In July 1919, the Southern Front was declared the main one by the Bolsheviks. Fresh units were transferred to him, party mobilization was carried out. V. Egoriev (a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Front - ) became the commander of the front, and S. Kamenev was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The slogan "Proletarian, on the horse!" was put forward, after which the Red cavalry corps appeared, and then the cavalry armies. This made it possible to nullify the advantage of whites in the cavalry. For some time the Whites were still advancing, but by the end of October there was a turning point in the course of the campaign. The shock corps of Generals Kutepov, Mamontov and Shkuro were defeated, which was the beginning of the end of Denikin's entire army.

The cavalry corps of S. Budyonny, then deployed to the 1st Cavalry Army, struck at Voronezh and moved towards the Donbass. The Denikinites, cut in two by him, retreated to Odessa and Rostov-on-Don. In January 1920 the troops Southwestern Front under the command of A. Egorov and the South under the command of V. Shorin recaptured Ukraine, Donbass, Don and the North Caucasus. Only uncoordinated actions near Novorossiysk by M. Tukhachevsky and S. Budyonny allowed the remnants of the Volunteer Army (about 50 thousand people) to evacuate to the Crimea, held by the small formations of General Ya. Slashchev. Denikin handed over the general command of the white forces in the south to General Baron P. Wrangel.

In June-August 1920, Wrangel's troops, leaving the Crimea, occupied Northern Tavria to the Dnieper and the west of Donbass. In doing so, they were of great help. Polish troops. Wrangel suggested leaving the landowner's land to the peasants and cooperation to the Ukrainian and Polish nationalists, but these measures were belated and did not meet with confidence.

The end of hostilities with Poland allowed the Red Army to concentrate its main forces in the Crimean direction. In September 1920, the Southern Front (M. Frunze) was formed, outnumbering the enemy. In late September - early November, Wrangel made the last attempt to attack the Donbass and Right-Bank Ukraine. Fights began for Kakhovka. Parts of V. Blucher repulsed all the attacks of the Whites and went on the counteroffensive. Only in Northern Tavria the reds captured about 20 thousand people. Wrangel was locked up in the Crimea. The entrance to it lay through the Perekop Isthmus, where the main line of defense passed along the Turkish shaft 8 meters high, in front of which there was a deep ditch. Dozens of guns and machine guns guarded all approaches to it. The Lithuanian peninsula of Crimea was close to the mainland, but it could only be reached by crossing the Sivash (Rotten Sea).

On the night of November 8, 1920, several divisions of the Red Army forded the Sivash, which diverted the White reserves. At the same time, other forces (parts of Blucher and detachments of Makhno) attacked the Turkish Wall. With heavy fighting and thousands of losses, the positions of the Whites at Perekop were broken through, their attempts to organize resistance were unsuccessful. The Wrangelites rapidly retreated, succeeding in evacuating about 150 thousand military and civilians on French ships to Turkey and withdrawing the remnants of the Black Sea military and merchant fleet. Last commander in chief white movement left Sevastopol on 14 November. On November 15-17, the Red Army entered Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch and Yalta. Hundreds of officers who did not have time to evacuate were shot.

The capture of the Crimea and the defeat of Wrangel meant the end of a largely civil war, although Far East it continued until 1922.

M. V. FRUNZE. IN MEMORY OF PEREKOP AND CHONGAR

armies Southern Front, having successfully completed the initial task set by him - the defeat of the living forces of the enemy north of the isthmuses, by the evening of November 3, they became close to the coast of Sivash, starting from Genichesk and ending with the Khord region.

A vigorous, feverish work began to prepare for the crossing of the Chongar and Perekop isthmuses and the capture of the Crimea.

Since, due to the rapid advance of our armies forward and the lack of new communication lines, command and control of troops from the location of the front headquarters (Kharkov) was impossible, I, with the field headquarters and members of the Revolutionary Military Council, com. Vladimirov and Smilga went to the front on November 3. Melitopol was chosen by me as the location of the field headquarters, where we set the task of reaching in the shortest possible time ...

As you know, Crimea is connected to the mainland by 3 points: 1) the Perekop isthmus, which is about 8 km wide, 2) the Salkovsky and Chongarsky bridges (the first railway), which are strings of bridge structures erected partly on a dam, up to 8 m wide and stretching up to 5 km, and 3) the so-called Arabat Spit, coming from Genichesk and having a length of up to 120 km with a width of 1/2 km to 3 km.

The Perekop and Chongar isthmuses and the southern coast of the Sivash connecting them were one common network fortified positions erected in advance, reinforced by natural and artificial obstacles and barriers. Started by construction back in the period of Denikin's Volunteer Army, these positions were improved by Wrangel with special attention and care. Both Russians and, according to our intelligence, also French military engineers took part in their construction, using all the experience of the imperialist war in the construction. Concrete gun barriers in several rows, flanking buildings and trenches located in close fire connection - all this in one common system created a fortified zone, inaccessible, it would seem, for an attack by open force ...

On the Perekop Isthmus, even before October 30, our units of the 6th Army, building on the success achieved in the battles north of the isthmuses, captured two fortified defense lines and the city of Perekop from a raid, but could not advance further and lingered in front of the third, most heavily fortified line the so-called Turkish Wall ( Earthworks several sazhens high, built back in the days of Turkish rule and closing the isthmus in its narrowest point).

By the way, in the rear of this position, at a distance of 15-20 km to the south, another fortification line was erected, known as the Yushun positions.

On Chongar, having mastered all the fortifications of the Chongar Peninsula, we stood close to the blown up Salkovsky railway bridge and the burnt Chongarsky one.

Thus, when determining the direction of the main attack, it was necessary to choose between Chongar and Perekop. Since Perekop, due to its large width, opened up wider opportunities in terms of deploying troops and generally offered more convenience for maneuvering, then, naturally, our decisive blow was aimed here.

But since, on the other side, we had very strong enemy fortifications in front of us, and, naturally, his best units should have been concentrated here, the attention of the front command was turned to finding ways to overcome the enemy’s line of resistance with a blow from our left flank.

In these views, I planned to bypass the Chongar positions along the Arabatskaya spit with a crossing to the peninsula at the mouth of the river. Salgir, which is 30 kilometers south of Genichesk.

This maneuver to the side in 1732 was carried out by Field Marshal Lassi. Army of Lassi, deceiving Crimean Khan, who stood with the main forces at Perekop, moved along the Arabat arrow and, having crossed to the peninsula at the mouth of the Salgir, went to the rear of the Khan's troops and quickly captured the Crimea.

Our preliminary reconnaissance in the direction south of Genichesk showed that here the enemy had only weak guards from cavalry units ...

November 7 and 8 we spent at the location of units of the 6th Army. 8th about 4 o'clock. day, taking with us the commander of the 6th army, Comrade Kork, we arrived at the headquarters of the 51st division, which was entrusted with the task of assaulting the Perekop shaft in the forehead. The headquarters was in Chaplinka. The mood at the headquarters and among the commander Comrade Blucher was upbeat and at the same time somewhat nervous. Everyone recognized the absolute necessity of attempting an assault, and at the same time a clear account was given that such an attempt would cost no small sacrifice. In this regard, the command of the division felt some hesitation regarding the feasibility of the order for a night assault in coming night. In the presence of the commander, I was directly ordered in the most categorical form to the division commander to carry out an assault ...

The fire from the enemy intensifies, some shells hit the area of ​​the road running along the northern bank of the Sivash, along which we are driving. Ahead and somewhat to the left of us, a strong fire breaks out ...

Developing its offensive further to the flank and rear of the enemy's Perekop positions, the division, after the first successes, ran into stubborn resistance in the Karadzhanay region of the enemy, who threw one of his best divisions, Drozdovskaya, backed up by a detachment of armored vehicles, into a counterattack ...

