There are many different opinions about the personality of this person and his actions. In the Soviet Union, he was extolled as a great military strategist, then his name was forgotten, so that a decade and a half later he would again be included in the list of the most prominent commanders of Russia. The white emigration cursed him, and then they themselves found an explanation and justification for his actions. Name Alexey Alekseevich Brusilov and to this day on the lips of teachers and students of Russian military universities and academies.

First victory

He was born in Tiflis on August 31, 1853 in the family of a lieutenant general of the Russian army. Having lost his parents early, the boy was brought up by relatives, and in 1867, at the age of 14, he entered the most elite military educational institution Tsarist Russia - Corps of Pages.

Brusilov himself called his studies in the corps “strange”: he mastered those subjects that he liked easily and quickly, and suffered with the rest, overcoming them only as much as necessary so as not to stay in the second year.

In 1872, after finishing Corps of Pages, he was enrolled in the 15th Tver Dragoon Regiment, where he served as an adjutant of the regiment.

The baptism of fire of the future general was the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He distinguished himself not only in the first days, but in the first hours of the war: on the night of April 12, at the head of a small detachment, Lieutenant Brusilov crossed the Turkish border, fording across the Arpachay River, and forced the Turkish outpost to surrender.

Brusilov fought on Caucasian theater hostilities and participated in the capture of the Turkish fortresses of Ardagan and Kars.

Grand Duke's protégé

For this campaign, he was awarded, but the rapid development of his career did not happen. For three post-war years, Brusilov was the head of the regimental training team, and in 1883 he was sent to serve in the Cavalry Officer School. Over the next 19 years, he went from adjutant to head of school, becoming a major authority in Russian military pedagogy. Both in Russia and in Europe, Brusilov was known primarily as an outstanding expert in cavalry riding and equestrian sports. In 1900 he was promoted to the rank of major general.

General Brusilov, who spent more than 20 years in classrooms, was treated with respect, but no one saw him as a commander of large formations regular army. And here Brusilov was helped by high patronage: the great Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich was a great connoisseur of cavalry, oversaw the Officer Cavalry School, so he knew her boss and had a high opinion of his capabilities.

It was thanks to the Grand Duke that in April 1906 General Brusilov became the head of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. By August 1912, Brusilov received the rank of general from the cavalry and the post of commander of the 12th Army Corps.

A new word in military science

When the First World War began, Brusilov was the commander of the 8th Army of the Southwestern Front. Those who considered him a "parquet general" very soon had to be convinced of the fallacy of their judgments. In the Battle of Galicia, the first major battle of the Russian army in the new war, Brusilov's troops defeated the 2nd Austro-Hungarian army, only capturing 20 thousand people as prisoners. Brusilov's army successfully repelled enemy attempts to unblock Przemysl, besieged by Russian troops. In the hardest year for the Russian army in 1915, when defeats followed one after another, the troops of General Brusilov successfully defended themselves, carrying out an organized withdrawal and causing serious damage to the enemy.

Brusilov's successes could not go unnoticed. In March 1916, the general was appointed commander in chief of the Southwestern Front. It is in this position that he will develop and carry out an operation that will immortalize his name - "Brusilov Breakthrough".

The main "know-how" of Brusilov was that his offensive plan provided for not one, but several multidirectional strikes to break through the enemy's front. Before this operation, no one in Russia or in the world had attacked like this.

Initially, the breakthrough, according to the tradition of that time, was called Lutsk on a territorial basis, but then, out of respect for the general who developed the brilliant operation, they began to call it Brusilovsky.

The offensive began on June 3, 1916. The 8th army, the same one that Brusilov himself had recently commanded, resolutely moved in the direction of Lutsk and captured it four days later. Five days later, the 4th Austro-Hungarian Army Archduke Joseph Ferdinand was finally defeated, and the Russian troops advanced 65 kilometers along the front.

The general offensive lasted until the twentieth of August. The enemy was driven back to a distance of 120 kilometers, Russian troops occupied Volhynia, almost all of Bukovina and part of Galicia. The enemy lost up to 800 thousand people killed, wounded and missing, and the combat capability of the Austro-Hungarian army was finally undermined. Germany and its allies had to urgently transfer new forces to the East, which saved Italy from defeat and eased the position of the Anglo-French troops on the Western Front.

Victim of the revolution

For this success, General Brusilov was presented with the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, however Nicholas II limited himself to rewarding the commander with St. George's weapons with diamonds.

It is not known whether this decision influenced Brusilov's views, but in February 1917 he was among those who supported the emperor's abdication.

