The Germans Launch a Massive Offensive Against Russia in Late 1917

Deleted member 1487

Question--did the Germans begin moving forces West even before the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was signed?
Yes, they had forces on hand in early 1918 and training for the offensive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael#Strategic_developments
A decision to attack was taken by General Erich Ludendorff on 21 January 1918.[2] By mid-February 1918, while Germany was negotiating the Russian surrender and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Ludendorff had moved nearly 50 divisions from the east, so that on the Western Front, Germany's troops outnumbered those of the Allied armies. Germany had 192 divisions and three brigades on the Western Front by 21 March, out of 241 in the German Army.[4]
 
Question--did the Germans begin moving forces West even before the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was signed?

Yes. They had started doing so in December.

Istr that the December Armistice provided that troops on the Eastern front should not be transferred to the Western, but that General Hoffman "cheated" by signing the movement orders just before it came into effect.
 

Deleted member 94680

I think by 1917 it was finally dawning on the Germans that invading "deep" Russia was a waste of time. The logistics required to drive far beyond the front line in a "Moscow or bust!" move were beyond the Eastern Command and, as others have said, the Italian and Western Fronts were more important to make progress on.

After the Brusilov offensive has slackened off, there was practically no movement on the Eastern front in 1917 and the Germans were happy with it staying that way.

EDIT: Sorry, re-read the OP to see it's after the Kerensky Offensive. It would be a massacre with potentially hundreds of thousands of Russians being captured or killed (mainly captured of course) but my point about the logistics and the primacy of the Italian and Western Fronts still stand, I believe.
 
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Deleted member 94680

For anyone interested in the eastern front in WWI, especially from a Russian point of view, Norman Stone's "The Eastern Front 1914-1917" was an eye opener for me. I've just finished it and to a small degree was disappointed, but only due to the almost total concentration on the Russian POV. It has, for one, totally changed my opinion of the chances of a "multiple Brusilov" TL for the Russians. He totally demolishes the 'myth' of the Shell Crisis being the reason the Russians failed to make greater gains against the Germans.
 
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