First World War (1914 - 1918)

The Russian Empire collapsed. One of the goals of the war has been achieved.

Chamberlain

The First World War lasted from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918. 38 states with a population of 62% of the world took part in it. This war was quite controversial and extremely contradictory in modern history. I specifically quoted Chamberlain’s words in the epigraph in order to once again emphasize this inconsistency. A prominent politician in England (Russia's war ally) says that by overthrowing the autocracy in Russia one of the goals of the war has been achieved!

The Balkan countries played a major role in the beginning of the war. They were not independent. Their policies (both foreign and domestic) were greatly influenced by England. Germany had by that time lost its influence in this region, although it controlled Bulgaria for a long time.

• Entente. Russian Empire, France, Great Britain. The allies were the USA, Italy, Romania, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• Triple Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Later they were joined by the Bulgarian kingdom, and the coalition became known as the “Quadruple Alliance”.

The following major countries took part in the war: Austria-Hungary (27 July 1914 - 3 November 1918), Germany (1 August 1914 - 11 November 1918), Turkey (29 October 1914 - 30 October 1918), Bulgaria (14 October 1915 - 29 September 1918). Entente countries and allies: Russia (August 1, 1914 - March 3, 1918), France (August 3, 1914), Belgium (August 3, 1914), Great Britain (August 4, 1914), Italy (May 23, 1915), Romania (August 27, 1916) .

One more important point. Initially, Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance. But after the outbreak of World War I, the Italians declared neutrality.

Causes of the First World War

The main reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the desire of the leading powers, primarily England, France and Austria-Hungary, to redistribute the world. The fact is that the colonial system collapsed by the beginning of the 20th century. The leading European countries, which had prospered for years through the exploitation of their colonies, could no longer simply obtain resources by taking them away from Indians, Africans and South Americans. Now resources could only be won from each other. Therefore, contradictions grew:

• Between England and Germany. England sought to prevent Germany from increasing its influence in the Balkans. Germany sought to strengthen itself in the Balkans and the Middle East, and also sought to deprive England of maritime dominance.
• Between Germany and France. France dreamed of regaining the lands of Alsace and Lorraine, which it had lost in the war of 1870-71. France also sought to seize the German Saar coal basin.
• Between Germany and Russia. Germany sought to take Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states from Russia.
• Between Russia and Austria-Hungary. Controversies arose due to the desire of both countries to influence the Balkans, as well as Russia's desire to subjugate the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

The reason for the start of the war

The reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the events in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand of the Young Bosnia movement, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, so the resonance of the murder was enormous. This was the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia.

The behavior of England is very important here, since Austria-Hungary could not start a war on its own, because this practically guaranteed war throughout Europe. The British at the embassy level convinced Nicholas 2 that Russia should not leave Serbia without help in the event of aggression. But then the entire (I emphasize this) English press wrote that the Serbs were barbarians and Austria-Hungary should not leave the murder of the Archduke unpunished. That is, England did everything to ensure that Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia did not shy away from war.

Important nuances of the casus belli

In all textbooks we are told that the main and only reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. At the same time, they forget to say that the next day, June 29, another significant murder took place. The French politician Jean Jaurès, who actively opposed the war and had great influence in France, was killed. A few weeks before the assassination of the Archduke, there was an attempt on the life of Rasputin, who, like Zhores, was an opponent of the war and had great influence on Nicholas 2. I would also like to note some facts from the fate of the main characters of those days:

• Gavrilo Principin. Died in prison in 1918 from tuberculosis.
• The Russian Ambassador to Serbia is Hartley. In 1914 he died at the Austrian embassy in Serbia, where he came for a reception.
• Colonel Apis, leader of the Black Hand. Shot in 1917.
• In 1917, Hartley’s correspondence with Sozonov (the next Russian ambassador to Serbia) disappeared.

This all indicates that in the events of the day there were a lot of black spots that have not yet been revealed. And this is very important to understand.

England's role in starting the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 great powers in continental Europe: Germany and Russia. They did not want to openly fight against each other, since their forces were approximately equal. Therefore, in the “July crisis” of 1914, both sides took a wait-and-see approach. British diplomacy came to the fore. She conveyed her position to Germany through the press and secret diplomacy - in the event of war, England would remain neutral or take Germany's side. Through open diplomacy, Nicholas 2 received the opposite idea that if war broke out, England would take the side of Russia.

It must be clearly understood that one open statement from England that it would not allow war in Europe would be enough for neither Germany nor Russia to even think about anything like that. Naturally, under such conditions, Austria-Hungary would not have dared to attack Serbia. But England, with all its diplomacy, pushed European countries towards war.

Russia before the war

Before the First World War, Russia carried out army reform. In 1907, a reform of the fleet was carried out, and in 1910, a reform of the ground forces. The country increased military spending many times over, and the total peacetime army size was now 2 million. In 1912, Russia adopted a new Field Service Charter. Today it is rightly called the most perfect Charter of its time, since it motivated soldiers and commanders to show personal initiative. Important point! The doctrine of the army of the Russian Empire was offensive.

Despite the fact that there were many positive changes, there were also very serious miscalculations. The main one is the underestimation of the role of artillery in war. As the course of events of the First World War showed, this was a terrible mistake, which clearly showed that at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian generals were seriously behind the times. They lived in the past, when the role of cavalry was important. As a result, 75% of all losses in the First World War were caused by artillery! This is a verdict on the imperial generals.

It is important to note that Russia never completed preparations for war (at the proper level), while Germany completed it in 1914.

The balance of forces and means before and after the war

Artillery

According to the data from the table, it is clear that Germany and Austria-Hungary were many times superior to Russia and France in heavy weapons. Therefore, the balance of power was in favor of the first two countries. Moreover, the Germans, as usual, created an excellent military industry before the war, which produced 250,000 shells daily. By comparison, Britain produced 10,000 shells per month! As they say, feel the difference...

Another example showing the importance of artillery is the battles on the Dunajec Gorlice line (May 1915). In 4 hours, the German army fired 700,000 shells. For comparison, during the entire Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Germany fired just over 800,000 shells. That is, in 4 hours a little less than during the entire war. The Germans clearly understood that heavy artillery would play a decisive role in the war.

Weapons and military equipment

Production of weapons and equipment during the First World War (thousands of units).

This table clearly shows the weakness of the Russian Empire in terms of equipping the army. In all main indicators, Russia is much inferior to Germany, but also inferior to France and Great Britain. Largely because of this, the war turned out to be so difficult for our country.

Number of people (infantry)

Number of fighting infantry (millions of people).

The table shows that Great Britain made the smallest contribution to the war, both in terms of combatants and deaths. This is logical, since the British did not really participate in major battles. Another example from this table is instructive. All textbooks tell us that Austria-Hungary, due to large losses, could not fight on its own, and it always needed help from Germany. But notice Austria-Hungary and France in the table. The numbers are identical! Just as Germany had to fight for Austria-Hungary, so Russia had to fight for France (it is no coincidence that the Russian army saved Paris from capitulation three times during the First World War).

The table also shows that in fact the war was between Russia and Germany. Both countries lost 4.3 million killed, while Britain, France and Austria-Hungary together lost 3.5 million. The numbers are eloquent. But it turned out that the countries that fought the most and made the most effort in the war ended up with nothing. First, Russia signed the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, losing many lands. Then Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, essentially losing its independence.

Progress of the war

Military events of 1914

July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This entailed the involvement of the countries of the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, and the Entente, on the other hand, into the war.

Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914. Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (Uncle of Nicholas 2) was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

In the first days of the war, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Since the war with Germany began, the capital could not have a name of German origin - “burg”.

Historical reference

German "Schlieffen Plan"

Germany found itself under the threat of war on two fronts: Eastern - with Russia, Western - with France. Then the German command developed the “Schlieffen Plan”, according to which Germany should defeat France in 40 days and then fight with Russia. Why 40 days? The Germans believed that this was exactly what Russia would need to mobilize. Therefore, when Russia mobilizes, France will already be out of the game.

On August 2, 1914, Germany captured Luxembourg, on August 4 they invaded Belgium (a neutral country at that time), and by August 20 Germany reached the borders of France. The implementation of the Schlieffen Plan began. Germany advanced deep into France, but on September 5 it was stopped at the Marne River, where a battle took place in which about 2 million people took part on both sides.

Northwestern Front of Russia in 1914

At the beginning of the war, Russia did something stupid that Germany could not calculate. Nicholas 2 decided to enter the war without fully mobilizing the army. On August 4, Russian troops, under the command of Rennenkampf, launched an offensive in East Prussia (modern Kaliningrad). Samsonov's army was equipped to help her. Initially, the troops acted successfully, and Germany was forced to retreat. As a result, part of the forces of the Western Front was transferred to the Eastern Front. The result - Germany repulsed the Russian offensive in East Prussia (the troops acted disorganized and lacked resources), but as a result the Schlieffen plan failed, and France could not be captured. So, Russia saved Paris, albeit by defeating its 1st and 2nd armies. After this, trench warfare began.

Southwestern Front of Russia

On the southwestern front, in August-September, Russia launched an offensive operation against Galicia, which was occupied by troops of Austria-Hungary. The Galician operation was more successful than the offensive in East Prussia. In this battle, Austria-Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat. 400 thousand people killed, 100 thousand captured. For comparison, the Russian army lost 150 thousand people killed. After this, Austria-Hungary actually withdrew from the war, since it lost the ability to conduct independent actions. Austria was saved from complete defeat only by the help of Germany, which was forced to transfer additional divisions to Galicia.

