Brusilov : "the 12th cavalry is to die. Not immediately, but by the evening" Cadorna & Hötzendorf : "how can this russian guy be to patient with his troops ?"
"Ride now! Ride to ruin, and the world's ending!" We know Tolkien took a lot of inspiration from The Great War, maybe Brusilov and his 12th cavalry actually IS King Theoden and his Eorlingas.
I think the greatest question in life is not "Is there life in the stars?" or "Does God exist?". Rather it is "Why did the German Empire ever ally with Austria-Hungary?".
Germany didn't do much better in WW2 either - Mussolini went off on his own tangent and Germany had to bail him out in Greece while actually meaning to quickly roll up Russia. And Japan dragged the Germans into a war against the USA, while at the same time allowing Russian troops to be moved from the east to Stalingrad due to their inaction on the mainland.
War with USA was of German choosing, and USA was unofficially waging war against Germany any way. They lost two destroyers to U-boots before Germany declared war.
So you can farm that fertile soil after the battle? (Because you know corpses make soil fertile) INDY IS PLANNING TO BUILD A FARMING BUSINESS ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF WW1 AND TURN THEM INTO A TOURIST ATTRACTION! oh and also use Conrad von Hotzendorfs corpse into a scarecrow.
Brusilov was a patriot and did his best for Russia, not for the Tsar or anyone else. But he was not willing to support it to the death, which truly makes people great in my opinion. Any moron can go out in a blaze of glory over a lost cause, like charging a line of machine guns with a cavalry attack. It takes true leadership and courage to realize that the once great cause is no longer great and that measures should be taken to prevent disaster.
As far as Russian Empire used to be a multi-nation country, all nationalist intensions just split the people, causing multiple rebellions and conflicts all over it. From the beginning of the Empire`s growth up to the 1917 it (russian nationalism) was supported by the official policy of the crown. So, I woudn`t name Brusilov a person willing best for Russia. Because of those Brusilov`s deportations poles and germans went against russians, and even more blood was spilt during the polish-soviet, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian independence wars. And it was an obvious mistake: never harm people of your own country.
Unfortunately the measures taken to prevent one disaster, lead to one of the top 5 most evil regimes in history and a disaster of such epic proportions that that it engulfed not only Russia but half of Europe as well.
@@MeinungMann no it wasn’t justified. Brusilov did mistake with deportations, there were still a lot of pro Russian people in the region. More than pro German, but for every betrayal there were more people deported. In general the numbers of deported people were very small, comparing to Stalin for example but it was a big impact on the view of the Russia among the people who lived there.
Thank you for that adequately tells the story of the First World War, especially for something that is not to underestimate the role of the Russian Empire (unlike many other "historians"). Of all the "objective" Western historical channel (or video blogs), is the first foreign youtube channel which does not offend the Russian people by bias, prejudice or veiled insults. Once again, thank you very much, great job!
Really? Who would guess? :D On a more serious side, there is chest-beating tendency among all sides, as well as the tendency to present their own war effort as crucial. Reading most British historiography one could scratch his head in wonder what the hell did millions of Russians, French, Italians, Yanks and others did all those years.
I agree and also I have to conclude that most Russian historians are just as bad as your western ones. To me they are all liars and deceivers and work for devil knows whom for whatever reason. I spit on them all. I make my own conclusions.
Wow, how come I haven't heard of this guy before? Sounds like he's right up there with Napoleon, Erwin Rommel and Michiel De Ruyter (etc... etc...). A strategic mastermind and legendary commander.
There was probably one general even greater than him, Skobelev. He was a famed General of the 19th century and was best known for his victory at Geok Tepe, which brought the turkic tribes under Russian control for a century. He died in his thirties in 1882.
@@varungupta7562 i mean. look what rommel had to work with in africa. you could then say that napoleon in the war of the last coalition was also outgunned and outmanned by superior forces and failed.
