Volunteer army in Kharkov

By the second half of June 1919, the main forces of the Volunteer Army under the command of General V.Z. May-Mayevsky came close to Kharkov, occupied by the Red Army, and began to prepare for the assault. The main attack on the city was developed by the forces of the 1st Army Corps of General A.P. Kutepov from the south and southeast. From June 20, fighting began at the approaches to the city near the Losevo railway station, and then in the area of ​​the Steam Locomotive Plant (the current Malyshev plant). At the same time, the Red forces took up defense at Osnova station, several white attacks on the station were repelled. Large losses suffered a combined infantry regiment of the Volunteer Army. ^[one]

The decisive role in breaking through the defense of Kharkov was played by the Drozdov units of the 1st Army Corps under the command of Colonel A.V. Turkul , who were transferred to Kharkov by rail from the Izyum and Balaklea regions. Having landed on June 23, 1919 from wagons a few kilometers to the major base station Osnova , Drozdovites attacked the Red positions at the station on June 24 in the morning, knocked them over, and chasing those who were retreating along the railway line to the Kharkov-Levada station , crossed the Kharkov River over a wooden bridge near Kharkov power station ^[2] . Having crossed the bridge, white forces entered the central part of the city along Kuznechnaya Street.

The most fierce resistance to the Drozdovites entering the city was shown by the red armored car “Comrade Artyom” (commander E. Stankevich) on the central streets of the city ^[3] . The armored car was thrown with grenades, and its crew, consisting of 4 sailors , left the car, tried to escape, but was caught by Drozdovites and immediately shot in front of the people in Mykolaiv Square on the wall of the Kharkov City Council (the current city council). ^[1] In Soviet and present times, the memory of the crew of the armored car was marked with a plaque on the building of the City Council.

In an emergency issue of the Kharkov newspaper "New Russia" dated June 25, 1919, the following was written about the events of the previous day, June 24 : ^[4]

By 9 o’clock the city center was already occupied by the troops of the Volunteer Army . Their further advancement was resisted by the Bolsheviks who sat on the Cold Mountain , where they installed guns and machine guns were hidden in the greenery of the mountain. After a brief exchange of fire, the volunteers silenced the batteries of the Red Army with gunfire and, step by step, cleaned the mountain from the last Bolshevik detachments under machine-gun and rifle fire. The remnants of the red army retreated along the Grigorovsky highway , since all the railroad tracks were cut in the morning. This also explains the haste with which late commissioners left Kharkov in the afternoon in cars.

The population of the city gave the incoming troops the most cordial welcome. Entrants were bombarded with flowers and greeted with applause. Until late at night, people crowded the streets, discussing events.

The main forces of the Volunteer Army entered the city the next morning, June 25, 1919 , along the path opened by the Drozdovites and landed at the South Station , capturing along the way after a short skirmish the armored trains and armored vehicles left red at the station. Then the troops proceeded with a parade march towards the city center along Yekaterinoslavskaya Street (present Poltava Shlyakh ). At the head of the troops was the commander of Drozdovtsy General V.K. Vitkovsky . ^[five]

A significant role in the capture of Kharkov by white was played by the raid of the Terek Division of General S. M. Toporkov on the rear of the Red Army. The Terek division took Kupyansk on June 15, 1919 , and then bypassing Kharkov from the north and north-west, cut off the messages of the Kharkov group of Bolsheviks to Vorozhba and Bryansk and destroyed several echelons of suitable reinforcements ^[6] , capturing a large group of commissars. By June 21, the division entered the Belgorod highway in the area of ​​the modern Forest Park and unexpectedly tried to attack Kharkov from the north. But, under the onslaught of the Red armored cars , she was forced to retreat north, having lost part of the artillery and convoy property, in the area of ​​the villages of Dolzhik and Zolochev, step aside from the main road and let the large masses of Soviet forces who were retreating from the city to the north pass by. ^[7]

First days

On June 25, 1919, the commander of the Volunteer Army, General V.Z. May-Mayevsky , arrived in Kharkov on his own headquarters train, who took over as chief commander in the Kharkov region . Its headquarters is located in the house of the Noble Assembly .

