During brilliant operation broke into the defense of the White Guards of Wrangel at Perekop, broke into the Crimea and defeated the enemy. The defeat of Wrangel is traditionally considered the end of the Civil War in Russia.

In the Civil War, which engulfed the territory of the former Russian Empire, it was not enough for military leaders to master all the intricacies of military art. It was no less, and perhaps more important, to win over local population, to convince the troops of the loyalty of the defended political ideals. That is why in the Red Army, for example, L. D. Trotsky comes to the fore - a man, it would seem, by his origin and education far from military affairs. However, his one speech to the troops could give them more than the wisest orders of the generals. During the war, military leaders are also put forward, whose main merits were the suppression of rebellions, real robber raids. Glorified by many historians, Tukhachevsky fought, for example, with the peasants in Tambov province, Kotovsky was really the "Bessarabian Robin Hood", etc. But even among the red commanders there were real experts in military affairs, whose operations are still considered exemplary. Naturally, this talent had to be combined with extensive propaganda work. Such was Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze. The capture of Perekop, the defeat of Wrangel's forces in the Crimea are first-class military operations.

* * *

By the spring of 1920, the Red Army had already achieved significant results in the fight against the Whites. On April 4, 1920, the remnants of the White Guards concentrated in the Crimea were led by General Wrangel, who replaced Denikin as commander-in-chief. The Wrangel troops, reorganized into the so-called "Russian Army", were consolidated into four corps, with a total number of over 30 thousand people. These were well-trained, armed and disciplined troops with a significant stratum of officers. They were supported by the warships of the Entente. Wrangel's army, according to Lenin's definition, was better armed than all previously beaten White Guard groups. FROM Soviet side Wrangel was opposed by the 13th Army, which by the beginning of May 1920 had only 12,500 soldiers and was much worse armed.

When planning an offensive, the Whites sought, first of all, to destroy the 13th Army, which was acting against them in Northern Tavria, replenish here at the expense of the local peasantry their units and deploy military operations in the Donbass, on the Don and Kuban. Wrangel proceeded from the fact that the main forces of the Soviets were concentrated on the Polish front, so he did not expect serious resistance in Northern Tavria.

The offensive of the White Guards began on June 6, 1920 with a landing under the command of General Slashchev near the village. Kirillovka on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov. On June 9, the Wrangel troops occupied Melitopol. At the same time there was an offensive from the area of ​​Perekop and Chongar. The Red Army units retreated. Wrangel was stopped on the line Kherson - Nikopol - Veliky Tokmak - Berdyansk. To help the 13th Army, the Soviet command abandoned the 2nd Cavalry Army, created on July 16, 1920. The 51st Rifle Division under the command of V. Blucher and other units were redeployed from Siberia.

In August 1920, Wrangel agreed to negotiate with the government of the UNR, whose troops were fighting in Western Ukraine. (Russians from the central provinces made up only 20% of Wrangel's army. Half were from Ukraine, 30% were Cossacks.) The White Guards also tried to enlist the support of the Makhnovists by sending a delegation to them with a proposal for joint action in the fight against the Red Army. However, Makhno resolutely refused any negotiations and even ordered the execution of the parliamentarian Captain Mikhailov.

Makhno's relations with the Red Army developed differently. At the end of September, an agreement was concluded between the government of the Ukrainian SSR and the Makhnovists on joint actions against Wrangel. Makhno put forward political demands: after the defeat of Wrangel, autonomy should be granted to the Gulyai-Polye region, allowed to freely propagate anarchist ideas, release anarchists and Makhnovists from Soviet prisons, and help the rebels with ammunition and equipment. The Ukrainian leaders promised to discuss all this with Moscow. As a result of the agreement, a well-trained combat unit was at the disposal of the Southern Front. In addition, troops that had previously been diverted by the fight against the rebels were also sent to fight against Wrangel.

