June Offensive

• 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