June Offensive

Cards (8)

  • The June Offensive was launched June 18th
    • Allies were desperate to relieve the Western Front therefore PG was responding to a treaty obligation to the Allies
    • Strong nationalist element, did not want to surrender
  • Kadets thought that a successful offensive would put them in a better position for peace negotiations
  • Kerensky threw himself into a propaganda campaign to mobilise armed forces and MC civilians volunteered, but the army was not convinced as they wanted peace
  • Soldiers were increasingly unwilling to fight
    • Soldiers Committee argued that they could see little point in fighting for territory
  • No soldier co-operation
    • There was fraternalization between German and Russian troops
    • In the advance to Lvov, soldiers discovered large stores of alcohol in abandoned town Konivsky and got drunk
    • Rate of desertion very high
    • Soldiers killed their officers instead of fighting
  • Women's Death Battalion led by Maria Bochareva fought better than the male soldiers
    • eventually deteriorated as women slept with German soldiers
    • seen as a failure that women had to fight
  • The advance collapsed after 2 weeks.
    • Germans and Austro-Hungarians counter attacked
    • 21 days after the launch of offensive, Gers/Aus broke through Russian lines and Russian troops retreated 150 miles
  • Lenin opposed the decision to launch the offensive.
    • But Bolshs had only 10% of Congress Delegates in Soviet Executive Committee
    • Could only declare their opposition
    • Changed radically the political alignment of the masses, particularly peasant soldiers who used to support SRs
    • Other political groups associated with PG