The Brusilov Offensive [Hardcover]

In the summer of 1915, the Central Powers launched an offensive on the Eastern Front that they hoped would decide the war. It did not, of course. In June 1916, an Allied army under the command of Aleksei A. Brusilov decimated the Central Powers' gains of 1915. Brusilov's success brought Romania into the war, extinguished the offensive ability of the Habsburg armies, and forced Austria-Hungary into military dependence on and political subservience to Germany. The results were astonishing in military terms, but the political consequences were perhaps even more significant. More than any other action, the Brusilov Offensive brought the Habsburg Empire to the brink of a separate peace, while creating conditions for revolution within the Russian Imperial Army. Timothy C. Dowling tells the story of this important but little-known battle in the military and political history of the Eastern Front.

In an innovative examination of Russia's tactics on the Eastern Front, Dowling puts the 'Brusilov Enigma' into the context of the zeitgeist of World War I. A truly novel perspective on one of the most intriguing battles of World War I. EvDowling offers a useful addition to the literature on the military history of the Eastern Front during the First World War that should prove of value not only to military historians but also to others interested in fleshing out an often overlooked military historical context for the revolutionary upheavals of 1917. Vol. 88.4, October 2010

Timothy C. Dowling taught at the Vienna International School in Austria before taking an appointment at the Virginia Military Institute in 2001. A specialist in modern German and Russian history, he is the editor of two volumes of personal perspectives on the world wars. He lives in Lexington, Virginia.

Contents<\>
List of Maps
Introduction
A Brief Biography of Aleksei A. Brusilov

1. Russia in the First World War
2. Making Preparations
3. The Offensive Begins