Continuation, beginning here: Part 1
However, the new authorities, and after them the Bolsheviks, renamed all the courts, one way or another connected with the "accursed tsarism". And these new names did not bring happiness to the ships. There was no hero on the Black Sea equal to Namorsi Shchastny, so the Black Sea Fleet suffered much more from the actions of the "allies". To destroy the handsome Black Sea battleships and other ships of the active fleet, British intelligence had to make a lot of efforts. The Brest Peace Treaty served as the prologue of the tragedy. Article 6 of it read:
"Russia pledges to immediately conclude peace with the Ukrainian People's Republic … The territory of Ukraine is immediately cleared of Russian troops and the Russian Red Guard."
Germany has created Ukraine as its own feeding trough in order to get guaranteed “lard, milk, eggs” from there. Gritting their teeth, the Bolsheviks also recognized the independence of the Ukrainian Rada. According to the agreement, it is necessary to clear the Ukrainian territory of Russian troops, and take the fleet to Russian ports. Everything is simple and clear, only at first glance. In the Baltic Sea, there was no doubt which port was Russian - it was Kronstadt. There is no such clarity on the Black Sea, because no one could have thought about the separation of the two fraternal peoples even in a nightmare. Therefore, there is simply no border between the two countries. More precisely, somewhere it is, but somewhere it is not. And everyone can interpret it in their own way. Including the Germans, whose pointed helmets stick out from behind the back of the government of independent Ukraine. According to the Germans and Ukrainians, Sevastopol is no longer a Russian port, and therefore it is in it, according to Article 5 of the Brest Treaty, that ships must be disarmed. Because Novorossiysk, where the fleet can be relocated, is also a Ukrainian port.
There is no Kronstadt on the Black Sea, the Russian fleet has nowhere to go. Oh, you should have thought better when signing that agreement, historians will say: a small correction - and everything could be different. But we know how and why Lenin agreed to that treaty. The Germans also know this. The "allies" also know. And it could not be otherwise. The German leadership, as we have seen more than once, does not really hope for the loyalty of its successful "spies" led by Lenin. Just in March, Ilyich and his company had taken the Baltic Fleet from Helsingfors from under the Kaiser's nose. That one brave patriot Shchastny did all this on his own initiative, contrary to orders, the Germans do not know, and they will not believe.
One people! Great Slavic people. Great Russia, Little Russia. There is nothing derogatory in the word "Little Russia". After all, this means a small homeland, that is, the Ancestral Homeland, the Slavic cradle.
Seeing that the "German spies" in their actions are more guided by the "allies" but the Entente, and not by the Berlin "masters", the German leadership is making a desperate attempt to seize for itself at least the ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Fortunately, the Bolshevik diplomats created the legal prerequisites for this by signing just such a version of the Brest Treaty. Berlin understands that under pressure from his "allied" curators, Lenin will be forced to flood the fleet, although for Russia there is no sense in this action. On April 22, 1918, German troops capture Simferopol and Evpatoria. The amazing mission of the wonderful Leninist envoy, the sailor Zadorozhny, who defended the members of the Romanov family to the point of selflessness, is ending. Germans in Crimea - the occupation of Sevastopol is becoming an inevitable prospect in the coming days.
The Germans address directly to the leadership of the fleet - Tsentrobalt. The German command proposes to raise yellow-blue independent flags on Russian ships. For this, it promises that it will not touch the ships that swear allegiance to Ukraine, and recognizes them as the fleet of the union state. Seafarers face a difficult dilemma. Change the oath to Russia, become "Ukrainians" and keep the ships, or, while remaining loyal to the "Red" Motherland, withdraw the ships with a clear prospect of losing them.
God forbid anyone such a choice. It is difficult to condemn both sides. Some of the Russian sailors decided not to go to Novorossiysk, stay and raise Ukrainian flags. Another part of the ships, tuned in a pro-Bolyshevist way, is removed from the anchor and leaves Sevastopol. Among them is the destroyer "Kerch", which proudly raised a red flag on its mast.
