The Battle of Galicia, the Sarykamysh operation, the Brusilov breakthrough - all these are now almost forgotten episodes of our history. But our ancestors, real people, once took part in these battles of the First World War.
They experienced the joy of victory and the bitterness of defeat. They were killed by airplane bombs and gas attacks. War is like war.
We entered the battle
Three people - Archduke Franz Ferdinand, his wife Sofia Chotek and their Serb assassin Gavrilo Princip - played a fatal role in history. Formally, it was these events that provoked the outbreak of the war. Although the world was already ready to flare up from any spark. Russia and Europe went to this war for a long time: for 20 years the contradictions between the countries grew.
After the assassination of the Archduke in Serbia, Russia could not stand aside. Almost immediately, it was decided to declare war. The Russian troops were brilliantly trained. The economy was at the highest point of its development. Nothing prevented the government from providing the army with the latest ammunition.
England spent the most
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In Russia, from July 1914 to August 1917, over 41 billion rubles were allocated from the treasury for military needs. Britain's military expenditures amounted to about 55 billion rubles, France - 33 billion rubles, Germany - 47 billion rubles.
How much was one day of war worth
In the spring of 1916, one day of the war cost the Russian treasury 31-32 million rubles. All in all, the amount of military spending exceeded the 1913 budget by more than 13 times.
Russian troops saved Paris in 1914
In the first weeks of the war, the armies of two generals A. Samsonov and P. Rennenkampf began an active offensive. Russian troops attacked East Prussia. The Germans were forced to transfer troops from the Western Front to the Eastern. It was only thanks to this that the Germans lost in the first major battle on the Marne River. They were thrown back almost 100 kilometers. Paris was saved.
The tragedy of Samsonov's army
Russian troops rapidly conquered enemy territory. But this was the main mistake. Transport links have been disrupted. There were not enough weapons and ammunition. In the area of swampy azure swamps, General Samsonov's army was surrounded. For two days there were desperate battles. “We had to make this sacrifice for the benefit of the Allies,” one diplomat said in a private conversation.
The Polish city of Przemysl is surrendered to the Russians
In October 1914, on the Southwestern Front, Russian troops tried to seize the powerful fortified fortress of the city of Przemysl on the move. They cannot do this at once. The Russian command embarks on a blockade using airships and airplanes, which bombed the fortress and adjusted the artillery fire. The Austrians tried to break free in vain. In early March, the fortress fell. The garrison surrendered to the Russians. More than 140,000 Austrian soldiers, generals and officers awaited this favor.
Frontal attacks in the Battle of Galicia
The success at Przemysl allowed four Russian armies to wage long battles in Galicia. The range of the armies was 450 kilometers. More than 700 thousand Russian soldiers against 830 thousand Austro-German soldiers converged within a month in frontal attacks. The victory remained with the Russians. Lviv, the center of the province, was taken.
Victory on the Caucasian front
On the Caucasian Front in December 1914, Russian troops defeated the Turks in the area of the Sarikamysh station. However, it is poorly fortified, and the Russians are holding on with their last strength. There is not enough food and ammunition. The Turks strike on the right flank. The threat of encirclement is inevitable. But winter is coming. It plays into the hands of the Russians. They bring up ammunition and with a powerful counterattack throw the enemy back, surrounding the 9th Turkish corps. In these battles, 26 thousand Russian soldiers were killed, Turkish losses exceeded 90 thousand.
The Turkish cities of Erzurum and Trebizond fell one after another in 1916 during the operations of the same name. With the support of the Black Sea Fleet, Kuban scouts landed in Rize, who, due to a sudden blow, were able to sow terrible panic. Historians also explain the successes of the command on the Caucasian front by the remoteness of the Russian tsar from Moscow.
Fatal mistake of Nicholas II
Historians unanimously say that the decision of the last Russian emperor to head Headquarters at the front was wrong. It demoralized the command. Battle generals were confused by a number of orders from Nicholas II and his entourage. What is only one visit of the Empress to the headquarters. She demanded from General Alexei Brusilov to tell her the exact date of the offensive. But Brusilov, of course, said nothing.
The last valiant victory of General Brusilov
This was the crown of the career of General Brusilov, when in 1916 he abandoned the defensive tactics imposed by Nicholas II and began to develop a strategic offensive operation against German and Austro-Hungarian troops in the region of Galicia and Bukovina. The offensive went along the entire front. This was Brusilov's main idea. The enemy was not ready for such a turn. Usually the Russians defended themselves or attacked in small areas. The Austrian defense sinned in that the second and third lines were not distinguished by strong lines. The united fronts - the strong West and the weaker Southwest - were able to inflict a crushing defeat on the relaxed Germans.
Female footprint in the army
By that time, society was electrified by unreasonable changes of ministers and generals. This leapfrog gave rise to the most ridiculous rumors. Chief among them - the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna is to blame for everything, a German by birth and an unhappy mother by definition: Tsarevich Alexei had an incurable genetic disease transmitted through the female line. His torment could not be relieved by the tsarist doctor Botkin, but the Siberian elder Grigory Rasputin helped. All this gave rise to the most inconceivable fabrications fueled by the spies of the German government. This whole tangle undermined army discipline and was pulled into such a tight knot that the Cossack checkers cut it for a very long time in the Civil War, confirming the indisputable fact: the Russian army was endowed with all the qualities and all the virtues to win the First World War.