the overall commander of the Russian Northwestern Front. On 5 September 1915, when Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich of Russia stepped down as Russian supreme Commander-in-chief in August 1915 to be replaced by Tsar Nicholas II, Alekseyev was appointed as Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters (Stavka) and placed in charge of all military operations. He served in this capacity from August 1915 to March 1917. In his capacity as Chief of Staff, Alekseyev proved to be a more adaptable and flexible commander than his predecessor. He was, however, incapable of changing a political system that allowed the promotion of incompetent commanders through nepotism, patronage and the use of court intrigue. Alekseyev remained committed to the Allied cause of the Entente, which is proved by the undertaking of the summer offensive in 1916. However, the Russian Army did not manage to exploit strategic benefits of the successful offensive and the situation at the front did not improve significantly. Russian Civil War During the February Revolution of 1917, Alexeyev forwarded telegrams to the Tsar from the generals commanding the front, advising him to abdicate the throne. These telegrams led to the Tsar's decision to abdicate on the 15 March 1917 in favour of his brother Grand Duke Michael. From March to May 1917, Alekseyev's position remained ambiguous. While he was the Commander-in-chief and later adviser to the Provisional Government, he spoke out against the Soviets and the democratization of the army. On 30 August 1917 Alekseyev became Chief of Staff of the Stavka under Commander-in-Chief Alexander Kerensky. His goal was to prevent the Kornilov movement (see Kornilov Affair) from developing into civil war. That same day, Alekseyev arrived at the General Headquarters, arrested General Lavr Kornilov and his men and sent them to prison in Bykhov (a town in Mogilev oblast in Belarus), from which they would "break away" with the help of General Nikolai Dukhonin. On 13 November, after the October Revolution, Alekseyev fled Petrograd, arriving Novocherkassk on 15 Nov. With the support of the Don Cossacks Ataman, General Alexey Kaledin, he formed the Alekseev Organization, which would become the core of the anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Army. On 19 December, he was joined by Lavr Kornilov. According to Peter Kenez, "As Denikin remarks, it was obvious from the first moment that cooperation between Alekseev and Kornilov would not be easy. Their backgrounds, personalities, and followers were very different, their past associations