On June 28, A.I. Denikin visited Kharkov, a parade was held in honor of his arrival. After the parade, Denikin attended a solemn prayer dedicated to the liberation of the city, in the square in front of St. Nicholas Cathedral . Residents of the city and deputations of urban public organizations presented the Commander-in-Chief with bread and salt on a special dish, which is now stored in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces .

Army

With the entry of the Volunteer Army in Kharkov, the enrollment of volunteers in the army began . The Bolshevik newspaper Izvestia reports that 1,500 volunteers gave the first day of recording. In just a few days, their number increased to 10,000 people. ^[8] Historian Yu. Ryabukha notes that many of the workers in Kharkov enlisted in the Volunteer Army. In addition to them, junkers, officers, students, representatives of the bourgeoisie, and the intelligentsia were recorded. The White Army was supported by a large group of Kharkov policemen (about 260 people), who joined it in the city. ^[9]

Kornilovets M. N. Levitov writes the following: ^[10]

In Kharkov, when the regiment [ 2nd Kornilovsky - approx. ] so many officers joined the front that the platoons of the 1st officer company swelled up to 80 people. A lot of officers were from national teachers, surveyors of the Kharkov land management commission, Korsh theater artists, students, technicians, employees of zemstvo administrations, teachers of city schools, and seminarians.

Kharkov significantly increased the size of the Volunteer Army. A. Denikin writes that while on May 18 the army numbered 9,600 fighters during the fighting in the Coal-coal region , then by July 3 , a week after the capture of Kharkov and the replenishment of the army by townspeople and volunteers, its strength, despite military losses and losses from illnesses, increased to 26,000 fighters. ^[eleven]

Mobilization

In early July 1919, the commander of the 1st Army Corps, General A. Kutepov, announced an order in the Kharkiv region according to which mobilization was subject to: head officers up to the age of 50, chief officers , cadets , ensigns , extra-urgent , non-commissioned officers , volunteers 1st and 2nd categories up to 43 years old, engaged in tillage up to 24 years old, students , peers of which are called up for military service and other citizens, including teachers up to 35 years of age. All captured Red Army soldiers who were not members of the Bolshevik Party and who served in the Red Army were former officers who were not Communists . To strengthen the Volunteer Army in the Kharkov region, the White Guards carried out mobilization among workers in the Kharkov factories, who were sent to different sectors of the front, primarily to the Bogodukhov front. ^[12]

Arrival of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and senior officials of the All-Union Federal League of Justice in Kharkiv

On July 5, 1919, on the occasion of the arrival in Kharkov of the Commander-in-Chief of the All - Union Socialist Liberation Union, General A. I. Denikin , another parade of volunteer units was organized in the city. General B.A. Shteifon , who organized the Kharkov center for the recruitment of officers into the Volunteer Army in the summer of 1918 , who left the city in September 1918, and who was in the personnel of the Volunteer Army since April 1919, commanded this parade. He describes the events of the parade as follows: ^[5]

By 10 o’clock in the morning, the units participating in the parade began to gather at Cathedral Square (the current University Square ) . With orchestras, fit, dressed in all the best and uniform. On the right flank were Drozdovites in their colorful form. Further, bending the front to Mykolayiv square , Belozertsy lined up. They had steel helmets captured in the Bolshevik depots, and this uniformity of hats gave the regiment a warlike and combat appearance. Behind the Belozersky regiment, guns of the Drozdov artillery and armored cars stretched. Even further - the Kuban Cossack Division in the equestrian system.

All the streets leading to the parade area were filled with crowds. The windows of the huge building of public places overlooking Cathedral Square, showed a colorful, vivid picture of ladies' faces and costumes. The mood of both the troops and the spectators was elated, festive.

