The army of opponents were recruited on the basis of universal conscription. In Russia, the term of personnel service is 3, in Germany - 2 (for infantry). The Russian soldier was in the reserve of the first and second categories, the Germanic was in reserve, as well as in the Landwehr of the first and second appeals. Persons who did not serve in the field forces, but one way or another fit for service, as well as persons outside the age barrier served in the militia (Russia) and landscape and erzatzrezreve (Germany) [more see Military Encyclopedia / under. ed. V. O. Novitsky. 1911. T. VII. C. 275-276, Rostunov I.I. The Russian Front of the First World War. M., 1976., Golovin N. N. Russia's military efforts in the World War. Paris, 1939]. Dates of service, as well as the age of conscription for active service differed slightly.
Peacetime armies numbered 1423000 and 761000 people in Russia and Germany, respectively.
The Russian army began to move toward uniformity of structure, but did not manage to complete the reorganization. The serf and reserve troops were abolished (15% of the army) and due to this 7 standard infantry divisions and a rifle brigade were formed.
The army corps was the highest tactical unit.
The Russian 32-battalion corps consisted of 48000 people (including 33000 active bayonets), had 108 guns (in 14 batteries) and 64 machine guns, and the German 24-battalion corps - 45000 people (including 25000 active bayonets) The 160 guns (in 28 batteries) and 48 machine guns. From the composition of 108 Russian guns - 96 divisional 76-mm cannons and 12 guns - corps mortar division - 122-mm howitzers. The Germans acted more thoughtfully. In their 105-mm field howitzers were part of field divisions. But at the corps level there was an additional 16 155-mm heavy field artillery guns. The German Army Corps, therefore, had an effective fire fist and, as a result, increased strike power. In the armies of the Entente, heavy 150-mm caliber guns at the hull level were absent “as a class” (and the French had light field howitzers). The army corps also possessed reinforcement and support units — by the air detachment, communications units, engineering and convoy units, and corps cavalry.
Army corps and cavalry divisions in various proportions (as a rule, 2-6 army corps and 1-4 cavalry divisions, which also brought in corps) formed operational units - the army. Several armies formed the front - by the way, it was Russia that for the first time stories create these operational-strategic alliances.
The German army on 1914 had 25 army corps (21 AK, 3, Bavarian AK and Guards Corps) without reserve duplicates or 79 field divisions (with separate brigades 83), 29, Landner, 15-ersz-reserve, and reserve units. - 11 thousand personnel army, 761 million 1 thousand reservists, 100 million 1 thousand landver, 919 million 1 thousand landsturm [Takman B. The first blitzkrieg. August 1914. Statistics. M.-SPb., 1999. C. 495].
Russian army - 37 corps (113,5 divisions) and 22 cavalry divisions (without separate brigades). Personnel army - 1 million 423 thousand, 1 million 200 thousand second-line troops, 3 million 115 thousand spare, 800 thousand militia warriors [Ibid. C. 497].
The organizational structure of the German army was less cumbersome and, accordingly, more convenient to manage (if we compare it not only with the Russian, but also with any other European army).
Speaking about the combat training of troops, it should be said that the peacetime armies stood at about the same level. In the Russian army as a result of the reforms of 1905-14. Significant changes were made. There are fresh programs for military schools, in 1907-14. new statutes and manuals adopted [Manual on bayonet battle of St. Petersburg, 1907; Charter of the Field Service St. Petersburg, 1912; Manual for infantry action in battle St. Petersburg, 1914], taking into account both the experience of foreign armies, and especially the Russian-Japanese war. In particular, offensive actions serve as the basis for infantry combat activity; the initiative of a fighter in battle is determined. Progressive were questions of the structure of the battle formations, the interaction of the armed forces, maneuvering. A battle formation in the form of a rifle chain was used, transforming into a denser formation depending on the situation. Depending on the situation, the infantry must use rifle and machine-gun fire, bayonet fighting, and hand grenades.
The disadvantages of the Russian statutes and manuals were:
a) underestimation of artillery fire (70% infantry loss in combat according to the experience of world war);
b) underestimation of infantry digging in combat;
c) this form of battle was not considered as a counter.