The main results of the military campaign of 1914

• Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen plan for lightning war.
• No one managed to gain a decisive advantage. The war turned into a positional one.

Map of military events of 1914-15

Military events of 1915

In 1915, Germany decided to shift the main blow to the eastern front, directing all its forces to the war with Russia, which was the weakest country of the Entente, according to the Germans. It was a strategic plan developed by the commander of the Eastern Front, General von Hindenburg. Russia managed to thwart this plan only at the cost of colossal losses, but at the same time, 1915 turned out to be simply terrible for the empire of Nicholas 2.

Situation on the northwestern front

From January to October, Germany waged an active offensive, as a result of which Russia lost Poland, western Ukraine, part of the Baltic states, and western Belarus. Russia went on the defensive. Russian losses were gigantic:

• Killed and wounded - 850 thousand people
• Captured - 900 thousand people

Russia did not capitulate, but the countries of the Triple Alliance were convinced that Russia would no longer be able to recover from the losses it had suffered.

Germany's successes on this sector of the front led to the fact that on October 14, 1915, Bulgaria entered the First World War (on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary).

Situation on the southwestern front

The Germans, together with Austria-Hungary, organized the Gorlitsky breakthrough in the spring of 1915, forcing the entire southwestern front of Russia to retreat. Galicia, which was captured in 1914, was completely lost. Germany was able to achieve this advantage thanks to the terrible mistakes of the Russian command, as well as a significant technical advantage. German superiority in technology reached:

• 2.5 times in machine guns.
• 4.5 times in light artillery.
• 40 times in heavy artillery.

It was not possible to withdraw Russia from the war, but the losses on this section of the front were gigantic: 150 thousand killed, 700 thousand wounded, 900 thousand prisoners and 4 million refugees.

Situation on the Western Front

"Everything is calm on the Western Front." This phrase can describe how the war between Germany and France proceeded in 1915. There were sluggish military operations in which no one sought the initiative. Germany was implementing plans in eastern Europe, and England and France were calmly mobilizing their economy and army, preparing for further war. No one provided any assistance to Russia, although Nicholas 2 repeatedly turned to France, first of all, so that it would take active action on the Western Front. As usual, no one heard him... By the way, this sluggish war on Germany’s western front was perfectly described by Hemingway in the novel “A Farewell to Arms.”

The main result of 1915 was that Germany was unable to bring Russia out of the war, although all efforts were devoted to this. It became obvious that the First World War would drag on for a long time, since during the 1.5 years of the war no one was able to gain an advantage or strategic initiative.

Military events of 1916

"Verdun Meat Grinder"

In February 1916, Germany launched a general offensive against France with the goal of capturing Paris. For this purpose, a campaign was carried out on Verdun, which covered the approaches to the French capital. The battle lasted until the end of 1916. During this time, 2 million people died, for which the battle was called the “Verdun Meat Grinder”. France survived, but again thanks to the fact that Russia came to its rescue, which became more active on the southwestern front.

Events on the southwestern front in 1916

In May 1916, Russian troops went on the offensive, which lasted 2 months. This offensive went down in history under the name “Brusilovsky breakthrough”. This name is due to the fact that the Russian army was commanded by General Brusilov. The breakthrough of the defense in Bukovina (from Lutsk to Chernivtsi) happened on June 5. The Russian army managed not only to break through the defenses, but also to advance into its depths in some places up to 120 kilometers. The losses of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians were catastrophic. 1.5 million dead, wounded and prisoners. The offensive was stopped only by additional German divisions, which were hastily transferred here from Verdun (France) and from Italy.

This offensive of the Russian army was not without a fly in the ointment. As usual, the allies dropped her off. On August 27, 1916, Romania entered the First World War on the side of the Entente. Germany defeated her very quickly. As a result, Romania lost its army, and Russia received an additional 2 thousand kilometers of front.

Events on the Caucasian and Northwestern fronts

Positional battles continued on the Northwestern Front during the spring-autumn period. As for the Caucasian Front, the main events here lasted from the beginning of 1916 to April. During this time, 2 operations were carried out: Erzurmur and Trebizond. According to their results, Erzurum and Trebizond were conquered, respectively.

The result of 1916 in the First World War

• The strategic initiative passed to the side of the Entente.
• The French fortress of Verdun survived thanks to the offensive of the Russian army.
• Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente.
• Russia carried out a powerful offensive - the Brusilov breakthrough.

Military and political events 1917

The year 1917 in the First World War was marked by the fact that the war continued against the background of the revolutionary situation in Russia and Germany, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation of the countries. Let me give you the example of Russia. During the 3 years of the war, prices for basic products increased on average by 4-4.5 times. Naturally, this caused discontent among the people. Add to this heavy losses and a grueling war - it turns out to be excellent soil for revolutionaries. The situation is similar in Germany.

In 1917, the United States entered the First World War. The position of the Triple Alliance is deteriorating. Germany and its allies cannot effectively fight on 2 fronts, as a result of which it goes on the defensive.

The end of the war for Russia

In the spring of 1917, Germany launched another offensive on the Western Front. Despite the events in Russia, Western countries demanded that the Provisional Government implement the agreements signed by the Empire and send troops on the offensive. As a result, on June 16, the Russian army went on the offensive in the Lvov area. Again, we saved the allies from major battles, but we ourselves were completely exposed.

The Russian army, exhausted by the war and losses, did not want to fight. The issues of food, uniforms and supplies during the war years were never resolved. The army fought reluctantly, but moved forward. The Germans were forced to transfer troops here again, and Russia's Entente allies again isolated themselves, watching what would happen next. On July 6, Germany launched a counteroffensive. As a result, 150,000 Russian soldiers died. The army virtually ceased to exist. The front fell apart. Russia could no longer fight, and this catastrophe was inevitable.

People demanded Russia's withdrawal from the war. And this was one of their main demands from the Bolsheviks, who seized power in October 1917. Initially, at the 2nd Party Congress, the Bolsheviks signed the decree “On Peace,” essentially proclaiming Russia’s exit from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. The conditions of this world were as follows:

• Russia makes peace with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
• Russia is losing Poland, Ukraine, Finland, part of Belarus and the Baltic states.
• Russia cedes Batum, Kars and Ardagan to Turkey.

As a result of its participation in the First World War, Russia lost: about 1 million square meters of territory, approximately 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of arable land and 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industries were lost.

Historical reference

Events in the war in 1918

Germany got rid of the Eastern Front and the need to wage war on two fronts. As a result, in the spring and summer of 1918, she attempted an offensive on the Western Front, but this offensive had no success. Moreover, as it progressed, it became obvious that Germany was getting the most out of itself, and that it needed a break in the war.

Autumn 1918

The decisive events in the First World War took place in the fall. The Entente countries, together with the United States, went on the offensive. The German army was completely driven out of France and Belgium. In October, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria concluded a truce with the Entente, and Germany was left to fight alone. Her situation was hopeless after the German allies in the Triple Alliance essentially capitulated. This resulted in the same thing that happened in Russia - a revolution. On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II was overthrown.

End of the First World War

On November 11, 1918, the First World War of 1914-1918 ended. Germany signed a complete surrender. It happened near Paris, in the Compiègne forest, at the Retonde station. The surrender was accepted by the French Marshal Foch. The terms of the signed peace were as follows:

• Germany admits complete defeat in the war.
• The return of the province of Alsace and Lorraine to France to the borders of 1870, as well as the transfer of the Saar coal basin.
• Germany lost all its colonial possessions, and was also obliged to transfer 1/8 of its territory to its geographical neighbors.
• For 15 years, Entente troops were on the left bank of the Rhine.
• By May 1, 1921, Germany had to pay members of the Entente (Russia was not entitled to anything) 20 billion marks in gold, goods, securities, etc.
• Germany must pay reparations for 30 years, and the amount of these reparations is determined by the winners themselves and can be increased at any time during these 30 years.
• Germany was prohibited from having an army of more than 100 thousand people, and the army had to be exclusively voluntary.

The terms of the “peace” were so humiliating for Germany that the country actually became a puppet. Therefore, many people of that time said that although the First World War ended, it did not end in peace, but in a truce for 30 years. That’s how it ultimately turned out...

Results of the First World War

The First World War was fought on the territory of 14 states. Countries with a total population of over 1 billion people took part in it (this is approximately 62% of the entire world population at that time). In total, 74 million people were mobilized by the participating countries, of whom 10 million died and another 20 million were injured.

As a result of the war, the political map of Europe changed significantly. Such independent states as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Albania appeared. Austria-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Romania, Greece, France, and Italy have increased their borders. There were 5 countries that lost and lost territory: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.

Map of the First World War 1914-1918

The imperialist nature of the First World War

The First World War arose as a result of the emerging general crisis of the capitalist system of the world economy and

was a consequence of the uneven development of capitalism in

stages of imperialism. It was an aggressive, unfair

war between two major imperialist factions

The Austro-German bloc and the Entente. Fear of the growth of the revolutionary movement prompted the imperialists to accelerate the outbreak

world war.

