1st Cavalry Army of Kadyrov, 1st Cavalry Army of Russia
Kharkov operation (December 1919)
Donbass operation (1919)
Rostov-Novocherkassk operation
North Caucasian operation (1920):

• Tikhoretsk operation (1920)
• Dono-Manych operation (1920)
• Kuban-Novorossiysk operation

Soviet-Polish war (1919-1921):

• Kyiv operation (1920)
• Novograd-Volyn operation (1920)
• Rovno operation (1920)
• Lvov operation (1920)

Perekop-Chongar operation (1920)

The commanders of the First Cavalry Army of the Red Army K. E. Voroshilov,?, S. M. Budyonny, photo of the period 1918-1920.

First Cavalry Army (Cavalry), 1 KA- the highest operational association (cavalry army) of the Red Army cavalry, created during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920. It was the main powerful and maneuverable tool in the hands of the front and High Command for solving operational and strategic tasks.

• 1 Creation
• 2 Battle path
• 3 Command staff of the 1st Cavalry Army
  • 3.1 Commander
  • 3.2 RVS members
  • 3.3 Chiefs of Staff
  • 3.4 Prominent military leaders
• 4 Memory of the First Cavalry Army
  • 4.1 First cavalry in art
  • 4.2 The first cavalry army in painting
  • 4.3 First cavalry in philately
• 5 Notable Facts
• 6 See also
• 7 Notes
• 8 Literature
• 9 Links

Creation

At the suggestion of I.V. Stalin, a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Soviet Republic on November 17, 1919 decided to create the First Cavalry Army under the command of S.M. Budyonny. The army was formed on the basis of three divisions (4th, 6th and 11th) of the 1st cavalry corps of Budyonny by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front on November 19, 1919. In April 1920, the 14th and 2nd Blinov Caucasian divisions, the Separate Caucasian Special Purpose Brigade, the Ya. Worker", aviation group (air group) and other units, with a total number of 16-17 thousand personnel. In a number of operations, two or three rifle divisions were subordinated to the First Cavalry Army.

The 1st Cavalry Army included: 1st Caucasian Cavalry Division (April 1920), 2nd Stavropol Cavalry Division named after M.F. Blinov (April - May 1920), 4th Petrograd Cavalry Division (Nov. 1919 - Aug. 1923), 6th Cavalry Division (USSR) (Nov. 1919 - Oct. 1923), 8th Cavalry Division of Chervonny Cossacks (Aug. 1920), 9th Cavalry Division (April - May 1920), 11th Gomel Cavalry Division (Nov. 1919 - May 1921), 14th Maykop Cavalry Division (Jan. 1920 - Oct. 1923 ), 19th Cavalry Division (January - April 1921), Yekimov Cavalry Division (April - May 1920), operational subordination was the 2nd con corps (March 1920), 9th SD (Dec. 1919 - Jan. 1920), 12th SD (Dec. 1919 - February 1920), 20th SD (Feb. - March 1920), 24th SD (July - Aug. 1920), 34th SD ( February - March 1920), 45th SD (June - August 1920), 47th SD (Aug. 1920), 50th SD (February - March 1920).

Battle path

Combat path as part of the 1st Cavalry Corps

• May 6, 1919 in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Kurmoyarsky farm, by the decision of the commander of the 10th Army, Yegorov, the 1st Cavalry Corps was formed. the corps included the 4th cavalry division of Budyonny and the 1st Stavropol cavalry division of Apanasenko, soon renamed the 6th cavalry division. Budyonny was appointed commander of the corps, V. A. Pogrebov was appointed chief of staff, S. A. Zotov headed the operational department of the headquarters of the corps. O. I. Gorodovikov was approved as the division commander of the 4th.
• may 13, covering the retreat to Tsaritsyn of the 10th Army, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Grabbevskaya, the Cavalry Corps defeated two divisions of the 2nd Kuban Cavalry Corps of General Ulagay with an unexpected blow. During the pursuit, parts of the Whites were driven back beyond Manych.

Commanders of the First Cavalry Army at the Field Headquarters of the Red Army.
Sitting: commander-in-chief S. S. Kamenev, member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic S. I. Gusev, commander of the troops of the South-Western Front A. I. Egorov, member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 1st Cavalry Army K. E. Voroshilov,
standing: Chief of the Field Headquarters of the RVS of the Republic P. P. Lebedev, Chief of Staff of the South-Western Front N. N. Petin, Commander of the 1st Cavalry Army S. M. Budyonny, Head of the Operational Directorate of the Field Headquarters of the RVS of the Republic B. M. Shaposhnikov

• In November 1919 The cavalry corps of Budyonny, together with the 9th and 12th rifle divisions of the 8th army, commander G. Ya. Sokolnikov and chief of staff G. S. Gorchakov, made up one of the shock groups of the Southern Front. During the Voronezh-Kastornensky operation, he inflicted heavy defeats on the White Guard cavalry, and then played a decisive role in the Donbass operation.

Army education. Her participation in the Kharkov operation

• December 6 in the village of Velikomikhailovka (now the Museum of the First Cavalry is located there), as a result of a joint meeting of the members of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front Egorov, Stalin, Shchadenko and Voroshilov with the command of the corps, Order No. 1 was signed on the creation of the First Cavalry Army. The Revolutionary Military Council was placed at the head of the army administration, consisting of the Commander of the Cavalry Budyonny and members of the Revolutionary Military Council Voroshilov and Shchadenko. The cavalry became a powerful operational-strategic mobile group of troops, which was entrusted with the main task of defeating Denikin's armies by rapidly cutting the White front into two isolated groups along the Novy Oskol-Taganrog line, followed by their destruction separately.
• December 7 The 4th division of Gorodovikov and the 6th division of Timoshenko defeated the cavalry corps of General Mamontov near Volokonovka.
• to the end December 8 after a fierce battle, the army captured Valuyki. At the railway junction and in the city, trains with food and ammunition, a lot of military convoys and horses were captured. Cavalry formations switched to pursuing the enemy retreating to the south and southeast.
• to the end December 15 Gorodovikov's shock group (4th and 11th cavalry divisions), having defeated the Mariupol 4th hussar regiment of whites in the Pokrovsky area, reached the approaches to Svatovo.
• By the morning December 16, having broken the stubborn resistance of the whites, who repeatedly launched counterattacks with the support of armored trains, the 4th division captured the Svatovo station, capturing large trophies, including the Ataman Kaledin armored train (according to other sources, it was shot down at Rakovka station).
• December 19th The 4th division, with the support of armored trains, defeated the combined cavalry group of General Ulagay. Pursuing the fleeing enemy, she captured the stations of Melovatka, Kabanye and Kremennaya.
• 21 December The 6th division occupied the Rubezhnoye and Nasvetevich stations. in the Rubizhnaya area, where the 2nd cavalry brigade operated, the whites lost up to five hundred people hacked to death, including the commander of the combined lancer division, Major General Chesnokov, and three regiment commanders. The 1st cavalry brigade of the 6th division captured the Nasvetevich station with a sudden raid, capturing the railway bridge across the Seversky Donets.

During the three days of fighting, the First Cavalry took 17 guns with trophies, of which two were mountain guns, the rest were 3-inch field guns, 80 machine guns, carts with military equipment, 300 captured cavalrymen, 1000 horses with saddles and up to 1000 people were hacked to death.

• On the night of December 23 The cavalry crossed the Seversky Donets and firmly entrenched itself on its right bank, capturing Lisichansk.

Participation in the Donbass operation

• To 27th of December units of the Cavalry, together with the 9th and 12th rifle divisions, firmly captured the Bakhmut-Popasnaya line. During the fierce three-day battles, a large grouping of White troops was defeated and thrown back to the south as part of the cavalry group of General Ulagay, the 2nd Infantry Division, the Markov Officer Infantry Division, the Cavalry Corps of General Shkuro, the 4th Don Cavalry Corps of General Mamontov, as well as the Kuban horse corps.
• December 29th the actions of the 9th and 12th rifle divisions from the front and the enveloping maneuver of the 6th cavalry division of the white units were driven out of Debaltseve. Building on this success, the 11th Cavalry, together with the 9th Infantry Division December 30th captured Gorlovka and Nikitovka.
• 31th of December The 6th cavalry division, having reached the Alekseevo-Leonovo area, completely defeated three regiments of the Markov officer infantry division.
• January 1, 1920 The 11th cavalry and 9th rifle divisions, with the support of armored trains, captured the Ilovayskaya station and the Amvrosievka area, defeating the White Cherkasy division.

Participation in the Rostov-Novocherkassk operation

• January 6 Taganrog is occupied by the forces of the 9th Rifle and 11th Cavalry Divisions with the assistance of the local Bolshevik underground.
• January 7-8 units of the Cavalry as part of the 6th and 4th cavalry, as well as the 12th rifle division, in cooperation with the 33rd rifle division of Lewandovsky as a result of a 12-hour oncoming battle in the area of ​​​​the villages of Generalsky Most, Bolshiye Saly, Sultan-Saly and Nesvetai defeated a large grouping of White troops consisting of the cavalry corps of Mamontov, Naumenko, Toporkov and Barbovich, as well as the Kornilov and Drozdov infantry divisions, supported by tanks and armored vehicles.
• In the evening January 8 Gorodovikov's 4th Division occupied Nakhichevan. At the same time, Timoshenko's 6th division, having marched behind the rear of the enemy who had fled, suddenly broke into Rostov-on-Don, taking by surprise the headquarters and rear services of the whites who were celebrating Christmas.
• During January 9 Cavalry units fought street battles in the city with White Guard units retreating behind the Don. By January 10 with the support of the approaching 33rd division, the city completely passed into the hands of the red troops.

In a report sent to Lenin and the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front, it was noted that during the battles near Rostov Cavalry, more than 10,000 White Guards were captured, 9 tanks, 32 guns, about 200 machine guns, many rifles and a huge wagon train were captured. In the city itself, the Red Army captured a large number of warehouses with various property.

• January 18, 1920, fulfilling the categorical directive of Shorin's commander to seize a bridgehead in a thaw on the southern, swampy, well-fortified bank of the Don in the Bataysk region, suffered heavy losses from the cavalry corps of Generals Pavlov and Toporkov. After several days of unsuccessful bloody battles for the village of Olginskaya, having the main forces of the Whites in front of their front, who, taking advantage of the passivity of the neighboring 8th Army, concentrated a significant amount of cavalry, artillery and machine guns here, was forced, while maintaining order, to retreat beyond the Don January 22.

Mitrofan Grekov.
"The Battle of Yegorlykskaya". 1928−1929. Participation in the North Caucasian operation

• In February 1920 together with three rifle divisions attached to it, it participated in the largest cavalry battle of Yegorlyk in the entire Civil War, during which the 1st Kuban infantry corps of the white general Kryzhanovsky, the cavalry group of General Pavlov and the cavalry group of General Denisov were defeated, which led to the defeat of the main forces of the group whites in the North Caucasus and their widespread retreat. However, the pursuit of the white units was suspended due to the beginning of a strong spring thaw.
• From March 13 the attack on Ust-Labinskaya continued, where units of the Cavalry defeated the cavalry corps of Sultan Giray, after which they crossed the Kuban and, overcoming the resistance of scattered enemy units, March 22 entered Maykop, already liberated by the Red Partisan detachments.

Participation in the Soviet-Polish war. Kyiv operation

• April-May 1920 in connection with the outbreak of the Soviet-Polish war, the First Cavalry Army was transferred from the North Caucasus to Ukraine and included in the Southwestern Front. during a tense 1200-kilometer march from Maykop to Uman, which lasted 52 days, along the way she fought with units of the UNR army, advancing on a wide front across the territory of Ukraine.
• After concentrating in the Uman region, she took part in the Kiev operation against the Polish troops. According to the initial plan of the RVS of the South-Western Front, the First Cavalry was tasked with occupying an open sector of the front between the Fastov group of I. E. Yakir and the 14th army of I. P. Uborevich, strike at Kazatin and Berdichev, wedging into the junction of the Kiev and Odessa groups enemy troops advancing along diverging operational axes. Thus, with access to the right flank and rear of the 3rd Polish Army, conditions were created for the defeat of the most powerful Kiev grouping of Polish troops.

Due to the lack of data on the enemy, at the first stage of the operation, the Cavalry had to come into contact with enemy units, establish its strength, the deployment of troops, the configuration and nature of the defense, and also clear the front line of gangs and sabotage detachments. "Join the red cavalry!" Ukrainian SSR poster, 1920.

• May 27 The cavalry went on the offensive. During the first two days, several different armed formations were defeated and dispersed with a total number of about 15,000 people, including a large detachment of Ataman Kurovsky, who had close ties with the Polish command. The reconnaissance units of the Cavalry came into contact with the advanced units of the enemy, taking prisoners and groping for the line of his defense.
• May 29 units of the Cavalry began an attack on the defenses of the Poles along the entire front, starting fierce battles, which, however, did not bring significant results. Success was achieved only by units of the 6th division of Timoshenko, who captured the heavily fortified point of Zhivotov and took significant trophies and prisoners there, but suffered heavy losses in personnel and horses. Leading the attack, commissar Pisshchulin, the head of intelligence of the 2nd brigade Ivan Ziberov, were killed, the commanders of the regiments Selivanov and Yefim Verbin were seriously wounded.
• June 5 broke through the front of the Poles in the area Samgorodok, Snezhna.
• June 7 The 4th division of Korotchaev, having made a swift 50-kilometer transition, captured Zhitomir, defeating the small garrison of the Poles. However, the headquarters of the Polish troops stationed there managed to leave the city. Cavalrymen disabled all means of technical communication with Berdichev, Kyiv, Novograd-Volynsky, destroyed the railway bridge, tracks and arrows at the station, blew up artillery depots, 10 wagons with shells and guns of the English type left on the tracks, 2 wagons with machine guns. A train with horses and warehouses with food was captured. About 2,000 prisoners, mostly Red Army soldiers and political workers, were released from the city prison. Outside the city, a column of captured Red Army soldiers of up to 5,000 people was overtaken and released.

On the same day, after a stubborn street battle, Morozov's 11th division broke into Berdichev. Having destroyed the wire connection with Kazatin, Zhytomyr and Shepetovka, blowing up artillery depots with a reserve of up to a million shells and incapacitating the railway lines, the division left the city.

• June 8-11 were characterized by the actions of units of the Cavalry and its sabotage detachments on the rear communications and the right flag of the 3rd Polish Army (Polish) Russian .. Budyonnovtsy intercepted the railway and highways Kyiv-Fastov, Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Kyiv-Korosten, Kyiv-Kazatin, violated lines of communication, which contributed to the offensive of the Soviet troops, the abandonment of Kyiv by the enemy and its transition to a retreat in a northwestern direction.