The next night, both the most powerful dreadnoughts - Free Russia (Empress Catherine the Great) and Volya (Emperor Alexander III), an auxiliary cruiser, five destroyers, submarines, patrol boats and merchant ships - go out to sea. As soon as the ships approach the passage in the booms, the bay is illuminated by rockets. The Germans manage to install an artillery battery near the bay, which opens warning fire.
This is ridiculous, this is suicide. One volley of Russian dreadnoughts is enough to mix the German gunners with the red Crimean soil. Taking into account the looseness of the teams and the absence of officers - three, five. But the plenipotentiary representative of the Soviet Republic in Berlin, Comrade Ioffe, sends warning telegrams to the Council of People's Commissars:
“Any blunder, even the smallest provocation on our part, will be immediately used from a military point of view; it is necessary in no case to allow this."
One shot from the dreadnought's 305-millimeter guns is not even a "minor provocation", but a huge multi-meter funnel full of remnants of German artillerymen and the melted skeletons of their guns. Therefore, you cannot shoot, so the Germans are not afraid to open fire to kill. The destroyer "Wrathful" gets a hole and is thrown ashore in Ushakovskaya gully. The crew leaves it by blowing up the cars.
Small ships, submarines, boats, fearing shelling, return to the berths.
Dreadnoughts calmly go out to sea - the German artillerymen still do not dare to shoot at them. Thus, 2 battleships, 10 Novik-class destroyers, 6 coal destroyers and 10 patrol ships are leaving for Novorossiysk.
But all this was only the beginning of the tragedy, not its end. In fact, there was no reason for joy. The German command presents the Leninists with an ultimatum to surrender the Black Sea Fleet. The Bolsheviks agree, although the situation for them looks like an unsolvable one. It is impossible to fight the Germans - this will provoke a final rupture and suffocation of the "Land of the Soviets" by them. It is also impossible to fulfill the ultimatum, to hand over the fleet to Germany - then Western intelligence services will not be able to drown Russian ships …
On May 1, 1918, the Germans entered Sevastopol, on May 3, Trotsky sent his wonderful orders to the Baltic Sea to blow up the fleet and to pay cash to the sailors. So, you can't resist the Germans, you can't resist the "allies" either. What to do?
Lenin's fantastic flexibility helps to find a way out of the current impasse. The Germans demand that Ilyich conclude a peace treaty with Ukraine and hand over the ships to it - well, we are starting the negotiation process. We, the Bolsheviks, want to establish good-neighborly relations with Kiev, there are just a lot of questions to be discussed: borders, visas, division of tsarist debts. The "allies" demand that the fleet be flooded - we are sending our man to Novorossiysk to control the situation and organize the destruction of ships …
Further events are covered with a darkness of obscurity. Soviet historians portray a situation of complete hopelessness to resistance to the Germans, in which Ilyich decided to sink the fleet. However, if you look carefully, you can find completely different facts indicating that the sailors were preparing Novorossiysk for defense, and then the diplomatic situation in relations with Germany in general changed radically. Germany agreed to recognize Russia's rights to the Black Sea Fleet and undertook to return the ships at the end of the world war. This scenario could not suit only British intelligence. Lenin's actions simply cannot be logically explained without taking into account all the powerful pressure on the head of the Soviet state. The ships lying at the bottom of the sea are lost forever for the revolution and Russia. And this is much worse, albeit vague, but still the possibility that the Germans will give them back to Russia after the world war. Lenin was not thinking about the country when he made his decision, but again and again about the survival of his brainchild - the Bolshevik revolution. This idea was expressed back in 1924 by GK Graf in his book "On Novik". Baltic Fleet in War and Revolution”. Therefore, she was sent to special guards:
“It is clear that the destruction of the Black Sea Fleet … was not important for the Bolsheviks: all the same, if the fleet I was subject to extradition, it would be very risky for them to violate the peace conditions; if he remained in their hands, then there was no point in drowning him, because he was in their complete dependence. And if they sunk it, it was only by virtue of the demand of the allies presented at a difficult moment."
Very often you can read that the British wanted so much to drown our ships, just so that they would not get to the Germans and were not used against the British fleet In fact, this is a fog, a verbal husk, which hides an insatiable desire to destroy the entire Russian fleet and put a fat point in the history of Russia like a sea power. The "allies" are well aware that there is no danger of the participation of Russian dreadnoughts in the war - Germany simply does not have time for this. While the Germans deal with the new ships, while they bring their crews, while they get used to the NEW military equipment, the war will be over. After all, Kaiser's Germany itself has less than five months left to live} And it will fall as a result of the revolution. That is, such a vile and fantastic betrayal, which the Nazis would later call “a treacherous stab in the back” (for details of the German “revolution” see Old Men II. Who made Hitler attack Stalin? SPb.: Peter, 2009).
On June 6 (May 24), 1918, a Leninist envoy arrives at the Black Sea. This is a member of the Marine Collegium sailor Vakhrameev. He has with him the report of the Chief of the Naval General Staff with the laconic resolution of Vladimir Ilyich:
"In view of the hopelessness of the situation, proved by the highest military authorities, destroy the fleet immediately."
The task of the special emissary Vakhrameev is to do this. So that there are no problems with the task, the obstinate fleet commander Mikhail Petrovich Sablin is summoned to Moscow in advance. An amazing coincidence: the invitation from Trotsky arrives practically at the same time as the summons to the capital of Namorsi, Shchastny! There is no doubt that Sablin would have shared his fate there. Yes, he himself guesses about the reasons for the call, and therefore runs along the road and soon passes to the whites.
The new commander of the fleet, the captain of the 1st rank, the commander of the Volya dreadnought, Tikhmenev, acts exactly like his colleague Namorsi Shchastny. He is trying to save the ships. He telegraphed to Moscow that there was no real danger from the offensive of the German troops "from both Rostov and the Kerch Strait, Novorossiysk does not threaten, then it is premature to destroy the ships."An attempt to issue such an order may be taken by the sailors for obvious betrayal.
The Leninist envoy Vakhrameev himself is embarrassed. Now, when he sees the real situation, he also does not quite understand why it is so urgent to sink the ships. To say that the situation is complicated is to say nothing. And as always, in a crisis moment, Vladimir Ilyich shows inhuman flexibility. In Kiev, the Bolshevik delegation continues to discuss the delivery of ships with the Germans. At the same time, orders for their destruction were sent to Sevastopol. The texts of Lenin's telegrams are recalled from memory by the commander of the destroyer "Kerch", an ardent Bolshevik Lieutenant Kukel:
“On June 13 or 14 (I don’t remember) an open radiogram was received from the central government with approximately the following content:
Germany issued an ultimatum to the fleet to arrive in Sevastopol no later than June 19, and gives a guarantee that at the end of the war the fleet will be returned to Russia, in case of failure, Germany threatens to launch an offensive on all fronts. with the expectation of arriving there no later than June 19. All madmen who resist the government elected by a multi-million working people will be considered outlawed.
At the same time, an encrypted radiogram was received (approximately) with the following content: “Experience has shown that all paper guarantees from Germany have no value or credibility, and therefore the fleet will not be returned to Russia. I order the fleet to sink before the deadline for the ultimatum. Radio number 141 cannot be counted. No. 142.
Machiavelli rolled over in his grave! Who wants to become a politician, learn from Vladimir Ilyich. Two orders directly opposite contents have incoming numbers No. 141 and No. 142. Directly one after the other. Indeed, it is interesting.
But Lenin was a genius, and therefore at the same time the leadership of the fleet receives another, already the third encrypted telegram:
"An open telegram will be sent to you - in pursuance of the ultimatum to go to Sevastopol, but you are obliged not to carry out this telegram, but, on the contrary, to destroy the fleet, acting in accordance with the instructions brought by II Vakhrameev."
Pretending that he agreed to carry out the German ultimatum, Lenin openly over the radio instructed the ships to follow to Sevastopol for transmission to the Germans and Ukrainians. And there and then - the encrypted telegram to sink the fleet. And so that no one doubts which order is correct - one more encryption and additionally comrade Vakhrameev with a secret directive "to destroy all ships and commercial steamers located in Novorossiysk." The simultaneous sending of two mutually exclusive orders gives Lenin an alibi for both the "allies" and the Germans. But it is quite obvious that the head of the Bolsheviks is not more afraid of the Germans, whose spies he is so actively recorded by modern historians.