A very favorable circumstance for us, which greatly facilitated the task of forcing the Sivash, was a strong drop in the water level in the western part of the Sivash. Thanks to the winds blowing from the west, the entire mass of water was driven to the east, and as a result, fords formed in a number of places, though very muddy and viscous, but still allowed the movement of not only infantry, but also cavalry, and in some places even artillery. On the other hand, this moment completely fell out of the calculations of the White command, which considered the Sivash impassable and therefore kept relatively insignificant and, moreover, little fired units, mainly from among the newly formed, on the sections of our crossings.

As a result of the first battles, the entire Kuban brigade of Gen. Fostikov, who had just arrived from Feodosia...

I can’t forget the following fact: when at the headquarters of the 4th Army I informed the head of the 30th division division, Comrade Gryaznov, and one of the brigade commanders who was with him, that Blucher (he, by the way, was formerly Gryaznov’s chief on Eastern Front) took Perekop, then both turned pale. A few minutes later I look, Gryaznov and his brigade commander are gone, they drove off to the position. A few hours later, the famous night assault by the regiments of the 30th division of the Chongar positions of the enemy began. On the morning of November 11, after bloody battle, parts of the division were already on the other side and, having overturned the enemy, were rapidly advancing on Dzhankoy.

Thus the fate of the Crimea was decided, and with it the fate of the entire South Russian counter-revolution.

The victory, and a brilliant victory, was won along the whole line. But we got it at a high price. With the blood of 10,000 of their best sons, the working class and the peasantry paid for their last, mortal blow of the counter-revolution. The revolutionary impulse turned out to be stronger than the combined efforts of nature, technology and deadly fire.

OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE STAFF OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY. No. 661.

Having made peace with Poland and thus freed their troops, the Bolsheviks concentrated five armies against us, placing them in three groups near Kakhovka, Nikopol and Polog. By the start of the attack total strength more than a hundred thousand fighters reached them, of which a quarter of the composition was cavalry.

Pinning down our army from the north and northeast, the red command decided to attack our left flank with the main forces and throw a mass of cavalry from Kakhovka in the direction of Gromovka and Salkovo in order to cut off the Russian army from the isthmuses, pressing it to the Sea of ​​Azov and opening up a free access to the Crimea.

Taking into account the created situation, the Russian army made an appropriate regrouping. The main cavalry mass of the enemy, the 1st cavalry army with Latvian and other infantry units, numbering more than 10,000 sabers and 10,000 bayonets, fell from the Kakhov bridgehead to the east and southeast, sending up to 6,000 cavalry to Salkovo. Having shielded ourselves from the north with part of the forces, we concentrated the shock group and, having fallen on the erupted Red cavalry, pressed it to Sivash. At the same time, two regiments of the Latvian division were completely destroyed by the glorious units of General Kutepov, 216 guns and a lot of machine guns were captured, and four regiments were captured by the Dons and 15 guns, many weapons and machine guns were captured. However, the overwhelming superiority of forces, especially the cavalry, pulled up by the enemy to the battlefield in the amount of up to 25,000 horses, attacking the army from three sides for five days, forced the Commander-in-Chief to decide to withdraw the army to the fortified Sivash-Perekop position in advance, which gives all the benefits of defense . The continuous blows inflicted by our army in the past battles, accompanied by the destruction of a significant part of Budyonny's cavalry that had broken through to our rear, gave the army the opportunity to retreat to a fortified position almost without loss.

ORDER OF THE RULER OF THE SOUTH OF RUSSIA AND THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY

Russian people. Left alone in the fight against the rapists, the Russian army is waging an unequal battle, defending the last piece of Russian land where law and truth exist. In the consciousness of the responsibility lying on me, I am obliged to foresee all accidents in advance. By my order, the evacuation and boarding of ships in the ports of Crimea has already begun for all those who shared the path of the Cross with the army, the families of military personnel, officials of the civil department, with their families, and individuals who could be in danger in the event of the arrival of the enemy. The army will cover the landing, bearing in mind that the vessels necessary for its evacuation are also in full readiness in ports, according to the established schedule. To fulfill the duty to the army and the population, everything has been done within the limits of human strength. Our further paths are full of uncertainty. We have no other land except Crimea. There is no state treasury. Frankly, as always, I warn everyone of what awaits them.

May the Lord send strength and wisdom to all to overcome and survive the Russian hard times.

General Wrangel.

FROM THE MEMORIES OF P.N. WRANGEL

I went to the boat. Handkerchiefs were waved in the crowd, many were crying. Here comes a young girl. She pressed her handkerchief to her lips, sobbing.

“God bless you, Your Excellency. Lord keep you.

“Thank you, and why are you staying?”

— Yes, my mother is sick, I can't leave her.

- May God bless you too.

A group of city officials approached; I was surprised to recognize some of the most prominent representatives of the opposition community.

“You have said correctly, Your Excellency, you can walk with your head held high, in the consciousness of a duty accomplished. Let me wish you a happy journey.

I shook hands, thanked...

Suddenly, the head of the American mission, Admiral McColley, who was present right there, approached. He shook my hand for a long time.

“I have always been a fan of your cause, and more than ever I am today.

The outposts sank. At 2:40 my boat left the pier and headed for the cruiser General Kornilov, on which my flag was hoisted. “Hurrah” rushed from the loaded ships.

"General Kornilov" weighed anchor.

Ships, one after another, went out to sea. Everything that only more or less floated on the water left the shores of the Crimea. Several unusable ships remained in Sevastopol, two old gunboats "Terets" and "Kubanets", the old transport "Danube", the steam schooners "Altai" and "Volga" blown up by mines in the Sea of ​​Azov and old warships with damaged mechanisms, even unusable to transport people. Everything else has been used. We anchored at Streletskaya Bay and stayed here until two and a half in the morning, waiting for loading. last people in Streletskaya Bay and the exit to the sea of ​​all ships, after which, having weighed anchor, they went to Yalta, where they arrived on November 2 at nine o'clock in the morning.

Around noon, the transports with the troops withdrew. Vessels covered with people were passing by, “Hurrah” thundered. Great is the Russian spirit and immense is the Russian soul... At two o'clock in the afternoon we took off and went to Feodosia. We were followed by Admiral Dumesnil in the cruiser Waldeck-Rousseau, accompanied by a destroyer. Soon we met a huge transport "Don", from there came "cheers". Hats flickered. On the transport was General Fostikov with his Kuban. I ordered the boat to be lowered and went to the Don. In Feodosia, loading was less successful. According to General Fostikov, the tonnage was not enough and the 1st Kuban division of General Deinega, without having time to sink, went to Kerch. The report of General Fostikov inspired doubts about the orderliness he had shown. Returning to the cruiser General Kornilov, I sent a radio telegram to General Abramov in Kerch, ordering him to wait at all costs and load the Kuban.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Waldeck-Rousseau weighed anchor, firing a salute of 21 shots - last salute the Russian flag in Russian waters ... "General Kornilov" answered.

Soon a radio was received from the captain of the 1st rank Mashukov: “The landing is completed, everything is taken up to the last soldier. For a report to the commander-in-chief, I'm taking General Kusonsky. I'm going to join. Nashtaflot. - At 3 hours 40 minutes "Gaydamak" returned. The landing went brilliantly. Troops from the barges were reloaded on the "Russia". The ships went to sea. (On 126 ships, 145,693 people were taken out, not counting ship crews. With the exception of those who died from the storm destroyer"Alive", all ships arrived safely in Tsargrad).

The night has fallen. AT dark sky the stars shone brightly, the sea sparkled.

The single lights of the native shore dimmed and died. Here is the last one gone...

