World War One the most Important cause of the March Revolution :: WWI WW1

Was World War One the most Important cause of the March Revolution? Nicholas II the eldest son of Alexander III and the Tsar of Russia was born at Krasnoye Selo in May 1868. Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. Nicholas II signed his abdication on 15 March 1917 after the Russian Army High Command recommended it. There are many reasons why Nicholas abdicated including, the financial state of the country, its wide and varied population and their dissatisfaction with the way the country was being ruled. As Russia was already in a weak state and the people had been suffering for many years, the First World War proved the last straw for the Russian people and whilst was possibly not the most important cause was certainly the trigger or catalyst for the March Revolution and Nicholas’ abdication. When The Russian army entered WWI they were huge but poorly led and very badly equipped, there were not enough guns for everyone. They just had lost the war with Japan so heavy casualties meant loss of morale and spirit yet they were expected to go into war again. To make up for the losses in Japan they had to recruit peasants for their army. In a backward country with little money there would have been no chance to train the peasants to be effective soldiers. Their equipment and method of fighting was also no match for the German Army. The Russian’s were trained in charging at the enemy with bayonets, the German troops had machine guns. As a result of this, whilst the Russians were defending the German attack on Poland, half their army was destroyed. Going into a war with such little chance of winning, did nothing to make the Russian people respect Nicholas. The decision that Tsar Nicholas II took in August 1915, to take over the command of the Army, lead to further problems. Being so closely linked to the Army’s failure in the WWI meant even The Duma began to loose faith in his abilities to run the country. Also, while he was away, he left his wife, Alexandra, and Rasputin, a monk who had physic powers who knew when Nicholas’ son was in trouble, to run the country. This was a bad decision Nicholas made because they constantly sacked Ministers and allowed the transport and food problems to descend into crisis. Also Alexandra was half German, when she took charge rumors spread suggesting that she was a German spy. World War One the most Important cause of the March Revolution :: WWI WW1 Was World War One the most Important cause of the March Revolution? Nicholas II the eldest son of Alexander III and the Tsar of Russia was born at Krasnoye Selo in May 1868. Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. Nicholas II signed his abdication on 15 March 1917 after the Russian Army High Command recommended it. There are many reasons why Nicholas abdicated including, the financial state of the country, its wide and varied population and their dissatisfaction with the way the country was being ruled. As Russia was already in a weak state and the people had been suffering for many years, the First World War proved the last straw for the Russian people and whilst was possibly not the most important cause was certainly the trigger or catalyst for the March Revolution and Nicholas’ abdication. When The Russian army entered WWI they were huge but poorly led and very badly equipped, there were not enough guns for everyone. They just had lost the war with Japan so heavy casualties meant loss of morale and spirit yet they were expected to go into war again. To make up for the losses in Japan they had to recruit peasants for their army. In a backward country with little money there would have been no chance to train the peasants to be effective soldiers. Their equipment and method of fighting was also no match for the German Army. The Russian’s were trained in charging at the enemy with bayonets, the German troops had machine guns. As a result of this, whilst the Russians were defending the German attack on Poland, half their army was destroyed. Going into a war with such little chance of winning, did nothing to make the Russian people respect Nicholas. The decision that Tsar Nicholas II took in August 1915, to take over the command of the Army, lead to further problems. Being so closely linked to the Army’s failure in the WWI meant even The Duma began to loose faith in his abilities to run the country. Also, while he was away, he left his wife, Alexandra, and Rasputin, a monk who had physic powers who knew when Nicholas’ son was in trouble, to run the country. This was a bad decision Nicholas made because they constantly sacked Ministers and allowed the transport and food problems to descend into crisis. Also Alexandra was half German, when she took charge rumors spread suggesting that she was a German spy.