13 May 1917. Alfred Knox

Non-fiction

Project 1917 is a series of events that took place a hundred years ago as described by those involved. It is composed only of diaries, letters, memoirs, newspapers and other documents

Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

I lunched with Thornhill to meet poor Lechitski. The old man quite touched me when he gave me greetings from his 9th Army, I can’t help loving these people ; they are all heart. He told us of how poor Miller was arrested. The XXVIth Corps objected to him because he was “ exacting.”

They said that he visited posts even in advance of those ordinarily visited by the company commanders, and that as the Germans did not fire at him he must therefore be a German. One day he took down the names of the men of a draft that had arrived from

Moscow with red favours. This gave the necessary excuse.

The brutes fell on him, tore off his shoulder-straps and coat, and wounded him in several places with bayonets. Guchkov, who was at Jassy, on Lechitski’s advice, telegraphed to Kimpolung that Miller was to be released and to be reinstated in his command. A deputation of the soldiers of the corps arrived, and Guchkov cancelled his first order. Miller was conveyed to Petrograd under arrest and hisassaulters were allowed to go unpunished.Lechitski blames Alexyeev and Brusilov as well as

Guchkov for giving way to the mad idea of democratising the army. Professor Pares came in at 10 p.m. after dining with Guchkov, who told him that he was resigning as a protest against the weakness of the Government and the impossibility of restoring discipline in the army. Poor Guchkov ! He has been honest. His fault was that he believed too much in Russian “ broad nature ” !

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12 May

The Provisional Government in crisis

The Minister of War resigns

Map of the Royal dynasties of Europe

Romanovs dangerous liaisons

in Petrograd

in Moscow