Aleksei Brusilov

Born in 1853 to an aristocratic military family, Brusilov trained as a cavalry officer but understood by the First World War that mounted charges meant nothing against rifled guns and machine guns. He won repeatedly against Austro-Hungarian forces, and in 1916 launched the offensive that became his name: meticulous preparation, modern artillery, air reconnaissance, troops drilled until the plan was reflex. It worked - the last major success of the Tsar's army, handing strategic initiative back to Russia just as the state began to crack. The revolution in 1917 killed the planned follow-up offensive. When civil war came, the aristocrat and Imperial commander joined the Bolsheviks, helped organize the Red Army, and served until 1924. He died in 1926.