Aleksei Brusilov

Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov
Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov
	Brusilov in 1913
Nickname(s)	'The Iron General'
Born	31 August 1853; Tiflis, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia)
Died	17 March 1926 (aged 72); Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Russian Empire (1872–1917) ; Russian Republic (1917) ; Russian SFSR (1920–1924)
Service/branch	Imperial Russian Army; Russian Army; Red Army
Years of service	1872–1924
Rank	General of the Cavalry
Battles/wars	Russo-Turkish War; World War I; (Galicia 1914, Carpathians 1915, Brusilov offensive, Kerensky offensive); Russian Civil War; Polish-Soviet War;
Awards	See below
Signature

Aleksei^[a] Alekseyevich Brusilov (Russian: Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ brʊˈsʲiɫəf]; 31 August [O.S. 19 August] 1853 – 17 March 1926) was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 Brusilov offensive, which was his greatest achievement.

Born into an aristocratic military family, Brusilov trained as a cavalry officer, but by 1914 had realized that cavalry was obsolete against modern weapons of warfare such as machine gun and artillery. Historians portray him as the only First World War Russian general capable of winning major battles; his offensive strategy helped eliminate the Austro-Hungarian Empire as an independent fighting force.^[1] However, his victories resulted in heavy casualties that seriously weakened the Russian army, which was unable to replace its losses.^[2]

Despite his noble status and prominent role in the Imperial Russian Army, he sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War and aided in the early organization of the Red Army until retiring in 1924.

Brusilov is one of the prominent Russian commanders in history,^[3]^[4] although not regarded as especially brilliant, he was pragmatic and open to change based on experience; his eponymous offensive succeeded in part from his willingness to properly train and prepare his troops, including in modern artillery and air reconnaissance.^[1]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ ^a ^b "Brusilov Offensive | Summary | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2011). Battles that Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 427–430. ISBN 978-1-5988-4429-0 – via Google Books.
^ "Сто великих полководцев – История.РФ" [A hundred great military commanders]. 100.histrf.ru. Russian Military Historical Society. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-2] "Brusilov Offensive | Summary | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.

[3] Tucker, Spencer C. (2011). Battles that Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 427–430. ISBN 978-1-5988-4429-0 – via Google Books.

[4] "Сто великих полководцев – История.РФ" [A hundred great military commanders]. 100.histrf.ru. Russian Military Historical Society. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.

[:1-5] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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