Main article: Petrograd defense

Secret report of counterintelligence S.-Z. front on the situation of Russians in Estonia, 1920.

In January 1919, the "Russian Political Committee" was created in Helsingfors under the chairmanship of the cadet Kartashev. The oil industrialist Stepan Georgievich Lianozov, who took over the financial affairs of the committee, received about 2 million marks from Finnish banks for the needs of the future northwestern government. The organizer of military activities was Nikolai Yudenich, who planned the creation of a unified North-Western Front against the Bolsheviks, based on the Baltic self-proclaimed states and Finland, with the financial and military assistance of the British.

The national governments of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which held only insignificant territories by the beginning of 1919, reorganized their armies and, with the support of Russian and German units, proceeded to active offensive operations. During 1919, the power of the Bolsheviks in the Baltics was eliminated.

On June 5, 1919, Yudenich was appointed by A. V. Kolchak as commander-in-chief of all Russian land and sea armed forces operating against the Bolsheviks on the North-Western Front. On August 11, 1919, the Government of the North-Western Region was established in Tallinn (Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance - Stepan Lianozov, Minister of War - Nikolai Yudenich, Minister of Marine - Vladimir Pilkin, etc.). On the same day, the Government of the North-Western Region, under pressure from the British, who promised weapons and equipment for the army in return for this recognition, recognized the independence of Estonia and subsequently negotiated with Finland. However, the all-Russian government of Kolchak refused to consider the separatist demands of the Finns and the Balts. To Yudenich’s request about the possibility of fulfilling the requirements of K. G. E. Mannerheim (including the requirements for the annexation of the Pechenga Bay and western Karelia to Finland), with which Yudenich basically agreed, Kolchak refused, and Russian representative in Paris, S. D. Sazonov, declared that “the Baltic provinces cannot be recognized as an independent state. Likewise, the fate of Finland cannot be decided without the participation of Russia…”.

After the creation of the North-Western Government and its recognition of the independence of Estonia, Great Britain provided financial assistance to the North-Western Army in the amount of 1 million rubles, 150 thousand pounds sterling, 1 million francs; in addition, minor deliveries of weapons and ammunition were made. By September 1919, British assistance to Yudenich's army with weapons and ammunition amounted to 10,000 rifles, 6 tanks, 20 guns, several armored cars, 39,000 shells, and several million rounds of ammunition.

Strictly speaking, the Whites launched two attacks on Petrograd - in the spring and autumn of 1919. As a result of the May offensive, Gdov, Yamburg and Pskov were occupied by the Northern Corps, but by August 26, as a result of the counteroffensive of the Reds of the 7th and 15th armies of the Western Front, the Whites were driven out of these cities. At the same time, on August 26, a decision was made in Riga to attack Petrograd on September 15. However, after the proposal by the Soviet government (August 31 and September 11) to start peace negotiations with the Baltic republics on the basis of recognition of their independence, Yudenich lost the help of these allies. Yudenich's autumn attack on Petrograd was unsuccessful, the North-Western Army was forced out to Estonia, where, after the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty between the RSFSR and Estonia, 15 thousand soldiers and officers of Yudenich's North-Western Army were first disarmed, and then 5 thousand of them were captured and sent to concentration camps . Slogan white movement about "One and indivisible Russia", that is, the non-recognition of separatist regimes, deprived Yudenich of the support not only of Estonia, but also of Finland, which did not provide any assistance to the North-Western Army in its battles near Petrograd. And after the change of government Mannerheim in 1919, Finland completely took a course towards normalizing relations with the Bolsheviks, and President Stolberg forbade the formation of military units of the Russian White movement on the territory of his country, at the same time the plan of the joint offensive of the Russian and Finnish army on Petrograd was finally buried. These events went in the general direction of mutual recognition and settlement of relations between Soviet Russia and the newly independent states - similar processes have already taken place in the Baltics.

At the end of January 1916, the Trebizond operation developed by N.N. Yudenich began, the purpose of which was to capture the city and port of Trebizond (Trabzon). During its course, the troops of the Caucasian army, with the support of the Batumi detachment Black Sea Fleet again inflicted a serious defeat on the 3rd Turkish army in the direction of Trebizond. In the first days of March, the commander-in-chief of the troops of the Caucasian Front returned from Petrograd Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. First of all, he arrived in the defeated Erzurum. Seeing what powerful fortifications the Caucasian army crushed and overcame, he went to the square to the soldiers lined up on it and took off his hat in front of them. And then he turned to the commander and bowed low to him, proclaiming, turning to the soldiers: “Hurray to the Hero of Erzerum, General Yudenich!” Then he conveyed to N.N. Yudenich the deep gratitude of Nicholas II, as well as his wish to supplement the success achieved with an attack on Trebizond. “I think we can handle it,” the army commander answered unequivocally, “the Primorsky detachment, in cooperation with the ships of the Batumi base ... is able to defeat the Turks on the coast” 11 . The general kept his word, as always. Already in early April, Russian troops captured Turkish positions on the Karader River and took Trebizond, which became an important supply base for the Caucasian army and part of the Black Sea Fleet forces.
In the next, Ognot operation (July-August 1916), developed under the direct supervision of N.N. Yudenich, the plan of the Turkish attack on Ognot and Bitlis was thwarted. In heavy oncoming battles, the Russian troops, pushing the enemy, reached the line of Ognot, Erzinjan, Lake Van by the end of August. Here the commander created a strong line of defense. As a result of the successful completion of the Ognot operation, a strategic pause was reached on the Caucasian front.
Wasting no time, N.N. Yudenich began to develop a plan of action for the upcoming campaign of 1917. He prepared two offensive operations for the spring. The first - on the Mosul direction, the second - on the left flank of the army. In other directions, he proposed to conduct an active defense. This plan was fully approved by the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich.
At the end of January 1917, a representative of the British command arrived at the front headquarters in Tiflis. He expressed to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and N.N. Yudenich the wishes of his command in the near future to put pressure on the flank and rear of the 6th Turkish army, located in Persia. Taking into account the requests of the allies, Russian troops in February went on the offensive in the Baghdad and Penjvin directions. The 1st Caucasian Army Corps reached the borders of Mesopotamia (Iraq), and the 7th Caucasian - to Penjvin. Using the success of the Russian troops, the British units occupied Baghdad.

