Perekop-Chongar operation

At the beginning of 1920, when the defense of the isthmuses was a minor part of the war, the Crimean Corps of General Ya. A. Slashchev successfully repelled several attempts by the Red Army to take control of Crimea .

In the autumn of 1920, the situation in the Perekop area changed dramatically. The Red Army pulled up all possible forces, including from the Polish Front, and creating overwhelming superiority was going to destroy the remnants of the White Guards in the European part of Russia. Immediately before the start of the operation, the aspect ratio was as follows:

• the grouping of forces of the Southern Front totaled: 146.4 thousand bayonets; 40.2 thousand sabers; 985 artillery pieces; 4435 machine guns; 57 armored vehicles; 17 armored trains and 45 aircraft ^[1] .
• the forces of the Russian army in Crimea totaled more than 41 thousand soldiers and officers, of which about 6 thousand were diverted to fight partisans, to guard facilities and communications ^[2] , therefore, the grouping in the northern part of the peninsula consisted of more than 23 thousand bayonets; up to 12 thousand sabers; 213 artillery pieces; 45 tanks and armored vehicles; 14 armored trains; 42 aircraft ^[1] .

Fortifications

The construction of fortifications on the isthmus began in the autumn of 1919. The defense system of the White Army consisted of two defense lines: Perekop (the base was the section of the Turkish Wall with a total length of 11 km, it included the old Tatarsky ditch with a depth and width of 10 meters, wire fences of 3-5 rows and three trench lines) and Ishunskaya (20-25 km from the first line).

Fortifications along the Chongar direction and the Arabat spit were also equipped — up to 5-6 lines of trenches and trenches with wire fences ^[3] . Only the defense of the Lithuanian Peninsula was relatively weak: one line of trenches and wire fences.

The main forces of the white army (up to 10 thousand) defended Perekop and Ishun positions; 3 thousand defended the Chongar and Sivash crossings and the Arabat spit, a strong reserve (more than 14 thousand) was concentrated in the rear of the Ishun positions.

Initially, MV Frunze planned to deliver the main strike in the Chongar direction, but due to the inability to use the Azov military flotilla in Taganrog due to ice, the main strike direction was moved to the Perekop direction.

The 6th Combined Arms, 1st and 2nd Cavalry Armies were to attack the Perekop.

Communists and Komsomol members were sent to strengthen the troops; in total, before the start of the operation, there were 8 thousand communists and 2.5 thousand Komsomol members in the army ^[3] .

The strike by parts of the 1st Horse from Genichesk through the Arabat arrow to Feodosia was suppressed by the fire of the Wrangel fleet, part of which approached Genichesk, so it was decided to carry out a demonstration, auxiliary strike on Chongar and Arabat (by forces of the 4th Army and 3rd Cavalry Corps )

Deployment and Forcing Sivash

The Reds began the operation to capture the Crimea on November 3, 1920 with another unsuccessful frontal attack of Perekop fortifications.

Therefore, it was decided to bypass Perekop in Sivash. On November 5, the wind caught water in Sivash and it was decided to wait for its shallowing. And on the night of November 8, 1920, the shock group of the 6th Army: the 15th, 51st and 52nd divisions, the cavalry group, only about 20 thousand bayonets and sabers with 36 guns ^[4] with strong winds and rare for this time in a frost of 12 degrees Celsius forced a 7-kilometer obstacle - Sivash on frozen mud. And on the afternoon of November 8, the Reds, with overwhelming numerical superiority, successfully broke down the defense of General Fostikov, who was defending on the Kuban Peninsula, with only 1,500 bayonets and 12 guns. The Red Army captured the Lithuanian Peninsula (at that time it was called Chuvash).

Assault on Turkish Shaft

At the same time, the 51st Infantry Division launched a frontal attack on the Turkish Wall. In order to concentrate forces on the attack site, the personnel of the division were transformed into six waves: the first was made by grenade launchers and wire cutters, the second by attack aircraft; the third is reserve; the fourth - “cleaners”, and the fifth and sixth - reserve ^[3] . The attack was not successful. The Red Shock Attack Brigade attacked, according to some accounts, in red shirts ^[5] , having lost half of its composition during the assault.