The imperialists are to blame for the preparation of the First World War

all countries. However, the main, leading imperialist contradiction that accelerated the outbreak of this war was the Anglo-German contradiction.

Each of the imperialist powers, entering the world

war, pursued its aggressive goals. Germany sought to defeat England, deprive it of sea power and redistribute the French, Belgian and Portuguese colonies and

establish itself in the rich Arabian provinces of Turkey, weaken

Russia, to tear away from it the Polish provinces, Ukraine and the Baltic states, depriving it of natural borders along the Baltic Sea.

Austria-Hungary hoped to capture Serbia and Montenegro

establish its hegemony in the Balkans, take away part of Russia

Polish provinces, Podolia and Volyn.

Türkiye, with German support, claimed the territory

Russian Transcaucasia.

power, defeat Germany as a competitor in the world market

and stop its claims to redistribute the colonies. In addition, England counted on seizing oil-rich Mesopotamia and Palestine from Turkey, which Germany also hoped to seize.

France wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine, taken from it

Germany in 1871, and capture the Samara basin.

Russia entered the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, seeking free access for the Black Sea fleet through the Bosporus and

Dardanelles to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the annexation of Galicia

and the lower reaches of the Neman.

Long wavering between the Triple Alliance and the Entente

Italy ultimately threw in its lot with the Entente and the war.

shaft on its side due to penetration into the Balkan Peninsula.

During the three years of the war, the United States of America occupied a neutral position, profiting from military supplies to both

to the warring coalitions, When the war was already ending and the warring

the parties exhausted themselves to the limit, the United States entered the war (April 1917), intending to dictate to the weakened countries

the conditions of peace that ensure the global dominance of the American

imperialism.

Only Serbia, which was the object of Austro-German aggression, fought a just war of liberation.

The capitalist nature of the Second World War.

The Second World War was generated by the entire previous course of economic and political development of the capitalist world. On the eve of the war, there was a further increase in the uneven development of capitalist countries, which led to a new balance of forces between the main capitalist powers, i.e. The main reason for the war was the contradictions that arose between states. In international relations and the aggravation of the global situation, Germany played a particularly aggressive role. And after Hitler came to power, the situation in the world became significantly more complicated. Germany and Japan were rushing to the markets, striving for supremacy, and the leading countries (USA, England, France) tried to maintain their profits. Japan and Germany fought against the global financial hegemony of the United States. This is the main reason for the Second World War. The second reason was the natural fear of the leaders of developed countries (Churchill, Chamberlain, etc.) of the spread of the ideas and practices of socialism-communism. Thus, in the 30s, two main centers of war formed: in the East - led by Japan, in the West - with Germany.

Germany's goals in the war were:

1. Elimination of the USSR and socialism as a state, system and ideology. Colonization of the country. Destruction of 140 million “superfluous people and nations.

2. Liquidation of the democratic states of Western Europe, deprivation of their national independence and subordination to Germany.

3. Conquering world domination. The pretext for aggression is the imminent threat of attack from the USSR.

The goals of the USSR were determined during the war. This:

1. Protection of the freedom and independence of the country and socialist ideas.

2. Liberation of the peoples of Europe enslaved by fascism.

3. Creation of democratic or socialist governments in neighboring countries.

4. Elimination of German fascism, Prussian and Japanese militarism.

On July 14 (27), 1914, the tsarist government announced general mobilization. July 19 (August 1) Germany declared war on Russia.

Russia entered the war.

Long before the start of the war, Lenin and the Bolsheviks foresaw its inevitability. At international congresses of socialists, Lenin made his proposals aimed at determining the revolutionary line of command of the socialists in the event of war.

Lenin pointed out that wars are an inevitable companion of capitalism. The robbery of foreign lands, the conquest and robbery of colonies, the seizure of new markets more than once served as the cause of wars of conquest of capitalist states. For capitalist countries, a warrior is as natural and legal a state as the exploitation of the working class.

In particular, wars became inevitable when capitalism at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century finally developed into the highest and final stage of its development - imperialism. Under imperialism, powerful associations (monopolies) of capitalists and banks acquired a decisive role in the life of capitalist states. Finance capital has become the master in capitalist states. Finance capital demanded new markets, the seizure of new colonies, new places for the export of capital, new sources of raw materials.

But already at the end of the 19th century, the entire territory of the globe was divided between capitalist states. Meanwhile. The development of capitalism in the era of imperialism occurs extremely unevenly and spasmodically: some countries that were previously in first place develop their industry relatively slowly, while others that were previously backward rapidly catch up and overtake them. The balance of economic and military forces of the imperialist states changed. There was a desire for a new redivision of the world. The struggle for a new redivision of the world caused the inevitability of an imperialist war. The war of 1914 was a war for the redistribution of the world and spheres of influence. It had been prepared for a long time by all the imperialist states. Its culprits are the imperialists of all countries.

In particular, this war was prepared by Germany and Austria, on the one hand, by France, England and Russia, dependent on them, on the other. In 1907, the Triple Entente, or Entente, arose - an alliance of England, France and Russia. Another imperialist alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. But Italy left this alliance at the beginning of the 1914 war and then joined the Entente. Germany and Austria-Hungary were supported by Bulgaria and Türkiye.

Preparing for an imperialist war, Germany sought to take away the colonies from England and France, and Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states from Russia. Germany threatened England's dominance in the Middle East by building the Baghdad Railway. England was afraid of the growth of Germany's naval armaments.

Tsarist Russia sought to divide Turkey, dreamed of conquering the straits from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea (Dardanelles), and capturing Constantinople. The plans of the tsarist government also included the seizure of Galicia - part of Austria-Hungary.

England sought through war to defeat its dangerous competitor, Germany, whose goods before the war began to increasingly displace English goods on the world market. In addition, England intended to seize Mesopotamia and Palestine from Turkey and firmly establish itself in Egypt.

French capitalists sought to seize from Germany the coal and iron-rich Saar Basin and Alsace-Lorraine, which Germany had taken from France in the war of 1870-1871.

Thus, major contradictions between two groups of capitalist states led to the imperialist war.

This predatory war for the redivision of the world affected the interests of all imperialist countries, and therefore Japan, the United States of America and a number of other states were subsequently drawn into it.

The war became global.

The imperialist war was prepared by the bourgeoisie in deep secrecy from its peoples. When the war broke out, each imperialist government tried to prove that it did not attack its neighbors, but that it was attacked. The bourgeoisie deceived the people, hiding the true goals of the war, its imperialist, aggressive nature. Every imperialist government declared that the war was being waged to defend its homeland.

The opportunists from the Second International helped the bourgeoisie to deceive the people. The Social Democrats of the Second International basely betrayed the cause of socialism, the cause of international solidarity of the proletariat. They not only did not oppose the war, but, on the contrary, helped the bourgeoisie to set the workers and peasants of the warring states against each other under the banner of defending the fatherland.

It was no coincidence that Russia acted in the imperialist war on the side of the Entente - France and England. It must be borne in mind that before 1914, the most important industries in Russia were in the hands of foreign capital, mainly French, English and Belgian, that is, the Entente countries. The most important metallurgical plants in Russia were in the hands of French capitalists. In general, metallurgy was dependent on foreign capital for almost three quarters (72 percent). In the coal industry - in the Donbass - there was a similar picture. About half of oil production was in the hands of Anglo-French capital. A significant part of the profits of Russian industry went to foreign, mainly Anglo-French, banks. All these circumstances, plus billions of loans concluded by the tsar in France and England, chained tsarism to Anglo-French imperialism and turned Russia into a tributary of these countries, into their semi-colony.

By starting the war, the Russian bourgeoisie hoped to improve its affairs: to conquer new markets, cash in on military orders and supplies, and at the same time suppress the revolutionary movement using the military situation.

Tsarist Russia entered the war unprepared. Russian industry lagged far behind other capitalist countries. It was dominated by old factories and factories with worn-out equipment. Agriculture, in the presence of semi-serf landownership and a mass of impoverished, ruined peasantry, could not serve as a solid economic basis for waging a long war.

The tsar relied mainly on the feudal landowners. Large Black Hundred landowners, in a bloc with large capitalists, ruled the country and the State Duma. They fully supported the domestic and foreign policies of the tsarist government. The Russian imperialist bourgeoisie relied on the tsarist autocracy as an armored fist, which could ensure it the seizure of new markets and new lands, on the one hand, and suppress the revolutionary movement of workers and peasants, on the other.

The party of the liberal bourgeoisie - the Cadets - posed as an opposition, but supported the foreign policy of the tsarist government without reservations.

From the very beginning of the war, the petty-bourgeois parties of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, masquerading as the flag of socialism, helped the bourgeoisie to deceive the people and hide the imperialist, predatory nature of the war. They preached the need for defense, the need to defend the bourgeois "fatherland" from the "Prussian barbarians", supported the policy of "civil peace" and thus helped the government of the Russian Tsar to wage war in the same way as the German Social Democrats helped the government of the German Tsar to wage war against " Russian barbarians."

Only the Bolshevik Party remained faithful to the great banner of revolutionary internationalism, remaining firmly in the Marxist positions of decisive struggle against the tsarist autocracy, against the landowners and capitalists, against the imperialist war. From the very first days of the war, the Bolshevik Party adhered to the position that the war was started not to defend the fatherland, but to seize foreign lands, to rob foreign peoples in the interests of landowners and capitalists, that the workers needed to wage a decisive war against this war.

