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{{Short description|1916 Russian offensive during World War I}}
{{Citation style|date=May 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Brusilov offensive<br>(Fourth Battle of Galicia)
| partof            = the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] of [[World War I]]
| image             = File:EasternFront1916b.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Left: Plan of May. Right: Frontline at the end of Brusilov offensive in September 1916.
| date              = 4 June{{snd}}20 September 1916{{efn|Brusilov writes about this in his memoirs{{sfn|Брусилов|2023|p=271}}}}
| place             = [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]], present-day western [[Ukraine]]
| result            = <!-- Not to put "decisive", "pyrrhic", "strategic", etc. to "Russian victory". See WP:MILMOS#INFOBOX. -->Russian victory{{Collapsible list|bullets=yes|title=Full results|Launch of the [[Romanian campaign (1916)|Romanian campaign]]|Entente forces seize strategic initiative on Eastern Front|[[Austria-Hungary]] loses offensive potential before the end of the war|Almost complete destruction of the [[4th Army (Austria-Hungary)|4th]] and [[7th Army (Austria-Hungary)|7th]] Austro-Hungarian armies{{sfn|Tunstall|2008}}}}
| territory         = Russia captures all of [[Eastern Galicia]] and a portion of northern [[Bukovina]].<br/>Russia occupies the city of [[Chernivtsi|Czernowitz]] until [[Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers|its exit]] from the war.
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Russian Empire]]
| combatant2        = {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}<br />{{flag|German Empire}}<br />{{flag|Ottoman Empire}}
| commander1        = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} '''[[Aleksei Brusilov]]'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Nicholas II]]{{efn|[[Supreme commander-in-chief]]}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Mikhail Alekseyev]]{{efn|Deputy commander-in-chief}}<br>{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Alexey Kaledin]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Vladimir Sakharov (general)|Vladimir Sakharov]]<br />{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Dmitry Shcherbachev]]}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Platon Lechitsky]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} [[Mikhail Diterikhs]]
| commander2        = {{flagdeco|Austria-Hungary}} [[Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf|Conrad von Hötzendorf]]<br />{{flagdeco|Austria-Hungary}} [[Archduke Joseph Ferdinand of Austria|Joseph Ferdinand]]<br />{{flagdeco|Austria-Hungary}} [[Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli|Eduard von Böhm]]<br />{{nowrap|{{flagdeco|German Empire}} [[Alexander von Linsingen]]}}<br />{{Flagicon|German Empire}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]]<br />{{flagdeco|German Empire}} [[Felix von Bothmer]]<br />{{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} [[Cevat Pasha]]
| strength1         = '''Initial:''' 40+ infantry divisions (573,000 men)<br />15 cavalry divisions (60,000 men)<br />'''Overall:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} 1,732,000 in 61 divisions
| strength2         = '''Initial:'''<br />39 infantry divisions (450,000 men)<br />10 cavalry divisions (30,000 men){{sfn|Брусилов|2023|p=241}}<br /> '''Overall:'''<br />2,500,000 in 54 Austrian divisions, 24 German divisions and 2 Ottoman divisions{{sfn|Брусилов|2023|p=271}}{{efn|All reinforcements deployed against the actions of the southwestern front}}<ref>Edward J. Erickson: ''[http://books.google.de/books?id=XUlsP0YuI1AC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Ordered To Die. A history of the Ottoman army in the First World War].'' Greenwood Press, Westport 2000, ISBN 0-313-31516-7, S. 142 und 169.</ref>
| casualties1       = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Russia_(1914-1917).svg}} '''Russian Empire''': <br />Only from May to July 13:{{sfn|Zayonchkovski|2002|p=563}}<br /> 440,000 dead or wounded<br />60,000 prisoners<br />497,000–500,000<ref name="ReferenceA">''Мерников А. Г., Спектор А.А.'' Всемирная история войн. – Минск., 2005. – стр. 428</ref>{{sfn|Ruhlin|2019|p=2}}
----
'''Total: 1,000,000{{sfn|Gilbert|2023|p=398}}{{sfn|Oleynikov|2016|p=242}}<ref>Кузнецов Б.И Кампания 1916 гг. С.72</ref> – 1,440,000{{sfn|Tucker|2002|p=119}}{{sfn|Golovin|2014|p=438}} casualties'''
| casualties2       = {{flagdeco|Austria-Hungary}} '''Austria-Hungary:'''<br />200,000 dead or wounded<br />420,000–470,000 prisoners<br />670,000 estimated casualties<br />{{flagdeco|German Empire}} '''Germany:'''<br />184,000{{sfn|Haeften|1936|p=566}}–500,000 all casualties{{sfn|Keegan|2000|p=435}}<ref name="ReferenceA" /><br />{{flagdeco|Ottoman Empire}} '''Ottoman Empire:'''<br />12,000 all casualties<ref>[http://www.turkeyswar.com/campaigns/galicia.html Turkey In The First World War: Galicia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320210251/http://www.turkeyswar.com/campaigns/galicia.html |date=20 March 2017 }}. Turkish losses for September were: unknown on the action of September 2. 7,000 on the actions of September 16/17. 5,000 on the actions of September 30.</ref>
----
'''Total: 1,000,000{{sfn|Oleynikov|2016|p=259}} – 1,500,000 casualties'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=D. R. |chapter=The Imperial Army in World War I, 1914—1917 |title=The Military History of Tsarist Russia |editor1=F. W. Kagan |editor2=R. Higham |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave |date=2002 |pages=227–248 |isbn=978-0-230-10822-6}}</ref>{{sfn|Брусилов|2023|p=271}}{{sfn|Ruhlin|2019|p=2}}{{sfn|Miltatuli|2017|p=154}}{{sfn|Borisyuk|2024|p=440}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Brusilov Offensive}}
{{Campaignbox Eastern Front (World War I)}}
}}
[[File:EasternFront1916a2.jpg|300px|thumb|Blue and red lines: Eastern Front in 1916. Brusilov offensive takes place in lower right corner.]]
The '''Brusilov offensive''' ({{langx|ru|Брусиловский прорыв|Brusilovskiĭ proryv|Brusilov's breakthrough|links=no}}), also known as the '''June advance''',<ref>[http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_k/kvecinski.html Biography of one of the participants] {{in lang|ru}}</ref> or '''Battle of Galicia-Volhynia''',{{sfn|Borisyuk|2024|p=163}} of June to September 1916 was the [[Russian Empire]]'s greatest feat of arms during [[World War I]] and among the [[list of battles by casualties#Major operations|most lethal offensives in world history]]. The historian Graydon Tunstall called the Brusilov offensive the worst crisis of World War I for [[Austria-Hungary]] and the [[Triple Entente]]'s greatest victory, but it came at a tremendous loss of life.{{sfn|Tunstall|2008|pp=30–53}} It was arguably the most successful offensive in the entirety of the First World War.<ref name=":1022">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Encyclopedia of Russian History |publisher=Macmillan Reference |year=2004 |isbn=0-02-865693-8 |editor-last=Millar |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Millar |location=New York |pages=932, 1680 |language=en}}</ref> The victory contributed to a morale upsurge among the Russian troops. In 1917, [[Nicholas II]] planned a general offensive along the entire front to end the [[Central Powers]].{{sfn|Oldenburg|2022|p=614}} After the victory, the {{ill|Petrograd conference|ru|Петроградская конференция}} was held at which the post-war structure of the world was discussed.{{Sfn|Борисюк|2023|p=96}} Even despite the losses, the Russian armies were still being reinforced with new forces, the number of weapons increased, and new railways were being built.{{sfn|Gilbert|2023|p=410}}
The offensive's success led Russia's allies to reconsider their positions on postwar territorial concessions, including the status of [[Anatolia]] and the [[Bosporus|Bosphorus Strait]].{{sfn|Utkin|2002|p=324}}

