War on the Eastern Front

The scale of the already devastating war is about to expand on a massive scale. In late August, the 3.5 million strong Russian Imperial Army launches simultaneous invasions of the German territory of East Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia.

For the next two months, a brutal series of battles are fought along the frontiers of Eastern Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of men are killed and millions more wounded or taken prisoner. The result of all this carnage is a bloody stalemate. The Germans defeat the Russians in East Prussia and drive them back across the border, but this success is offset by Russia’s victory over the Austro-Hungarians in Galicia.

As is the case on the Western Front, the armies in the east establish a stable front line to see out the winter. The enormous effort and sacrifice of the opening battles have decided nothing. The war on the Eastern Front has only just begun.