The Summer Offensive and The July Days - 1917

The Summer Offensive

In the summer, the provisional governement launched an offensive against the germans.

WHY?:

- Britain and France were asking Russia to attack the eastern front to take pressure from the west

- The PG were responding to treaty obligations

- There was a strong nationalist and patriotic element in Russian society

- Kadets and other conservative forces thought that an offensive would put officers/generals back in control of the armed forces

- Socialists felt that an offensive would put them into a better bargaining position with the Germans in peace obligations

Alexander Kerensky, threw himself into a propaganda campaign to mobilise the armed forces, he also made patriotic speeches and toured the fronts. This worked as middle class civilians volunteered to fight however the soldiers were unwilling to fight. Overall the offensive was a failure- initial russian gains were followed by a German counter…