After the loss of the Kuban and the North Caucasus, the remnants of the White Army were concentrated on the Crimean Peninsula. Denikin reorganized the remnants of the army. On April 4, 1920, Denikin appointed Wrangel as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia.
Reorganization of the White Army
After the loss of the Kuban and the North Caucasus, the remnants of the White Army were concentrated on the Crimean Peninsula. Denikin reorganized the remnants of the Armed Forces. The remaining troops were reduced to three corps: Crimean, Volunteer and Donskoy, Consolidated Cavalry Division and Consolidated Kuban Brigade. The rest of the surplus headquarters, institutions and units gathered on the peninsula from all over the territory of southern Russia were disbanded. The remaining personnel were sent to staff the active forces.
The headquarters was located in Feodosia. Slashchev's Crimean corps (about 5 thousand soldiers) still covered the isthmuses. In the Kerch region, a consolidated detachment (1, 5 thousand people) was deployed to ensure the peninsula from a possible landing from the Taman side. All other troops were located in reserve, for rest and recovery. Volunteers were in the area of Simferopol, the Donets - in Evpatoria. In general, Denikin's army had 35-40 thousand people with 100 guns and about 500 machine guns. There were enough forces to defend the peninsula, but the army was physically and mentally tired, which created the basis for further decay. There was a shortage of material supplies, weapons and equipment. If the volunteers took out their weapons, the Cossacks abandoned them.
The White Army got a respite. The Red Army occupied the northern outlets of the Crimean isthmuses. But its forces in the Crimean direction were insignificant, the best parts were diverted to the new Polish front. In addition, the offensive impulse of the Reds held back the activities in the rear of the detachments of Makhno and other insurgents. From the Taman side, no preparation for the landing was observed. The Soviet command assessed the North Caucasian operation as decisive and last. It was believed that the whites were defeated and the remnants of their forces on the peninsula would be easily finished off. The transfer of significant White forces, their activity, readiness and the ability to continue the struggle will come as a surprise to the Reds.
Search for the culprit
Crimea was the center of all sorts of intrigues, which now added a defeated army, generals left without troops, and many refugees. They were looking for the culprits of defeat and saviors. Melnikov's South Russian government, created in March 1920, never actually got down to work. In the Crimea, they took him with hostility, criticizing him as created as a result of an agreement with the self-styled. Denikin, in order to avoid conflict, abolished the South Russian government on March 30. Former members of the government left Sevastopol for Constantinople.
The officers and generals were also looking for those responsible for the military disaster. The scapegoat was one of the leaders of the Volunteer Army and the AFYR, Chief of Staff of Denikin's army, General Ivan Romanovsky. He was considered the culprit of the defeats of the White Army. They were accused of liberalism and Freemasonry. They were accused of embezzlement, although he was an honest person and constantly experienced material problems. Rumors and gossip dumped the general. Denikin noted in his memoirs:
“This“Barclay de Tolly”of the volunteer epic took on his head all the anger and irritation that accumulated in the atmosphere of the fierce struggle. Unfortunately, the character of Ivan Pavlovich contributed to the strengthening of hostile attitudes towards him. He expressed his views straightforwardly and sharply, without clotheing them in the accepted forms of diplomatic slyness."
Denikin was forced to remove the "bravest warrior, knight of duty and honor" Romanovsky from the post of chief of staff of the army. Soon Romanovsky, together with Denikin, will leave Crimea and go to Constantinople. On April 5, 1920, he was killed in the building of the Russian embassy in Constantinople by Lieutenant M. Kharuzin, a former counterintelligence officer of the White Army. Kharuzin considered Romanovsky a traitor to the White movement.
