Eastern Front - World War I

World War I

The Eastern Front of World War I was primarily fought between the Russian Empire and the empires of Germany and Austria Hungary with support from the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The front began on 17 August 1914, when Russia invaded East Prussia. Soon after, Russia invaded Austria-Hungary at Galicia and pushed back the Austro-Hungarian armies out of the area. However the German campaign didn't result well for the Russians as the Germans won a decisive battle at Tannenberg and inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian army. The Germans then defeated the Russians at the Battle of the Vistula River, and pushed their enemy back to a safe distance. Russia however continued to advance in Hungary and after capturing Łódź in December 1914, Germany sent many divisions to Austria-Hungary to help their ally. The Russians and Austro-Hungarians fought throughout the winter in the Carpathian Mountains and the Russians continued their steady advance until March 1915, when considerable German forces arrived in the area and stopped the Russian advance. During a short lull, Germany transferred many divisions to the eastern front to prepare for their first real offensive against Russia. In May 1915, Germany and Austria-Hungary, fighting under a unified command, launched the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, which pushed the Russians out of Galicia. A general advance followed and the Russians were forced into a steady retreat. By mid-1915 the Central Powers had overrun Russian Poland and pushed the front line to a safe distance away from their borders. Only after a Russian victory at Sventiany was the advance stopped and the front line stabilized. By 1916, the Russian war production increased and more and more troops were sent to the front lines. After increasing the strength of their army, Russia launched a major offensive in June 1916, lead by General Aleksei Brusilov. The offensive targeted the Austro-Hungarian armies and was a great success at first, as the Russian army advanced 70 km (43 mi) west. In August, Romania entered the war on the side of the Allies and invaded Austria-Hungary from the south, but were quickly overrun by Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. Russia was then forced to divert several divisions to northern Romania to help their besieged ally. After stopping the advance in northern Romania, the Russians looked back to continue their previous offensive, but due to the arrival of new German divisions, the advance was quickly stopped. By 1917 the Russian army was on the verge of collapse. After the February Revolution, the Empire collapsed and was replaced by a provisional government, which looked to continue the war. The last Russian offensive of the war, the Kerensky Offensive was launched in July 1917, but was unsuccessful. In November the Bolsheviks took full control of Russia and looked for peace with the Central Powers. In March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed which ended the Eastern Front and gave most western Russia to Germany.