THE GREAT WAR 18 : Fat Rodzianko has Sent Me some Nonsense (Tsar Nicholas II) [Main Title]

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  • Title: THE GREAT WAR 18 : Fat Rodzianko has Sent Me some Nonsense (Tsar Nicholas II) [Main Title]
  • Film Number: IWM 1065-18
  • Other titles: FAT RODZIANKO HAS SENT ME SOME NONSENSE (Tsar Nicholas II) [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Events in Russia leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution, 1917.
  • Description: The "October Revolution" of 1917 took Russia out of the war. Russia had always been a problem to Germany; although often easily defeated, Russian armies had forced the withdrawal of German forces away from other fronts, and had threatened to defeat Austria-Hungary altogether in 1916. The other Allies hoped for another Russian offensive in 1917; but the Russian Army had "suffered literally beyond endurance", there was widespread war-weariness and fraternisation with German soldiers. Russian administration of the war was actually becoming more efficient, but Nicholas II, who had made himself Commander-in-Chief in 1915, was ineffectual, and the life of the average Russian peasant, worker or refugee was miserable. Increasingly Nicholas relied upon the Czarina and her spiritual adviser Rasputin, who came to symbolise all the ills of Russia, and whose murder was greeted with rejoicing. The winter of 1916-1917 was very severe and the Czar refused to dismiss incompetent ministers. In March 1917 protests over food in Petrograd spread into a full scale revolt in which the Army joined. The Czar was forced to abdicate and a provisional government formed under Prince Lvov with Kerensky as Minister of Justice. The Allies hoped this new, liberal, regime would improve Russia's war effort. Meanwhile the extremist Bolsheviks who had missed the actual revolution appeared from prison or exile, led by Lenin, who reached Russia with German help from Switzerland on 16th April. Kerensky, now Minister of War, planned a summer offensive which began on 1st July, but which after initial success was repulsed; the Russian Army disintegrated. Lenin exploited the chaos by calling for peace. Kerensky had to use troops to surpress a popular protest, and outlaw the Bolsheviks. But when the Commander-in-Chief, General Kornilov, ordered his troops to march on Petrograd Kerensky was forced to re-arm the Bolsheviks to defend his liberal revolution. This provided the nucleus of the Red Guard. Meanwhile in October the Germans precipitated a crisis in Russia with an amphibious attack on the Baltic islands north of Riga, securing their flank for a possible drive on Petrograd. Lenin was able to return to Russia, and on 7th November the Bolsheviks seized power in an almost bloodless coup, storming the Winter Palace at Petrograd. An Armistice was arranged and negotiations opened with the Germans at Brest-Litovsk. The Germans were short of time and grain: they made separate peace treaties with the anti-Bolshevik state of Ukraine and with Rumania to secure both, and when the Bolsheviks tried to draw out the negotiations launched another offensive, forcing them to accept the harshest terms. The Germans also gave military aid to Finland to clear occupying Russian troops. All this meant a considerable German military commitment on the Eastern Front even after peace was signed. But the remaining troops were transferred to the west in the hope of achieving the decisive victory in France which would win the war. "For Germany it was now or never."