In my opinion, Brusilov was not only Russia's best General of WWI, but was the best General out of ALL of the WWI Generals. He may even be the best General in military history. His tactics and plans were absolutely brilliant and solved every problem that prevented breakthroughs in WWI, had he been the Russian Commander in Chief from the beginning of the war I think the war would've been over by Christmas, as the Russians would've taken either Berlin within a few months using his tactics, or the Germans would've been forced to transfer the vast majority of their troops to The Eastern Front. Brusilov is so brilliant I even named my dog, Lexi, after him (for a pitbull she is extremely intelligent). Also would like to mention that I strongly agree with the Western bias comments. I loved military history in high school and college and I never even heard of Brusilov or his offensive until this show came out and it really angered me. School books basically make it out to sound like it was a war between Germany and Britain, with France as a minor ally, and Russia an ally in name only; that is absolute non-sense!! Russia saved Britain and France both early in the war and during Verdun. They also saved Italy, Serbia, and Romania, and were basically undefeated on the Caucasus Front. They nearly saved Townsend and his men trapped at Kut and would've had they had enough food to last just a few more months, and Brusilov's tactics also gave the Allies an outline for winning the war.
Yep I agree with that and general avert didn't attack when bruh lol told him to 🤔😔 but Nicki did agree with some of his attack planning should have named him commander of all 💪
+Mario G 'tis a Finnish thing. Whenever we get mentioned anywhere outside of Finland, all the Finns gather at the Town Square. And I mean ALL of us. And we have just one Square. And that's where we gather to celebrate.
That's what happens when there is no unity of command in the army. If the generals of the Northern and the Western Front would supported Brusilov offensive, history would likely go a different path. And if Nicholas would had a strong personality, he would have been able to influence them to start offensive. But he was not. That's why in Russian folklore forever preserved the phrase: "Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell and Tsar Doormat"...
Brusilov talked to the 12th cavalry division commander, "The 12th cavalry division is to die..." pauses for a bit.."um, but don't die immediately,"...waves his hand as he gathered more words to say, "die maybe around afternoon, no...might as well be evening. yes, you and your men can die then." The 12th cavalry division commander stood in silence, tried to speak, but Brusilov tapped him on the shoulder and left as if ordering his aide to send his meal early that day.
Hi Indy. You should episode about Serbian king Petar I Karađorđević. He was very interesting person, serving French Foreign Legion, fighting in Serbian uprising in Bosnia as Petar Mrkonjić, fighting in trenches at battle of Kolubara, sharing faith with his people in long winter march across Albania and Montenegro etc. Love your show and keep doing a great work :)
GREAT IDEA! THE EPISODE ON MONTENEGRIAN KING NIKOLA I PETROVIC NJEGOS, WHO FAITHFULLY STOOD BY HIS SERBIAN BROTHERS BUT WAS TREACHEROUSLY DETHRONED BY THE KARADORDEVICs WOULD BE INTERESTING AS WELL.
Србски Жар Serbia by helping Slovenes and Croats to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (called Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929) ensured co-existence, unification & brotherhood between The Southern Slavs of the Balkans from 1918-91. (Romans and Napoleon called Balkan Slavs by the ancient name Illyrians)
Brusilov biography towards the end kind of remind me of field Marshall Deodoro da Fonseca. Both were friends of their respective monarch, both help to win an importante war for their country and both help to coup the regime that they worked for years. The main difference here is that field Marshall Deodoro da Fonseca is not known in history since the War of the Triple Alliance in South America is largely known as the forgotten war and Brusilov is well known and studied.
Why would Deodoro coup the Brazilian Royal Family? from what I can see at first glance, they weren't as bad as the Russian Tsars. I'm asking for a desire to know, South America is largely ignored and I think it should be more known.
Lucciano Bartolini you need to look at the War of The Triple Alliance in South America. In short it's the most violent war in Latin America. It killed more than 70% of Paraguay's male population. It killed over 30% of its female population and it helped end slavery in Brazil. Slavery was a huge part of Brazilian economy and the War effort lacked men. The army paid to free slaves and weakened the idea of white superiority in Brazil. Also the insistence of the emperor to prolong a war in which the Alliance already won forced the army to question his respect to their service and life. If you know South America Paraguay is very secluded and in 1869 getting there was no easy task. Many died just marching. Brazil was a retrograde picture of a nation in the new world. A slave country with monarchy and nobility's title. Also the wealth was no longer in the hands of noble men, but among die hard republicans. Some considered violence against the old regime the only way to modernize. On a side note. This new bourgeoisie of the land end up being not so distant from the aristocracy they overthrown. Only in 1930's and 1940's Brazil will modernize. As all Latin American countries at the hands of a dictatorship (Getulio Vargas).
