In Germany, Berlin intercepted a coded message from an Italian delegate at talks in Petrograd, learning that in the West the Allied offensive will not begin until early April, with Italian and Russian offensives planned for a later date to coincide with the deliveries of guns and munitions.
On 8 February, at Tsarskoe Selo, the Tsar heard growing talk of a palace coup. He approved the Okhrana arrest of members of the Workers' Group in Petrograd. The food crisis was becoming severe.
At Sarajevo, former Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, Count Burian took up his new duties as the Administrator of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was a form of political exile.
On 9 February, at Petrograd, Minister of the Interior, Protopopov ordered the arrest of eleven workmen, members of the Workers' Group of the Central Committee of Military Industries, charging them with “plotting a revolutionary movement with the object of proclaiming a republic.” His act caused great alarm.
On 10 February, at Petrograd, President of the Romanian Council, Bratianu left for Jasi in Romania.
On 11 February, on the Southwest Front, a small enemy force crossed the ice on the Dniester River, south of Halicz, but was driven back by a Russian counter-attack.
At Petrograd, Guchkov and Konovalov called a meeting of public organizations with the aim of protesting Protopopov's arrests on the 9th.
On 12 February, on the Romanian Front, the Germans attacked Russian positions near Jakobeny in south Bukowina, taking over 1,200 prisoners. The following day, a Russian counter-attack pushed them back.
At Petrograd, at the closing of the Allied Conference, Lord Milner stated that much good had been done in bringing about closer cooperation between the Entente countries. During the Conference, a Treaty was signed between Russia, Great Britain, and France, which confirmed the Treaty of 4 March 1915. Russia was to be ceded Turkish territory including Trabizond, Erzerum, Van and Bitlis. France was to be ceded Syria and Adana, while Great Britain was to be ceded Palestine and Mesopotamia.
At Petrograd, the beginning of a series of meetings and strikes that lasted until the 18th. The Petrograd Military District was separated from the Northern Front, and placed under the command of General Sergei Khabalov, an inept officer with little or no combat experience.
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