- November, 19th 2009

At the intersection of the highway from Kakhovka to the Crimea with the Perekop shaft, a rather original monument was erected, dedicated to the three assaults on Perekop. The first assault took place back in 1920 - the Reds attack, the Whites defend, then there will be the Great Patriotic War, there will be the Red Army against the Germans and Romanians, there will be a labor assault even later, but today we are talking about the beginning of the last century.

November 8, 2010 marks the 90th anniversary of the first assault on Perekop. Of course, there were much more than three assaults in the history of the Turkish Wall. This, of course, is about those assaults, the perpetuation of the memory of which the Soviet state took care of.

Civil war caused in the Russian Empire famous events 1917, in 1920 was nearing completion. The assault on the Perekop fortifications ends final stage struggle on the Wrangel Front, the last major front of the Civil War. Ukraine had powerful grain reserves. But the presence of Wrangel's troops in Ukraine and a widely developed insurrectionary movement in the Ukrainian countryside crossed out "Ukrainian bread" from the food stocks of the country of the Soviets. The proximity of Wrangel to the industrial Donetsk-Krivoy Rog region paralyzed the work of this only coal and metallurgical base at that time.

It is worth noting that already in August 1920, the Wrangel government was officially recognized by France. In September, there were already missions of all the most important capitalist states in the Crimea, including distant Japan and the USA.

The organizer of the expulsion of the troops, General P.N. Wrangel from the Crimea was the Bolshevik M.V. Frunze, commander of the Southern Front at that time. Frunze fought against the Wrangelites together with the Insurrectionary Army of Father Makhno (N.I. Makhno), with whom in October 1920 he signed an agreement on unity of action against the White troops and established good personal relations.

Since the ideas of Bolshevism, both declarative and propagandistic and factual, are well known, let us dwell on the ideas of their Crimean opponent.
July 5, 1920 in the newspaper " Great Russia”an interview with the correspondent of the newspaper N.N. Chebyshev with General P.N. Wrangel.

"What are we fighting for?"

To this question, General Wrangel declared, there can be only one answer: we are fighting for freedom. On the other side of our front, in the north, arbitrariness, oppression, and slavery reign. You can hold the most diverse views on the desirability of this or that state system, you can be an extreme republican, a socialist, and even a Marxist, and still recognize the so-called Soviet republic as an example of the most sinister despotism ever seen, under the yoke of which Russia, and even its new one, allegedly perishes. the ruling class, the proletariat, crushed to the ground, like the rest of the population. Now this is no secret in Europe either. The veil has been lifted over Soviet Russia. Reaction nest in Moscow. Enslavers sit there, interpreting the people as a herd. Only blindness and dishonesty can consider us reactionaries. We are fighting for the emancipation of the people from the yoke, which they have not seen in the darkest times of their history.

For a long time in Europe they did not understand time, but now, apparently, they are already beginning to understand what we are clearly aware of: the whole world significance of our domestic strife. If our sacrifices are in vain, then European society, European democracy will themselves have to stand up in armed defense of their cultural and political gains against the enemy of civilization inspired by success.

I yearn with all my heart for an end civil war. Every drop of spilled Russian blood makes my heart ache. But the struggle is inevitable until consciousness is cleared up, until people understand that they are fighting against themselves, against their rights to self-determination, until a real government based on the principles of legality, security of personal and property rights on the basis of respect for international obligations; neither lasting peace nor improvement will ever come in Europe economic conditions. It will be impossible to conclude a single, even remotely stable, international agreement, or to agree on anything properly. The cause of the Russian Army in the Crimea is great freedom movement. This is Holy war for freedom and right.

Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (08/15/1878 - 04/25/1928) - Russian, general, Knight of St. George, commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in the Crimea (1920) - played for federal structure future Russia. Inclined to recognize the political independence of Ukraine. He developed a number of legislative acts on agrarian reform, including the "Land Law", adopted by the government on May 25, 1920. He recognized the legal seizure of landlord lands by peasants in the early years of the revolution (albeit for a certain contribution to the state). Spent a number administrative reforms in Crimea, as well as the reform local government. Promulgated a number of decrees on the regional autonomy of the Cossack lands.

Negotiations with the Bolsheviks, which the British government, which supported the Whites, insisted on, were absolutely unacceptable and even offensive to the White Command. It was decided to continue the fight to the end. Wrangel's successes in the summer of 1920 alarmed the Bolsheviks. The Soviet press sounded the alarm, calling for the destruction of the “baron who had settled in the Crimea”, to drive him into the “Crimean bottle”.

In September 1920, the Wrangel troops were defeated by the Reds near Kakhovka. On the night of September 8, the Red Army launched a general offensive, the purpose of which was to capture Perekop and Chongar and break into the Crimea.

Attack of the Perekop positions.

The battle began on November 8 at dawn on the outskirts of the Lithuanian Peninsula. Having crossed the Sivash at night, the vanguards of the 52nd and 15th rifle divisions approached imperceptibly 1 km to the Lithuanian Peninsula. Here they were already discovered by the enemy and got involved in the battle for the northern exits of this peninsula. By 7 o'clock, the Red Army soldiers had overcome the resistance of the Kuban White Brigade and occupied the entire northern part of the peninsula. At about 8 o'clock, the Reds occupied the entire Lithuanian peninsula.

By 10 o’clock, the Whites brought the nearest reserves into battle and launched a counterattack with the Drozdovskaya brigade from Karadzhanai, and parts of the II Corps from Karpovaya Balka to southern exits from the peninsula. The counterattack was initially successful, the Red units were pushed back, but then the Reds restored the situation. The Turkish rampart, which is the basis of the fortification line, was under a decisive threat from the rear.

In the morning, due to thick fog, artillery could not begin artillery preparation. Only by 9 o'clock did the artillery preparation begin. By 1300, units of the 51st Infantry Division were trying to advance to the barbed wire, but the Whites' fire system was intact. Artillery preparation was extended by an hour. Meanwhile, by 13 o'clock the artillery began to feel the lack of shells. The calculation of the shooting was made up to 12 hours, but it took much longer to shoot, and it turned out to be impossible to bring the shells because of the completely open rear. Parts of the 15th and 52nd rifle divisions were driven back by a counterattack by the whites, and in the rear they had a rise in water in the Sivash (they crossed the Sivash at low tide).

At 13 o'clock. 25 min. units of the 51st division were ordered to "simultaneously and immediately attack the Turkish Wall." At 13 o'clock. 35 min. parts of the division went on the offensive, but were repulsed by devastating machine-gun and artillery fire.

Around 22 o'clock. the attackers managed to overcome the wire barriers and reach the ditch, but here, in front of the wire, passing along the outer slope of the ditch, the attack bogged down again, despite the exceptional heroism of the Red Army. Some regiments suffered up to 60% losses.

The Red Command gathered at dawn on November 9 to resume the attack on the entire front. All arrangements for this decision have been made. But the enemy assessed the situation differently: on the night of November 8-9, he hastily retreated to his Ishun positions. His withdrawal by the Red units was discovered only on the morning of November 9th. The Turkish rampart was taken, but the enemy nevertheless left, though broken, but not broken.

Before the battles for the isthmus Crimean peninsula According to the intelligence data of the Reds (later confirmed by battles), the number of whites was 9850 bayonets, 7220 sabers.

The number of Reds (according to V. Trandafilov "Perekop operation of the Red Army") amounted to 26,500 bayonets and sabers on the Perekop Isthmus. The Whites on the isthmus had 467 machine guns against 487 Red machine guns and 128 guns against 91 Red guns.

However, ideas do not become true or false depending on the equipment. military equipment and military success.