Brusilov in his memoirs written for the Bolsheviks lied against the 24th Corps and Kornilov, whom he detested (possibly because of Kornilov taking Brusilov's place as Supreme Commander). Brusilov ultimately deserting the Imperial is something that can not be overlooked. It puts his whole character and narratives into question.
This Channel and Indy Neidell continue to impress me. Whether it is "side notes; such as Theosophy", or well known facts that you make more clear, you are terrific! As a WW1 history nut and history in general, I find that some nights(mornings) it is 3 a.m and I am still watching Indy Neidell. Wish I had come across this channel years ago. Many thanks!!!
I would like to see a WHO DID WHAT episode on Alvin York. He is from my home state and is brought up in every history class I've ever taken. He was a very interesting and brave man.
+The Great War great episode I remember have a Facebook conversation with you guys about Brusilov interesting guy also will you guys do future episodes about Lenin and Trotsky as next year is the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution
Since the Mannerheim family had many men named Carl, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim used another name Gustaf, so he could sign name in the shape of *Field Marshal G. Mannerheim*, *Marshal Mannerheim*, or simply *G. Mannerheim*. Being the Regent of Finland in 1919, he also translated the name spelling to *Kustaa Mannerheim*. While he had a career in the Imperial Russian Army, Mannerheim used patronymic name, such as Gustav Karlovitš (Rus. Густав Карлович Маннергейм). When his name was written in official documents in Russia in the 1890s, Karl Gustafovitš (Rus. Карл Густафович) was used due to the first first name. Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim did not like the last first name, Emil, so he wrote his signature often without E, in the shape of *C. G. Mannerheim*. In military issues, he wrote to official documents usually only with his military rank and surname.
the Mannerheim family is a product of Sweden and Finland like it should be, 2 more years and Finland has been independant for 100years :) represent Sisu
Great, great episode. Some of the information we have gotten in other episodes, but there is something about seeing it through a single personality such as Brusilov that is extra vivid. It is also fascinating how "globalized" the world was before the war--in terms of travel and intermarriages. In fact Charles Emmerson in his book 1913, says that world only became as connected as it was in 1913 late in the 20th century. Thanks!
Excellent episode! The most significant consequence of the Brusilov offensive was probably the elimination of Romania, which was persuaded to join the war after the success, only to be steamrolled a bit later. Kalledin was also one of the best Russian generals, although unbelievably pessimistic, which is what costed him his life. Here hoping for an episode dedicated to him, as well as for another one dedicated to two personalities, Rennenkampf and Samsonov.
Hey Indy you will probably not see this but Have you ever seen the video game Valiant Hearts if so what do you think about it? I personally got emotionally attached to it.
The role of Brusiłow in the development of the Red Army could get a bit more of attention. It was thanks to him that the imperial officers started joining the new army in big numbers.
Brusilov also urged White army officers in Crimea to surrender to Bolsheviks in the end of the war, guaranteeing them life. I guess you know how it turned out, brusilov felt pretty bad about it.
"extensive aerial photography"? I read that General Arthur Currie used aerial photography to prepare for Vimy Ridge. What evidence do you have that General Brusilov did so for his offensive? I ask only because I find sources for the Imperial Russian Air Service extremely difficult to come by. Very good episode. Never heard of Brusilov before. Thank you for educating me.
