White general who led the resistance to the Bolsheviks in the Crimea. Former tsarist and white generals and officers in the Red Army

Who devoted his whole life to the army and Russia. He did not accept the October Revolution and until the end of his days fought the Bolsheviks with all the means that the honor of an officer could allow him.
Kaledin was born in 1861 in the village of Ust-Khoperskaya, in the family of a Cossack colonel, a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol. From childhood, he was taught to love his Fatherland and protect it. Therefore, the future general received education, first at the Voronezh military gymnasium, and later at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School.
He began his military service in the Far East in the horse artillery battery of the Trans-Baikal Cossack army. The young officer was distinguished by seriousness and concentration. He constantly strived to master military science to perfection and entered the Academy at the General Staff.
Kaledin's further service takes place in the posts of staff officers in the Warsaw Military District, and then, in his native Don. Since 1910, he has occupied only command posts and gained considerable experience in leading combat formations.

Semenov Grigory Mikhailovich (09/13/1890 - 08/30/1946) - the most prominent representative in the Far East.

Born in an officer Cossack family in Transbaikalia. In 1911 In the rank of cornet, he graduated from the Cossack military school in Orenburg, after which he was assigned to serve on the border with Mongolia.

He was fluent in local languages: Buryat, Mongolian, Kalmyk, thanks to which he quickly became friends with prominent Mongolian figures.

During the separation of Mongolia from China, in December 1911. took under the protection of the Chinese resident, delivering him to the Russian consulate, located in Urga.

In order not to cause unrest between the Chinese and the Mongols, with a platoon of Cossacks, he personally neutralized the Chinese garrison of Urga.

Lukomsky Alexander Sergeevich was born on July 10, 1868 in the Poltava region. In Poltava he graduated from the cadet corps named after, and by 1897 he completed his studies with honors at the Nikolaev Engineering School and the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in. A military career began for Alexander Sergeyevich from the 11th sapper regiment, from where he was transferred a year later as an adjutant to the headquarters of the 12th Infantry Division, and from 1902 his service proceeded in the Kiev military district, where he was appointed to the headquarters as a senior adjutant. For the excellent performance of his duties, Lukomsky was awarded the rank of colonel, and in 1907 he took the post of chief of staff in the 42nd infantry division. Since January 1909, Alexander Sergeevich dealt with mobilization issues in case of war. He participated in all changes in the Charter related to mobilization, personally supervised the draft laws on the recruitment of personnel, being the head of the mobilization department of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.
In 1913, Lukomsky was appointed assistant head of the chancellery of the Military Ministry and, already serving in the ministry, received the next military rank of major general, and as a reward for what he had - the ribbon of the Holy Great Martyr and George the Victorious.

Markov Sergey Leonidovich was born on July 7, 1878 in the family of an officer. After graduating with honors from the 1st Moscow Cadet Corps and the Artillery School in St. Petersburg, with the rank of second lieutenant, he was sent to serve in the 2nd Artillery Brigade. Then he graduated from the Nikolaev Military Academy and went to where he showed himself to be an excellent officer and was awarded with awards: Vladimir 4th degree with swords and a bow. The further career of Sergei Leonidovich continued in the 1st Siberian Corps, where he served as an adjutant of the headquarters, and then at the headquarters of the Warsaw Military District, and as a result, in 1908, Markov was in the service of the General Staff. Just while serving in the General Staff, Sergei Leonidovich created a happy family with Marianna Putyatina.
Markov Sergey Leonidovich was engaged in teaching work in various St. Petersburg schools. He knew military affairs very well and tried to fully convey all his knowledge of strategy, maneuvering to students and at the same time sought to use non-standard thinking during the conduct of hostilities.
At the beginning, Sergei Leonidovich was appointed chief of staff of the "iron" rifle brigade, which was sent to the most difficult areas of the front, and very often Markov had to put into practice his non-template strategic moves.

Roman Fedorovich von Ungern-Sternberg is perhaps the most extraordinary person in everything. He belonged to an ancient militant family of knights, mystics and pirates, dating back to the days of the Crusades. However, family legends say that the roots of this family go back much further, to the time of the Nibegungs and Attila.
His parents often traveled around Europe, something constantly beckoned them to their historical homeland. During one of these trips, in 1885, in the city of Graz, Austria, the future irreconcilable fighter against the revolution was born. The contradictory nature of the boy did not allow him to become a good schoolboy. For countless misdeeds, he was expelled from the gymnasium. The mother, desperate to get normal behavior from her son, sends him to the Naval Cadet Corps in. He was only one year away from graduation, when he began. Baron von Ungern-Sternberg drops out of training and joins an infantry regiment as a private. However, he did not get into the active army, he was forced to return to St. Petersburg and enter the elite Pavlovsk Infantry School. Upon completion, von Ungern-Sternber is credited to the Cossack estate and begins serving as an officer of the Transbaikal Cossack army. He again finds himself in the Far East. There are legends about this period in the life of a desperate baron. His perseverance, cruelty and flair surrounded his name with a mystical halo. A dashing rider, a desperate duelist, he did not have faithful comrades.

The leaders of the White movement had a tragic fate. People who suddenly lost their homeland, to which they swore allegiance, their ideals, could not come to terms with this until the end of their lives.
Mikhail Konstantinovich Diterichs, an outstanding lieutenant general, was born on April 5, 1874 in a family of hereditary officers. The knightly family of the Diterichs from Czech Moravia settled in Russia in 1735. Due to his origin, the future general received an excellent education in the Corps of Pages, which he then continued at the Academy of the General Staff. In the rank of captain, he participated in the Russo-Japanese War, where he distinguished himself as a brave officer. For the heroism shown in battles he was awarded the III and II degrees, IV degrees. He finished the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served further at the army headquarters in Odessa and Kyiv.
World War I found Dieterichs in the position of chief of staff in the mobilization department, but he was soon appointed quartermaster general. It was he who led the development of all military operations of the Southwestern Front. For successful developments that bring victory to the Russian army, Mikhail Konstantinovich was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav with swords of the 1st degree.
Diterichs continues to serve in the Russian Expeditionary Force in the Balkans, participated in the battles for the liberation of Serbia.