The working class supported the Bolshevik Party.

True, the bourgeois-patriotic frenzy that gripped the intelligentsia and kulak strata of the peasantry at the beginning of the war also affected some of the workers. But these were mainly members of the hooligan “Union of the Russian People” and part of the Socialist Revolutionary-Menshevik-minded workers. They, of course, did not and could not reflect the sentiments of the working class. These very elements turned out to be participants in the chauvinistic manifestations of the bourgeoisie, organized by the tsarist government in the first days of the war.

Imperialist War

Gut is thin

At a minimum, we know

And you can bite your elbows as much as you like, shout about the class essence of the state, about the replacement of some oligarchs by others, and simply sprinkle ashes on your head. But if our compatriots make such a choice, they will only have themselves to blame. If class consciousness has not awakened in these people, this is not their problem; if they march under Russian tricolors, and not under Soviet flags, this is not their problem, and they cannot be blamed for this.

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I
The First World War (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918)… This is how it began to be called in Russian historiography after the outbreak of the Second World War (1939). Before this, in Russia it was called the “Great”, “Great”, “Second Patriotic”, “Great Patriotic”, “German”, and in the USSR - the “imperialist” war. But whatever you call it, she did her dirty deed. In terms of scale and consequences, it had no equal in the previous history of mankind. The war lasted 4 years 3 months and 10 days. Having initially started between 8 European states, it gradually covered 38 countries with a population of over 1.5 billion people. The most productive part of the male population - about 70 million people - was withdrawn from material production and thrown into mutual destruction in the interests of the imperialists. This war was fought between two coalitions of capitalist powers for the redistribution of the already divided world, colonies, spheres of influence and investment of capital, for the enslavement of other peoples. But it also had internal political goals: to distract workers from the political struggle, strangle the revolutionary movement, destroy the international ties of the working class and strengthen its power. Marxism-Leninism teaches that wars are an inevitable accompaniment of capitalism. The inevitability of the outbreak of a world imperialist war, arising from the very nature of capitalism, was revealed in advance thanks to the scientific foresight of the classics of Marxism-Leninism.

