What do we know about the soldiers of the First World War? It so happened that in Russia this is an unpopular topic, and what a sin, not well understood. In our minds since the days of the Soviet Union, this is a "shameful" war, an "imperialist slaughter." It may be so, but soldiers and officers of the Russian Empire fought on it, who sacredly believed that they were defending their homeland, the interests of the people. There were victories, heroes, outstanding military leaders, a lot of things to be proud of, and not to hide one’s eyes at the words “World War I”.
Reasons for Russia's participation in the war
After a hundred years from the beginning of the bloody massacre, we remembered about it. The soldiers of the First World War were initially perceived as defenders of the Motherland, and indeed it was compared with the Patriotic War of 1812. This was partly true, since Germany and its allies - Austria-Hungary and Turkey - started the war. In Germany and Austria, Nazism was still in its infancy, but its variety - pan-Germanism - found fertile ground in these countries.
The outbreak of world war by these countries was also predetermined by dreams of world domination, which led to huge casualties. The lists of World War I soldiers who died in battles, died from wounds and diseases, are simply terrifying. Russia, a single and independent state, according to the plans of these countries should cease to exist as a great power. The Caucasus, Crimea, the lands of the Black Sea region, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian and Central Asia were supposed to move to Turkey.
The territories of the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine were supposed to move to Germany and Austria. According to Schliffen’s plan, the Triple Alliance was to concentrate all its forces on the blitzkrieg against France, crush it as a state, and then bring down all the power to Russia. Therefore, initially it was perceived as domestic, and the soldiers of the First World War - as heroes. Today people are interested in what were the living conditions of the war veterans, how they were dressed and what they fought for four long years.
The situation of Russia in 1914-1917
For Russia, this is a strange or special war. The countries of the Triple Alliance and Russia, a member of the Entente, who fought against them, were defeated in it. Being the main participant, on whose shoulders lay all the main burdens, heavy losses, brilliant battles, the heroism of Russian soldiers of the First World War, she was not on the list of winners. The reason for this was the internal political events that were expressed in the two revolutions and the ensuing civil war.
It is worth saying that the political system of the country has already become different. Absolute monarchy as a form of government has ceased to exist. Changes have occurred in other countries participating in the war. We will not idealize, since the absolute monarchy for 1914 was an anachronism. The war gave rise to and exposed many problems, and as a result, the discontent of the inhabitants.
To enter the war in this state of the country was suicide, which was later received. The most ardent and, oddly enough, fair opponents of the war were the Bolsheviks, who openly talked about all the urgent problems that it had only aggravated. This is, first of all, the backwardness of the state in industrial, economic and political development, which led to a large number of soldiers killed in the First World War.
History does not accept the subjunctive mood. Therefore, to say what would happen if there were no Bolsheviks is to learn nothing from it. The movement of social democracy itself is the result of the stratification of society into classes. The beginning of this process is a very painful condition in itself. And the classes of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in Russia have only just begun to take shape, which has led to serious aggravations.
Different conditions of war
The conditions in which soldiers of the First World War had to fight were unequal. Some countries, such as Germany and Austria, were better prepared for it. This concerned the provision, fortifications, weapons and uniforms of armies. To say that Russia was not ready to conduct such a full-scale action is to say nothing.
At the time of the outbreak of the war, the army reforms that had begun were not completed. Although Russia was not inferior to France in the field of weapons and equipment of personnel, but it lagged behind Germany. The situation of the Russian soldiers of the First World War, especially at the end of it, was terrible. For comparison, we give eyewitness accounts.
Marshal Vasilevsky, a participant in the war, recalled that the positions of the Germans and Austrians were equipped with solid dugouts, special shelters were made from the weather, the walls of the trenches were reinforced with brushwood mats. There were even reinforced concrete trenches. Russian soldiers did not have such conditions. They slept right on the ground, spreading their greatcoats, and they covered the weather with them. This is evidenced by the letters of soldiers of the First World War.
According to the memoirs of Henri Barbusse, who also participated in the war, the conditions of the French soldiers did not differ much from the Russians. After rain - squishy dirt underfoot, fetid odor of sewage. To protect from the weather, lateral burrows were dug into which French soldiers were packed.