The offensive involved a major Russian attack against the armies of the [[Central Powers]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]]. Launched on 4 June 1916, it lasted until late September. It took place in eastern [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] (present-day northwestern [[Ukraine]]), in the [[Lviv Oblast|Lviv]] and [[Volyn Oblast]]s. The offensive is named after the commander in charge of the [[Southwestern Front (Russian Empire)|Southwestern Front]] of the Imperial Russian Army, General [[Aleksei Brusilov]]. The largest and most lethal offensive of the war, the Brusilov offensive had far-reaching effects. It relieved German pressure on French forces at [[Battle of Verdun|Verdun]], and helped to relieve the Austro-Hungarian pressure on the [[Italian front (World War I)|Italians]]. It inflicted irreparable losses on the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]] and finally induced [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] to enter the war on the side of the Entente. The human and material losses on the Russian side also greatly contributed to the onset of the [[Russian Revolution]] the following year.{{sfn|Tucker|2002|p=119}} It was the largest battle in [[World War I]] according to the total losses and forces of the parties.

==Background==
Under the terms of the [[Chantilly Agreement]] of December 1915, Russia, [[French Third Republic|France]], [[History of the United Kingdom during the First World War|Britain]] and [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] committed to simultaneous attacks against the Central Powers in the summer of 1916. Russia felt reluctantly obliged to lend troops to fight in France and [[Macedonian front|Salonika]], and to attack on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]], in the hope of obtaining munitions from Britain and France.{{sfn|Stone|1998|pp=221, 252}}

In March 1916 the Russians initiated the disastrous [[Lake Naroch offensive]] in the [[Vilnius]] area, during which the Germans suffered only one-fifth as many casualties as the Russians. This offensive took place at French request – General [[Joseph Joffre]] had hoped that the [[Imperial German Army]] would transfer more units to the east after the [[Battle of Verdun]] began in February 1916.{{sfn|Keegan|2000|p=325}}