  • Alternative Title: FAT RODZIANKO HAS SENT ME SOME NONSENSE (Tsar Nicholas II) [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: IWM 1065-18
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM: PROJECTION PRINT ONLY - NOT FOR PRODUCTION USE
  • Featured Period: 1914-1918
  • Production Date: 1964
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Production sponsor) Imperial War Museum (Production sponsor) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Production sponsor) BBC (Production company) Essex, Tony (Production individual) Watkins, Gordon (Production individual) Terraine, John Alfred1921-01-152003-12-27 (Production individual) Rollins, Ed (Production individual) Manefield, Tom (Production individual) Kee, Robert (Production individual) Shukman, Harold (Production individual) Jarvis, Anne (Production individual) Hipple, Rex (Production individual) Kay Film Laboratories (Production individual) Bigman, Richard (Production individual) Caravel Films (Production individual) McWatt, John (Production individual) Garland, Nicholas1935 (Production individual) Saunders, Robert (Production individual) Read, Bill (Production individual) Keene, Brian (Production individual) Callaway, Ian (Production individual) Bosworth, Pam (Production individual) Carr, Norman (Production individual) Heelas, Peter (Production individual) Toovey, Barry (Production individual) Cave, Julia (Production individual) Broadway, Anne (Production individual) Bryen, Doris (Production individual) Kersey, Jill (Production individual) Davidson, Eric (Production individual) Vigne, Jean (Production individual) Mendelsohn, Robyn (Production individual) Maloney, William (Production individual) Macloughlin, Marya (Production individual) Maros, Basil (Production individual) Virgo, Myrtle (Production individual) Descendre, Anne (Production individual) Edwards, Jeffrey (Production individual) Parry, Audrey (Production individual) Shukman, Harold (Production individual) Kuehl, Jerome (Production individual) Barrie, Alexander (Production individual) Hastings, Max Hugh Macdonald1945-12-28Researcher, BBC TV Great War series, 1963–64; Reporter, Evening Standard, 1965–67; Fellow, US World Press Inst., 1967–68; Roving Correspondent, Evening Standard, 1968–70; Reporter, BBC TV Current Affairs, 1970–73; Editor, Evening Standard Londoner’s Diary, 1976–77; Columnist, Daily Express, 1981–83; contributor, Sunday Times, 1985–86; Editor, The Daily Telegraph, 1986–95; Dir, 1989–95, Editor-in-Chief, 1990–95, The Daily Telegraph plc; Editor, The Evening Standard, 1996–2002; contributor, Daily Mail, 2002–; Contrib. Ed., Financial Times, 2009–13. As War Correspondent, covered Middle East, Indochina, Angola, India-Pakistan, Cyprus, Rhodesia and S Atlantic. Mem., Press Complaints Commn, 1991–92. Churchill Fellow, Westminster Coll., Fulton, Mo, 2011. TV documentaries: Ping-Pong in Peking, 1971; The War about Peace, 1983; Alarums and Exercursions, 1984; Cold Comfort Farm, 1985; The War in Korea (series), 1988; We Are All Green Now, 1990; Spies, in series Cold War, CNN, 1998; Hitler’s Germany, 2000; The Falklands: reluctant heroes, 2002; Winston’s War, 2003; The Falklands Legacy, 2012; The Necessary War, 2014. A Vice Pres., Game Conservancy, 1992–; President: CPRE, 2002–07; Sir Walter Scott Soc. of Edinburgh, 2012–13. Trustee: Nat. Portrait Gall., 1995–2004; Game Conservancy, 2014–. Liddell-Hart Lecture, KCL, 1994; Mountbatten Lecture, Edinburgh Univ., 2004; Leonard Stein Lectures, Oxford Univ., 2009. FRHistS 1988; FRSL 1996. Hon FKC, 2004. Hon. DLitt: Leicester, 1992; Nottingham, 2005. Journalist of the Year, British Press Awards, 1982 (cited 1973 and 1980); What The Papers Say, Granada TV: Reporter of the Year, 1982; Editor of the Year, 1988; Duke of Westminster Medal for military literature, RUSI, 2008; Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement, Chicago Pritzker Library, 2012; Friuladria Prize, Gorizia Internat. Hist. Fest., 2014 (Production individual) Liddell Hart, Basil Henry1895-10-311970-01-29 (Production individual) Terraine, John Alfred1921-01-152003-12-27 (Production individual) Barnett, Correlli Douglas (Production individual) Pitt, Barrie (Production individual) Horne, Alistair1925Trustee of the Imperial War Museum (Production individual) Bonham-Carter, Victor (Production individual) Williams, John (Production individual) Josephs, Wilfred (Production individual) BBC Northern Orchestra (Production individual) Hurst, George (Production individual) Redgrave, Michael (Sir) (Production cast) Richardson, Ralph (Sir) (Production cast) Williams, Emlyn (Production cast) Goring, Marius (Production cast) Luckman, Cyril (Production cast) Shaw, Sebastian (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords: 31/3(47) (event) 01/3(4-11).8 (event) 08/3(47) [1917 October Revolution] (event)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1483 ft; Running time: 45 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    IWM 1065-18

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