+h lynn keith The problem with finding sources probably mostly lies in the fact that the sources are still in Russian or in Russian archives, and in the fact that part of the records was probably destroyed during the Revolution. From what I know they had a vibrant Air service with their own home built planes (among which was Ilya Murovec long tanged bomber) but they did have to rely a lot on shipments of fighters from their allies. Also due to the size of the front encounters between opposing air forces was probably rarer. But what planes Russia did have were probably more than enough to provide reconnaissance. Also on flat plains of Russia it is like the only way to see farther into the enemy rear. So intelligence gathered by reconnaissance planes was allmost certanly used, but considering the size of the front teh question how much was it used.
That is my point. Most of the documentation of the war was lost in the Revolution or the Civil War or destroyed by the Communists. I want to know the support for the statement that Brusilov prepared his offensive with "extensive aerial photography". I know more about the KuK Luftfahrtruppen than the Russian Air Service, but that is only because there were more Austrian aces than Russian aces. I have no information on the reconnaissance carried on by either the Austrian or Russian air arms. From the memoirs of German airmen, it appears the sky was most often empty of other aircraft. Did any Russian airmen write memoirs? Kozakov? Yanchenko?
Taking a look at the references and sources of the Wikipedia's article on IRAS en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Russian_Air_Service#References shows the problem with finding the sources in English. Most of them are in Russian. There are English sources but they are rare and most often Russians are only a side subject. But they might be a nice start if you want to learn more about the operations of IRAS. Now as to the utilization of aircraft on Brusillov's part of the front, I can not say for sure but looking at the dates of formation of Air Corps it looks like most of the aircraft were used by the SouthWestern front in 1916, the front Brusilov commanded.
+Claystead Maybe they did not, but the British photographed their own positions in a battle in fall 1917 -- sorry, cannot recall the name of the battle at the moment (Passchendaele?) -- because they lost contact with their forward units and wanted to know where the line was. Maybe the Austrians photographed their own positions for the same reason. After all, two salient points of military intelligence are 1) knowing where the enemy is and 2) knowing where your own units are. The latter is not as easy as you may think.
for your next "Out of the Trenches". Was a amphibious assault ever attempted to flank the enemy trenches? if not, what stopped them if neither enemy fleet wanted to sortie after Jutland?
Damn, I almost thought someone had spiked Indy's coffee. Sir, you are on fire in this video. Keep up the excellent work, all of you! Especially whoever got Indy so fired up for this episode :)
@@vinz4066 Funnily enough, yes! One of the most fun weekends of high school. both the red and white armies got defeated by supply line issues and german/polish intervention.
Thank you for your fantastic channel. Your videos are very entertaining and I always learn something new, please keep on doing it so well. Regards from Spain.
Great episode, guys! Didn't know that he participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), which occured to be the Liberation war for Bulgaria. Will do some research about his role there. However, a great military leader!
8:38 poster says "long live Independent Ukraine" Seems like Ukrainian issue was underestimated by Russians as during the war Ukrainians were fighting on both sides. Lutsk is part of western Ukraine now. Great to hear that Ukrainians contributed to the Russian Empire collapse. Love Eastern Front, keep doing great series. .
It's said that Brusilov was the only Russian general who got out of the war with the honour still intact. But then he, like hundreds of millions of other Russians, became victim of the tragic Russian revolution. His major offensive in 1917 failed so miserably with hundreds of thousands of casualties simply because the Russian army was disintegrating after the February revolution. Unlike other high-ranking officers, he refused to join the White Guard because he believed the Bolsheviks, however evil they were, were chosen by the people. Staying in Moscow, he had to witness everyday the collapse of economy, the brutal Red Terror and was himself put under surveillance by Cheka (KGB predecessor).
Brusilov actually hated Bolsheviks. But he respected them and their ideals(of true Bolsheviks not pseudo which were actual majority). He served them in their government as a military general. He critiqued them whenever he wanted but they did not repress him cause knew how useful he is. He also knew that they were the only one force that could save Russia from the destruction. And he was right.
Actually the economy had collapsed a lot before the revolution. He also was highly regarded by both the people and the government, and though retired, was steemed by the Red Army at the time of his death.
Great video, as always. Nice to learn more about Brusilov. If only he could get the cooperation of all his fellow Russian generals. Wonder how the world would have changed if that was the case... But I guess that could be said about a lot of other events in this war.