How did the soldiers eat
According to the recollections of captured Russian military personnel, the German trenches looked like mansions, some of them were concrete. Food, in their opinion, as in a restaurant, each has a fork, spoon and knife. They also give them wine. But this is for officers and at the beginning of the war. In the future, hungry German soldiers traded in looting, which was not forbidden, since even at that time they considered people of a different nationality "subhuman."
Malnutrition in Germany during the First World War became the norm, since a relatively small country fought on two fronts and could not feed the population and soldiers on its own. To do this, large agricultural resources were needed, which were not there. Neither state monopolies on bread, nor purchases in neutral countries, nor open robbery of the occupied territories saved the situation. They saved ersatz products - margarine, a substitute for butter, rutabaga instead of potatoes, barley and acorns instead of coffee.
The British also used rutabaga in baking bread, and nettles were added to pea soup. Often used the meat of dead horses. The Austrians ate poorly. The soldiers were half-starved, though the officers were provided with all kinds of canned goods and wine. During the officers' lunch, hungry Austrian soldiers stood around waiting for something to fall into.
Russian soldiers in the First World War in this regard was easier. Cabbage soup and porridge at home - our food, the same thing happened in the war. The Russian soldier always ate from the field kitchen. But the French had to cook for everyone. There were special field plates for this. According to statistics, the French ate much better than other warriors. But cooking took a lot of time from the soldiers, and carrying a heavy supply of food was not easy.
Alcohol and Tobacco
In the Russian army, before the war, a soldier was supposed to have a half cup of vodka 10 times a year (on holidays). With the outbreak of hostilities, prohibition was introduced. At the beginning of the war, the Frenchman was given 250 grams of wine every day, by the end of the war this rate was tripled and it was allowed to buy it with his own money. It was believed that it lifts the mood of soldiers and morale. This can be explained by the traditional attitude towards the consumption of wine.
In Russia, soldiers of the First World War did not receive tobacco in soldering, but charitable organizations sent it to the front. So those who smoked had no problems with tobacco. Its daily amount was 20 grams per day. The rations of the French soldier included tobacco. The British were given a pack of cigarettes a day.
Epidemics
Crowding and lack of sanitary conditions led to epidemics and diseases that were not even heard of in peacetime. Typhus carried by lice was especially rampant. There were no number of them in the trenches. In some places, soldiers of the First World War in 1914-1918 died from it in more numbers than they died from bullets. Typhoid epidemics spread to the civilian population.
The Germans also died from it, despite the fact that disinfection boilers-wizards were delivered to the unit, in which the clothes were treated with special hot steam, which often led to spoilage. Malaria raged on the southern fronts, from which the Entente lost 80 thousand troops, many of whom died, and the survivors were sent home. To find out how many soldiers died in the First World War, and how many died from illness, is now probably impossible.
New diseases appeared, such as trench foot syndrome. He did not lead to death, but delivered torment. Many soldiers in the trenches suffered from it. For the first time on the Volyn Front, doctors described the trench fever; lice were also its carriers. From this disease, the soldier went out of order for two months. He was tormented by terrible aches all over his body, especially his eyeballs.
Outfit
At the beginning of the war, soldiers of many countries participating in the conflict were dressed in uniforms at the end of the 19th century. For example, the French soldiers consisted of red pants and bright blue uniforms. This did not comply with the rules of camouflage, on a gray or green background they served as a good target. Therefore, all armies began to switch to the protective color of the uniform.
For Russia, this issue was not so acute. From 1907 until the outbreak of the First World War, radical transformations of the military uniform took place in the Russian Empire. She was unified. This affected not only the field, but also the parade uniform. The name "uniform" has come into use.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Russian troops wore uniforms of white, dark green, black. It was decided to make a khaki uniform with a shade of green-brown. The uniform of the soldiers of the First World War was outwardly democratic. The same tunics and overcoats were worn by officers. They only sewed from high quality cloth.
The uniform was replaced by a tunic, which was a long shirt with a standing collar. Initially, the clasp was on the left side, such as a peasant braid, but gradually it was placed in the middle and provided with “hidden” buttons and patch pockets on the chest. The caps were also of a protective color, with a chin strap, which was allowed to be used only in horse riding. Each regiment had its own colors; this could be seen on the caps of caps.