However, these omissions were characteristic of almost all the armies of the time. In the French army, for example, before the war, the officer received a disciplinary action for familiarizing the unit with digging trenches.
German statutes [The combatant infantry regulations of the German army. St. Petersburg, 1906] and combat instruction was also based on offensive action. The Germans are familiar with the head-on battle, the attack of fortified positions. The interaction of infantry with artillery was studied most thoroughly. At the same time, unlike the Russian army, the Germans, having no 1870-71 years. combat experience, used more dense combat construction, bearing in the first battles unreasonably high losses. Appreciation to the terrain and maneuvering in offensive combat, the use of reserves was underestimated.
1. German machine gunners on pre-war maneuvers
The human resource of the armies of both opponents stood at a high level, modern methods of personnel training were used.
The Russian imperial army was distinguished by a magnificent soldier, non-commissioned officer and officer personnel. Particular emphasis on fire training (for example, the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, commander of the St. Petersburg Military District and the troops of the Guard, dismissed the post of regiment commander who did not receive "excellent" as a result of firing) led to the Russian peacetime infantry superbly shot (for example, a number of battles 1914 g.). The officers conducted tactical classes, prepared reports on military topics, and military games were carried out. The most important flaw was the qualifications of senior officers (again, in general, characteristic of all armies), but in Russia they were aggravated by the existence of an outdated price system.
The armament of the opposing armies, on the whole, was identical. The main weapons infantry was a shop rifle with good ballistic qualities. The strengths of the Russian rifle of S. I. Mosin were reliability and unpretentiousness in a combat situation, as well as a triangular bayonet.
At the beginning of the war, an infantry regiment had 6-8 machine guns, which was clearly not enough. The regimental machine-gun team was headed by an experienced officer and, including a significant number of soldiers, non-commissioned officers, horses, equipment, was a significant mobile reserve in the hands of the regiment commander. In the Russian and German armies, mainly heavy (easel) machine guns of Maxim’s systems were used.
2. Russian machine gunners
Artillery turns into a "God of War." Massaging of artillery fire, maneuvering battalions and batteries on the battlefield was an important guarantee of victories. Traditionally, Russian gunners, in the unanimous opinion of both domestic and foreign specialists, were the best in Europe. They used tactical innovations (for example, German artillery did not practice fire from closed positions at the beginning of the war), and shooting accuracy was unmatched. The materiel of the opponents as a whole was equivalent, but the Russian three-inch and field 122-mm howitzer were among the best in their class. But the most important factor was the significant superiority of the Germans in heavy artillery. The Russian army had 7030 guns (including only 240 heavy howitzers and cannons) [Details see Barsukov EZ Artillery of the Russian Army (1900-1917). M., 1948-1949; he is Preparing Russia for a world war in artillery relation. M.-L., 1926]and the German one - 6528 guns (including 1688 heavy - 150 - 420-mm caliber). Germany was also an innovator in the use of heavy mortars. In both states, anti-aircraft guns appear.
3. Germanic gunners
A significant miscalculation of the warring parties is the absence of guns at the battalion and regimental level, that is, the lack of means for effectively supporting infantry on the battlefield.
4. Russian heavy battery in position
Both in the Russian and German armies developed before the war aviation, road transport, armored vehicles, communications, engineering tools.
During the mobilization, the Russian army received 4,2 thousand cars, and the German one 4 thousand, but the Germans had a larger share of trucks.
Only Russia had special heavy bomber aircraft “Ilya Muromets” at the beginning of the war. Parachute (developed in 1911 by G. E. Kotelnikov) is also a Russian invention. Russia had 263 aircraft at the start of the war, and Germany had 232. In the conditions of the Eastern Front, aviation was used primarily for reconnaissance purposes, especially at the beginning of the war.
In the naval sphere, Germany focused on the British the fleetThe Baltic Sea was considered a secondary theater of operations. Prior to the entry of the Sevastopol dreadnoughts into operation, the Russian Baltic Fleet was seriously inferior to the Germans, and the main task facing it was to prevent the Germans from entering the Gulf of Finland to Petrograd, primarily through a mine war (which, incidentally, was successfully completed).
