Friday, May 4, 2012

How did the Russian Revolution and the German victory of 1917 influence the development of the Entente's grand strategy during World War 1?

The Russian Revolution made a profound change in the Entente's grand strategy. The Russian Revolution came at a time when French soldiers were revolting against brutal treatment in the trenches, and American soldiers were slow in coming to the help of the Allies. Russia did not immediately become a communist nation; rather, it went through a period under the provisional government where the Duma tried to maintain power. When the government finally passed into the hands of the liberal Alexander Kerensky, the Allies put pressure on Russia to keep its armies in the field by promising financial aid to the new government. The army under the Kerensky government actually enjoyed renewed patriotism and enjoyed some successes against the German and Austro-Hungarian armies. However, these gains were overturned when the Russian army overextended, and the German army regrouped. Russian soldiers began to mutiny in the field, and Russian sailors turned against their commanders; this served to undermine the Kerensky government and ultimately led to its downfall. After the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany in March 1918 when Russia signed over some of its most valuable territory in its western domains, the Allies quit making loans to the nation because they felt betrayed. The government under Lenin eventually repudiated the loans that were currently outstanding. Instead of launching a joint offensive in 1918 in order to hopefully put enough pressure on Germany to end the war, the Allied Powers on the Western front took a defensive posture against the German Spring Offensive in 1918.

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