Eastern Front 1916

1916 Eastern Front - reserve

At the start of 1916, the Eastern Front line extended from Riga on the Baltic Sea to Romania on the Black Sea. Russia began the war in 1914 with two attacks in Prussia and Galicia. Although Russia had initial success in East Prussia, Germany won the Battle of Tannenberg and stopped Russia in the Masurian Lakes. The eastern front remained mobile, and Germany counterattacked in Poland but was stopped in Nov. at Lodz. The Russian attack in Galicia drove the Austrians back to southern Silesia, and Austria lost its great fortress-city that had defended the Carpathians. Mackensen counterattacked at Gorlice-Tarnow May 1, 1915, and drove the Russians out of southern Poland. Another German army attacked in north Poland and Warsaw fell Aug. 5, 1915, and Russia lost key fortress-cities on the Polish border. As Germany began the occupation of Poland, Mackensen drove the Russians back to Brest-Litovsk. Germany then shifted its forces to attack Serbia Oct. 6, and Austria defended the Isonzu river bridges. The French and British sent a force to the port in Macedonia but were unable to save Serbia. Russia defeated Turkey in the cold mountains of the Caucasus Dec. 26, 1914, and advanced into eastern Anatolia, helping the Armenians declare independence. The British were unable to help the Russians with a failed attempt to open the Dardanelles Apr. 25, 1915.

1916 Jan. 1 - Russia had 1,693,000 troops in 169 divisions on eastern front with 6180 guns and 500 armored cars, faced 940,000 Austrians and Germans in 86 divisions. By Feb. 6, Germany kept only 2 divisions with Conrad's forces in the south. Most German troops were in the north, 48 divisions that faced Kuropatkin and Evart. Since late 1915, Austrian-German barbed wire had increased from 3 strands to 20 strands, laid in 3 belts.

Jan. 8 - Ivanov offensive resumed in Galicia

Jan. 21 - renewed Russian attack in East Poland

Mar. 2 - Joffre urged Russian offensive to relieve Verdun

Mar. 18 - 1st Battle of Lake Narotch began with Russian bombardment from 1271 guns for 8 hours, then 2nd Army of Gen Evert with 300,000 attacked German 10th army with 50,000 east of Vilna, but bad weather, thaws and freezes, too cold for poison gas, ineffective bombardment of Gen. Pleshkov. The attack was stopped by German guns on three sides of the Russian salient and Russians lost 100,000. German airplanes had spotted Russian infantry moving west, and Germans were able to position reserves at the correct locations. The battle ended Apr. 14 with 122,000 Russian casualties including 12,000 dead from frostbite and freezing weather, the Germans lost 20,000 casualties. The battle was the last failed effort of the old Russian Army that had been defeated by the Germans the previous year. "Lake Narotch was, despite appearances, one of the decisive battles of the First World War. it condemned most of the Russian army to passivity."

Mar. 21 - Russian 5th Army attacked in Baltics near Jakobstadt, but unable to cross the Dvina River

Apr. 4 - Brusilov replaced Ivanov as commander of Russian Southwest forces, and began preparations for June offensive. He brought Charles Urban from London to show his armies the film Britain Prepared, a British propaganda film that had premiered in London Dec. 29, 1915, produced by Charles Urban about how well-prepared the British homefront and industry had become.

May - Brusilov emphasized careful preparation, planned to disrupt enemy reserves with artillery and airplanes, to conceal preparation to achieve surprise attack at several locations so enemy would not know the location of the main attack, to avoid enfilading fire by attacking on a broad front, to hide reserves close to the front in huge dugouts, to move his sapping trenches forward as close as possible to the enemy front line trenches, 50-75 paces. Brusilov lost mobility to gain supply. He used aerial photography to plan attack, made detailed preparations, visited the front often with his staff.

May 20 - King of Italy made personal appeal to czar for offensive to relieve the AH pressure, and the French and British wanted a Russian offensive to relieve German pressure on the Somme.

June 1 - Brusilov was ready to attack with 4 armies of 600,000 on a long front from the Pripet marshes to the Rumanian border, against five Austrian armies of 500,000. The Austrian commanders were overconfident, failed to take proper defenses ag sappers, the dugouts, the possibility of a massive Russian attack. Instead, Conrad focused on strengthening the Italian front; by end of May, Austrian forces had reached the Arsiero-Asiago plateau and were at the edge of the mountains ready to attack the Isonzo to the northeast. Germany was also unprepared, focused instead on Verdun in the West.

