Chapter+19+and+20,+The+Long+Summer+of+1914,+For+The+Defense+of+Holy+Russia

The beginning of this chapter is primarily focused on the description of the Tsar's summer vacation location of his royal cruise ship. He then receives word that the Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip of the Serbian terrorists group, The Black Hand. The Tsar realizes that the drastic measures taken by the Serbians will most definitely lead to war between the Serbs and the Austrian-Hungarian empire. He is well aware that the Serbs are expecting their Slavic brothers in Russia will help defend against the oppressive Austrians. However, he also knows that if he does this, the Germans will back up Austria and will result in a full scale European war. The Tsar Nicholas admitted that his country was in no state for war, as they recently suffered a brutal defeat by the Japanese and were in a state of economic trouble. To avoid war, he telegraphed his cousin William, Kaiser of Germany, to mediate peace. These telegraphs are famously known as the Willy-Nicky telegraphs. As neither country could come to an agreement, war began. Many advised Nicholas against this war, such as Rasputin, but Nicholas as well as many other Russians felt an emotional tie to the Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula. The author succeeds in the aspect of creating an image of Nicholas for the reader that the reader can connect to, making him appear more human than a demi-god that Autocrats are made out to be. The author goes into great detail regarding the troubles that his son Alexi's hemophilia caused his family, such as when he writes, "The hemmorhage into the ankle was continuing, the joint swollen and rigid, Alexis was weeping; every minutes, as the throbbing pain mounted, he screamed. Alexandra's face was white"(258). Not only does the author delve into the personal life of the Tsar, but also poses Nicholas' position regarding the question of war as virtually impossible to solve. With such conflicting demands surrounding Nicholas, he was almost forced into a war that would end his family's reign.

Technologically backwards, in economic turmoil, and without sufficient railways, ammunition, supply, and fighting skill, Russia entered a war which it could not possibly be less prepared for. The Russian people stopped arguing amongst themselves, even the Bolsheviks, and all put their heads together to fight for the common goal of victory. For one, the geography and poor transportation of Russia proved decisive in the efficiency of the army. The average march to the front for those on the Western Front was 150 miles, while the average march for a Russian soldier was near 800 miles. In addition, the Russian rail system was archaic and vastly smaller than the German one, making transportation of troops and supplies rather difficult. Also, although the Russians sent nearly 15,000,000 men into battle during the course of the war, they were too ill equipped and poorly commanded to beat the Germans. Because the Eastern Front was so massive, the Russians could no easily centralize their troops, which led to such defeat as Tannenberg. The Author goes into great detail about how ill-equipped the Russian Nation was to enter the largest war to date, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty.

I personally would recommend this book to any person interested in the history of Russia. I found it to be very interesting, as I learned about both the policies of Nicholas, as well as his personal life which ultimately effected his decisions as a leader. I found it to be a very unique type of book and never found a page where I was bored.