The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread which discusses The Eastern Front in World War I.

The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I (Russian: Восточный фронт, Vostochnıy front, sometimes called the "Second Fatherland War" or "Second Patriotic War" (Russian: Вторая Отечественная война, Vtoraya Otechestvennaya voyna) in Russian sources) was a theatre of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier between the Russian Empire and Romania on one side and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire on the other.

It stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, included most of Eastern Europe and stretched deep into Central Europe as well. The term contrasts with "Western Front", which was being fought in Belgium and France.

During 1910, Russian General Yuri Danilov developed "Plan 19" under which four armies would invade East Prussia.

This plan was criticised as Austria-Hungary could be a greater threat than the German Empire. So instead of four armies invading East Prussia, the Russians planned to send two armies to East Prussia, and two Armies to defend against Austro-Hungarian forces invading from Galicia.

In the opening months of the war, the Imperial Russian Army attempted an invasion of eastern Prussia in the northwestern theater, only to be beaten back by the Germans after some initial success. At the same time, in the south, they successfully invaded Galicia, defeating the Austro-Hungarian forces there.

In Russian Poland, the Germans failed to take Warsaw. But by 1915, the German and Austro-Hungarian armies were on the advance, dealing the Russians heavy casualties in Galicia and in Poland, forcing it to retreat. Grand Duke Nicholas was sacked from his position as the commander-in-chief and replaced by the Tsar himself.

Several offensives against the Germans in 1916 failed, including Lake Naroch Offensive and the Baranovichi Offensive. However, General Aleksei Brusilov oversaw a highly successful operation against Austria-Hungary that became known as the Brusilov Offensive, which saw the Russian Army make large gains.

The Kingdom of Romania entered the war in August 1916. The Entente promised the region of Transylvania (which was part of Austria-Hungary) in return for Romanian support.

The Romanian Army invaded Transylvania and had initial successes, but was forced to stop and was pushed back by the Germans and Austro-Hungarians when Bulgaria attacked them in the south. Meanwhile, a revolution occurred in Russia

in February 1917 (one of the several causes being the hardships of the war). Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate and a Russian Provisional Government was founded, with Georgy Lvov as its first leader, who was eventually replaced by Alexander Kerensky.

The newly formed Russian Republic continued to fight the war alongside Romania and the rest of the Entente until it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in October 1917. Kerensky oversaw the July Offensive, which was largely a failure and caused a collapse in the Russian Army.

The new government established by the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, taking it out of the war and making large territorial concessions. Romania was also forced to surrender and signed a similar treaty, though both of the treaties were nullified with the surrender of the Central Powers in November 1918."

Source: Wikipedia

Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17 (The Eastern Front #3)

by Prit Buttar (no photo)

Synopsis:

In Russia's Last Gasp, Prit Buttar looks at one of the bloodiest campaigns launched in the history of warfare – the Brusilov Offensive, sometimes known as the June Advance.

The assault was intended to ease the pressure on Russia's British and French allies by diverting German troops from the Western Front and knocking Austria-Hungary out of the war.

Russia's dismal military performance in the preceding years was forgotten, as the Brusilov Offensive was quickly characterised by innovative tactics, including the use of shock troops, a strategy that German armies would later adapt to great effect.

Drawing on first-hand accounts and detailed archival research this is a dramatic retelling of the final years of the war on the Eastern Front, in which the Russian Army claimed military success but at a terrible cost.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations /List of Maps /Author's Note /Dramatis Personae /Introduction /1. The Fruits of War /2. The Winter Battles /3. Lake Naroch /4. The Quiet Front /5. Brusilov's Offensive Begins /6. The Growing Crisis /7. Dealing with Success and Failure /8. Now or Never /9. Kovel and Stanislau /10. The Advent of Romania /11. The New Front: Romania's Gamble /12. Autumn /13. Budapest and Beyond /14. The Cracks in the Edifice /Notes /Bibliography /Index

About the Author:

Prit Buttar studied medicine before joining the British Army as a doctor. He has since worked as a GP, and is extensively involved in medical politics, having served on the GPs' Committee of the British Medical Association.

He has appeared on local and national TV and radio, speaking on medical issues, and contributes regularly to the medical press. His previous books include Battleground Prussia (2010) and Between Giants (2013).

An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944–45 (Osprey 2010) and Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II (Osprey 2013). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916–17 is the final book in a three-volume series, the definitive study of the First World War on the Eastern Front.

The Eastern Front 1914-1917

by Norman Stone

Synopsis:

Norman Stone's groundbreaking book was the very first authoritative account of the Russian Front in the First World War to be published in the West. In this now-classic history he dispels the myths surrounding a still relatively little-known aspect of the war, showing how inefficiency rather than economic shortage led to Russia's desperate privations and eventual retreat. He also reinterprets the connection between the war and the chaos that followed, arguing that although fighting had almost ceased by the end of 1916, Russia was still in turmoil- undergoing a period of change that would inexorably lead towards revolution.

Battles East: A History of the Eastern Front of the First World War|

by G. Irving Root (no photo)

Synopsis:

Despite the enormous amount of literature that has been published about the First World War, only a handful of books have ever been written about the incredibly important Eastern Front of that great conflict. But while British, French, and later American troops fought a relatively static war with Germans in Western Europe, huge armies of Austro-Hungarians and Germans clashed with Russians and later Romanians on a sprawling landscape well to the east. Vast plains, endless forests, giant marshlands and even a major mountain range were the setting for this desperate contest, from which there were no victors. Instead, three mighty empires disappeared into revolution, violence and chaos.

Battles East: A History of the Eastern Front of the First World War records the story of this forgotten theater of war in text and in maps, from the first shots along the frontiers in August 1914 to the fighting over boundaries which characterized east-central Europe long after the armistice had been signed in the West.

Thank you very much Jerome

An upcoming book:
Release date: March 28, 2024

The Eastern Front: A History of the First World War

by Nick Lloyd (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the second volume of his landmark First World War trilogy, Professor Nick Lloyd tells the story for the first time of what Winston Churchill once called the 'unknown war': the vast conflict in Eastern Europe and the Balkans that brought about the collapse of three empires.

Much has been written about the fighting in France and Belgium, yet the Eastern Front was no less bloody. Between 1914 and 1917, huge numbers of people - perhaps as many as 16 million soldiers and two million civilians - were killed, wounded or maimed in enormous battles that sometimes ranged across a front of 100 km in length.

Through intimate eyewitness reports, diary entries and memoirs - many of which have never been translated into English before - Lloyd reconstructs the full story of a war that began in the Balkans as a local struggle between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, and which sucked in Russia, Germany and Italy, right through to the final collapse of the Habsburg Empire in 1918.

The Eastern Front paints a vivid and authoritative picture of a conflict that shook the world, and that remains central to understanding the tragic, blood-soaked trajectory of the entire twentieth century, including the current war in Ukraine.