During the fighting on the Caucasian front in 1914-1917. troops under the command of N.N. Yudenich did not lose a single battle and occupied a territory larger than modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan combined. Summing up the Caucasian period of the commander’s combat activity, the quartermaster general of the headquarters of the Caucasian Front, Major General E.V. Maslovsky noted: “The army is small, always numerically the weakest enemy, an army with insignificant technical means and having an opponent with excellent fighting qualities in front of her, continuously gains victories over the enemy ... He who carefully examines the latter Russian-Turkish war, will note that all the operations of the Caucasian army, led by General Yudenich, have always rested on the basic principles of military art ... The same researcher will note the enormous importance that was attached in the Caucasus to the spiritual element in battle. That is why the battle always begins with the defeat of the enemy’s imagination by the surprise of a blow, and always by prolonged tension to the limit of the forces of the fighters in extremely stubborn and continuous attacks, an increase in the impression was created that shocked the enemy, and he gave up ... All imbued with activity, only seeing it in the manifestation of an extreme degree decision, General Yudenich recognizes the offensive as the best way to wage war, and maneuver as the most advantageous means of the latter. In accordance with the spirit of activity, General Yudenich possessed extraordinary civic courage, composure in the most difficult moments and determination.
On the morning of March 2, 1917, the headquarters of the Caucasian Front received the manifesto of Nicholas II on the abdication of the last emperor from the throne and his order to return to the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich (later not approved in this position by the Provisional Government). On the same day, the Grand Duke left the headquarters of the front in Tiflis and went to Headquarters in Mogilev. Instead of him, N.N. Yudenich was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Caucasian Front on March 5. Officially, he also continued to remain in the post of commander of the Caucasian army until April 4. The very next day after the appointment, N.N. Yudenich had to take urgent measures on a telegram from the commander of the expeditionary corps, cavalry general N.N. Baratov, who was in Persia. The point was that the parts of the corps that advanced into the valley of the Diyala River experienced acute difficulties in food. In addition, the tropical heat season was approaching. The mood in parts of the corps became unstable. The commander-in-chief of the front decided to stop the offensive and from March 6 to go over to positional defense. Simultaneously with the corps of N.N. Baratov, the 1st and 7th Caucasian army corps, located in Persia, stopped the offensive. By order of N.N. Yudenich, they were assigned to areas with better bases. The Provisional Government met such actions of the Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the Caucasian Front negatively. Several telegrams followed from Petrograd demanding a resumption of the offensive in Persia. Deeply convinced of the validity decision, the general sent a reasoned report to the Provisional Government on the state of affairs on the Caucasian front and the possible prospects for the troops entrusted to him. This report provoked a storm of indignation in Petrograd. Yudenich was accused of "ignoring the demands of the moment" and doing nothing for the "resolute offensive of the revolutionary army." After serving as commander-in-chief for two months, N.N. Yudenich was removed from his post on April 25 as "resisting the instructions of the Provisional Government" and summoned to Petrograd.

Handing over to his successor General of Infantry M.A. Przhevalsky, N.N. Yudenich knew that his conscience was clear: the troops under his command fought with dignity and fulfilled their duty to the end. This was confirmed by a well-known military scientist who emigrated to France, Lieutenant-General N.N. Golovin, in his work “Russia's Military Efforts in the World War” published in Paris in 1939. Using such an indicator of military sociology as moral resilience (the ratio between the losses of killed and wounded and losses of prisoners), the author showed that he was the best on the Caucasian front even in the critical final period of the war. The results of military operations on the Caucasian front during the First World War speak for themselves. Thus, the Turkish army lost 350 thousand people there, of which 100 thousand prisoners, and the Russian army - 22 thousand killed, 71 thousand wounded, and only 6 thousand prisoners. Russian troops lost 8 guns in battles, and 650 captured ones were taken.
N.N. Yudenich arrived in Petrograd in the second half of May. In the Ministry of War, he received the task of "getting acquainted with the mood" in the Cossack regions. Then he went to Moscow, and then visited Headquarters in Mogilev. N.N. Yudenich could not fully fulfill the assigned task, and, most likely, he did not really strive for this. In August, he took part in the work of the State Conference in Moscow. Apparently, the general’s attempts to influence political development countries. Support for their performance Supreme Commander Infantry General L.G. Kornilov showed that his sympathies are completely on the side of those who consider it possible to restore Russian statehood and the army through a military dictatorship.

A.A. Deineka. Defense of Petrograd. Fragment. 1928

N.N. Yudenich found himself in Petrograd again at the end of October 1917, after the overthrow of the Provisional Government. Immediately going underground, he, using his remaining connections in the guards environment and the headquarters of the Petrograd military district, devoted a lot of time to organizing the anti-Bolshevik underground. After a year of illegal activity, having lost faith in the possibility of an armed anti-Bolshevik uprising in Petrograd, in November 1918 he and his wife arrived in Finland by train, using false documents. Here, N.N. Yudenich wanted to assess the prospects for the creation of Russian volunteer units and find out the attitude of the Finnish government to this issue. He began to negotiate with the regent of the Republic of Finland, a former lieutenant general and a good acquaintance of his back in Nikolaev Academy General Staff K.G. Mannerheim. Repeated conversations with him finally convinced N.N. Yudenich of the need to organize here, abroad, the struggle against the Bolsheviks. The backbone of the future army was to be Russian emigrants. At that time there were more than 20 thousand of them in Finland, including about 2.5 thousand officers.