The provisional government in May 1917 appoints General Brusilov as commander-in-chief of the Russian army, hoping that this will bring success, but the summer offensive ends in failure. The army is drained of blood, confusion and vacillation reign in it, which Brusilov, as a regular military man, categorically does not like. He is a supporter of tough measures to restore order and is extremely negative about the activities of the Bolsheviks.

In July 1917 Head of the Provisional Government Alexander Kerensky decides that in order to restore order at the front and in the rear, a person is needed tougher than Brusilov, and replaces him with General Kornilov.

The general leaves for Moscow, and here he is approached by the envoy of Kornilov, who is preparing a military coup and is counting on the support of the popular commander. And here a surprise awaits the Kornilov envoy - the general sharply replies that the coup is a gamble, Kornilov himself is a traitor, and Brusilov is not going to participate in this.

Kornilov's plan really failed miserably. Events in the country flashed like in a kaleidoscope - October Revolution. Brusilov took part in it, without wanting it himself - during the battles of the Red Guards and cadets in Moscow, the general was seriously wounded in the leg.

Brusilov did not forgive the whites for the death of his son?

From that moment on, historians differ in their assessments of the actions of the general. Some tend to consider him, if not a traitor, then a hostage of the Reds, others believe that Brusilov made his choice voluntarily and consciously.

One way or another, the Bolsheviks took Brusilov under guard, provided him with treatment and rehabilitation. In the context of the beginning civil war white emissaries made their way to him in Moscow with a call to join their ranks, but the general sent them back.

Many tend to associate Brusilov's loyalty to the Reds with the fate of his only son, Alexei Brusilov Jr., officer of the Life Guards Horse Grenadier Regiment. A regular military man, in the summer of 1918 he was arrested by the Cheka, but then he not only gained freedom, but also joined the Red Army. The commander of the red cavalry Alexei Brusilov in 1919 during the offensive Denikin he was taken prisoner to Moscow and was shot by the White Guards. According to another version, which, however, does not have convincing evidence, Brusilov Jr. went over to the side of the whites as a private and soon either died of typhus or died. However, these stories are more like the tales of those who are annoyed by the very idea that a tsarist officer could serve as a Red.

After the death of his son, Brusilov not only remains loyal to the Bolsheviks, he enters the service of the Red Army, becoming the head of the Special Meeting under the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces Soviet Republic, who developed recommendations for strengthening the Red Army. The general writes appeals, urging former officers of the tsarist army to enter the service of the Bolsheviks. In 1921, Brusilov was the chairman of the commission for the organization of pre-conscription cavalry training, since 1923 he was at the Revolutionary Military Council for especially important assignments, and in 1923-1924 he was the chief inspector of the Red Army cavalry.

White emigration poured curses on Brusilov's head. In the lists of "traitors who sold themselves to the Bolsheviks," he was listed in the proud first place. The general himself reacted rather ironically to this, noting: "The Bolsheviks, obviously, respect me more, because none of them ever hinted at promising me anything."

Brusilov has never stated that he shares all political positions Soviet power, however, he believed that he was fulfilling his duty, serving the Motherland.

In 1924, 70-year-old Brusilov, after 50 years military service finally retires. His health causes serious concern, and in 1925 the Soviet government sent the general for treatment to Karlovy Vary. However, this does not help for long - on the night of March 17, 1926 in Moscow, he dies of heart failure, which followed lobar pneumonia.

General Alexei Alekseevich Brusilov was buried with military honors near the walls of the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent.

Who wrote the general's memoirs?

But the passions around the name of the general did not subside even after his death. In 1929, Brusilov's memoirs entitled "My Memoirs" were published in the USSR.

Meanwhile, some time later, a second volume of memoirs surfaced among the emigrants, in which Brusilov allegedly criticizes the Bolsheviks in extremely harsh terms. In 1932, it was handed over to the White émigré archive along with other papers by General widow N. V. Brusilova-Zhelikhovskaya who left the USSR after the death of her husband.

It should be noted that Brusilova-Zhelikhovskaya was the second wife of the general, and Alexei Brusilov Jr., who died at the hands of the White Guards, was the stepmother.

The story of the second volume of Brusilov's memoirs is as follows - he allegedly dictated it to his wife during treatment in Karlovy Vary, and then left it for storage in Prague.

The second volume of memoirs fell into Soviet Union after the war, and his appearance led to the fact that the name of Brusilov until 1961 disappeared from all military textbooks and historical books. The general was "rehabilitated" only in 1961.

