Verzhbitsky, Grigory Afanasyevich

From the burghers of Podolsk province.

Start of military service

Service in the Russian army began in 1893 as a volunteer in the 45th Azov Infantry Regiment , from 1894 - non-commissioned officer . He graduated from the Odessa infantry cadet school ( 1897 ), served in the 30th infantry Poltava regiment . Member of the Russo-Japanese War , the company commander of the 11th Siberian Semipalatinsk Regiment, from 1905 - the captain . For military services he was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 4th degree with the inscription "For Bravery", the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree with swords and bow.

Since 1913 - the captain . At his own request, he joined the expeditionary detachment sent on July 12, 1913 to Mongolia to protect communications during the unrest. Commanding the detachment, August 31, 1913 occupied the Chinese fortress Sharasume.

Participation in the First World War

Member of the First World War , the commander of the battalion of the 44th Siberian Rifle Regiment . In battles he was wounded and contused twice, for military services he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, then to colonel (October 1916 ). For valor was awarded the St. George weapon . In 1916 he was awarded the Order of St. George of the 4th degree for the battle along the Zelvianka River :

for being in the rank of captain, on August 29, 1915, Zelvianka, when the left flank of the regiment was uncovered with the withdrawal of neighboring units and created a position that threatened the division’s withdrawal path, on his own initiative with a team of 100 people, he rushed at the enemy and bayonet attack threw him across the river Zelvianka, what contributed to the retention of our positions and thus ensured further withdrawal.

He was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with swords and bow, the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree with swords and bow, the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd degree with swords, the Order of St. Stanislav of the 2nd degree with swords. He also received the 4th degree St George Cross with palm branches (an award introduced by the Provisional Government for officers for bravery and presented by the decision of the soldiers).

In 1917 - the commander of the formed 536th Infantry Regiment of the Efremov 134th Infantry Division . From September 1, 1917 - the brigade commander of the 134th Infantry Division. After the Bolsheviks came to power and the actual command was transferred to the soldiers' committees, without recognizing the election of commanders in the army, he refused the position offered to him by the head of the 134th Infantry Division. For this, he was convicted by a general meeting of corps committees and sentenced for disobedience to the Soviet government to the death penalty, but was able to escape, saved by soldiers loyal to him.

Participation in the Civil War

December 8, 1917 went to Omsk , then lived in Ust-Kamenogorsk , where he formed an officer organization, an active participant in the anti-Bolshevik uprising in this city in June 1918 . From June 1918 - Head of the 1st Steppe Siberian Rifle Division (on August 26 it was renamed the 4th Siberian Rifle Division). July 20, 1918 was promoted to Major General by the Provisional Siberian Government, for taking the city of Tyumen . In the autumn of the same year, commanding the West-Siberian detachment, he knocked out the Bolshevik troops from the Tavda river basin and the cities of Alapayevsk , Nizhny Tagil and Verkhoturye , occupied Gornozavodsky district . Participated in the Perm operation .

From January 12, 1919 - Commander of the 3rd Steppe Siberian Army Corps of the Siberian Army. In the same month, for military distinctions in mastering the Ural Range, he was promoted to lieutenant general . Successfully acted during the Kungur operation (January - March 1919). In the spring offensive of the white troops of 1919 , the corps of General G. A. Verzhbitsky seized the Votkinsk plant on April 7 after stubborn battles, and on April 13 its units captured Izhevsk . He was authorized by the government with the rights of the governor-general in the liberated regions of Western Siberia. He was awarded the French Military Cross (Croix de Guerre) with a palm branch ( April 9, 1919), the Order of St. George 3rd degree ( July 22, 1919) for the Kungur operation, the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree with swords.

From June 1919 - Commander of the Southern Group of Forces of the Siberian Army. After leaving the Urals, from July 20, 1919, this group became known as the Southern Group of Forces of the 2nd Army. During the Great Siberian Ice Campaign at the end of 1919, he was appointed head of the column, as commander of the army, as part of the Southern and Tobolsk groups. He was awarded the distinction of the military order “For the Great Siberian Campaign” of the 1st degree (certificate number 3). Order of the commander of the Russian eastern outskirts of the General Staff Major-General Voitsekhovsky S.N. № 213 of 04.27.1920.

Command of the Far East

On February 22, 1920, in Chita, because of the reduced strength, the 2nd Army of General Verzhbitsky was reduced to the 2nd Siberian Corps of the Far Eastern Army by the Commander-in-Chief and the Marching Chieftain G. M. Semenov . From March 30 to July 4, 1920, he fought against the Reds in the Nerchinsko-Sretinsky district. In August 1920, he was appointed commander of the Far Eastern Army . October 22, 1920 from Chita retreated with the army in Manchuria . In early 1921, under an agreement with representatives of the Primorsky Regional Directorate, units under the command of the general were stationed in Grodekovo , Nikolsk-Ussuriysk , Razdolny and Vladivostok . In January 1921 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the Far Eastern Republic (FER).