counteroffensive Soviet troops began on the night of August 7th. The 15th, 52nd and Latvian divisions crossed the Dnieper and entrenched themselves in the bridgehead near Kakhovka on the left bank. Thus, the Red Army created a threat to the flank and rear of the Whites in Northern Tavria. On September 21, the Southern Front was created, which was headed by M.V. Frunze, who showed himself excellently in the fight against Kolchak, in Turkestan, etc. The Southern Front included the 6th Army (commander - Kork), 13th ( commander - Uborevich) and the 2nd Cavalry Mironov. At the end of October, the newly created 4th Army (commander Lazarevich) and the 1st Cavalry Budyonny, which arrived from the Polish front, were included in it. The front had 99.5 thousand bayonets, 33.6 thousand sabers, 527 guns. By this time there were 44 thousand Wrangels, they had a great advantage in military equipment. In mid-September, as a result of a new offensive by the White Guard, they managed to capture Aleksandrovsk, Sinelnikovo, Mariupol. However, this offensive was soon stopped, the Whites failed to liquidate the Kakhovka bridgehead of the Reds, as well as to gain a foothold on the Right Bank. By mid-October, the Wrangelites went over to the defensive along the entire front, and on the 29th began offensive Soviet troops from the Kakhovka bridgehead. The losses of the whites were great, but the remnants of their troops broke through Chongar to the Crimea. Parts of the 4th, 13th and 2nd Cavalry armies did not have time to support the Budennovites, who were called upon to prevent this breakthrough. The White Guards broke through battle formations The 14th and 4th cavalry divisions and on the night of November 2 retreated beyond the isthmus. M. V. Frunze reported to Moscow: “... for all the significance of the defeat inflicted on the enemy, most of his cavalry and a certain part of the infantry in the face of the main divisions managed to escape partly through the Chongar Peninsula and partly through the Arabat Spit, where, due to the inexcusable negligence of Budyonny's cavalry, the bridge across the Genichsky Strait was not blown up.

Behind the first-class Perekop and Chongar fortifications, built with the help of French and English engineers, the Wrangelites hoped to spend the winter, and in the spring of 1921 continue the fight. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), believing that another season of war could lead to the collapse of the young regime, gave the military command a directive to take the Crimea at any cost before the onset of winter.

* * *

On the eve of the assault, Wrangel had 25-28 thousand soldiers and, and the number of the Red Army on the Southern Front was already about 100 thousand people. The Perekop and Chongar isthmuses and the southern coast of the Sivash connecting them were common network fortified positions erected in advance, reinforced by natural and artificial obstacles. The Turkish rampart on Perekop reached a length of 11 km, a height of 10 m. In front of the rampart there was a ditch 10 m deep. Germans in 1918 and in battles with Denikin in 1919. These fortifications were followed by fortified Ishun positions. Hundreds of machine guns, dozens of guns, tanks blocked the way for the Red troops. Four rows of mined barbed wire lay in front of the rampart. Should have stepped on open area, which was shot for several kilometers. Breaking through such a defense was unrealistic. No wonder Wrangel, who examined the positions, said that a new Verdun would take place here.

At first, given that the Perekop and Chongar isthmuses were strongly fortified, it was supposed to inflict main blow by the forces of the 4th Army from the Salkovo area with the simultaneous bypassing of the enemy defenses by an operational group consisting of the 3rd Cavalry Corps and the 9th rifle division through the Arabat arrow. This made it possible to withdraw troops into the depths Crimean peninsula and use the Azov military flotilla. In the future, by bringing into battle the cavalry (mobile) group of the front, it was supposed to develop success in the Chongar direction. This plan took into account a similar maneuver successfully carried out back in 1737 by Russian troops led by Field Marshal Lassi. However, to ensure this maneuver, it was necessary to defeat the White Guard fleet, which was supported by American, British and French warships. Enemy ships had the opportunity to approach the Arabat Spit and conduct flanking fire on Soviet troops. Therefore, two days before the start of the operation, the main blow was transferred to the Perekop direction.

The idea of ​​the Perekop-Chongar operation was to simultaneously attack the main forces of the 6th Army through the Sivash and the Lithuanian Peninsula, in cooperation with the frontal offensive of the 51st Division on the Turkish Wall, to break through the enemy’s first line of defense in the Perekop direction. An auxiliary strike was planned in the Chongar direction by the forces of the 4th Army. Subsequently, it was supposed to immediately defeat the enemy in parts at the Ishun positions, which made up the second lane enemy defense. Later on, by introducing into the breakthrough the mobile groups of the front (1st and 2nd Cavalry armies, Karetnikov's Makhnovist detachment) and the 4th army (3rd cavalry corps) to pursue the retreating enemy in the directions to Evpatoria, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Feodosia, not allowing him to be evacuated from the Crimea. The Crimean partisans under the command of Mokrousov were given the task of assisting the troops advancing from the front: to strike at the rear, disrupt communications and control, capture and hold the enemy’s most important communications centers.