As already mentioned, the general did not have much sympathy for the Soviet government. But just as some people doubt the motivation for Brusilov's entry into the Red Army, others have doubts about the authenticity of the second volume of the general's memoirs. Many experts believe that this part of the memoirs was fabricated by Brusilov's widow in order to justify her husband before the white emigration.

One thing is certain - General Brusilov provided a huge impact on domestic and world military art. Soviet commanders, smashing the generals of the Wehrmacht during the Great Patriotic War, will build their tactics based on the experience of the brilliant Brusilov breakthrough.

“Shortly after the war, history will figure out how things really were, and now the main thing is to win”

General A.A. Brusilov

The name of Alexei Alekseevich Brusilov for posterity is primarily associated with the concept of "Brusilov breakthrough". Few generals of any era can boast of having a military operation that bears their name.

Born in Tiflis in a general's family. Orphaned at an early age, he, along with his two brothers, was taken in by his aunt. Got the initial home education. In the summer of 1867 enrolled in the 3rd class of the Corps of Pages. Released as an ensign (Art. 07/17/1872) in the 15th Tver Dragoon Regiment. Regimental adjutant (1873-78). Lieutenant (Art. 04/02/1874). Staff captain (Art. 08/01/1877). Participant Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 (at the Caucasian theater).

“For the difference shown in the battles with the Turks on May 4 and 5, 1877, during the capture of the Ardagan fortress by storm, awarded the order Stanislav 3rd degree with swords and a bow "

This was the first combat award of the future General Brusilov. In total, during the Russian-Turkish war, Alexei Brusilov earned three military orders - in addition to Stanislav 3rd degree, the Order of St. Anna 3rd degree with swords and a bow (March 16, 1878) and St. Stanislav 2nd degree with swords (September 3 1878), and also gained invaluable experience in combat operations and the rank of staff captain (August 1, 1877).

In 1878-81 the head of the regimental training team. Captain (Article 12/15/1881). Captain (Art. 08/18/1882). Since 1883 he served in the permanent composition of the officer cavalry. schools: adjutant, assistant chief (since 1890), head of the riding and dressage department; head of the dragoon department (since 1893). Captain Guards. (Article 30.08.1887). Renamed Lieutenant Colonels (Article 08/30/1887). Colonel (Art. 08/30/1892). While working at school, he first described scientific foundations training of a cavalry soldier and a special system for training horses. To get acquainted with the experience gained in the armies of other countries, he made a trip to educational institutions in France and Germany. Assistant chief of the officer cavalry schools (11/10/1898-02/10/1902). Head of the Officer Cavalry schools (02/10/1902-04/19/1906). Major General (pr. 1901; item 06.12.1900; for distinction).

Served at the school Russo-Japanese War under the leadership of Brusilov, K. Mannerheim recalled:

“He was attentive, strict, demanding of subordinates and gave very good knowledge. His military games and exercises on the ground were exemplary in their design and execution and extremely interesting.

Commander of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division (04/19/12/06/1906). Lieutenant General (pr. 1906; article 06.12.1906; for distinction). Head of the same division (12/06/1906-01/05/1909). Commander of the 14th Army Corps (01/05/1909-05/15/1912). Assistant commander of the Warsaw Military District (05.12.1912-15.08.1913). General from the cavalry (pr. 1912; item 06.12.1912; for distinction). Commander of the 12th Army Corps (from 08/15/1913).

During mobilization on July 19, 1914, he was appointed commander of the Proskurovskaya group, which on July 28, 1914 was transformed into the 8th Army as part of the Southwestern Front. The army consisted of 4 army corps. The army was armed with 352 machine guns, 480 guns and 18 airplanes.

It occupied a section from the border of Romania to the city of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky, Ukraine). The army took an active part in the Battle of Galicia: 08/23/1914. took Tarnopol; Participated in battles near the rivers Golden Linden and Rotten Linden (over 20 thousand prisoners and 32 guns were taken); taken Galich, Lvov (Lemberg); participated in the Battle of Gorodok

After the Battle of Galicia, the 8th Army was tasked with defending the foothills of the Carpathians from the Upper San to the Upper Dniester. 11/19/1914 Dukla (now Poland) is taken.

At the beginning of 1915. awarded the rank of Adjutant General. In the winter and spring of 1915 he led the 8th Army in the Carpathian operation of the Southwestern Front. On the Hungarian Plain, Russian troops ran into a counter offensive of the Austro-Hungarian and German corps. In the winter cold and spring slush, the 8th Army fought stubborn oncoming battles with the enemy, successfully repulsed enemy attempts to unblock Przemysl, besieged by Russian troops.