The Perekop shaft was occupied only by two Kornilov shock regiments , and the third regiment was facing east, to Sivash, to secure from the blow from there.

During the battle on October 26 ( November 8 ), 1920, the 2nd Kornilovsky shock regiment lost 8 people killed and 40 wounded. 35 horses were killed. All injuries were from artillery fire ^[5] .

On the morning of November 8, units of the Red Landing Force launched an offensive from the Chukhonsky Peninsula to the town of Armyansk, in the rear of the defense of the Turkish Wall. But they could not advance further to Perekop due to lack of cavalry. To the rescue, the Makhnovist group of Ataman Karetnikov and part of the 7th Cavalry Division was sent.

The Drozdov division from Armyansk and the Markov division from Yushuni tried to isolate and defeat the red landing force, but to no avail.

Such a combat episode has survived in history. When the commander of one of the Drozdov battalions raised his soldiers in the next fifth (!) Attack in a day, he was wounded. And the soldiers, the former Red Army men, did not abandon him, but carried him to a nearby officer battery, and then they themselves went ahead and surrendered to the Red Army men. The salvation of his commander emphasizes the respect of the soldiers for the White Guard officers, at least to the one who commanded them that day ^[5] .

On October 27 ( November 9 ), 1920, the Kornilov Shock Division left the Perekop shaft at one in the morning and retreated to Yushun positions. The night was dark and starless. A battalion of Colonel Troshin was left in the rearguard of the division, who also left Perekopsky Val by the hour. This is written in the book “Kornilovsky Shock Regiment”:

“In the evening of October 26, Art. Art. Colonel Levitov called Colonel Troshin to him and told him that with the onset of darkness the entire Kornilov Shock Division was ordered to withdraw to the Yushun positions, and his 2nd battalion was appointed to the rear guard. In order not to detect his departure in front of the enemy, it is necessary until the last moment to shoot from rifles. The impregnable Perekop shaft began to empty. Machine guns are being taken away, companies are leaving one after another. Colonel Troshin extended his battalion along the trenches. An ominous silence was occasionally broken by a single shot. Finally, the 2nd battalion also took off. Without one light, the Kornilovtsi cigarettes passed through the Armenian Bazaar and were drawn into the first line of the Yushun fortifications late at night ” ^[5] .

But, according to Soviet historiography, on November 9, 1920, with a second attack simultaneously with a blow to the flank, the 51st Infantry Division took control of Perekop positions and wedged into Ishun positions in some areas.

Assault on Ishun positions

The change in the direction of the wind caused an increase in the water level in Sivash, which created a threat of cutting off troops on the Lithuanian Peninsula from the main forces of the Red Army, however, on November 9, the fords were restored by mobilized residents of the villages of Vladimirovka and Stroganovka ^[3] .

On November 10-11, 1920, in the area of ​​Yushuni and Karpova Balka, General Barbovich’s corps suffered heavy losses in battles with the Makhnovist troops under the command of Semyon Karetnik and the forces of the 2nd Cavalry Army . General Wrangel had already given the order for evacuation, and the cavalry sacrificed themselves so that the infantry units could get out of the battle ^[5] .

The horse corps of General Barbovich (4 thousand sabers, 150 machine guns, 30 guns, 5 armored cars) was able to again push the 15th and 52nd red divisions from Yushun positions to the Lithuanian peninsula, disperse the 7th and 16th cavalry divisions, threatening the rear broke through Perekop troops. This breakthrough was the last hope of the defenders.

But the horsemen of Barbovich came across a Makhnovsky horse group, which, simulating their retreat, deployed a line of carts of 150 (?) Machine guns ahead of the advancing Wrangel troops and squinted the advanced forces of the white cavalry, forcing it to turn back ... After that, the horsemen of the Makhnovists and the 2nd Cavalry Army began chop backsliders ^[4] . At the same time, on the opposite section of the front (near the Black Sea - Karkinitsky Bay ), the 51st Division was able to take control of two lines of trenches of the Yushun fortifications.