Before the general offensive of the Red Army, the 4th and 6th Soviet armies are created and the Southern Front is formed, headed by M.V. Frunze. Frunze's offensive plan was to encircle and destroy the Russian Army in Northern Tavria, preventing it from leaving for the Crimea through the isthmuses of Perekop and Chongar. The 6th, 13th and 4th armies, the 1st cavalry army of Budyonny, the 2nd cavalry army of Guy and the Makhno gang took part in the general offensive against the Crimea.

The commander of the 6th Army, Comrade Kork (1887-1937), an Estonian by birth, graduated from the Chuguev Infantry School in 1908, and in 1914 from the Academy General Staff and in Imperial Army had the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the occupation of the Crimea, Comrade Kork was commander of the 15th Infantry Division and later head of the Frunze Academy of the General Staff. In gratitude for his exploits for the glory of the dictatorship of the world proletariat, he was shot by Stalin, after whose death he was rehabilitated.

To attack Perekop, the 51st, already known to us, is assigned rifle division Blucher, which for this is reinforced by a strike and fire brigade, a separate cavalry brigade, cavalry regiments of the 15th and Latvian divisions and an armored group.

October 26/November 7. Frunze ordered to take the Perekop rampart. To do this, Blucher, who united the entire shock group on Perekop, divides it: 1) the shock-fire and 152nd rifle brigades to storm the Turkish shaft; 2) he allocates the 153rd rifle and two cavalry brigades to the strike group for an offensive through the Sivashi to the Lithuanian Peninsula and to reach the rear of the Perekop fortifications.

To prepare for the assault on Perekop, 55 guns and 8 escort guns fired. The operation began on November 7 at 22:00.

October 27/November 8. In the morning, the enemy spent three hours from twenty batteries of various calibers in real preparation for the assault on the rampart. Our old trenches were not only not improved, but partly already fell apart, or they have now been smashed by the Reds. The line of trenches went along the very crest of the rampart, and the shelters were on our slope of it, so the enemy shells hit the slope of the rampart facing him or flew over the rampart and burst behind the rampart, which saved us. But the trouble was with the delivery - dozens of horses were torn to shreds. From ten o'clock, as far as the eye could see, twelve chains of red infantry covered the entire field in front of us - the assault began.

The temporary commander of the division, General Peshnya, arrived at the site and gave the order not to shoot until the Reds approached to the very ditch. The Perekop fortifications consisted of a huge, massive old Turkish rampart and a deep ditch in front of it, once filled with water from the bay, but now dry, reinforced with barbed wire along both of its slopes and located to the north of the rampart, that is, towards the enemy. With the approach of the Red infantry, their artillery transfers all the force of their fire to our rear. Using this, the strikers fill the trenches along the crest of the rampart and bring ammunition. The Reds, apparently, were confident in the strength of their artillery fire and quickly rolled on us. Their apparent overwhelming superiority in strength and our retreat encouraged them. Perhaps our deathly silence gave them the illusion that we had already been killed, and therefore they “perlied” cheerfully, with warlike cries. I even saw with a simple eye that the first chains were in zipuns, pulled up and, as those who remained on our wire later said, this was some kind of the best division named after Comrade Frunze. The first chain was already at a distance of 300 paces from us, the machine gunners' hands were already itching, but there was no order to fire. The Reds became completely bolder, and some ran up to the moat. Although we were confident in ourselves, nevertheless, the nerves were very tense and the first to break our silence was the head of the division, General Peshnya, who knew the machine gun very well and took up it himself. The effect of the fire of at least 60 machine guns and four battalions, this only in the sector of the 2nd regiment, was amazing: the fallen fell, the rear chains pressed in and thus cheered up the remnants of the forward chains, which in places reached the moat. Our advantage, despite our small numbers, was that the Red artillery could not hit us because of the proximity of their shooters to us, and the enemy machine guns could hit us perfectly, but for some reason they only pulled them, and did not shoot over their heads. Maybe they had no experience in this kind of use of their weapons? We were also fortunate in that, with the approach of the Reds closer to the ditch and the rampart, they clearly realized the full significance for them of such an obstacle, which, as they were convinced, even their numerous artillery could not destroy. A quarter of an hour later, the entire attacking mass mixed up and lay down. It was impossible to think of a worse position for the Reds even on purpose: for us, from the height of the rampart, they presented excellent targets, without the possibility of hiding anywhere, and it was here that they suffered the greatest losses. Our artillery also hit them, but not in the same way as always. It turns out that, in addition to damage from enemy artillery fire, it was partially withdrawn to the right, to the sector of the Drozdov division, where the Reds broke through the estuary. Until evening, this whole mass did not move under our fire, filling the air with the cries of the wounded. I happened to read in the history of the Civil War published in the USSR a description of the attacks on the Crimea, where it was reported that their losses at that time were up to 25 thousand people and that they stormed the Perekop shaft and destroyed our brother with bombs in reinforced concrete shelters, which we did not have there , but we had simple dugouts covered with boards with earth. But despite this, the whole field was covered with dead and wounded in the name of the international of the proletarian revolution of Lenin and Trotsky, but our situation was getting worse.

In the book "Blucher" this offensive is described as follows:

“November 6 of the new style, on the eve of the celebration of the third anniversary of the great proletarian revolution, we were ready to storm. The 15th and 52nd Rifle Divisions were moving up to the battlefield. Together with the 153rd rifle brigade and a separate cavalry brigade of the Perekop group, they were scheduled to strike through the Sivash on the Lithuanian Peninsula, on the flank and rear of the Perekop position. The 152nd rifle and fire strike brigades were preparing for a frontal attack on the Turkish Wall. M. V. Frunze came to the headquarters of the 51st Rifle Division, located in Chaplinka, to personally supervise the operation. Wrangel concentrated the best units on the defense of Perekop. On the night of November 8, when the country celebrated the third anniversary of October, the 15th and 52nd rifle divisions and the 153rd and separate brigade The 51st Rifle Division, in a piercing frost, drowning in the swamps of Sivash, being shot by artillery and machine-gun fire, dragging machine guns and guns, attacked the Lithuanian Peninsula. Early in the morning of November 8, they reached the White trenches and, breaking through the wire, drove out the troops of General Fostikov with bayonets (it was a detachment of Kuban with two machine guns).

Silence reigned in the artillery positions under the Turkish Wall. Thick fog covered the Turkish Wall. The tension grew. Continuous inquiries from the Lithuanian peninsula: "What's the matter?"

At nine o'clock the fog slowly cleared and all our 65 guns opened rapid fire. From the Turkish Wall, the whites bombarded us with fire. The seven-kilometer space under the rampart and on the rampart turned into a continuous sea of ​​craters. At about 12 o'clock the shock regiments and the 152nd brigades with the 453rd regiment rushed to the assault. Bearing huge losses, they approached the Turkish Wall faster and closer. On the Lithuanian Peninsula, the Whites attack the 13th and 34th divisions (I remind you that the divisions of the Russian Army were three regiments, and the Reds had nine regiments, with one cavalry regiment per division. By this time, these two of our divisions were no more than two battalions ). At about 18:00 we attack the Turkish Wall again. Armored cars are in the forefront. At the very ditch, unexpectedly encountering a wire, the infantry stopped again. A whole day of unparalleled combat had not yet brought victory, but the goal was already close. About 200 white guns and up to 400 machine guns hit our units.

(The number of guns in our sector is ten times exaggerated, and the number of machine guns is exaggerated four times. Only two Kornilov shock regiments occupied the Perekop rampart, and the third regiment faced east, to the Sivash, to protect against a strike from there).

During the battle on October 26 / November 8, the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment lost 8 people killed and 40 wounded. 35 horses were killed. All wounds were from artillery fire.

