Almendinger, Vladimir Vilgelmovich

Military career

Born July 16, 1895 in the city of Simferopol , Tavricheskaya province , in a military family. After graduating from the Simferopol State High School in 1913, he entered the Chuguev Military School . October 1, 1914 with the rank of lieutenant released in the regiment. By January 1915 he served in the spare parts of the Kiev Military District .

On the fronts of the First World War from January 1915 to December 1917. On February 22, 1915, in the battle with the Austrians near the village of Trivolya, second-lieutenant Almending was wounded in the abdominal cavity, and he was evacuated to the rear. He returned to service after his recovery on July 15, 1915, when Russian troops had to retreat along the whole front. As part of the 16th Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant Almendding participated in further hostilities against the Austrians and Germans on the South-Western Front . Together with his regiment, Almendinger participated in the battles from May 24 until the end of September. After a short rest in the army reserve, at the end of October, his division was transferred to the Romanian front and in November took up its position at the front line. Almendinger served on the Romanian front until the end of 1917, after which he returned from Romania to the Crimea ^[1] .

Member of the Civil War in Russia . From December 20, 1917 to February 1918, he served in the 33rd infantry reserve regiment in Simferopol.

After the occupation of the Crimea in April 1918, German troops went to the reserve and in June entered the University of Taurida in the agronomic faculty.

On November 5, 1918, he entered the Simferopol officers' regiment , which later became part of the 4th Infantry Division of the Crimean-Azov Volunteer Army . In March 1919, the regiment participated in the defense of Perekop , then retreated to the depths of the Crimea, to Kerch . Together with other parts of the Crimean-Azov Army, the regiment took part in positional battles in Ak-Manai .

In June 1919, the positions of the Red forces in Ak-Manai were broken, and the liberation of the Crimea began. In the ranks of the regiment Almendinger participated in the battles against the Red and Petlura troops, as well as against the Makhnovists.

After the Red Army on the Southern Front went on the offensive in October-November 1919, and a turn in its favor had an effect, the regiment retreated to Odessa . In the winter of 1920, Simferopol took part in the Bredovsky campaign . Having crossed the Polish border, the group of troops of General N. E. Bredova , which included the Simferopol officer regiment, was housed by the Poles in the camps as interned. With part of the volunteers, Almendinger returned to the Crimea in August 1920. In the last battles against the Reds he fought as part of the 49th Brest Infantry Regiment.

Evacuated to Turkey in November 1920. In the fall of 1921, some parts of the Russian army were transported to Bulgaria , where Almendinger was promoted to his last military rank — lieutenant colonel. In Bulgaria, as part of the Alekseevsky Infantry Regiment, he continued to serve until 1923.

Emigration

As a former student, he received permission from the command of the Russian army to go to continue his studies in Czechoslovakia . But since the Czech authorities were reluctant to let Russian students from among the personnel officers enter the country, he crossed the Czechoslovak border illegally, after which he successfully reached Prague . There, Russian emigre organizations helped him legalize his stay in the country.

In Czechoslovakia, Almendinger graduated from an agricultural institute with a degree in agronomist engineering. Until 1945, he lived and worked in Brno . All these years he has been in the EMRO and Gallipoli fraternities. For several years he led the Department of Gallipoli in Brno. In 1926 he came to Paris , where he participated in the work of the Foreign Congress. According to unconfirmed information, at the end of 1937, Almendinger traveled to Germany or Austria . At the beginning of World War II, he returned to Czechoslovakia ^[1] .

In 1945, in connection with the offensive of the Soviet troops, Almendinger left for the West. He avoided extraditing to the Soviet state security agencies because he was an old immigrant, and there was no direct evidence of his cooperation with the Germans. A few years after the end of the war, Almendinger emigrated to the United States . Established in Los Angeles . He participated in the activities of the Russian émigré military organizations: in the city, pioneers, Cossack fraternity, military invalids, ROVS and cadets were actively functioning. He fruitfully collaborated with the magazines "The Messenger of the First Hander" (Los Angeles) and " Military Fable " (Paris) ^[1] .

Lieutenant Colonel V.V. Alminger died on November 16, 1975. Buried at the local Hollywood cemetery.

• Simferopol officer regiment. Paris, 1962.
• Oryol region Los Angeles, 1966.

• Chicheryukin-Meingardt V. G. Almending Vladimir Vilgelmovich (1895–1975) // New historical bulletin . 2004. № 2 (11). Pp. 202-205.
• Aleksandrov, E. A. Russians in North America: A Biographical Dictionary / Edited by K. M. Aleksandrov, A. V. Tereshchuk. - Hamden (Connecticut, USA) - San Francisco (USA) - St. Petersburg (Russia), 2005. - 599 p. - ISBN 5-8465-0388-8

V. V. Aldmendinger on the website ria1914