From the villages of Stroganovka and Ivanovka to the Lithuanian Peninsula, the width of the Sivash is 8–9 km. For reconnaissance of the fords, local guides were invited - solarium Olenchuk from Stroganovka and shepherd Petrenko from Ivanovka.

Perekop-Chongar operation began on the day of the third anniversary October revolution- November 7, 1920 The wind drove the water into the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. The units allocated to the shock group of the 6th Army began to prepare for the night crossing of the bay. At 10 pm on November 7, in a 12-degree frost, the 45th brigade of the 15th Inza division entered Sivash from Stroganovka and disappeared in the fog.

At the same time, a column of the 44th brigade left the village of Ivanovka. To the right, two hours later, the 52nd Rifle Division began forcing. Orientation fires were lit on the shore, but after a kilometer they were hidden by fog. Tools got stuck, people helped the horses. At times I had to walk up to my chest in icy water. When about 6 km left behind, the wind suddenly changed direction, the water driven to Sea of ​​Azov, came back. At 2 am on November 8, the forward detachments reached the coast of the Lithuanian Peninsula. The enemy, who did not expect the advance of the Soviet troops through the Sivash, regrouped the troops that night. Soon both brigades of the 15th division entered the battle on the peninsula. When units of the 52nd division began to leave Sivash to the right, panic seized the whites. Unable to withstand the blow, they retreated to the previously prepared Ishun positions. Fostikov's 2nd Kuban Cavalry Brigade, which was defending in the first echelon, almost completely surrendered. The Drozdov division introduced into the counterattack suffered the same fate.

Having learned about the crossing of the strike group of the 6th Army, Wrangel urgently transferred the 34th Infantry Division and his closest reserve, the 15th Infantry Division, to this direction, reinforcing them with armored vehicles. However, they could not contain the offensive impulse of the strike group of the 6th Army, which rushed to the Ishun positions, to the rear of the enemy's Perekop grouping.

The Makhnovist detachments, united in the Crimean group of seven thousand, also played an important role. They also crossed the Sivash at a critical moment and, together with the Red units, broke into the Crimea.

At the same time, on the morning of November 8, the 51st Division was thrown to storm the fortifications on the Perekop Isthmus. After a 4-hour artillery preparation, units of the 51st division, with the support of armored vehicles, began the assault on the Turkish Wall. However, the fog placed the field artillery to overwhelm the enemy's batteries. Three times the units went on the attack, but, having suffered heavy losses, lay down in front of the moat. The offensive of the 9th Infantry Division along the Arabat Spit was thwarted by artillery fire from enemy ships. The water in Sivash continued to rise. At midnight on November 8, Frunze called Blucher to the phone and said: “The Sivash is flooded with water. Our parts on the Lithuanian peninsula can be cut off. Seize the rampart by all means." The fourth assault on the Turkish Wall was successful.

The defense of the Whites was finally broken on November 9th. During the assault on the Perekop positions, the Red Army suffered significant losses (in some units they reached 85%). The Wrangelites tried to stop the enemy advance at the Ishun positions, but on the night of November 10-11, the 30th Infantry Division by storm overcame the enemy’s stubborn defenses at Chongar and outflanked the Ishun positions. During the assault on the fortified positions of the enemy, the aviation of the Southern Front covered and supported the advancing troops in the Perekop and Chongar directions.

A group of aircraft under the command of the chief of the air fleet of the 4th Army, A.V. Vasiliev, with bomb attacks forced 8 enemy armored trains concentrated here to move away from the Taganash station and thereby ensured success for their troops.

On the morning of November 11, after a fierce night battle, the 30th Infantry Division, in cooperation with the 6th Cavalry Division, broke through the fortified positions of the Wrangelites and began to advance on Dzhankoy, and the 9th Infantry Division crossed the strait in the Genichesk area. At the same time, in the area of ​​​​Sudak was landed amphibious assault on boats, which, together with the Crimean partisans, launched hostilities behind enemy lines.

