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 offensi…