Back in 1870 (44 years before the start of the war!) K. Marx predicted the inevitability of war between Germany and France and Russia. In a letter to the Brunswick Committee, he writes: “If they (the Germans) capture Alsace and Lorraine, then France, together with Russia, will fight against Germany” (not in the eye, but in the eye!). F. Engels, 1887: “... for Prussia-Germany, no other war other than a world war is now possible. And it would be a worldwide war of unprecedented scope, unprecedented strength.” IN AND. Lenin wrote in 1911: “It is known that in recent years both England and Germany have been arming themselves extremely intensively. The competition of these countries in the world market is becoming more and more intense. A military clash is approaching more and more menacingly.” J. Stalin writes in January 1913: “The growth of imperialism in Europe is not an accident. In Europe, capital becomes cramped, and it rushes to foreign countries, looking for new markets, cheap workers, new points of application. But this leads to external complications and war” (I. Stalin. Marxism and the national-colonial question).
The German Empire, formed in January 1871, strengthened economically and militarily, from the mid-1880s. began to fight for hegemony in Europe. Experiencing an acute lack of living space, markets, and food, Germany had to solve these problems by redividing the world in its favor. She sought to capture the northeast of France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, penetrate the Caucasus, and absorb Turkey and Persia. The most acute contradictions arose between Germany and Great Britain. The interests of these countries collided in many regions of the globe, especially in Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. Germany sought to defeat its main rival, Great Britain, by depriving it of its colonies. There were deep contradictions between Germany and France. Germany sought to permanently secure Alsace and Lorraine (a large iron ore basin), taken from France as a result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. At the same time, England sought to defeat its most dangerous enemy - Germany, seize Mesopotamia, Palestine, and establish itself in Egypt and the neutral zone of Persia. France wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine, seize the Saar basin (coal), Syria, and take possession of Morocco. Austria-Hungary set the goal of dismembering or completely destroying Serbia, capturing Albania, and annexing part of Ukraine. Tsarist Russia sought to capture Constantinople and the straits, strengthen its influence in the Balkans, seize Turkish Armenia and Kurdistan, and finally conquer Persia and Galicia.
Since the end of the 19th century. Russian-German contradictions also grew. Germany's attempts to establish control over Turkey affected the economic, political and military-strategic interests of Russia. Deep contradictions existed between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. The main reason for these contradictions was the expansion of the Austro-Hungarians, encouraged by Germany, into the neighboring South Slavic lands - Bosnia, Herzegovina and Serbia in order to assert their dominance in the Balkans. Russia supported the struggle of the peoples of the Balkan countries for freedom and national independence. However, tsarism also had selfish interests - to acquire the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and consolidate its position in the Balkans. There were many other contradictions that affected the interests of all capitalist countries. Their aggravation and deepening pushed the imperialists to redivide the world, and it “could not, on the basis of capitalism, happen otherwise than at the cost of a world war” (V.I. Lenin, vol. 34, p. 370).
The war was prepared by the imperialists for many years in deep secrecy from the peoples. In October 1879, Germany entered into a military alliance with Austria-Hungary. It obliged both states to provide assistance to each other in the event of war with Russia. In 1882, Italy joined them, seeking support in the fight against France for the possession of Tunisia. This is how the Triple Alliance, or bloc of the Central Powers, arose in the center of Europe, directed against Russia and France, and later against Great Britain. In contrast to him, another coalition of European powers began to take shape. In 1891-1893 a Russian-French alliance was formed, which provided for joint actions of Russia and France in the event of aggression from Germany or aggression from Italy and Austria-Hungary, with the support of Germany. In 1904 Disputes between Great Britain and France on colonial issues were settled, and in 1907 an agreement between Russia and Great Britain regarding their policies in Tibet, Afghanistan and Iran was consolidated. These documents formalized the creation of the “Triple Entente”, or Entente, a bloc consisting of Great Britain, France and Russia that opposed the Triple Alliance.
The United States did not openly join any of the military-political alliances that had developed in Europe, although it was interested in the defeat of Germany. The brewing war was beneficial to the American imperialists. It would lead to the weakening of not only Germany, but also other European states and thereby contribute to the desire of the US ruling circles for world domination. The war was beneficial only to the capitalists. Getting ahead of events, let's say that by the beginning of 1918 (by the end of the war), the German monopolists received a profit of at least 10 billion gold marks. The monopolies of France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan received large profits. But the Americans profited the most from the war (profits for 1914-1918 amounted to $3 billion). These guys played for big. IN AND. Lenin wrote: “American billionaires... profited the most. They made everything their tributaries, even the richest countries. There are traces of blood on every dollar - from that sea of ​​​​blood that was shed by 10 million killed and 20 million maimed...” (vol. 37, p. 50).
The formation of alliances of the largest states of Europe was a clear sign of preparation for war and indicated the inevitability of its approach. IN AND. Lenin already noted in 1908: “with the network of current open and secret treaties, agreements, etc. a slight click to some “power” is enough for “a flame to ignite from a spark” (vol. 17, p. 186). And such a click occurred on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo (Bosnia). Here, Serbian nationalists assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This was a pretext, and the German imperialists decided to use this occasion to start a war. Under pressure from Germany, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia on July 23 and, despite the agreement of the Serbian government to fulfill almost all of its demands, declared war on it on July 28. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and on August 3 on France and Belgium. On August 4, Great Britain and its dominions - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa and the largest colony of India - declared war on Germany. Later, most countries of the world were involved in the war. 4 states participated in it on the side of the Austro-German bloc, and 34 on the side of the Entente. On the side of the Austro-German bloc, the following countries entered the war in 1914: Austria-Hungary (28.7), Germany (1.8), Turkey (29.10); in 1915 - Bulgaria (14.10). On the side of the Entente: in 1914, Serbia (28.7), Russia (1.8), France (3.8), Belgium, Great Britain and the dominions (4.8), Montenegro (5.8), Japan (23.8), Egypt (18.12); in 1915 - Italy (23.5), in 1916 - Portugal (9.3) and Romania (27.8); in 1917 - USA (6.4), Panama and Cuba (7.4), Greece (29.6), Siam (22.7), Liberia (4.8), China (14.8), Brazil (26.10); in 1918 - Guatemala (30.4), Nicaragua (8.5), Costa Rica (23.5), Haiti (12.7), Honduras (19.7). By its nature, the war was aggressive and unfair on both sides. Only in Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro did it include elements of the national liberation war.
Plans for the war were developed by the General Staffs long before it began. All calculations were based on the short duration and transience of the future war. The German plan called for quick and decisive action against France and Russia. It was supposed to defeat France within 6-8 weeks, after which it would attack Russia with all its might and victoriously end the war. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany said: “We will have lunch in Paris and dinner in St. Petersburg.” Austria-Hungary planned actions on two fronts: in Galicia - against Russia and in the Balkans - against Serbia and Montenegro. Russia drew up two versions of the war plan, one of them provided for the deployment of the main forces against Austria-Hungary, the other against Germany. The French plan actually made the actions of the country's armed forces dependent on the actions of the German army. Great Britain, relying on Russia and France, did not plan the operations of its ground forces. She only undertook to send an expeditionary force to the continent to help the French. In addition, their fleet was given active tasks - to establish a long-range blockade of Germany in the North Sea, to ensure the safety of sea communications, and to defeat the German fleet in a general battle. In accordance with these plans, the mobilization, concentration and strategic deployment of the armies of the parties was carried out, which was mainly completed by August 17-19, 1914.
After mobilization, the countries had the following composition of troops: Russia - 5,338 thousand people, 263 aircraft, 7,088 guns, 23 submarines; France - 3,781 thousand people, 156 aircraft, 4,648 guns, 38 submarines; Great Britain - 1 million people, 30 aircraft, 2000 guns, 76 submarines; Germany - 3822 thousand people, 232 aircraft, 8404 guns, 28 submarines; Austria-Hungary - 2,300 thousand people, 65 aircraft, 3,610 guns, 6 submarines.
Military operations took place in the Far East, Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Transcaucasia, but they played a supporting role in the overall course of the First World War. The main events took place in land theaters in Europe. The most important of them throughout the war were Western European (French) and Eastern European (Russian). In the Western European Theater, German troops (from north to south) consisting of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 armies (1.6 million people, 5 thousand guns) deployed at the Belgian, Luxembourg and French borders in a strip of 380 km. They were commanded by the Chief of Staff of the German Army, General Helmuth Moltke Jr. They were opposed (from north to south) by the Belgian army (117 thousand people, 312 guns), the British army (87 thousand people, 328 guns) as well as the 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st -I French armies (1.325 thousand people, over 4000 guns). The commander-in-chief of the French troops was General Joseph Joffre. In total, over 3 million people and 9,600 guns were concentrated in the Western European Theater. The main grouping of Allied troops was located northwest of Verdun.
At the East European Theater in East Prussia, Germany fielded the 8th Army of General M. Prittwitz (more than 200 thousand people, 1044 guns) against the Northwestern Front (250 thousand people, 1104 guns). Austria-Hungary in Galicia on the front from Sandomierz to Chernivtsi deployed the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and then the 2nd armies - 850 thousand people, 1854 guns against the Southwestern Front (886 thousand people and 2099 guns). Thus, the two Russian fronts included six armies: over 1 million people, 3203 guns). The North-Western Front was formed on July 19 (August 1), 1914 and included two armies: the 1st under General Pavel Karlovich Rennenkampf and the 2nd under General Alexander Vasilyevich Samsonov. 1A (96 battalions and 106 squadrons and hundreds, 402 guns) included troops of generals: Smirnov’s 20th Corps (28th Lashkevich Division, 29th Rosenchild-Paulin, 5th Air Force (5 aircraft), 5th rifle brigade); Epanchin's 3rd Corps (Bulgakov's 25th Division, Adaridi's 27th Division); 4th Corps of Aliyev (40th division of Korotkevich, 30th division of Kolyankovich). 2 A (158 battalions, 72 squadrons and hundreds, 626 guns) as part of Scheidemann’s 2nd Corps (26th Poretsky Division, 43rd Slyusarenko and 2nd Air Division); 6th Corps of Blagoveshchensky (4th division of Komarov, 16th of Richter, 23rd air squadron and Tolpygo’s army cavalry division attached to the corps); Klyuev's 13th Corps (Ugryumov's 1st Division, Prezhentsev's 36th Division, 21st Air Division); 15th Corps of Martos (6th Division of Torklus, 8th Fitingofa, 15th Air Division); 23rd Corps of Kondratovich (2nd Division of Mingin, 3rd Guards Sirellius, 1st Brigade of Vasiliev; 1st Army Corps of Artamonov (22nd Division of Dushkevich, 24th Reshchikov, 6th and 15th Army Cavalry Divisions Roop and Lyubomirov). Many divisions of the 2nd A were still on the march and it took about 7 days to reach the border and enter the battle together with the 1st A. The front was deployed at the turn of the Neman and Narev rivers and did not have a second echelon.