Besides the complacency felt by the Germans and Austro-Hungarians after their successful defense of Russian attacks that winter and March, the Austro-Hungarians were in the midst of implementing their plans to knock Italy out of the war. [[Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf]] had transferred [[Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza|Kövess]]' troops from the [[Balkans]] as well as four [[Division (military)|divisions]] from the Eastern Front. According to [[Prit Buttar]], "To make matters worse, many of the experienced divisions on the Eastern Front were withdrawn and sent to the Alps, and replaced by formations largely composed of new inexperienced recruits."<ref name="rlg">{{cite book |last1=Buttar |first1=Prit |title=Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17 |date=2017 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-4728-2489-9 |pages=132–134}}</ref>

==Prelude==
At a war council held with senior commanders and the tsar in April 1916, General Aleksei Brusilov presented a plan to the [[Stavka]] (the Russian high command), proposing a massive offensive by his Southwestern Front against the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] forces in [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]]. Brusilov's plan aimed to take some of the pressure off [[French Third Republic|French]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] armies in France and the [[Royal Italian Army]] along the [[Isonzo Front]] and, if possible, to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war.{{sfn|Tucker|2011|p=428}}

General [[Alexei Evert]], commander of the [[Western Front (Russian Empire)|Russian Western Army Group]] based in Smolensk, favored a defensive strategy and opposed Brusilov's proposed offensive. [[Emperor of Russia|Tsar]] [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] had taken personal command of the Imperial Russian Army in September 1915. Evert was a strong supporter of Nicholas and the [[Romanov]]s, but the emperor approved Brusilov's plan. The offensive aimed to capture the cities of [[Kovel]] and [[Lemberg|Lviv]] (in present-day western Ukraine); the [[Central Powers]] had recovered both these cities in 1915. Although the Stavka had approved Brusilov's plan, his request for supporting offensives by the neighboring [[Front (military formation)|front]]s (the [[Western Front (Russian Empire)|Western]] under Evert and [[Northern Front (Russian Empire)|Northern]] under [[Aleksey Kuropatkin]]) was denied.<ref>{{cite book |last=Onacewicz |first=Wlodzimierz |date=1985 |title=Empires by Conquest: 1905-1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwfUAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Although+Brusilov+was+allowed+to+attack,+he+was+denied+any+additional+means+with+which+to+do+So%22 |location=Fairfax, VA |publisher=Hero Books |page=74 |isbn=978-9-1597-9040-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

On 26 May, the tsar issued orders for accelerating the start of the Russian summer offensive, in response to pleas from the Italians facing Conrad's offensive. Brusilov would attack on 4 June, and the rest of the Russian army ten days later. Brusilov chose [[Alexey Kaledin]]'s 8th Army to spearhead the capture of [[Lutsk]] and Kovel. Kaledin's attacking force included the 32nd Army Corps in the south, the 8th and 40th Army Corps in the centre, and 39th Army Corps in the north. The Russians fielded 148 infantry battalions against the 53 battalions in Archduke [[Archduke Joseph Ferdinand of Austria|Joseph Ferdinand]]'s 4th Army. Further south on the Austro-Hungarian front were [[Paul Puhallo von Brlog]]'s [[1st Army (Austria-Hungary)|1st Army]], [[Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli]]'s [[2nd Army (Austria-Hungary)|2nd Army]], and [[Karl von Pflanzer-Baltin]]'s [[7th Army (Austria-Hungary)|7th Army]].<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|136–146}}

Mounting pressure from the western Allies caused the Russians to hurry their preparations. Brusilov amassed four armies totaling 40 infantry divisions and 15 cavalry divisions. He faced 39 Austro-Hungarian infantry divisions and 10 cavalry divisions, formed in a row of three defensive lines, as well as German reinforcements that were later brought up.{{sfn|Dowling|2008|pp=43–46}} Deception efforts on the Russian side were intended to conceal the point of attack.{{sfn|Buttar|2016|p=131}} They included false radio traffic, false orders sent by messengers who were intended to be captured, and equipment displays including dummy artillery.{{sfn|Dowling|2008|pp=43–46}}{{sfn|Buttar|2016|p=131}} Brusilov, knowing he would not receive significant reinforcements, moved his reserves up to the front line. He used them to dig entrenchments about {{cvt|300|×|90|m|yd}}<!--really?--> along the front line. These provided shelter for the troops and hindered observation by the Austrians.{{sfn|Dowling|2008|pp=43–46}}

Brusilov extended his army's trenches forward as far as possible, in some cases to within 100m of the Austro-Hungarian positions. Tunnels were also dug below the Russian barbed wire, allowing the entanglements to remain intact during the Russian attack. By these methods Brusilov hoped to lessen the exposure, and increase the surprise, of his attacking troops. Instead of massed formations, each of Brusilov's armies would attack along a 15km wide sector of their choice, attacking in waves with two reinforced infantry corps.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|127,144}}