How ironic that the organizer of one of the most successful offensives ever thought it was a failure. Although who could blame him? It was probably the Entente's best chance of winning the war, yet the skepticism of his subordinates kept them from achieving total victory.
It wasn't a failure. It exceeded Antanta's expectations. Russian army moved the Eastern front far to the west, made Central European countries defend it at all costs, giving support to those who were fighting on the West. Germany and Austria lost more than 1,5 million people, they couldn't refresh such casualties. They fate was already foretold.
+The Great War Hi Indy and team, Great show! Could you do a piece on Britain's reasons to go to war. I know there are many factors but I once read that one of the main factors was to show allegiance to the Russians so Britain would still be able to use Russian supply lines in the east in order to maintain their trade routes in Asia.
Who was, in your opinion, the best general of the war? Or best generals as it is probably is pretty hard to pick one. Or maybe you should do a top 5 generals of ww1 list segment
The "Ludendorf Offensive" Can also be said to have been named after its creator, or one of them anyway. Brusilow was probably the greatest general of the great war. Perhaps one of the very top generals of the 20th century?
The right translation of Brusilov's quote is: "The 12 division is to die, yet not immediately, but until the evening." Thus explaining to the Lieutenant General Kaledin, that his forces will suffer heavy casualties but he should hold out and not throw all his man away. As often happens in the WWI a division can be destroyed in a matter of minutes, so that really puts his quote in context.
Before the WWI Brusilov served in Warsaw. He was the only general of Russian origin, while all other generals were of German origin. As Brusilov felt that the was is nearing, he advised the chief command to change this all-german-generals situation in Warsaw, being afraid that some of them may give away information about this crucial city and country to the Germans, but no actions were taken.
It is deeply unjust what you wrote; because during the East Prussian campaign of 1914, the only Russian victory was achieved by Rennenkampf, whereas the greatest disaster in North-eastern Germany was a defeat undergone by a full-blooded Russian ( Samsonov) that advanced without checking his flanks. Scheidemann and Rennenkampf didn't cut an ugly or bad figure in Lodz, and only a spectacular cavarly charge in western style saved the German army from the defeat, broke the circle, that surrounded German troops and the Germans took 16000 prisoners. Sievers was defeated at Augustow, but the defeat was far less heavy than the one of Lodz: 56000 russian soldiers versus the 100.000 of Lodz battle (that had been turned by a German defeat, into an important victory of the Kaiser 's army)with the Russian plan of reaching Berlin, that failed again like in the previous summer. Aleksej Evert was also liable to suspicion but during the offensive of 1916 He achieved an important victory near Baranovici , capturing an entire Austrian division if not two, but Germans arrived to fill the gap and the russian offensive was slowed and then stopped.l Also the great General Bennigsen was of German ancestry but he served faithfully the Russian emperor and he made tremble Napoeon at Eylau, but soon after he underwent the reversal of Friedland. He fought the French and not the Germans but he was of German or foreign stem. The only russian officer that was arrested for treachery was an unknown colonel, that after being spotted, was soon arrested and hung.
Every time the topic is "defeat of Russians against Germans in world war 1", there is a pretext to lessen the bravery of Germans soldiers and of their commanders; 1) shortage of ammunitions but how could Russian conquer Przemysl, and defeat often AUSTRAN AND TURKS if they had not ammo??? (2) the superiority of German railways against the Russian ones (3) the foreign origin, especially German one, of Russian commanders (4) There was a shortage of ammunition but the German victories aT EASTERN FRONT in WW1 finished anyway with heavy losses on both sides, also for the winning Germans like in Vilnius summer attack of 1915 (5) The ammunitions were not many during the defeats, but all of sudden, when there were Russian successes in 1916 the situation had magically turned itself ( a bit difficult to believe I AM SORRY also because the shortage of ammunition was being overcome already in spring 1915 at the time of the heavy defeat of Tarnow) (6) in the summer of 1917 the Russian army, now wholly under the direct command of Brusilov was the wealthiest in ammunitions and weapons of the entire alliance, but the offensive was repulsed at the same, despite the crushing of two AUSTRIAN divisions and the capture of 30.000 men, and the conquest of their sector: the German counterattacked , repulsed the Russians and two months later they also took Riga. The repulse of the offensive cost the Russians 400.000 men, of whom 6000 were prisoners.