Romanovsky Ivan Pavlovich was born into the family of an artillery academy graduate on April 16, 1877 in the Luhansk region. He began his military career at the age of ten, enrolling in the cadet corps. With brilliant results he finished it in 1894. Following in the footsteps of his father, he began to study at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, but finished his studies at Konstantinovsky for religious reasons. And already after graduating with honors from the next stage of education - the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, Ivan Pavlovich was appointed company commander of the Finnish regiment.
In 1903, he started a family, taking as his wife Elena Bakeeva, the daughter of a landowner, who subsequently gave birth to three children. Ivan Pavlovich was a devoted family man, a caring father, always helping friends and relatives. But she broke the idyll of family life. Romanovsky left to fulfill his duty as a Russian officer in the East Siberian Artillery Brigade.

An outstanding, active participant in the White movement, was born in 1881 in Kyiv. Being the son of a general, Mikhail never thought about choosing a profession. Fate made this choice for him. He graduated from the Vladimir Cadet Corps, and then the Pavlovsk Military School. Having received the rank of second lieutenant, he began serving in the Life Guards Volynsky regiment. After three years of service, Drozdovsky decided to enter the Nikolaev Military Academy. Sitting at a desk turned out to be too much for him, it began, and he went to the front. A brave officer in the unsuccessful Manchurian campaign was wounded. For his courage he was awarded several orders. He graduated from the Academy after the war.
After the academy, Drozdovsky's service was held first at the headquarters of the Zaamursky military district, and then - the Warsaw one. Mikhail Gordeevich constantly showed interest in everything new that appeared in the army, studied everything new in military affairs. He even completed courses for pilot-observers at the Sevastopol Aviation School.
and enters the cadet school, after which, having received the rank of second lieutenant, he begins service in the 85th Vyborg Infantry Regiment.
It begins by participating in battles, the young officer showed himself so well that he was awarded a rare honor: with the rank of lieutenant, he was transferred to the Preobrazhensky Life Guards, in which it was very honorable to serve.
When Kutepov began, he was already a staff captain. He participates in many battles, shows himself to be a brave and determined officer. He was wounded three times and was awarded several orders. Alexander Pavlovich was especially proud of the 4th degree.
1917 begins - the most tragic year in the life of a thirty-five-year-old officer. Despite his young age, Kutepov is already a colonel and commander of the second battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
Petersburg, where he graduated from high school. After graduating from the Nikolaev Engineering School, with the rank of second lieutenant, he begins his military career in the 18th sapper battalion. Every two years, Marushevsky receives another military rank for excellent service. In the same years he graduated from the Nikolaev Academy at the General Staff.
By the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, he was already a captain and chief officer for especially important assignments. He served at the headquarters of the IV Siberian Army Corps. During the hostilities, Marushevsky was quickly promoted for his courage.

WHITE ARMY OF THE CIVIL WAR

white army(also white guard) - a collective name common in historical literature for the armed formations of the White movement and anti-Soviet governments during the Civil War in Russia (1917-1922). During the construction of the White Army, the structure of the old Russian army was mainly used, while almost every single formation had its own characteristics. The military art of the White Army was based on the experience of the First World War, which, however, was strongly imprinted by the specifics of the civil war.

ARMED FORMATIONS

In the north

In North-west

On South

In the East

In Central Asia

COMPOUND

White armies were recruited both on a voluntary basis and on the basis of mobilizations.

On a voluntary basis, they were recruited mainly from officers of the Russian Imperial Army and Navy.

On a mobilization basis, they were recruited from the population of controlled territories and from captured Red Army soldiers.

The number of White armies fighting against the Red Army, according to intelligence estimates by June 1919, was about 300,000 people.

Management. In the first period of the struggle - representatives of the generals of the Russian Imperial Army:

L. G. Kornilov ,

General Staff General of Infantry M. V. Alekseev ,

Admiral, Supreme Ruler of Russia since 1918 A. V. Kolchak

A. I. Denikin ,*

General of the cavalry P. N. Krasnov ,

General of the cavalry A. M. Kaledin ,

Lieutenant General E. K. Miller ,

General of Infantry N. N. Yudenich ,

Lieutenant General V. G. Boldyrev

Lieutenant General M. K. Diterikhs

General Staff Lieutenant General I. P. Romanovsky ,

General Staff Lieutenant General S. L. Markov

and others.

In subsequent periods, military leaders come to the fore, ending the First World War with more officers and who received general ranks already during the Civil War:

General Staff Major General M. G. Drozdovsky

General Staff Lieutenant General V. O. Kappel ,

General of the cavalry A. I. Dutov ,

Lieutenant General Ya. A. Slashchev-Krymsky ,

Lieutenant General A. S. Bakich ,

Lieutenant General A. G. Shkuro ,

Lieutenant General G. M. Semyonov ,

Lieutenant General Baron R. F. Ungern von Sternberg ,

Major General B. V. Annenkov ,

Major General Prince P. R. Bermondt-Avalov ,

Major General N. V. Skoblin ,

Major General K. V. Sakharov ,

Major General V. M. Molchanov ,

as well as military leaders who, for various reasons, did not join the white forces at the time of the beginning of their armed struggle:

P. N. Wrangel - the future Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Crimea of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Baron,

M. K. Diterikhs - Commander Zemskoy Ratyugeneral-lieutenant.

HISTORY OF CREATION

The first white army was created by the Alekseevskaya Organization on a voluntary basis from former officers, which was also reflected in the name of the army - on 12/25/1917 (01/07/1918) the Volunteer Army was created on the Don.