October 27/November 9. The Kornilov Shock Division left the Perekop rampart by one o'clock and retreated to the Yushun positions. The night was dark and starless. The battalion of Colonel Troshin was left in the rearguard of the division, which also left the Perekop rampart by one o'clock. This is how it is written in the book “Kornilovsky Shock Regiment”: “In the evening of October 26, Art. Art. Colonel Levitov summoned Colonel Troshin and told him that with the onset of darkness the entire Kornilov Shock Division was ordered to withdraw to the Yushun positions, and his 2nd battalion was assigned to the rearguard. In order not to discover your withdrawal in front of the enemy, it is necessary to last moment shoot rifles. The impregnable Perekop shaft began to empty. Machine guns are taken away, companies leave one after another. Colonel Troshin stretched his battalion through the trenches. The ominous silence was occasionally broken by a single shot. Finally, the 2nd Battalion withdrew. Without a single spark of cigarettes, the Kornilovites passed through the Armenian Bazaar and, late at night, were drawn into the first line of the Yushun fortifications.

The combat logs of all three regiments of the Kornilov Shock Division noted that these fortifications were poorly adapted for defense.

Let's see how this assault on the Perekop positions illuminates Blucher's headquarters: “At night, at about 24 hours (October 26/November 8), Frunze orders the attack to be resumed and demands that the rampart be captured at all costs. Again, we throw the exhausted units on the assault, and at about 3 o'clock on October 27 / November 9, impregnable Perekop fell.

In fact, Perekop was abandoned by the Kornilovites without a fight and even before the Reds approached, according to the order of October 26 November, at 24 o'clock.

It is interesting what Blucher wrote in his reports to the commander of the 6th the Soviet army about the reasons for the failure of the assault on the Perekop fortifications: “It was not possible to take the Perekop fortified position by raid. The enemy provided himself, although with a small garrison, but equipped with a colossal materiel. The positions are adapted to the tactical conditions of the terrain. This makes the isthmus almost impregnable.”

In one chicly published history of the USSR, I read the same fabrication about the storming of the Perekop fortifications, where the Reds allegedly smoked out officers with bombs and flamethrowers from concrete fortifications, which in fact did not exist on the Perekop shaft, just as there was no “LEGENDARY STORM OF PEREKOPSKY VALA RED" at 3 o'clock on October 27/November 9.

28 of October. At dawn the enemy large forces, with the support of heavy artillery fire, went on the offensive on the front of the division. Despite the small number of the regiment and the fatigue of people from long and difficult transitions, accompanied by continuous and overwhelming battles, the regiment with courage held back the onslaught. However, the right-flank 1st regiment was driven out of the first line by the attack of the Reds from the side of the Drozdov Rifle Division, the 3rd regiment was under threat of a strike from the rear. At this time, the temporary commander of the division, General Peshnya, took an armored car from the 2nd regiment and ordered by phone the 3rd and 2nd regiments to go over to the counterattack. I, the commander of the 2nd Regiment, dared to point out the danger of a penalty for the weak 3rd Regiment, and then the 2nd Regiment would be pressed against the bay, but at that time I was informed that the 3rd Regiment was already moving beyond the wire to attack.

I then considered the attack unnecessary and risky, but the inappropriate haste of the commander of the 3rd regiment made it necessary to expose his regiment to the bullets of the Reds, and not to throw them back again with the force of his fire. When the 2nd regiment went beyond the wire, the 3rd regiment in a thin chain, led by its regiment commander, Colonel Shcheglov, on horseback, was already moving towards the trenches of the enemy's red machine guns. The futility of the counterattack under the conditions that had been created for us weighed heavily on me. Shells and bullets also rained down on the 2nd Regiment, which calmly and unanimously went on the counterattack. Busy with the fate of my regiment, I did not pay attention to the actions of the 3rd regiment, but when I looked at its sector, I saw a sad picture of its retreat, now without the regiment commander wounded in this sortie. Here I also ordered to retreat under the cover of machine guns to my trenches.

Passing through the barbed wire, I stopped to take another look at the situation in the sector of the 3rd Regiment, but here my command of the valiant 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment came to an end. The bullet hit me in the left groin, piercing through a thick bag of cards, and stopped in the spine of the spine. She knocked me off my horse, paralyzing both legs almost instantly. After 8 years, in Bulgaria, Dr. Berzin performed an operation on me and presented me with a Russian pointed bullet with a bent end as a memory of the Motherland, which inflicted the thirteenth wound on me in the struggle for honor and dignity. national RUSSIA. Simultaneously with me, my assistant Colonel Lysan, Anton Evtikhievich, was also wounded, also in the groin, but right through. Colonel Troshin took command of the regiment, Captain Vozovik became his assistant.

In this fight of faces commanders were wounded: General Peshnya, who temporarily commanded the division, and the commander of the Kornilov artillery brigade, General Erogin, took temporary command of the division; the commander of the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment, Colonel Gordeenko, and the regiment was received by Lieutenant Colonel Shirkovskiy; the commander of the 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment, Colonel Shcheglov and his assistant Colonel Pooh, and the regiment was received by Colonel Minervin.

Despite the failure, the division still held on to its sector.

In the book: “Markovites in battles and campaigns for RUSSIA”, p. 345, they paint a picture of their approach to the right flank of our division to replace us and incorrectly indicate the distribution of regiments that actually occupied the sectors as follows: on the right flank of the division, up to Lake Salt, stood the 1st regiment, to the left - the 3rd regiment, and on the very left flank stood the 2nd regiment, to the very Perekop Bay.

On October 28, General Wrangel gathered representatives of the Russian and foreign press and informed them of the situation, saying: “The army that fought not only for the honor and freedom of the Motherland, but also for the common cause of world culture and civilization, the army that had just stopped the bloody the hand of the Moscow executioners, abandoned by the whole world, bled to death. A handful of naked, hungry, exhausted heroes continue to defend the last span native land. Their forces are coming to an end, and not today, so tomorrow they can be thrown into the sea. They will hold out to the end, saving those who seek protection behind their bayonets. I have taken all measures to take out in case of misfortune everyone who is in danger of massacre. I have the right to hope that those states for whose common cause my Army fought will show hospitality to the unfortunate exiles.

29th of October at dawn, under strong pressure from the enemy, the Kornilov Shock Division, according to the order, began to retreat to Yushun. From there, due to the complicated situation, the division retreats further south, along the Yushun-Simferopol-Sevastopol road.

* * *

After describing the last battles for Perekop and leaving the Crimea by us according to our data, we should also be interested in the view of our enemy on this, which I take from the Russian Thought newspaper of December 7, 1965, set out in an article by D. Prokopenko.

CAPTURE OF PEREKOP

For the forty-fifth anniversary.

The 6th Soviet Army, which stormed the Perekop-Yushun positions of the Whites in November 1920, was commanded by Kork (1887-1937). An Estonian by birth, he graduated in 1908 from Chuguev military school, and in 1914 - the Academy of the General Staff. In the old Army, he had the rank of lieutenant colonel (I insert: in 1937 he was shot for his service in the Red Army. Now, probably, he has been recorded in the synodic of the red commanders-in-chief: “repressed”, “rehabilitated”). On the capture of Perekop and the Yushun positions, Kork made a report at the Yekaterinoslav garrison military scientific audience on November 1, 1921 (“Stages of the Long Way”, military publishing house of the USSR Ministry of Defense, Moscow, 1963),

“The troops of the 6th Army approached Perekop on the evening of October 29th. The 1st and 2nd cavalry, the 4th and the 13th armies poured into the 4th army approached the area of ​​​​the Chongar Peninsula a few days later. The positions of the whites were divided into three groups: the Turkish Wall (the main fortifications), then - a number of Yushun positions (their strength is in depth), and to the east - the Sivash positions, along the southern bank of the Sivash ( of the rotten sea), these fortifications were weak. The White Command did not mean that northwestern part Sivash was dry. The summer and autumn of 1920 were dry, there were almost no winds from the east, and the water therefore went to the southeast. Information about this state of the sea began to arrive at the red headquarters only after October 29.

