German troops marching through a Polish town, 1915

German troops marching through a Polish town, 1915. By 1914, Russia troops had pushed down into Poland as far the German and Austrian borders. However, by 1915, the German army had forced a retreat allowing the German army to march into Poland. This retreat helped improve Russia's postion. It meant that they had a shorter front line with better means of communication and by this point a better army had been raised and the country was on a war footing. However, the Russian population suffered greatly as a result of the war causing much social unrest. In March 1918, Russia signed the treaty of Brest- Litovsk with the Central Alliance ending her war. (Photo by Daily Herald Archive/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty Images)