east and the transfer of activity to the west.

August 29

Unclean power is pulled out into the light

Rumors about the adventures of Grishka Rasputin have long disturbed Russian society. Who distributes them, who benefits from it and how much truth is in them - the question is not for us. The latter is not particularly important at all. It is important that the figure of this Siberian peasant becomes an instrument of anti-government policy.

August 29, 1915 for the first time the name of Rasputin gets into print. An extensive article is published in Birzhevye Vedomosti, setting the tone for conversations about the elder. Censorship, finally, passes criticism, which publicly still does not hurt the royal family, but behind the scenes, of course, hits right in the center.

August 30

Meeting of the Paleolog with Belyaev

On August 30, 1915, French Ambassador Maurice Palaiologoi had a conversation with Belyaev, Chief of the Russian General Staff. In it, the general quite frankly voiced some figures. In particular, information about the losses of the Russian army. In May, June, July, we lost 350,000 people who were out of action every month. In August, this number increased to 450,000. In total, during the Austro-German offensive, the total losses amounted to 1.5 million people.

The big problem is the supply of small arms to the army. Russian factories produce 67 thousand rifles per month, foreign deliveries 16 thousand. With a total shortage of 1.5 million, these production figures are simply negligible. However, from November 15, deliveries from abroad are expected to increase to 76 thousand units per month - even more than domestic production.

August 31

Change of leadership

By the end of August, the issue of changing the Supreme Commander of the Russian army was finally resolved. Accordingly, the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander was also replaced. On August 31, Alekseev, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front, was appointed to this post. The Western Front is taken over by General Evert, who previously led the 4th Army.

Together with the new chief of staff, the Supreme Commander Nikolai Nikolayevich received a formal notice of his resignation from this post. Five days later, an order was issued for the army to assume the post of Supreme Nicholas II. If General Alekseev turned out to be the best replacement for Yanushkevich, then replacing one Nikolai Romanov with another was rather an unsuccessful action.

Liked the article? Share with your friends!

about the author

Vladimir Polkovnikov

Site Editor

“In the West, the armies were too big for these countries. In the East, the countries were too big for armies"
Winston Churchill