Side forces. In total, Wrangel had up to 13,500 infantry fighters, up to 6,000 cavalry fighters, about 750 machine guns, 160 guns and 43 armored cars on the Perekop Isthmus (I ask the reader to pay attention to the fact that Perekop at that time was occupied by only two regiments of the Kornilovskaya The shock division, the 3rd regiment was in reserve, with a ledge back to the south, and the front to the Sivash, to protect our rear, and plus, all three regiments suffered huge losses during the retreat from the Dnieper and decreased by 2/3 of their small strength , that is, in total, the division had no more than 1.200 bayonets. Machine guns in three regiments could have no more than STA, and as for our Kornilov artillery brigade, from its composition, three divisions in last fight for Perekop, some of them were taken to repel the attacks of the Reds from the side of Sivash. There were no cavalry at Perekop, not even our regimental cavalry squadrons. In general, the commander of the 6th Red Army greatly exaggerated our forces at Perekop with purpose increase the merits of his army, when in fact our fate was then decided by Pilsudski with the support of France by making peace, as during the battle of Orel, when Pilsudski concluded a truce with Lenin, and the Red Army crushed us with its colossal superiority. Colonel Levitov).

Red forces: 34,833 infantry, 4,352 cavalry, 965 machine guns, 165 guns, 3 tanks, 14 armored cars and 7 aircraft.

If we compare the forces of the parties, Kork reports, then our numerical superiority over Wrangel immediately catches the eye: we outnumbered him more than twice in infantry, while Wrangel had more cavalry, but here we must take into account the presence of the 1st and 2nd and cavalry armies, which could be transferred at any time to the Perekop Isthmus in order to force it and advance to the Crimea. As for the artillery, in total the enemy seemed to have superiority, but his artillery was extremely scattered. If we compare the number of artillery in the strike directions, then the superiority in artillery was on our side.

So, comparing the number of parties, it should be recognized that a huge superiority was on our side.

The high red command believed that the struggle for Perekop would be positional, as in an "imperialist" war. But, having learned that the northwestern part of the Sivash was passable, the commander of the 6th decided to deliver the main blow through the Sivash and the Lithuanian Peninsula to Armyansk. Preparation for the operation was as follows; 2 brigades of the 51st Infantry Division were to strike at the Turkish Wall, and the other two brigades from the 1st Cavalry would advance around the right flank of the Whites occupying the Perekop Isthmus. The 52nd and 15th divisions were to go behind enemy lines through the Sivash and the Lithuanian Peninsula. The Latvian division was left in the army reserve.

Hostilities began on the night of November 7-8. Due to fog, the 51st Division began artillery preparation along the Turkish Wall at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at 2 o'clock the attackers began to cut the wire, but were repulsed by concentrated white fire. In the renewed attack at 18 o'clock, the Reds suffered heavy losses and retreated. The White counterattack overturned the Red Brigade (153rd), which bypassed their right flank.

On the night of November 7-8, other red units begin an offensive on the Lithuanian Peninsula and move deeper into it, despite vigorous counterattacks by white infantry with armored vehicles.

So, by 18 o'clock on November 8, the Reds had no success either in front of the Turkish cash, or on the Lithuanian peninsula, since the Whites went over to counterattacks all the time. But the exit of two rifle divisions to the flank and rear of the Whites, who occupied the Turkish Wall, created a critical situation for them. The Red Command gives the order to storm the shaft with two brigades, and the rest of the units - to strike in the direction of Armyansk. The assault on the rampart began at 2 am (152nd rifle and fire brigades), but only the rearguards of the whites remained on it, who had already begun their retreat ... The Turkish rampart was taken without heavy losses (no losses at all).

On the morning of November 9, stubborn battles began everywhere, but the reserves of the Whites (with Barbovich's cavalry) could not delay the advance of the Reds. The 51st division on the evening of November 9 approached the first line of the Yushun positions ... Breakthrough of the Yushun positions on November 10 and 11. Here begins a series of decisive battles on which the fate of the Crimea depends. In his order, General Barbovich says: “There cannot be a single step back, this is unacceptable according to general environment we must die, but not retreat." Taking part in the breakthrough: the 51st, 52nd and 15th rifle divisions, and then the Latvian. Kork, in view of the severe frosts and the lack of fresh water in this zone, orders all the Yushun police to pass in one day, regardless of losses. The task was not completed completely, but nevertheless, on November 10, the 51st division broke through three lines, here the white defenders were supported by artillery from ships (as the commander of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, which occupied the leftmost flank of the white positions, to the very Perekop Bay, I testify, that the shooting of our ships in these battles I did not see and did not hear about it. Colonel Levitov),

On the left flank, they were able to capture only the first fortified line. On the morning of November 11, the Latvian and 51st rifle divisions attacked the last line and broke through it. A number of White attacks could not stop the movement, and the Reds occupied railway station Yushun around 9 o'clock in the morning. On the left flank of the Reds, the Whites were preparing a decisive blow to eliminate the offensive. Furious attacks alternated on both sides. At about 11 o'clock, the white units, with the support of the officers (which then no longer existed) of the Kornilov and Drozdov divisions, resumed counterattacks and pressed the reds. Then Cork orders two brigades to hit the rear. The resistance of the whites was broken and they began a gradual retreat ... "- The operation to capture the Perekop-Yushun positions by the evening of November 11 was completed," says Kork, "and at the same time the fate of the Wrangel army was decided." Further movement deep into the Crimea went without fighting.

According to Cork, the losses of the Reds are 45 officers and 605 Red Army soldiers. He explains such small losses by combining maneuver with an attack and the swiftness of the offensive, which did not allow the enemy to put his units in order. The general goal - the destruction of the enemy - was not achieved, since the cavalry did not break through in time Kork this could not be, and the Soviet Marshal Blucher seemed to have a different opinion about the same battles.In the book "Marshal Blucher", p. 199, in the order for the 51st Moscow Division of November 9, 1920 No. , the village of Chaplinka, § 4, about the losses during the capture of Perekop, it says this: "The brigade commanders act decisively, the main obstacles are in our hands. Remember that the energy is in the pursuit REWARD FOR HEAVY LOSSES, suffered in the battles for the impregnable positions of the Turkish Wall. Signed: Division Commander of the 51st Blucher, Commander of the General Staff Dadyak. So, according to the Reds, they stormed the Perekop shaft in THREE hours November 9, knocking us out of concrete fortifications, when we didn’t have any at all, and there was no one to knock out, since the last battalion of Colonel Troshin left the rampart by order at 24:00 on 8 November. I also dare, even in my modest position as commander of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, which then defended the left side of the Perekop rampart, to assure Comrade Kork that the losses just in front of the rampart should be ten times greater. It would not be worth it to especially regret Kork that they did not exterminate us, but they saved the prepared gas cylinders in case General Wrangel did not appreciate the hopelessness of our situation and would not prepare ships for the patriots of RUSSIA who want to leave their homeland. And yet one has to believe that retribution exists: the illustrious Soviet heroes Cork and Blucher deservedly received from their leader a bullet in the back of the head for treason in these battles. Colonel Levitov).

But the next two years of the civil war did not advance the first holder of the Order of the Red Banner. While the red marshals became famous - Tukhachevsky in the Urals "Soviet Marne", Voroshilov on the Don with the defense of the "Red Verdun", Kotovsky in the battles near St. glory did not come.

