Russian Imperial Army. Though one of the largest armies when mobilized, the Russian army was painfully disorganized and ill-equipped to stand up to the well-trained and quickly mechanizing German and Austro-Hungarian opposition on account of poor training, constant transportation problems and equipment shortages. Consisting mainly of illiterate peasantry, the army fought well and bravely to protect their homeland, though not necessarily out of any strong loyalty to the tzar or their leading officers, with whom they grew more unhappy by the minute. An army such as this also required strong leadership that it could respect and trust - which was often lacking if the commanding officers were aristocracy that rose in military ranks by birth rather than any practical knowledge of warfare.