Since May 1921 , after the right-wing government came to power in Primorye , he commanded the forces of the Provisional Priamur Government, which were based on the army of General V. M. Molchanov . In October 1921 - June 1922 he was the manager of the Navy Department with the rights of the War Minister of the Provisional Amur Government. On June 1, 1922, he handed over command of the troops to Lieutenant-General M. K. Diterikhs . On August 8, 1922, he was appointed Assistant Governor of the Zemsky District , who was proclaimed Diterikhs.

Life in emigration

After the defeat of the Zemstvo rati at the end of October 1922, he emigrated to China , crossing with a part of the whites border in the Hunchun region. He was interned and placed in a camp in the city of Jirin. In May 1923 he was released, he lived in Harbin , where he earned his living as the owner of a ladies' hat workshop. From 1928 - chairman of the Russian national community, replaced in this position A. A. Orlov , the former consul general in Urga ^[1] . In 1930 he was appointed assistant to the head of the Far Eastern Department of the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS). From 1931 he was chairman of the committee of foremen of the Russian National Club. After the occupation of Manchuria by Japanese troops for refusing to lead the formation of the Russian division for the Japanese army was expelled in 1934 by the Japanese authorities in Tianjin (China). He lived in the territory of the British concession, headed the local branch of the EMRO.

After the occupation of North China by Japanese troops in 1937–1938 , it was under continuous threat of arrest by the occupying authorities for refusing to participate in the formation of Russian military units for the Japanese army.

He was buried in Tianjin in the Russian part of the international cemetery.

Verzhbitsky Grigory Afanasyevich (1886 - 1945?) - One of the most prominent generals of Kolchak.

He graduated from the Odessa infantry cadet school in 1907

Member of the Russian-Japanese war, the company commander. Member of the expedition to Mongolia in 1913.

A participant in World War I: battalion commander in the 41st and 44th Siberian rifle regiments in 1914 - 16, head of the training team in the 44th rifle regiment; battalion commander in the 134th Infantry Regiment in 1917. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1917.

Wounded twice during the war.

For refusing to take command of the Bolsheviks over the 134th Theodosia Infantry Regiment after October 1917, they were sentenced to death; thanks to the help of the soldiers, he escaped the execution, went to Omsk.

The participant of a successful anti-Bolshevik uprising in Ust-Kamenogorsk in May-June 1918, commanded a white detachment there. He led the West Siberian White Guard detachment, who fought against the Bolsheviks in Western Siberia and the Urals. Commander of the 11th Siberian Semipalatinsk Regiment. In 1918 he received the rank of colonel.

He was summoned to Omsk and was appointed commander of the 1st Steppe Infantry Division in July-September 1918.

In July 1918 he received the rank of major general. He smashed the Bolsheviks near Tyumen (July 1918). He was the commander of a detachment of the 4th and 7th Siberian rifle divisions in September - December 1918. Captured Nizhny Tagil.

With the 1st Siberian Corps, Pepeliaev participated in the seizure of Perm and the liberation of the Ural Range from the Bolsheviks, for which he received the rank of lieutenant general.

From December 21, 1918 - Deputy Commander of the 3rd Siberian Corps. Moved to the south under Kungur.

For the capture of Osa and Sarapul he was awarded the St. George of the 3rd degree.

April 10, 1919 - appointed commander of the Southern Group of Forces (3rd and 4th Siberian Corps), which was commanded until June inclusive. Despite his active help from the River Combat Flotilla (RBF) Smirnov, he could not stay on the White River.

At the end of May 1919, he moved away from positions from the mouth of the Belaya River and the village of Tychy Mountains on Kama to Sarapul, which he hastily evacuated on the evening of June 1, 1919, because of which the RBF was almost blocked by the red ones at the Sarapul bridge, as Verzhbitsky could warn Smirnov about evacuation due to communication damage.

Under the pressure of the 28th Infantry Division of the Reds of the 2nd Red Army, in the evening of June 1, 1919, he was forced to flee from Sarapul on the steamer "Chermoz".

After the defeats of Kolchak's armies, he went all the way of retreat, commanding part of the 1st Army near Tobolsk and the Southern Group from Vyatka to Baikal. In continuous battles he reached Nizhne-Udinsk, where he joined the ice campaign of the retreating forces of Kolchak of the Moscow Group of Forces. He took command of the remnants of the 2nd Army. He departed along the Siberian tract. He took part in the offensive on January 5 - 6, 1920 at Krasnoyarsk, captured by the Social Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks, advancing from Zaledeev, commanding a troop column. He did not help the group of the white forces of General Petrov, but slipped north of Krasnoyarsk.

