fortress and upgrade it to modern standards. In the years 1883–1888 eight modern forts were added, roughly forming a ring with 2 to 4 km distance from the central fortress. In the following years these forts were modernized. At the same time, additional defensive works were built to integrate the fortress into the larger fortified region around Warsaw. The defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War caused a rethinking of Russian strategy. In particular the idea of concentrating forces in the interior away from the borders before hostilities began to gain popularity. This approach would eliminate the need for a chain of border fortresses to screen the mobilizing units. In 1909 when General Vladimir Sukhomlinov became the War Minister for the Russian Empire, one proposal he made was to scrap the bulk of the Russian fortress system, and Novogeorgievsk was a prime example of why they should be scrapped: The outer forts were initially built at a distance of about eight kilometers from the citadel to protect it from attacking artillery; by 1900, even field guns could fire past that distance. Sukhomlinov was overruled. Instead of being razed, the fort system was slated for an 800 million ruble upgrade with a new belt of forts to be added. The fortress was also to receive a large number of heavy artillery pieces. The intensive new construction work started in 1912 and continued almost until the German army approached the fortress in 1915 during World War I. The fortress was now designed to serve as a center of resistance deep behind enemy lines if the Russian army were forced to retreat from Poland. The works were carried out in great haste, not all equipment was fitted, and some construction materials were improvised and hence of lower quality. Even with these defects, the fortress with its nineteen forts was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe at the outbreak of World War I. The Russian high command expected that if surrounded by the German armies it would hold out for many months, serving as a major thorn in the German rear. Capture by the Germans In summer of 1915, the Russians were reeling from the German attacks in Poland. They were faced with the reality of giving up Poland to the Germans or have their forces cut off from retreat. The problem of the retreat was the abandonment of the fortresses especially Novogeorgievsk.