10th Army (Russian Empire)
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The 10th Army () was a field army of the
Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


History

The 10th Army was formed on from reserve units of the Stavka of the Commander-in-Chief, part of the
Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...
, and initially included the 22nd Army Corps, the
3rd Siberian Army Corps The 3rd Siberian Army Corps was an Army corps in the Imperial Russian Army. Composition 1905: * 4th Siberian Rifle Division *7th Siberian Rifle Division 1914: *7th Siberian Rifle Division *8th Siberian Rifle Division The 8th Siberian Rifle Divis ...
, and the 1st Turkestan Army Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General
Vasily Flug Vasily Yegorovich Flug (March 19, 1860 – December 3, 1955) was an Imperial Russian Army General of the Infantry. A career military officer, he served in the Boxer Rebellion, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, before joining the White movemen ...
. Subsequently, the army would also include the 1st Guards, 1st, 2nd,
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
, 5th, 6th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 34th, 35th, 36th, 38th, and 44th Army Corps, the 2nd and 5th Caucasus Army Corps, the 1st and 2nd Siberian Army Corps, and the 7th Cavalry Corps at different times. The army was deployed between the 1st and 2nd Armies during the East Prussian Campaign of 17 August to 15 September 1914, covering the left flank of the 1st Army along with the 2nd Army. During the Russian retreat from East Prussia it defended the line of the
Bobr River The Bobr is a river in Belarus. It is a left tributary of the Berezina. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
and covered the direction of
Augustów Augustów (; lt, Augustavas, formerly known in English as ''Augustovo'' or ''Augustowo'')" is a city in north-eastern Poland with 29,729 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the ...
and Grodno. The 1st and 10th Armies covered the right flank of the Northwestern Front during the Warsaw–Ivangorod Operation of 15 September to 25 October. General of infantry Thadeus von Sievers replaced Flug on 23 September. During the Łódź Operation of 29 October to 11 November, the troops of the 1st and 10th Armies covered the
Mława Mława (; yi, מלאווע ''Mlave'') is a town in north-east Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of Mława County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship. During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of Mława was ...
direction on the right bank of the
Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
. In the subsequent offensive into East Prussia, the army was halted by strongly fortified and held German fortifications at the
Masurian Lakes The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masuri ...
and was unable to capture them. Between 25 January and 13 February 1915, the army fought in the
Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1915. The offensive was intended to advance beyond the V ...
, during which the German
8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
and 10th Armies were to encircle and destroy the 10th Army by attacking it from the flanks. The German 8th Army struck the 10th Army's left towards Augustow on 25 January, while the German 10th Army attacked on the right towards Verzhbolovo and
Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...
between 26 and 30 January. In intense defensive fighting, the troops of the 10th Army held back the German advance for ten days, enabling the main Russian forces to retreat to the Kovno and Osovets line by 13 February. The army rebuffed another unsuccessful German encirclement attempt during the
Battle of Przasnysz A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
between 7 February and 17 March. On 17 February, the 10th Army, in concert with the 1st and 12th Armies, launched a counteroffensive and pushed the German troops back to the East Prussian border, overcoming fierce resistance. Sievers was replaced by General of infantry Yevgeny Radkovich on 25 April. When the Northwestern Front was split in August, the 10th Army became part of the Western Front, with which it fought for the rest of the war. It fought in the Battle of Vilna between 9 August and 26 September against the German 10th Army. After capturing Kovno on 9 August, the latter attacked between the Viliya and the
Neman The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...
, attempting to encircle the main forces of the army, concentrated north and northwest of
Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
. In seesaw fighting that lasted until the end of August, both sides suffered heavy losses. The stalemate was broken by the German
Sventiany Offensive The Sventiany Offensive (now Švenčionys) was a military operation mostly undertaken by the Imperial German Army's 10th Army against the Imperial Russian Army's 10th Army on the Eastern Front during World War I. On 9 September 1915, the Ger ...
, beginning on 27 August, which broke through the army defenses and unhinged its rear with a cavalry raid, forcing a retreat to the east. The front stabilized along the line of Lake Naroch and Smorgon by 19 September, after which positional fighting took place. In the northern hemisphere spring of 1916, the army fought in the Northern and Western Fronts'
Lake Naroch Offensive The Lake Naroch offensive in 1916 was an unsuccessful Russian offensive on the Eastern Front in World War I. It was launched at the request of Marshal Joseph Joffre and intended to relieve the German pressure on French forces. Due to lack of reco ...
, tasked with advancing on Vilna, but did not achieve its objectives due to a lack of shells and ineffective command of the troops. In the operation, significant groups of German troops were encircled, which prevented German reinforcement of the Western Front. The 10th Army fought in the mid-1917 Kerensky Offensive, under the command of Lieutenant General Pyotr Lomnovsky, tasked with the front's main assault from
Molodechno Maladzyechna ( be, Маладзе́чна, Maladziečna, ; russian: Молоде́чно, Molodechno; pl, Mołodeczno) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus, an administrative centre of the Maladzyechna District (and formerly of the Maladzyech ...
to Vilna. Preceded by a three-day artillery preparation, the army's units began the attack on 9 July, but its troops refused to fight, occupying two to three lines of German trenches before returning to their positions. The offensive was halted on 10 July as a result of the failure of the concurrent attacks of the Southwestern Front. The Russian Army disintegrated as a result of the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, resulting in the demobilization of the troops of the army between December and February 1918, before its disbandment in March.