In 1914, the infantry corps of the Russian army consisted of 2-4 infantry and (sometimes 1-2 cavalry) divisions. The number of personnel is 48,700, horses - 13,500, 76mm field guns - 96, howitzers - 12, machine guns - 64, aircraft - 3-6. The division had up to 21 thousand people. The division has two infantry brigades (two regiments each), an artillery brigade (regiment) and 1-3 cavalry squadrons. The infantry regiment had 3-4 infantry battalions of 4 companies each. In a company - 100, in a regiment - 1.5-2.5 thousand people. The Southwestern Front deployed (from north to south) four armies of generals: 5 A - Pleve Pavel Adamovich (5 Corps Litvinov, 17 - Yakovlev, 19 - Gorbatovsky, 25 - Zuev, 1,4,5 Don Cossack Corps, 7 Cavalry division. The army was formed on June 16, 1914; the army has 147 thousand people and 456 guns); 4A - Anton Yegorovich Zalts (14th Corps of Zhilinsky (namesake of the commander-in-chief of the North-West Front), 16th - Geisman, Grenadier - Mrozovsky, 2nd Rifle Brigade, 13th and 14th Cavalry, 3rd Don and Ural Cossack Divisions, Combined Guards Brigade. The army was formed on August 2, 1914; the army has 109 thousand people and 426 guns); 3A - Ruzsky Nikolai Vladimirovich (9 corps of Shcherbachev, 10 - Sivers, 11 - Sakharov, 21 - Shkinsky, 9,10,11 cavalry divisions. The army was formed on July 18, 1914; the army has 215 thousand people and 685 guns); 8A - Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich (7th corps Ekka, 8 - Radko-Dmitriev, 12 - Lesha, 3.4 rifle brigades, three cavalry divisions. The army was formed on July 16, 1914; the army has 139 thousand people and 472 guns). Front Commander-in-Chief General Nikolai Iudovich Ivanov. The 6th and 7th separate armies were not part of the fronts. 6 OA (Fan der Flint Konstantin Petrovich) defended the coast of the Baltic Sea and covered Petrograd. 7 OA (Nikitin Vladimir Nikolaevich) covered the northwestern coast of the Black Sea and the border with Romania. This was the original strategic formation of troops, which changed over time. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian troops on July 20 (August 2). He was his chief of staff from August 1914 to August 1915. General Yanushkevich Nikolai Nikolaevich. The opponents were preparing to go on the offensive. By the way, the term “enemy” appeared in the Russian army during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Before this, the term "enemy" was used.
The First World War, like any other war, includes several stages, i.e. campaigns designated by year, theater of operations (TVD), strategic operations and other military actions, united by a common plan and aimed at achieving important military-political goals of the war. The events of the First World War are usually considered based on the campaigns of 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918.
Campaign of 1914 In the Western European Theater, military operations began on August 2 (15) - 4 (17) with the invasion of German troops into Luxembourg and Belgium. On August 21-25, a border (border) battle took place, as a result of which the German armies drove back the Franco-English troops and invaded Northern France. But on the way to Paris, the Germans met increasing resistance. On September 5-12, German troops were defeated on the Marne River and retreated beyond the Aisne and Oise rivers. The French advanced 60 km. In 8 days of fighting, the French lost 250 thousand people killed, wounded, or missing, the British - 13 thousand (of which 1,700 were killed), the Germans - 250 thousand. From September 16 to October 15, counter battles and battles unfolded, which received title "Running to the Sea". This is a type of action when troops tried to encircle the enemy’s flank. They ended when the front reached the sea coast. After this (until November 15), the battle was fought in Flanders. They ended the maneuver period of the war. The front stretches 720 km from Switzerland to the North Sea. The troops switched to positional defense.
Four major strategic operations were carried out in the East European (Russian) theater: East Prussian, Galician, Warsaw-Ivangorod and Lodz. From August 4(17) to September 2(15), the Northwestern Front carried out the East Prussian offensive operation on the territory of East Prussia with the forces of the 1st and 2nd Russian armies against the 8th German Army. The offensive was launched before the end of the mobilization and concentration of armies at the insistence of the Anglo-French in order to disrupt the offensive of the main German forces against France. The operation plan included defeating the 8th German Army (14.5 infantry and cavalry divisions, about 1,000 guns) and capturing East Prussia. The 1st Russian Army (6.5 infantry, 5.5 cavalry divisions, 492 guns) was supposed to strike bypassing the Masurian Lakes from the north; 2nd Army (11 infantry and three cavalry divisions, 720 guns) - bypassing these lakes from the west. The 1st Army went on the offensive on August 4 (17) and was initially successful. Here was a case of the Germans using a psychic attack. The enemy began to retreat and it was necessary to actively pursue him, but this was not done. On July 30 (August 12), 1914, in the area of ​​the Polish town of Kalvaria, the dashing Cossack corporal Kozma Firsovich Kryuchkov and three patrol Cossacks: Vasily Astakhov, Ivan Shchegolkov, Mikhail Ivankin, performed a feat. The patrol ran into a detachment of German cavalrymen numbering 27 people. The Germans rushed for “easy prey.” But it was not there! In this battle, 22 Germans were killed, 2 seriously wounded were captured, and 3 escaped. Kozma personally killed 11 enemies, receiving more than 10 puncture wounds. The horse had 11 wounds, which still carried its rider for 7 miles, and then fell. For his accomplished feat, Kozma was the first soldier in the Russian army to receive the 4th degree St. George Cross and a golden saber award. These awards were presented by the army commander, General Pavel Rennenkampf, at the hospital where Kozma was treated. In 1916-17 Kozma commanded a hundred, was wounded and sent for treatment to Rostov (Rostov is dad!). Here local swindlers stole his order and gold award sword. But Kozma did not lose heart. His favorite Cossack proverb was: “Life is not a party, but not a funeral either.” Kozma Kryuchkov is a hero of the First World War. Our people are rich in heroes! Eternal memory to them, honor and glory.
The 2nd Army crossed the border only on August 7 (20), i.e. three days later. Our armies advanced not in converging directions, but in diverging directions. This gave the enemy the opportunity to put up a small barrier against 1st A, regroup and strike with the main forces at 2nd A. It suffered a crushing defeat (killed - 20 thousand, wounded - 30 thousand, captured - 50 thousand people; 10 generals killed, 13 captured; guns lost - 230). The 13th and 15th corps of generals Martos and Klyuev laid down their arms. General Samsonov A.V. on the night of August 30 he shot himself, and the remnants of the army on August 17 (30) retreated beyond the river. Narev. 1 And on August 25 (September 7) - September 2 (15), having suffered losses, she retreated beyond the river on September 9 (22). Neman. By September 15, the Russian armies had lost 245 thousand people (of which 135 thousand were prisoners) and were completely forced out of the territory of the German Empire to their original positions.
The armies of the Southwestern Front in the period August 6 (19) - September 8 (21) in Galicia and Poland carried out the Galician operation against the Austro-Hungarian troops. The number of Russian troops is 700 thousand, Austro-Hungarian - 830. Russian losses - 230 thousand people, Austro-Hungarians - killed and wounded - up to 225 thousand, prisoners - up to 100 thousand. During the operation, repelling the offensive of the Austro-Hungarian troops, the Russians launched a successful offensive along the entire front, inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy, drove him back beyond the San and Dunajec rivers and captured Galicia. But the strength and means to develop success were exhausted. The Russian command was forced to temporarily stop its armies to staff and replenish material. During this operation, in the sky in the Lvov region, Russian staff captain Pyotr Nikolaevich Nesterov made the world's first aerial ramming of an Austrian aircraft. This happened on August 26 (September 8), 1914. The hero-pilot himself died.
The Warsaw-Ivangorod operation (September 15 (28) - October 26 (November 8)) was carried out by Northwestern troops under the command of General Ruzsky N.V. (Zhilinsky was removed from command of the front on September 3, 1914, and in September 1917 he was dismissed with a uniform and a pension. After the October Revolution, he tried to go abroad, but was arrested in Crimea and shot) and the Southwestern Front of General Ivanov N .AND. against the German and Austro-Hungarian troops of Field Marshal P. von Hindenburg). Russian troops - 520 thousand, German-Austro-Hungarian - 310 thousand. As a result of the battle, the Russians stopped the enemy’s advance on Ivangorod (Demblin) and Warsaw and threw them back to their original positions. Our losses are 65 thousand people, the enemy lost about 150 thousand. Lodz offensive operation of the 9th German (155 thousand people) and 2nd Austro-Hungarian (124 thousand) armies against the 1st Army (Rennenkampf), 2nd Army (Sheideman S.M.) and 5th Army (in September transferred to the North-Western Front; General Pleve P.A.) of the North-Western Front, as well as the 4th (A.E. Evert) and 9th army (Lechitsky P.A.) of the Southwestern Front (October 29 (November 11) -November 11 (24). The Russian troops included 367 thousand people. As a result, the Russians won the battle, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians were driven back. The Russians lost 110 thousand people, the enemy - 160 thousand. The German plan to encircle the Russian armies failed; the Russian plan for a deep invasion of Germany also failed. Rennenkampf was removed from office on November 18, dismissed in October 1915, and in 1918 was shot by the verdict of the revolutionary tribunal in Taganrog). Battle of the Bzura River (Poland) November 19 (December 2) - December 20, 1914 (January 2, 1915). The battle took place between the 9th German, 1st Austro-Hungarian armies and Russian armies: 1st (General Litvinov A.I.) and 2nd (General Smirnov V.V.). Russian losses - 200 thousand people, German - 100 thousand. The attempt to push the Russians back beyond the Vistula failed. Russian troops retreated to the line of the Bzura, Ravka, Pilitsa, and Nida rivers, where the fighting continued. In the period December 9 (22), 1914 - January 4 (17), 1915, the Sarakamysh operation of the Russian and Turkish armies took place in the Caucasian theater of operations. Russian troops of General Myshlaevsky A.Z. (63 thousand people), Turks (Enver Pasha, 90 thousand). The Turks were surrounded and completely defeated. Russian losses were 20 thousand, the Turks lost 70 thousand. The position of the Caucasian army strengthened. The 1914 campaign was over. During this campaign, new fronts were formed: Caucasian, Dardanelles, Syrian, Palestinian, Mesopotamian, Suez and Arabian, Far Eastern. The 1914 campaign did not bring decisive success to either side. Military actions showed the fallacy of calculations on the short-term nature of the war. In the very first operations, stocks of weapons and ammunition were used up. The maneuver period ended and the positional period of the war began.
II
Campaign of 1915 England and France decided to switch to strategic defense in order to gain time for the deployment of military production and the preparation of reserves. The main burden of the armed struggle in this campaign was shifted to Russia. Germany decides to go on the defensive on the Western Front, defeat the Russian army on the Eastern Front and take Russia out of the war. From February to October 1915, heavy and bloody battles took place on the Eastern Front. In the summer of 1915, the German command, having created a large attack group, broke through the Russian front near Gorlitsa and soon launched an offensive in the Baltic states. The Russian command, switching to strategic defense, withdrew its armies from enemy attacks. In October, the front stabilized on the line Riga, r. Western Dvina, Dvinsk, Baranovichi, Dubno. The enemy's plan to withdraw Russia from the war in 1915 failed.