==Breakthrough==
On 4 June, the Russians opened the offensive with heavy artillery fire. Alexander Winogradsky's artillery brigade used 76mm guns to open 24 breaches in the Austro-Hungarian defenses, coordinated in advance with the infantry commanders. Winogradsky wrote, this was followed by a "creeping barrage in front of the assault infantry...while the 152mm howitzers and 122mm guns attacked hard points." This was followed by attacks by infantry in Kaledin's 8th Army, [[Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov]]'s 11th Army, [[Dmitry Shcherbachev]]'s 7th Army, and [[Platon Lechitsky|Lechitsky's]] 9th Army.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|140–146}}

On 5 June, according to Prit Buttar, "...the Russian gunners resumed their careful demolition work of the defences of Joseph Ferdinand's [[4th Army (Austria-Hungary)|4th Army]]... After two days of careful artillery fire and infantry attacks, Kaledin was confident their success was close. His troops had [[Battle of Lutsk|overrun]] both the first and second lines of enemy defences, and had inflicted heavy losses on the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army." Ferdinand was almost out of artillery ammunition, had used all of his reserves, and was forced to seek help from [[Alexander von Linsingen|Linsingen]]'s [[Army of the Bug]] to the north.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|150–152}}

By the end of 6 June, The X and UU Corps, plus [[Sándor Szurmay]]'s Corps, of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, had been pushed back to the [[Styr]] and beyond, while Kaledin's 40th and 2nd Army Corps pushed onward to Lutsk. By the end of 7 June, the 4th Army retreat was unstoppable, with many elements of the X Corps surrendering when caught against the river, or casualties in attempts to cross. 4th Army supplies abandoned in Lutsk went up in flames as the Russians occupied the town. Further south, Pflanzer-Baltin's [[7th Army (Austria-Hungary)|7th Army]] was pushed back to the [[Strypa]], as Shcherbachev's Seventh Army captured [[Yazlovets|Jazłowiek]].<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|155–165}}

The first major attack was against the 117,800 strong Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, in the northernmost sector of the front.{{sfn|Watson|2015|p=303}} The initial attack was successful, and the Austro-Hungarian lines were broken, enabling three of Brusilov's four armies to advance on a wide front (see: [[Battle of Kostiuchnówka]]). Within four days of the offensive, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army saw its strength fall by nearly 70 per cent, from 117,800 men to just 35,000. The southern sector was held by the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army, which by 8 June lost 76,200 of its 194,200 soldiers.{{sfn|Watson|2015|p=305}}

Archduke Joseph Ferdinand was replaced by [[Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas]] as 4th Army commander, and Hugo Martiny was replaced by Gustav Smekal as X Corps commander. After four days into the offensive, Buttar states, "Brusilov's revolutionary tactics had been stunningly successful: artillery had been used with a precision that was unprecedented; infantry had worked their way close to the defences before launching their attacks; and those attacks had not used the traditional lines of men that were so easy for machineguns and defensive artillery to destroy." However, Brusilov was informed by Alexeyev that Evert's West Front would not be able to commence their attacks before 18 June. Meanwhile, Linsingen ordered [[Friedrich von Bernhardi]] to gather German forces for a counterattack.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|153–165}}

==Battle==
[[Image:В атаку! (1916).jpg|thumb|Attack of Russian cavalry (1916)]]
On 8 June, in response to appeals for help from Conrad, [[Erich von Falkenhayn]] organized five German divisions under the command of Linsingen, concentrating them near Kovel for a counterattack. Brusilov moved to protect his northern flank, while all of his armies continued to maintain pressure all along his Southwest Front.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|170–178}}

On 9 and 10 June, Lechitsky's 9th Army advanced upon Doroschoutz, Okna and Czarny Potok, as Pflanzer-Baltin's 7th Army troops retreated. According to Buttar, "It was a graphic demonstration of Brusilov's theories. Pressure across a broad front forced the defenders to commit their reserves and left no sectors that could release troops to aid others." By 11 June, Pflanzer-Baltin's ''Gruppe Benigni'' and XII Corps were forming new defensive lines to the west, as his XI Corps retreated south across the [[Prut]]. According to Buttar, adding those killed, wounded, or taken prisoner, "...the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army was a shadow of its former self."<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|178–182}}
[[File:With bayonets!.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Russian bayonet attack]]

On 11 June, [[Felix Graf von Bothmer]]'s [[South Army (German Empire)|South Army]] prepared a counterattack using [[Arthur Arz von Straußenburg]]'s VI Corps. However, Scherbachev was ready and the front line remained unchanged.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|183–184}}