Commanding the 30th division, he fought against the Czechs on the Volga, at the head of the 51st against Kolchak in Siberia; these are secondary roles, in which Blucher showed himself to be a decisive commander. But only at the end of the civil war, when the Kremlin was left with the only internal front - the Crimea - Blucher made a noise, linking his name with the epic assault on the Perekop positions.

This was the last battle of the enemies. The main masses of the Whites have already been thrown into the Black Sea; the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the South of Russia, General Denikin, sailed across the Mediterranean to England; in Constantinople, the monarchists shot dead his chief of staff, General Romanovsky. All devastated Russia stood in red fire. And only in the Crimea did General Baron Wrangel settle down.

All on Wrangel! All to the Crimea! - and 100 thousand red bayonets and sabers moved across the steppes of Tavria.

Deprived of the support of the Entente, Baron Pyotr Wrangel feverishly fortified the narrow Perekop Isthmus - the entrance to the Crimea - making it impregnable to the enemy. For six months they dug here one line of trenches after another, installed heavy artillery, wove wire, built machine-gun nests so that there were 50 machine guns per thousand fighters; used all technical means Sevastopol fortress. And when the Reds approached the Crimea, Baron Wrangel already considered Perekop impregnable.

Behind the lines of fortifications of steel the best troops- 1st Army of General Kutepov, 2nd General Abramov, Don Cossacks; the best cavalry masses drew up.

In August 1920, in the autumn steppes of Tavria, the first battles began to capture the Kakhovka bridgehead.

At the head of the 51st division, carrying out the most important task of the offensive, Blucher went on the attack at Chaplinka and Kakhovka. On a broad front, at full height, without dashes, under destructive shrapnel and machine-gun fire, dressed in red shirts, were the Blucherites; on the fly they took possession of the height at the Kulikovsky farm. Stunned by such an attack, White surrendered the high ground, but, having recovered, rushed to the counterattack. It was a terrible fight. Several times the height passed from the Blucherites to the Whites. Both the red Blucher and the white Kutepov fully appreciated each other - at night both retreated to their original positions.

It was September. Frosts have begun. It snowed. In desperate battles, the Whites surrendered position after position to the Reds who had piled on, and at the end of the month the defense of the Kakhovka bridgehead collapsed. Now the Whites offered their last resistance on the narrow Perekop Isthmus, in terribly fortified positions.

Frosts went unprecedented, in November they were already at 20 degrees. Half-torn reds and whites wrapped themselves in all sorts of rags, warming themselves by stuffing straw under their shirts. But behind the Reds was already - northern Tavria, and breakdown and despair crept into the whites.

The Lithuanian peninsula stood out as a dark stripe from the dark waters. Here at Perekop further military glory awaited Blucher. On the 8th, on the outskirts of the Lithuanian Peninsula, the battle for the Perekop Isthmus began. Gloomy, steep Turkish rampart, rising above the plane of the sea, like a wall blocking the entrance to the Crimea. After mastering the approaches, the Reds rushed into a frontal assault on the Turkish Wall. The Reds went on attack after attack, but all attacks ended in failure.

Since dawn there was an incessant rumble of artillery. Verse in the evening. But the denouement has not yet come. The Whites pulled together everything they could, even the personal convoy of the commander-in-chief went into battle.

Night rolled over the sea, over the Sivash, over the fields strewn with corpses, over the fortifications of the isthmus. That night, Blucher moved with three divisions, machine guns, artillery along the bottom of the Sivash - to the flank and rear of the enemy.

In the cold, the Red Army men in only their tunics shivered; no fire was ordered, and the troops marched in the dark on this madness-like operation.

Blucher's troops broke away from the shore for seven miles. In the seven-verst space there is not a fold, nothing that would allow the artillery to hide or get into a closed position. You can't dig trenches on a wet bottom. Common sense he said: if the troops are late, do not approach the enemy before dawn, the whites will put everyone at the bottom of the Sivash with machine guns. But Blucher was not only worried about the dawn.

I'm not afraid of Kutepov, - he said to the chief of staff Triandafilov. - I'm afraid of Sivash. When the water begins to rise, what then? ..

Then Wrangel will spend the winter in the Crimea, - answered the chief of staff.

When the last 459th regiment of the Blucher group set out from Vladimirovka, Blucher, with his headquarters, rode after the troops on horseback. Troops bogged down, hurried along the bottom, with a quick march, in order to go behind enemy lines before the matinee.

Sivash dried up, blown by the winds. There was no water yesterday or the day before. But not only Blucher, all the hurrying Red Army men, when they were already halfway, noticed that the wind had changed, it was blowing from the east. On the left flank of the parts passing the Sivash, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov tilted - water appeared. The water was coming. The elements were against the Reds. Blucher hurried parts. Water already filled the ruts to the wheels of the guns, the wheels bogged down to the axles. And when the last infantry, having entered the peninsula, rushed to the assault, the sea stood behind the Reds.

White fire raged ahead with fiery explosions. It was the fiercest battle in the entire civil war. Seeing the Blucherites cut off by the sea, the Reds rushed from the front to the Turkish Wall, head-on. And no matter how the whites resisted, Blucher decided the battle.

In the attacks, one after another, the lines of white fell. Crimea opened. White began a hasty retreat. And the Reds, with Blucher warheads, rushed into the open defeated peninsula.

Blucher received the second Order of the Red Banner. Glory came to Blucher for the second time.

On August 28, 1920, the Southern Front, having a significant superiority of forces over the enemy, went on the offensive and by October 31 defeated Wrangel's forces in Northern Tavria. Soviet troops captured up to 20 thousand prisoners, more than 100 guns, many machine guns, tens of thousands of shells, up to 100 locomotives, 2 thousand wagons and other property.

In April 1920, Poland began a war against Soviet Russia. fighting on the Soviet-Polish front passed from mixed success and ended with the conclusion in October of an armistice and preliminary peace treaty.

The Polish offensive rekindled the fading civil war. Wrangel units went on the offensive in southern Ukraine. Revolutionary Military Council Soviet Republic issued an order to establish the Southern Front against Wrangel. As a result heavy fighting Soviet troops stopped the enemy.

On August 28, 1920, the Southern Front, having a significant superiority of forces over the enemy, went on the offensive and by October 31 defeated Wrangel's forces in Northern Tavria. "Our units," Wrangel recalled, "suffered severe losses in the dead, wounded and frostbite. A significant number were left prisoners ...". (White business. The last commander in chief. M .: Voice, 1995. S. 292.)

Soviet troops captured up to 20 thousand prisoners, more than 100 guns, many machine guns, tens of thousands of shells, up to 100 locomotives, 2 thousand wagons and other property. (Kuzmin T.V. The defeat of the interventionists and the White Guards in 1917-1920. M., 1977. S. 368.) However, the most combat-ready units of the Whites managed to escape to the Crimea, where they sat behind the Perekop and Chongar fortifications, which, according to command and foreign authorities, were impregnable positions.

Frunze assessed them as follows: “The Perekop and Chongar isthmus and the southern coast of the Sivash connecting them represented one common network of fortified positions erected in advance, reinforced by natural and artificial obstacles and barriers. special attention and care improved by Wrangel. Both Russian and French military engineers took part in their construction, using the entire experience of the imperialist war in the construction. "(Frunze M.V. Selected works. M., 1950. S. 228-229.)