From the memoirs of General Ludendorff:

“The offensive of the Austro-Hungarian army to liberate Przemysl did not have any success. The Russians soon launched a counterattack. The fate of Przemysl was to come true. Along the entire eastern front, we were in anticipation of Russian attacks.

In the most difficult year for the Russian army in 1915, the troops of General Brusilov successfully defended themselves, carrying out an organized withdrawal and causing serious damage to the enemy.

In the midst of the retreat, he felt compelled to issue an order containing the following lines:

“For the faint-hearted, leaving the system or surrendering, there should be no mercy; rifle, machine-gun, and cannon fire must be directed at those who surrender, even if with a ceasefire on the enemy; to act on departing or fleeing in the same way, and if necessary, do not stop also before the general execution ... There is no place between us for the weak-hearted and they must be exterminated ”

As a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough of the German troops, by the middle of summer 1915, the Russian armies left Galicia. In the autumn of 1915 Russian troops stopped the offensive of the enemy, which had lasted since spring.

03/17/1916 appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front. At the military council held later in Mogilev, where the plan to go over to the strategic offensive was discussed, the passive attitude of the commanders of the Western and Northern fronts towards it was revealed. On the contrary, the commander of the Southwestern Front insisted that his front also take part in the offensive.

Thanks to the perseverance of Brusilov, who was supported by the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Alekseev, Nicholas II ordered the offensive of the Western, Northern and South-Western fronts. In May, the allies, in connection with the heavy defeat of the Italian troops in the Trentino region, turned to Russia with a request to speed up the start of the offensive.

The general boldly discarded the outdated model of building a front-line operation to break through the enemy’s fortified zone, which did not meet the main task of the Southwestern Front and became obsolete, and managed to find such methods of conducting an operation that fully corresponded to the task and this specific situation. The main novelty of the plan was that it was planned to break through the enemy defense in depth on several sectors of the front at once in order to disperse the attention, forces and means of the enemy. Having abandoned the methods of breakthrough used at that time (on a narrow sector of the front when concentrating superior forces in the chosen direction), the commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front put forward new idea- breakthrough of the enemy's fortified positions due to simultaneous strikes by all armies of a given front. The plan and day of the start of the offensive were kept in the strictest confidence even from members of the royal family.

The command of the Southwestern Front, organizing a front-line operation, carried out a long and thorough preparation for a breakthrough. Such training, along with the high fighting qualities of the Russian troops, on the one hand, and the weak combat effectiveness of the Austrian units (the losses of the Austrians by prisoners alone amounted to 28% of total number losses) - on the other hand, brought the Russian army initially a major success.

In total, the armies of the Southwestern Front included 40 infantry and 15 cavalry divisions, which numbered 603,184 bayonets, 62,836 checkers, 223,000 trained reserve fighters and 115,000 unarmed fighters (there were not enough rifles). There were 2,480 machine guns, 2,017 field and heavy artillery pieces in service. The troops of the front had 2 armored trains, 1 division and 13 platoons of armored vehicles, 20 aviation detachments and 2 Ilya Muromets bombers. The enemy had 39 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions in front of the Southwestern Front, consisting of 592,330 infantry fighters and 29,764 cavalry fighters, 757 mortars, 107 flamethrowers, 2,731 field and heavy artillery guns, 8 armored trains, 11 aviation divisions and companies . Russian troops outnumbered the enemy in manpower and light artillery by 1.3 times, and in heavy artillery they were inferior by 3.2 times. The enemy built a strong positional defense using reinforced concrete and numerous barbed wire. The depth of the defense line reached 7-9 km.

Under the circumstances, the main trump cards of the Russian army were the suddenness of the attack, its scale, superiority in manpower, which was especially pronounced on the front of the 8th Army.

The offensive of the Russian troops began along the entire front at about 5 am on June 4, 1916. after heavy artillery preparation. The density of artillery reached 20-25 guns per 1 km of the front. Artillery preparation lasted more than 50 hours. Aviation delivered bombing strikes and fired machine guns at enemy targets in the rear and on the battlefield. The Austrian front was broken through simultaneously in four places. On the very first day of the offensive in a number of sectors, it was possible to capture the first position of the enemy, and over the next two days to complete the breakthrough and capture more than 200 thousand enemy soldiers and officers.

When attacking the positions of the Austro-Hungarian troops, the 8th army of General Kaledin in the Lutsk direction achieved the greatest success (therefore, the operation was originally called the Lutsk breakthrough, and only then the name given by the press "Brusilovsky" was approved), its success was supported by other armies advancing in narrow areas followed by movement towards the flanks and in depth.

From the memoirs of A.A. Brusilov:

“... by June 10, we had already taken 4,013 officers and about 200,000 soldiers prisoner; spoils of war there were: 219 guns, 644 machine guns, 196 bombers and mortars, 46 ammunition boxes, 38 searchlights, about 150,000 rifles, many wagons and countless other military material. On June 11, the 3rd Army of General Lesh was transferred to the Southwestern Front, and I set the task of the 3rd and 8th armies - to defeat the opposing enemy and capture the Gorodok-Manevichi area; two left-flank armies, the 7th and 9th, to continue the offensive on Galich and Stanislavov, and, finally, the central, 11th army, to hold their position. From June 11 to June 21, the troops of Lesh and Kaledin, in fulfillment of the task given to them, made the necessary regroupings of their forces. At the same time, the 8th Army of Kaledin had to repulse repeated counterattacks of numerous German hordes brought in from other fronts, seeking to break through the front of the 8th Army and push it back to Lutsk "

From June 4 to August 13, Russian troops managed to advance 70-120 km in depth over 350 km along the entire front. Bukovina and Southern Galicia were cleared of Austro-Hungarian troops. The enemy lost up to 1.5 million people killed, wounded and captured, 581 guns, 1,795 machine guns, 448 bombers and mortars. Russian losses amounted to about 500 thousand people. The territory with a total area of ​​25 thousand square meters was occupied. km. To eliminate the breakthrough, the enemy military command was forced to withdraw more than 30 infantry and cavalry divisions from the Western and Italian fronts, which eased the position of the French at Verdun and forced the Germans to stop the offensive in Trentino.

An important political result of the offensive of the Southwestern Front was the acceleration of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the appearance of Romania on the side of the Entente. The Brusilovsky breakthrough in Galicia, together with the battles of Verdun and on the Somme, marked a turning point in the course of the war.

General A.M. Zaionchkovsky wrote about the results of the Brusilov offensive:

“The decisive successes of the armies of the Southwestern Front forced the Austro-Germans to transfer their operational reserves to the front south of Polesie, where 27 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions, of which 18 are German and 2 are Turkish. From the French front, the Germans removed 11 infantry divisions, and the Austrians from the Italian - 6 infantry divisions. This is the essential assistance rendered by the Russians to their allies during the difficult days of their operations at Verdun and Trentino.

But these successes of the Russian army entailed heavy losses, which on the Southwestern Front alone by June 13 are estimated at 497,000 fighters. Conducting further operations and preparing for the 1917 campaign of the year required additional conscriptions of recruits and militia warriors, in total about 1,900,000 people and 215,000 horses. These additional appeals caused serious discontent among the population of Russia.

The major successes of the Russians brought Romania out of a neutral position, and she finally came out on the side of the Entente powers, but this performance was almost 2 months late, since offensive operations Russian armies gradually died down "

Since the beginning February Revolution Brusilov, along with other commanders-in-chief of the fronts, supported the abdication of Nicholas II, sincerely believing that a change in the leadership of the state would allow Russia to end the war victoriously. On May 21, 1917, he was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief. After the unsuccessful June offensive for the Russian armies on 07/19/1917, the gene was replaced. Kornilov.

Awards: St. Stanislaus 3rd class with swords and a bow (1878); St. Anne 3rd Art. with swords and a bow (1878); St. Stanislaus 2nd class with swords (1878); St. Stanislaus 1st class (1903); St. Anne 1st st. (1909); St. Vladimir 2nd Art. (1913); St. George 4th class (VP 23.08.1914); St. George 3rd Art. (VP 09/18/1914); White Eagle with swords (01/10/1915); St. George's weapon (VP 10/27/1915); St. George weapon adorned with diamonds (VP ​​07/20/1916).