July 11 the sabotage detachment of A. M. Osadchy, breaking into the Teterev station, disarmed the 6th stage battalion of the enemy, blew up the railway bridge and derailed two military echelons.

• 12 June, having broken the resistance of the one and a half thousandth garrison, units of the First Cavalry entered Zhitomir.
• 27th of June occupied Novograd-Volynsky, and July 10- Exactly.

Participation in the Lvov operation

• Late July - early August fought near Lvov. 12th of August The 1st Cavalry and 12th Army, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kamenev, were withdrawn from the Southwestern Front and transferred to the Western Front in order to engage them in the Warsaw operation in connection with the difficult situation developing there for the Soviet troops.
• August 16 The 6th division, having crossed the Western Bug by swimming, captured and held a bridgehead in the Pobuzhany area, being 15 km from Lvov. According to the testimony of the prisoners, panic arose in the city, the evacuation of the administration and families of officers began. Tukhachevsky's order was received to relocate to the Ustilug-Vladimir-Volynsky region. However, due to the obvious lack of forces of the neighboring advancing armies, scheduled to occupy the vacant sector of the front, a decision was made to continue the offensive until the Lvov group of Poles was defeated.
• August 19 bloody battles continued on the outskirts of Lvov. The advance of the army units was strongly opposed by armored trains and aviation. in the center of the front, the 6th and 4th divisions pushed the enemy back 2-3 kilometers. On the right flank, the 11th division advanced to the southwestern outskirts of the city, although the left-flank units of the 14th division were slightly pressed by the enemy cavalry. In general, the Cavalry was located 5-7 kilometers from Lviv and covered it from three sides. The fighting was extremely fierce on both sides. The commander of the 4th division, Fyodor Litunov, and the deputy head of the political department of the army, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Red Cavalryman, I. D. Perelson, were killed. The command of the 4th division was temporarily assigned to I. V. Tyulenev.

The events of the day were reflected in the well-known work of socialist realism - the novel of the former cavalry soldier Nikolai Ostrovsky "How the Steel Was Tempered". The army headquarters established contact and agreed on joint actions with the Lviv pro-Bolshevik underground, which was preparing an armed uprising in the city the next day. However, in the evening, Tukhachevsky's directive was received on the immediate advance to the planned counterattack area in the Lublin direction.

• August 21-25 the army, leaving the 45th and 47th rifle divisions attached to it earlier on the defensive, made a transition to the concentration area, part of the forces conducting rearguard battles with the enemy who went on the offensive.

Raid in Zamosc Main article: Defense of Zamosc

• 25-th of August- the beginning of the raid in Zamosc. The army went behind enemy lines with the task of capturing Krasnostav within four days and then conducting an offensive in the Lublin direction. The operational formation of troops, in conditions of operations with open flanks, was carried out in the form of a diamond: the 4th cavalry division advanced in the forefront, behind it, behind the right and left flanks of the 14th and 6th cavalry divisions, the 11th cavalry marched in the rearguard, forming an army reserve. For the first two days, the army advanced unopposed, in the difficult conditions of the beginning of heavy rains, which continued until the end of the raid.
• August 27 there were first clashes with parts of the Polish troops. The 14th division captured and held the crossing over the Khuchva River in the Terebinya area, the 4th division captured Tyshovtse, the 6th and 11th divisions, having thrown the enemy to the south, reached the Telyatin-Novoselki-Gulcha line. Parts of the 4th division defeated the Cossack brigade of Yesaul Vadim Yakovlev, numbering about 750 sabers, used by the Polish army for reconnaissance. About 100 prisoners, 3 guns, machine guns and about 200 horses were taken.

Large enemy groupings began to concentrate on the flanks of the army: from the south - the group of General Haller, and from the north - the 2nd infantry division of legionnaires (Polish) Russian. Colonel Zhymersky. To facilitate the actions of the Cavalry, Tukhachevsky ordered the 12th Army to tie up the enemy forces with a transition to an active offensive.

• August 28 battles were fought in the offensive zone of the 14th, 6th and 4th divisions with units of the 2nd division of legionnaires. The advanced units of the 4th division captured an enemy outpost in the village of Pereela with a sudden raid, and then defeated up to three companies of legionnaires. By evening, the division captured Chesniki. The 6th division, in the course of a stubborn battle with the infantry and cavalry of the Poles, captured Komarov. Parts of Morozov's 11th division occupied Rakhane-Semerzh without a fight. During the day, the army advanced 25-30 kilometers, entering the enemy's deep rear, losing contact with units of the 12th Army.
• August 29 stubborn battles ensued in the offensive zone of the 4th division of Tyulenev on the outskirts of Zamosc. Heavy fighting was carried out by the 6th and 14th divisions, attacked from the side of Grabovets by the 2nd division of legionnaires with the support of two armored trains. By order of Budyonny, the 4th division, part of the forces behind a barrier from the side of Zamostye, with three regiments secretly transferred to Zavalyuv, delivered a sudden blow to the legionnaires on the flank. The enemy, having abandoned their fortifications, began to retreat to the north. Using this success, the 14th Cavalry Division launched a counterattack. However, it was not possible to take Grabovets.

In the town of Shevnya, the advanced units of the 6th division battered the remnants of Yakovlev's Cossack brigade, took prisoners, recaptured many horses and a gun from the enemy. Tomaszow, the headquarters of the Petliura unit was destroyed. About 200 prisoners were taken. By the end of the day, only the 6th and 11th divisions completed the task, reaching the Zamostye area. According to updated data, from the north, from the Grabovets region, over the right flank of the Cavalry Army, a large, well-armed 2nd division of legionnaires and some parts of the 6th Sich division of the Ukrainian People's Republic hung over the right flank. Haller's group advanced from the south and southeast. The 9th brigade of the 5th infantry division was also located here.

• August 30 in the south and southeast, General Haller's group occupied Tyshovce, Komarov, Vulka Labinska, cutting off the Cavalry's lines of communication with its rear and the 12th Army. In the north, the 2nd division of legionnaires and parts of the 6th Petliura division held Grabovets. The 10th Infantry Division firmly occupied Zamostye.

At a meeting of the army headquarters in Nevirkov, a decision was made: to defeat the most dangerous group of Haller's troops, thus untying their hands for an attack on Krasnostav, for which two divisions - the 14th and 11th - would cover themselves from Grabovets and Zamostye, and to the south, against Haller, turn the 4th and 6th, which were assigned the main tasks. The more experienced Semyon Timoshenko, who was in reserve after the battles near Brody, was appointed commander of the 4th cavalry, and the 4th wreed I. V. Tyulenev was again transferred to the 2nd brigade.

• On the night of August 31, preempting the regrouping of Budyonny's troops, on the orders of General Sikorsky, the Polish army went on the offensive. With a counterattack from the south and north, the group of General Haller and the 2nd division of the legionnaires connected and captured the crossing on the Khuchva River near Verbkowice, finally cutting off the retreat of the Cavalry. At the same time, Zheligovsky's 10th division went on the offensive from Zamostye to Grubeshov in order to cut the Cavalry into two parts. official Polish historiography, this operation is called the Battle of Komarov (Polish) Russian ..

During the day, the forces of the 6th, 11th, and 14th divisions and the Special Brigade of K.I. Parts of the Polish forces managed to carry out a strong penetration from the north and south, where the Polish infantry and uhlans captured Chesniki, Nevirkov, and Kotlice. Two brigades of the 6th division operating west of Zamosc were cut off for several hours. Despite the achievement of these partial successes, the enemy, however, failed to complete the main task of dissecting and destroying the Cavalry. In view of the created conditions, the army command decided to break through to the east to join the forces of the Western Front beyond the Bug. Parts of the 14th division of Parkhomenko held the Nevirkov-Grubieszow corridor. In the afternoon, units of the 6th division drove out the Polish infantry and lancers from Nevirkov and Kotlice. Timoshenko's 4th division was tasked with pushing back the Polish units that had entered the rear and clearing the way for the army to the east. In the battle for Khoryshov-Russian, one of the brigades of the 4th division attacked the superior forces of the Polish infantry in cavalry formation. Inspiring the fighters by personal example, the attack was led by Budyonny, Voroshilov and Timoshenko, during which the cavalrymen drove the enemy out of the village. The brigade captured several dozen prisoners, machine guns, field kitchens and wagons with food. As a result of daily battles, Budyonny's divisions were sandwiched between two groupings of Polish forces in a corridor 12-15 kilometers wide in the area of ​​​​Svidniki - Khoryshov-Polsky - Chesniki - Nevirkov - Khoryshov-Russian. In the east, having captured the crossings on the Khuchva River, the Poles cut off the army from the troops of the Western Front. Fierce battles on August 30 and 31 brought heavy losses and exhausted the army. The people were exhausted, the horses were exhausted. The convoys were overflowing with the wounded, ammunition, medicines and dressings were running out. The Revolutionary Military Council of the army issued an order on the morning of September 1 to begin a withdrawal in the general direction of Grubeshov. The operational formation was again chosen in the form of a rhombus, with the carts and the field guard in the center. the vanguard was to advance the 4th division, with the task of capturing the Terebin-Grubeshov region and capturing the crossing over Khuchva. The ledges on the right and left were to move the 6th division without one brigade and the 14th, and in the rearguard - the 11th division and the 6th brigade. The special brigade of Stepnoy-Spizharny remained in reserve and followed with a field-army.

• September 1 The Cavalry broke through the encirclement, establishing contact with units of the 12th Army. In the morning, the brigades of the 4th division captured the crossings on the Khuchva River. Tyulenev's 2nd brigade, breaking through a narrow dam in horseback formation under heavy machine-gun fire, swiftly attacked the village of Lotov and captured the crossing.

Gorbachev's 3rd brigade, having driven the enemy out of Khostine, captured the bridge at Verbkowice, ensuring the crossing of convoys and field troops. Having completed the task, Timoshenko's division immediately attacked the location of Polish troops in the Grubeshov area with two brigades, supporting the 132nd rifle brigade of the 44th division of the 12th army, which was fighting heavy battles there. The enemy took to flight. Developing the pursuit, the cavalrymen took up to 1000 prisoners, a large number of machine guns, rifles and three heavy guns. In just a day in the battles, the enemy lost about 700 people killed and wounded, as well as over 2,000 prisoners. The 14th division, having firmly secured the right flank of the army from the side of Grabovets, retreated in battle to the Podgortsy-Volkovye line. The advanced units of the left-flank 6th division, retreating south, threw back the Polish infantry from the crossings over the Khuchva near Konopne and Voronovitsa and established contact with the 44th rifle division in Tyshovtsy. The rearguard of the Cavalry - the 11th division, in the battle with the enemy approaching Khoryshov-Russian, captured about two hundred prisoners and occupied the Zabortsy - Gdeshin - Khostine line. Chief Division Morozov was ordered to go on the offensive in the evening and push the enemy back to the west, and in the morning of the next day to cross Khuchva to Verbkowice.

• September 2, pulling up fresh forces, with the support of a large number of artillery and aviation, the Polish troops launched an offensive, trying to cover the flanks. during three days of fierce fighting, the cavalry not only held back the onslaught, but also drove back the Polish troops, capturing a number of settlements on the western bank of Khuchva.

In the following days, formations of the 12th Army, exhausted by long battles, retreated behind the Bug under pressure from the enemy, endangering the flanks of the 1st Cavalry. To the north of it, the Poles captured the crossing to Gorodilo and developed an offensive to the southeast, and to the south, the Polish cavalry moved to Krylov. Under the threat of being cut off from crossings and squeezed between the Khuchva and Bug rivers, parts of the Cavalry under the cover of strong barriers by dawn 8 September crossed over the Bug and took up defensive positions along its right bank. At a meeting of the leadership of divisions and brigades, the general plight of the army was stated. The 11th Division, for example, had only 1,180 active fighters left, of which 718 had lost their horses. The largest - the 6th division - consisted of 4,000 sabers, but almost all regimental commanders were out of action in it and only four squadron commanders survived. Of the 150 machine guns, only 60 were fit. Artillery, machine-gun carts, vehicles, weapons were worn out to the limit, the horse train was exhausted. On the Wrangel Front

• From September 26 By order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic S. S. Kamenev, the army was withdrawn to the reserve, and then sent to the Southern Front to act against the White Guard troops of General Wrangel.
• At the end of September in parts of the 6th cavalry division commander Apanasenko, who was heading to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bconcentration in the rearguard of the main forces, riots broke out. Cases of disobedience to the orders of the command under the pretext of fatigue and poor material support, a sharp drop in discipline, became more frequent. There were cases of looting, Jewish pogroms, killings of civilians, desertion. September 28 was killed by the military commissar of the division Georgy Shepelev. Lenin and Commander-in-Chief Kamenev became aware of what had happened in the division. In October, at an emergency meeting of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Army, an order was issued that the regiments noted in these crimes were to be disarmed, disbanded, deprived of all awards, banners, and permanently deleted from the lists of the 1st Cavalry. However, at the initiative of Budyonny, these measures were relaxed, the weapons were returned to the fighters. Persons convicted of pogroms were tried by a revolutionary military tribunal and were shot, but some of the instigators managed to escape. The same measures were originally awarded to the commanders who allowed the disturbances. However, executions and prison terms, due to their personal merits, as well as on the occasion of the third anniversary of the October Revolution, were replaced by more lenient sentences. All of them were distributed with a significant demotion to other departments, Apanasenko was removed from office. However, as a result of subsequent hostilities on the Wrangel Front, many of them regained their titles.
• Autumn 1920 in cooperation with other troops of the Southern Front, she carried out a successful offensive from the Kakhovka bridgehead in the direction of Askania-Nova, Gromovka. During the operation in Northern Tavria, together with the 2nd Cavalry Army under the command of F. Mironov, the group of Wrangel troops was inflicted a major defeat, after which the remnants of this group, at the cost of heavy losses in manpower and equipment, broke into the Crimea.

After the end of the Civil War

• In the winter of 1920-1921 fought with Makhno's detachments in the Left-Bank Ukraine, and then destroyed the White Guard rebel army of General Przhevalsky in the North Caucasus.
• 1920. By order of the chairman of the RVSR No. 2660/532 of December 3, 1920, the Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Crimea (hereinafter VSUK) was created. The Armed Forces consisted of the Kiev Military District, the Directorate of the Ukrainian Reserve Army and the Kharkov Military District. The department was created on the basis of the field department of the Southern Front. The 1st Cavalry Army was excluded from the composition of the troops of the Southern Front and included in the composition of the VSUK troops.
• In May 1921 was disbanded, but the army headquarters remained until October 1923.
• In June 1938 A. I. Eremenko became the commander of the 6th Cavalry Corps, formed from parts of the First Cavalry Army and stationed in the Belarusian Military District

Command staff of the 1st Cavalry Army

Commanding

• Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich - from November 17, 1919 to October 26, 1923

RVS members

• Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich - from November 17, 1919 to May 7, 1921
• Shchadenko Efim Afanasyevich - from November 17, 1919 to July 5, 1920
• Minin Sergey Konstantinovich - from July 14, 1920 to May 6, 1921
• Gorbunov Pavel Petrovich - from October 10, 1920 to May 27, 1921
• Bubnov Andrey Sergeevich - from April 29, 1921 to May 27, 1921
• Secretary of the RVS - Sergey Nikolaevich Orlovsky

Chiefs of Staff

• Pogrebov Viktor Andreevich, vrid - from November 17, 1919 to January 1, 1920
• Shchelokov Nikolai Kononovich - from January 1, 1920 to June 19, 1920, from February 16, 1921 to October 26, 1923
• Klyuev Leonid Lavrovich - from June 20, 1920 to February 16, 1921

Prominent military leaders

Many commanders who later became prominent Soviet military leaders served in the ranks of the First Cavalry Army: S. M. Budyonny, K. E. Voroshilov, S. K. Timoshenko, G. I. Kulik, A. V. Khrulev, I. V. Tyulenev , O. I. Gorodovikov, K. S. Moskalenko, P. S. Rybalko, P. L. Romanenko D. D. Lelyushenko, I. R. Apanasenko, K. A. Meretskov, A. I. Eremenko, A. I. Lopatin D. I. Ryabyshev, P. Ya. Strepukhov, A. P. Zhukov, F. V. Kamkov, A. A. Grechko, S. M. Krivoshein, P. F. Zhigarev, A. I. Leonov , Ya. N. Fedorenko, A. S. Zhadov, P. A. Belov, V. V. Kryukov, T. T. Shapkin, V. I. Kniga, P. V. Gnedin and others.

After the disbandment of the army, G. K. Zhukov, L. G. Petrovsky, I. N. Muzychenko, F. K. Korzhenevich, I. A. Pliev, S. I. Gorshkov, M. P. Konstantinov, A. T. Stuchenko and other famous military leaders.

Memory of the First Cavalry Army

Mass grave of soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Army, Rivne, Ukraine

• In the homeland of the First Cavalry Army, in the village of Velikomikhailovka, Belgorod Region, there is a Memorial Museum of the First Cavalry Army.
• In Simferopol and Stary Oskol, streets are named after the First Cavalry Army.
• In the Lviv region, over the Lviv-Kyiv highway near the village of Khvatov near the village of Olesko, Bussky district of the Lviv region, 23 km from the regional center of the city of Busk and 70 km from the city of Lviv, a Monument to the soldiers of the First Cavalry Army, who defeated the Polish troops and reached the approaches to Lublin and Lvov, but failed to capture Lvov and in August 1920 were forced to retreat. The monument is currently being destroyed.
• In the Rostov region (Zernogradsky district) there is a stud farm named after the First Cavalry Army, which breeds horses of the famous Budyonnovsky breed

First cavalry in art

• In 1926, Isaac Babel published a collection of short stories "Cavalry" about the First Cavalry Army of Budyonny.
• The First Cavalry (film, 1941) - dir. Yefim Dzigan and Georgy Berezko
• The First Cavalry (film, 1984) - dir. Vladimir Lyubomudrov

The first cavalry army in painting

Grekov, painting "The bannerman and the trumpeter", 1934.

Grekov, painting "Trumpeters of the First Cavalry"

The first cavalry army in philately

"Comrade's arrival. Stalin to the 1st Cavalry Army. Stalin on the left, Budyonny on the right

Postage stamp of the USSR,
1929

Postage stamp of the USSR,
1929

Postage stamp of the USSR,
1929

Postage stamp of the USSR, 1929:
10 years of the 1st Cavalry

Postage stamp of the USSR, 1959:
40 years of the First Cavalry Army

Postage stamp of the USSR, 1969:
50 years of the First Cavalry

Notable Facts

• The future Generalissimo of the USSR I.V. Stalin was an honorary soldier of the 1st Cavalry Army.
• The future academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, therapist, hematologist Kassirsky I.A. served as a regimental doctor in the brigade of S. M. Patolichev. His memoirs “Riders from the Legend” were published in the Znamya magazine in 1968.

see also

• Battle of the Backyard
• March of Budyonny
• Defense of Zamosc
• Monument to the soldiers of the First Cavalry Army (Olesko)

Notes

1. First horse army/ Russian spelling dictionary: about 180,000 words / O. E. Ivanova, V. V. Lopatin (responsible editors), I. V. Nechaeva, L. K. Cheltsova. - 2nd ed., corrected. and additional - M.: Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of the Russian Language named after V. V. Vinogradov, 2004. - 960 p. - ISBN 5-88744-052-X.
2. TSB
3. Cona'rmia. Lopatin V. V., Nechaeva I. V., Cheltsova L. K. Capital or lowercase? Orthographic dictionary. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - S. 223. - 512 p.
4. 1 2 Speech at a ceremonial meeting at the military academy
5. Tavria(from other Greek Ταῦρος) - the old name of the steppe region of the Dnieper-Molochansk interfluve within the modern Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. The North Tauride steppes pass through the isthmus and Sivash into the steppes of Taurida (Crimean Peninsula). With regard to the territory of Crimea, Tavria and Taurida are synonyms. modern Ukraine has a tendency to call Northern Tavria Tavria (and more often only its western part - the former Dnieper district of the Tauride province).
6. Red Banner Kyiv. 1979.
7. Military encyclopedic dictionary. 1984.
8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 rkka.ru. cavalry. Cavalry of the Civil War. The command structure of cavalry formations and associations
9. OJSC Stud Farm named after the First Cavalry Army - official site.

Literature

• Klyuev L. L. The First Cavalry Army. M.; L.: Gosizdat. Dep. military lit., 1928.
• Budyonny S. M. Red cavalry. Sat. Art. M.; L.: Gosizdat. Dep. military lit., 1930.
• Klyuev L. L. Battle path of the First Cavalry Army. M.; L.: Gosizdat. Dep. military lit., 1930.
• Orlovsky S. N. Great Year: Diary of a Cavalryman. M.; L.: Gosizdat. Dep. military lit., 1930.
• Rakitin N. Memoirs of a Cavalryman. - M.: Ogonyok, 1930.
• Rakitin N. Notes of a Cavalryman. - M.: Federation, 1931.
• Klyuev L. L. The first cavalry Red Army on the Polish front in 1920. Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1932.

Links

• Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich "The Path Traveled" in 3 volumes
• S. Vitoshnev. "WITH. M. Budyonny. Chronicle." (Biography)
• Site about S. M. Budyonny
• Shambarov Valery Evgenievich Belogvardeyshchina. 82. Denikin's last victories.
• Denikin Anton Ivanovich Essays on Russian Troubles. Chapter XX. Operations of the southern armies at the beginning of 1920: from Rostov to Ekaterinodar. Discord between the volunteers and the Don.
• Red Banner Kyiv. Essays on the history of the Red Banner Kiev Military District (1919-1979). Second edition, corrected and enlarged. Kyiv, publishing house of political literature of Ukraine. 1979.
• Central State Archive of the Soviet Army. two volumes. Volume 1. Guide. TsGASA, 1991.

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1st Cavalry Army

We are red cavalry
And about us
Epics are speechy
Leading a story -
About how clear in the night
About how in rainy days
We proudly and boldly go to battle!

"Mash Budyonny"

Heroes and villains

If in the days of the Soviet Union the citizens of the world's first state of workers and peasants were asked what words they primarily associated with the Civil War, then among the first, of course, would be “Budyonovka” and “Budyonovets”.

Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny became the main "red legend" of the Civil War, and his First Cavalry Army was sung in books, poems and films.

In the post-Soviet period, the attitude towards the Civil War and, of course, towards its former heroes has changed.

Senior non-commissioned officer of the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment Semyon Budyonny. 1904 Photo: RIA Novosti

The most moderate critics now considered it right to evaluate the First Cavalry and its commander on the basis of a collection of storiesIsaac Babel"Cavalry", showing the red cavalry in a rather critical light.

More radical "whistleblowers" spoke out even more categorically - supposedly all the talk about the military exploits of the First Cavalry is a myth, the whites repeatedly smashed this unit, which was simply a gang of robbers and sadists.

Of course, the mythologized and smoothed image of the First Cavalry, created by Soviet historiography, is far from reality. How far from it is the caricature image formed in recent years. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.

The revolutionary career of the hero of the First World War

In February 1918, the gallant cavalryman, the hero of the First World War, the cavalier of the "full St. George's bow" sergeant major Semyon Budyonny formed an equestrian revolutionary detachment on the Don, which opposed the White Guards operating in these places. Soon, Budyonny's detachment joined the 1st Cavalry Peasant Socialist Regiment under the command Boris Dumenko, in which Budyonny was appointed deputy regiment commander.

The commanders of the First Cavalry Army of the Red Army K. E. Voroshilov,?, S. M. Budyonny, photo of the period 1918-1920. Photo: Public Domain

The regiment gradually grew to a brigade, and then to a division, which proved itself well in battle.

By the beginning of 1919, the experience of the battles of the Civil War allowed the command of the Red Army to conclude that it was necessary to form large cavalry formations capable of effectively resisting the white cavalry.

In March 1919, Semyon Budyonny became the commander of the 4th Petrograd Cavalry Division, which two months later joined the 1st Cavalry Corps of the Red Army. The decision to create it was made by the commander of the 10th Army Alexander Egorov.

Budyonny's division and the 1st Stavropol cavalry division joined the 1st Cavalry Corps Apanasenko. The command of the corps was entrusted to Budyonny.

The outcome of the Civil War was decided by the battle of cavalry

On May 13, 1919, the Cavalry Corps won its first victory - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Grabbevskaya, with an unexpected blow, the Red Cavalry defeated two divisions of the 2nd Kuban Cavalry Corps General Ulagai.

In October - November 1919, Soviet troops carried out the Voronezh-Kastornenskaya offensive operation, the purpose of which was to destroy the shock cavalry group of the army Denikin. The main role in the operation was assigned to Budyonny's cavalry corps.

Squadrons of the First Cavalry Army, 1920. Photo: RIA Novosti

Many historians believe that the fierce equestrian battles of the Budyonny corps against the white cavalryMamontova and Shkuroon the outskirts of Voronezh, they largely decided the outcome of the Civil War.

By mid-November 1919, the white cavalry suffered a serious defeat, which undermined Denikin's hopes of capturing Moscow.

The success of the 1st Cavalry Corps convinced the Soviet command of the effectiveness of using large cavalry formations.

November 17, 1919 at the suggestion of a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front Joseph Stalin The Revolutionary Military Council of the Soviet Republic decided to create the First Cavalry Army under the command of Semyon Budyonny.

The army was formed on the basis of the 1st Cavalry Corps by joining other units to it. In addition to several cavalry divisions, the First Cavalry Army included four armored trains, an armored detachment, an air group, and rifle divisions. The total number of the army reached 17 thousand people.

Order No. 1 on the creation of the First Cavalry Army was signed on December 6, 1919 at a meeting of members of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front in the village of Velikomikhailovka, modern Belgorod Region, where the Museum of the First Cavalry Army still operates to this day.

Reproduction from M. Grekov's painting Trumpeters of the First Cavalry.

From Donbass to Lviv

The newly appeared army in November - December 1919 inflicted a series of defeats on the Whites, playing a major role in the breakthrough of the Red Army to the Donbass.

95 years ago, the same settlements sounded in military reports that are heard in them now.

Judge for yourself: on December 29, 1919, units of the First Cavalry drove the Whites out of Debaltsevo, on December 30 they captured Gorlovka, and on January 1, 1920, Budyonny's horsemen occupied Amvrosievka and the Ilovaisk station.

From that moment on, the White Guards began to perceive the First Cavalry Army as the most dangerous and powerful enemy.

On January 10, 1920, the Cavalry took Rostov-on-Don, seizing the warehouses of food, property and weapons of the whites. Up to 10,000 enemy soldiers and officers were taken prisoner.

A separate page in the history of the First Cavalry is its participation in the Soviet-Polish war. Just as assessments of this war as a whole differ, so do opinions about the role of the First Cavalry in it. The army did indeed suffer serious losses in this campaign, but thanks to the courage and stamina of the Budyonny cavalrymen, Soviet Russia managed to avoid the worst.

In Soviet times, a Monument to the soldiers of the First Cavalry Army was erected 70 kilometers from Lvov, who defeated the Polish troops and reached the approaches to Lublin and Lvov, but could not capture Lvov and in August 1920 were forced to retreat. The monument, which was considered one of the best monuments erected in memory of the events of the Civil War, was systematically destroyed in the era of independent Ukraine.

Monument to the soldiers of the First Cavalry Army of S. Budyonny, installed over the Lviv-Kyiv highway near the village of Khvatov near the village of Olesko, Lviv region. Photo: RIA Novosti / Pavel Palamarchuk

equestrian freemen

In September 1920, the First Cavalry was transferred to Perekop, where she was to play one of the decisive roles in the defeat of the Wrangel troops in Northern Tavria.

After the end of hostilities in the Crimea, the First Cavalry finished off the detachments Makhno, destroyed the last pockets of White Guard resistance in Ukraine.

In fact, the history of the First Cavalry ended by the spring of 1921, despite the fact that formally it was preserved for another two years. With the end of the Civil War, the need for such a connection disappeared. The divisions of the disbanded First Cavalry were dispersed across various military districts.

Critics of the First Cavalry will gladly cite a long list of reports and orders documenting the facts of robberies and other crimes committed by army soldiers.

These sketches are also in the stories Isaac Babel.

It would be absurd to represent Budyonny's army as a community of revolutionary idealists. The red cavalrymen were dashing grunts, but they were not friends with discipline and legality. In this sense, they were absolutely no different from the horsemen of Makhno or Ataman Shkuro.

Moreover, perhaps, it was among the cavalrymen in the Civil War that the greatest fermentation of minds reigned. Cases when not only individual horsemen, but entire detachments managed to fight for the Reds, and for the Whites, and for everyone else, were not something exceptional in that era.

Commanders of the First Cavalry Army at the Field Headquarters of the Red Army, 1920. Sitting: S. S. Kamenev, S. I. Gusev, A. I. Egorov, K. E. Voroshilov, standing: P. P. Lebedev, N. N. Petin, S. M. Budyonny, B. M. Shaposhnikov. Photo: wikipedia.org

The merit of Budyonny lies in the fact that he, like no one else, was able to subjugate this freemen and skillfully use it in the interests of the Reds. And the personal authority of a native of the Don, a hero of the First World War, played an important role in this.

The idea that the First Horse of Budyonny was a collection of robbers who had no idea about the art of war does not fit in with the facts. It was the First Cavalry that gave a large number of commanders who became famous commanders during the Great Patriotic War: Rybalko, Lelyushenko, Moskalenko, Meretskov, Eremenko, Belov, Krivoshein and many others.

There is no perfect story. But be that as it may, the First Cavalry Army of Budyonny was, is and will be one of the brightest legends of the Soviet period.

The year of the unequal struggle of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia against the dictatorship of the international proletariat.

January 1st Art. The 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment was replaced by the reserve Kornilov Regiment (sometimes called the 4th Kornilov Shock Regiment for some reason).

January 1-5 Art. Art. During this time, the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment was relieved by junkers, withdrew to the southeastern part of Bataysk and carried guard guards in this direction. The Reds fired at Bataysk all the time from Rostov, throwing out thousands of shells every day. And our artillery was quite strong and responded in kind.

January 3rd Art. The 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment plunged into the echelon and left for the village of Timoshevskaya for replenishment. Thus, the 1st and 2nd Kornilov shock regiments remained on the Bataysk-Koysug front with their reserve regiment, composed almost exclusively of the miners of the Donets basin.

January 6, Art. Art. Bataysk is defended by: the southeastern part - the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment; northern part, to the railway, exclusively. - 1st Kornilov shock regiment; the northern and northwestern part from the railway, inclusive, and up to Koisug, exclusively, - junker; Koisug - reserve regiment of the division.

The Reds were shelling Bataisk especially hard today and are trying to advance. By evening, all their attempts to advance were repulsed.

January 6 The 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment arrived in the village of Timoshevskaya, where it stayed until February 14th.

The period of the decisive transition of the Red Army to the offensive has come, and therefore it is necessary to establish in as much detail as possible the balance of forces of both sides and the role of the Kornilov Shock Division in these battles. For an approximate determination of the balance of forces, it is necessary to recall the organization of both armies in order to avoid the fantastic and constant exaggeration of our forces by the Bolsheviks. The Red armies did not have corps, but were made up of divisions, the number of which in the army was at least three or more, depending on the task of the army. Divisions had three brigades, brigades three regiments. Each division should have 15 batteries and, which was very important for us, each division had its own cavalry regiment.

Composition of the 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny

The 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny attacked the Donets Basin as part of:

• 4th cavalry division of the 3-brigade composition - 6 cavalry. regiments
• 6th cavalry division of the 4-brigade composition - 8 cavalry. regiments
• 11th cavalry division of the 4-brigade composition - 8 cavalry. regiments.

When crossing the Don, she was given for reinforcement: the 12th Infantry Division of the 3rd Army and the 9th Infantry Division of the 13th Army, Sverdlov's auto detachment - 15 vehicles with machine guns and the Air Squad - 12 aircraft. In addition - four armored trains: "Red Cavalryman", "Kommunar", "Death of the Directory" and "Worker".

The regiments of the 1st Cavalry Army had five squadrons each, plus a reconnaissance squadron of the best fighters. There are 4 machine guns per squadron, a separate machine gun team in the regiment. There is one 4-gun battery per cavalry brigade. At the cavalry division, an artillery battalion of four batteries of a 4-gun composition.

The 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny has always been distinguished by the strength of its fire, especially machine-gun fire, on carts. If she suffered heavy losses during the offensive, then she replenished well, mobilizing the entire population without exception, from her partisans to our prisoners, inclusive, who managed, before we moved to the Crimea, to run over to us again. But the most important thing for the success of the Red Army was its excellently placed animal-like apparatus of the Cheka or GPU in the combat units and in the rear, which we did not have at all, and besides, the consciousness of the army masses in their numerical superiority over us. The psychology of the crowd is the same everywhere - it obeys force.

What were the “Forces of the South of RUSSIA” like? Torn apart by independent currents in the rear, which slowed down the actions of the front, they lost faith in success in the battles of Voronezh - Orel. If they fought courageously, then by inertia, knowing in advance that death is better than slavery in the clutches of the Red International.

Without deviating from my task of collecting materials for the history of the Kornilov Shock Regiment, here I will only give the composition of the Kornilov Shock Division at the moment. According to the book Kornilov Shock Regiment, p. 157, there were 415 officers and 1,663 soldiers in the three regiments of the division. With the departure of the 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment for formation and the arrival of the "reserve regiment of the division" under the command of Lieutenant Dashkevich, this number increased to approximately 2,500 people. To this must be added about a hundred machine guns with nine batteries. Bremen to Bataysk approached two armored trains. The section of the front of the Kornilov Shock Division - from the village. Kuleshovka, exclusively, where the section of the Drozdov Rifle Division began, and up to Bataysk, inclusive. Since that time, the Volunteer Corps of General Kutepov became subordinate to the Don Army.

The transition of the Red Army to the offensive

According to the order of Shorin, the 1st cavalry army of Budyonny with the rifle divisions attached to it goes on the offensive. In Budyonny’s book “My Path Traveled,” he says this about it: “ January 3/16 a combat order was given to the 1st Cavalry Army for crossing the Don and occupying the Bataysky bridgehead. However, starting on January 17 a.d. Art. offensive, cavalry (6th Cavalry Division) even on foot, she could not turn around in the Batay marshes, could not use either artillery or machine guns. In one of the attacks in the direction of Bataysk, Voroshilov came under heavy enemy artillery fire. A whole line of shells that fell on the attackers broke through the ice, and Kliment Efremovich, along with his horse (?), ended up in the water, the soldiers, under a hail of bullets, helped Voroshilov get out of the water and saved the horse. Having no success, the cavalry retreated to its original position by nightfall.

The combat log of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment for this number notes only the intensification of artillery fire near Bataysk and the attempts of the Reds to advance, which were repulsed by artillery and machine-gun fire.

January 5/18, 1920 In the same book, Budyonny writes: “In the morning of the 18th, units of the Cavalry crossed the Don again and went on the offensive. The 12th Rifle Division from Rostov and the 6th Cavalry Division were advancing towards Bataysk (and according to our information, the 9th Rifle Division was also advancing towards Bataysk from the Gnilovskaya station). All day long, with the active support of armored trains, they fought hard battles, but were not successful. The 4th and 11th cavalry divisions crossed the Nakhichevan crossing. By joint actions, with the support of the right-flank 16th Infantry Division of the 8th Army, in a stubborn battle they drove the enemy out of the village of Olginskaya and pursued him until dark in the direction of the village of Khomutovskaya, "

The enemy himself claims here that near Bataysk the 12th Rifle Division with the 6th Cavalry Division (and according to our data, with the 9th Rifle Division, from the village of Gnilovskaya), despite the active support of armored trains, were repulsed by the Kornilovites. But in this battle, the Kornilovites also suffered heavy losses: our untrained young “reserve regiment of the division” suffered, and the commander of the 1st regiment, Colonel Gordeenko, was wounded twice. Captain Chelyadinov took temporary command of the regiment, who, in turn, was wounded, and Lieutenant Dashkevich took his place, and Captain Filipsky took over the "reserve regiment".

January 6/19. From the book of the Soviet colonel Agureev, p. 173: “On January 19, having regrouped their forces, the cavalry army and the 16th rifle division went on the offensive, striving to master Bataysk, farm Zlodeysky and Khomutovskaya. By this time, enemy cavalry had approached Bataysk and the Zlodeisky farm, and fierce battles unfolded on the entire front, from Bataysk to Khomutovskaya. Having a strong superiority in manpower (?!) And especially in technology, Denikin's troops began to push our units to the Don. Restraining the onslaught of the Whites, the Soviet cavalry and infantry they fought back to the north, holding the approaches to the Nakhichevan crossing and Olginskaya. Having suffered heavy losses and not having achieved decisive success, the enemy was forced to withdraw to the line Bataysk - Zlodeysky farm - Khomutovskaya, leaving part of the forces of the 3rd Don Corps in the Olginskaya area.

About the same from Budyonny’s book, p. 389: “At dawn on January 619, the 4th and 11th cavalry divisions launched an energetic offensive, with the task of reaching the Kagalnitskaya, Azov, Kuleshovka line, Koisug, Bataysk, Zlodeysky farm. The 6th Cavalry Division was used to build on the success of the 4th and 11th Cavalry Divisions. However, the enemy, having taken advantageous positions near Bataysk and concentrated large forces of cavalry, artillery and machine guns, with the active support of armored trains, pinned down our units with heavy fire and disrupted the offensive. The divisions withdrew for the night: the 4th Cavalry Division to Nakhichevan, the 6th and 11th to Olginskaya, where the 16th Rifle Division of the 8th Army also approached in the evening. All night the enemy stormed Olginskaya, trying to drive our units out of the village.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE JANUARY 6/19, 1920 ACCORDING TO THE JOURNAL OF BATTLE ACTIONS OF THE 2nd KORNILOV ATTACK REGIMENT

(At the site of the Volunteer Corps of General Kutepov)

On January 6/19, even before dawn, Cossack patrols discovered a large movement through the Nakhichevan and Aksai crossings. Indeed, at dawn, the Reds launched an offensive by cavalry from the village of Olginskaya to the Zlodeysky farm, bypassing Bataysk. By this time, the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment had completed the shift of the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment, which was withdrawn in the direction of the Zlodeisky farm to assist the cavalry. To the village of Khomutovskaya, as it was then reported, the enemy went unhindered, and from the village of Zlodeisky, General Toporkov’s Terek cavalry corps came out to meet him, and by the same time, by 12 o’clock, the cavalry brigade of General Barbovich began to pull up along the railway line to the southern part of Bataysk. The advanced units of General Toporkov were first thrown back by the Reds, and the entire mass of Budyonny's cavalry followed them to the Zlodeisky farm. But at this time, the units of General Toporkov themselves went on the offensive almost simultaneously with General Barbovich and, with the support of armored trains and the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment, attacked Budyonny's cavalry from the southern part of Bataysk in eastern and northeastern directions. The entire battlefield was well observed from the right flank of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, as it was a continuous plain covered with shallow snow, with reeds to the Don and small hills to the Zlodeisky farm. By this time, the Red infantry also went on the offensive by the 12th Infantry Division from the north to Bataisk and Koisug, but was repulsed by the reserve regiment of the division and the battalion of the 2nd regiment. The remaining battalions of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, in accordance with the order, themselves went on the offensive at about 14 o'clock directly to the east, along the Don, which was distinguished by its special beauty. The entire vast field from the railroad at Bataysk to the village of Olginskaya was covered by a mass of cavalry, and only at Bataysk by infantry. There was enough artillery of various calibers and machine guns on both sides, and everything buzzed and gurgled from their work. From the side of the Reds, as it was then determined, there were at least 15 thousand checkers (4th, 6th and 11th cavalry divisions) and the 12th, 9th and 16th rifle divisions. On our side - the cavalry of General Toporkov. Consolidated Kuban-Tersky corps, no more than 1,500 checkers, General Barbovich's cavalry brigade of 1,000 sabers and the Kornilov Shock Division, consisting of the 1st, 2nd and reserve regiments of 1,600 bayonets at the front of the Zlodeisky farm, exclusively, Bataysk and Koisug. There were few junkers. From the side of Art. Yegorlytskaya, the 4th Don Corps of General Mamontov, who at that time fell dangerously ill, was operating, and the corps was commanded by General Pavlov. This sector of the Don Army was not observed from our sector, and therefore we know about its actions from their data.

The beginning of our attack was so vigorous, such a loud "cheers" rolled from everywhere, that the battle, despite the obvious superiority of the enemy forces and the depressed state of our troops, promised us success. It was seen how our cavalry attacked the Reds in an almost continuous line, knocked them down and steadfastly marched under the destructive fire of machine guns. With the onset of dusk, the Reds were defeated and driven back in our sector beyond the Don, from where, over our heads, their artillery from Rostov showered shells on the entire battlefield. The 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, with a strike along the Don, from Bataysk to Nakhichevan, finished off the fleeing units of the famous 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny in the semi-darkness. On the shoulders of the fleeing, it would be easy to break into Rostov and Nakhichevan, but this was not part of our task and we were ordered to withdraw to our old positions. The losses of our infantry were small, but the cavalry, especially the Tertsy, suffered heavy losses. General Toporkov himself was wounded.

The success of the cavalry of General Barbovich and the cavalry of General Toporkov was reaped by the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, with its blow along the Don, cutting off the path of the Reds fleeing to Rostov, taking away abandoned guns and machine guns. Such a number of weapons actually picked up - in total, 15 guns and several dozen machine guns were taken by the regiment - it was possible to take, in addition to the valor of our cavalry and the Cossack cavalry, also because the meadows were still poorly passable for the cavalry, and even more so for artillery,

January 7/20. In the combat log of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment for this number it is noted that Art. Olginskaya was taken by the Don Army.

January 8/21. On the front of the Kornilov Shock Division, all attacks of the 9th and 12th Rifle Divisions were repulsed,

January 8/21 according to the book of Budyonny:“Fierce battles broke out on January 21st. On the right flank, the 9th Infantry Division, which had previously been in the army reserve, was thrown into battle. The regiments of this division, operating southwest of Rostov, stormed the farms of Obukhov and Ust-Koysug all day. In the center, the 12th Infantry Division went on the offensive. The 3rd brigade of this division, despite the enemy's hurricane machine-gun and artillery fire and quicksand, crossed the Koisug River two versts from Bataysk. However, due to the unsuccessful actions of other parts of the division and under pressure from many times superior enemy forces, the brigade retreated.

On the same day, two brigades of the 4th cavalry division and the entire 6th cavalry division of Budyonny, together with the 31st and 40th rifle divisions, attacked Olginskaya, a sector of the Don Army, and took it, but were driven back behind the Don by a counterattack.

Description of the same day by the Soviet Colonel Agureev: “Having brought up fresh forces, on January 21 AD. Art. the cavalry and 8th armies again went on the offensive. The 4th, 6th and 11th cavalry divisions and five rifle divisions were introduced into the battle (of which the 9th and 12th, which were subordinate to the cavalry army, the 31st and 40th divisions of the 8th th Army and 21st - 9th Army). From the mouth of the Don to Art. Manychskaya fought fierce battles. The 9th and 12th rifle divisions, advancing from the mouth of the Don to Bataysk, met stubborn resistance from the Drozdovskaya, Kornilovskaya and Alekseevskaya (only one regiment) divisions of the "Volunteer Corps" and, having not achieved success, retreated to their starting lines in the evening " (The 9th and 12th rifle divisions had 18 rifle regiments and two cavalry regiments attached to the divisions, and our divisions had a maximum of 7 small regiments. The rest of the Red Army operated in the sector of the Don Army and, also without success, were discarded for the Don).

January 9-10/22-23. Quiet at the front. The Red Command apparently decided to leave us alone and contrived to strike somewhere else.

So, the order of the commander of the Southwestern Front Shorin, given on January 3/16, 1920 to the 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny with the rifle divisions attached to it by January 9, Art. Art. failed completely. On this occasion, a stormy explanation took place between the front commander Shorin and the commander of the 1st cavalry army Budyonny, from where we can partially learn about the reasons for the failure and the losses of the 1st cavalry army of Budyonny. First I will give Materials from Budyonny's book "My Path Traveled":

Page 385: Discord is stated between the commander of the 8th army and the 1st cavalry on the issue that the latter should not have taken Rostov and Nakhichevan, since this sector was assigned to the 3rd army, and this reached the commander of the South-Western Front Shorin in unpleasant lighting for the 1st Cavalry Army.

Page 388: The Revolutionary Council of the 1st Cavalry protested against the fact that Shorin was sending an army to attack a fortified enemy in the forehead and where it fell into a swampy area. Having tried to advance, they could not pull out a single gun, not a single machine-gun cart (?!). The cavalry army lost its main quality - mobility and maneuver. Despite the obvious inexpediency of the attack on Bataysk, we were forced to follow Shorin's directives.

Page 389: Unsuccessful 17 A.D. Art. Budyonny asks Shorin to cancel the directive to attack Bataysk. Shorin refused, but promised to give instructions on the advance of the right-flank divisions of the 8th Army.

Page 391-392: Convinced of the futility of frontal attacks on Bataysk and Olginskaya, Budyonny asks Shorin to cancel Bataysk's attack from Rostov. However, Shorin rejected this request and stated that the cavalry drowned its military glory in the Rostov wine cellars. This unheard-of insult thrown by Shorin at the address of the heroic soldiers of the Cavalry outraged us to the core. We declared that the cavalry was sinking and dying in the Batai marshes through the fault of the front command, and that until he, Shorin, arrived in Rostov, we would not send the army on an aimless offensive.

Page 392 and 393: After that, Budyonny is addressed along the political line, to Stalin, with accusations of Shorin and with a proposal to entrust the defense of Rostov and Nakhichevan to the 8th army, and to transfer the 1st cavalry to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Konstantinovskaya, where it is easy to cross and step southwest

Page 393-394: Shorin himself came to the 1st Cavalry Army, looked at the units and declared that he found the order of using the armies correct and would adhere to this order in the future. The cavalry must take Bataysk. This ended the conversation between Shorin and Budyonny. On the same day, the command of the Cavalry sent a telegram to Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky. The next day, the commander-in-chief ordered the commander of the Caucasian Front "to cancel frontal attacks on the front of the 8th and Cavalry Army." Thus, along the political line, Budyonny was successful and Shorin was removed.

Page 403: In a telegraph conversation with Stalin, Voroshilov said: “We are all unspeakably glad that Shorin has been removed. If you arrive in Rostov, then make sure on the spot that a simple displacement, and even with an increase for him, is not enough. We all consider him a criminal. More than 40% of the best fighters, command staff and commissars and up to 4,000 horses were ruined by his inability or evil will. One and the most important request, which does not tolerate a single day of delay: in order to preserve the composition of the Cavalry, insist (?) On the immediate secondment of the 9th Infantry Division to our disposal. Our defeat is a consequence of the lack of infantry cover on the flanks and the consolidation of the achieved lines. Second request: indicate the urgent need for urgent replenishment of the Cavalry.

Full recognition of the colossal losses of the 1st Cavalry Army is the content of the letter of Budyonny himself to Lenin.

Page 398: "The village of Bogaevskaya on the river. Don, February 1 AD Art. 1920 Dear leader, Vladimir Ilyich! Forgive me for writing this letter to you. I really want to see you personally and bow before you as the great leader of all the poor peasants and workers, but the cause of the front and the Denikin gang prevent me from doing this. I must inform you, Comrade Lenin, that the cavalry is going through a difficult time. Never before have my cavalry been beaten like the whites are now. And they beat her because the front commander put the cavalry in such conditions that she could die completely. I am ashamed to tell you this, but I love the cavalry army, etc...”. Next come Shorin's accusations of all mortal sins.

Now let us try, from our Kornilovian point of view, to weigh and analyze the reasons for the temporary success of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia in the tragic conditions for us to retreat from Orel by 700 miles and roll back beyond the Don, leaving large stocks of weapons and supplies in Rostov and Novocherkassk.

The first and main positive factor in our success was the moral upsurge in the Cossack units in the face of the tragedy of our defeat by the efforts and hands of mainly independent movements, which almost destroyed the unity of command. The Don units were so shocked by this that the once glorious 4th Corps of General Mamontov, who left their capital without a fight, now allowed General Sidorin to clean his carts, as a result of which about 4,000 people were put into operation. The volunteer corps of General Kutepov was numerically weak, but for vigor he needed rest, which he received while the Reds smashed Rostov, Nakhichevan and Novocherkassk as winners,

In vain the Reds believe that the conditions of the terrain prevented them. They were almost the same for both sides. From the heights of Rostov and Nakhichevan, the Reds with their artillery fire perfectly covered their crossings back and forth, and the plain from the Don to the line on our side, the village of Olginskaya - the farm of Zlodeysky and Bataysk, was equally unpleasant for us, since in the first place it had no shelter from fire. Yes, we have heights on the line of Art. Olginskaya - Zlodeysky farm partially concealed the transfer of our reserves, but they cannot be compared with the heights of the right bank of the Don, which were a real fortress, while ours were only slightly hilly terrain. In vain is the exaggeration of our numbers and weapons. All this was then and now known and serves as a red bad cover for their medieval methods of subjugating the peoples of the Russian Empire to their international dictatorship.

Without going into the subtleties of assessing the balance of power, then it seemed to us that our duty obliges us to defend the Motherland, and therefore we fought to the end according to the testament of our Leader and Chief of the regiment, General Kornilov, as long as our hands could hold weapons. You, everyday comrades, had something else: the madness of propaganda of the unrealizable, the unprecedented, brutal CHEKA and unlimited power to foreign regiments that created unlimited resources and, we must never forget that you always crushed us with your mass. And now, in spite of our temporary success, we realized that you would crush us, but in full consciousness of the rightness of our cause, we carried our lives on the altar of our Motherland. Even your illustrious proletarians, the miners of the Donets Basin, were infected with this, of whom the “reserve regiment of the Kornilov shock division” was made up and who valiantly fought with you for national RUSSIA near Bataisk and as far as Novorossiysk. Eternal and glorious memory of these valiant heroes for their patriotic impulse, albeit short-lived, which, moreover, manifested in conditions of hopeless success.

The coverage of the situation gives a clear idea of ​​what a brilliant role the Kornilovites played in these battles in the defense of Bataisk and Koisug. And in the reduced composition of two regiments, with the support of their reserve regiment of miners, cheerful in spirit, they inflicted colossal damage on the enemy and were worthy of the rest provided to them in the reserve.

January 11, Art. Art. 1920 The replacement of the Kornilovskaya Shock Division by Alekseevtsy and the transfer to the reserve of the 1st Army Corps of the Volunteer Army in Kayal. The 2nd regiment was assigned Zadonskaya Sloboda at the Kayal station. Here, the units sorted out and cheered up, proceeded to drill exercises and tactical exercises. During this time, news of the victory of the Donets on the river. Manych even gave rise to hopes for a new offensive. Yekaterinodar, with its government, evoked a completely opposite mood.

January 31st. Arrival of General Denikin. The regiments joyfully greeted their old colleague and Commander-in-Chief. His speech shook many and made them look at everything that was happening more reasonably.

February 2. Performance on Koisug. The regiments reached Bataysk in echelons and at dawn went in marching order to Koisug. There was a strong frost, and all movements were constrained by it.

3 and 5 February. On the front of the Kornilov Shock Division, Bataisk-stanitsa Elisavetovskaya, all attacks of the Reds were repulsed. Rest markedly lifted the spirits, and the battles are fought amicably.

February 6. The volunteer corps of General Kutepov goes on the offensive. An order was received from the Kornilov Shock Division to attack the city of Rostov through Art. Gnilovskaya, which is supposed to be taken by a night attack. In the forefront is the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment, followed by the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, to the right - the reserve Kornilov Regiment and the 1st Markov Infantry Regiment. A ledge behind the left flank of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, "boxes" - the cavalry of General Barbovich. At 24 hours the movement of units began. There was a severe frost, which only well-dressed could hardly endure, and the rest were warmed by movement. The movement took place on a flat, swampy terrain, in some places overgrown with reeds. The infantry regiments marched in columns in a battalion style, and the cavalry in “boxes”. A frosty mist enveloped the whole majestic movement of the compact mass of troops.

February 7th. Before the village of Gnilovskaya, the Kornilovites crossed the Don and approached a high, steep bank. They began to climb it, the horses slid, fell, in the darkness the steep seemed endless. Captain Shirkovsky with his battalion took the standing armored train, and the rest of the battalions of the 1st Kornilovsky Shock Regiment captured the Bakhchisaray Lenin Regiment with all its guns and machine guns. The 2nd Regiment became a reserve division in the village, and the reserve Kornilov Regiment with the 1st Markovsky were sent to Temernik, a suburb of Rostov. The Reds went on the offensive from Taganrog. The cavalry of the Reds, who did not assume that we had occupied the village so quickly, approached it in columns and were shot at point-blank range by our reserves. The armored trains of the Reds at that time were coming from the same place, accompanied by infantry, in order to reach our rear. The enemy was also brought up close and repulsed by fire.

The advance of the 1st Markov and reserve Kornilov regiments met with stubborn resistance from Temernik. In the Kornilovtsy section, a platoon of the Markov battery fired at the Red battery with direct fire, which was taken. But despite this, our attack did not advance further than the station.

General Barbovich's cavalry went north.

The next day, the 1st and 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiments were ordered to take Rostov and Nakhichevan.

February 8th. By morning, our units held Temernik, and the Reds were on the other side of the railway, in the streets of Rostov, placing machine guns everywhere. From the beginning of the offensive, our artillery from the Temernitsky church opened heavy fire on the enemy’s position and knocked out almost all the machine guns. The regiments went on the attack, the Reds were thrown back and began to retreat, hiding behind machine guns. The right-flank 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment was given a section from the Don, inclusive, to Sadovaya Street, exclusively, and in Nakhichevan - Cathedral Street, inclusive. The left-flank 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment - from Sadovaya to the outskirts of the city, inclusive, and so follow to Nakhichevan, to its eastern outskirts. In some places the enemy offered stubborn resistance, but everywhere we successfully knocked him down. With the onset of darkness, the regiments passed through the city of Nakhichevan, and by 11 p.m. they were dispersed to their apartments, posting outposts to the east and north. The movements of the Don units from the side of Art. Aksaiskaya was not there until the end of the operation. The 3rd Soviet Army was defeated, the trophies of the Kornilovites alone were 13 guns, 74 machine guns, three armored trains and up to a thousand prisoners. In addition, up to 800 prisoners were surrendered to them by the cavalry of General Barbovich.

The reserve Kornilov regiment suffered heavy losses on the first day of the offensive - 200 people were killed and wounded. The 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment lost 60 people, the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment - up to a hundred people. The temporary commander of the regiment, captain Dashkevich, was wounded, and staff captain Shirkovsky took command of the regiment. The losses of the 1st Markov regiment were up to a hundred people (see volume 2 of their book “In battles and campaigns for Russia”).

Here it is appropriate to cite the opinion of the commander of the squadron of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Cuirassier Regiment, Captain E. Onoshkovich-Yanyn, set out by him in the journal "Military Story" No. 78, March 1966. describes the same battle only from what he saw on his site and from this he concludes that “the whole burden of the battle fell on the cavalry brigade of General Barbovich, more precisely, on one Consolidated Guards Regiment, the composition of which, according to the author, was 240 checkers with two machine guns in his squadron (there must have been the same number in the second squadron). Or: “The actions of the Consolidated Guards Regiment remained unknown, and they were decisive, since the regiment passed through the rear of the enemy (it only knocked down his chain with an attack), finally demoralizing him and destroying his combat capability” (?!)

In my materials for the history of the Kornilov Shock Regiment, I warned the reader from the very beginning that I would cover the actions of the Kornilovites in their narrow framework in order to avoid reproach from judgments about the actions of other units. But in this case, in a long correspondence with the captain E. Onoshkovich-Yatsyna, I wanted to prove the impartiality of the entries in our regimental journals, on the basis of which I describe this battle. Yes, the actions of the cavalry brigade of General Barbovich in this battle were brilliant. According to them, two armored trains surrendered to them in their sector - they looked like armed auxiliaries. And in the future, the cavalry brigade acted as I have given above in the description of this battle. If we compare the strength of the cavalry brigade of General Barbovich with four infantry regiments, adding to them the Kornilov artillery brigade, the Markov battery at the 1st Markov infantry regiment, more than a hundred machine guns in only three Kornilov regiments, the Kornilov cavalry division and a squadron in each regiment, capture stations and villages of Gnilovskaya with an armored train and the capture of an infantry regiment in full force, with all its machine guns and artillery, and taking into account our losses in killed and wounded, then ... all this will be far from asserting that "the whole burden of the battle" fell on one cavalry regiment with four machine guns.

I hope that an unbiased reader will take into account all of the above and, having paid tribute to the actions of the cavalry brigade of General Barbovich, will not forget about the actions of the four infantry regiments and their firepower. A large correspondence with the captain E. Onoshkovich-Yatsyna with the attachment of a letter from his brother-soldier, captain Raukh, is kept in my materials. Colonel Levitov.

February 9th. February 3, when the 8th Soviet Army suffered a complete defeat, was a day of great hopes for the continuation of our offensive, but fate was merciless to us, it seemed to be joking with us, hiding from us what was happening behind our right flank, where it was advancing 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny. The day of the 9th began with the arrival of still joyful news: large trophies were counted, at dawn the outposts of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment unexpectedly discovered a large number of abandoned machine guns, rifles and cartridges in their sector, apparently under the influence of our destructive machine-gun fire in the moment of the already night battle outside the eastern outskirts of Nakhichevan. I, as an assistant commander of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, examined my site and, along the way, witnessed the collection of the abandoned. There were no living horses; many wagons stood loaded with cartridges and machine-gun belts, there were even several boxes with new rifles. Conscience did not allow to deprive the strikers of the opportunity to rest after a two-day battle in such a frost, and therefore few were engaged in collecting the abandoned, and yet by the evening 11 serviceable machine guns and three dozen wagons loaded with machine guns, a large number of machine-gun belts, boxes with new rifles were delivered to the regiment and other valuable goods. Thus, within the narrow confines of our combat sector, everything was in a victorious mood, and under the impression of this I went with an evening report to the commander of the regiment, Colonel Pashkevich. Here I was one of the first to learn about all the vicissitudes of our cruel fate. In response to my joyful report, I received an order: “Tomorrow early in the morning the division leaves Rostov. Regiment by the shortest way to cross to the other side of the Don and move to Bataysk. My surprise knew no bounds, I did not yet know about the actions of Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army and therefore naively asked: "Why are we retreating?" The commander lowered his head and paced the room nervously. I could not resist and again asked him the same question. Usually extremely tactful in dealing with me - but this time the successes of the day do not save me - the commander stopped and blurted out impetuously: "You were not asked!" I turn around and leave with a heavy thought.

February 10th. From Nakhichevan through Rostov, along Sadovaya and Taganrog Avenue, the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment crossed the Don by 4 o'clock and, as part of the division, takes the direction through Bataysk to Koisug. The inhabitants of Rostov were amazed at our retreat without a fight, and some of them fled with us. In Rostov it turned out that the Bolsheviks had burned one of our hospitals with our sick and wounded. In Koisuga, the regiments went to their quarters and took up their positions.

The 14th of February. The 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment was ordered to move to Bataysk. Before the regiment had time to go to quarters, the enemy launched an attack on Koisug and occupied its northern outskirts. By order of the head of the division, the regiment delivers a red blow to the flank, between Koisug and Bataysk, drives them away and reaches almost to the Don. After the battle, the regiment settled in Koisuga. In this battle, our reserve regiment again suffered heavy losses.

15 and 16 February. Calm on the front of the Kornilov Shock Division Bataysk-Koysug. Under Art. Olginskaya there are strong battles, and the Markovites suffered heavy losses.

February 17. Without pressure from the enemy, our division retreats to the Kayal station. The 2nd regiment occupies Bataysk.

February 19th. Station Kushchevka. Before us is a complete picture of the retreat of the Army: huge carts are moving, herds and shoals are being driven, Kalmyks are riding with their wagons, and in some places retreating units are stretching. The stanitsa have been pumped up a lot for the civil war and are calmly waiting for the Bolsheviks. The weather has deteriorated, there is impassable mud, and at the sight of this whole picture of retreat, everyone is in a disgusting mood.

February 20th. The 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment and the remnants of the reserve regiment, which was almost destroyed in the night battle, are in the village of Shkurinskaya. To the right, in Kushchevka, - Kuban, to the left, in the village of Starominskaya, - the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment. By evening, the enemy occupied Kuschevka.

February 21st. On the site of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, on the night of the 20th, the infantry units of the Reds approached the village and by 3 o'clock, bypassing the left flank of the regiment, approached the railroad track, but the reserve battalions were driven back across the Yeya River. By evening, the enemy again occupied half of the village, but the regiment pushed him back with a night attack and captured the commander of the red brigade. Ordered to retreat to the village of Novominskaya.

February 22. At one o'clock, the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment left the village of Shkurinskaya and went not by the field road - there was terrible mud - but along the railroad track through the village of Starominskaya, where it arrived at dawn. The enemy did not pursue.

24 February. The 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment was ordered to move to Art. Krylovskaya. which is occupied by the Kuban cavalry regiment. When approaching, it turned out that the red infantry was already approaching the village of Krylovskaya, and their cavalry went to the farms, which was east of the village. The advance was halted. The regiment was located in the village, and the enemy sat down on the other side of the Chelbasy River, in the continuation of the village. The whole village was shot through with rifle and machine-gun fire, and enemy artillery made it difficult to move in our rear.

25 February. In the morning there is a battle on the river with the enemy infantry, and their cavalry bypasses our right flank from the southeast. By evening, the 2nd regiment retreated across the Srednie Chelbasy River to the Ugrya farm, where it joined up with the division.

February 26th. The village of Bryukhovetskaya. Kornilovskaya Shock Division in the reserve of the commander of the Volunteer Corps, General Kutepov. In the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, his reserve battalion was reduced to a company and poured into an officer battalion.

March 1, 1920 Kornilovskaya Shock Division in the village of Starovelichkovskaya as part of the 1st and 2nd regiments with their own artillery. The 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment in the old way in Yekaterinodar and its environs, where it was well replenished.

March 4th. The Kornilovites were ordered to occupy the village of Poltava and let all the units and carts of the corps pass by. The Kornilovites had just settled down for a halt in the village, when they were attacked by the Red cavalry of the 16th division. The battle was short: having filled the entire village with themselves, they unexpectedly met a destructive rebuff from the Kornilovites everywhere and, unable to stand it, rebounded with great damage to themselves. The 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment captured the banner of the 96th Kuban Soviet Cavalry Regiment. At 18 o'clock the division moved to Art. Slavic. Here and in the following pages one can feel a benevolent attitude towards us and fuller repentance for their behavior towards us. Of course, this belated and naked sympathy did not erase in our hearts the bitterness of the betrayal of the Cossack independents, who left us and their patriots at the most critical moment of the fighting on the Voronezh-Orel front. And not just those who left us, but at times I wanted to open fire on these traitors, when before our eyes several hundred of them with their old Standard, with trumpeters, songs and in a drunken state were dragging past us through their native Kuban fields towards Lenin's Red Army, so that help her to finish us off for the glory of the dictatorship of the world proletariat. All this was so hard to worry about that perhaps the now heartfelt repentance of the Cossacks of the last villages did not please us. It's belated...

5th of March. At 18 o'clock in the village of Troitskaya, the Kornilovites crossed the Kuban River. With heavy thoughts, the Kornilovites looked at the deep and wide waters of the historical river Kuban, on the banks of which we and her faithful sons shed so much blood in the name of our common Mother RUSSIA in the recent past, achieved glorious victories, and now, by the grace of her traitors - independentists, in for the last time we look at its mighty waters with a deep belief that the times of betrayals and betrayals will pass, RUSSIA will throw off Bolshevism and a free and free life will again spill over the Kuban expanses.

The enemy does not pursue.

March 7-10. Crimean village. Messages came about the abandonment of Ekaterinodar and the death of our 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment at the Elizabethan crossing across the Kuban. His regimental commander himself, Captain Shcheglov, arrived and confirmed everything previously reported. For the first time this regiment bled to death in long and bloody battles from Orel to the Donets Basin. From Bataysk, he was sent to the Ekaterinodar region for replenishment, thus avoiding all the heavy battles for Rostov and retreating to the village of Krymskaya. It was known for sure that the regiment was well replenished and suddenly - some kind of incomprehensible and inglorious death of the regiment? In connection with the general catastrophe, Captain Shcheglov was not put on trial and was not even removed from command of the regiment, reviving it again in the Crimea. The combat calendar of the 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment so briefly covers this tragic episode: on March 3, at 20:00, on the orders of the command of the Don Army, the regiment set out from Ekaterinodar to cross to the other side of the Kuban River near the village of Elizavetinskaya. On the way, the regiment had a halt at the place of death of General Kornilov and then went to quarters in Elizavetinskaya. There were no funds for the crossing in the village. At 8 o'clock on March 4, the regiment moved to the village of Maryinskaya, where it arrived at 12 o'clock. After standing there for two hours and not finding a crossing there either, the regiment turned back to the village of Elizavetinskaya. Near the village itself, the regiment was fired upon with rare rifle fire from the forest, which is northwest of the village. In the very same village there were already Red quarters, taken prisoner by us. Under the cover of the 2nd battalion, a crossing to the left bank of the Kuban was to begin near the village of Khashtuk on a single boat that could accommodate 7 people. By morning, 201 people had been transported. At sunrise, the remnants of the regiment that crossed over moved to the village of Panahes, where they had several hours of rest. At 1300 hours on March 5th we moved to the Severskaya station, where we arrived at 1000 hours on March 5th and, having plunged into the train, on March 8th we arrived at the village of Krymskaya, where we joined with our division (from the compiler of the notes: I, as a pioneer and then crossing at the village Elizabeth from the left bank to the right on a small ferry, now about the crossing here of our 3rd regiment, but in a different situation, to the left bank, I have a different opinion.If there was an order from the head of the crossing from the Don Army, concerning only the crossing of the regiment, and not defense of such a “sacrificing oneself”, then it was not a combat order, and therefore it was possible to allow all sorts of tricks in its execution and, first of all, use the telephone and horse reconnaissance to determine the presence of a crossing, and then hold it until the regiment approached . Without this data, it would have been better to wait in line for crossing the railway bridge, where there was hope for the preservation of personnel, since everything else had to be abandoned during the evacuation anyway. It is undeniable that in order to carry out a combat order, we must sacrifice ourselves, but in order to carry out simple transfers of a unit, we must save our strength.

To complete the picture of what happened with the 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment, I cite the testimony of Colonel Rumyantsev, Nikolai Kuzmich, sent to me in 1970 from the USA. After recovering from a serious wound he received in the ranks of the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment during the attack on Kursk, he was assigned to the 3rd Kornilov Shock Regiment as an assistant regiment commander for combat units. “At the time of my arrival, the regiment was stationed 30 versts from Yekaterinodar, and here I first met Colonel Shcheglov. He is a career officer, but he spent almost the entire first Great War in non-combatant positions. Before that, I had never been in a fight with him. The regiment had just been replenished. There were very few old officers familiar from the 1st Regiment, and thus the entire composition of the 3rd Regiment was unfamiliar to me. Then the regiment was transferred to Yekaterinodar, where it was reviewed by General Denikin, and at the end of February 1920, the regiment set out at 20 o'clock in the village of Elizavetinskaya. I remember the date well, since the tragic crossing was from 3 to 4 March. Here I have my first disagreement with the regiment commander, as well as with some of the senior officers of the regiment, because of the decision to cross the Kuban. We insisted that the crossing be made in Yekaterinodar, but he gave the order to go along the coast of the Kuban to the village of Elizavetinskaya. Colonel Shcheglov was stubborn and took little account of the opinion of his assistants. I'll try to be objective. So, the regiment set out from Ekaterinodar to Elizavetinskaya in full force, with two guns. When approaching Elizavetinskaya, it was discovered that there was neither a crossing nor the means for the crossing. The commander was at the head of the regiment, and I was ordered to be in the rear guard. Not finding a crossing, the regiment moved on. The stanitsa treated us, not to say hostilely, but very, very cautiously, with apprehension. Information about our further movement was contradictory, some spoke about the crossing at 10-15 versts, others denied this. I suggested to Colonel Shcheglov to leave the regiment at the village and send out a horse patrol to search for the crossing, while we ourselves, on the spot, start looking for means of transportation. I was allowed to leave a few cavalry and half a company, I myself led the regiment further. Remaining, I sent horsemen to illuminate the surroundings and the village. One boat was found in good condition, for 15 people, and a skiff, for 5-4 people. About four hours later, a message was received that the regiment was returning. By this time the boat and skiff were brought to our shore. With the approach of the regiment, the crossing began. She walked intensively. Colonel Shcheglov himself crossed on one of the first boats to receive those crossing. First, the sisters of mercy, the sick and the disabled were transported. Everyone got into the boat "light", taking only rifles, cartridges and medicines. Unfortunately, I also had to leave the box with my documents and photographs from my childhood and the First World War. Part of the cavalry was sent to search for the means of crossing. The time was approaching dawn when I received a report from the outpost that the Reds were approaching the village. Some of the people, seeing that there was no hope of crossing, began to leave along the river from the village, and some moved to the village. Now it's hard for me to remember, I write and I'm nervous. As far as memory serves, there were 800-900 people in the regiment, but 300-400 crossed. Three light machine guns were also transported, as the machine gunners did not want to part with them. Guns, machine guns and everything else were thrown. The last boats were already fired upon by the Reds. I personally crossed over with the treasurer, Lieutenant Serebryakov, holding on to the horse's tail. Artillerymen, having spoiled their guns, also crossed, holding on to their horses. Fortunately, the morning was foggy, which saved us from the aimed fire of the Reds. It was said that there were those who drowned at the last minute. Having got out on the shore, we were met by Colonel Shcheglov, who distributed us in the village to houses, where we dried ourselves and were fed. Then we set off to Tonelnaya station. On the way we were joined by several ranks of the regiment, who had crossed in other parts of the river. There were no battles along the way, there were only skirmishes with the greens. At the Tonelnaya station, the regiment was ordered to remain in the rear guard until the order was received. The regiment commander sent to Novorossiysk to clarify the situation and obtain further instructions. I don't remember how long we stood in Tonelnaya, but we stood calmly, and only our outposts exchanged fire with the Greens. Having received the order, the regiment set off for Novorossiysk, where it arrived safely. We were one of the last to arrive, so some had to be loaded onto other transports. Finally we set off. It is not necessary to describe what happened in Novorossiysk. Some, along with other stragglers of the Kornilovites, under the command of Colonel Grudino, went along the coast and then joined the regiment already in Kurman-Kemelchi. All this remained in my memory about this period of my stay in the regiment. This period was unlucky for him ... "

Colonel Rumyantsev.

In the Russian Army of General Wrangel, the regiment got stronger, received the Nikolaev Banner for its battles, and in the last battle in the Yushun positions, on Sivash, General Kutepov thanked him for the excellent reflection of the Reds. The very next day, during the transition of the 3rd regiment to the counterattack in front of my eyes, Colonel Shcheglov was wounded. Colonel Levitov).

10th of March. There are rumors about the order of our division to move to Temryuk, where to hold the Taman Peninsula and then load there for transfer to the Crimea. But ... at the same time, a half-company of the officer battalion of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment was assigned to the assistant division chief, Colonel Peshnya, to carry out commandant service in Novorossiysk. The remnants of the Caucasian Rifle Regiment with a cavalry hundred were poured into the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment.

11th of March. By 20 o'clock the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment arrived at st. Tonelnaya (Verkhne-Bakanskaya village).