Three months later, in April 1918, the Defense Council of the Don Army formed the Don Army.

In June 1918, the Committee of members of the Constituent Assembly, based on the detachment of Lieutenant ColonelV. O. Kappelya created the People's Army, and the Provisional Siberian Government at the same time created its own Siberian Army.

On September 23, 1918, the Ufa Directory united the Volga People's Army and the Siberian Army into one Russian Army (not to be confused with the Russian Army of General Wrangel).

In August 1918, the Supreme Administration of the Northern Region in Arkhangelsk created the troops of the Northern Region, sometimes referred to as the Northern Army (not to be confused with the Northern Army of General Rodzianko).

In January 1919, the Don and Volunteer armies were merged into the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYUR).

In June 1919, the Northern Army was created from Russian officers and soldiers of the Northern Corps, which had left the Estonian army. A month later, the army was renamed the North-Western.

In April 1920, in Transbaikalia, from the remnants of Admiral Kolchak's troops under the leadership of General G. M. Semyonov, the Far Eastern Army was created.

In May 1920, the Russian Army was formed from the troops of the All-Union Socialist League that had withdrawn to the Crimean Remains.

In 1921, from the remnants of the Far Eastern Army of General Semyonov in Primorye, the Belopovstanskaya Army was formed, later renamed the Zemskaya Rat, since in 1922 the Amur Zemstvo government was created in Vladivostok.

From November 1918 to January 1920, the armed forces of the White movement recognized the supreme leadership of Admiral A. V. Kolchak. After the defeat of the troops of Admiral Kolchak in Siberia, on January 4, 1920, the supreme power passed to General A. I. Denikin.

THE WHITE MOVEMENT AND THE NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

Back in September 1917, while the future leaders of the White movement were imprisoned in Bykhov, the “Bykhov program”, which was the fruit of the collective labor of the “prisoners” and the main theses of which were transferred to the “draft constitution of General Kornilov” - the very first political declaration of the White movement, which was prepared in December 1917 - January 1918 by L. G. Kornilov said: "The resolution of the main state-national and social issues is postponed until the Constituent Assembly ...". In the "constitution ..." this idea was detailed: "The government created under the program of the gene. Kornilov, is responsible in her actions only to the Constituent Assembly, to which she will transfer all the fullness of state-legislative power. The Constituent Assembly, as the sole owner of the Russian Land, must work out the basic laws of the Russian constitution and finally construct the state system.

Since the main task of the white movement was the fight against Bolshevism, the white leaders did not introduce any other tasks of state building into the agenda until this main task was resolved. Such a non-prejudicial position was theoretically flawed, but, according to the historian S. Volkov, in conditions when there was no unity on this issue, even among the leaders of the white movement, not to mention the fact that supporters of various forms of the future state structure of Russia were present in its ranks, it seemed the only one possible.

MILITARY ACTIONS

BUT) Wrestling in the Urals

It acted at the beginning against the Red Guard detachments, from June 1918 - against the 4th and 1st armies of the Eastern, from August 15 - the Red Turkestan fronts. In April 1919, during the general offensive of Kolchak's armies, she broke through the front of the Reds, laid siege to Uralsky, abandoned in January 1919, and reached the approaches to Saratov and Samara. However, limited funds did not allow to master the Urals.

In early July 1919, the troops of the Turkestan Front launched a counteroffensive against the Ural army. The well-equipped and armed 25th Rifle Division, transferred from Ufa, under the command of V. I. Chapaeva 5-11 July defeated units of the Ural army, broke through the blockade of Uralsk and 07/11/1919. entered the city. The Ural army began to retreat along the entire front.

On 07/21/1919, the operational control of the Ural Army was transferred by Admiral Kolchak A.V. After the transition of the Ural Army into the operational subordination of the command of the All-Union Socialist Republic, its composition was divided into 3 areas:

Buzulukskoye, as part of the 1st Ural Cossack Corps (commander, colonel Izergin M.I.); with its 1st, 2nd and 6th Cossack and 3rd Iletsk, 1st Ural infantry divisions and their 13th Orenburg, 13th, 15th and 18th Cossack, 5th Ural infantry, 12th Consolidated Cossack and several other separate regiments (total 6,000 bayonets and sabers);

Saratov, as part of the 2nd Iletsk Cossack Corps (commander, Lieutenant General Akutin V.I.); and his 5th Cossack division with a number of separate regiments (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th Ural Cossack, 33rd Nikolayevsky Rifle, Guryevsky Foot Regiments, total 8,300 fighters);

Astrakhansko-Guryevskoye, as part of the Ural-Astrakhan Cossack Corps (commander, Major General Tetruev N. G., partisan detachments of Colonels Kartashev and Chizhinsky and the Separate 9th Ural Cossack Regiment (about 1,400 fighters).