The plan of the Russian Headquarters for 1915 provided for an offensive in two strategic directions: in East Prussia - against Germany and in the Carpathians - against Austria-Hungary. But the German command became aware of this plan and, having created strike groups in both directions, launched preemptive strikes. In East Prussia, the 8th and 10th German armies launched an offensive on January 25 (February 7) against the Russian 10th Army (General F.B. Sivers) of the Northwestern Front (General Ruzsky). During the August operation, the enemy managed to cut off and encircle the 20th Corps of the 10th Army. The remnants of the army retreated to the Lipsk line, the Osovets fortress. Our losses - killed and wounded - 56 thousand, prisoners - 100 thousand people.
The Carpathian offensive operation of the Russian armies of the Southwestern Front (Ivanov), carried out on January 10 (23) - April 11 (24) with the aim of invading Hungary and withdrawing Austria-Hungary from the war. The main task was assigned to the 8th Army of General Brusilov. In this army, the 48th division was headed by Lieutenant General Lavr Georgievich Kornilov, who was captured and remained in Austrian captivity from April 1915 to August 1916. In mid-March, the Headquarters changed the tasks of the fronts: the Southwestern Front must now attack Budapest, and the Northwestern Front must defend. During March, the 8th Army and part of the 3rd Army fought continuous battles. On March 9 (22), after a 6-month blockade, the 120 thousand garrison of the fortress city of Przemysl capitulated. The siege was led by the 11th (Blockade) Army of General A.N. Selivanov. The liberated troops were distributed between the 8th and 3rd Russian armies, which were supposed to break through the defenses of the Austro-German troops and reach their rear. They failed. As a result of the Carpathian operation, Russian troops lost about 1 million. people, enemy - 800 thousand. Russian troops gained a foothold on the achieved lines. During the Gorlitsky breakthrough from May 2 (15) to September 30 (October 13), the Austro-Germans occupied Galicia in June. At the same time, the enemy carried out offensive operations in the Baltic states and Poland. Russian troops were forced to leave Poland. Russian soldiers showed massive heroism. One of the examples of heroism and dedication. During the defense of the small fortress of Osowiec (Poland; now Belarus) on July 24 (August 6), 1915, an incident occurred that shocked many. The small Russian garrison defending Osovets had to hold out for 48 hours. He lasted 190 days! The Germans used artillery and aviation - to no avail. Then they started a gas attack. The defenders of the fortress did not have gas masks. Following the gas attack, 7,000 German infantry went on the offensive. The enemy was coming closer and closer. And suddenly, from the poisonous chlorine fog, a Russian counterattack fell on them (a little more than 60 people - the remnants of the 13th company of the 226th Zemlandsky regiment). Each one had more than 100 enemies. The Russians walked into the bayonet line at full speed, coughing and coughing up blood and pieces of lungs. The Germans were numb and terrified. They stopped and then started running. And then the seemingly dead Russian artillery opened fire. This attack was called "Attack of the Dead". The Russians did not surrender the fortress; they left on orders, blowing it up. This is an example of the greatest heroism of a Russian soldier! As a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough, the successes of Russian troops in the Carpathian operation and in general in the 1915 campaign were negated. Russian losses - killed and wounded - 240 thousand, prisoners - 500 thousand people. On August 4 (17), the Northwestern Front was divided into the Northern (General N.V. Ruzsky) and Western (General A.E. Evert). The last major offensive operation of the Germans was the Vilna operation on August 9 (22) - September 19 (October 2) against the 5th (V.K. Pleve) and 10th armies (N.A. Radkevich) of the Western Front. The Russians left Vilna and retreated to the Lake Naroch - Smorgon line and switched to positional defense.
On the Western Front, the Anglo-French and Germans carried out only private operations. On April 22, near the city of Ypres, the Germans used chemical weapons (chlorine) against the British for the first time. Of the 15 thousand poisoned, 5000 people died. After this, gases and other toxic compounds began to be used by both sides. Until the end of the war, the warring parties used 125 thousand tons of toxic substances, the total losses from which were about 1 million people. It is characteristic that toxic substances had a weaker effect on smokers than on non-smokers. It is symbolic that on the night of October 13-14, 1918, in the area of ​​Ypres, the British used chemical shells against the Germans. Corporal Schicklgruber (Adolf Hitler) fell under the explosion of these shells. By morning he was almost completely blind. But over time I was able to recover. In May 1915, Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente, which fielded an army of 870 thousand people and 1,700 guns against Austria-Hungary. In October, Bulgaria joined the Austro-German bloc with an army of 500 thousand. By the end of the year, the German coalition troops completely occupied Serbia
The 1915 campaign did not live up to the hopes of both warring coalitions, but its outcome was more favorable for the Entente. Germany did not solve the problem of defeating its opponents one by one and was forced to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle in 1915, providing France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war. There were 107 Austro-German divisions on the Russian front in the summer (at the beginning of the war there were 52 here). The role of the Russian front increased. The massive use of repeating rifles, machine guns, mortars and bomb launchers, heavy artillery and the development of field fortification made the defense stronger than the offensive. The search was on to break through such a defense. In addition to reconnaissance aircraft, bomber and fighter aircraft appeared (armed with machine guns firing through a propeller).
Campaign of 1916 By the beginning of 1916, Germany and its allies firmly held the defensive front and were 100 km from Paris. Austria-Hungary improved its position slightly. England increased its troop contingent by 40 divisions. The overall balance of forces on the fronts was in favor of the Entente (365 versus 286 divisions). The German command planned to again direct its main effort against France. The Russians were accumulating forces to break through the positional defense. The Entente's general strategic plan for 1916 was adopted at the 2nd Inter-Allied Conference on November 23-25 ​​(December 6-8), 1915. It provided for a coordinated Allied offensive against Germany from the west and east in mid-June. But the Germans violated this plan by launching an attack on Verdun first on the Western Front. The Verdun operation, as a set of military operations by German and French troops for the Verdun fortified area, was carried out from February 21 to February 18, i.e. 10 months. The Verdun fortified area measuring 112 by 18 km included a system of field and long-term defensive structures, including forts. The Germans created high densities of personnel and artillery in the offensive areas and continuously attacked the French until July and penetrated 7-10 km. In the second half of the year, the initiative in the Verdun region passed to the French. After transporting 190 thousand French troops to the front line in 3,900 vehicles, the Germans were pushed back to their original lines. 69 French and 50 German divisions passed through the “Verdun meat grinder”. Germany lost 600 thousand, and France over 358 thousand people. From July 1 to November 18 on the river. Somme Anglo-French troops launched an offensive against German troops. The operation to break through the 7-8 km deep defense took more than 5 months to prepare. Artillery preparation was carried out for 7 days, which led to a loss of surprise in the offensive. “Gnawing through” the defense took place on a front of 40 km with the Allies superior in manpower, artillery and aircraft (the Allies had up to 500, the Germans had up to 300 aircraft). In September, the British first used a new means of fighting - tanks, which helped the British infantry advance only 3-4 km. In 4.5 months, Anglo-French troops in a 40 km zone pushed the enemy back 10 km. At the same time, they lost 794 thousand people. Losses of German troops - 538 thousand.
On the Russian Front, the offensive of the troops of the Southwestern Front (Brusilov A.A.) was successfully carried out in the period from May 22 (June 4) to the end of July (beginning of August). The front consisted of four armies: 8th (A.M. Kaledin), 11th (V.V. Sakharov), 7th (D.G. Shcherbachev) and 9th (P.A. Lechitsky) . According to the plan of the Russian Headquarters (Mogilev; Supreme Commander-in-Chief since September 5, 1915 - Tsar Nicholas II), in the summer of 1916 the main blow was to be delivered by the troops of the Western Front (1,2,4,10 and 3 armies) in the Vilna direction. The Southwestern and Northern fronts were assigned a supporting role. The Southwestern Front had 573 thousand people (against 448 thousand for the Austro-Hungarians), light artillery 1770 against 1301, heavy artillery - 168 against 545. The offensive was prepared in strict secrecy. A thorough reconnaissance was carried out, strike groups were created for the offensive, and trenches were equipped leading towards the enemy in order to approach him unnoticed. Brusilov moved away from the practice of delivering one main blow. He prepared breakthroughs in the offensive zones of all four armies at the same time, i.e. in four directions. After powerful artillery preparation, the troops went on the offensive. The positional defense front was broken through in a 550 km zone to a depth of 60-150 km. At the same time, the Russians suffered losses of 500 thousand people, the Austro-Hungarians - 1.5 million people and a large number of guns, machine guns, mortars and bomb throwers. But the Headquarters was unable to increase the success of the Southwestern Front. By the beginning of August, the front had stabilized at the turn of the river. Stokhod, Zolochev, Galich, Stanislav. Romania, speaking on the side of the Entente, formed the Romanian Front.
Campaign of 1917 The German coalition in 1917 could not conduct major offensive operations in any of the theaters of war and switched to strategic defense. The Entente planned to launch a coordinated general offensive on the Western and Eastern fronts with the goal of defeating Germany and Austria-Hungary to end the war this year, using the advantage in forces and means over the enemy. The main role was assigned to the Anglo-French troops. In the area between Reims and Soissons, six French and three British armies, over 11 thousand guns, about 1,500 aircraft and 300 tanks were concentrated on two front sections of 40 and 20 km. From April 9 to May 5, the Anglo-French carried out offensive operations against the German armies. They had to overcome the heavily fortified defenses along the Siegfried Line. The goals of the offensive were not achieved. The French lost 180 thousand, the British - 160 thousand, the Germans - 238 thousand people. The 20 thousand Russian legion lost 5183 people killed. November 20 - November 6, the battle of Cambrai (North-Western France) took place between British and German troops. The British planned to use a sudden massive attack of tanks (without artillery preparation), with the support of infantry, artillery and aviation, to break through the German defenses on a 12 km front and capture Cambrai. To achieve this, over 1,000 guns, about 1,000 aircraft, and 476 tanks were concentrated on the offensive front. By the end of November 20, the British had advanced 8-10 km, captured 8,000 prisoners, 100 guns, 350 machine guns. The Germans' tactical defense was broken through and they brought in reserves. But the British were unable to develop their success. By November 29, the British advance had stalled. From November 30 to December 6, the Germans launched a counterattack with the force of 12 divisions, 1,700 guns and over 1,000 aircraft. As a result of the counterattack, the Germans returned the lost territory, captured 9,000 prisoners, 716 machine guns, 248 guns and 100 tanks. The troops found themselves in their previous positions.
