After the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian army found itself in deep crisis. Low morale, mass desertion, strained relations between the rank and file and the command staff, and a lack of supplies—all of this led to catastrophic consequences for the front. After the fall of the monarchy, the Provisional Government did not intend to end the war, and it faced a serious question: how to revive the armed forces, which were showing weak signs of life? 

A great number of initiatives emerged. The most successful should be recognized as the project to replicate the successes of Lazare Carnot during the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. At a critical moment for France, this military engineer and member of the Convention proposed a reorganization of the armed forces to enhance their combat capability. One of the measures was the merging of the best elements of the old army with volunteers from the rear. The successful implementation of the reform created a victorious revolutionary force, for which Carnot was awarded the honorary title of "Organizer of Victory."

During the Russian Revolution, followers of Carnot's ideas managed to obtain permission to implement their plans from the highest military command. From mid-May 1917, with the approval of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief General Alexei Brusilov, shock troops began to be formed from front-line units, and units were created from volunteers in the rear.

The shock troops at the front consisted of patriotically minded soldiers and officers who pledged to die for the Motherland. The shock troops were to have more privileges, better equipment and armament, and their pay was also better compared to the rest of the army. However, strict discipline was also introduced for them. Throughout 1917, the staffing of the shock formations was repeatedly adjusted towards strengthening.

One of the first such units at the front was the Kornilov Shock Detachment, later a regiment, created in May as part of the 8th Army, which at that time was commanded by General Lavr Kornilov. By the end of August, there were already 290 such units. These units differed in their purpose from the German stormtrooper groups and the Italian Arditi, which emerged as a reaction to the stalemate in the war. The shock detachments were not intended for covert attacks on weak points of the enemy to prepare a breakthrough by the main forces, but were meant to inspire other front-line soldiers by their example.

The same patriotic content was at the core of the "Death Units," formed from volunteers in the rear. Initially, it was intended that they would be recruited mainly from military schools and among sailors of the Black Sea Fleet who had not participated in combat operations. However, in the end, all citizens of Russia who were not subject to conscription or were subject but not yet drafted into the army could volunteer: youth, students, intellectuals, workers. In this way, they were supposed to show that the entire country had united for victory over the enemy.

The volunteer movement turned out to be massive. Death battalions were created by soldiers who escaped captivity, disabled warriors, recipients of the St. George's Cross, and others. The most famous of them became the Women's Death Battalion under the command of Maria Bochkareva. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the formation of revolutionary battalions from rear volunteers formed about 80 battalion committees, through which approximately 40,000 people joined the active army in June - July. From them, two regiments and over 50 battalions were subsequently created.

The baptism of fire for the new units was the offensive of the Southwestern Front, which began on June 18. In the first two days, Russian troops had tactical success, capturing up to three lines of enemy trenches. The main force of the offensive was precisely the shock units, which continued to move forward, trying to lead the main forces. But soon the advance slowed down. Infantry regiments either followed the shock troops without much enthusiasm or completely disobeyed, refusing to advance. Often, remaining under direct fire and without any support, the shock detachments suffered heavy losses. By early July, the offensive turned into a complete failure, and Russian troops were forced to retreat, losing combat order.