The main line of defense at Perekop ran along the Turkish Wall (length - up to 11 km, height 10 m and ditch depth 10 m) with 3 lines of wire barriers in 3-5 stakes in front of the ditch. The second line of defense, 20-25 km away from the first, was the heavily fortified Ishun position, which had 6 lines of trenches covered with barbed wire. Up to 5-6 lines of trenches and trenches with barbed wire were created in the Chongar direction and the Arabat Spit. Only the defense of the Lithuanian Peninsula was relatively weak: one line of trenches and barbed wire. These fortifications, according to Wrangel, made "access to the Crimea extremely difficult ...". (White business. S. 292.) The main grouping of Wrangel's troops, with a strength of up to 11 thousand bayonets and sabers (including reserves), defended the Perekop Isthmus. On the Chongar and Sivash sectors of the front, the Wrangel command concentrated about 2.5-3 thousand people. Over 14 thousand people were left in the reserve of the main command and were close to the isthmuses in readiness to strengthen the Perekop and Chongar directions. Part of the Wrangel troops (6-8 thousand people) fought with the partisans and could not participate in the battles on the Southern Front. Thus, the total number of Wrangel's army, located in the Crimea, was about 25-28 thousand soldiers and officers. It had more than 200 guns, of which many were heavy, 45 armored vehicles and tanks, 14 armored trains and 45 aircraft.

The troops of the Southern Front had 146.4 thousand bayonets, 40.2 thousand sabers, 985 guns, 4435 machine guns, 57 armored vehicles, 17 armored trains and 45 aircraft (Soviet military encyclopedia. T.6. M.: Military Publishing House, 1978. S. 286; there are other data on the number and composition of the Wrangel troops), that is, they had a significant superiority in forces over the enemy. However, they had to operate in extremely difficult conditions, to break through the powerful echeloned defense of the Wrangelites.

Initially, Frunze planned to deliver the main blow in the Chongar direction with the forces of the 4th Army (commander V.C. Lazarevich), the 1st Cavalry Army (commander S.M. Budyonny) and the 3rd Cavalry Corps (commander N.D. Kashirin), but from - due to the impossibility of support from the sea by the Azov flotilla, it was transferred to the Perekop direction by the forces of the 6th Army (commander A.I. Kork), 1st and 2nd (commander F.K. Mironov) Cavalry Armies, 4th Army and the 3rd cavalry corps delivered an auxiliary blow to Chongar.

The greatest difficulty was the assault on the defense of the Wrangel troops in the Perekop direction. The command of the Southern Front decided to attack them simultaneously from two sides: with one part of the forces - from the front, in the forehead of the Perekop positions, and the other, after forcing the Sivash from the Lithuanian Peninsula, - in their flank and rear. The latter was crucial to the success of the operation.

On the night of November 7-8, the 15th, 52nd rifle divisions, 153rd rifle and cavalry brigade The 51st divisions began crossing the Sivash. The assault group of the 15th division went first. The movement through the "Rotten Sea" lasted about three hours and took place in the most difficult conditions. Impenetrable mud sucked people and horses. Frost (up to 12-15 degrees below zero) fettered wet clothes. The wheels of the guns and wagons cut deep into the muddy bottom. The horses were exhausted, and often the fighters themselves had to pull out guns and ammunition carts stuck in the mud.

Having made an eight-kilometer transition, the Soviet units reached the northern tip of the Lithuanian Peninsula, broke through the wire barriers, defeated the Kuban brigade of General M.A. Fostikov and cleared almost the entire Lithuanian Peninsula from the enemy. Parts of the 15th and 52nd divisions reached the Perekop isthmus and moved to the Ishun positions. The counterattack launched on the morning of November 8 by the 2nd and 3rd infantry regiments of the Drozdov division was repulsed.

On the same day, the 13th and 34th Infantry Divisions of the 2nd army corps General V.K. Vitkovsky was attacked by the 15th and 52nd Rifle Divisions and after fierce fighting forced them to retreat to the Lithuanian Peninsula. The Wrangelites managed to hold the southern exits from the Lithuanian peninsula until the night of November 8. (History of military art. Collection of materials. Issue IV. T.I. M .: Military Publishing House, 1953. S. 481.)

The offensive of the main forces of the 51st division under the command of V.K. Blucher on the Turkish Wall on November 8 was repulsed by the Wrangelites. Its parts lay down in front of the moat, at the bottom of the northern slope of which there was a wire fence.

The situation in the area of ​​the main attack of the Southern Front became more complicated. At that time, in the Chongar direction, preparations were still underway for forcing the Sivash. The offensive of the forward units of the 9th Infantry Division along the Arabat Spit was stopped by artillery fire from the Wrangel ships.

The command of the Southern Front takes decisive measures to ensure the success of the operation, the 7th Cavalry Division and the group of rebel troops N.I. Makhno under the command of S. Karetnikov (ibid., p. 482) (about 7 thousand people) crossed the Sivash to reinforce the 15th and 52nd divisions. The 16th cavalry division of the 2nd cavalry. On the night of November 9, units of the 51st Infantry Division launched the fourth assault on the Turkish Wall, broke the resistance of the Wrangel troops and captured it.

The battle moved to the Ishun positions, where the command of the Russian army of Wrangel sought to detain the Soviet troops. On the morning of November 10, stubborn battles began on the outskirts of the positions, which continued until November 11. On the sector of the 15th and 52nd rifle divisions, Wrangel tried to take the initiative into his own hands, launching a counterattack on November 10 with the forces of the cavalry corps of General I.G. Barbovich and the remnants of units of the 13th, 34th and Drozdov infantry divisions. They managed to throw back the 15th and 52nd rifle divisions to the southwestern tip of the Lithuanian peninsula, jeopardize the coverage of the flank of the 51st and the Latvian divisions deployed here, which approached the third line of trenches of the Ishun position.

The 16th and 7th cavalry divisions entered the battle against Barbovich's cavalry corps, which stopped the enemy's cavalry and threw it back to the line of fortifications.

On the night of November 11, the 30th Infantry Division (commanded by N.K. Gryaznov) launched an assault on the Chongar fortified positions and by the end of the day, having broken the enemy’s resistance, had overcome all three lines of fortifications. Parts of the division began to bypass the Ishun positions, which affected the course of the fighting near the Ishun positions themselves. On the night of November 11, the last line of the Ishun fortified position was broken through by the 51st rifle and Latvian divisions. On the morning of November 11, the 151st brigade of the 51st division successfully repelled a counterattack by the Terek-Astrakhan Wrangel brigade in the area of ​​the Ishun station, and then a fierce bayonet attack by the Kornilov and Markovites, undertaken on the outskirts of the station. By the evening of November 11, Soviet troops broke through all the fortifications of the Wrangelites. "The situation was becoming formidable," Wrangel recalled, "the hours remaining at our disposal to complete preparations for the evacuation were numbered." (White business, p. 301.) On the night of November 12, Wrangel's troops began to retreat everywhere to the ports of Crimea.

On November 11, 1920, Frunze, seeking to avoid further bloodshed, turned to Wrangel on the radio with a proposal to stop resistance and promised amnesty to those who laid down their arms. Wrangel did not answer him. (History of the Civil War in the USSR. V.5. M.: Politizdat, 1960. S. 209.)

Through the open gates, the red cavalry rushed into the Crimea, chasing the Wrangels, who managed to break away by 1-2 transitions. On November 13, units of the 1st Cavalry and 6th armies liberated Simferopol, and on the 15th - Sevastopol. The troops of the 4th Army entered Feodosia that day. On November 16, the Red Army liberated Kerch, on the 17th - Yalta. For 10 days of the operation, the entire Crimea was liberated.

Victory Soviet troops over Wrangel was won at a heavy price. Only during the assault on Perekop and Chongar, the troops of the Southern Front lost 10 thousand people killed and wounded. The divisions that distinguished themselves during the assault on the Crimean fortifications were given honorary titles: the 15th - "Sivashskaya", the 30th rifle and 6th cavalry - "Chongarskaya", the 51st - "Perekopskaya".

The defeat of Wrangel ended the period of foreign military intervention and civil war in Soviet Russia.