Meanwhile, they actively intrigued against Denikin himself. The Don command believed that the volunteers had “betrayed the Don” and offered the Cossacks to leave the peninsula and make their way to their native villages. The command of the white front intrigued in favor of Wrangel. The Duke of Leuchtenberg proposed to revive the monarchy, advocated for the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. The British were proposing "democracy". Generals Borovsky and Pokrovsky who were left without appointment were playing their own game. The former commander of the Caucasian army, Pokrovsky, was proposed to the new commander-in-chief. The clergy leading the extreme right supported Wrangel. Bishop Benjamin said that "in the name of saving Russia" it was necessary to force General Denikin to lay down power and hand it over to General Wrangel. Like, only Wrangel will save the Motherland. Infected by the general bacchanalia, the commander of the Crimean corps, General Slashchev, also tried to play his game. He got in touch with Wrangel, then with Sidorin, then with the Duke of Leuchtenberg, then with Pokrovsky. Slashchev proposed to convene a meeting and propose to Denikin to lay down the command.
Resignation of the commander-in-chief
General Kutepov's Volunteer Corps remained the basis of the army and its most combat-ready part. The fate of the commander-in-chief depended on the mood of the volunteers. Therefore, many conspirators tried to persuade General Kutepov to their side. All of them were refused by the general. Kutepov reported on these intrigues and suggested that Denikin take urgent measures.
However, Denikin has already decided to leave his post. He convened a military council in Sevastopol to elect a new commander-in-chief. It consisted of staff members, commanders of corps, divisions, parts of brigades and regiments, commandants of fortresses, naval command, who were out of work, but popular generals, including Wrangel, Pokrovsky, Yuzefovich, Borovsky, Schilling, etc. Denikin appointed the general as chairman of the council. Dragomirova. In a letter to Dragomirov, Denikin noted:
“God did not bless the troops I was leading with success. And although I have not lost faith in the viability of the army and in its historical vocation, the internal connection between the leader and the army has been broken. And I am no longer able to lead it."
Apparently, Denikin was simply tired. Endless war and political intrigue. His authority among the troops fell. A new person was needed, in whom people would believe. A new leader could give new hope. The council of war met on April 3, 1920. The meeting was stormy. The representatives of the Volunteer Corps unanimously wanted to ask Denikin to remain in his post and expressed their full confidence in him. The volunteers categorically refused the elections. When Dragomirov announced that this was Denikin's own decision, the volunteers insisted that Anton Ivanovich appoint his own successor. They were supported by the Kuban people. The Donets announced that they could not point to a successor, they believed that their representation was not enough. Slashchev believed that his corps did not have a sufficient number of representatives at the meeting (in the conditions of a possible offensive by the Reds, part of the corps command remained on the front line). He also noted that the election of the commander-in-chief could negatively affect the troops. The naval command was in favor of Wrangel.
In the end, they never came to anything. Dragomirov sent a telegram to the commander-in-chief, where he wrote that the council had found it impossible to resolve the issue of the commander-in-chief. The military council asked Denikin to appoint a successor. At the same time, the fleet played for Wrangel, and the ground forces offered Denikin to keep his post. However, Denikin did not change his position. He replied: "Morally broken, I cannot stay in power for a single day." He demanded that the Military Council make a decision.
On April 4, Dragomirov divided the council, admitting only senior commanders to it. On the same day, Wrangel arrived from Constantinople. He gave an ultimatum to the British. England offered to end the unequal struggle and, through her mediation, begin negotiations with the Bolsheviks for peace on the terms of amnesty for the population of Crimea and white troops. In case of rejection of this proposal, the British disclaimed responsibility and cease any support and assistance to whites. Obviously, the British supported Wrangel's candidacy in this way. The meeting itself was dragging on again. We discussed the message of Britain for a long time. Slashchev said that he was against the elections and went to the front. As a result, the opinion of the military leaders tilted in favor of Wrangel.
On April 4 (17), 1920, Denikin appointed Lieutenant General Pyotr Wrangel as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia. On the same day, Denikin and Romanovsky left the Crimea and went to Constantinople on foreign ships. After the death of Romanovsky, Denikin on a British ship departed for England. In exile, Denikin tried to help Wrangel's army. He met with parliamentary figures and members of the government, appealed to the ruling circles and the public, appeared in the press. He proved the fallacy of reconciliation with Soviet Russia and the termination of aid to the White Army. In protest against London's desire to make peace with Moscow in August 1920, he left England and moved to Belgium, where he devoted himself to historical work. He wrote the history of the Civil War - "Essays on the Russian Troubles".
