Briefly , the Brusilovsky breakthrough is one of the most interesting episodes of Russian military history. And an important event of the First World War. In this article, we recall the main events associated with this heroic attack.
Brusilovsky breakthrough: briefly on the premises
The first two years of the war were not particularly successful for the Russian army.
The defeat forced the Russians to retreat for several months, which led to the loss of a significant number of territories of the empire. By 1916, the enemy had advanced far enough east, occupying part of the territories that today belong to Ukraine. Correct the situation and inflict a painful blow to the enemy, which would throw him west of the front line and the operation, later called the Brusilovsky Breakthrough, was called up. Briefly describing its course, paying attention to all significant events, is not so simple. However, we will try.
Brusilovsky breakthrough: summary
On the eve of this famous event, the entire enemy line of defense was photographed from the sides of reconnaissance aircraft. This made it possible to set
specific tasks for each Russian regiment and battery. The covert command and control of troops was an important maneuver. This ensured the surprise offensive along the entire front line for enemy commanders. To ensure successful attacks, all the trenches were close to the edge of the opponent’s defense at a distance of hundreds of steps. It was planned that the Russian army would begin its offensive on June 15 (it was 1916). The Brusilovsky breakthrough, in fact, was begun even earlier. The southwestern front, in connection with the rearrangements in the enemy camp, launched artillery fire on June 4. The multiplicity of false transfers of fire ensured the widespread success of the Russian batteries and the constant advance of the infantry. And although the enemy had at his disposal sufficiently strong positional reinforcements made of reinforced concrete and wire fences, which the Austro-Hungarian military leaders considered impregnable, the maneuvers used by the Russian army already yielded excellent results.
On the very first day of the Brusilov offensive in a number of sectors, it was possible to seize some enemy positions. In the next two days, the breakthrough was completely completed. As a result, more than 200 thousand officers and soldiers of the enemy were captured. Such a significant success of the armies of the South-Western dandy was a complete surprise not only for the enemy, but also for the Russian supreme commanders. For the further development of success, it was urgent to replenish the reserves of the front. However, there were no such reserves in stock.
The slowness of the command led to the fact that the regrouping of forces occurred only in July 1916. And this significantly slowed down his further success.
Brusilovsky breakthrough: briefly on the results
As a result of the breakthrough, Russian troops defeated the Austro-Hungarian forces and managed to advance with an average of 100 km deep into enemy territories. Now Brusilov’s armies occupied almost all of Volhynia, Bukovina and a significant part of Galicia. An important result of this operation, as well as the battle on the Somme (Western Front), was that the strategic initiative in this war finally passed to the states of the Entente.