Russia’s Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17

In Russia's Last Gasp, Prit Buttar looks at one of the bloodiest campaigns launched in the history of warfare--the Brusilov Offensive, sometimes known as the June Advance. With British, French and German forces locked in a stalemate in the trenches of the Western Front, an attack was launched by the massed Russian armies to the east. The assault was intended to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war and divert German troops from the Western Front, easing the pressure on Russia's allies. Russia's dismal military performance in the preceding years was forgotten, as the Brusilov Offensive was quickly characterized by innovative tactics. Most impressive of all was the Russian use of shock troops, a strategy that German armies would later use to great effect in the final years of the war.

Drawing on first-hand accounts and detailed archival research Buttar gives a dramatic retelling of final years of the war on the Eastern Front, with the Russian Army claiming military success at a cost so high that it was never able to recover.

Prit Buttar studied medicine before joining the British Army as a doctor. He has since worked as a GP, and is extensively involved in medical politics, having served on the GPs’ Committee of the British Medical Association. He has appeared on local and national TV and radio, speaking on medical issues, and contributes regularly to the medical press. His previous books include Battleground Prussia (2010) and Between Giants (2013). An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany’s Eastern Front 1944-45 (Osprey 2010) and Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II (Osprey 2013). Russia’s Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17 is the final book in a three-volume series, the definitive study of the First World War on the Eastern Front.