Lived in Moscow (Mansurovsky per. d. 4 kv. 3). During the fighting between the units subordinate to the headquarters of the Moscow Military District and the forces of the Military Revolutionary Committee, a shell hit his apartment and he himself was wounded in his right leg, the consequences of which he treated for a long time. In 08.1918 he was arrested by the Cheka. Released under house arrest. In 12.1918 he was released from house arrest. Since 1919 in the Red Army (officially since 04/20/1920 in the Military Historical Commission for the Study and Use of the Experience of the War of 1914-18). From 05.1920 he was a member of the Special Meeting under the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army. On September 10-11, 1920, he signed the "Appeal to the officers of the army of Baron Wrangel" (together with M.I. Kalinin, V.I. Lenin, L.D. Trotsky, S.S. Kamenev). From 06.1920 Ch. Inspector of the Central Administration of Horse Breeding and Animal Husbandry under the People's Commissariat of Agriculture. In 1922-24. worked as the chief cavalry inspector of the Red Army and was intensively engaged in the revival of the Russian cavalry. Brusilov in autumn 1925. was allowed to leave for treatment in the Czechoslovak city of Karlovy Vary. But in the spring of 1926, he caught a cold and fell ill with lobar pneumonia. He died in Moscow at the age of 72, and was buried with full military honors at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich was a hereditary military man. Born on 19(31).08.1853. in the family of a Russian general. Father - Alexey Nikolaevich, mother - Maria-Louise Antonovna, Polish by birth. At the age of 6, Brusilov was left an orphan, and received his first education in his uncle's house.

At the age of 14, Alexey Alekseevich entered the third class of the Corps of Pages. In the Corps of Pages there was a fundamentally high-quality education, here a number of generally accepted disciplines were studied in depth. The teachers of the Corps of Pages were true professionals in their field.

Five years later, in 1872, Alexei was released from the Corps of Pages. He began his service in the Tver Dragoon Regiment, which was located near Kutaisi. He arrived in the regiment with the rank of ensign, was appointed junior platoon officer of one of the squadrons. Soon he became a lieutenant, and two years later he was appointed adjutant of the regiment.

In September 1876, the Tver Dragoon Regiment was instructed to move to the camp of Russian troops on the Russian-Turkish border. Brusilov had to work hard, by the nature of his service, he was preparing four squadrons, a non-combatant company and a regimental convoy for the campaign.

For bravery during the next Russian-Turkish war, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 3rd degree, as well as the Order of St. Anne. In addition, he received a new rank of staff captain.

When Aleksey Alekseevich returned to his regiment, he was asked to undergo training at an officer's cavalry school. The purpose of the study was to improve the qualifications of an officer. In 1881 he arrived in St. Petersburg, and soon began his studies. AT new school Brusilov was almost the youngest student.

In July 1914, the Allied armies were ready for large-scale hostilities. The opponents of the Entente aimed their main forces at attacking France and Belgium. Against Russia, the German leadership put up only one army in East Prussia and one corps in Silesia. And here is the Austrian Hungarian army, almost entirely stood at the borders of the Russian Empire.

The General Staff of the Russian army planned an immediate offensive of the Russian armies against Prussia and Galicia. On July 18, Brusilov returned from vacation to Vinnitsa, where mobilization had already been announced. The next day, Germany declared war on Russia.

The beginning of the First World War was unsuccessful for Russia. The Russians suffered huge losses. After an unsuccessful operation on the North-Eastern Front, the Russian army had to switch to positional warfare, for which the army was completely unprepared. In 1915, the situation changed little, the Germans, albeit slowly, were moving forward. The following year, the army system was completely reformed. Replenishment arrived at the front, supply interruptions stopped.

A large-scale offensive by the Russian army was scheduled for 1916. On March 17, General Brusilov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops on the Southwestern Front. He reported to Nicholas II that the Russian army had a rest and was ready to move on to decisive hostilities. The general's offensive on the Southwestern Front went down in history under the name "Brusilov breakthrough". During the three days of the offensive that began in May, the front was broken through 25-30 miles, and the length of the breakthrough was 70-80 kilometers.

Soon mass unrest began in St. Petersburg. Belatedly, news of numerous spontaneous rallies, strikes and other outrages reached the headquarters. Brusilov turned to Nicholas II with a proposal to abdicate the throne. Having lost, I will support Alexei Alekseevich, popular in the army and the people, Nikolai abdicated the throne. After some time, a provisional government came to power, to which Brusilov swore allegiance. Discord began in the army, the soldiers left their positions, fled home, demanded peace with Germany.

After the events of October, Alexei Brusilov held a good position in the Red Army, which actively recruited former royal officers. He was the chairman of the Special Meeting under the commander-in-chief of the military forces of the republic, Kamenev. The life of Alexei Alekseevich Brusilov was cut short at the age of 73 of his most interesting earthly journey. He caught a cold and died on March 17, 1926..