N.M. Kochergin. Enemy at the gate. All for the defense of Petrograd. 1919

At the end of November 1918, in Helsinki, a group of prominent white emigrants, with the support of K.G. Mannerheim, created the Russian Political Committee. In January of the following year, this committee supported the idea of ​​​​N.N. Yudenich on the formation of the White Army and nominated him as the leader of the anti-Bolshevik movement in the North-West of Russia. Soon, N.N. Yudenich received permission from K.G. Mannerheim to form White Guard units in Finland. He also pinned great hopes on the Northern Corps, which had settled in Estonia, which was part of the former Northern White Army, defeated by the Reds at the end of 1918 near Sebezh and Pskov. While preparations were underway for combat operations, Northern Corps under the command of Major General A.P. Rodzianko (a relative of the last chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko) on May 13, 1919, independently launched an offensive against Petrograd and was soon defeated.
The change in the military-political situation in the anti-Bolshevik movement of the North-West hastened the rise of N.N. Yudenich to power. However, it was not careerist, ambitious plans that attracted him. After all, there was little hope of success. But to retreat, to quit what has been started is not in the character of a general. On May 24, he created in Helsinki (since July 29 in Tallinn) a Political Conference, the basis of which was the Russian Political Committee. The political conference was actively supported by the leadership of the Entente. As its head, N.N. Yudenich in June negotiated with K.G. Mannerheim on the terms of the military cooperation of the Finnish government in the joint struggle against the Bolsheviks. On July 10, N.N. Yudenich was appointed by A.V. Kolchak "Commander-in-Chief of all Russian land and sea armed forces operating against the Bolsheviks on the North-Western Front." Thus, the units of the Northern Corps headed by A.P. Rodzianko, the detachments of Colonel S.N. Bulak-Balakhovich, who operated in the Pskov province, and parts of the Western Volunteer Army under the command of Major General P.M. Bermondt-Avalov were formally subordinate to him . Soon, N.N. Yudenich made an inspection trip along the front, got acquainted with the commanders of units and formations. On June 19, the Northern Corps and other local White Guard formations were renamed the Northern, and on July 1 - the North-Western Volunteer Army.

At the end of August, N.N. Yudenich and his wife moved from Finland to Estonia. The general lived first in Narva, then in Tallinn, leading the troops concentrated in the Narva direction, and participating in the work of the Political Conference in the Estonian capital. In early September, he came to grips with the development of an offensive operation in the Petrograd direction. The general was faced with the question of the direction of the main attack. Rejecting all the options proposed at the military council, he firmly stated that it was necessary to advance in the "shortest direction." Only in this case, swiftness, surprise strike can ensure victory. The correctness of the decision made by the general was subsequently confirmed by Soviet military historians. Indeed, given the small size of the army and the need to capture Petrograd as quickly as possible, there could be no other choice. The plans for the attack on Petrograd were the embodiment of the strategic style of N.N. Yudenich, which was so clearly manifested in military operations on the Caucasian front in 1914-1916. It was still the same strategic calculation typical of him for the speed and continuity of the offensive, for the strength and surprise of the strike. Only the goal this time was not just the successful capture of some, even very important, locality, and the mastery of the former capital of Russia - Petrograd. The stake was too high, and any, even the smallest mistake could lead the army to disaster. "White Sword" - under this name the operation of the North-Western Volunteer Army entered the history of the Civil War in the fall of 1919.
In making his decision, the general also took into account the mood in the units and formations of the army. The officers and soldiers, who received good weapons and uniforms, for the most part believed in the success of the offensive. The spirit of the army was quite high, especially since official reports enthusiastically reported on the successes of Denikin's and Kolchak's troops near Tula and on the Tobol River. If the offensive had been delayed, there could have been a change of mood in the army, and not in favor of continuing the struggle against the Soviet regime.

On September 28, the North-Western Volunteer Army launched an offensive against Petrograd, and on October 2, N.N. Yudenich became its commander (instead of A.P. Rodzianko). Only forward, with the highest possible speed of advance - this is the main motive of this operation. N.N.Yudenich refused the convoys. Armored trains got stuck behind Luga (bridges were blown up), tanks fell behind. But in spite of everything, the offensive continued successfully. Parts of the 7th Red Army retreated. On October 13, the whites occupied the Luga junction station. In the second half of October, Gatchina, Krasnoye Selo, Detskoye Selo, Pavlovsk, Yamburg, Ligovo were left in red. The advanced units of the North-Western Army reached the Pulkovo Heights, and patrols of scouts even reached the Narva outpost of Petrograd. N.N. Yudenich moved his headquarters closer to the front line, to Detskoye Selo. The commander was informed that “the enemy is using up the last reserves - companies of cadets. They climb on tanks with bayonets at the ready, fall in ranks from destructive fire, but do not leave.
The White Guard newspaper Svoboda Rossii wrote these days: “We now calculate time not in months or even weeks, as before, but in days, hours ... The names of different cities and villages flash by, and the ear catches every sound, every rustle more intensely, looking for the cherished words in them: “Petrograd is taken”” 14 . The governor of Petrograd, Major General P.V. Glazenap, had already been appointed. Russian printing houses in Finland printed leaflets appealing to the inhabitants of Petrograd with an appeal to "greet the valiant liberators with the ringing of bells."
In fierce battles, the Red Army stopped the onslaught of the Whites. Having received fresh reinforcements (15th Red Army), the Red command prepared for a counteroffensive. The strategic plan boiled down to the following: it was supposed to deliver two blows in converging directions from Petrograd - from Tosno and Luga. Groupings of the Reds, uniting in Yamburg, were supposed to completely surround the North-Western Volunteer Army, chained in the battles near Pulkovo.
On October 21, the 7th Red Army, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, launched a counteroffensive, and already on October 23, its troops occupied Pavlovsk and Detskoe Selo, and on October 26, Krasnoe Selo. Five days later, on October 26, the 15th Red Army launched an offensive and on October 31 drove the Whites out of Luga and began to advance towards Yamburg. Threatened by deep envelopment from the south, Yudenich's army began to retreat. During the pursuit of the Whites, the 15th Red Army took Gdov on November 7, and Yamburg on November 14. In late November - early December, the remnants of the North-Western Volunteer Army retreated to the territory of Estonia. On November 28, N.N. Yudenich handed over command of the army to Major General P.V. Glazenap. Soon, on December 31, 1919, Estonia signed a peace treaty with Soviet Russia. The Soviet government recognized the independence of the republic, but at the same time, a separate clause stipulated that Estonia refused to provide its territory for anti-Bolshevik governments and the White armies. Peace between Soviet Russia and Estonia meant the end of the White movement in Northwest Russia. By order of the Estonian government, units and formations of the North-Western Volunteer Army were disarmed, and soldiers and officers were sent to special camps. Here, they were formed into working teams and sent to logging and peat extraction.

In such a political situation, N.N. Yudenich had no choice but to leave Estonia. On February 24, 1920, he left Tallinn for Riga and then for England. He soon moved to France. For some time the general lived in Paris, and then settled in Nice. He refused any political and military struggle against Bolshevism. In emigration, the former army commander constantly showed concern for the disabled of the North-Western Volunteer Army and their families. Being a member of the Society of Zealots of Russian History and other educational organizations, N.N. Yudenich provided them with material assistance. The general also gave lectures on the First World War on the Caucasian front and, as contemporaries emphasized, he never exaggerated his role in this theater of operations. Thanks to timely assistance from N.N. Yudenich, Major General E.V. Maslovsky, after spending a year with his comrade in Nice, completed and published in 1933 in Paris the book "The World War on the Caucasian Front".
N.N. Yudenich died on October 5, 1933 in the small town of Saint-Laurent du Var and was buried in Cannes in the tomb of an Orthodox church in the name of St. Michael the Archangel, not far from the grave of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Alexandra Nikolaevna Yudenich outlived her husband for a long time, having died in 1962. She was saved and then transferred to the USA, to the Hoover Institute of War, Revolution and Peace, family archive, containing a considerable number of documents on the history of the White movement in the North-West of Russia. After her death, a part of “Memoirs of a Spouse” was published in the emigrant magazine “Sentry”, reflecting mainly the biography of the general during the First World War and the initial period of the Civil War (1917-1918).

NOTES

11 Portuguese P.M. etc. Decree. op. S. 237.
12 Tsvetkov V.Zh. Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich // Questions of history. 2002. No. 9. P. 41.
13 Rudnev D. Yudenich, General of Infantry // Politics. 1990. No. 1. S. 110.
14 There. S. 110.

Sergey BAZANOV,
doctor historical sciences

Smolin A.V. White movement in the North-West of Russia (1918-1920). St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 1999.
Rutych N.N. White Front of General Yudenich: Biography of the ranks of the North-Western Army. Moscow: Russian way, 2002.
Portuguese R.M., Alekseev P.D., Runov V.A. World War I in the biographies of Russian military leaders. M.: Elakos, 1994.
Rudnev D. Yudenich, General of Infantry // Politics. 1990. No. 1.
Pronin A.V. General of the Suvorov School // Independent Military Review. 2000. No. 44.
Tsvetkov V.Zh. Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich // Questions of history. 2002. No. 9.

The Russian political committee, which considered itself the Northwestern government of the Russian Empire, organized an army of emigrants and officers of the tsarist army. It included the military of the Northern Corps of the pre-revolutionary army and anti-Bolshevik formations located in the Estonian and Latvian lands and the Pskov province. He was appointed to command the army, famous for his fighting during the First World War. In early June 1919 he was appointed commander in chief of the Northwestern Anti-Bolshevik Front.

The number of the “white” army of Yudenich before the march on Petrograd was 18 thousand people. The Red Army of the Petrograd Military District numbered 200,000.

hike

The offensive of Yudenich's army began on September 28. It was part of a large-scale anti-Bolshevik operation, in which the Western Russian army and troops were supposed to be involved. Western countries: Finland, Poland, Great Britain, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The first stage of the offensive operation for the North-Western Army was successful. Desperate volunteers at an "inhuman" pace advanced towards Petrograd, capturing cities.

On October 12 they entered Yamburg. By the end of the month, the White Guards occupied Gatchina, Pavlovsk, Luga, Krasnoe and Tsarskoye Selo.

The White Guards reached the Pulkovo Heights, they were 20 kilometers from Petrograd.

By this point, the Red Army had received reinforcements consisting of:

• 15th Army, operating on the right flank of the front;
• Urgently formed detachments of workers;
• Paratroopers - sailors of the Baltic Fleet.

Ten days of fierce fighting ended with a counteroffensive by the Red Army. The White Guards were forced to retreat to the Estonian border.

Reasons for the defeat

The following factors influenced the outcome of the trip:

• Failure by allies to fulfill promises of joint military operations;
• Insufficient provision of food, heavy weapons, ammunition;
• Inability to replenish losses;
• The advantage of the Red Army is the ability to transfer reinforcements.

Estonian "thank you"

In the process of the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Estonian Republic was formed, which fought desperately with the Bolsheviks for its independence and became a natural ally of the Northwestern Army. Yudenich's attack on Petrograd, despite the defeat, did the Estonians a great service: most of the Red Army was distracted, the Soviet government became more accommodating. In addition, after the failure of the campaign against Petrograd white army retreated to the borders of Estonia and there actually defended the republic from the invasion of the Bolsheviks. At the same time, the government of the republic did not allow retreat to its territory. Only when the Northwestern Army had completely exhausted itself, some of its units were allowed to enter Estonia, where they immediately took away all their weapons, most of their personal belongings and valuables, and often their clothes (despite the severe cold). They were settled in camps in the swamps, where many died of hunger and cold, and then a typhus epidemic broke out in them, which also claimed many lives. The Estonian rabble often attacked and beat the unfortunate Russians, who helped Estonia so much to gain freedom. However, after 20 years, the stronger Bolsheviks came and took it away.