On 11 June, while pursuing the Austro-Hungarian Army in [[Duchy of Bukovina|Bukovina]], Russian forces [[Mamornița border clash|inadvertently crossed]] into [[Kingdom of Romania|Romanian ]]territory, where they overwhelmed the border guard at [[Mamornița]] and had a cavalry patrol disarmed and interned at [[Hertsa|Herța]]. Having no intention to force the hand of the Romanian government, the Russians quickly left Romanian territory.<ref>Leonard Arthur Magnus, K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company Limited, 1917, ''Roumania's Cause & Ideals'', pp. 118–119</ref><ref>Glenn E. Torrey, Center for Romanian Studies, 1998, ''Romania and World War I'', p. 113</ref>

Lechitsky kept the 23rd and 41st Army Corps moving westward, while the 12th and 11th Army Corps advanced south to capture [[Czernowitz]], and 3rd Cavalry Corps threatened [[Kolomea]]. By 12 June his Russian troops were attacking Austro-Hungarian positions along the [[Pruth]], and crossing that river by 14 June. By then, the Austro-Hungarian losses amounted to 205,000, of which 150,000 were prisoners.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|185,193}}

On 17 June, the Russians captured Czernowitz, and Alexeyev transferred the 3rd Army from Evert's West Front to Brusilov's Southwest Front. Meanwhile, Bothmer's South Army prepared to attack southwards, hoping Pflanzer-Baltin's 7th Army could hold its ground.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|202–206}}

On 18 June, Lechitsky was able to capture Kolomea. On 19 June, Russian cavalry, led by [[Mikhail Promtov]] crossed the [[Siret (river)|Siret]], and on 20 June reached the [[Carpathian Foothills]]. However, by the end of June, Southwest Front's casualties amounted to a costly 285,000.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|209, 225}}

On 15 June, Linsingen ordered a counterattack, concentrating around the Lutsk [[salient (military)|salient]] formed by Kaledin's offensive. Attacking forces included Puhallo's 1st Army, Tersztyánsky's 4th Army, [[Georg von der Marwitz]]'s German X Corps, and [[Friedrich von Bernhardi|''Gruppe Bernhardi'']]. However, after three days of fighting, little was changed in the position of the front lines, even after the addition of [[Eugen von Falkenhayn|''Gruppe Falkenhayn'']] on 21 June. Linsingen then decided to reinforce that attack group in a thrust towards Lutsk, but under the command of Marwitz, with the attack to commence on 30 June. Brusilov was preparing his own continued offensive, with [[Leonid Lesh]]'s 3rd Army advancing towards [[Pinsk]], Kaledin's 8th Army towards Kovel, the 11th Army towards [[Brody]], while the 7th and 9th Armies continued their advance. Brusilov met the German attacks on the Lutsk salient flanks by attacking in turn the German flanks. However, the Germans achieved only moderate success, pushing back the Russian 45th Army Corps 5km.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|211–231}}

From 27 June to 3 July 1916, Brusilov carried out, on his own initiative, the deportation of 13,000 German civilians from the [[Volhynia|Volhynian]] areas that had been conquered during the offensive.{{sfn|Lohr|2003|p=137}}

On 2 July, Evert's West Front finally started its offensive, with [[Alexander Ragoza]]'s 4th army attacking north of [[Baranovichi]]. Yet, according to Buttar, "it was in almost every respect a replay of the disastrous attacks of March...an imprecise artillery bombardment, mass infantry attacks that struggled to make progress and lacked sufficient support to sustain early gains...". On 9 July, Evert suspended the operation, with the 4th Army losing 80,000, having advanced only 5km. Likewise, [[Kuropatkin]]'s Northern Front offensive in mid-July failed to appreciably change the front line.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|231–235}}

On 4 July, attacks by Lesh's 3rd Army and Kaledin's 8th Army forced Linsingen to withdraw westwards to the [[Stochod river]] on 6 July. On 5 July Archduke [[Charles I of Austria|Karl]] took command of the new [[12th Army (Austria-Hungary)|12th Army]], while on 9 July, Kövesz 3rd Army was created from a portion of Pflanzer-Baltin's 7th Army that had retreated westward. Pflanzer-Baltin remained in command of the 7th Army that had retreated towards the Carpathians.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|239–242}}

Recognizing Southwest Front had the best chance to advance the Russian front lines, Ragoza's 4th Army was dispersed into Brusilov's 2nd and 10th Armies, and Brusilov was given [[Vladimir Bezobrazov (soldier)|Bezobrazov]]'s Guards Army. Southwest Front now had a force of 700,000 men, compared to an opposition force of 421,000. Brusilov planned to advance towards Kovel on 20 July. Before then, on 16 July, the Siberian Corps forced ''Gruppe Marwitz'' to retreat back to the River Lipa. In an attempt to strengthen Marwitz, Puhallo's 1st Army was disbanded, and redistributed to Marwitz and Böhm-Ermolli's 2nd Army.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|245–250}}

On 23 July, Sakharov's 11th Army attacked towards [[Brody]], capturing it on 28 July, forcing Böhm-Ermolli's 2nd Army 7km to the west. On 28 July, [[Paul von Hindenburg|Hindenburg]] was placed in command of the front up to the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army, with Archduke Karl in command from that point south.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|254, 259–261}}