At the end of July 1919, the Ural army withdrew to Lbischensk (which it left on August 9, 1919), then further down the Urals. In late August-early September, a special detachment of Cossacks of the 1st divisionT. I. Sladkova and peasants lieutenant colonel F. F. Poznyakov (1192 soldiers with 9 machine guns and 2 guns) under the general command of colonel N. N. Borodin, undertook a successful raid into the rear of the Reds, to Lbischensk, where on September 5, 1919. destroyed the entire headquarters of the 25th Infantry Division, which was also the headquarters of the entire military group of the Red Army of the Turkestan Front, led by SV. I. Chapaev, returning Lbischensk to the Ural army. According to tentative estimates, during the Lbischensky battle, the Reds lost at least 2,500 people killed and captured. The total losses of the Whites during this operation amounted to 118 people - 24 killed (including Major General (posthumously) N. N. Borodin) and 94 wounded. The trophies taken in Lbischensk turned out to be very large. About 700 people were taken prisoner, a lot of ammunition, food, equipment, a radio station, machine guns, cinematographic cameras, several airplanes, cars, etc. were captured.

During the raid, important results were achieved: the headquarters of the entire military group of the Red Army of the Turkestan Front was destroyed, as a result of which the troops of the front lost control, decomposed and were demoralized. Parts of the Turkestan Front hurriedly retreated to the positions they occupied in July, in the region of Uralsk, and in fact ceased active hostilities. The Cossacks, in October 1919, again surrounded and besieged the city.

But after the collapse of the Eastern Front of Kolchak in October-November 1919, the Ural army found itself blocked by superior Red forces, thereby losing any sources of replenishment with weapons and ammunition. The defeat of the Urals by the Bolsheviks was only a matter of time.

On November 2, the Turkestan Front, as part of the 1st and 4th armies (18.5 thousand bayonets, 3.5 thousand sabers, 86 guns and 365 machine guns) launched a general offensive against the Ural army (5.2 thousand bayonets, 12 thousand sabers , 65 guns, 249 machine guns), planning to encircle and destroy the main forces of the Urals with concentrated attacks on Lbischensk from the north and east. Under the pressure of the superior forces of the Reds, the Ural army began to retreat. On November 20, the Reds captured Lbischensk, however, they could not surround the main forces of the Urals. The front stabilized south of Lbischensk. The Turkestan front pulled up reserves and replenished with weapons and ammunition. The Ural army had neither reserves nor ammunition. On December 10, 1919, the Reds resumed their offensive. The resistance of the weakened Ural units was broken, the front collapsed. On December 11, Art. Slamihinskaya, on December 18, the Reds captured the city of Kalmykov, thereby cutting off the retreat paths for the Iletsk corps, and on December 22 - the village of Gorsky, one of the last strongholds of the Urals before Guryev.

The commander of the army, General V.S. Tolstov, and his headquarters withdrew to the city of Guryev. The remnants of the Iletsk corps, having suffered heavy losses in the battles during the retreat and from the typhus and relapsing fever that mowed down the ranks of the personnel, were almost completely destroyed on January 4, 1920 and captured by the Red troops near the settlement of Maly Baibuz. At the same time, the Kyrgyz regiment of this corps, almost in full strength, went over to the side of the Alashordans, who at that time acted as allies of the Bolsheviks, having previously “cut out” the headquarters of the Iletsk Corps, the 4th and 5th Iletsk divisions, and “surrendered” the commander to the red corps of Lieutenant General Akutin V.I., who was shot by the troops of the 25th (“Chapaevskaya”) division (according to other sources, he was arrested and taken to Moscow, where he was later shot). The 6th Iletsk division, retreating to the Volga through the steppe of the Bukey Horde, almost completely died from disease, hunger, and mainly from the fire of the red units pursuing it.

On January 5, 1920, the city of Guryev fell. Part of the personnel of the Ural army and civilians were captured, part of the Cossacks went over to the side of the Reds. The remnants of the units of the Ural army, led by the commander of the army, General V. S. Tolstov, with carts and the civilian population (families and refugees), totaling about 15,000 people, decided to go south, believing to join the Turkestan army of General Kazanovich B. I. (VSYUR troops of General Denikin). The transition took place in the most difficult conditions of a harsh winter, in January-March 1920, in the absence of sufficient drinking water, a catastrophic shortage of food and medicine. The transition was carried out along the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea to Fort Aleksandrovsky. After arriving at the fort, civilians, the wounded and sick, were supposed to be evacuated on the ships of the Caspian Flotilla of the All-Union Socialist Republic to the other side of the sea in Port-Petrovsk. By the time they arrived at Fort Aleksandrovsky, less than 3 thousand Cossacks remained from the army, most of whom were sick (mainly different forms of typhus), or frostbitten. The military meaning of the campaign was lost, since by this time Denikin's troops in the Caucasus were retreating and the port of Petrovsk was abandoned these days (the last days of March 1920). On April 4, 1920, from the port of Petrovsk, which became the main base of the red Volga-Caspian flotilla, the destroyer Karl Liebknecht (until February 1919 had the name Finn) and the Zorki fighter boat approached the fort. He later wrote in a report:

A detachment of 214 people (several generals, officers, Cossacks, civilians (family members), led by ataman V.S. Tolstov, left for Persia on April 4, 1920, and the Ural army ceased to exist. The campaign from Fort Aleksandrovsky to Persia was detailed described in the book by V. S. Tolstov “From the red paws to an unknown distance” (Campaign of the Urals), first published in 1921 in Constantinople, at present the book is republished in 2007 in Uralsk, in the series “Ural Library” by the publishing house Optima LLP.

B) Turkestan military organization

The TVO was preparing an uprising against the Soviet regime in Turkestan. Active assistance to the organization was provided by agents of foreign intelligence services, primarily English from the border area, and agents acting under the guise of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Tashkent under the government of the Turkestan Republic. Initially, a speech against Soviet power in the region was scheduled for August 1918, but for a number of reasons, the date of this speech later had to be moved to the spring of 1919.

