The Brusilov Offensive
While the Germans and the French held each other by the throat at Verdun in the west, in the east Russia was foundering following a series of defeats. Turned back at Tannenberg, denied relief with the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign, and harassed by a joint German-Austrian offensive in 1915, it seemed the Russians had little prospect of turning the tides. Nonetheless, in June 1916 Russian commander Aleksei Brusilov would shock the Central Powers by orchestrating one of the most effective offensives of the entire war.
Brusilov had observed the repulsion of one offensive after the next on all fronts during the war, and he concluded that previous campaigns had failed because massing forces for a breakthrough in a small space allowed to enemy to concentrate defensive artillery and reserves to stop any breach in the lines. To overcome these defensive advantages, he planned for an offensive against the Austrians on a broad front, which he hoped would disperse Austrian artillery and reserves. He also called for the digging of saps as close to the enemy lines as possible so as to reduce the time that his troops would be exposed to no man’s land after going over the top.
On June 4, 1916, Brusilov unleashed his 650,000 men upon the slightly smaller Austrian force at the southern end of the front. The attack began, as most did, with an artillery barrage designed to destroy defensive obstacles and make way for the advance of Brusilov’s stormtroopers. The Russians captured a tenth of the Austrian defenders on the first day, and when the Austrians committed their reserves Brusilov opened the offensive along the rest of the front, enveloping them. The next day the Russians began a similar push in the north.
The Austrians were soon in full retreat, entreating Germany to send troops to assist them. The Germans, engaged in Verdun, at first refused aid, prompting the Austrians to cannibalize forces from their Italian front. This infusion of new blood slowed but did not stop the Russians, and eventually, the Germans would relent and pull some of their soldiers out of Verdun to prevent an Austrian collapse. The delay provided the Russians with a remarkable opportunity, but they were not prepared to follow up their success as no one but Brusilov had ever really expected that a breakthrough was possible.