The Problem of Defensive Construction Organization on the Line of Chinese Eastern Railway Before and in Time of World War I

The article, based on the materials of the Russian State Military Historical Archive, which are being published for the first time, examines the problem of organization of the permanent defensive construction on the line of China Eastern Railway. The fundamental decision to start the construction was made at the meetings of the Council of Ministers on April 25 and December 12, 1913 and February 13, 1914, when it was decided to construct specifically permanent defensive construction. The paper shows that despite the order to start the work in the 1914 construction season, it was not possible to do so. It is noted that the main causes were serious difficulties in organizing work in China, because all military construction documentation of the Russian Empire was designed to carry out work either inside the country or in the area of the Acting Army. It has been found that the outbreak of the World War I significantly complicated the situation, as it led to an overload of almost all civil and military authorities involved in the process. The article identifies the causes for the breaking of the 1914 construction season. It is shown that as a result of the outbreak of War and the work on mobilization, the Administration of CER constantly delayed the provision of information necessary for the organization of construction work. The greatest difficulties arose with the approval of prices high limits for building materials in the Military Council of War Ministry in Petrograd, which worked too slowly. The command of the Irkutsk Military District had no real opportunities to speed up the process of approving, and approving the necessary documents. As a result, it was possible to begin the direct construction of defensive structures not earlier than in the construction season of 1915.