{"id":842,"date":"2017-04-04T22:15:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T22:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=842"},"modified":"2026-04-23T07:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:09:52","slug":"russia-in-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/russia-in-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia in World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Russia was one of the main nations involved in the events of\u00a0World War I<\/a>.\u00a0 In fact, Russia was one of the main contributing nations to the causes of World War I<\/a> following the\u00a0assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a>\u00a0in 1914.\u00a0 As well, Russia participated in several significant battles of the war.\u00a0 For example, Russian soldiers fought along the\u00a0Eastern Front<\/a> against others such as\u00a0Austria-Hungary<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Germany<\/a>.\u00a0 During World War I, Russia was one of the\u00a0Allied Powers<\/a>\u00a0alongside\u00a0Britain<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0France<\/a>.\u00a0 The war also proved impactful for Russia in that it helped lead to the events of the Russian Revolution<\/a>.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russia in World War I – Infographic (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RUSSIA ENTERS WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

World War I<\/a> erupted during the summer of 1914 in an event that historians refer to as the\u00a0July Crisis<\/a>.\u00a0 In short, this crisis was caused by the assassination of Austrian Archduke\u00a0Franz Ferdinand<\/a>, which led to the major European powers engaging in a conflict.\u00a0 Prior to the start of World War I, Russia was a member nation of the\u00a0Triple Entente<\/a>, alongside Britain<\/a> and France<\/a>.\u00a0 At the start of the war in 1914, Russia joined Britain and France to form the Allied Powers<\/a>.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The July Crisis of 1914 unfolded as a series of events following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.  For instance, in the days immediately after the June 28th assassination, several prominent ministers in the Austrian government called for war to be declared against Serbia, due to its perceived role in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The assassination of Franz Ferdinand artwork by Achille Beltrame from an Italian newspaper. It shows Gavrilo Princip killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. (1914)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Seeing that the tensions in the Balkans were rising, France and Russia reaffirmed the alliance between the two nations.\u00a0 They were linked by the Franco-Russian Alliance, which was an economic and military alliance.\u00a0 Furthermore, this was one of the foundational agreements that made up the larger Triple Entente<\/a>.\u00a0 This alliance between France and Russia was important because it was one of the key things that caused the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to escalate into a conflict that involved most of Europe.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia was Serbia\u2019s biggest ally at the time due to both nations sharing Slavic heritage.\u00a0 This comes from the idea of \u2018Pan-Slavism<\/a>\u2019 in which the Slavic people of Eastern Europe all united nationalistically.\u00a0 As such, Russia sought to protect Serbia from Austria-Hungary.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officially World War I started on July 28th when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.\u00a0 In response, Russia mobilized its forces further on July 30th and began to prepare for war with Austria-Hungary.\u00a0 Having heard of the Russian mobilization against Austria-Hungary, Wilhelm II of Germany<\/a> ordered German mobilization on August 1st.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pan-Slavism was significant to World War I as it was related to Serbia’s defiance against Austro-Hungarian rule.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RUSSIA IN WORLD WAR I – ARMY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the outbreak of World War I, in 1914, Russia had approximately 5.9 million soldiers and by the end of the war 12 million Russians had served in uniform.  These numbers meant that Russia had the largest fighting forces in all of World War I.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When World War I began, Russian Emperor Nicholas II<\/a> made his cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. \u00a0\u00a0As well, the Russian army was divided between 115 infantry divisions as well as 38 cavalry divisions.\u00a0 Also, it is estimated that the Russian Amy had nearly 7,900 \u00a0heavy guns, which included artillery and smaller field guns. There were only 2 army ambulances and 679 cars.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Russian Army was not prepared for the fighting of World War I.  While Russia had a large population and could raise a large army with which to fight, it struggled to supply its forces.  For instance, most of the European powers had undergone industrialization in the 1800s and developed the necessary factories and industrial processes to build up military equipment.  However, in 1914, Russia was not industrialized in a similar fashion.  In fact, Russia was primarily a rural country, that relied on subsistence agriculture.  As such, Russia suffered from major supply issues during the course of World War I.  For example, in some conflicts, it was reported that nearly two-thirds of Russian forces were not supplied with a rifle.  Instead, unarmed Russian soldiers were instructed to run into battle behind one of their own that had a rifle.  Then, when the soldier with the rifle was injured or killed, they were to pick up the rifle.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another issue facing the Russian Army and its ability to wage war at the start of World War I, was the lack of necessary transportation routes to the front.  For example, Russia was a large country, and soldiers came from across the vast regions of the country.  However, Russia did not have a large enough rail network to effectively get the soldiers to the front.  Essentially, this slowed the ability of the Russian Army to mobilize and made it difficult for the country to properly get soldiers and materials to battle locations.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Russian soldiers in World War I on the Eastern Front.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The struggles of the Russian military in World War I were especially highlighted by their conflicts against Germany.\u00a0 In contrast to Russia, the German Army was highly trained and equipped throughout the war.\u00a0 For example, Germany had one of the most capable armies in all of Europe during World War I.\u00a0 As such, Russia suffered terrible losses in the conflicts that it fought against Germany.\u00a0 This was most evident in the\u00a0Battle of Tannenberg<\/a>, which saw Russia lose heavily against Germany in East Prussia.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The losses for the Russian Army became so terrible during the course of the war, that Russian soldiers lacked morale to keep fighting.\u00a0 In fact, this became such a problem that many soldiers began fleeing the front-lines and returning home.\u00a0 In response, the Russian government established several women\u2019s battalions in hope of boosting the war effort.\u00a0 Women participating in the fighting of World War I was unique to Russia, but failed to boost morale.\u00a0 Eventually, the Russian war effort failed with the events of the Russian Revolution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eastern
Russian soldiers marching to the front line in World War I. (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RUSSIA IN WORLD WAR I – MAJOR BATTLES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Russia was one of the main forces that participated in the battles of World War I, but they were primarily active on the Eastern Front<\/a>.\u00a0 In general, the landscape of Europe in World War I was divided into a few different \u2018fronts\u2019.\u00a0 For instance, the Western Front<\/a> was located on the western-half of Europe and included a line of trenches<\/a> that stretched throughout much of northern France and Belgium.\u00a0 Whereas the Eastern Front was along the border between Russia and Germany.\u00a0 At the time, Germany planned to defeat France in a quick assault, and then turn its armies to the east to attack Russia.\u00a0 This plan of attack was referred to as the Schlieffen Plan<\/a>.\u00a0 It did not result in a quick German victory, and instead Europe became bogged down in trench warfare across its many fronts.
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As stated above, Russian forces participated in many battles of World War I.\u00a0 Some of the most significant battles of World War I that Russia participated in included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n