Davison History Department

Why was World War One a disaster for Russia and Tsar Nicholas?

 

 

Tsar Nicholas benefited from the celebrations of the 300 years of Romanov rule in 1913 and the initial burst of patriotism when World War One began in August 1914, but Russia was totally unprepared for a long war.

               The Army: By December 1914 the army was in full retreat and had lost over 1 million men. Any enthusiasm for the war evaporated. Russia suffered massive defeats at Tannenburg and The Masurian Lakes. The Russian soldiers were treated badly by their officers. They had little food and were poorly equipped. They also had little medical treatment. There was a chronic (serious) shortage of bullets and artillery. Many did not even have boots. Russian industry (lack of factories) and inefficient transport could not keep up with demand. By Feb 1915 about half the soldiers who arrived at the front line had to wait until someone was killed to get a rifle. Defeats and huge losses continued in 1916 and 17. The soldiers began to mutiny.

The Brusilov Offensive took place from June-August 1916. By the middle of 1916 Russian soldiers were being trained and 10 000 rifles a month were produced. Most front line units had machine guns and were stocked with artillery shells. The Russian army was in a better state than it had been at the start of the war. The one area of shortage was a lack of experienced officers - they had been killed. Most of the soldiers were inexperienced peasants. Brusilov's attack started on June 4th. Three of his four armies had great success. By June 8th, the Austrians were in full retreat. However, the experienced German troops managed to get together enough men to support the Austrians and this doomed Brusilov's offensive to failure. The spectacular advances west that Brusilov's men had gained dried up and by August 10th it had come to a halt. By this date, the Russians had lost about 500,000 men and the Austrians 375,000 men.

           In 1915 the Tsar made the big mistake of taking personal command of the army. This meant that he was personally blamed for all the defeats and unable to communicate effectively with government or control the country. It also left the (German) Tsarina and Rasputin in charge in St Petersburg (renamed Petrograd during the war). She was accused of being a German spy and he was seen as an evil influence. They dismissed capable ministers and replaced them with hopeless ones. Rumours spread about them having an affair. In December 1916 the Tsar’s nephew in law and other aristocrats assassinated Rasputin to try and help the Tsar, but it was too late. With Rasputin dead, people focused their blamed even more on the Tsar.

                  There was also chaos at home. The Middle classes did not suffer like the workers and peasants, but were unhappy with the Tsar’s poor leadership. Many factory owners complained about the lack of raw materials.  In 1915 members of the Duma called the Progressive Bloc urged the Tsar to work with them in a more representative style of government which would unite the people. Instead the Tsar dismissed the Duma.

The aristocracy: The Council for the United Nobility asked for the Tsar to abdicate in 1916. Junior officers in the army had suffered high losses in the war. The deaths of millions of peasants in the war threatened the landowners livelihood as they had fewer workers for their estates. They were most unhappy with the influence of Rasputin over the government and the Tsar’s decision to leave Petrograd to command the army, leaving his wife in charge.

Workers and peasants; 13 million young men, mainly peasants, had joined the army. This meant farms and factories had to close because of lack of workers. Millions were killed or injured and the Tsar’s government did not have the money to provide pensions for the widows or support for the injured. The transport system was totally inadequate for a vast country like Russia. In cities food was scarce and prices rose astronomically (by 300%), but wages stayed very low. Tons of food rotted away at the side of railway tracks because there were no trains to deliver it.  Coal was also in short supply and the winter of 1916-17 was bitterly cold. City workers were starving and freezing.