On 24 July, artillery preparations began for the Russian assault in the [[Battle of Kowel|Battle of Kovel]]. According to Buttar, "The fighting that extended from 28 July into early August was curiously disjointed...Although Lesh, Bezobrazov and Kaledin all launched their attacks on the same day, none of them were able to maintain their efforts for long..." Lechitsky's 9th Army and Shcherbachev's 7th Army made simultaneous attacks further south, with Lechitsky able to advance the front line to outside [[Ivano-Frankivsk|Stanislau]], capturing it on 11 August.<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|262–279, 292}}

On 7 August, Brusilov resumed his offensive to take Kovel. By 8 August, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians had stopped the Russians, and on 9 August, Brusilov halted any further attempt to take Kovel. The offensive was essentially over, according to Buttar, "Attacks continued on until the autumn rains turned the roads to mud, but other than add to the already terrible casualty list, nothing was achieved."<ref name=rlg/>{{rp|282–289, 294, 297}}

==Aftermath==

[[File:Defenders NGM-v31-p369-A.jpg|thumbnail|Russian infantry]]
Brusilov's operation achieved its original goal of forcing Germany to halt its attack on Verdun and transfer considerable forces to the East. Afterward, the Austro-Hungarian Army increasingly had to rely on the support of the German Army for its military successes. On the other hand, the German Army did not suffer much from the operation and retained most of its offensive power afterward. The early success of the offensive convinced Romania to enter the war on the side of the [[Triple Entente|Entente]], which led to the [[Romania during World War I|failure of the 1916 campaign]]. The Brusilov Offensive was the high point of the Russian effort during World War I, and was a manifestation of good leadership and planning on the part of the [[Military history of the Russian Empire|Imperial Russian Army]] coupled with great skill of the lower ranks. According to [[John Keegan]], "the Brusilov Offensive was, on the scale by which success was measured in the foot-by-foot fighting of the First World War, the greatest victory seen on any front since the trench lines had been dug [[First Battle of the Aisne|on the Aisne two years before]]".{{sfn|Keegan|2000|p=306}}

The Brusilov offensive commanded by Brusilov himself went very well, but the overall campaign, for which Brusilov's part was only supposed to be a distraction, because of Evert's failures, became tremendously costly for the imperial army, and after the offensive, it was no longer able to launch another on the same scale. Many historians contend that the casualties that the Russian army suffered in this campaign contributed significantly to its collapse the following year.<ref>''Defeat and Disarmament'', Joe Dixon</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2023}} The operation was marked by a considerable improvement in the quality of Russian tactics. Brusilov used smaller, specialized units to attack weak points in the Austro-Hungarian trench lines and blow open holes for the rest of the army to advance into. These were a remarkable departure from the [[human wave attack]]s that had dominated the strategy of all the major armies until that point during World War I. Evert used conventional tactics that were to prove costly and indecisive, thereby costing Russia its chance for a victory in 1916.

The irony was that other Russian commanders did not realize the potential of the tactics that Brusilov had devised. Similar tactics were proposed separately by French, Germans and British on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] and employed at the [[Battle of Verdun]] earlier in the year. The tactics would henceforth be used to an even greater degree by the Germans, who used [[Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)|stormtroopers]] and [[infiltration tactics]] to great effect in the 1918 [[German spring offensive|Spring Offensive]].{{sfn|Edmonds|1995|p=489}}

With the benefit of hindsight, it has been stated that Russia was not able to take advantage of its success nor cement it. In Russian society, pessimism regarding Russia's prospects in the war and distrust in the competence of its military and political leadership would continue to grow in 1916.<ref>Головин H. H. Россия в Первой мировой войне. Глава 10. — Париж, 1939</ref>
==Casualties and losses==
Russian casualties were considerable, numbering between 500,000<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and 1,000,000.{{sfn|Keegan|2000|p=425}} Austro-Hungarian losses were around 616,000,{{sfn|Glaise-Horstenau|1934|p=218}} while estimates place German losses at between 148,000{{sfn|Haeften|1936|p=566}} and 350,000{{sfn|Keegan|2000|p=}}{{Page needed|date=June 2023}}. The Brusilov offensive is considered one of the [[List of battles by casualties#Major operations|most lethal offensives in world history]].

However, the figure of 500,000 Russian casualties refers only to the period from May 28 to July 13, 1916, that is, the first stage of the offensive of the Russian Southwestern Front. A calculation from Russian military archives gives the following figure: 62,155 killed, 376,910 wounded and 59,802 missing. Total of 497,967 men for Russian Southwestern Front in just the first 1.5 months of the battle.<ref>Ипполитов Г. М., Кужилин С. Ф. Славная страница российской военной истории. К 100-летию Брусиловского прорыва, Известия Самарского научного центра Российской академии наук, 2016, p. 76</ref> And the losses of Austria-Hungary and Germany were 1,000,000{{sfn|Oleynikov|2016|p=259}} to 1,500,000{{sfn|Jones|2002|p=240}}{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2014|p=632}}{{sfn|Dowling|2015|p=291}}<ref name=autogenerated1>История первой мировой войны 1914—1918 гг; P 204</ref> men for the period from June to December 1916.