Harassment and occupation of Crimean cities

On November 12, 1920, the forces of the Red Army took possession of the Yushun positions, the white troops began a retreat. MV Frunze suggested P.N. Wrangel to capitulate, but no answer was received. White troops retreated to the ports (Evpatoria, Sevastopol, Yalta, Feodosia and Kerch), where they were loaded onto ships for evacuation.

Wrangel allowed all the ranks of the army to remain at their will. It was also forbidden to damage and destroy state property, "since such belongs to the Russian people" ^[6] .

Some generals offered to give the last battle of the Red Army, but Kutepov gave a short answer - "Putting the army in the field is not a tricky business" ^[7] .

November 13 - the forces of the Red Army took Simferopol .

November 15 - Red Army forces occupied Sevastopol and Feodosia . The White Guards were able to break away from the Red Army for 1-2 transitions and landing on ships went without shelling. When the last ships had already departed from the berths, suddenly one destroyer rushed back to the port - they forgot the battalion of the Markov regiment guarding the port ^[5] . They quickly landed, and the ship returned to the squadron .

November 16 - Red Army forces occupied Kerch .

November 17 - Red Army forces occupied Yalta .

The result of the Perekop-Chongar operation was the breakthrough of the Red Army into the territory of Crimea, the evacuation of the Russian army and part of the civilian population abroad , the establishment of Soviet power in Crimea.

The capture of the Crimean Red Army by official Soviet historical science was considered the end date of the Civil War in Russia.

In memory of the Perekop-Chongar operation, the following were named:

• in Moscow ( Russia ):
  • Chongarsky Boulevard ;
  • Bolshaya Yushunskaya street - named after the village of Yushun (Ishun) in the north of Crimea. Near this village in November 1920 there were fierce battles with Wrangel’s troops during the Perekop-Chongar operation;
  • Malaya Yushunskaya street ;
  • Perekopskaya street .
• in St. Petersburg :
  • Perekopskaya street .
• in Stavropol :
  • Chongarsky Lane .
• in Yaroslavl :
  • factory " Red Perekop " and Krasnoperekopsky district .
• in Tyumen :
  • Perekopskaya Street (formerly Trusovskaya Lane), on which the formation of the 51st SD .
• in Bobruisk ( Belarus ):
  • Chongarskaya street .
• in the Dnieper ( Ukraine ):
  • Chongarskaya street ;
  • Perekopskaya street ;
  • Perekop Victory Street .
• in Kamensky ( Ukraine ):
  • Perekopskaya street .

In March 2018, in the city of Krasnoperekopsk of the Republic of Crimea, the monument “Transition through the Sivash of 1920” ^{[8] was} restored.

• Two comrades served (1968) - a Soviet feature film, which takes place during the Perekop operation.
• Marshal of the Revolution (1978) is a Soviet historical and biographical feature film about the commander of the southern front M.V. Frunze, covering the events from September 21 to November 16, 1920 (battles in the south of left-bank Ukraine, the storming of Perekop and forcing Sivash, the defeat of the army of the baron Wrangel in the Crimea).
• The Sun of the Dead (1923) - the story of Ivan Shmelyov about the consequences of the capture of the Crimea of ​​the Red Army.
• The story "The Fall of Dair" (1923) by Alexander Malyshkin .
• The book " Sumy Hussars 1651-1951 " (Buenos Aires, 1954) contains a description of the death of the main squadron of the regiment restored in the Volunteer Army of the Sumy 1st Hussar General Seslavin . November 13 (October 30, pp.) 1920, near the village of Mamut, the remains of the squadron surrendered to the Bolsheviks. Some officers of the regiment committed suicide, the rest were shot on the spot.
• The Perekop-Chongar operation is described in one of the storylines of the novel by Solovyov and Larionov, Evgeny Vodolazkin (2009).

• Korotkov I.S. The rout of Wrangel. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1939; reprint. 1948, 1955.

• Description of the operation on the Chronos
• "In memory of Perekop and Chongar." Page of memoirs of M.V. Frunze