Military Fronts and engagements in which the 10th Army participated

The army was part of the following fronts during the war: *
Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...
(August 1914 – August 1915) * Western Front (August 1915 – the beginning of 1918)


Engagements

*
Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1915. The offensive was intended to advance beyond the V ...
(7–22 February 1915)


Commanders

The following officers commanded the army: * General of the Infantry
Alexei Evert Aleksei Ermolaevich Evert (russian: Алексей Ермолаевич Эверт; german: Alexei Ewert; also written ''Everth'' or ''Ewarts''; 4 March 185712 November 1918 or 10 May 1926) was an Imperial Russian general of Orthodox German ext ...
(11–22 August 1914) * Lieutenant General
Vasily Flug Vasily Yegorovich Flug (March 19, 1860 – December 3, 1955) was an Imperial Russian Army General of the Infantry. A career military officer, he served in the Boxer Rebellion, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, before joining the White movemen ...
(22 August – 23 September 1914) * General of infantry Thadeus von Sievers (23 September 1914 – 25 April 1915) * General of infantry Yevgeny Radkovich (25 April 1915 – October 1916 ) * General of cavalry
Afanasy Tsurikov Afanasy (russian: Афана́сий) is the Russian form of Athanasios, a Greek name meaning "immortal". It may refer to: People: * Afanasy Bagration, Prince Adarnase of Kartli (1707–1784), Georgian prince royal and Russian Empire general * Af ...
(October – 12 December 1916) * General of infantry
Vladimir Gorbatovsky Vladimir Nikolayevich Gorbatovsky (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Горбато́вский, May 26, 1851 – July 30, 1924) was an Imperial Russian army commander. He fought in the wars against the Ottoman Empire and the Emp ...
(12 December 1916 – 2 April 1917) * Lieutenant General Nikolai Kiselevsky (9 April – 12 July 1917) * Lieutenant General Pyotr Lomnovsky (12 July – 9 September 1917) * Major General
Ali-Agha Shikhlinski Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski ( az, Əli Ağa İsmayıl Ağa oğlu Şıxlinski;); – )Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are in the Julian calendar with the start of year adjusted to 1 January. All other dates in this article are in ...
(9 September – 16 November 1917)


See also

*
List of Russian armies in World War I List of Russian armies in World War I This page is a list of Russian army formations existing during World War I. * 1st Army * 2nd Army * 3rd Army * 4th Army * 5th Army * 6th Army * 7th Army * 8th Army * 9th Army * 10th Army * 11t ...
*
List of Imperial Russian Army formations and units This article lists Imperial Russian Army formations and units in 1914 prior to World War I mobilisation for the Russian invasion of Prussia and the liberation Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. The prewar chain of command was: military distr ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * ''Русская армия в Великой войне: Картотека формирований'' (Russian Army in the Great War) * * {{Russian Empire Ground Forces Armies of the Russian Empire Military units and formations established in 1914 1914 establishments in the Russian Empire Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations of Russia in World War I