1-217-088 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Russian First World War general, 16-17 March 1917. Grand Duke Nikolai (1856-1929) was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army when the First World War broke out in 1914. Severely handicapped by primitive communications, he was dismissed in 1915 after the Germans virtually drove the Russians out of Poland. Re-assigned as Commander of Russian forces in the Caucusus, Nikolai (1856-1929) was re-instated as Commander-in-Chief by the Tsar in his last official act before his abdication in 1917. However within 24 hours of his arrival at his headquarters in Mogilev, his appointment was cancelled by the new Prime Minister, Prince Georgy Lvov.