The Turkestan military organization included many officers, led by Colonel P. G. Kornilov (brother of the famous leader of the white movement L. G. Kornilov), Colonel I. M. Zaitsev, Lieutenant GeneralL. L. Kondratovich, former assistant to the Governor-General of Turkestan, General E. P. Dzhunkovsky Colonel Blavatsky. Later, the commissar for military affairs of the Turkestan Republic, K., joined the ranks of the TVO. P. Osipov, in whose environment such officers as Colonel Rudnev, orderly Osipova Bott, Gaginsky, Savin, Butenin, Stremkovsky and others played a prominent role.

Ultimately, all the anti-Bolshevik forces of the region rallied around the TVO - the Cadets, Mensheviks, Right Social Revolutionaries and bourgeois nationalists, Basmachi, and the Muslim clergy, former officials of the tsarist administration, Dashnaks, Bundists. The headquarters of the TVO established contact with Ataman Dutov, General Denikin, Kazakh nationalists, the Alash Ordas, the Emir of Bukhara, the leaders of the Fergana and Turkmen Basmachi, the Caspian White Guards, and the British consuls in Kashgar, Kulja, and Mashhad. The leaders of the organization signed an agreement under which they pledged to transfer Turkestan under an English protectorate for a period of 55 years. In turn, the representative of the British intelligence services in Central Asia, Malleson, promised the representatives of the TVO assistance in the amount of 100 million rubles, 16 mountain guns, 40 machine guns, 25,000 rifles and the corresponding amount of ammunition. Thus, representatives of the British intelligence services not only helped the conspirators, they determined the goals and objectives of the organization and controlled its actions.

However, in October 1918, the special services of the Turkestan Republic - the TurkChK, together with the criminal investigation department of Tashkent - got on the trail of the TVO, after which a number of arrests were made among the leaders of the organization. The leaders of the underground who remained at large left the city, but some branches of the organization survived and continued to operate. The representative of General Malesson in Tashkent - Bailey went into hiding. It was the TVO that played an important role in initiating the uprising led by Konstantin Osipov in January 1919. At the last stage of its existence, the ranks of the TVO actually included representatives of the new Soviet nomenclature - the Bolshevik-Leninist Agapov and the technician Popov.

After the defeat of the uprising, the officers who left Tashkent formed the Tashkent Officer Partisan Detachment (101 people), which since March fought together with other anti-Bolshevik formations against the red units in the Ferghana Valley, and then near Bukhara. Then the remnants of the Tashkent officer partisan detachment joined with units of the Turkestan army.

AT) Wrestling in the Northwest

General Nikolai Yudenichcreated on the territory of EstoniaNorth-Western Armyto fight the Soviet regime. The army numbered from 5.5 to 20 thousand soldiers and officers.

On August 11, 1919, the Government of the North-Western Region was established in Tallinn (Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance - Stepan Lianozov, Minister of War - Nikolai Yudenich, Minister of Marine - Vladimir Pilkini, etc.). On the same day, under pressure from the British, who promised armaments and equipment for the army in return for this recognition, the Government of the North-Western Region recognized the independence of Estonia. However, the all-Russian government of Kolchak did not approve this decision.

After the recognition of Estonia's independence by the Government of the Russian North-West region, Great Britain provided him with financial assistance, and also carried out minor deliveries of weapons and ammunition.

N. N. Yudenich tried twice to take Petrograd (in spring and autumn), but each time failed.

The spring offensive (5.5 thousand bayonets and sabers for the whites versus 20 thousand for the reds) of the Northern Corps (from July 1, the North-Western Army) to Petrograd began on May 13, 1919. The Whites broke through the front near Narva and, moving around Yamburg, forced the Reds to retreat. On May 15, they captured Gdov. On May 17, Yamburg fell, and on May 25, Pskov. By the beginning of June, the Whites reached the approaches to Luga and Gatchina, threatening Petrograd. But the Reds transferred reserves near Petrograd, bringing the strength of their grouping, which was operating against the North-Western Army, to 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, and in mid-July went on the counteroffensive. In the course of heavy fighting, they pushed back the small units of the North-Western Army across the Luga River, and on August 28 they captured Pskov.

Autumn attack on Petrograd. On October 12, 1919, the North-Western Army (20 thousand bayonets and sabers against 40 thousand of the Reds) broke through the Soviet front at Yamburg and on October 20, 1919, having taken Tsarskoye Selo, went to the suburbs of Petrograd. The Whites captured the Pulkovo Heights and broke into the outskirts of Ligovo on the extreme left flank, and scout patrols began fighting near the Izhora plant. But, having no reserves and not having received support from Finland and Estonia, after ten days of fierce and unequal battles near Petrograd with the Red troops (whose number grew to 60 thousand people), the North-Western Army could not capture the city. Finland and Estonia refused to help, because the leadership thiswhite army never recognized the independence of these countries. On November 1, the retreat of the North-Western White Army began.

By mid-November 1919, Yudenich's army retreated to the territory of Estonia with stubborn battles. After the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty between the RSFSR and Estonia, 15 thousand soldiers and officers of the North-Western Army of Yudenich, under the terms of this agreement, were first disarmed, and then 5 thousand of them were captured by the Estonian authorities and sent to concentration camps.

Despite the exodus of the White armies from their native land as a result of the Civil War, in the historical perspective, the White movement was by no means defeated: once in exile, it continued to fight against the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia and beyond.