Campaign of 1917. Suspension of Yudenich

In the winter of 1917, there was a positional lull on the Caucasian front. The campaign of 1917 of the year of the Caucasian army had to be met in difficult conditions. The supply of food and fodder was very difficult, the troops were struck by a typhus epidemic. Due to food shortages, scurvy was rampant. Lack of fodder and disease led to the breakdown of army horse-drawn transport, many horse batteries were left without horses. The troops were exhausted by unusual natural conditions - mountain winters were replaced by tropical heat in the valley of the Diala River (Iraq). There were few reinforcements, they went to other fronts.

The Caucasian army lived its own isolated life, far from Petrograd and Moscow, but gradually the negative internal political situation began to influence it. Yudenich had to face the facts when various local political organizations, all kinds of public organizations in fact, they began to play the role of a “fifth column”, an “internal enemy”, trying by their actions to paralyze the activities of the command and the army. There were facts of decomposition of military formations. Unfortunately, the highest power in the Russian Empire did not find the strength to severely stop this activity. The revolutionary, nationalist forces were actively supported not only by the open enemies of Russia - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey (in war conditions - this was normal), but also by the "allies" - England, France and the USA, as well as various behind-the-scenes structures of the order nature, Masonic lodges, clubs.

However, the front command, taking into account all this, was able to prepare two offensive operations for the beginning of the 1917 campaign. The first - in the Mosul direction, in the north of modern Iraq, it was to be carried out by Baratov's expeditionary Persian corps and the new 7th Caucasian Army Corps. The corps was formed mainly from parts of the 2nd Caucasian Cavalry Corps - the 4th Caucasian Cossack Division, the 2nd and 3rd Trans-Baikal Cossack Brigades. The second operation was planned to be carried out on the left flank. In other directions, they planned to conduct an active defense. It is quite possible that Yudenich would have won a number of other major victories in 1917, but the February Revolution changed everything.

The British demanded the activation of the Russian Caucasian army, they were concerned about their positions in Palestine and Mesopotamia. The British command was afraid of the 6th Turkish army, which was conducting successful operations in the south of Mesopotamia. In January 1917, an English envoy arrived in Tiflis. He expressed to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and General Yudenich the wish of the allied command - in the very near future to increase pressure on the flank and rear of the 6th Turkish army. The Russian command went to meet the desire of the allies. Russian troops went on the offensive in two directions - Baghdad and Penjvin. The operation went well. The 1st Caucasian Army Corps of Kalitin went to the border of Mesopotamia, and the 7th Caucasian Corps under the command of Vadbolsky went to Penjvin. This offensive was of great help British troops. It forced the Ottoman command to transfer part of the troops to the Russian front, which weakened the defense of Baghdad. The British were able to go on the offensive and take Baghdad. The Turkish 6th Army retreated to the north, as it was under double attack and threatened with defeat.

The February revolution actually crossed out all the victories of the Russian army on the Caucasian front. Yudenich was appointed commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front. At this time, Russia and the Caucasus began to embrace revolutionary chaos. Supply lines began to work worse and worse. Especially big problems with food tested the expeditionary force of Baratov. The British command refused to help the Russians in this matter. In addition, due to the tropical heat, malaria began in parts of the expeditionary force. Fermentation began in the troops, discipline fell. Yudenich, having weighed all the factors, decided to curtail the Mesopotamian operation and withdraw troops to mountainous areas, with better basing conditions, and move on to positional defense. The 1st and 7th Caucasian Army Corps were withdrawn.

Naturally, such a decision worried the "allies" (who more and more threw off the masks of "friends", moving to the position of outright enemies), Paris and London began to put pressure on the Provisional Government, demanding to increase pressure on Turkey and fulfill the "allied duty". Interestingly, the “allied duty” was almost always to be carried out only by the Russian army, while France and England always solved their own national tasks. The provisional government, which was completely under the control of pro-Masonic, Western-oriented liberal circles, demanded that Yudenich immediately resume the offensive in Mesopotamia and help the British. Several telegrams to Yudenich followed from Petrograd.

However, the fighting Russian general put the interests of the army and Russia in the first place. He refused to comply with the order of the Provisional Government to resume the offensive and submitted to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief a detailed report on the real state of affairs on the Caucasian front and the state of the troops. In addition, Yudenich opposed liberal reforms in the army - during the war (!). In fact, the Provisional Government itself destroyed the army and faster than external enemies. The general became in strong opposition to the "Februaryists". In response, the Provisional Government in May 1917 removed Yudenich from command of the front as "resisting the decrees of the Provisional Government."

So, the Russian army lost one of its the best generals. The February revolution turned the hero of the First World War and the Caucasian army into a political pariah. Yudenich handed over command to the infantry general Przhevalsky and left for Petrograd. By the end of the year, the Caucasian front was collapsed, which was a pleasant surprise for the Turks, who in 1918, despite the truce, went on the offensive and occupied large territories almost without resistance. years hard work, blood and sweat, the fruits of brilliant victories, everything went wrong.

General Yudenich did not stay long in Petrograd, where he was greeted coldly, and left for his native Moscow, where his family, who had arrived from Tiflis, was waiting for him. In fact, Yudenich became a civilian at that time. Yudenich made another attempt to return to the army by visiting Headquarters in Mogilev. But the trip did not give the desired result. Nikolai Nikolaevich returned to Moscow. In August, Yudenich participated in the work of the State Conference.

