Kerensky Offensive

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Kerensky Offensive
partof = the Eastern Front during World War I


caption = Operations on the Eastern Front in 1917.
date = July 1 to July 19, 1917
place = Galicia, Central Europe
result = Central Powers victory
combatant1 = flagicon|Russian Empire|size=25px Russian Provisional Government
combatant2 = flagicon|German Empire|size=25px German Empire
flagicon|Austria-Hungary|size=25px Austria-Hungary
commander1 = Aleksei Brusilov
commander2 = flagicon|German Empire Felix Graf von Bothmer
strength1 = XI, VII, VIII Armies
strength2 = South Army (A.H.-Germany)
VII and III Army (Austria-Hungary)
casualties1 = 400,000
casualties2 = 60,000

The Kerensky Offensive (aka July Offensive or Galician Offensive) was the last Russian offensive in World War I. It took place in July 1917.

Background

It was decided by Alexander Kerensky, Minister of War in the Russian provisional government, and led by General Brusilov. Such a decision was ill-timed, because, following the February Revolution, there were strong popular demands for peace, especially within the army, whose fighting capabilities were quickly deteriorating.

Discipline within the Russian Army had reached at a point of crisis since the Tsar's abdication. The Petrograd Soviet's Order No. 1 tremendously weakened the power of officers, giving an overriding mandate to "soldier committees". The abolition of the death penalty was another contributing factor, as was the high presence of revolutionary agitators at the front including Bolshevik agitators, who promoted a defeatist agenda (and whom Kerensky tolerated considerably more than conservative agitators). Riots and mutineering at the front became common, officers were often the victims of soldier harassment and even murder. Furthermore, the policy of the new government towards the war effort was one of fulfilling obligations towards Russia's allies, as opposed to fighting for the sake of total victory, thus giving soldiers a less credible motivation to fight.

However, Kerensky hoped that an important Russian victory would gain popular favour and restore the soldiers' morale, thus strengthening the weak provisional government and proving the effectiveness of "the most democratic army in the world", as he referred to it.

Offensive

Starting on July 1, 1917 the Russian troops attacked the Austro-Hungarian and German forces in Galicia, pushing toward Lviv. The operations involved the Russian 11th, 7th and 8th Armies against the Austro-Hungarian/German South Army (General Felix Graf von Bothmer) and the Austro-Hungarian 7th and 3rd Armies.

After an initial success, the offensive was halted because the Russian soldiers soon mutinied and refused to fight. It collapsed altogether by July 16. On July 18 the Germans and Austro-Hungarians counterattacked, meeting little resistance and advancing through Galicia and Ukraine as far as the Zbruch River. The Russian lines were broken on July 20, and by July 23, the Russians had retreated about 240 kilometers (150 miles).

Aftermath

The Russian provisional government was greatly weakened by this military catastrophe, and the possibility of a Bolshevik coup d'état became increasingly real. Far from strengthening Russian army morale, this offensive proved that Russian army morale no longer existed. No Russian general could now count on the soldiers under his command actually doing what they were ordered to do.This offensive also helped the start of the July days.

One last fight took place between the Germans and the Russians in this war. On September 1, 1917 the Germans attacked and captured Riga. The Russian soldiers defending the town refused to fight and fled from the advancing German troops.

External links

* [http://www.westernfront.co.uk/thegreatwar/articles/timeline/kerensky.htm Kerensky Offensive by the Western Front Association]