All the tsar's men : Russia's General Staff and the fate of the empire, 1898-1914 / John W. Steinberg.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Military professionals and professionalism in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century -- The education of the Russian General Staff, 1898-1904 -- The training of the Imperial Russian Army, 1898-1904 -- The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 -- Reform plans and the politics of reforming the Imperial Army, 1905-1914 -- The drive toward a unified military doctrine -- Maneuvers, war games, and staff rides, 1905-1914 -- Appendix: Russian General Staff officers in 1914 : a prosopographic study.

"All the tsar's men examines how institutional reforms designed to prepare the Imperial Russian Army for the modern battlefield failed to prevent devastating defeats in both the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and World War I. John W. Steinberg argues that the General Staff officers who devised new educational and doctrinal reforms had the experience, dedication, and leadership skills to defend the empire in the new age of warfare but were continually impeded by institutionalized inefficiency and rigid control from their superiors. These officers, he explains, were operating within a command structure unwilling to grant them the autonomy necessary to effect significant reform, which proved disastrous for the army and -- ultimately -- the empire"--Jacket.