Discipline in the Russian army in the First World War

• Main Author: Simmons, Paul
• Published: University of Oxford 2011
• Subjects: 940.41247
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.560487

This thesis is the first comprehensive study of discipline in the Russian Imperial Army during the First World War. It analyzes the disciplinary conduct of Russian soldiers by examining desertion, surrender, self-mutilation, fraternisation, and collective acts of insubordination among enlisted personnel, as well as the measures used to combat these offences. Drawing on a wide range of previously unknown or unavailable, archival material my thesis argues that the Russian disciplinary system, as determined by the Penal and Disciplinary codes, was outdated and inadequate for a modern war. Russian military law therefore left the Army incapable of dealing with large number of offenders, especially deserters. The staggering casualties suffered by the Army throughout the conflict, and particularly during the Brusilov Offensive of 1916, forced the authorities to mobilise unwilling and disgruntled reserves of the second category, which introduced a destabilising element into the ranks. By the winter of 1916, the Russian Army had serious disciplinary problems, as evidenced by low morale, high number of desertions, self-inflicted injuries, and the outbreak of several mutinies across the entire Eastern Front. However, despite these problems the Russian Army was still an integrated fighting force on the eve of the February Revolution.