Vdovichenko, Trofim Yakovlevich

Born in a farm laborer in the village of Novospasovka, Mariupol district, Yekaterinoslav province . Received primary education. In 1910, he joined the group of Novospassky communist anarchists, an action movie ^[1] .

Member of the First World War, ensign, full St. George cavalier ^[1] .

At the end of 1917 he returned to Novospasovka, restored membership in the anarchist group ^[1] .

Anti-Hetman Rebellion

In May 1918, with the beginning of the Austro-German occupation of Ukraine, he organized a rebel detachment, along with which in autumn he joined the detachment of N. Makhno ^[1] .

January 3-4, 1919 participated in the front-line insurgent congress of the Makhnovists in s. Pologi, was elected commander of the 1st Rebel Regiment (later was transformed into the Novospassky Regiment) ^[1] .

As part of the Ukrainian Soviet Army and the Red Army

In the winter and spring of 1919, Makhno commanded his regiment against Denikinists as part of the brigade (from May 1919 - divisions). In early June, when Makhno was removed from command and outlawed, the Vdovichenko regiment remained at the front, restraining the White’s offensive. In early July, the regiment was included in the group of red troops under the command of Kochergin, later - I.F. Fedko ^[1] .

As part of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine

In August, not obeying the order to retreat, Vdovichenko with his regiment joined the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (RPAU) under the command of Nestor Makhno ^[1] .

On September 1, at the All-Army Congress, he was elected a member of the Military Revolutionary Council (VRS) of the army and commander of the 2nd (Azov) corps ^[1] .

On September 27, during the battle near Uman, troops led by Vdovichenko defeated the 51st Lithuanian officer regiment and captured the 1st and 2nd Labinsk plastun (Cossack) regiments of the Denikin’s army, after which they launched a swift offensive on the rear of the white army, participated in the capture of Aleksandrovsk (October 5), they took Tokmak (October 6), Berdyansk (October 8), Nogaysk and Novospasovka (October 9), Mariupol (October 14), launched an attack on Volnovakha and Taganrog, where Denikin’s headquarters were located ^[1] .

At the end of October, the white troops, intensifying as a result of the transfer of units from the direction to Moscow, went over to the counteroffensive; by November 9, Vdovichenko’s corps had left Mariupol, Berdyansk and Grishino and retreated to the right bank of the Dnieper near Nikopol. During this period, under his command were three cavalry brigades and two infantry regiments (altogether up to 1000 bayonets, 9000 sabers, 20 guns, 160 machine guns; by early December, the corps had grown to 21 thousand bayonets). After heavy defensive battles in December, the corps again went on the offensive, participated in the re-capture of Alexandrovsk (December 28, 1919). In early January 1920, units of the Red Army approached the territory controlled by the Makhnovists, who began disarming the rebels ^[1] .

On January 10, 1920, the corps broke through in battle in Gulyaypole, where it was dissolved by order of the army headquarters. Together with part of the leaders of the rebel movement, Vdovichenko went underground and hid in Novospasovka. Here, despite the fact that the majority of local anarchists supported the Soviet regime, he insisted on the need to organize peasant insurgent groups to protect themselves from the punitive actions of the Soviet authorities. In early May, in the midst of repression against the peasantry, the Novospasovskaya group was forced to return to Makhno ^[1] .

In early July 1920, the Military Revolutionary Council of the Army Makhno sent Vdovichenko as his representative in the Berdyansk and Mariupol counties, where for several months he led the partisan movement against the Soviet troops. In October, after the conclusion of a military-political alliance with the Bolsheviks, Vdovichenko was in Gulyaypol, and on November 16 he returned to the Berdyansk-Mariupol region to organize Makhnovist detachments ^[1] .

By November 25, 1920 (when the alliance with the Soviet power was finally terminated), the troops formed by Vdovichenko (the Azov Group of the RPAU) included 1900 bayonets, 900 sabers, 2 guns, 50 machine guns. Starting the guerrilla war on its own, on December 11, the Azov group joined forces with Makhno, after which it participated in raids along the Black Sea, in battles near Berdyansk. At the end of January 1921 he was seriously wounded in battle and left for treatment in Novospasovka. In April 1921 he was discovered and arrested by a punitive detachment ^[1] . Contained in the Aleksandrovskaya province. In May 1921 he was shot by the verdict of the VUCHK ^[2] .

• Belash A.V., Belash V.F. Roads of Nestor Makhno. - Kiev: RVC "Proza", 1993.
• Nestor Makhno. Peasant movement in Ukraine. 1918-1921: Documents and Materials / Series: Peasant Revolution in Russia. 1902-1922: Documents and materials / Ed. V. Danilova and T. Shanina. - M.: “Russian Political Encyclopedia” (ROSSPEN), 2006. - 1000 p.