There were ammunitions now, but the defeats against the Germans had not disappeared and the lot of the battle was always the same how??? (7) the collapse of Augustow, even if less shining than it was painted by the German high command, began from the crushing of Bulgakov's corps, not exactly a General of German origin, and he lost 12000 prisoners (8) Gorlice-Tarnow saw the heaviest defeat of the Russian imperial army in WW1 with 240.000 prisoners and the same quantity of killed and wounded, and an entire army (the 3rd Russian) swept away from the field and Ivanov was the commander of southern sector, before being relived the following year by the same Brusilov. It doesn't seem to me they were of German ancestry or stem. The Germans despite the great victory with the 11th Army and 4th Austrian lost 90.000 men. When such rumors (shortage of ammunitions , assumed treachery or suspicion of treachery etc) are widespread , a big unjustice is done to the bravery of the same Russian army, despite the unhappy results of their battles in the Great War.
Hello GW team! First of all - awesome job you are doing there! Now to the question: Can you tell us what was the relation between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Otoman Empire, since many decades earlier the Otoman Empire's expand ended at the Austro-Hungarian borders? How did they see each other? Are there any inner tensions between those two?
Well,all your guys hard work is much appreciated.I look forward to every show.And that you guys take the time to answer questions and make comments is great.Thanks again for the awesome history.
Great Story and a Great piece of history. nice Video Mr. Nidel (hope i pronounced it right). keep up the good work! greetings from a german-czech :D #loveyourvideos #abitursuckt
My great-grand uncle served with the 12th Cavalry as a Cornet (same rank as Winston Churchill had when he had fought in a war). He didn't die but had been wounded and honorably discharged due to his injuries.
One detail which I either missed in the video or you forgot to add... The Brusilov offensive saw the birth of the modern shock troop unit, as Brusilov innovated military warfare (and later inspired the Germans to develop the infiltration tactic, which was widely used still in world war 2 and still is considered today essential for any infantry type warfare).
Hi Indy,you should make an episode of the Romanian king Carol the 1st he was a very interesting man he being German and becoming the king of a small country.
Indy please stop uploading while I'm at school! :( Then I have to wait to get home to watch and that really sucks! :( (Great episode though, Brusilov is high on my list of favourite generals)
*Fun fact:* Alexey Kaledin, commander of the Southwestern Front during the Brusilov offensive, was the general in command of the 12th Cavalry Division who Brusilov had ordered "to die", featured earlier in the video.
Hey Indy! What's up? :) i should start by saying thank you soo much for doing videos on the Great War as i doubt anyone else does some ( if you know some tell me :) continue the (as usual) Great Work!! None the less i have a few corrections to make regarding Broussilov's carrier. Broussilov planned his offenssive with great precision ( in contrast with the ''wiill do'' of the other russian generals), visited his rtoups and made an intesive usage of aerial reconnaissance. But. Broussilov wasted all of his ressources to take Kovel, he used Alexeiv as his scapegoat even though he didn't help Alexeiv to manage his troups and Broussilov had a huge cavalry component that he just did not used :/ if there is little doubt that Broussilov was a great army officer ( and probably the best general of the Tsar) he was a mediocre Front commander Sources by : Guerres et Histoire a great french war magazine for all of the francopones here :)
I'm a history nut, and I never heard of any significant Russian victories in WW1, only heard how miserable they were which is partly what led up to the fall of the Czar.
Other battles named after their masterminds: Pork Chop Hill, named after Sergeant Ed Porkchop, The Battle of The Bulge, named after Lieutenant Commander Richard Bulge Jr. (nobody teased him about his name after his glorious victory), and The Battle of Eric, named after a guy named Eric.
Because of Brusilov former Russian Imperial officers started to join the Red Army cavalry, infantry and artillery units in great numbers, and that's what made the Red Army formidable once again.