It is precisely the destruction of ships on the orders of the British and French, and not their return to Germany, that is Lenin's general line at this moment. With "allies" Ilyich always knew how to negotiate. Problems start with their own revolutionary sailors and officers. Captain Tikhmenev decides to publicize all of Lenin's secret orders. For this, he convenes a general meeting of commanders, chairmen of ship committees and team representatives. The same meeting is attended by the Leninist emissary Vakhrameev and the fleet commissar Glebov-Avilov. By the way, the commissar of the Black Sea Fleet is also very curious. This is by no means an ordinary comrade. Nikolai Pavlovich Avilov (party nickname Gleb, Glebov) is an old Bolshevik and one of the leaders of the Leninist party. He was even a member of the first composition (!) Of the Council of People's Commissars and was, respectively, the People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs. In total, there are 14 (!) People in the first line-up. And now one of these apostles of the revolution was sent here, to the Black Sea Fleet, and precisely in May, when organizational preparations began to prepare the sinking of the ships. This is clearly no accident.
But back to the deck of the battleship Volya, to the sailors' meeting. Fleet Commander Tikhmenev announces that he has received documents of extreme importance from Moscow, which he asks to listen to in the most serious and attentive manner. And he asks both commissioners to read out the telegrams in the order in which they were received. They tried to refuse, but Tikhmenev insisted, and as a result of the telegram he began to read Glebov-Avilov.
Battleship "Will"
Read telegram number 141, and immediately after it number 142. Impressive. They also made an impression on the Black Sea sailors, so their reading was accompanied by loud exclamations of indignation. However, to read the text third, the secret telegram of the spirit of the Leninist emissary was not enough. Then the commander of the fleet, Tikhmenev, told the assembled sailors that the commissar had not read another telegram, which, in his opinion, was the most important. Severely confused, Glebov-Avilov tried to babble something about the secrecy and untimeliness of such an announcement. In response, Tikhmenev took the third Leninist telegram and read it to the collection.
This had the effect of a bomb exploding. Even the revolutionary sailors, who drowned their officers alive, had … conscience. Conscience of a Russian sailor. For the brothers, the case smacked of outright betrayal. It was obvious that in trying to drown the fleet, Lenin relieved himself of any responsibility and, if he wanted to, could even declare the sailors "outlawed." Vakhrameev fails to extinguish his indignation. Now it is almost impossible to get sailors to sink their ships. On the contrary, a significant part of the crews, like the Baltic, expressed their determination to give battle and only after that destroy the ships, as befits Russian sailors, as the heroes of Tsushima and the Varyag did.
For Lenin, this is tantamount to death. The next day there is a new meeting. This time, in addition to the sailors, it was attended by the chairman of the Kuban-Black Sea Republic Rubin and representatives from the front-line units. And the incredible happens!
The head of the local Soviet government and the soldiers' deputies not only do not support the line of the Bolshevik center, but on the contrary, they even threaten the Black Sea residents in the event of their sinking ships! Senior Lieutenant Kukel describes it this way:
“The chairman, in a lengthy and very talented speech, convinces us not to take any measures with the fleet, since the martial situation of the region is brilliant … that in the event of the sinking of ships, the entire front, in the amount of 47,000 people, will turn its bayonets to Novorossiysk and raise sailors on them, since the front is calm, as long as the fleet can defend, at least morally, their rear, but as soon as the fleet is gone, the front will come in despair."
This is the difference between the chairman of the Kuban-Black Sea Republic, who does not know about all the obligations of his Moscow leaders, and Lenin-Trotsky, who are in constant contact with Sadul, Reilly and Lockhart. An ordinary Bolshevik cannot understand the whole alignment of behind-the-scenes secrets, so he can afford to cut the truth and act according to his conscience. Lenin, on the other hand, is obliged to abide by the agreements with the "allies", and therefore turns, as if in a frying pan. The telegraph receives angry Leninist telegrams:
“The orders sent to the fleet in Novorossiysk must be unconditionally fulfilled. It must be announced that the sailors will be outlawed for failure to comply with them. I la-to, by all means, prevent a crazy adventure …"
Since Vakhrameev cannot cope, then "heavy artillery" is used. Fyodor Raskolnikov was sent to Novorossiysk by Lenin's full order, receiving special powers and the only order - to FLOOD the fleet at all costs.
