World War I on the Eastern Front
Overview
Statewide Dual Credit Modern World History: Unit 12, Lesson 4
A discussion of World War I on the Eastern Front, focusing on the Russian army's struggles against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Despite early victories, Russia's lack of resources and military leadership led to devastating losses, setting the stage for their eventual withdrawal from the war.
World War I on the Eastern Front adapted from Statewide Dual Credit World History | CC By-SA
When Germany declared war on Russia, two main concerns erupted for them. Firstly, Germany recognized it would have to serve on a two-front, European war (a fact to be repeated in World War II). It would engage in combat against the French and British along the Western Front and Russia along the Eastern Front.
Secondly, most of Europe regarded Russia as a country with countless resources, particularly in manpower. For this reason, Germany attempted to knock France out of the war before England could fully deploy its strength. Then Germany could turn its full strength toward defeating Russia.
For its part, Russia sought to regain territory that had once belonged to it. In particular, they sought to reclaim parts of Eastern Prussia in Northern Germany. The Russians incorrectly believed that German forces proved less of a threat to them than those of Austria-Hungary, so they deployed massively insufficient troops to assault the German forces near Northern Prussia. Instead, most of their troops were sent further south to fight against the Austro-Hungarian army in Galicia—a territory in the present-day areas of eastern Poland and western Ukraine.
Unlike the Western Front, which was iconic for its use of trench warfare, the Eastern Front was largely a war of mobility. This involved troops attacking one other’s borders and territory by launching large supply chains and armies. Logistics and Russia’s dramatic lack of resources account for the different style of warfare. While strong in its human resources, Russia remained a century behind the rest of Europe in terms of its technological and military developments.
Because of the war on the Western Front, Germany was initially under-defended on their eastern borders. As a result, Russia experienced early, small success with their attacks. But by the third week of August, things would shift to favor Germany.
The Battle of Tannenberg
In late August 1914, the German High Command sent two officers, Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, to take command of their forces in East Prussia. Making use of the superior German artillery and the element of surprise, the German army encircled the Russians at the Battle of Tannenberg (present-day northeast Poland). Caught entirely by surprise, the battle resulted in the destruction of multiple Russian units with nearly 200,000 Russian casualties in less than a week. In comparison, the Germans lost only 12,000 men. The disparity in the battle casualties between Russia and Germany remained enormous for the next three years.
Adding insult to the injury that the Russian army sustained at Tannenberg, the Austro-Hungarian army had achieved a strong victory against the Russians further south at the Battle of Lemberg (Lviv) in present-day Ukraine. By the end of August, the Central Powers had kicked Russia out of East Prussia and pushed the Eastern Front toward Russian territory. The fall of 1914 marked an ominous beginning for the Russian war effort and set in motion events that would bring down the mighty Russian empire.
The Great Russian Retreat: 1915
In the spring of 1915, the better organized and equipped German Army came to the aid of the struggling Austro-Hungarian Army. Their arrival marked the beginning of the end for the Russian Army, despite the fact it would take more than three years before the Treaty of Brest Litovsk was signed, officially ending Russia’s involvement in the war.
From May to September 1915, the German and Austro-Hungarian Armies repeatedly attacked and advanced against the Russian Army. Suffering from disorganization and severe lack of supplies the Russians suffered enormous casualties, with Russian prisoners of war numbering in the hundreds of thousands. In August, the Germans captured the city of Warsaw—a city that had been under Russian control for a hundred years. By September, the Russian Army was pushed entirely out of Galicia (present-day Poland and Ukraine) and forced to retreat toward Russia. In their retreat, Russia lost access to grain-growing regions; villagers in the region succumbed to starvation and disease as the German Army occupied the lands.
Worse news was yet to come for Russia. In September 1915, Tsar Nicholas II dismissed his senior military chiefs to lead and oversee the Russian Army himself from his headquarters at Stavka. This was a choice undertaken by Nicholas to inspire Russian troops to continue fighting. Moreover, it suited Nicholas’ personal fascination with the military. However, the tsar entirely lacked knowledge in military matters, and his decision to lead the army proved disastrous.