"WHITE EMIGRATION"

White emigration, which since 1919 has assumed a massive character, was formed in the course of several stages. The first stage is connected with the evacuation of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, Lieutenant General A. I. Denikin from Novorossiysk in February 1920. The second stage - with the departure of the Russian Army, Lieutenant General Baron P. N. Wrangel from Crimea in November 1920, the third - with the defeat of the troops of Admiral A. V. Kolchakai with the evacuation of the Japanese army from Primorye in the 1920-1921s. After the evacuation of the Crimea, the remnants of the Russian Army were stationed in Turkey, where General P.N. Wrangel, his headquarters and senior commanders were able to restore it as a fighting force. The key task of the command was, firstly, to obtain material assistance from the Entente allies in the required amount, secondly, to fend off all their attempts to disarm and disband the army, and, thirdly, to reorganize and demoralize the units disorganized and demoralized by defeats and evacuation put in order, restoring discipline and morale.

The legal status of the Russian Army and military alliances was complex: the legislation of France, Poland and a number of other countries on whose territory they were located did not allow the existence of any foreign organizations "having the appearance of military-style formations." The powers of the Entente sought to turn the Russian army, which had retreated, but retained its fighting spirit and organization, into a community of emigrants. “Even more than physical deprivation, we were pressed by complete political lack of rights. No one was guaranteed against the arbitrariness of any agent of the power of each of the powers of the Entente. Even the Turks, who themselves were under the regime of arbitrariness of the occupying authorities, were guided by the right of the strong in relation to us, ”wrote N.V. Savich, Wrangel’s employee responsible for finances. That is why Wrangel decides to transfer his troops to the Slavic countries.

In the spring of 1921, Baron P. N. Wrangel turned to the Bulgarian and Yugoslav governments with a request about the possibility of resettling the personnel of the Russian Army in Yugoslavia. Parts were promised maintenance at the expense of the treasury, which included rations and a small salary. September 1, 1924 N. Wrangel issued an order on the formation of the Russian General Military Union (ROVS). It included all units, as well as military societies and unions that accepted the order for execution. The internal structure of individual military units remained intact. The ROVS itself acted as a unifying and leading organization. The Commander-in-Chief became its head, the general management of the affairs of the EMRO was concentrated in the headquarters of Wrangel. From this moment on, we can talk about the transformation of the Russian Army into an emigre military organization. The Russian All-Military Union became the legitimate successor to the White Army. This can be said, referring to the opinion of its creators: "The formation of the EMRO prepares the possibility, in case of need, under the pressure of the general political situation, to accept the Russian army a new form of being in the form of military alliances." This "form of being" made it possible to fulfill the main task of the military command in exile - the preservation of existing and the education of new army personnel.

An integral part of the confrontation between the military-political emigration and the Bolshevik regime on the territory of Russia was the struggle of the special services: reconnaissance and sabotage groups of the ROVS with the bodies of the OGPU - NKVD, which took place in various regions of the planet.

White emigration in the political spectrum of the Russian diaspora

The political moods and predilections of the initial period of the Russian emigration represented a fairly wide range of currents, almost completely reproducing the picture of the political life of pre-October Russia. In the first half of 1921, a characteristic feature was the strengthening of monarchist tendencies, explained, first of all, by the desire of ordinary refugees to rally around a “leader” who could protect their interests in exile and in the future ensure their return to their homeland. Such hopes were associated with the personality of P. N. Wrangel and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, to whom General Wrangel resubordinated the ROVS as the Supreme Commander.

The white emigration lived with the hope of returning to Russia and liberating it from the totalitarian regime of communism. However, the emigration was not united: from the very beginning of the existence of the Russian Diaspora, there was a fierce struggle between supporters of reconciliation with the regime established in sub-Soviet Russia (“Smenovekhites”) and supporters of an implacable position in relation to the communist government and its legacy. White emigration, led by the ROVS and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, formed the camp of irreconcilable opponents of the "anti-national regime in Russia." In the thirties, part of the emigrant youth, the children of white fighters, decided to go on the offensive against the Bolsheviks. It was the national youth of the Russian emigration, first called the "National Union of Russian Youth", later renamed the "National Labor Union of the New Generation" (NTSNP). The goal was simple: to oppose Marxism-Leninism with another idea based on solidarity and patriotism. At the same time, the NTSNP never associated itself with the White movement, criticized the Whites, considering itself a political party of a fundamentally new type. This eventually led to an ideological and organizational break between the NTSNP and the ROVS, which continued to remain in the previous positions of the White movement and was critical of the “national boys” (as members of the NTSNP began to be called in exile).

The civil war became a terrible test for Russia. This page of history, which has been glorified for many decades, was in fact shameful. Fratricide, numerous betrayals, robberies and violence coexisted in it with exploits and self-sacrifice. The white army consisted of different people - people from all classes, representatives of various nationalities who inhabited a vast country and had different education. The Red troops were also not a homogeneous mass. Both opposing sides experienced largely similar difficulties. In the end, after four years, the Reds won. Why?

When did the Civil War start

When it comes to the beginning of the Civil War, historians give different dates. For example, Krasnov put forward units subordinate to him in order to take control of Petrograd on October 25, 1917. Or another fact: General Alekseev arrived in the Don to organize the Volunteer Army - this happened on November 2. And here is also the Declaration of Milyukov, published in the newspaper Donskaya Rech for December 27th. Why is there no reason to consider it an official declaration of war In a sense, these three versions, like many others, are true. In the last two months of 1917, the Volunteer White Army was formed (and this could not happen all at once). In the Civil War, she became the only serious force capable of resisting the Bolsheviks.