White movement. Campaign to Petrograd

Nikolai Yudenich did not accept the October events. The general went underground. Considering the chaos that was going on around, when many generals and officers were killed by revolutionary and anarchist soldiers and sailors, this was a completely reasonable decision. In Petrograd, he illegally lived in the house of the Russian Insurance Company on the Petrograd side, where he was covered by a janitor, a former sergeant-major of the Life Guards of the Lithuanian regiment, a colleague of Yudenich from the Pamir expedition of 1904-1905. Yudenich will try to create an underground military organization.

At the beginning of 1919, Nikolai Yudenich, using documents in a false name, together with his wife and adjutant N.A. Pokotilo crossed the border of Finland and arrived in Helsingfors. There he met with Baron Mannerheim, whom he was well acquainted with from his studies at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. General Mannerheim was a conscious opponent of Soviet power. It was the conversations with Mannerheim that led Yudenich to the idea of ​​leading the opponents of Soviet power here in Finland. There were about 20,000 emigrants in Finland, of which about 2,000 were officers who had lost their “ground” under their feet and were looking for themselves in a new life. Many of them were ready to fight the Soviets with their hands. Back in 1918, a Russian political committee of a monarchist orientation was established in Finland. He claimed the role of government in the North-West of the former Russian Empire and supported the desire of the military part of the emigration in Finland and Estonia to organize a military campaign against Petrograd. To organize the military forces and command them, a fighting, illustrious general was required, who would enjoy universal authority. Yudenich was a suitable candidate.

Nikolai Yudenich accepted this offer and became the leader of the white movement in the North-West of Russia. Under Yudenich, a “Political Conference” was created from the leaders of emigration who ended up in Finland. It began to establish contacts with other white movements. Yudenich established contact with Admiral Kolchak in Siberia and the Russian Political Conference in Paris. Admiral Kolchak sent 1 million rubles for the most urgent needs. Another 2 million rubles were collected in the financial and industrial circles of emigration. The political program of the new military force was flawed, like all white armies. According to Yudenich: “The Russian White Guard has one goal - to expel the Bolsheviks from Russia. The guards have no political program. It is neither monarchist nor republican. How military organization, she is not interested in questions of political partisanship. Her only program is down with the Bolsheviks!” This was supposed to attract into the ranks of the white movement representatives of the most diverse political parties and movements. In fact, this rejection of "politics" became one of the main prerequisites that led the White movement to defeat.

In Finland, with the consent of Mannerheim, work began on the creation of army management structures. The main hopes were associated with the Northern Corps, it was supposed to become the core new army. The Northern Corps (Russian Volunteer Northern Army) was created in 1918 with the assistance of Germany (later passed under the patronage of the Entente powers). It was created in the Pskov region. After the corps (its number did not exceed 2 thousand fighters) was driven out of Pskov, it switched to the Estonian service. In the spring and summer of 1919, during the Civil War, the Northern Corps under the command of Alexander Rodzianko, with the support of the Estonian armed forces and the British navy, captured Yamburg and Pskov and tried to capture Petrograd. But, in August, the Reds launched a counteroffensive and threw the enemy back to their original positions.

Initially, Yudenich did not develop relations with the Western powers. He visited Stockholm, where he held talks with the diplomatic representatives of Great Britain, the United States and France. But only the French envoy met with understanding. The British regarded the former commander of the Caucasian army with suspicion, not forgetting his refusal to launch an army offensive to help the British in Mesopotamia. In addition, the British demanded from the “Political Conference” complete submission to the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak. While the negotiations were going on, the attack of the Northern Corps on Petrograd failed.

On June 5, 1919, the Supreme Ruler Admiral Kolchak appointed Yudenich "Commander-in-Chief of all Russian land, sea armed forces against the Bolsheviks on the Northwestern Front. Around the same time, the "North-Western Russian Government" was established. Yudenich received the post of Minister of War in it. Yudenich did not take an active part in his activities; he dealt with military issues. He left for Revel, and from there to the front of the Northwestern Army, which was formed on the basis of the Northern Corps and other separate anti-Bolshevik formations located on the territory of the Pskov province and the Estonian and Latvian republics. Yudenich had disagreements with the head of the Northern Corps, and then the North-Western Army - Rodzianko and a group of senior officers. They saw in Yudenich and his entourage "strangers who arrived for everything ready." Yudenich had to be recognized, because he guaranteed the receipt of material assistance from Kolchak and the Western powers. Rodzianko retained significant influence in the Northwestern Army. Yudenich appointed Rodzianko as his assistant with promotion to lieutenant general.

Yudenich pinned his hopes on Mannerheim's help. He wanted to create a broad anti-Bolshevik front, with the participation of the Finnish army. The Finnish authorities put forward a number of conditions that the white leaders could not accept - the recognition of Finland's independence, as well as the accession to the new state of Eastern Karelia and the Pechenga region on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. As a result, the Finnish authorities did not allow the formation of white detachments on their territory and even interfered with the departure of officers from Finland to Estonia. Finland set a course for an independent struggle (with the tacit support of the West) against Soviet Russia, under the slogan of creating a "Great Finland". Mannerheim, having lost the presidential election in July 1919, left Finland.

The British took a "strange" position in relation to the North-Western Army. On the one hand, they supported, promised help, on the other hand, deliveries were delayed, direct military assistance was not provided, they could forget about "allied" relations at any moment. And the equipment, weapons that the British sent were often defective. In general, the Western powers took a similar position in relation to the entire White movement, supported with one hand, and interfered with the other.

The army faced a funding problem. The Kolchak government allocated a significant amount, but the money was slow. The Northwestern government, with the consent of Kolchak, decided to issue their banknotes. In Switzerland, money was printed in denominations of 25 and 50 kopecks, 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles. They were obligatory for reception on Russian territory. It was announced that after the capture of Petrograd they would be exchanged for state credit notes, at a rate of 1:1. However, these banknotes were of low weight. The British government refused to "vouch" for them and there were two signatures on the banknotes - Yudenich and the head of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance S. G. Lianozov. Such banknotes had minimal purchasing power.

