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| 8. The Eastern Front, 1916–1917 |
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(See Sept. 5)| |
| 1916, June 4 |
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| The great BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE, initiated somewhat prematurely in order to meet the Italian appeals to distract the Austrians in the Trentino. Brusilov (appointed to the command of the Russian southern front, April 4) had planned the offensive for June 15, to coincide with Joffre's great offensive on the Somme. But the Brusilov offensive was meant to be followed by an even larger operation farther north. After heavy fighting and initial gains, the Russians failed to reach either Kovel or Lemberg. Their losses were about a million men, and the whole operation left the army demoralized and discontented. | 1 |
| The situation in the east was dominated, in 1917, by the developments of the Russian Revolution (See 1917, March 8). The provisional government (Paul Miliukov, foreign minister, March 15–May 16, 1917) was strongly in favor of prosecution of the war in the hope of realizing the national aspirations. The same was true of Alexander Kerensky (minister of war, May 16, prime minister, July 20), who hoped to combat disruptive tendencies and galvanize the country by a new military effort. | 2 |
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| 1917, July 1 |
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| Brusilov began a great offensive on the Galician front. | 3 |
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| Aug. 1 |
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| Brusilov was succeeded by Gen. Lavr Kornilov. | 4 |
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| Sept. 8–14 |
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| Kornilov marched on Petrograd as leader of a counterrevolutionary movement, which failed. | 5 |
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| Nov. 7 (Oct. 25 Old Style) |
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| BOLSHEVIK COUP D'ÉTAT IN RUSSIA. | 6 |
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| Nov. 28 |
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| The new Bolshevik regime offered the Germans an armistice and peace. | 7 |
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| Dec. 15 |
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| ARMISTICE CONCLUDED ON THE EASTERN FRONT. (See The Settlements in Eastern Europe, 1917–1918) | 8 |
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