It is also worth noting that the first Russian dreadnoughts of the “Sevastopol” type (commissioned in November – December 1914) were among the strongest in their class (especially their Black Sea variant). Both foreign experience and the experience of the Russian-Japanese war were fully taken into account. Destroyers of the Novik type were the first turbine destroyers; the German destroyers with 102-mm artillery could not carry on them with weapons (88-mm guns). The first in the world underwater mine layer “Crab” is a domestic novelty. By the beginning of the war, Russia had 23, and Germany had 28 submarines, but the Bars Russian submarine was considered one of the best in the world. Homeland hydroaviation - also Russia. For the first time, all the war (especially on the aircraft fleets of the Black Sea Fleet) were launched: D. P. Grigorovich seaplanes M-1, M-2, M-4. M-5, M-9. Three-gun ship towers, some fire control methods also owe their appearance to the Russian fleet.
The Russian fleet deservedly won first place in the development of mine weapons. Torpedo model 1912 g. In speed and range exceeded foreign analogues. For the first time, a three-tube torpedo tube appears and an innovative method of volley firing by a fan (later adopted by the British) is used. The Russian sea mines of the electro-shock and shock-mechanical type left far behind foreign designs for technical data and reliability. The British acquired Russian mines throughout the war. Ahead of the Russians were in the field of washing weapons.
Combat training in the Russian and German fleets was quite comparable. The emphasis of the Germans was on artillery firing, in which they were very successful (the squadron of the Black Sea battleships fired best of all). Of the Russian fleets, the Baltic Fleet was particularly brilliant in combat training (the great merit of its commander, N. O. von Essen). The exercises were held year-round; connections were created to solve independent operational and tactical tasks. The number of practical shooting was great, including through fast loading. Seriously organized training on the use of mine-torpedo weapons (especially in real conditions of mine-artillery positions of the Gulf of Finland). Attention was also paid to the development of the actions of the fleet together with ground forces (which the Germans did not attach much importance to). Summarizing the above, it can be noted that the German squadron of the Baltic Sea has a more than serious rival in the Russian Baltic Fleet.
Finally, there are great prospects for the development of the Russian army and navy. In particular, Russia's military spending in 1908 was 1511000 francs, and Germany - 1504000 francs (in France this figure was 1100000, and in Austria-Hungary - 529000 francs).
In 1913, the Russian Empire adopted a large program for the construction of the armed forces, calculated up to 1917.
In accordance with it, the land army increased in peacetime to 1710000 people, infantry personnel increased, 32 infantry, 26 cavalry, 6 rifle regiments were to be formed.
But most importantly, in the artillery relation, Russia leveled off with Germany and even surpassed it. Thus, the artillery brigade of the infantry division included 9 cannon and 2 howitzer (122-mm) batteries - 66 guns in the division instead of 48 and plus howitzers, which were not at the divisional level. A heavy division of 4 batteries (107-mm guns and 152-mm howitzers) was attached to the army corps. What is the worst for the Germans, with a larger number of battalions, our corps was superior to the German one and in the number of gun barrels (instead of the ratio of 108 to 160, we got 200 to 160).
The naval shipbuilding program envisaged the construction of four most powerful battlecruisers with 356-mm artillery of the main caliber of the type "Izmail", and the Russian Empire was developed with the 406-mm main caliber. These ships were to become the basis of Russia's ocean power, giving it a Mediterranean squadron (as in the days of Ushakov's expeditions) with a station in Bizerte. By a sad coincidence, Bizerte became the last refuge of the Russian Black Sea Fleet after the Crimean exodus at the end of the Civil War.
According to German historians and memoirists, to win such a Russian army would be very problematic. Time worked for Russia — the Germans should use the available advantages at the earliest opportunity, using the very first opportunity to unleash a war. Earlier - better than later. And this was a very important factor in the outbreak of war by the states of the German bloc precisely in 1914.
5. German battery in 1914