The administration was established after the Russian victory in the Battle of Galicia, led by the commander-in-chief Nikolai Ivanov in the late summer of 1914. It did not last long and by mid-1915 Russians retreated, following the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive led by the Central Powers overall commander August von Mackensen. During the later stages of the war, the Russian forces tried to reclaim the territory during the military operations of Brusilov and Kerensky.