March 12th. The patrols and small groups of the enemy launched an offensive in the morning, but were easily repulsed. By evening, a large column of Reds was seen descending from the mountains against the right combat sector of the regiment. With the onset of darkness, a battalion with a cavalry hundred was sent to reinforce the outposts, with the assistant regiment commander, Lieutenant Levitov, to combine actions. When the detachment approached the outpost, it turned out that no reconnaissance had been carried out. The cavalry hundred were ordered to illuminate the area in front of the front of the sector, and two companies and all the machine guns of the approaching battalion - about 20 machine guns in total - strengthened the defense sector. The companies barely had time to take their places, and the hundred horsemen advanced 300 steps, when the Reds began to shoot at point-blank range and rushed to attack her. It turned out that a hundred ran into the chains of the Reds, who were lying down and preparing for an attack, who had one regiment to hit us on the flank. Our infantry was located on the very outskirts of the village, along the fences and rubble. The Reds advanced in a brigade and, approaching the outskirts of the village, converged with their bypass column, and at that moment our cavalry hundred famously attacked them according to the order of Lieutenant Levitov and forced them to reveal themselves prematurely. Rushing to the attack, the red units converged even more, having in front of them only a hundred cavalry, which in no time turned and disappeared into the streets of the village, and the red ones, by inertia, rushed in a crowd after it, intoxicated with such an easy victory. The area in front of the village was flat, like a table, approaching our position in a not very wide strip, which had almost impassable cliffs along the edges. The Reds were allowed up to 250 paces by us and met with deadly machine-gun, rifle and artillery fire. Of course, their "cheer" immediately stopped and they rushed back. Two companies were sent to pursue them under the command of Captain Pomerantsev. On the descent under the cliff, they caught up with the delayed Red battalion, which they threw down with bayonets. Killed and wounded, the enemy suffered heavy losses, prisoners and defectors were taken from among the Markovtsev and Drozdovtsy taken prisoner by the Reds before. Our losses are 4 killed and 8 wounded. The successful outcome of this battle made it possible to calmly get out of the village to the numerous cavalry and our division with all the carts with which the streets were clogged. It is difficult even to imagine a different outcome of this battle, since the exit from the village was crossed by many ravines and cliffs.

March 15th. From 3 o'clock the 1st and 2nd Kornilov shock regiments began to be drawn to the assembly point, to the station. At dawn, the regiments were already marching along the steep mountain road to the Novorossiysk Pass. The enemy did not pursue, and his cavalry units went almost parallel to our movement: we went through the ridge to the southeast of the railway, and the red ones - to the northwest of it. When both sides descended from the passes into the valley of the Tsemes River, near the village of Mefodievka, a battle broke out. From the beginning of it, all units with convoys rushed to Novorossiysk, and there was such an avalanche of them that there was nothing to think about the correct evacuation. Our division had to stay in the rearguard. The enemy began to descend into the valley, and his artillery from the heights fired quite heavily at us. Several of our armored trains, our artillery and fleet quickly liquidated the Red offensive, dispersing all their cavalry and batteries with one artillery fire.

(At this historical moment, under the thunder of a real cannonade, what happened to me, a volunteer of the Great War and the Volunteer Army from the very beginning of its inception, seemed completely superfluous: I was promoted immediately to staff captains, captains and lieutenant colonels. Junior officer I have never been in the Great War. Upon arrival at the front, in the 178th Infantry Regiment of Venden, at the end of 1914, I immediately, with the rank of ensign, received a company and then for more than a year commanded a battalion "temporarily" or "for" already in the rank of lieutenant since the end of 1915. Many injuries and the revolution led me as a lieutenant to the position of an ordinary officer in the officer battalion of the Kornilov Shock Regiment, then I, a sergeant major of the officer named after General Kornilov company, had the honor of being from the regiment in the escort of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna ; behind this, I - the commander of the battalion of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, was for a short time temporarily the commander of the regiment in two regiments and then almost the entire retreat, from the city of Fat hedgehog to Novorossiysk, held the post of assistant regiment commander for combat unit with the outstanding regiment commander Colonel Pashkevich, Yakov Antonovich, in the regiment, where the officer battalion was preserved to the end. I was considered an old lieutenant, and this saved my position among my numerous subordinates, who were senior to me in rank, and I never once experienced an infringement of my pride from this. And now, under the salute of the artillery cannonade, up to and including the naval 12-inch artillery, inclusive, the chief of staff of our division of the General Staff, Colonel Kapnin, drove up to me and handed me, with congratulations, an order on my productions and shoulder straps of a lieutenant colonel. I was so amazed by this production, which seemed to me inappropriate for the moment, although I had served it for a long time, that I was even embarrassed. The now living captain Doyun, my junior officer in the Great War, who now transferred to General Barbovich's cavalry, rescued me with his congratulations. Such an exceptionally joyful coincidence shook me, and I came to my senses. Therefore, in the following narrative, I will legally refer to myself as Lieutenant Colonel Levitov).

After the defeat of the Reds by such artillery fire, the division safely passed Methodievka and approached Novorossiysk. Here we were informed that a transport of the Volunteer Fleet "Kornilov" was assigned to us, which we barely managed to load with coal and wrest from the hands of speculators who tried to load it with tobacco.

From here, Lieutenant Colonel Levitov is assigned from the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment with a patrol to examine the road to his transport. There was another day when I set off, having received all the instructions from the commander of the regiment, Colonel Pashkevich. Prior to this, the battle and other events diverted attention from the situation in Novorossiysk, but now it appeared before us in all its tragic beauty. Armored trains, derailed, blown up, mutilated by the collision, showed a terrible picture, understandable only to field troops. The whole space, as far as the eye could see, was filled mainly with abandoned carts, artillery and a mass of cavalry, leaving along the seashore towards Sochi. Clouds of smoke from fires and powerful explosions created the background of the unfolding tragedy - the defeat of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia. The city is "crammed" with abandoned carts and passing cavalry, and it hurts the eyes when hundreds after hundreds of healthy fellows pass by, having replaced all their shabby uniforms with new ones, and with trimmed additional good, but ... without weapons. It seemed to me that on the faces of everyone who did not lose self-control at the sight of this terrible picture, some kind of mournful expression was written, saying: “When you lose your head, you don’t cry for your hair! They didn’t listen to General Kornilov, they left General Kaledin alone, they couldn’t raise the Russian people to fight, so carry your cross to the end.

The question is: did they not make a mistake in the direction, since without weapons they only go to surrender, and they seem to be getting out onto the Sochi road of salvation? Do these unfortunate people have thoughts in their heads that someone will save them?! Yes, we had the misfortune to encounter this phenomenon all over Russia in the very first days of the birth of the struggle for Her honor, and now, at the end, we see the same thing ... And this decline in morality, which has repeatedly disgraced our Motherland, is noted in our the gloomy name of the “Time of Troubles”, that is, the situation when the government of the country falls into the hands of international crooks, and the distraught people, destroying each other, follow the slogan: “Rob the loot!”

I managed to overcome the distance of about three versts that separated the regiment from the pier only towards evening. At the pier, I received confirmation that the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment remained in the rear guard, where it currently stands, the battalion of the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment was also on the outskirts of the city, the division was loading, and the rear guards were ordered to retreat. Here, the head of the division stressed that when loading the 1st regiment would become espaliers, let everyone through, and then plunge itself. Having sent the report, I waited for the order to withdraw from the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment and, having received it at about 9 pm, went to the regiment. By this time, the bulk of the retreating had already left the city, and I, having ridden for the last time on my "faithful war horse", quickly reached the regiment. The unprecedented procession of the regiment began: having removed the saddles and bridles, we set our faithful comrade horses free. Explosions of dynamite crackled at the positions of our artillery, with rifles on their shoulders and light machine guns and heavy machine guns on straps, there was a living mighty force, hardened in battles and in the old way faithful to the precepts of its Leader and Chief of the regiment, General Kornilov. Along with the regiment comes the Kuban Plastun battalion attached to it. It was especially difficult to part with weapons, realizing that they would still be useful, but the situation inexorably demanded this. They only took what they could carry.

When the regiment approached its Kornilov transport, we were told that there was no place for us. Then Colonel Pashkevich demanded the division chief of staff and directly told him: “Mr. Colonel, we have machine guns and rifles with us, and therefore the ship will not leave without us!” After the report to the head of the division, loading began.

The plastun battalion attached to us was also completely submerged. Indeed, there was almost no place, just as there was no order during loading. There was a lot of some kind of rear audience, but there was no specific place for the front part. Of the outsiders, the administration of the ship refused to load 10 officers and 60 Cossacks, who almost without a word of reproach went into the mountains, and some, upon leaving the pier, shot. The transport was so crowded that it was impossible to sit in the lower holds without air, and some committed suicide in the most primitive way. And only at dawn the transport "Kornilov" went to sea.

Rare gunfire was heard in the city, while Gelendzhik had a rather lively rifle and machine-gun firefight. I will not talk about the experiences of front-line soldiers at the time of departure, since only a front-line soldier can understand them. One thing can be said that the retreat revealed to us all the vileness, flabbiness and venality of our rear. Novorossiysk, with its colossal warehouses and with numerous personnel of various institutions that climbed onto our transport, polished the terrible picture and gave it a finished look.

There was only one thing left, the last span of our native land at our disposal - this is the Crimea. As a drowning man clutches at a straw, so most of us have hope clinging to this small piece of land, and each of us, swaying on the waves of the Black Sea, seemed to sum up the way of the Cross we had traveled and thought about possible resistance and about our own and the common healing in ways of fighting. The same thought was at the highest command staff. Looking at this mixed mass, our chiefs were looking for a way to bring it into proper form to continue the struggle. Even the inexperienced eye of a civilian could see that the composition of the rear departments was colossal and required decisive measures to reduce it. The decision was made and implementation began.

There was also talk about the reasons for the defeat of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, and everyone saw them in the absence of a unified power in the hands of General Denikin, while our enemy had not only a unity of power and purpose, but also the bestial Cheka of the Polish nobleman Dzerzhinsky, who saved with his measures his brother, the Russian nobleman Lenin. The union of two nobles, backed up by the American Jew Trotsky, created a diabolical force for the death and disgrace of national Russia. The complete exhaustion of physical and moral strength was such that the experienced catastrophe of Novorossiysk and their own were presented in the usual cruel military expressions: "Today you, and tomorrow I." These are the laws of war.

March 15th. Transport "Kornilov" arrived in Feodosia. It was necessary to disinfect and unload a little. It was decided to use the transition from transport to the shore to filter all those who had sunk and to escort the regiments of the division hanging out to replenish. For this, a huge yard with high "fortified" walls was chosen not far from the pier, the road to it was guarded by espaliers of the officer battalion of the 2nd Kornilov Shock Regiment, and then unloading was started. The shelves in this yard were placed in their own areas, and the rest of the public began to be filtered. The majority did not expect such a measure, but expected to quietly unload somewhere in the region of Constantinople, and here - on you! Theodosius and an offer to join such and such a company of the Kornilov Shock Regiment! All this crowd of dubious ones immediately bristled and tried to “slip out to the arap” to freedom. Everyone began to bombard the controllers with terrible phrases, pointing out the high posts they held and their connections with the Headquarters, but this number didn’t work for many and they had to join some regiment for the time being. As soon as their first onslaught failed, all this began to whine at once and began to determine the height of the walls surrounding the courtyard. The picture that I witnessed gave us a complete description of all these gentlemen and their role in the Army. Five staff officers and several chief officers, due to the uncertainty of their position in the Army and due to their lack of proper documents, were assigned to the officer battalion of the 1st Kornilov Shock Regiment. Some of them appeared to the battalion commander, and some took up the study of the height of the walls. After a while, all this warm company united, discussing something animatedly and mysteriously. Then they began to quickly shift something in their suitcases, throwing out everything unnecessary, after which, taking advantage of the lack of proper supervision, they began to try to take the barrier - the wall and run. A group of our officers watched this and laughed. The most zealous athlete turned out to be one old man who tried to overcome the wall at least five times and failed each time. Finally they were stopped, and the elder could not stand it and, waving his hand, said: “Damn it, but how would you really not have to serve!” They all fled the next night.

So, the first good undertaking was rebuffed. The ensuing struggle was facilitated, since such gentlemen really did have solid connections and were gradually rescued.

The division received hot food at the feeding point and in the evening began loading onto the old transport.

March 16th.At about 3 o'clock we set sail and headed for Sevastopol. Our artillery brigade remained in Feodosia. Everyone admired Livadia - the residence of Emperor Nicholas II, Harax, Ai-Todor, Dyulber, Koreiz, Simeiz, etc. The monuments of art still survived and shone with their beauty. I had the opportunity to recall my stay here in the protection of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Empress Maria Feodorovna from the Kornilov Shock Regiment. The day was good, the orchestra was playing and everyone somehow cheered up. At 13 o'clock transport "Kornilov" arrived in Sevastopol. When passing by the cruiser "General Kornilov" his crew with the orchestra was lined up to meet on deck. Kornilovtsy-drummers and Kornilovtsy-sailors greeted each other and a loud "hurrah" was carried far across the bay. Our former Commander of the Volunteer Army, General May-Maevsky, came to meet us at the pier. It was hard for me to see him after the battle for the Eagle, and therefore I avoided participating in the meeting. Behind us is the tragedy of the failed struggle for two years for Russia. Now all our feelings and thoughts were directed to how the further struggle will develop on this last patch of native land?

In a popular Soviet song about the First Cavalry Army, it was sung: “The chieftain dogs remember. / The Polish lords remember. / Our Cavalry blades.” But there were no special words about Ukrainian separatists in it. This is despite the fact that the 6th Infantry Division of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) was in the summer of 1920 a constant enemy of Budyonny's army all the way from the Dnieper to the San. Maybe it's because she finally stopped the advance of the First Cavalry?

Petliurists in the Polish army

In 1919, the UNR army, led by Symon Petliura, had to fight on three fronts: against the Red Army, against the White Guard Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYUR) under General Denikin, and against the Poles. With one of them she would have to make an alliance. The Ukrainians are divided. One part advocated an alliance with Poland at the cost of losing part of the territory of Ukraine. The other did not agree with this and in November 1919 went over to the side of Denikin. Finally, a whole brigade led by Colonel Yemelyan Volokh went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and joined the Red Army.

Petliura led a group advocating an alliance with the Poles. Preparing to resume the war with Soviet Russia, Pilsudski, in turn, attracted Ukrainian and Belarusian bourgeois nationalists to his side. On April 21, 1920, in Warsaw, he and Petlyura signed an agreement under which Poland recognized the independence of Ukraine. In response, Poland received western territories inhabited by Ukrainians - not only those that were part of Austria-Hungary before the First World War (Eastern Galicia with Lviv), but also the Kholmshchina and the entire Volyn region with the cities of Lutsk, Kovel and Rivne. The eastern border of Ukraine was to be determined by a future treaty with the RSFSR after the victory. Petlyura received the right to form the Ukrainian army.

