▁ 3 9 0 , 0 0 0 ▁Russian ▁men ▁had ▁lost ▁their ▁lives ▁and ▁nearly ▁ 1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 ▁were ▁injured . ▁Far ▁sooner ▁than ▁expected , ▁in ade qu ately ▁trained ▁rec ruits ▁were ▁called ▁for ▁active ▁duty , ▁a ▁process ▁repeated ▁throughout ▁the ▁war ▁as ▁st agger ing ▁losses ▁continued ▁to ▁mount . ▁The ▁officer ▁class ▁also ▁saw ▁remarkable ▁changes , ▁especially ▁within ▁the ▁lower ▁e ch el ons , ▁which ▁were ▁quickly ▁filled ▁with ▁soldiers ▁rising ▁up ▁through ▁the ▁ranks . ▁These ▁men , ▁usually ▁of ▁pe asant ▁or ▁working - class ▁background s , ▁were ▁to ▁play ▁a ▁large ▁role ▁in ▁the ▁polit ic ization ▁of ▁the ▁troops ▁in ▁ 1 9 1 7 . ▁ ▁The ▁army ▁quickly ▁ran ▁short ▁of ▁rif les ▁and ▁am mun ition ▁( as ▁well ▁as ▁uniform s ▁and ▁food ), ▁and ▁by ▁mid - 1 9 1 5 , ▁men ▁were ▁being ▁sent ▁to ▁the ▁front ▁bearing ▁no ▁arms . ▁It ▁was ▁hoped ▁that ▁they ▁could ▁equip ▁themselves ▁with ▁arms ▁recovered ▁from ▁fallen ▁soldiers , ▁of ▁both ▁sides , ▁on ▁the ▁battle fields . ▁The ▁soldiers ▁did ▁not ▁feel ▁as ▁if ▁they ▁were ▁valuable , ▁rather ▁they ▁felt ▁as ▁if ▁they ▁were ▁exp end able . ▁ ▁By ▁the ▁spring ▁of ▁ 1 9 1 5 , ▁the ▁army ▁was ▁in ▁steady ▁retre at , ▁which ▁was ▁not ▁always ▁order ly ; ▁desert ion , ▁pl und ering , ▁and ▁cha otic ▁flight ▁were ▁not