On the same day, on the radio, Frunze suggested that Wrangel lay down his arms, but the "black baron" remained silent. Wrangel ordered Barbovich's cavalry and the Donets to overturn the Red units that were leaving the Perekop Isthmus with a blow to the flank. But the cavalry group itself was attacked large forces red cavalry from the north in the area of ​​​​Voinka, where battered units were drawn up, soon also defeated by the 2nd Cavalry on the move. Wrangel was finally convinced that the days of his army were numbered. On November 12, he issued an emergency evacuation order.

Pursued by formations of the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Armies, Wrangel's troops hastily retreated to the ports of the Crimea. 13 November warriors 1st cavalry army and the 51st division took Simferopol, on November 15 Sevastopol and Feodosia were captured, and on the 16th - Kerch, Alushta and Yalta. This day is considered by many historians as the date of the end of the Civil War. Wrangel's army was completely defeated, part of the White Guards managed to board ships and sail to Turkey.

But the fighting with individual anti-Soviet formations continued for a long time. It was the turn of the Makhnovists. The operation to destroy them was prepared at the highest level. As early as November 20, two commanders of the Crimean group - Karetnikov and Gavrilenko - were summoned to Frunze in Melitopol, arrested and shot. On November 27, the Crimean group in the Evpatoria region was surrounded by Soviet divisions. The Makhnovists made their way through the ring, broke through Perekop and Sivash, reached the mainland, but near Tomashovka they ran into the Reds. After a short battle, out of 3,500 Makhnovist cavalrymen and 1,500 famous Makhnovist carts with machine guns, several hundred horsemen and 25 carts remained. Prior to this, on November 26, units of the Red Army surrounded Gulyaipole, where Makhno himself was with 3 thousand soldiers. The rebels managed to get out of the encirclement, connect with the remnants of the Crimean group and again turn into formidable force. After a fierce struggle that lasted throughout the first half of 1921, Makhno crossed the Soviet-Romanian border in September with a small group of supporters.

During the fighting against Wrangel (from October 28 to November 16, 1920), the troops of the Southern Front captured 52.1 thousand soldiers and the enemy, captured 276 guns, 7 armored trains, 15 armored vehicles, 10 locomotives and 84 ships different types. The divisions that distinguished themselves during the assault on the Crimean fortifications were given honorary titles: the 15th - Sivash, 30th Rifle and 6th Cavalry - Chongar, 51st - Perekop. For courage during the Perekop operation, all military personnel of the Southern Front were awarded a monthly salary. Many fighters and commanders were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Frunze's authority rose to unprecedented heights.

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 offered to leave the landlords' 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 main line 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 retreated rapidly, having managed to evacuate about 150 thousand military and civilians to Turkey and taking away 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

The armies of the Southern Front, having successfully completed the initial task set by them - the defeat of the living forces of the enemy north of the isthmuses, by the evening of November 3, they stood 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 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 bank of the Sivash connecting them were one common network of 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, and French military engineers took part in their construction, using all the experience in the construction imperialist war. 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 were to be 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 north coast Sivash, on which we are going. 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 area 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 told the head of the 30th division, Comrade Gryaznov, and one of the brigade commanders who was with him, that Blucher (he, by the way, was formerly Gryaznov’s head 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 beginning of the offensive, their total number had reached over a hundred thousand fighters, 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 Free access to 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 the 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 General Kornilov cruiser, 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 - the last salute to 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...

Read 12989 times, written on 05/04/2010 at 09:15

The assault on Perekop on November 8-10, 1920, being an event that seemed quite clear in historical terms, nevertheless gave rise to a number of myths that have been moving from textbook to textbook for more than 75 years, from one solid monograph to an even more solid one.

These myths are characterized by the following stereotypes: “The strongest fortifications made of concrete and steel, built according to the experience of the First World War under the supervision of French and English engineers who turned the Perekop rampart into a white Verdun”, “Parts of the Red Army lost 10 thousand people only killed during the assault Perekop fortifications”.

How was it really? The construction of the Perekop fortifications was based on experience civil war. There were no projects and leadership of the British and French. The construction was carried out by Russian military engineers who served in the White Army. General leadership carried out by the commandant Sevastopol fortress, military engineer General Subbotin, his construction assistant was the professor of the field fortification department of the Engineering Academy, General Shcheglov. The military engineer Colonel Protsenko directly supervised the construction. All these officers were participants in the Russo-Japanese and World War I and had extensive combat and military engineering experience.