Personnel and social profile of the White Army

The backbone of the white movement was the Russian officers. Beginning in 1862, its social class structure underwent changes, but these processes reached a particular impetus during the First World War. If in the middle of the 19th century, belonging to the highest military leadership was the lot of the aristocracy, then at the beginning of the next century, commoners began to be increasingly admitted into it. The famous commanders of the White Army can serve as an example. Alekseev is the son of a soldier, Kornilov's father was a cornet of the Cossack army, and Denikin was a serf. Contrary to the propaganda stereotypes that were introduced into the mass consciousness, there could be no talk of some kind of “white bone”. The officers of the White Army, by their origin, could represent a social cross-section of the entire Russian Empire. Infantry schools for the period from 1916 to 1917 released 60% of people from peasant families. In Golovin, out of a thousand warrant officers (junior lieutenants, according to the Soviet system of military ranks), there were 700 of them. In addition to them, 260 officers came from the bourgeois, working and merchant environment. There were also nobles - four dozen.

The White Army was founded and shaped by the notorious "cook's children". Only five percent of the organizers of the movement were wealthy and eminent people, the income of the rest before the revolution consisted only of officer salaries.

Modest debut

The officers intervened in the course of political events immediately after It was an organized military force, the main advantage of which was discipline and combat skills. The officers, as a rule, did not have political convictions in the sense of belonging to a particular party, but they had a desire to restore order in the country and avoid the collapse of the state. As for the number, the entire White army, as of January 1918 (the campaign of General Kaledin against Petrograd), consisted of seven hundred Cossacks. The demoralization of the troops led to an almost complete reluctance to fight. Not only ordinary soldiers, but also officers were extremely reluctant (about 1% of the total) to obey orders for mobilization.

By the beginning of full-scale hostilities, the Volunteer White Army numbered up to seven thousand soldiers and Cossacks, commanded by a thousand officers. She did not have any stocks of food and weapons, as well as support from the population. It seemed that the imminent collapse was inevitable.

Siberia

After the seizure of power by the Reds in Tomsk, Irkutsk and other Siberian cities, underground anti-Bolshevik centers created by officers began to operate. corps was the signal for their open action against the Soviet regime in May-June 1918. The West Siberian Army was created (commander - General A.N. Grishin-Almazov), in which volunteers began to enroll. Soon its number exceeded 23 thousand. By August, the White army, having united with the troops of Yesaul G. M. Semenov, formed into two corps (4th East Siberian and 5th Amur) and controlled a vast territory from the Urals to Baikal. It numbered about 60 thousand bayonets, 114 thousand unarmed volunteers under the command of almost 11 thousand officers.

North

The White Army in the Civil War, in addition to Siberia and the Far East, fought on three more main fronts: Southern, Northwestern and Northern. Each of them had its own specifics both in terms of the operational situation and in terms of the contingent. The most professionally trained officers who went through the German war concentrated on the northern theater of operations. In addition, they were distinguished by excellent education, upbringing and courage. Many commanders of the White Army came from Ukraine and owed their salvation from the Bolshevik terror to the German troops, which explained their Germanophilia, others had traditional sympathies for the Entente. This situation has sometimes led to conflicts. The northern white army was relatively small.

Northwestern White Army

It was formed with the support of the German armed forces in opposition to the Bolshevik Red Army. After the departure of the Germans, its composition consisted of up to 7000 bayonets. It was the least prepared White Guard front, which, however, was accompanied by temporary success. The sailors of the Chudskaya flotilla, together with the cavalry detachment of Balakhovich and Permykin, having become disillusioned with the communist idea, decided to go over to the side of the White Guards. Volunteers-peasants also joined the growing army, and then high school students were forcibly mobilized. The Northwestern Army fought with varying success and became one of the examples of the curiosity of the entire war. Numbering 17 thousand fighters, it was controlled by 34 generals and many colonels, among whom were those who were not even twenty years old.

South of Russia

Events on this front were decisive in the fate of the country. A population of over 35 million, a territory equal in area to a couple of large European countries, equipped with a developed transport infrastructure (seaports, railways) was controlled by Denikin's white forces. The south of Russia could exist separately from the rest of the territory of the former Russian Empire: it had everything for autonomous development, including agriculture and industry. The generals of the White Army, who received an excellent military education and many-sided experience in combat operations with Austria-Hungary and Germany, had every chance of winning victories over the often poorly educated enemy commanders. However, the problems were still the same. People did not want to fight, and it was not possible to create a single ideological platform. Monarchists, democrats, liberals were united only by the desire to resist Bolshevism.

Deserters

Both the Red and the White armies suffered from the same disease: representatives of the peasantry did not want to voluntarily join them. Forced mobilization led to a decrease in overall combat capability. Russian officers, regardless of traditionally constituted a special caste, far from the soldier masses, which caused internal contradictions. The scale of punitive measures applied to deserters was monstrous on both sides of the front, but the Bolsheviks practiced executions more often and more decisively, including showing cruelty towards the families of those who had fled. In addition, they were bolder in their promises. As the number of conscripted soldiers grew, "eroding" the combat-ready officer regiments, it became difficult to control the performance of combat missions. There were practically no reserves, the supply was deteriorating. There were other problems that led to the defeat of the army in the South, which was the last stronghold of the whites.

Myths and reality

The image of a White Guard officer dressed in an impeccable tunic, certainly a nobleman with a sonorous surname, spending his leisure time drinking and singing romances, is far from the truth. We had to fight in conditions of a constant shortage of weapons, ammunition, food, uniforms and everything else, without which it is difficult, if not impossible, to maintain an army in a combat-ready state. The Entente provided support, but this assistance was not enough, plus there was also a moral crisis, expressed in a sense of struggle with one's own people.

After the defeat in the Civil War, Wrangel and Denikin found salvation abroad. In 1920, the Bolsheviks shot Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak. The army (White) with each bloody year lost more and more new territories. All this led to the forced evacuation from Sevastopol in 1922 of the surviving units of the once powerful army. A little later, the last pockets of resistance in the Far East were suppressed.