Long woolen overcoats fastened with hidden hooks, buttons served as decoration. Shoulder straps and buttonholes were sewn onto it, which designated the type of weapons. The innovations in the army uniform were the caps, which were worn by aviators, and hats, like a winter headdress for the officers. French has become widespread - this is a tunic of any kind. Collars were of two types - turn-down and stand-up collar. Behind was a strap or “split cuffs”. With their help, the size was adjusted.
Weapon
In terms of equipment and weapons, Russia was second only to Germany, but it was with it that it was necessary to fight. This war was trench in its essence. The memory of the soldiers of the First World War for a long time retained a long sitting and skirmish with the enemy. The main infantry weapon was the Mosin-Nagan rifle of the 1891 model with a caliber of 7.62 mm and a magazine for 5 rounds. The gunners had Mosin carbines of the 1908 model.
Backward Russian production could not fully satisfy the army's demand for these weapons, so they imported Westinghouse, Springfield, and Winchester rifles from the USA. At the front, one could meet the armaments of the countries of England, Austria, Japan, as well as Russian "Berdanks". A tetrahedral 12.5 cm long bayonet was attached to the rifle.
Officers and gunners relied on pistols, for the most part it was a gun of the year 1895 with a caliber of 7.62 mm and a seven-shot magazine. Officers were allowed at their own expense to purchase pistols and guns of any brand. Success enjoyed the "Smith-Wenson", Colt, "Mauser." Melee weapons were represented by various types, ranging from daggers, daggers, cavalry, dragoon and Cossack drafts and ending with spades. The legendary Maxim type machine gun of the 1910 model (caliber 7.62 mm) with a metal shield and Sokolov cart was well-deserved respect.
Artillery
The Russian army was armed mainly with field guns of 1902 model with a caliber of 7.62 cm, they were made at the Putilov factory, and Schneider mountain guns with a caliber of 7.6 cm, which were used in mountainous areas, as well as in field conditions. Heavy artillery was represented by howitzers and guns, which were manufactured in Russia under license from the Krupp and Schneider factories, as well as English-made ones.
The innovations were trench mortars and trench guns made in Russia. Towards the end of the war, mortars manufactured in England were delivered in large numbers, but British deliveries on shells, mines and cartridges were not fulfilled. Hence the "shell hunger", "rifle hunger" and, as a result, the Great Retreat. Historians believe that this was a deterrence of Russian troops by the allies, which led to heavy losses.
Armored units and aircraft
By the beginning of the war, the Putilov factory began booking trucks that made up the machine-gun company. At the front, she was successful, which allowed to begin the production of armored vehicles in droves. The number of mouths has been increased. The machines for their manufacture were trucks "Fiat", "Austin", "Garford", equipped with 75-mm guns. Also participated in the positional war of armored trains, however, their use was limited.
A large fleet of Russian aviation was represented by foreign-made airplanes, mainly French: Newpory, Moran G, Duperdusenny. Used and captured from the Germans Aviatiki, LVG and Albatrosses, on which Colt machine guns were installed.
Consequences of war
The total losses of the warring parties are 10 million people killed and missing, 21 million wounded and mutilated. Recently, lists of soldiers of the First World War containing hundreds of thousands of names appeared on the Internet. Behind them are the fate of people. This war was a consequence of the crisis of civilization, which led to the collapse of four empires, including the Russian one. A lot of destruction, the death of civilians.
Among the consequences of this war can be attributed to the revolution in Russia and Germany. The civil war, which is a continuation of the world war, brought Russia millions more dead, destroying its economy to the ground. To date, there were no monuments to soldiers of the First World War. The forced signing of the Brest Peace in 1918 led to the fact that Russia is not on the list of winners of this terrible massacre.
Maybe that's why for many years the attitude towards her was bashful. But without Russia, the Entente countries would not have won. This was provided by:
- The defeat of the Germans near the town of Gumbinnen and the salvation of the French army.
- The offensive against Austria-Hungary in Galicia, forcing the Germans to transfer troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front and thereby save Serbia from imminent death.
- The defeat of the Turkish army near Erzurum.
- The famous Brusilovsky breakthrough.
We have something to be proud of. The monument to the heroes of the First World War and many others that have appeared in our time, erected in 2014 on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, will not let our descendants forget about them.