==See also==
*[[Nivelle offensive]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
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* {{cite book |title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond: In 2 Vol. |editor-last=Dowling |editor-first=Timothy C. |others=Foreword by B. W. Menning |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-59884-947-9}} <!-- (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-1-59884-948-6 (Vol. 2)-->
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Edmonds|1995}} |series=History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence |title=Military Operations France and Belgium 1918: The German March Offensive and its Preliminaries |volume=I |last1=Edmonds |first1=J. E. |last2=Davies |first2=H. R. |last3=Maxwell-Hyslop |first3=R. G. B. |author-link1=James Edward Edmonds |year=1995 |orig-year=1935 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |edition=Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books and Battery Press |isbn=978-0-89839-219-7 |display-authors=1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gilbert |title=The First World War: A complete History |location=Moscow |publisher=Квадрига |year=2023 |isbn=978-5-389-08465-0 }}
* {{cite book |title=Österreich-Ungarns Letzter Krieg 1914–1918 Band V: Die Ereignisse von August bis zur Jahreswende |trans-title=Austria-Hungary's Last War 1914–1918 Volume Five: The Events from August to the Turn of the Year |volume=V |editor-last=Glaise-Horstenau |editor-first=Edmund |translator-last=Hanna |translator-first=Stan |year=1934 |publisher=Verlag der Militarwissenschaftlichen Mitteillungen |location=Wien |language=de |url=https://www.comroestudios.com/StanHanna/Vol5.pdf |access-date=5 June 2010 |oclc=442355341 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029063721/http://www.comroestudios.com/StanHanna/Vol5.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |title=The First World War |last=Keegan |first=John |publisher=Vintage Canada |location=Toronto |year=2000 |isbn=0-676-97224-1 |author-link=John Keegan}}
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* {{cite book |last=Stone |first=Norman |title=The Eastern Front 1914–1917 |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1998 |orig-year=1975 |isbn=0-14-026725-5 |author-link=Norman Stone |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/easternfront191400norm }}
* {{cite book|last=Tucker |first=Spencer C. |title=The Great War, 1914–1918 (Warfare and History)|publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-134-81750-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_2HAgAAQBAJ&dq=Romania+%22brusilov+offensive%22&pg=PA119 }}
* {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |year=2011 |title=Battles that Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHpVn68GCogC&pg=PA428 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-5988-4429-0 |via=[[Google Books]] }}
* {{cite book |title=World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [5 Vol.] |editor1-last=Tucker |editor1-first=S. C. |editor2-first=P. M. |editor2-last=Roberts |others=Foreword by H. H. Herwig |edition=2nd |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-85109-965-8}}
* {{cite journal |first=Graydon A. |last=Tunstall |title= Austria-Hungary and the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 |journal=The Historian |volume=LXX |issue=1 |year=2008 |pages=30–53 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.2008.00202.x |doi-access= free}}
* {{cite book |last=Watson |first=Alexander|author-link=Alexander Watson (historian) |title=Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at war 1914-1918 |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-141-04203-9}}

