![]() ![]() The February Revolution found Nicholas in the Caucasus. But, in March 1917, the Tsar was overthrown and the Russian army began slowly to fall apart. Nicholas tried to have a railway built from Russian Georgia to the conquered territories with a view to bringing up more supplies for a new offensive in 1917. At the time he was urging the Emperor to set up colleges for training Muslim clerics so they would not have to study abroad. Nothing in the Grand Duke’s record suggests that he would have even considered such a war crime. But after seeing Nursi’s devotion to his religion during his last prayer, Grand Duke changed his mind and amnestied Nursi. Because of Nursi’s disrespectful attitude, the Grand Duke gave an order to execute him. It is reported that, while visiting the garrison of Kostroma he met Said Nursi, a famous Muslim cleric who was a prisoner of war. Fighting around Lake Van swung back and forth, but ultimately proved inconclusive. The Turks responded with an offensive of their own. Also in 1916, the Russian army captured the fortress town of Erzerum, the port of Trebizond (now Trabzon) and the town of Erzincan. While the Grand Duke was in command, the Russian army sent an expeditionary force through to Persia (now Iran) to link up with British troops. ![]() While the Grand Duke was officially in command, General Yudenich was the driving figure in the Russian Caucasus army, so the Grand Duke focused on the civil administration. Upon his dismissal, the Grand Duke was immediately appointed commander-in-chief and viceroy in the Caucasus (replacing Count Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov). Grand Duke Nicholas Nikoleavich of Russia towering over Emperor Nicholas II The Russian authorities launched pogroms against German populations in Russian cities, massacred Jews in their towns and villages and deported 500,000 Jews and 250,000 Germans into the Russian interior.Īs a result of his failure, Emperor Nicholas II removed the Grand Duke as commander of the Russian armed forces on Augand took personal command. On a personal level he was well liked by both officers and men.Īfter the Great Retreat of the Russian army, the Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Yanushkevich, with the full support of the Grand Duke Nicholas, ordered the army to devastate the border territories and expel the “enemy” nations within. ![]() He failed in terms of strategy and tactics, as well as logistics, selection of generals, maintaining morale, and gaining support from the government. His headquarters had a curiously calm atmosphere, despite the many defeats and the millions of casualties. He lacked the broad strategic sense and the ruthless drive to command all the Russian armies. Grand Duke Nicholas came to power because of his royal status, and the tsar’s belief that God was guiding his decision. The Grand Duke begged for the artillery and ammunition they desperately lacked, so he could not embark on a coherent plan for victory. The Grand Duke picked and chose from the various plans offered by his generals. A series of follow-up battles (First Masurian Lakes) destroyed most of the First Army as well and kept the Russians off balance until the spring of 1915. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russian Second Army and the suicide of its commanding general, Alexander Samsonov. The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. In the north poor coordination of the two invading Russian armies resulted in the disaster of Tannenberg. He planned to attend first to the flanks and when they were secure to invade German Silesia. ![]() He decided that their major effort must be in Poland, which thrust toward Germany like a salient, flanked by German East Prussia in the north, and Austro-Hungarian Galicia in the south. Grand Duke Nicholas was responsible for all Russian forces fighting against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. He recalled that “… on receipt of the Imperial order, he spent much of his time crying because he did not know how to approach his new duties.” He was given responsibility for the largest army ever put into the field up to that date. He was 57 years old and had never commanded armies in the field before, although he had spent almost all of his life on active service. On the eve of the outbreak of World War I, his first cousin once removed, the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, yielded to the entreaties of his ministers and appointed Grand Duke Nicholas to the supreme command. The Grand Duke had no part in the planning and preparations for World War I, that being the responsibility of General Vladimir Sukhomlinov and the general staff. ![]()
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