1000 rubles. Credit card of the field treasury of the North-Western Front. Yudenich's signature. They were called "yudenki" and simply "yudenichi".

The Northwestern Army was formed with great difficulties. In October 1919, its number was about 18.5 thousand people. Mobilization was carried out in the Pskov province. The Red troops had a much larger number: the 7th Army - more than 25,5 thousand bayonets and sabers, the garrison of the Petrograd fortified area - 18 thousand people, the landing force of the Baltic Fleet - 11 thousand people, and other formations. In total, there were more than 200 thousand people in the Petrograd Military District at that time, along with rear institutions, training units, etc. On September 28, 1919, Yudenich's army went on the offensive. Her strike was to become part of a large-scale operation of the anti-Bolshevik forces - the North-Western Army, the Western Russian Army, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Great Britain.

The Northwestern Army broke through the front of the 7th Red Army. In the course of stubborn battles, White troops captured Yamburg on October 12, and in the second half of October - Luga, Gatchina, Krasnoe Selo, Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk, reaching the near approaches to Petrograd (Pulkovo Heights). Petrograd was 20 kilometers away. At the first stage offensive developed more than successfully. A small shock fist of the white troops advanced with amazing speed. The white volunteers fought desperately, only about 20 thousand people advanced at an "inhuman" pace, stopping constant fighting, day and night, in rapid movement, when people did not have time to eat and sleep normally, with an unsecured flank, and almost took Petrograd.

However, those factors that initially made the operation a very dangerous undertaking soon affected. The Allies did not keep their promises. In particular, the British promised with the help of the fleet to capture the coastal forts of the Gulf of Finland, the destruction of the Red Baltic Fleet and Kronstadt. The Finns and the British did not provide effective assistance. Differences also intensified with the Estonians, who negotiated with the Bolsheviks. The Western Volunteer Army under the command of P.R. Bermondt-Avalov (he occupied a pro-German position), which was supposed to strike simultaneously with the army of Yudenich and received the task of advancing on Dvinsk - Velikiye Luki - Bologoye in order to cut the Nikolaevskaya railway (on which the garrison of Petrograd could get help from Moscow), also failed to speak on time. The Western army entered into an open confrontation with the Latvian government, which refused to let them through the territory of Latvia. The troops of Bermondt-Avalov moved to Riga, the Estonians and the British squadron entered on the side of the Latvians. As a result, the forces that were supposed to support Yudenich's attack on Petrograd were diverted. Yudenich's army found itself alone in the face of superior enemy forces.

Other factors also came into play. The army could not be provided with everything necessary. Some regiments were left without bread for two days. There was a shortage of ammunition. There were no cars. Lack of heavy weapons. The Red Army had a great advantage and was able to recover from the first heavy defeats. Trotsky on Nikolaevskaya railway transferred reinforcements and created a multiple superiority of the Reds over the enemy. The 15th Army, which operated on the right flank, was involved in the fight against Yudenich's army. Also, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, sailors of the Red Baltic Fleet landed, hastily formed various detachments - communist, workers, red cadets, etc. At the same time, the most severe measures were taken to restore order and discipline. Trotsky ordered every tenth Red Army soldier in the retreating units to be shot. The Red Command could not reckon with losses, having the opportunity to transfer reinforcements and replenish parts. White had every fighter on his account, there were no opportunities to replenish the losses, and there were no significant reserves that could be thrown into a dangerous direction.

The Red Army launched a counteroffensive. After ten days of fierce fighting near Petrograd, the Northwestern Army was defeated. On November 2, the 15th Army of the Red Army took Luga. Movement 10th rifle division to Gdov and the 11th division to Yamburg created a danger to the white troops near Gatchina, there was a threat of being cut off from Estonia and being surrounded. The cavalry penetrated especially deep into the white rear. In incessant rearguard battles, the Northwestern Army rolled back to the Estonian border.

The crushing defeat provoked sharp opposition to Yudenich, who was accused of all sins. He did not perform a “miracle”, did not take with minimal forces The largest city Russia, along the way, defeating the troops of the Red Army, which are greatly outnumbered and armed, and even without significant help from the allies, who did not solve their problems. The unit commanders held a meeting and demanded that Yudenich transfer command of the army to another person. Yudenich agreed with this decision and handed over command to Pyotr Glazenap. He transferred all the funds available to him to ensure the ranks of the army. The remnants of the army retreated to Estonia and were disarmed there. It was real tragedy. The Estonian authorities treated the former allies in the worst possible way. They were imprisoned in camps, many people died of starvation and disease.

Emigration

On January 28, 1920, Yudenich was arrested by several fighters from the Bulak-Balakhovich unit and by the Estonian authorities. However, under pressure from white leaders, the French and British military missions, Yudenich was released. In February, Yudenich left Estonia, through Riga, Stockholm and Copenhagen went to London. His further fate differed little from the many thousands of Russian emigrants who, after the revolution and civil war were scattered throughout the world. While in London, the general did not speak publicly and refused to meet with reporters. At first, representatives of White émigré circles tried to draw him into their political games, into anti-Soviet activities. But Yudenich refused. True, it is known that he closely observed the events in Russia, analyzing printed publications. Soviet intelligence agencies that oversaw the activities of the Russian white emigration reported: “The former white general Yudenich from political activity departed."

Then Yudenich moved to France, settled in Nice. Former hero The Caucasian army took part in the work of Russian educational organizations, became the head of the Society of Russian Zealots. He died of pulmonary tuberculosis on October 5, 1933 in the French city of Cannes at the age of 71. He was buried first in the Lower Church in Cannes, but then his coffin was transferred to Nice in the Cocad cemetery.

