The Battle of Lutsk began the launch of the very successful Brusilov Offensive in early summer. The town of Lutsk was victimized by Austro - Hungarian so - called "Black - Yellow" offensive in 1915 and was heavily fortified as a reserve position for the Austro - Hungarians. The local commander at Lutsk was the little - respected General Archduke Josef Ferdinand. He believed that his defensive lines were unbreakable and was extremely confident in his numerical supremacy. His confidence was shattered when General Alexei Kaledin's forces smashed through his defensive lines on June 4th. Thanks to the Russian artillery, over 50 breaches were made in the Austro - Hungarian barbed wire defenses. The Austro - Hungarians tried to escape but due to the barbed wire fences, many were unable to flee and were taken prisoner by the Russians. In the first two days, the Austro - Hungarians had lost 130,000 troops which caused Germany to request the dismissal of General Josef Ferdinand. The Austro - Hungarian 7th Army was also crushed as the Russian steamroller continued its advance. Austria - Hungary was almost knocked out of the war due to the loss of 1.5 million men and 40,250 miles of territory. Austrian attacks in Italy ended and Romania finally entered the war with the Allies.