The Russian Army 1914–18 (Men-at-Arms, 364)

A large part of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917, was based on a Bolshevik promise to end the Russian involvement in the First World War. This Bolshevik political opposition to the war was extremely poplar with Russian public and also popular with the common soldiers in the Imperial Russian Army. When these young soldiers returned home from the German war front, they tended to join the Bolshevik Party in large numbers because the Bolsheviks were the only political party in Russia which promised to end Russian involvement in the war. As a consequence, when the Bolshevik overturned the Kerensky government in October of 1917, many of these young soldiers formed the rank and file of that October 1917 revolution. Pictures of the October Bolshevik Revolution clearly show Imperial soldiers, still in their uniforms, as Bolshevik supporters carrying out the October 1917 revolution.This book provides an important visual reference for anyone reading about the Russian Revolution. Reference books should provide clarity to the main subject. That clarity should take the form of a nearly visual image in the reader's mind thanks to the reference book. The better the reference book, the sharper the visual image that formed in the reader's mind. This particular book provides a visual image that is very sharp and extremely vivid, because of the immense amount of detail in the book.

This Osprey Men-at-Arms title makes an attempt to fill the long-neglected gap in First World War history covering the Tsarist Army. While many books evoke the image of a huge faceless Russian steamroller, few provide much details on exactly what this army looked like. This title makes modest progress in that regard and as such, deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the First World War. The Russian Army begins with an introduction covering Russia's strategic position and a chronology of the major events on the Eastern Front in 1914-1918. A 4 ½ page section covers the organization of the army, particularly infantry, cavalry, Cossack and artillery units. An interesting 3-page section covers elite units such as the Guards Corps, the St. George's Battalions, the "Death" Battalions and the "Savage" Division. A brief section also discusses non-Russian units. A rather dull 7-page section then covers uniforms and personal equipment. Tactics and weapons are discussed in the last 7 pages. As usual, the eight pages of color plates in the center of this thin volume are excellent. The same cannot be said for the photographs, which are rather bland posed shots. Overall, this volume is decent but not great. There are nuggets of useful information, such as the belated Russian effort to form a heavy artillery corps - known by the Russian acronym TAON - in 1917. Since massed artillery was a Soviet specialty in the Second World War, it is interesting to see antecedents in the Tsarist army. The fact that the paucity of infantry training facilities caused the Tsarist army to station reserve battalions in the major urban areas like St Petersburg and that these under-utilized conscripts provided the fodder for Revolution in 1917 is also interesting. However, the sections on doctrine and tactics are far too short even for a volume this size (the chronology would have been a good place to make cuts). There is no real effort to address the pre-war doctrine and the author should have consulted Bruce W. Menning's excellent Bayonets before Bullets: the Imperial Russian Army, 1861-1914. The impact of the disastrous defeat in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War and the impetus for post-war reform is almost totally ignored. Once the war began, the author ignores the enforced doctrinal shift from maneuver warfare to positional warfare; how did the Russian army adapt to trench warfare? Nor are the big campaigns discussed much, except for the successful Brusilov offensive. Instead, the reader is presented with a fairly vapid account of the Tsarist army that scarcely touches upon the impact of early disasters like Tannenberg or the gradual rot from revolutionary ideology. Nor is there even an order of battle provided for any phase of the war or mention of casualties. One might think that the fact that Tsarist Russia mobilized about 12 million men and that 1.7 million died in the war would be far more interesting to readers than giving virtually useless information on cavalry breeches stripes or tunic piping and lace. The author introduces interesting information on the organization of the Guards units for example, and then says very little else about them. Certainly the biggest sin of this volume is its failure to address the disintegration of the Tsarist army in 1917, except in passing. Since this volume is a stand-alone coverage of the subject, unlike others in the Men-at-Arms series, these omissions will not be rectified in other following volumes.

A typically competent Osprey "cliff notes" of the topic.Quibble: If maps are an issue, then this could be a four- or three-star review.

OSPREY AGAIN HITS A DOUBLE TO THE WALL WITH ITS MEN AT ARMS EDITION OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY. IF THERE IS ONE THING YOU'LL FIND OUT IS THE UNIFORMING AND OUTFITTING OF THE RUSSIAN SOLDIER WAS COMPLICATED AT BEST. SO MANY SPECIAL UNITS WITH SPECIAL INSIGNIA OR EQUIPMENT; NEVER MIND THE IRREGULAR UNITS THAT DRESSED IN NATIVE COSTUME, WITH TSARIST INSIGNIA. THE COSSACKS BY THEMSELVES ARE ENOUGH FOR AN ENTIRE SERIES OF VOLUMES. STILL THIS IS A GREAT LITTLE PRIMER FOR THE MODELER OR THE UNINITIATED, AND IS STILL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I purchased this book with the hope that it could be used as a painting guide for my artwork and military miniatures. My interest is in the common Russian soldier in the field - infantry, artillery and cavalry. Unfortunately, typical of most Osprey publications, a lot of the plates are devoted to officers, as well as small, obscure and even bizarre units. Missing from both the plates and the accompanying narrative is an account of the evolution of uniforms, arms and equipment from 1914-1917. I cannot even find what markings were used to distinguish NCO's, let alone colors for things like canteens and shoulder badges. I would have also appreciated some information about what life was like in the ranks, for example, food, shelter, discipline, promotion, etc. That said, this book does offer a good starting point for anyone who shares my interest in the common Russian soldier in the late imperial era.

The information is above-average in this book, giving a good background and description of the Russian Army during WWI, including major battles and significant events. The illustrations are top-notch and give good depictions of the uniforms and equipment used. I highly reccomend this installment, along with the "Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905" book. They are both great references for Russian Army history, and I feel that there is a lack of emphasis on Russia's military before WW2.

The Russian Army is a good review of Tsar Nicholas II's troops during WW I and the Russian Revolution before the final takeover of the country.

As anticipated

Given the 48-page format of the Men-At-Arms series, Nik Cornish has managed to cram a lot of useful information into this book, plus the usual photographs and colour illustrations. The book covers not just the Tsarist period of the war but the brief period of the Provisional Government (Feb-Oct 1917). Obviously this can only be an introduction to the subject, but there is enough here to tempt the reader into further reading.

It came very quickly.

A good introduction to the Army of WW1

Viele der neueren Osprey-Titel geben wenig Information, unterhalten kaum und stecken voller Fehler. Nicht bei Nik Cornish. Der britische Autor steht für absolute Qualität, kenntnisreich, gut organisiert, extrem lesbar. Mit diesem Titel beweist er das aufs Beste. Dazu die überragenden Illustrationen Andrei Karachtchouks - selbst wenn einen die russische Armee nicht interessiert: Der Kauf lohnt sich. Absolut empfehlenswert!Many Osprey titles fall far short of what the Embleton-McBride-Chapell generation once established but Nik Cornish is there to carry the torch. The author seems unable to produce something less than outstanding, very knowledgable, well organised highly readable, add to that Andrei Karachtchouk's oustanding illustrations - even if you were not interested in the subject you couldn't go wrong in buying this book. Very highly recommended!

Cómo es habitual otro gran título de Osprey. Información básica para conocer la organización del ejército ruso en los años anteriores del comienzo de la guerra, entrando en las unidades más importantes y las variaciones que la guerra produjo.Las ilustraciones son una auténtica maravilla de gran realismo y exactitud.