World War One
At the FrontRussia joins the war:
After the assasination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, Russia was faced with the pressing decision to join WWI. The Tsar was faced with three responces. First from the people, at first public support was fairly large for joining the war as everyone beleived Russia was such a strong country and didn't want to stand down. Seconly, a warning from Durnovo, he believed if Russia joined the war it would be irreversibly damaged whether it won or lost. Finally Lenin's condemnation, Lenin described the decision as another example of the bourgeois manipulating the masses. Russian defeats: Initially Russia suffered very heavy defeats such as those at Tannenburg (18th August 1914) where Russian casualties numbered 130 000 and prisoners of war were 100 000. Also at loss at the Masurian Lakes (2nd September 1914) where an entire Russian unit was surrounded and forced to surrender. These defeats were due to:
Tsar joins the front: In the first 12 months the Russian army had lost over 4 million men and a further 16 million taken as prisoners of war. This envoked the Tsar to act, thus joining the front line and become the suppreme commander of the armed forces in september 1915. This decision caused 3 issues:
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On the Home FrontTsar Nicholas' Decision to leave Petrograd to fight at Mogilev had disastrous political impacts:
The Social & Economic Impacts of the War: (FUFI) The Food and Fuel Shortages had a disastrous effect on morale. Food riots broke out in the major cities and discontent grew. Furthermore, because of the fuel shortages, many factories were forced to close, leaving thousands unemployed. The cost of the war also had an major impact; the government resorted to loaning large sums of money from foreign powers and printed money. Inflation occurred; middle-class savings were wiped out and the cost of goods continued to spiral out of control. |
Resources
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