The commanders of the sapper companies that carried out the construction were colonels. The companies themselves were half staffed with officers. With such an excess of personnel, there was absolutely no need for foreign specialists. The only thing missing was manpower, as the peasants stubbornly evaded mobilization, as well as building materials, which were rampantly plundered and sold in the rear.

The construction of fortifications began at the end of July 1919, a month after the capture of the Crimea by the Whites, and proceeded very sluggishly until early October. On October 8, 1919, construction was stopped, as the White Command expected the fall of Moscow and the final defeat of Bolshevism from day to day. A few days later, the defeat really took place, but not the Reds, but the Whites, and in December 1919 the construction of fortifications was resumed again. By this time, only a line of trenches had been built in front of the rampart on north side Perekop moat.

In January-March 1920, when Perekop became the scene of maneuver battles between the opposing sides, construction works did not behave. They resumed in April and continued until the end of October 1920.

As a result, the main fortifications continued to be a shaft 8 kilometers long, 6 to 10 meters high, up to 10 meters wide, and the ditch itself 8-10 meters deep and 10-20 meters wide.

And the ditch and the shaft, we recall, were built 3 thousand years BC.

The actual defensive engineering structures were represented by a line of trenches in front of the rampart on the north side of the moat and wire barriers in 4 rows in front of them. The trenches on the shaft and in front of it were equipped with machine-gun nests and earthen shelters, behind the shaft there were artillery positions.

The passages through the Sivash, bypassing the rampart, were practically not fortified, the matter was limited to several barbed wire, several searchlights and a dozen machine guns.

Commander of the White Guard troopsin the Crimea, Lieutenant General Wrangel

The White Command ignored the lessons of the assault on Perekop in April 1918 German troops bypassing the Sivash and a similar maneuver of the Red troops in April 1919.

This carelessness, or rather, disregard for the enemy has become main reason loss of Perekop positions by whites in November 1920 (Karbyshev. “ White Verdun” - magazine “Army and Revolution” - 1921 - No. 5 - p. 52-107.).

How did the assault take place and at what cost was Perekop taken? The first to begin the operation were units of the 15th division of the Red Army, bypassing the Perekop rampart through the Sivash. Three teams of foot scouts at two in the morning on November 8, 1920 along the fords across the Sivash indicated local residents went to the wire fences on the coast of the Lithuanian Peninsula and began to cut the wire, but under machine-gun fire lay down.

Commanding southern front Red Army Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze

The operation began to drag on, and the water in Sivash arrived, flooding the fords. Decisive action was required. Therefore, the commander of the 45th brigade of the 15th rifle division went to the battlefield and raised the scouts in thick chains to attack through the barbed wire.

Thanks to the soft muddy ground, the stakes of the wire obstacles were torn out or knocked down, and parts of the 45th brigade poured into the resulting passage, and behind it other brigades of the 15th division.

Painting "Transition of the Red Army through the Sivash"

Parts of the 52nd Rifle Division went in the second echelon. By the evening of November 8, 1920, they occupied the entire Lithuanian Peninsula and went to the rear of the White divisions located on the Perekop shaft, which at that time was unsuccessfully stormed by the 51st Infantry Division.

What was happening at that time on the line of the Perkop fortifications? At 10 am on November 8, 1920, the artillery of the 51st division began artillery preparation, which lasted 4 hours.

However, the deterioration of the material part of the red artillery did not allow it to destroy not only the fortifications, but even the barbed wire in front of the moat. Therefore, having started cutting the wire at 2 pm on November 8, units of the 51st division came under heavy machine-gun fire and retreated, suffering losses.

The artillery preparation began again, which also lasted 4 hours, and at 18 o'clock on November 8, the 51st division repeated the attack, which was also repulsed.

Finally, at 8 pm on November 8, after the third attack, units of the 51st division broke through the wire barriers and occupied the line of trenches in front of the ditch and rampart, descended into the ditch, but could not climb the rampart.

At midnight from November 8 to 9, 1920, the Whites, under the threat of a blow to the rear from the 15th and 52nd rifle divisions, withdrew their units from the rampart, leaving only a cover, which at 2 am on November 9 was shot down from the rampart The 51st division, parts of which occupied Armyansk at 8 am on November 9, 1920. Thus, the first most difficult stage of the assault on the Perekop positions was completed.