With a large crowd of people on Pavlovskaya Square , Denikin announced to the city residents that on July 3 he had ordered the troops to attack Moscow . Then the Commander-in-Chief attended a performance at the city ​​drama theater . ^[13]

Formation of new troops in the city

Drozdovtsi

The headquarters of Drozdovtsev settled in the building of the Metropol Hotel on Nikolaevskaya Square. After the speech of the Drozdov units from the city to the front, the Military Commandant's Office was located there.

General Boris Shteifon , who was engaged in the formation of units in Kharkov in June-July 1919, described this process in the example of the Belozersky regiment , 3rd (Drozdov) division : ^[5]

Reception of volunteers proceeded without signs of any system. Each unit formed its own recruitment bureau, which hosted everyone without unnecessary formalities. The choice of part depended solely on the wishes of the applicants, and this desire was often the result of purely external impressions. Some were seduced by the elegant form of the Drozdovites, while others turned out to be friends in artillery. I am convinced, for example, that the large number of volunteers who enrolled in the Belozersky regiment is mainly due to the fact that at the parade on the day of the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief, Belozersky impressed with their helmets. As for the officers, as far as I could tell, they were attracted to the Belozersky regiment, like the regiment of the former imperial army.

Kornilovites

( Main article of the 3rd Kornilov shock regiment )

On July 30, 1919, the 2nd Kornilov shock regiment arrived in Kharkov to regroup, stationed in the barracks of the Tambov regiment . The regiment stood in the city until August 4 , and then advanced to the front in the vicinity of the Tomarovka station (present-day Belgorod region ).

On August 2, the 1st Kornilovsky shock regiment, which suffered significant losses, was also withdrawn from the front for restoration. On August 3, a joint parade of the 1st and 2nd Kornilov regiments took place, which was hosted by General V.Z. May-Mayevsky and the commander of the 1st Army Corps, General A.P. Kutepov . ^[14]

The 3rd Kornilov shock regiment , which was formed in the city on August 27, 1919 on the basis of officer personnel with the participation of the training team of the 1st Kornilov shock regiment and the 1st officer named after General Kornilov, originates from Kharkov ^[15] . In addition to the officers, the regiment also included a group of volunteers from among the workers of the Locomotive Plant with a staff of about 300 people. During their stay in Kharkov, the regiment was stationed on the Zmievsky barracks , located in the area of ​​the current metro station "Prospect Gagarina . " Later this regiment, having gone to the front with about 1900 bayonets, would be completely defeated by the Soviet troops on December 19, 1919 in the forests north of Zmiev when they retreat a few kilometers from Kharkov. 86 personnel will remain in the regiment. ^[sixteen]

Markovites

Markov units were formed in Kharkov on Moskalevka in the barracks of the former Penza regiment . On September 14, 1919, a group of 60-70 Markov officers, led by Colonel Naumov, arrived in Kharkov to form the 2nd Markov Regiment . Particular success was not achieved, the army headquarters did not allocate the necessary, and part was formed according to the residual principle. On September 20, Kursk was taken by the Volunteer Army, and Markov units from Kharkov were relocated there on September 25 , where they began to form a regiment intensively. ^[17]

Others

Some armored train units of the Volunteer Army, as well as armored divisions, were also formed in Kharkov.

In October 1919, the situation at the front turned. The armies of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, under the onslaught of the forces of the Red Army, began to move south . Kharkov gradually again began to turn into a front-line city. The formation of new units was hindered, the troops reluctantly went to the front, preferring to stay in the cozy rear. Recruiting new volunteers has become increasingly ineffective. Lieutenant Colonel V.E. Pavlov, acting commander of the 3rd Markov Regiment , describes the situation in the city in early December 1919 as follows: ^[18]

In Kharkov, a group of 20-30 Markovites gathered back from vacations, business trips, and hospitals. Talk about the situation at the front and in the rear. Anxiety for the front, for its parts, anxiety and the ever-increasing green movement in the rear.