On February 27 (March 12) a bourgeois-democratic revolution took place in Russia. The masses of soldiers played an active role in it. IN AND. Lenin wrote: “The proletariat made a revolution, demanding peace, bread and freedom, having nothing in common with the imperialist bourgeoisie, and it led the majority of the army, consisting of workers and peasants” (vol. 31, p. 73). The Kerensky government stood for continuing the war to a victorious end. It was preparing the June offensive of troops on all fronts. The main blow was to be delivered by the Southwestern Front (11th, 7th, 8th armies; commander-in-chief General Gutor E.A., from July 7 (20) Kornilov L.G.) on Lvov. Other attacks were carried out by: the Northern Front (Vladislav Napoleonovich Klembovsky) on Kovno (Kaunas), the Western Front (A.I. Denikin) on Vilna (Vilnius), the Romanian Front (King Ferdinand I of Romania; his assistant General D.G. Shcherbachev) on Focsani, Dobruja. The offensive was carried out from June 16 (29) to June 30 (July 13). Success was evident in the offensive zone of the 8th Army, which by June 30 advanced 50-70 km and was stopped by the enemy. 619) July, the Austro-German troops launched a counter-offensive and pushed the Russians back 120-150 km, i.e. almost to the state border. Not wanting to fight, the Russian troops retreated almost without resistance. The Northern, Western and Romanian fronts were not successful. The Russians lost 150 thousand people killed, wounded and missing. The consequence of the battle was the July political crisis in Petrograd, the weakening of the political positions of the Provisional Government and the increase in the authority of the Bolsheviks. On August 19-24 (September 1-6), the Riga offensive operation of German troops was carried out with the goal of defeating the 12th Army (General D.P. Parsky), the Northern Front, separating the Baltic states from Russia and creating a direct military threat to revolutionary Petrograd. Headquarters, led by the counter-revolutionary General Kornilov, knew about the impending German offensive, but did not take measures to repel it. Moreover, Kornilov was preparing the surrender of the Riga bridgehead and Riga to the Germans. Using chemical shells, the Germans crossed the Western Dvina and penetrated the Russian defense. Having received the order to retreat, Russian troops left Riga on the night of August 21 (September 3) and retreated 30-40 km. The Russians lost 25 thousand people, a lot of weapons, ammunition and property. German losses were up to 5 thousand people.
By November 1917, the Russian army pinned down 60 German and 44 Austro-Hungarian divisions on the fronts. On October 25 (November 7), the Great October Socialist Revolution took place in Russia under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, and on October 26 (November 8), the 2nd Congress of Soviets adopted a decree on peace. The Entente rejected the peace proposals of the Soviet Republic and took the path of fighting to overthrow Soviet power. Under these conditions, the Soviet government was forced to negotiate with Germany. The German government immediately instructed the command of the eastern front to conclude a truce with Russian troops. On December 2 (15), the armistice agreement was signed. Soviet Russia emerged from the war.
The 1918 campaign took place in a difficult military-political situation. Protest against the war intensified at the front and in the rear. Germany temporarily took over the strategic initiative in the first half of the year. Together with its allies, it continued to occupy vast territories of Russia, Romania, France, all of Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, a significant part of Albania and Northern Italy. With Russia's exit from the war, Germany was left with only one front - the Western. However, the Entente with its war economy was stronger. From March 1918, American troops began to arrive on the continent, although the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. During the 32 months of the war, the United States “maintained neutrality,” planning to neutralize Germany and remove England and France from leadership in Europe. American troops (20 divisions, about 1 million people under the command of General D. Pershing), who arrived in Europe, were unarmed and completely incapable of combat. The French and British gave them weapons. After conducting a set of training and exercises, the Americans took part in the battles in the summer on the Western and Italian fronts. Germany, having overestimated its strength, planned to launch two strikes: in the West, ahead of the arrival of the main US forces, and in the East - with the aim of launching an intervention against Soviet Russia. The Anglo-French planned to switch to strategic defense in order to achieve final victory over Germany in 1919. On February 18, Austro-German troops began the occupation of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states. Russian troops offered almost no resistance. The Russian army was demoralized, and mass desertion began. By the beginning of April, the Germans managed to capture the headquarters of 4 Russian armies, 5 corps, 17 divisions and many regiments, over 82 thousand soldiers and officers, about 800 thousand rifles, 10 thousand machine guns, 4381 guns, 1203 mortars , 152 airplanes, 1273 automobiles, 100 million cartridges, about 3 million shells, 210 steam locomotives, about 30 thousand carriages, 63 thousand carts, 1705 camp kitchens and 13 thousand horses. IN AND. Lenin wrote: “There is no army, it is impossible to hold it. The best thing that can be done is to demobilize as soon as possible” (vol. 36, p. 13).
After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with Soviet Russia, German troops on the Western Front carried out the March Offensive on March 21 - April 4 with the strength of three German armies against two British armies. The goal of the offensive was to cut off English forces from French ones, push the British back to the English Channel and take England out of the war. In 15 days of fighting, the Germans found themselves 16 km from Amiens, significantly pushed back the British (65-85 km), and they were already planning to evacuate to England. The French retreated to the southwest in order to cover Paris. But due to the lack of reserves and fatigue of the troops, as well as the stubborn resistance of the young Red Army on Russian territory, which pinned down over 1 million German troops, the Germans stopped the offensive. Entente losses - 212 thousand people, German losses - 240 thousand. German troops did not achieve their goals. Their situation worsened. The resulting Amiens salient required additional forces, which Germany did not have. In May-June there was another German offensive against the French on the Aisne and Oise rivers. The Germans managed to reach the river line. Marne (70 km from Paris). Here, on July 15-17, was the last German attempt to advance on the Marne, called the “Battle for Peace”). In the July battles on the Marne, the strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Allies. August 8 - November 11 Entente troops (British, French, American, Canadian, Australian and Belgian) carried out the “Hundred Days Offensive”, consisting of several offensive operations. The largest of them were: Amiens (August 8-20) and Saint-Miiel operations (September 12-15). In these operations, the Entente had 2,700 guns, 511 tanks, and about 1,000 aircraft. The German army had 840 guns and 106 aircraft. The advantage in manpower was absolute. In these operations, the Entente artillery used a barrage of fire and used chemical and smoke shells. The Saint-Mihiel operation was the first independent operation of the American army. Here she won her first victory, albeit over a retreating enemy. At the same time, thousands of shells were fired into empty trenches. In the “Hundred Day Offensive” the Entente lost 1,070,000 people, Germany - 785 thousand.
On October 5, Germany turned to US President Wilson with a request for an immediate armistice. The truce was signed: September 29 with Bulgaria, October 30 with Turkey. Austria-Hungary capitulated on November 3; The German delegation signed the terms of the armistice on November 11 in the Compiegne Forest at the Retonde station (France) in a railway carriage. This place and the conditions of the truce and surrender were assigned to her by the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, French Marshal F. Foch. According to the terms of the truce, the German army had to disarm, the Rhineland was occupied by allied forces. The final outcome of the war was summed up in Versailles on July 28, 1929 with the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty.
The war and the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution marked the beginning of the general crisis of capitalism in Russia. It continues today, covering all aspects of public life: economics, politics, ideology. As a result of the war, the political map of the world changed. For the first time in the world, a state of workers and peasants appeared on Earth - the Soviet Socialist Republic. If in 1914 there were 3 republics and 17 monarchies in Europe, then in 1918 they became 10 to 10. As a result of the war, four empires ceased to exist: Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, Russian. On their ruins, new states were formed: Austria, the Weimar Republic, Hungary, Poland, the RSFSR, the Turkish Republic, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia. The war did not resolve a single contradiction between the capitalist powers. It led to heavy casualties. Human losses in Russia - killed - 1.7 million people; wounded - 4.95 million; prisoners - 2.5 million; total - 9.15 million people. Germany - 1,773,700; 4.216.058; 1.152.800; total - 7,142,558. Austria-Hungary - 1.2 million; 3.62 million; 2.2 million; Total - 7.020 million. France - 1.4 million; 4.266 million; 537 thousand.” total - 6.16 million. England - 908.371; 2.090.212; total -3.190.235. USA - 126,000; 234.300; 4500 people; total - 364.800. It should be taken into account that medicine during the war was very weak and the mortality rate among the wounded reached 11-11.5%, and disability - 30%. Why did Russians give their lives more than others and become crippled? For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland? In the oath of the Russian Imperial Army (1915), the soldier swears “by Almighty God to serve the Sovereign Emperor, not sparing his belly, to the last drop of blood.” Not a word about the Fatherland. This means that the soldiers (peasants and workers) gave their lives and health for God and the Emperor. As you know, the classics of Marxism back in 1848 came to the objective conclusion that “the proletariat (workers and peasants) have no fatherland.” IN AND. Lenin also repeatedly emphasized this idea. The workers and peasants did not have a Fatherland. In fact, the Fatherland appeared in October 1917 after the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. It was called the Socialist Fatherland. There cannot be other fatherlands. Fatherland - when you live as a person, and not as a slave. Legally, the existence of a socialist fatherland was recorded in the USSR in 1931. Many did not agree with the interpretation of the classics of Marxism-Leninism about the fatherland, especially intellectuals. Russian writer V. G. Korolenko in August 1917 wrote an article “War, Fatherland and Humanity,” in which he justified the policy of war. He writes “The Tsar fell, Russia remained. And we see that the country has weakened. As if there was strength in slavery, as if freedom brought weakness. The feeling of fatherland has diminished; it is almost dying in revolutionary Russia. We imagined that we had already become the head of the movement of all advanced humanity simply by renouncing our own fatherland.” IN AND. Lenin read this article in June 1919 and gave it and the writer an unflattering assessment. In a letter to A.M. Gorky dated September 15, 1919 V.I. writes: “It is wrong to confuse the “intellectual forces” of the people with the “forces” of bourgeois intellectuals. Korolenko is, after all, the best of the “near-cadets”, almost a Menshevik. And what a vile, vile, vile defense of the imperialist war, covered with sugary phrases. For such gentlemen, 10,000,000 killed in an imperialist war is a cause worthy of support, and the death of hundreds of thousands in a just civil war against landowners and capitalists causes gasps, groans, sighs, and hysterics. The intellectual forces of the workers and peasants are growing and strengthening in the struggle to overthrow the bourgeoisie and its accomplices, intellectuals, lackeys of capital, who imagine themselves to be the brains of the nation. In fact, this is not the brain, but g...” (vol. 51, p. 48).
Russia did not have a victory day in the First World War. And the military journey of every Russian soldier, officer, and general ended differently. However, despite the fact that Russian soldiers were not crowned with the laurels of victory over Germany and its allies, they made a great contribution to the victory, pinning down up to 50% of the enemy forces and thereby ensuring the success of the Entente forces. August 1, 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of Russia's entry into the First World War. A significant part (in time) of military operations was carried out by our armies on foreign territory for interests alien to the Russian people. There are no longer any living participants in this war. And the fallen deserve to be remembered. They fulfilled their military duty to the end, to the last drop of blood, as written in the text of the oath.

Berezhnoy A.A, military historian, Kolpinskoye RO COMMUNIST PARTY COMMUNISTS OF RUSSIA