Despite the fierce fighting, the losses of the attackers were relatively small. The commander of the 6th Army, August Kork, in his report “The capture of the Perekop-Yushun positions by the troops of the 6th Army in November 1920” - magazine " revolutionary army” - 1921 - No. 1 - p. 29.

claimed that total losses armies during the assault on Perekop amounted to 650 people killed and 4,700 wounded.

The 15th and 51st divisions suffered the greatest losses. 15th division - 390 killed and 2900 wounded, 51st division - 208 killed and 1300 wounded.

Konstantin Kolontaev

"Southern News"

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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 of 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 settled behind the Perekop and Chongar fortifications, which, according to the command and foreign authorities, were impregnable positions.

Frunze assessed them as follows: “The Perekop and Chongar isthmus and the southern bank 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.

The main line of defense at Perekop ran along the Turkish Wall (length - up to 11 km, height 10 m and depth of the ditch 10 m) with 3 lines of wire obstacles 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 front 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, the 153rd rifle and cavalry brigade of the 51st division 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 northern tip Lithuanian peninsula, broke through 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 on until the night of November 8 southern exits from the Lithuanian peninsula. (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 army was moved to help the Soviet troops on the Lithuanian proluo-island. 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 push 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, who stopped the enemy cavalry and threw it back to the line of fortifications.

On the night of November 11, the 30th Infantry Division (headed 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.

The victory of the 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.

The invasion of the White Poles pulled the forces of the Red Army to the Western Front.

This allowed the remnants of the defeated Denikin's army and other henchmen of the internal counter-revolution to recover from defeat. The most dangerous for the Soviet Republic were the troops concentrated in the Crimea under the command of the "black baron" - General Wrangel. 150 thousand White Guard soldiers were well armed. Foreign ships with weapons, equipment, uniforms for the Wrangel army went along the Black Sea to the Crimea. Hundreds of foreign military engineers supervised the construction of fortifications on the Perekop Isthmus, taught the White Guards how to handle the latest military equipment, in particular with tanks and aircraft.

In the heat of the fight Soviet people Wrangel's troops went on the offensive against the White Poles. Coming out of the Crimea, they captured part of the southern Ukrainian regions and tried to break through to the Donbass. Wrangel dreamed of a campaign against Moscow. Thus, in the south of the country, the counter-revolution raised its head again.

“The attention of the party must be focused on the Crimean front”, “Wrangel must be destroyed, as Kolchak and Denikin were destroyed”, - this is how the Central Committee of our party said about the tasks of fighting the new enemy. Detachments of communists again moved to the front; through Kharkov and Lugansk, through Kyiv and Kremenchug, military echelons went south.

While the Red Army was fighting the White Poles, the Soviet command was unable to concentrate the necessary forces against Wrangel in order to launch a decisive offensive. During the summer and early autumn, our troops held back the onslaught of the enemy and prepared for a counteroffensive.

In those days, fierce battles unfolded under the then legendary Kakhovka. Here, in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, where the mighty river, as it were, hangs over the entrance to the Crimea with its bend, the Red troops crossed to the left bank and created a base there for further offensive. The fighters of the famous 51st Rifle Division under the command of V.K. Blucher created an impregnable fortified area near Kakhovka.

The Wrangelites did their best to drive our units out of here. White infantry and cavalry, reinforced by a large number of armored cars, rushed forward regardless of losses. Wrangel threw on this sector of the front a then new type of weapon - tanks. But the armored monsters did not frighten the Red Army.

... The clumsy bulks of tanks slowly moved forward, crushing the barbed wire, conducting continuous fire. There seemed to be no force that could stop them. But then the Soviet artillerymen rolled out a gun and knocked out one tank with direct fire. And a group of Red Army soldiers rushed to another enemy car, not being afraid of mortal danger, waving bundles of grenades. There was a deafening explosion, and another tank ceased fire, stopped, settled on its side. The brave warriors captured the other two tanks unharmed.

Despite all the efforts of the enemy, Kakhovka remained in the hands of the Soviet troops. They fettered here the large forces of the Wrangelites.