Evacuation of headquarters and institutions

The editor-in-chief of the Kharkov New Russia newspaper , professor of Kharkov University and public figure V. Kh. Davatts , in January 1920 , while in Rostov , describes the situation in the city at the time of departure ^[19] :

But almost a month ago [Davatts was evacuated from Kharkov on November 25, 1919 - approx.] I was sitting as a member of the Council in Kharkov, who was shrinking frantically from the advancing Reds . They met, said, did something, signed something, and they thought: how to leave? so as not to get stuck in this hustle and bustle of "unloading."

The headquarters of the Volunteer Army, led by V.Z. Mai-Mayevsky, was evacuated from the city on December 10 . According to P. N. Wrangel, the connection between the units was disrupted with the headquarters of the Kharkov telephone exchange ^[20] . In the last 2 days before leaving Kharkov, the evacuation took place chaotically, city transport did not function, the railway connection was disrupted. The situation was complicated by the attempts of uprisings in the city undertaken by the Bolshevik underground.

Defense Attempts

Kharkov in December 1919 from the advancing units of the Red Army was defended by the forces of the Volunteer ( 1st Army ) Corps of General A.P. Kutepov. The main resistance of the retreating units of the FSSL was northeast of the city. When the White Movement forces retreated from Kharkov on December 6-12 , the city ​​did not defend itself with large forces and was surrendered almost without a fight. Some retreating units made attempts to carry out only local resistance.

Alekseevtsy and Markovites

The Alekseevsky units , retreating, did not enter Kharkov, rounding it from the east. Markov units, when retreating from the north in mid-December 1919, passed mainly east of the city, through the village of Rogan . Part of the troops of the Markov Infantry Division, under the cover of the Grozny armored train, was removed from the city on the night of December 11-12 by trains from the South Station towards Izyum .

Kornilovites

Kornilovites retreated through the central regions of Kharkov.

The route of the 1st Kornilovsky shock regiment through the city during the retreat was not preserved in detail. Being the most weakened by combat losses, the regiment acted as a whole as part of the Kornilov division.

On December 7, 1919, the 2nd Kornilovsky shock regiment retreated from Belgorod unloaded. From December 7 to December 11, reinforced classes and a breakdown by mouth went into the regiment. Its commander, Colonel Pashkevich arrived in the city on December 4 and managed to recruit 300 replenishment men for his unit in the city. On December 12, the regiment, through Bezlyudovka, retreated south of Kharkov.

On the morning of December 12, the retreating 3rd Kornilovsky strike regiment also entered Kharkov from the side of the village of Liptsy . Having occupied the eastern part of the city, he put up a guard in the city, covering the outgoing parts. At about 3 p.m. of the same day, the regiment left the city, and moved along the Chuguevsky highway to the Zalkin farm, where he spent the night. On December 13, the regiment went towards Rogani , then to the village of Staraya Pokrovka and left the territory of modern Kharkov. ^[21]

Drozdovtsi

The Drozdov units retreated last west of Kharkov, mainly through Lyubotin to Merefa . In Merefa, the main Drozdov forces met with the Samur and 2nd Drozdov cavalry regiments, as well as the equestrian division of I.G. Barbovich , were surrounded by the Reds on December 13 and made their way out of the encirclement in battle. ^[22]

On December 12, 1919, troops of the Red Army entered Kharkov and the period of stay of the Volunteer Army in the city ended.

• Kolovrat Yu. A. "Formation of the Kharkiv region and the White Guard administration in 1919." Dissertation (abstract), X, KhNU , 2006

• Volunteer army
• Kharkov during the Civil War
• Kharkov region (VSYUR)
• Kharkov operation (June 1919)
• 3rd Kornilovsky shock regiment
• Category: Images: Volunteer Army in Kharkov
• Grigorov, Boris Vasilievich