But until he arrives at the place, time passes. Do not waste time and those who want to save the Russian ships, and those who passionately desire their death. There are French and British military missions in Sevastopol. As in the Baltic Sea, the "allied" intelligence officers using this "roof" are desperately trying to fulfill the task of their leadership.
“Among the sailors of the Mine Brigade some suspicious persons were scurrying about, offering something, promising something and persuading something. In some of them it was not difficult even to guess the nationality,”writes Captain 1st Rank GK Graf.
These are the French. Since all issues of "revolutionary democracy" are resolved at meetings, then by influencing the opinion of the most active sailors, you can get the general desired result. The methods of influence are as old as the world - bribery and bribery. French agents distribute money to the sailors, not forgetting about Lenin's messengers:
“By the way, Glebov-Avilov and Vakhrameev were seen together with two unknown persons,” continues G. K. worry - everything, everything will be fulfilled, at least in relation to a part ""
Patriots also do not waste time and are trying to save the ships. Methods of persuading "allied" intelligence services are not available to Russian officers, they cannot bribe anyone. There is no more discipline in the fleet either, Commander Tikhmenev cannot order, he can only convince. Appeal to conscience and reason. Among the sailors, finally entangled in the cunning interweaving of political threads, a split occurs again: on June 17, 1918, Tikhmenev actually persuades the dreadnought "Volya", the auxiliary cruiser "Troyan" and 7 destroyers to leave for Sevastopol. Following the departing ships on the "Bolshevik" destroyer "Kerch" itself, a signal goes up: "For ships going to Sevastopol: shame on traitors to Russia."
It sounds beautiful, but only the commander of this destroyer, Lieutenant Kukel, is often seen in the company of officers from the French mission, and on January 13, 1918 (just five months ago!), It was under his command that the living officers were drowned at sea with a load on their feet.
Therefore, speaking about the flooding of the Black Sea Fleet by the Bolsheviks, one must remember the human appearance not only of those who gave this order, but also those who carried it out …
You can deceive some and sometimes, but no one has succeeded in deceiving everyone and always. Truth finds its way. Even from the dusty special depositories of the Soviet Union. And again a word to GK Graf. He personally spoke with the participants in those events:
“In the French mission in Yekaterinodar, its members themselves blabbed about the adventures of a certain Lieutenant Benjo and Corporal Guillaume, agents of the French counterintelligence, who were instructed by the high command to destroy the Black Sea Fleet, not hesitating either by means or by means. Lieutenant Benjo did not at all refuse to take part in this case at that time, but on the contrary, he very kindly gave some details …"
This is how the French intelligence "prepared" the arrival of the new Leninist emissary. The German ultimatum expires on June 19. Only a few hours remain: on the 18th, at five in the morning, Comrade Raskolnikov arrives in Novorossiysk. Those who wanted to save the ships have already sailed to Novorossiysk. The crews of the remaining ships are well handled. Raskolnikov quickly and decisively organizes the flooding of the rest of the fleet. One by one, 14 warships sink to the bottom, among them the Free Russia dreadnought. Later, 25 more commercial ships were sent to the bottom. And in Moscow they receive a laconic report-telegram from Raskolnikov about the work done:
"Arriving in Novorossiysk … blew up all the ships in the outer roadstead … before my arrival."
Now Raskolnikov's career will go uphill. Almost simultaneously, the Revolutionary Tribunal at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee passed the death sentence to A. M. Schastny. This is justice, adjusted for the "behind the scenes" of world politics: the savior of Russian ships - a bullet, his destroyer - future honorary positions and career …
French and British intelligence officers also have something to present to their leadership - a significant part of the fleet of the Russian Empire has been destroyed. But this is not enough for the "allies", it is necessary to sink the entire Russian fleet and uproot the very possibility of its future revival. Therefore, the tragedy of the Russian fleet did not end there.
On the contrary, it was just beginning. The Russian fleet had to be liquidated at all costs. Like the Russian Empire, like the White movement. It's time to take a closer look at that help. what the valiant "allies" rendered to the fighters for the restoration of Russia. And here a lot of unpleasant surprises await us …