==Bibliography (in Russian or German) == 
* {{cite book |last=Borisyuk |first=Andrey |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Забытая война. Россия в 1914-1918 |trans-title=The forgotten war. Russia in 1914-1918 |date=2024 |place=Moscow |publisher=Вече |isbn=978-5-4484-5078-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Golovin |first=Nikolai |author-link=Nikolai Golovin |script-title=ru:Россия в Первой мировой войне |trans-title=Russia in First World War |publisher=Вече |year=2014 |isbn=978-5-4444-1667-9}}
* {{cite book |title=Der Weltkrieg 1914 bis 1918, Die Militärischen Operationen zu Lande, Zehnter Band, Die Operationen des Jahres 1916 bis zum Wechsel in der Obersten Heeresleitung |language=de |trans-title=The World War 1914 to 1918: Military Land Operations, Volume Ten, The Operations of the year 1916 until the Change in the High Command |editor-last=Haeften |editor-first=Hans von |year=1936 |publisher=Verlag Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn |location=Berlin |edition=online scan |via=Die Digitale Landesbibliothek Oberösterreich (The Upper Austrian Provincial Library) |url=https://digi.landesbibliothek.at/viewer/image/AC01859962/1/LOG_0003/ |access-date=29 June 2021 |oclc=772473155 }}
* {{cite book |last=Miltatuli |first=Pyotr |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Россия в эпоху царствование Николая II |trans-title=Russia in the reign of Nicholas II |volume=2 |year=2017 |place=Moscow |publisher=Русский издательский центр имени святого Василия Великого |isbn=978-5-4249-0057-7 |oclc=1038064891}}
* {{cite book |last=Oldenburg
|first=Sergey |author-link=Sergei Sergeyevich Oldenburg |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Царствование императора Николая 2 |trans-title=The Reign of Emperor Nicholas II |date=2022|orig-date=1st pub. 1939 |place=Moscow |publisher=центрополиграф |isbn=978-5-227-09905-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Oleynikov |first=Alexei |author-link=Alexei Oleynikov |script-title=ru:Россия-щит Антанты |trans-title=Russia-Shield of Entente |others=Foreword by Nikolai Starikov |location=St.Petersburg |publisher=Piter |year=2016 |isbn=978-5-496-01795-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Ruhlin |first=Alexei |year=2019 |script-title=ru:Брусиловский прорыв в Самарской и Симбирской печати и его итоги |trans-title=Brusilov's breakthrough in the Samara and Simbirsk press and its results |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/brusilovskii-proryv-v-simbirskoi-i-samarskoi-periodicheskoi-pechati-i-ego-itogi/viewer |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Utkin |first=Anatoliy |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Первая Мировая Война |trans-title=First World War |date=2002 |publisher=Эксмо |isbn=5-699-01029-7  }}
* {{Cite book |last=Zayonchkovski |first=Andrey |author-link=Andrei Zayonchkovski |title=ru:Первая Мировая Война |trans-title=The First World War |location=St.Petersburg |publisher=Poligon |year=2002 |orig-date=1929 |isbn=5-89173-174-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Брусилов |first=Алексей |title=Мои воспоминания. Из царской армии в Красную|location=Moscow |publisher=Москва | year = 2023| isbn = 978-5-04-176827-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Борисюк |first=Андрей |title=История России, которую приказали забыть. Николай II и его время; [5-е издание]
|location=St. Petersburg |publisher=Питер | year = 2023| isbn = 978-5-4484-3841-7 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* Clodfelter, Micheal. Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015. 4th ed. Jefferson, p. 412, North Carolina: Micheal Clodfelter, 2017. Google Books. Micheal Clodfelter, 2017. Web. 21 June 2017

* Harrision, William W. "THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN-SOVIET OPERATIONAL ART, 1904-1937, AND THE IMPERIAL LEGACY IN SOVIET MILITARY THOUGHT." (n.d.): n. pag. King's Research Portal. William W. Harrison, May 1994. Web. June 21, 2017 <https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/2928872/319513_.pdf>.

* {{cite book|title = The First World War (I); The Eastern Front 1914–1918 | last = Jukes |first=Geoffrey | publisher = Osprey Publishing | place = Minneapolis|year = 2003|isbn = 0-415-96841-0}}
* Liddell Hart, B.H. (1930). ''The Real War: 1914–18''. pp. 224–227.

* {{cite book|title = History of World War I; The Eastern Front 1914–1920 |last1 = Neiberg |first1=Michael| author-link1 = Michael S. Neiberg|last2= Jordan |first2=David | publisher = Amber Books | place=London| year = 2003|isbn = 0-415-96841-0}}

* Schindler J. "Steamrollered in Galicia: The Austro-Hungarian Army and the Brusilov Offensive, 1916", ''War in History'', Vol. 10, No. 1. (2003), pp. 27–59.
* {{Cite book|title=The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914–1917|last1=Stone|first1=David|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|location=Lawrence|year=2015|isbn=978-0-7006-2095-1}}
* Tucker, Spencer ''The Great War: 1914–18'' (1998) {{ISBN|978-0-253-21171-2}}
* [[Sergei Sergeyev-Tsensky]], [1943]. ''Brusilov's Break-Through: A Novel of the First World War'', translated into English by Helen Altschuler, Hutchinson & Co, London, 1945.

* Washburn, Stanley (1917). ''[https://archive.org/details/russianoffensive00washrich The Russian offensive, being the third volume of "Field notes from the Russian front," embracing the period from June 5th to Sept. 1st, 1916]''. London: Constable.
* [https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/1918/battles/hamel/ Hamel: the textbook Victory - 4 July 1918 | Australian War Memorial] Australian commander's offensive: Origins of the "Blitzkrieg" warfare.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Brusilov Offensive}}
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/brusilovoffensive_brusilov.htm Primary Documents: Alexei Brusilov on the Brusilov Offensive, June 1916]
* [http://www.worldwar1.com/tlbruoff.htm 4 June 1916 – The Brusilov Offensive] on [http://www.worldwar1.com Trenches on the Web]
* [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_kovel_stanislav.html Battle of Kovel-Stanislav, or the Brusilov Offensive, 4 June-20 September 1916]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140106094703/http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19160920/ Map of Europe] during the Brusilov Offensive at omniatlas.com

{{World War I}}

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