The Year 1916

On 13 February, on the Southwest Front, heavy fighting was reported in Galicia. The Russians were being supported by the Belgian Armored Car Division around Jezierna in the Tarnopol sector.

On the Caucasian Front, the Russians were storming the Turkish fort at Erzerum. In Armenia, the Russians occupied Khanys. In North Persia, they took Daulatabad.

On 14 February, on the Western Front, there were continued Russian successes in the Dvinsk sector.

In Bucharest, the Romanian High Command partially mobilized their army.

On 15 February, on the Western Front, German attacks were repulsed in the Dvinsk area. Seven British submarine commanders arrived in Moscow for a four day visit.

In North Russia, the new section of the Murmansk railway from Kola to Kandalaksha was completed. During February, the Russians established the Arctic Flotilla, with an ice free base at Kola Bay. During 1916, six German submarines sank 25 Allied ships at a cost of one submarine lost to patrol craft.

In the Black Sea, the Russian battleship Rostislav and two gunboats heavily bombarded the Turkish 3rd Army defense line, forcing them to withdraw to the Bejuk-Dere River line.

On 16 February, on the Caucasus, Russians under General N.N. Yudenich scored a brilliant victory, capturing Erzerum. In five days of bloody fighting they took over 13,000 Turkish prisoners and 320 guns. The Turks lost 40,000 men killed in action. The remaining Turkish forces reformed and made a temporary stand at Baiburt.

On 17 February, at Stavka, the Tsar received a letter from the Empress asking many specific questions about the military situation on the Southwest Front and the Caucasus.

On 18 February, on the Caucasian Front, Russian warships supported three columns advancing from Erzerum along the Black Sea coast towards Trabizond. In Armenia, the Russians seized Mush and Aklat.

On 19 February, General A.N. Kuropatkin, formerly commander of the Grenadier Corps, replaced seriously ill General Pleve, as Commander of the Northern Front, with HQ at Pskov. Pleve died in hospital on 10 April in Moscow.

The Year 1916

On 20 February, on the Southwest Front, Russian successes were reported along the Dniester River in Bukowina.

At Stavka, the Tsar learned of a suspected plot within the Interior Ministry to murder Rasputin. During this period, Interior Minister Khvostov let police chief Beletskiy know that the removal of Rasputin would be in their interests, but the plans did not materialize.

Khvostov had offered a man named Komissarov some 200,000 rubles to kill Rasputin, but he failed to do the job. Khvostov had Beletskiy temporarily appointed the Governor of Irkutsk, but he was quickly withdrawn. Beletskiy retaliated by giving both Rasputin and Anna Vyrubova details of the plot, which quickly reached the ears of the Empress.

On 21 February, on the Allied Western Front, opening of the Battle of Verdun. There was very heavy fighting lasting over ten months. In the course of the battle the French would lose over 162,000 killed, while the Germans lost 143,000 killed. Verdun would witness the first group flights and large scale air fighting of the war. Mounting French aircraft losses and the need for replacements seriously affected France's ability to deliver of aircraft and engines to Russia.

On 22 February, at Petrograd, the Fourth State Duma was allowed to open. The Tsar, visiting from Stavka, was well received by its members. He then returned to Stavka on the 24th for a military conference.

On the Northern Front, the Russian 5th Army, HQ at Rezhitsa, 92 km northeast of Dvinsk, prepared for a demonstration against the German 8th Army on the Dvina River front.

On the Caucasian Front, Russian forces approached the coastal town of Trabizond. In North Persia, the Russians occupied the Sakhne and Bideswikh Passes, and Kashan and Ispir.

On 23 February, on the Caucasian Front, Russian troops seized Inspir, 120 km northwest of Erzerum. During late February, newly formed Turkish Fl.Abt.7 (flying section) was sent to the Caucasian Front, conducting operations from an airfield at Erzincan. They served there through December 1917.

On 26 February, on the Western Front, the Russian 2nd Army was now concentrating near Svyentsyani in the Lake Naroch region.

On 27 February, on the Northern Front, a small group of Russian Cossacks penetrated German lines in the Dvinsk sector to blow up communications facilities, but were captured before they could carry out the task. The Germans assumed an attack in this area was forthcoming.