As part of the forces Wojciechowski commanded volunteer units. Upon arrival in Chita in March 1920, he became commander of the 2nd Rifle Corps (SC) (remnants of the 2nd Kolchak Army). Due to Verzhbitsky’s hostility towards Pepelyaev, the latter was forced to leave Trans-Baikal in March. Intrigued against Lokhvitsky, seeking his appointment to the post of commander, which largely ensured the departure of his and Diterikhs from the army. On August 22, 1920, Semenov was appointed commander of the Far Eastern White Army as part of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd SK. He signed, despite his unwillingness to concede to socialists in matters of governance, the Hadabulak Act on August 24, 1920. Tried to eliminate the split between the "Semenovtsy" and "Kappelevtsy" in the autumn of 1920.

In October 1920, his authority in white troops was higher than that of Semenov (according to General Petrov). Verzhbitsky plays in Transbaikalia at this time one of the main roles. He managed to win over the Trans-Baikal People’s Assembly, unlike Semenov. He did not prepare warm clothes for the army, was one of the culprits of the fact that there were a lot of frost-bitten in it at the end of 1920. He tried to negotiate with the Upper Udinsky government in October 1920, but the Reds launched an offensive, interrupting them. He accused Feldman of criminal negligence for not having sent trains to China on time, despite the lessons he had in Siberia and Transbaikalia and did not provide their protection, despite the available forces, because of which valuable documents were seized by red ones. In mid-October 1920, together with Semenov was cut off red in Chita. With the breakthrough of Verzhbitsky in early November 1920, he was surrounded by the red Chasuchaevsky. Due to personal antipathy towards General Artemyev, he refused to give him a frostbite a cart, and he had to go on foot. According to Feldman, at that time he cared only about himself and was little worried about the fate of the personnel, did not share food with his subordinates. Not knowing that the white troops, contributing to it, threw out the red ones, turned along the Mongolian border into Dauria.

Arrived on November 6, 1920 at the Borzya station, where he announced his entry into command of all white forces in Transbaikalia. At this time, he believed that fate protects him from death for some higher role in the future. From there, on November 7 - 8, 1920, he led his forces to Dauria. After the defeat of the Far Eastern White Army (October 18 - November 19, 1920), with the remnants of its troops, it crossed the Chinese border at Manchuria Station. Army nominally remained in his submission. Soon on the CER with its troops (without Semenovtsy) moved to Primorye (Grodekovo - Nikolsk-Ussuriysk - Razdolnoye). Verzhbitsky, faced with a lack of money to support the people and Semyonov’s reluctance to supply them not only with his fighters, but also with the "Kappelevs" who had gone into emigration, expressed a desire that he and Semyonov would leave the command of the remaining white forces. Even being in a foreign land, Verzhbitsky could not become a true assistant to Semenov, as intrigues against the ataman among the “Kappelevtsev” continued, which he could not repay while still in Transbaikalia. In emigration he refused to submit to Semenov. Formally, he was the head of all white troops who emigrated east. At this time he was in an illegal position. With the establishment of the dictatorship of Merkulov in Vladivostok, on May 26, 1921, he was appointed head of military and naval affairs and at the same time commander of the troops (White Army) of the Provisional Primorye Government, General Molchanov. At that time, he was in extreme hostility with Semenov because of the struggle for leadership in the White Primorye, having decided not to allow his troops to march on Khabarovsk. In June 1921, he was seriously ill. He refused to participate in the plan of the Bolsheviks: together with them, with the participation of the troops of the Far Eastern Republic, break up Semenov. Almost constantly during May 1921 - May 1922. was at the front. He fought against the theft of intendants in the army, appointing General Petrov to control the supply of white troops. In his conflict with the Merkulovs he defended the interests of the army. Part of the public in Primorye supported the transfer of all power to him there, but he refused. He conducted a number of successful operations against the Bolsheviks, including the seizure on December 22, 1921 of Khabarovsk. On May 1, 1922, he issued and signed an order, along with the Merkulovs, banning the White Army from leaving under any pretext. According to one version, after the defeats and the fall of the government, Merkulov surrendered command until the arrival of Diterikhs to General Molchanov from May 29 to June 1, 1922 and deported to emigration to Harbin.

According to another version, in the middle of May 1922 the Merkulovs themselves succeeded in replacing it with Diterichs. He left Primorye on October 25, 1922. Until June 1923, he was in a refugee camp. In Manchuria, he headed the EMRO department in the Far East. According to one version, after the capture in August 1945 by Soviet troops of North China, in September of the same year he was arrested by NKVD agents and later shot in Moscow.

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