The First World War and the February Revolution of 1917 Essay

By 1916 russia had 4 and a half times more men captured than killed. In contrast England had 5 times more killed than taken prisoner. This was mainly due to the lack of equipment and weapons the Russian troops had.

This caused battle the whole Russian army to fall apart (almost all soldiers were killed), as well as the Ruler to become more vulnerable and lose strength, this later caused the Russian revolution. The army never went back to the strength it used to have. General Alexander Samsonov who had commanded the Russian Second Army committed suicide. (“Battle of Tannenberg (1914)”)

This demonstrates that since the stress of waging war was tremendous, it should be no surprise that the first war could be a primary cause of the Russian Revolution. Moreover, the major powers of Europe hurt Russia in World War I; yet, by 1917, all the combatants horrifically suffered from the strains of war economically, proving this to be a long-term cause. This was, to a great extent, considerable because the military defeats and social strains of World War I had created a crisis in Imperial Russia. Before, Russia had some military accomplishments and they were on their way to being successful. Nevertheless, their triumphs were not long-standing; hence, Russia was not able to be victorious due to the fact that Russia decreased in economy because of the limitations in Russia. Similarly, restraints included the shortage of food and the huge problems with getting the obligatory materials for the army during World War I, which shows that this was momentous. Along with Russia being defeated and having a scarcity of supplies, Russia also showed economic oppression due to the pressure in jobs workers faced.

The First World War was seen as a devastating impact on Tsardom and is seen as the main reason for the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. “The effect of the war was

By February 1915 the Austria Army had lost 5 million soldiers and consequentially, was no longer involved in the war until the insurgence of the Germans. Russian successes alongside the eastern front and against Austria attributed to the Germans dividing their forces into two active fronts. The Germans were quite successful on the eastern front, despite being outnumbered by 93.5 divisions of Russian armed forces to 78.5 divisions of German armed forces. By May of 1915 Germany liberated the Austrian forces and together they took Poland, Lithuania, Galicia and Latvia, moving increasingly forward (Germany in World War One, Holburn). The western front did not bode as well for the Germans.

The argument that the First World War led to the downfall of the Tsardom in Russia is supported by how unprepared the military were from the outset and throughout the war. Poor conditions and lack of weaponry led to low morale. Production of weapons was seriously flawed as seen in the Russian front at Gorlice, where “many soldiers had no rifles and had to wait for a comrade to be killed before taking his weapon”3. “By the end of December 1914, 6,554,000 men had been mobilized with only 4,652,000 rifles available to them”4. Furthermore the appalling conditions that were reported in the Russian trenches caused outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid and cholera creating tensions amongst Russia's “indestructible army”5. The dreadful conditions caused soldiers to turn against their

It appeared that Russia was finally headed to the right path when Czar Nicholas II relinquished his thrown in March of 1917. The provisional government who took control

France was so set on their plans to attack the Germans head on at Alsace and Lorraine that they didn’t see the Germans grow strong in a huge area of French northern territory where there was plenty of agriculture and manufacturing that they greatly disadvantaged themselves. Tuchman’s assessment of the Russians was: “They entered the war without confidence and remained in it without faith.” In that first month, the Russians were so disorganized and unprepared that they took too long to get seriously into the war to matter much. The Russians were harmed by the weakness of Minister of War, General Sukhomlinov who “...bragged about not having ‘… read a military manual for the last twenty-five years.’” President Wilson of the United States wanted to remain neutral in the war so that at the last minute the U.S. could join the Allies become the savior of the

One important reason why it could be seen that the First World War was the reason for the fall of Tsarism is the fact that in 1915 Nicholas left the Winter Palace and took direct command of the army. This meant he was blamed solely for Russia's

The troops had little food, lick grass for water, had to bear the sight of other’s deaths, as well as live under the thought that they could

People from all nations entered the war believing that it would be short and sweet. They did not expect a long brutal war that would be known for the severe amount of bloodshed and suffering. People held a romanticised view of the war and at the beginning of the war instead of fear and anger the people celebrated. “There were parades in the street...young recruits were marching triumphantly...thousands and hundreds of thousands felt what they should have felt in peacetime” (Document 2). The excessive exuberance regarding the Great War’s infant stages resulted in horrific realization and anger in citizens once they realized the truth about World War I. Rationing resulted in unbearable hunger for many people, especially in Russia. The destruction of land and the murder of people shocked the people of these warring nations. Most people suffered the complete destruction of their pre-war way of life and jubilant outlook. Fear lead to blame and anger that in the case of Russia bubbled over into a series of rebellions. The Russian Council of Ministers described the disorder when he wrote, “ There were disturbances in Moscow which ended in bloodshed...it was necessary to fire on the crowd with the result that sixteen were killed and thirty wounded” (Document 5). This disorder and anger was fueled by the disappointment of the war and the embarrassing losses that Russia suffered. It was also fueled by Russian discontempt with decisions made by their government like rationing and continuing war efforts. The Great War ultimately weaken Russia and allowed for Vladimir Lenin to swoop in and take over the Russian government, transforming the nation into a communist state and killing the Russian Czar Nicholas II. Not only was Russia transformed by the war but the nation of Germany also experienced great changes due to the war. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany

Though the Russian army had repeatedly been proven incapable, there still remained a myth of its invincibility. This myth tended to be held on all sides based on the sheer masses of soldiers and not in any way on its tactics or technical proficiency. The government's inability to effectively manage resources was

World War 1 was a total disaster for Russia. Their army was poorly led and poorly equipped, this resulted in humiliating defeats at the hands of Germany. Undersupplied workers and peasants were sent in to battle without boots, coats or weapons. In 1915, Nicholas II took personal command of the army. However the Tsar’s leadership abilities were poor. The Russian army deteriorated, there was huge shortages of ammunition, equipment and medical supplies. The railways grounded to a halt, there was no transportation of food or fuel. Soldiers, workers and peasants began to suffer. These events cost Russia dearly, they lost millions of soldiers, morale was low and the people wanted someone to blame. In the severe winter of 1916-1917, the people had already began to doubt the leadership

He had been, but he was one of many who were greatly angered by the

Therefore, morale in Russia was not a reason why there was an outbreak of revolution in 1917. Nevertheless, the few military successes could not make up for the shocking casualty list revealed later on in wartime. Also, when the economic and military problems arose they could have been tolerable for the general public if they were encouraged by the people at the top such as the Tsar but no leadership was shown. Though this was a problem in Russia the morale in Russia was not too bad although people did begin to focus more on taking care of themselves because of the effects of the war on everyday life. On the other hand, the fact that central leadership was not being provided to the Russian public, criticisms began to be pointed directly at the Tsar. Nicholas failed in being commander-in-chief of the Russian armed services. He did not encourage war effort and did not prove to be the appropriate representative for the Russian people. In addition, the fact that he took on this important role meant that he was responsible for the wars consequences and the survival of Tsardom depended on military success. Due to the lack of success, Nicholas II was blamed and not his generals. This was a reason for the revolution in February 1917 to happen as it appeared to the citizens of Russia that they did not have a strong leader, also the tsarist system’s claim to the loyalty of the Russian people had been forfeited thus