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Birth of Alexei Brusilov, military leader, General of Cavalry
“…I believe the duty of every citizen is not to leave his people and live with it cost what it may…”
A.A. Brusilov
Alexei Brusilov, military leader, General of Cavalry was born August 19 (31), 1853 in Tiflis.
Alexei came from a family of hereditary military men; his great-grandfather, grandfather and father were officers of the Russian army. Having lost his parents in his boyhood days, he and his brothers were brought up by relatives in Kutaisi, where he had excellent education at home.
In 1867, when Alexei was fourteen years old, he came to St. Petersburg and was taken in to the elite Corps of Pages. "I studied in a strange manner - remembers Brusilov - those disciplines that I liked, I learned very quickly and well; others that were alien to me I studied reluctantly, just enough to get a remove to the next grade: my pride did not allow me to fail the year. And when in the fifth grade I did not pass the exam and had to stay for a second year, I chose to take annual leave and go to the Caucasus to my uncle and aunt. Returning to the corps a year later and bypassing the sixth grade I passed the exam right for the special grade and I managed to enter it. In special grades studying was much more interesting. They taught military science for which I was gifted."
In 1872, Alexei was entered the service as an ensign in the 15th Tver Regiment of Dragoons lying in the Caucasus. As part of this regiment Brusilov participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. For his merits in the capture of the Turkish fortress of Ardahan, he got his first combat award - the Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree. Participating in hostilities, he earned the Order of St. Anne 3rd degree and the rank of captain; for courage in the assault and capture of Kars he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree.
In 1883, Alexei was enrolled for permanent membership of the Officers Cavalry School in St. Petersburg, and was soon appointed chief of the officer department. He lectured on the theory of horses’ dressage, giving riding lessons and conducting tests cavalry, and in 1902 headed the school. K. G. Mannerheim, who signed up for service in the Cavalry officer school, recalled that Brusilov "was an attentive, rigorous and demanding leader and gave a very good knowledge. His war games and exercises on the ground in their design and execution were exemplary and utterly interesting."
In 1906, Brusilov became commander of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. Three years later, he started commanding the 14th Army Corps, then, in 1912, was appointed assistant commander of the Warsaw Military District. Through the efforts of the Minister of War V. A. Sukhomlinov, in 1913 Alexei was transferred to the Kiev Military District as commander of the 12th Army Corps and promoted to the general of cavalry. In this capacity, he met the events of August 1914.
With the outbreak of the World War I, Brusilov was appointed commander of the Proskurov forces, which was soon transformed into the 8th Russian army of the Southwestern Front and sent to Galicia. Within two months of fighting, Russian troops liberated the vast territory, took Lviv, Galic, Mykolaiv and reached the Carpathians. Tactics of the commander included an active defense and rapid advance. For successfully leading of the troops of the 8th Army in the Battle of Galicia, Brusilov was awarded the Order of St. George 4th and 3rd degrees, and in early 1915 joined the imperial retinue with the rank of Adjutant General.
In March 1916, Brusilov was appointed commander of the Southwestern Front, which consisted of four Russian armies. Alexei planned Lutsk to be the focus of the main attack. The commander attributed to the artillery a special role in the breakthrough of the enemy’s defense. May 22 (June 4), 1916 Brusilov started a powerful artillery preparation, followed by the infantry. Breaking through the 16-kilometer front, on May 25 (June 7) the Russian army took Lutsk, and by 2 (15) June defeated the 4th Austro-Hungarian army of Archduke Joseph Ferdinand.
The onset of the South-Western Front in 1916, which brought the Russian army the biggest success in the war and went down in history as Brusilov Offensive, had no further developments due to the complete depletion of the attacking potential of the Russian armies and was the last bright strategic operation of the Russian Imperial Army in the First World War. For successful lead of the troops of the front General Brusilov was awarded the gold George Arms with diamonds.
During the February Revolution, General supported the rise to power of the Provisional Government. From the end of May 1917, Brusilov served two months as Supreme Commander, but after the failure of the June offensive was replaced by Kornilov.
Having left the army, Brusilov settled in Moscow. During the fighting in November 1917, Alexei was seriously wounded by shrapnel of the projectile accidentally fallen into the house and stayed in hospital until July 1918. In August 1918, Brusilov was arrested by the Cheka and spent two months at the Kremlin guardhouse, but was released for lack of evidence of his relations with the anti-Soviet movement.
In 1920, Brusilov began to serve in the Red Army: participated in the Military and History Commission for research and use of the experience of 1914-1918 war; led a cavalry pre-conscription training; was an inspector of cavalry. In March 1924, he resigned. Outstanding leader of the First World War, a brilliant educator and military theorist Alexei Brusilov died March 17, 1926 in Moscow at the age of 73. He was buried with full military honors in the territory of the Novodevichy Convent.
Lit.: Базанов С. Н. Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов. М., 2006; Брусилов А. А. Воспоминания. М., 1963; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/brusilov/index.html; Залесский К. А. Кто был кто в Первой мировой войне. М., 2003; Соколов Ю. В. Красная звезда или крест? Жизнь и судьба генерала Брусилова. М., 1994; Шикман А. П. Деятели отечественной истории. Биографический справочник. М., 1997 г.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: