The mighty Russian Army--on paper, the world's largest when fully mobilized with the potential to overrun Germany from the East. But it was also an army beset by big obstacles including a poor transportation system hampering mobilization, chronic equipment shortages, inadequate troop training, and poor quality officers. Below: A group of Russian Army officers--a far cry from their highly trained German counterparts. Most Russian officers ascended to their rank based family lineage or connections to powerful people within the Czar's regime. Many commanders had no practical military knowledge. Their troops, mainly illiterate peasants, would fight heroically as individuals when ordered to attack, but could also succumb to group panic when things went wrong due to poor leadership in the field.