By the end of October 1920, everything was ready to go on the offensive. The commander of the Southern Front, Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze, ordered the troops to attack the enemy. On the morning of October 28, the front line began to move. First of all, the regiments of the First Cavalry Army rushed into battle, shortly before that they arrived from the Polish front. For several days there were stubborn battles on the outskirts of the Crimea. Southern Ukraine was liberated from the Whites. However, a significant part of the Wrangelites managed to escape to the Crimea. Our troops had to make another heroic effort: to storm the fortifications covering the way to the peninsula. It was not an easy task. Look at the map and you will understand the extraordinary difficulty of this matter. You can get to the Crimea along the narrow isthmuses, between which the Sivash stretches - the “rotten sea”.

The Wrangelites were strongly fortified here. The ancient Turkish rampart stretched across the 15-kilometer width of the Perekop Isthmus, rising steeply to 8 m. In front of the rampart there is a deep ditch 20 m wide.

All around, wherever you look, there are trench lines everywhere, covered with rows of barbed wire fences. Shelters, deep dugouts, loopholes, communication passages were dug in the thickness of the Turkish Wall. Dozens of enemy cannons and machine guns kept the entire space in front of these fortifications under fire. “Crimea is impregnable,” the enemy generals confidently declared. But for the red warriors, filled with the will to win, there were no impregnable positions. "Perekop must be taken, and it will be taken!" - this thought owned the fighters, commanders and commissars of the Southern Front.

They decided to deliver the main blow at Perekop. Part of our troops was to attack the Turkish Wall from the front, part to wade across the Sivash, bypassing the Perekop fortifications. On the Chongar Isthmus, the Red Army delivered an auxiliary strike.

... There were final preparations for decisive assault. In coastal estuaries, sappers built rafts for crossing machine guns and light artillery. Standing waist-deep in icy water, the Red Army soldiers fortified the fords across the Sivash, laying straw, wattle, boards, and logs on the bottom. November 7, 1920 - the day of the third anniversary of the Great October Revolution, 10 pm. Night darkness enveloped the land. From the Crimean coast, cutting through the darkness, the beams of searchlights fumbled. And so our advanced units moved through the Sivash, along with the fighters there were guides - residents of coastal villages. This transition was incredibly difficult. People, horses, wagons got stuck in the muddy bottom. Straining all their strength, the red warriors moved forward, with difficulty pulling weapons out of the quagmire. Only three hours later they felt solid ground under their feet.

Illuminated by enemy searchlights, under a shower of machine-gun bursts, among the explosions of shells, an assault column, made up of communists and Komsomol members, rushed forward. In a fierce battle, the fighters threw back the enemy and entrenched themselves on the Crimean coast.

On the morning of November 8, thick fog enveloped the Turkish Wall. After artillery preparation, the regiments of the 51st division moved to assault. However, the fighters failed to overcome the deadly fire of the whites. Attacks followed one after another, but the enemy was not broken. Regiments of the 51st division, having suffered heavy losses, lay down at the wire fences.

An uneasy evening followed a difficult day. The wind changed, and the water in the estuary began to rise. Our troops that crossed the Sivash could be completely cut off. At the suggestion of M.V. Frunze, residents of nearby villages moved to Sivash. They carried with them logs, boards, armfuls of straw and branches, strengthening the flooded fords. New regiments went through the Sivash. Their task is to pull the enemy forces away from the Turkish Wall.

After midnight, the fighters of the 51st division again rose and again rushed to storm the Turkish Wall. This time, nothing could break the offensive impulse of the Red Army.

... Gritting their teeth, the fighters moved forward, made their way through the barbed wire, climbed the steep slopes of the rampart. The wounded remained in the ranks.

But dead before they fall

Taking a step forward

Not a grenade, not a bullet today is power,

And it's not for us to step back,

The poet N. Tikhonov wrote about heroism Soviet soldiers during the assault on Perekop.

… And when the sun, peeking out from behind the gloomy November clouds, rose over the expanse of the Black Sea, it illuminated the red banner pierced by bullets, victoriously flying over the Turkish Wall. Perekop was taken!

Pressing the White Guards, the Red Army also broke through the next fortified lines of the enemy. The divisions of the First Cavalry Army rapidly rushed into the gap.

The Wrangelites were utterly defeated. The remnants of the white army hastily loaded onto foreign ships and fled from the Crimea. Soviet country triumphant victory. “With selfless courage, with a heroic exertion of strength, they defeated Wrangel glorious powers revolution. Long live our Red Army, great army labor! - with these words, the Pravda newspaper reported on the victory over the enemy.

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