72-WW1-600 RUSSIAN INFANTRY 1914-18 FIGHTING SOLDIERS

The Russian infantry, as well as the entire Russian armed forces, underwent changes after the defeat in the war with Japan in 1904-1905. First of all, efforts were made to improve the training of privates, but also non-commissioned officers and officer cadres, and efforts were also made to use the bloody experience in tactics and operational art. Although efforts were made to improve the state of affairs in the period 1905-1914, the effects were often far from the expected. Just before World War I, the Russian army counted around 1.3 million people on the peace rate, and after mobilization this number increased significantly. It is estimated that by the end of October 1914, about 6 million soldiers were mobilized, and during the entire First World War, about 12 million people were mobilized, although these data are often divergent in various studies. The Russian infantry, just before the Great War, was divided into 122 infantry divisions and constituted about 80% of the land army of the tsarist empire. These units were divided into 1st-throw divisions with higher manpower in peacetime and 2nd-tier divisions. In total, the Russian armed forces had around 6,900 guns and mortars at the outbreak of World War I. Generally, it can be said that the Russian infantry soldier was a tough and resistant to numerous hardships infantryman, who, however, most often gave way in terms of training or armament to his German and - less often - Austro-Hungarian opponent. Communication, the quality of the commanding staff, and in the declining period of the war, also supply, were also compromised in the Russian infantry.