Many songs of the White Army, after a certain alteration of the texts, became Red Guards. The words “for Holy Russia” were replaced by the phrase “for the power of the Soviets”, a similar fate awaited other wonderful new names (“Through the valleys and along the hills”, “Kakhovka”, etc.) Today, after decades of oblivion, they are available to listeners who are interested in history of the White movement.

Every Russian knows that in the Civil War of 1917-1922, two movements opposed - "red" and "white". But among historians there is still no consensus on how it began. Someone believes that the reason was Krasnov's March on the Russian capital (October 25); others believe that the war began when, in the near future, the commander of the Volunteer Army, Alekseev, arrived on the Don (November 2); there is also an opinion that the war began with the fact that Milyukov proclaimed the “Declaration of the Volunteer Army, delivering a speech at the ceremony, called the Don (December 27). Another popular opinion, which is far from unfounded, is the opinion that the Civil War began immediately after the February Revolution, when the whole society split into supporters and opponents of the Romanov monarchy.

"White" movement in Russia

Everyone knows that "whites" are adherents of the monarchy and the old order. Its beginnings were visible as early as February 1917, when the monarchy was overthrown in Russia and a total restructuring of society began. The development of the "white" movement was during the period when the Bolsheviks came to power, the formation of Soviet power. They represented a circle of dissatisfied with the Soviet government, disagreeing with its policy and principles of its conduct.
The "whites" were fans of the old monarchical system, refused to accept the new socialist order, adhered to the principles of traditional society. It is important to note that the "whites" were very often radicals, they did not believe that it was possible to agree on something with the "reds", on the contrary, they had the opinion that no negotiations and concessions were allowed.
The "Whites" chose the tricolor of the Romanovs as their banner. Admiral Denikin and Kolchak commanded the white movement, one in the South, the other in the harsh regions of Siberia.
The historical event that became the impetus for the activation of the “whites” and the transition to their side of most of the former army of the Romanov Empire was the rebellion of General Kornilov, which, although it was suppressed, helped the “whites” strengthen their ranks, especially in the southern regions, where, under the command of the general Alekseev began to gather huge resources and a powerful disciplined army. Every day the army was replenished due to newcomers, it grew rapidly, developed, tempered, trained.
Separately, it must be said about the commanders of the White Guards (this was the name of the army created by the "white" movement). They were unusually talented generals, prudent politicians, strategists, tacticians, subtle psychologists, and skillful speakers. The most famous were Lavr Kornilov, Anton Denikin, Alexander Kolchak, Pyotr Krasnov, Pyotr Wrangel, Nikolai Yudenich, Mikhail Alekseev. You can talk about each of them for a long time, their talent and merits for the "white" movement can hardly be overestimated.
In the war, the White Guards won for a long time, and even brought their troops to Moscow. But the Bolshevik army was growing stronger, besides, they were supported by a significant part of the population of Russia, especially the poorest and most numerous sections - workers and peasants. In the end, the forces of the White Guards were smashed to smithereens. For some time they continued to operate abroad, but without success, the "white" movement ceased.

"Red" movement

Like the "whites", in the ranks of the "reds" there were many talented commanders and politicians. Among them, it is important to note the most famous, namely: Leon Trotsky, Brusilov, Novitsky, Frunze. These commanders showed themselves excellently in battles against the White Guards. Trotsky was the main founder of the Red Army, which was the decisive force in the confrontation between the "whites" and the "reds" in the Civil War. The ideological leader of the "red" movement was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, known to every person. Lenin and his government were actively supported by the most massive sections of the population of the Russian State, namely, the proletariat, the poor, landless and landless peasants, and the working intelligentsia. It was these classes who quickly believed the tempting promises of the Bolsheviks, supported them and brought the "Reds" to power.
The main party in the country was the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of the Bolsheviks, which was later turned into a communist party. In essence, it was an association of intelligentsia, adherents of the socialist revolution, whose social base was the working classes.
It was not easy for the Bolsheviks to win the Civil War - they had not yet completely strengthened their power throughout the country, the forces of their fans were dispersed throughout the vast country, plus the national outskirts began a national liberation struggle. A lot of forces went to war with the Ukrainian People's Republic, so the Red Army during the Civil War had to fight on several fronts.
The attacks of the White Guards could come from any side of the horizon, because the White Guards surrounded the Red Army soldiers from all sides with four separate military formations. And despite all the difficulties, it was the “Reds” who won the war, mainly due to the broad social base of the Communist Party.
All representatives of the national outskirts united against the Whites, and therefore they became forced allies of the Red Army in the Civil War. To win over the inhabitants of the national outskirts, the Bolsheviks used loud slogans, such as the idea of "one and indivisible Russia."
The Bolsheviks won the war with the support of the masses. The Soviet government played on the sense of duty and patriotism of Russian citizens. The White Guards themselves also added fuel to the fire, since their invasions were most often accompanied by mass robbery, looting, violence in its other manifestations, which could not in any way encourage people to support the "white" movement.

Results of the Civil War

As has been said several times, the victory in this fratricidal war went to the "Reds". The fratricidal civil war became a real tragedy for the Russian people. The material damage caused to the country by the war, according to estimates, amounted to about 50 billion rubles - unimaginable money at that time, several times higher than the amount of Russia's external debt. Because of this, the level of industry decreased by 14%, and agriculture - by 50%. Human losses, according to various sources, ranged from 12 to 15 million. Most of these people died from starvation, repression, and disease. During the hostilities, more than 800 thousand soldiers from both sides gave their lives. Also during the Civil War, the balance of migration dropped sharply - about 2 million Russians left the country and went abroad.