June 4 - Brusilov Offensive began on 200-mile front from Rovno to the Pruth River with bombardment by 1938 guns, and infantry attack by 4 armies. The Russian artillery was not modern, but well-prepared, fired in short bursts, waited 15 minutes for Austrian troops to come back into trenches, then fired again. The 8th Army of Kaledin in the northern sector of the front took Lutsk and Dubno. The 9th Army of Lechitsky in the southern sector at the Battle of Kolomea June 24 defeated one of the best Austrian armies, the 7th Army led by Karl von Pflanzer-Baltin, then took Czernowitz and advanced to the Carpathians. In the center, the 7th Army of Shcherbachev and the 11th Army of Sakharov opened a 30-mile gap in the Austrian line at the Dniester River. Austria lost 1/2 of its army, 190,000 pows, and would be a fatal blow to Austrian morale that was already falling, but Brusilov turned north to the German lines, and did not pursue Austria-Hungary to the south. - map

July 4 - A second Russian offensive 100 miles north in the Pripet Marshes by the 3rd Army of Lesh with 250,000 pushed the Austrian-German army of 115,000 back 25 miles. A third Russian offensive at Baronovichi by the 4th Army of Ragoza was stopped by Austrian artillery by July 14. Gen. Alexi Evert was put in charge of a fourth offensive in the North against Kowel with 3 armies, but did not follow Brusilov's methods, returned to the phalanx system of attacking on a narrow front. Russia kept 852,000 north of the Pripet River, and Brusilov had 863,000 south of the river.

July 28 - Brody captured by the 11th Army of Sakharov.

July 29 - German-Austrian-Bulgarian convention signed to invade Romania; Mackensen given command of the Army of the Danube. Hindenburg and Ludendorff reinforced three German army groups north of Lemberg to stop the Russian offensive.

Aug. 2 - Hindenburg took command of the entire front over Austrian objections. The losses of the Austrians since June 4 were 614,000 Austrian casualties and 150,000 German casualties.

Aug. 25 - In Dobruja, Russian 3 divisions crossed Danube from Romania to invade Bulgaria. Romanian troops

Aug. 27 - Romania invaded Bulgaria through the Transylvanian passes, took Kronstadt and Petrosani and Kezdiasarhely.

Sept. 3 - Mackensen invaded Romania across the Danube from the south. The Germans were able in Sept. to use railroads and send 1500 trains through Hungary to build up an army equal to the size of the Romanian army.

Sept. 19 - Falkenhayn led German 9th Army to stop the Romanian offensive in Transylvania, crossed the Rotenturm (Rother Thurm) Pass Sept. 26 and defeated the Romanian 1st Army at Hermannstadt Sept. 29. - map

Oct. 2 - Russian mutinies began on Carpathian front, with refusal of the VII Siberian Corps to attack.

Oct. 10 - Czar ordered end of Brusilov Offensive. The Russian 9th Army would try to save Romania, but this had only weakened Brusilov.

Oct. 19 - Mackensen broke through in Dobrudja at Battle of Topraisar-Cobadinu, Romanians began retreat.

Nov. 1 - Sakharov takes command of 27 Russian divisions in Dobruja, ordered halt to the "shameful flight" from the attacking Germans.

Nov. 11 - In Transylvania Battle of Tirgu for the Vulkan pass, Lt. Rommel led Wurttemberg Mountain Company in capture of Mt. Lescului.

Nov. 23 - Mackensen crossed Danube near Sistova with 40 battalions, advanced toward Bucharest as Falkenhayn advanced south, allowed 3-day evacuation of Bucharest Dec. 3-6, then Mackensen rode into the city Dec. 6 on a white horse on his 67th birthday. British armored cars in Dobruja

Dec. 1 - British sent armored cars from Odessa to help Sakharov in Dobruja, defeated Bulgarians at Topalul, but fall of Bucharest caused general retreat of Russians and Romanians north into Moldavia. Falkenhayn stopped the German offensive at Focsani on the Sereth River Jan. 20, 1917. The defeat of Romania gave Germany valuable raw materials to continue the war for 2 more years: 1m tons oil from Ploesti, 2m tons grain, 200,000 tons timber, 100,000 cattle, 200,000 pigs and goats. Brusilov planned another spring offensive, and the Russian army of 6.5m had not yet collapsed and most were still loyal to Russia. However, there was a growing mutiny against the authority of the old officer corps, and supply problems deprived troops of rations, were paid in worthless paper money; soldiers joined the Bolsheviks as they returned to their villages. The March Revolution in Petrograd overthrew the Czar and all Russian war plans.

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