So in the same ranks with the Polish army against the Soviet Republic in 1920, the army of the UNR fought. The first to be formed was the 6th Rifle Division under the command of General Mark Bezruchko. In the winter of 1919/20, on the instructions of Petlyura, she made a raid on the rear of the All-Union Socialist Revolutionary Federation and the Red Army, and in the spring of 1920 she took part in the offensive of the Polish troops in Right-Bank Ukraine. In the summer of 1920, she participated in repelling the Soviet offensive there, was badly battered, but retained combat effectiveness. Together with the Polish troops, she retreated west of the Bug River in Volhynia.

To the rescue of the Western Front

In August 1920, it seemed to many that the Soviet-Polish war would soon end with the triumphant entry of the Red Army into Warsaw. It seemed to most observers that the Red Army would not stop there. They already imagined the Reds in Berlin and other European capitals. However, the Soviet leadership itself shared these illusions. It planned to carry the banner of the proletarian revolution further, to Germany and Western Europe.

While the armies of the Soviet Western Front under the command of Mikhail Tukhachevsky were approaching Warsaw, the troops of the Southwestern Front (commander Alexander Yegorov, a member of the Revolutionary Military Council - Stalin, who had a great influence on Yegorov) were going to take Lvov. On August 11, the Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the Republic, Sergei Kamenev, ordered Yegorov to reassign the 1st Cavalry and 12th Army to the Western Front. They needed to be sent near Warsaw to build up the force of the strike. However, the command of the Southwestern Front ignored this directive, referring to the fact that the First Cavalry was already involved in the battles for Lvov, and its regrouping would take a long time.

Meanwhile, Pilsudski concentrated his forces to strike at the flanks of the Red Army group advancing on Warsaw and on August 16 launched a counteroffensive. The Soviet Western Front suffered a heavy defeat and rolled back from the Polish capital. Now the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic demanded from Yegorov and Stalin the transfer of the 1st Cavalry to the Western Front already in order to save it from complete defeat. However, this order was carried out with great delay.

The Red Command decided to redirect the First Cavalry to Lublin in order to create a threat on the right flank of the enemy's Warsaw group of forces by taking this city and force him to suspend the strike against the Western Front. Tukhachevsky gave the corresponding directive to Budyonny on August 24 by order of the Revolutionary Military Council, although he himself did not believe in its feasibility.

The first cavalry continuously participated in offensive battles from June 1920, from the liberation of Kyiv. In the last unsuccessful battles for Lviv, she suffered heavy losses and did not have time to make up for them. She began her raid on Lublin, having no more than 8 thousand fighters in the ranks in her four cavalry divisions.

Battles near Zamostye and Komarov

On August 27, the First Cavalry began to advance from the Sokal region. On the way lay the city of Zamostye (Polish Zamosc), defended by the 6th Ukrainian division, numbering 4,000 bayonets. Interestingly, its neighbors along the front were also national and white guard units that made an alliance with the Poles: on the right - the Don brigade, on the left - the 2nd Ukrainian division, the Kuban brigade and the Belarusian brigade of the "father" Bulak-Balakhovich. The stubborn defense by the Petliurists of Zamostye, which was an important center of local communications, chained the forces of the First Cavalry.

On August 29, the forward detachments of Budyonny tried to take Zamosc on the move, but met with a strong rebuff. The next day, the main forces of the Soviet 6th and 11th cavalry divisions approached the city. They managed to surround the city. Dismounted, red cavalry made several attacks. Zamostye was surrounded by a chain of separate shooting cells, only in some places covered with one or two rows of barbed wire. Petliurists took up all-round defense.

Both sides acted bravely and aptly. Thus, the Budennovites managed to disable two of the three armored trains that supported the besieged. But they failed to take the city. The Petliurites launched desperate counterattacks, including night ones, and held Zamosc. The Reds could not move further to Lublin, having not taken Zamosc in the rear. It was also dangerous to stay put. The first cavalry went too deep into the enemy rear, and the neighboring 12th Army, despite all the requests of Budyonny, could not support it. From the south, a group of General Haller, consisting of the 13th infantry and 1st cavalry Polish divisions, approached, and from the north, the 2nd division of legionnaires. In fact, on August 31, the First Cavalry itself was surrounded. On the same day, Budyonny decided to retreat and make his way to the main forces of the Southwestern Front.

During the breakthrough of the Polish encirclement near Komarov, the First Cavalry suffered new heavy losses. From September 1 to 6, under continuous attacks by Polish troops, she retreated beyond the Bug to the Vladimir-Volynsky region. Soviet military historian Nikolai Kakurin pointed out that heavy rains, which washed out roads in a wooded area, prevented Budyonny from fulfilling the original directive. It is obvious, however, that these same roads prevented the Poles from pursuing the retreating First Cavalry, which saved it from complete destruction. And an important role in its defeat was played by the defense of Zamostye by the Petliurists, who won two days to concentrate around the Polish troops.

According to the official version, the creators and leaders of the legendary First Cavalry during the Civil War were Semyon Budyonny and Klim Voroshilov. Actually this is not true. Indeed, they were the leaders, but the creators ... The real organizer of the equestrian units on the Don was the former sergeant-major of the tsarist army, the full Knight of St. George Boris Dumenko. Back in the spring of 1918, he organized a cavalry regiment to fight the counter-revolution. In September 1919, under his command, the horse-combined corps of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) was created, which fought the troops of the white generals Krasnov and Denikin. Dumenko established strict discipline, which, combined with skillful battle tactics, ensured him victory over the enemy. At the direction of Lenin, Trotsky, who was the organizer of the Red Army, People's Commissar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, personally presented Boris Dumenko with the Order of the Red Banner. From the regiments and brigades of his corps, Dumenko formed two cavalry armies - the First under the command of his deputy Budyonny and the Second - under the command of Philip Mironov. By the way, the very existence of the Second Cavalry, and the name of its commander, are completely deleted from the annals of the civil war. In the future, the story of the ascent to Olympus by the First Cavalry and its commanders begins. Boris Dumenko and his closest associates were arrested on a false charge of murdering the military commissar of the Mikeladze corps. Taking advantage of this provocation (and perhaps even organizing it), Budyonny, together with members of the Revolutionary Military Council of the First Horse Voroshilov and Shchadenko, gave a negative description of Dumenko - and on May 11, 1920 he was shot (he was rehabilitated in 1964). Then it was the turn of the commander of the Second Cavalry Mironov. He was a talented and skillful commander, under his leadership the Second Cavalry played a decisive role in crossing the Sivash and defeating Wrangel. Mironov did not want to recognize the superiority of the First Cavalry and its command in any way. Taking advantage of the fact that Mironov openly protested against the terror of the Bolsheviks on the Don, a case was opened against him and on February 13, 1921 he was arrested and shot after 1.5 months (Mironov was rehabilitated in 1960). Now no one prevented Budyonny from being considered, according to Lenin, "the most brilliant cavalry commander."
Unlike Dumenko's army, Budyonny's detachments, although they had high fighting qualities, were the most undisciplined units of the Red Army. Drunkenness, looting, robberies, executions, Jewish pogroms were commonplace here, to which Budyonny did not even pay attention. This anarchist freemen, which reigned in the First Cavalry, is well described by Babel, who fought in its composition, in the book Cavalry. Budyonny, after the publication of Cavalry, publicly threatened the writer "to chop this Jew Babel into cabbages" and even published an article in the central press entitled "Babel's Babism." Gorky stood up for the writer, positively evaluating the work. Subsequently, Babel will be reminded of this, declaring him a spy for two foreign intelligence services at once.
In September 1919, Budyonny and Voroshilov became close during the defense of Tsaritsyn with Stalin, a member of the RVSR, which significantly affected their future fate. They were impressed that Stalin, like them, hated Trotsky with his order, the desire for harsh discipline, and the involvement of military specialists from former tsarist officers. Voroshilov at one time was even a member of the opposition, which demanded the expulsion of military experts from the army. Trotsky wrote: "Voroshilov is a fiction, a limited provincial without an outlook and without military abilities." Subsequently, history has fully confirmed the correctness of these words. During the hostilities, he really did not show any military talents, but he was always distinguished by the “purity” of party views. It was near Tsaritsyn that he first and fully showed his incompetence in military affairs, and after Stalin's departure, Trotsky removed Voroshilov from command of a group of troops.
Nevertheless, thanks to his friendship with Stalin, after the end of the civil war, Voroshilov became the deputy of the new People's Commissar of War, Frunze. In the same people's commissariat, Budyonny also took a fairly high post. There was only one step left to the pinnacle of glory. And Stalin helped to make this step again. The fact is that Stalin was dissatisfied with Frunze, who did not attach the necessary importance to the work of political commissars in the army. Frunze suffered from a stomach ulcer for many years, but refused to be operated on all the time. And then, at the end of 1925, a special decision of the Politburo of the party forced him to undergo an operation. According to Stalin's former personal secretary Boris Bazhenov, who fled to the West in 1928, “during the operation, exactly the anesthesia that Frunze could not bear was used. And he died on the operating table. His wife was convinced that he had been stabbed and committed suicide. Voroshilov became People's Commissar, an extremely narrow-minded person who was associated with Stalin during the civil war. The writer Boris Pilnyak, in his Tale of the Unextinguished Moon, wrote about the mysterious circumstances of Frunze's death (Pilnyak was shot in 1938). Frunze's children - 5-year-old daughter Tanya and 2-year-old son Timur (died during the war in an air battle and posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union) - were taken in by the childless Voroshilov family (!).
During the period of Stalinist repressions, the commanders of the First Cavalry showed their human qualities most clearly. So, Voroshilov was the main conductor of the "purge" of the army deployed by Stalin. Under his leadership, about 40 thousand commanders were "cleaned out like a vile infection". At the same time, he personally authorized most of the arrests and executions. Budyonny, his faithful deputy, did not lag behind his boss. At the party plenum in March 1937, he advocated the execution of Bukharin and Rykov, in May of the same year - for the execution of Tukhachevsky and Rudzutak: "these scoundrels need to be executed." Budyonny became a member of the Special Judicial Presence under the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which on June 11, 1937 considered the case of the "military-fascist" conspiracy - the case of Tukhachevsky and other major military leaders. After the trial of Tukhachevsky, a talented and intelligent man, one of the first 5 marshals of the Soviet Union, whom he had disliked since the Civil War, Budyonny wrote a loyal letter to Stalin approving the court's decision. And even many years later, after the debunking of the cult of personality, Budyonny, in the circle of associates in the First Cavalry, said: “Yes, they were all shot correctly.” At the same time, he saved several directors of stud farms, and literally pulled Rokossovsky, a former fighter of the First Cavalry, from the dungeons of the Lubyanka. By the way, the former fighters of this army generally suffered relatively little in those years - despite the fact that Voroshilov and Budyonny dragged them to all more or less responsible posts in the People's Commissariat of Defense. So, the former member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the First Horse Shchadenko since 1937 became the deputy people's commissar for personnel and also joined in the repressions in the army. But the greatest harm to the Red Army was caused, of course, by Marshal (since 1940) Kulik, the former chief of artillery of the "Budyonny cavalry", and from May 1937 - deputy people's commissar of defense and head of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army. Besides the fact that he took part in the massacres of the military, he rejected the importance of mechanizing the army, focusing only on horse traction. On his instructions, tank corps were disbanded, heavy artillery was decommissioned, he actively opposed the creation of the Katyusha guards mortars and the famous T-34 tanks.
Marshal Voroshilov was removed from the post of People's Commissar of Defense in 1940, after unsuccessful actions in the Soviet-Finnish war. The Great Patriotic War began - and the mediocrity of the red marshals from the First Cavalry manifested itself in full force. Voroshilov was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the North-Western direction, but soon, having shown his complete inability to lead troops in a modern war, he was sent as front commander in Leningrad. And here he suffered a crushing defeat. German troops came so close to the city that Voroshilov at the Military Council of the front raised the question of preparing for the explosion of the main industrial enterprises, in other words, he actually admitted the possibility of surrendering the city to the enemy. When Stalin found out that Voroshilov personally led a military unit into the attack, in a marshal's uniform and with a pistol in his hands, he urgently recalled him to Moscow. He was entrusted with a purely formal post of Commander-in-Chief of the partisan movement. Marshal Zhukov later recalled that "Voroshilov remained an amateur in military matters to the end and never knew them deeply and seriously."
Marshal Budyonny from July to September 1941 was Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the South-Western direction. His mismanagement led to the fact that the 600,000-strong group of the Red Army was surrounded and completely destroyed north of Kyiv, led by its commander, Colonel General Kirponos. In August 1941, on the orders of Budyonny, the Dneproges was blown up. In this case, not only the German units that had broken through were killed, but also a large number of Soviet soldiers, civilians and hundreds of thousands of cattle. In one hour, the entire lower part of Zaporozhye was demolished - with huge stocks of industrial equipment, which were being prepared for evacuation to the Urals. After being removed from office, Budyonny commanded the Reserve Front. In October 1941, due to the poor organization of the defense, the Germans
it was precisely the left flank of the Reserve Front that was defending Moscow that broke through. April 1942
Stalin appointed him commander-in-chief of the North Caucasus direction, as a result, the Germans broke through to the Caucasus. In the end, Budyonny also received a purely nominal post of commander of the Red Army cavalry.
The third marshal from the First Cavalry - Kulik for inept actions in the Crimea and near Rostov in 1942 was deprived of all awards and demoted to major general (according to other sources, to lieutenant or even to private). Then he was dismissed from the army for drunkenness and embezzlement of state property, and in 1950 he was shot "for participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy" (rehabilitated in 1956).
It is noteworthy that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Voroshilov - twice, and Budyonny - three times), they were both awarded not during the war and not even immediately after the victory, but after the death of Stalin, in the late 50s - 60s, when Khrushchev and Brezhnev handed out high awards left and right.
To the credit of the First Cavalry, it should be noted that such talented commanders as Yegorov (one of the first 5 marshals, shot in 1939), Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Timoshenko, Sokolovsky, Pliev also left its ranks.
P.S. In preparing this essay, the author used the following literature: B. Bazhenov "Memoirs of Stalin's personal secretary"; G. Zhukov "Memories and reflections"; L. Vasilyeva "Kremlin Wives"; R. Gul "Red Marshals"; E. Dolmatovsky "Green gate"; I.Babel "Cavalry"; A. Chakovsky "Blockade"; L. Trotsky "Portraits of revolutionaries"; Biographical Encyclopedic Dictionary; "Boris Dumenko and Semyon Budyonny" Livejournal; Marlen Insarov Philip Kuzmich Mironov.