Unfortunately, for many decades the name of Yudenich was associated only with the campaign against Petrograd, the autumn offensive of 1919. He was remembered as one of the leaders of the White movement. His exploits and military leadership on the Caucasian front were forgotten. We must not forget the fact that it was the Russian army under the command of Yudenich that crossed out the dreams of the Ottoman leadership of a "Panturan" kingdom from Istanbul to Samarkand and Kazan. Yudenich's army won brilliant victories at Sarykamysh, Van, Erzurum, Trebizond, Erzinjan. Russian troops carried out a successful operation in Persia. Moreover, the Caucasian army acted in harsh natural conditions and lack of reinforcements. By the end of 1916 - the beginning of 1917, the Caucasian army of Yudenich was the winner in the Caucasus. The matter remained with the Constantinople operation, which was supposed to put a brilliant end to this campaign. Everything was crossed out by the February Revolution.

Sources:
"The General Who Didn't Know Defeat": Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich // http://www.beloedelo.ru/researches/article/?139
Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian Army // http://militera.lib.ru/h/kersnovsky1/index.html
Kornatovsky N. A. The struggle for Red Petrograd. M., 2004. // http://militera.lib.ru/h/kornatovsky_na/index.html
Korsun N. First World War on the Caucasian front. M., 1946.
Korsun N. Sarykamysh operation. M., 1937. // http://militera.lib.ru/h/korsun_n1/index.html
Korsun N. Erzerum operation. M., 1938. // http://militera.lib.ru/h/korsun_n2/index.html
Rutych N. White Front of General Yudenich. M., 2002.
Shishov A. General Yudenich. M., 2004.
Shishov A. Commanders of the Caucasian Wars. M., 2003.

Yudenich. Knights of the Crown of Thorns.

Documentary 2009. Director: Andrey Kirisenko. Time: 00:53:46.
This film is about a man who was to become a Knight of the Order of St. George of all degrees. There were only four such gentlemen in the Russian army: Field Marshals Kutuzov, Barclay de Tolly, Dibich, Paskevich.
Infantry General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich could not only acquire the laurels of the "second Suvorov", but also the glory of the best Russian commander of the 20th century.
Few people know that thanks to Yudenich Russian empire was to acquire the Bosphorus, Dardanelles and Constantinople - the cradle of Orthodoxy. This did not happen under Catherine the Great, but should have happened under Nicholas II. General Yudenich defeated Turkey, which unleashed a war in the Caucasus, not by numbers, but by skill, in the Suvorov way. Only a few days remained before the realization of the most cherished dream of the Russian monarchical dynasty. Victories on the Caucasian front made Yudenich a hero of Russia in 1917.
But just two years later, he was declared the most dangerous enemy of his homeland. In 1919, the North-Western Army under the command of General Yudenich was a few miles from Petrograd, and many were sure that revolutionary Peter was about to be captured ...

ctrl Enter

Noticed osh s bku Highlight text and click Ctrl+Enter

At the beginning of 1919 large White Guard forces were formed in the Baltic states. They were led by General Nikolai Yudenich. The allies, especially the British, provided significant assistance to these troops.

During 1919 White Guard troops launched an attack on Petrograd three times - in May. July and October. The third offensive was the most powerful. It began on September 28, when in the south the army of A. Denikin was at the top of its successes. The well-supplied troops of N. Yudenich outnumbered the forces of the Red Army defending the city by one and a half times.

The army of N. Yudenich occupied Gatchina, and then Tsarskoye Selo, in close approach to the suburbs of Petrograd.

In response to the offensive of N. Yudenich, the Bolsheviks mobilized all the military forces available in Petrograd. The city was defended not only by the Red Army, but also by hastily armed "worker regiments". The entire able-bodied population was mobilized to dig trenches and build barricades.

L. Trotsky organized the defense of the city with considerable energy, transferring reserves and using every opportunity to strengthen the front. As a result of all these measures, the defenders of the city managed to accomplish what seemed impossible - to stop the army of N. Yudenich and push it back. On October 21, units of the Red Army went on the offensive and in two weeks dealt a crushing blow to the White Guards. As a result of fierce battles, the army of N. Yudenich was defeated and pushed back to the Estonian border. On January 22, N. Yudenich gave the order to disband the army.

End of work -

This topic belongs to:

Report: The main stages of the civil war in Russia

On the website, read: "report: the main stages of the civil war in Russia"

If you need additional material on this topic, or you did not find what you were looking for, we recommend using the search in our database of works:

What will we do with the received material:

If this material turned out to be useful for you, you can save it to your page on social networks:

tweet

All topics in this section:

The first performance of the whites
At the beginning of 1918 it might seem that the Soviet government had already won a complete victory over all its armed opponents. Thus, the Bolsheviks considered the civil war over.

Czechoslovak uprising and Kolchak's coup
When did the civil war start? - Leon Trotsky asked himself later, and answered it himself: - The turning point is the middle of 1918. Czechoslovaks capture

War with the armies of Kolchak
The year 1919 was decisive and most difficult in the course of the civil war in Russia. The Soviet Republic did not have peaceful borders at that time, it found itself in a continuous flaming ring of fronts.

Construction of the Red Army
From the former Russian army, the Soviet Republic received almost nothing. Almost the only "fragment of the old army" on the side of the Soviets, who retained discipline and morale, were

War with the armies of Denikin
The Cossacks, who rebelled against the Bolsheviks, became an important stronghold of the White Guards operating in the south of the country. Even during 1918, the Volunteer Army gradually grew, becoming

War with Poland
The first clashes between Soviet and Polish military units took place as early as 1918. The Polish authorities considered Soviet Russia as a threat to their independence, and in 1919. polish army

Fight against Wrangel's army
After the resignation of General A. Denikin, the command of the remnants of the troops passed to General Boron Pyotr Wrangel. The new command managed to restore order in the ranks of the Whites. T

End of the Civil War
The main battles of the civil war died down as early as 1920, and by the end of 1922. the fighting has almost completely stopped. Only in Transcaucasia and in Central Asia a few more years