107 years ago today, February 20, 1918 (January 10, 1918 in the lunar calendar), the German army launched a fierce attack on Soviet Russia. At noon on February 20, 1918, the truce between the Allies and Russia ended, and the German army launched a fierce attack on Russia. Germany's goal seemed to be to bring the Russians to their knees in order to force its negotiators to sign a peace treaty in Brest-Litovsk. German troops under General Kirbach advanced into many towns in Livonia and Estonia. The German army encountered little resistance and even received support from local residents who opposed the Bolshevik revolution. The Germans quickly occupied Riga and towns around the bay, and some military war reports said that the Germans had destroyed one of Russia's main supply lines: "Russian positions on both sides of the Riga-Petrograd railway have been breached, and our forward positions have advanced another 20 kilometers, and the enemy's negligible resistance has been crushed in an instant." The German offensive was unstoppable, and they seemed to be taking Petrograd in one fell swoop. The German capture of Fort Dvisk was another heavy blow to the Soviets. The German military war report said: "Most of the enemy forces have fled, but the Russians have not been able to blow up the Dvina Bridge because we have been prepared. The Russians also left behind a large number of weapons and ammunition. The German officers who had failed to capture Dvisk last time were now in high spirits. Another German army, commanded by General Alexander Linsingen, had occupied key positions in Ukraine with the consent of the Ukraine government. The Germans also occupied Kiev and cut off an important railway line. In a short period of time, the German army had captured tens of thousands of Russian officers and soldiers and seized countless guns, ammunition and armored vehicles. Soviet leaders were so shocked by the unstoppable German offensive that they ordered their soldiers to destroy all munitions as they retreated. The Bolsheviks made a big mistake in thinking that German soldiers would refuse to attack revolutionary Russia. Leon Trotsky is trying to decide what to do next. As things stand, peace talks seem more tempting, and failure is more painful than surrender.