In September 1915, Tsar Nicholas II made the critical decision to take control of the armed forces himself. The problem was Nicholas was an incapable commander. Further, the troops themselves continued to lose and make mistakes.

The Russians continued to experience defeat in the war throughout 1916 and 1917. Growing discontent within the army led to many soldiers turning their support towards the revolutionary Bolshevik Party.

Thirteen million soldiers had been mobilised for Russia in the First World War, 9.15 million of these men died or were wounded.

Nicholas was “even more poorly prepared than his father for the burdens of kingship. Nicholas had no knowledge of the world of men, of politics or government to help him make the weighty decisions that in the Russian system the Tsar alone must make.”(H. Rogger, Russia in the Age of Modernisation and Revolution, 1983)