Why did Germany leave 1.5 million troops on the Eastern Front after Russia’s withdrawal from WWI?

by tellitelli555

Why did Germany fail to capitalize on Russia’s withdrawal from the war (though, admittedly, moving about half a million soldiers from the east to the west) by leaving 1.5 million soldiers on the Eastern Front who soaked up resources, food, transport, etc. and could have been used elsewhere?

tellitelli555

Hmm. I know there’s a lot of posts made, but I assumed a WWI historian could easily shed some light on this. Especially as this question is often brought up or presented as a “point” in academic texts (and even some documentaries).

Any thoughts, please?

tellitelli555

And I’ve heard this point brought up somewhere before, in a text book or documentary, citing it as a major blunder on Germany’s part, but the possible reasoning behind Germany’s leaders choosing to do so was not discussed.