The detachment of Ataman Punin (1915-1918) is one of the most famous Russian partisan units of the First World War , the first special forces unit of the Red Army. From the detachment of Ataman Punin, modern Russian special-purpose units conduct their history.
| "The detachment of the special importance of the headquarters of the Northern Front" Ataman Punin squad | |
|---|---|
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| Years of existence | November 26, 1915 - January-February 1918 |
| A country |  Russia |
| Enters into | Headquarters of the Northern Front , the Armed Forces of Russia |
| Number of | 350 people |
| Participation in | World War I 1914 - 1918 |
| Commanders | |
| Famous Commanders | Lieutenant of the 8th Finnish Rifle Regiment, Punin, Leonid Nikolaevich |
It was formed by the headquarters of the Northern Front at the suggestion of Lieutenant 8th Finnish Rifle Regiment Leonid Nikolaevich Punin , who became the ataman of this detachment. The official date of formation is considered to be November 26, 1915 - the day of the St. George Cavaliers. It is not chosen by chance. Most of the officers and lower ranks of the Punin detachment (including himself) were the Georgians' cavaliers.
Content
Squad composition and people
The squad was multinational and multilingual. In addition to Russians , Ukrainians , Belarusians, Buryats , there were 37 Latvians . 42 people knew Polish , German - 15. 9 people spoke Lithuanian (Khoroshilova O. Military guerrillas of the Great War. St. Petersburg, 2002).
The squad included 10 officers. Among them - the centurion Baron R. F. Ungern-Sternberg , who commanded the 3rd squadron (November 1915 - August 1916 ), S.N. Bulak-Balakhovich (headed the 2nd squadron) and his brother lieutenant Yu.N. Bulak- Balakhovich, Cornet George Dombrovsky.
In addition, the squad included: 17 non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, 296 Cossacks and privates. Among the specialists were 7 demolition men, 8 telephonists, 4 telegraphers, 6 blacksmiths, 3 veterinarians, 5 medical assistants and 3 doctors. A horse and mountain cannon was served by 20 people (Khoroshilova O. Troop guerrillas of the Great War).
The official name of the detachment at the time of formation was: "The detachment of special importance of the headquarters of the Northern Front"
Guerrillas of the Puninians
The detachment worked on the northern front of the Russian army, in the vanguard of the 12th army, the headquarters was located in the Old Kemmern , so the detachment occupied an extended section of positions from which it was easier, as the command assumed, to act on the rear lines of the enemy.
Squad Fighting
Winter 1915 - Spring 1916 - a series of successful intelligence services to the rear of the enemy. Particularly distinguished cornet S. N. Bulak-Balakhovich and centurion Baron Ungern-Sternberg (O. Khoroshilova, Military Partisans of the Great War). In March 1916, the Punins' partisans carried out a number of successful operations together with the intelligence officers of the 4th Latvian Infantry Battalion.
In July 1916, the detachment was preparing to participate in the Riga landing force, but the operation was canceled. In the summer, active actions took place in the area of the village of Čaukciems. On September 1, 1916, the ataman of the detachment, lieutenant Punin, died in a fight with the Germans.
From the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” of October 10, 1916: “It’s sad, of course, that only now, when the gravestone has covered the dust of a young hero struck down in battle, his name has been loudly spoken. The first feeling that the name of ataman Punin in the Russian heart evokes is a feeling of sadness about his early death <...>. About really wonderful people almost always learn more after their death than during life. The fate of Punin, like the fate of his classmates in the 2nd cadet corps of the Panayev brothers, only confirms that these were wonderful people <...>. The bright glory that illuminated the name of the ataman after his death is not an accidental caprice of blind happiness, she was gradually prepared. His heroism was forged during his school years <...>. The ataman of the partisan detachment, the valiant lieutenant Punin, who managed to get all the military awards for his exploits, died heroically, but his work would not die. "
After the death of the chieftain, the lieutenant detachment was headed by the lieutenant Griebel. In March 1917, Alexander Punin (lieutenant of the Life Guards of the Petrograd Regiment) became the ataman of the detachment.
In December 1916, the Puninians took part in the famous Mitava operation , in which they showed themselves perfectly.
In March 1917, by order of Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov, the detachment received the official name "Detachment of Special Importance named after Ataman Punin."
In August 1917, the detachment took part in the Riga operation.
In September, as a result of the intrigues of the adventurer S. N. Bulak-Balakhovich, as well as revolutionary propaganda, the atmosphere in the detachment deteriorated sharply. Conflicts between officers and lower ranks began. As a result, on September 15, the detachment left part of the officers (including the staff captain Alexander Punin and the staff captain Lev Punin) and the lower ranks (the 3rd squadron in full and in part 1 and 2).
However, the detachment continued to work on the Northern Front . In the autumn of 1917 he switched to the Reds.
The detachment was on the northern front until February 1918 , when it was disbanded.
At the same time, about a third of the Ataman Punin squad, together with the former captain S. Bulak-Balakhovich, went over to the Red Army and became part of the Luga equestrian partisan squad, which was headed by Balakhovich himself.
Literature
- Khoroshilova O. A. Special Horsemen. M .: Russian Knights, 2012. 247 p.
- Khoroshilova O. Military guerrillas of the Great War. St. Petersburg, 2002.
- Lemke MK 250 days in the royal rate of 1914-1915. - Minsk: Harvest, 2003
- Finkelstein K.I. Imperial Nikolaev Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium. Pupils. - SPb: Silver Age, 2009. - P.218-222.
- Khoroshilova O. Riders, carrying the death of Germany (touches to the history of the detachment of special importance ataman Punin (1915-1918) / Motherland. - 2010, No. 4.