The Great War - WW1
The Eastern Front
In March 1915 the Russian's resumed the offensive in Galicia and took the Great fortress of Przemysl. Their success forced the German Cheif of Staff, Falkenhayn, to turn his attention to the Eastern Front. If he could decisively defeat the Russians, he could then bring superior forces to bear on the Allies in the West.
In May, the Germans and Austrians attacked on a 28-mile front at Gorlice, driving the Russians out of most of Poland and taking nearly a million prisoners. The Russians held on, retreating 300 miles before halting the Germans on a new defensive line. The Tsar dismissed the Grand Duke Nicholas as Commander-in-Chief and took command himself.
In June 1916 the Russians were ready to attack again. The drive on Warsaw came to grief, but south of the Pripet marshes General Alexei Brusilov unleashed a surprise offensive along a 300-mile front against the Austrian Fourth and Seventh Armies. Dispensing with a concentration of troops and a preliminary bombardment, he simply attacked wherever he could. In two weeks he took 200'000 prisoners.
By the end of the summer, German reinforcements diverted from the attack on Verdun, and Russian shortage of ammunition and reserves, had shut down Brusilov's offensive. It had effectively undermined Austria as a military power but had also cost Russia nearly a million casualties, losses which accelerated the collapse which was to lead to the Russian Revolution.