Troubles. 1919 year. 100 years ago, in December 1919, Denikin's armies suffered a heavy defeat. The radical turning point in the war was over. The Red Army liberated the Left Bank Little Russia, Donbass, most of the Don region and Tsaritsyn.
The collapse of the defense of Denikin
Having lost Kursk, the Volunteer Army could not withstand the Sumy-Lebedyan-Belgorod-Novy Oskol line. The horse group of Shkuro - Mamontov, and then Ulagaya, operating at the junction between the Volunteer Army and the Don, could not withstand the shock group of the Red Army under the command of Budyonny. The equestrian group was too small, besides, the whites were torn apart by contradictions in the command, the collapse of the Don units and the decomposition of the Kuban.
After completing the Oryol-Kromskaya and Voronezh-Kastornenskaya operations, the Soviet troops of the Southern Front without a pause began an offensive in the Kharkov direction on November 24, 1919. The main blow was delivered by Uborevich's 14th Army, which was supposed to take Kharkov; to the left of it, the 13th Army of Hecker was advancing, which, in cooperation with the 1st Cavalry Army of Budyonny, was to pursue the retreating enemy troops and capture Kupyansk; and Sokolnikov's 8th Army to develop an offensive on Starobelsk.
Squeezed by the 13th and 14th Soviet armies from the front and covered by Budyonny's strike group from the right flank, the Volunteer Army, under the threat of deep coverage by the enemy's cavalry, continuously rolled back. On November 25, 1919, Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army liberated Novy Oskol, on November 28, the 14th Army captured Sumy. In early December, a white cavalry group launched a counterattack at the junction of the 13th and 8th armies, and then on the left wing of Budyonny's army near Valuyki. The transfer of the 9th division from Kursk, the suspension of the offensive of Budyonny's troops and his turn to Valuyki allowed the Reds to fend off the enemy's blow. Stubborn battles went on for several days. As a result, the 1st Cavalry Army, in cooperation with units of the 13th Army, defeated the enemy's cavalry. In pursuit of the defeated White Guards, the 13th Army occupied Volchansk on December 8, and parts of the 1st Cavalry Army on December 9 - Valuyki. On December 4, the 14th Army occupied Akhtyrka, on December 6 - Krasnokutsk and on December 7 - Belgorod. On December 4, units of the 8th Army entered Pavlovsk.
The Soviet command planned to encircle and destroy the enemy's Kharkov grouping. The 14th Army advanced from the Akhtyrka area in the southeast direction, the 13th Army from the Volchansk area in the southwest direction, and the 1st Cavalry Army was tasked with a blow from Valuyki to Kupyansk to create a threat of a deep bypass from the southeast. White failed to organize the defense of Kharkov. In the white rear - the Poltava and Kharkov provinces, an uprising was growing. The previously defeated Makhnovists who had fled through the villages took up arms again. Red agitators acted with might and main, rousing the people against the Denikinites. Borotbists, the Left Social Revolutionaries in Little Russia-Ukraine, created their own detachments. They entered into an alliance with the Bolsheviks. Small detachments were united into whole "brigades" and "divisions".
The 14th Red Army occupied Valki on December 9, Merefa on December 11, cutting off the enemy's escape route to the south. An attempt by the Denikinites to counterattack from the area of Constantinograd was paralyzed by the actions of the rebels. On the night of December 12, the Latvian and 8th Cavalry Divisions entered the outskirts of Kharkov, and in the afternoon the White Guard units that did not manage to leave the city laid down their arms. The insurgent division of the Borotbist Kuchkovsky entered Poltava together with the red units. The rebel brigades Ogiy and Klimenko, together with the red cavalry brigade, broke through to Kremenchug.
During the Kharkov operation, the Reds defeated the Belgorod-Kharkov group of the Volunteer Army, liberated Belgorod, Kharkov and Poltava. This allowed the troops of the Red Southern Front to go on the offensive in the Donbass, to separate the Volunteer and Don armies and create a threat to their rear. By mid-December 1919, the front of volunteers held on the line from the Dnieper to Konstantinograd - Zmiev - Kupyansk, retreating 30-40 km south of Poltava and Kharkov.
Kiev operation
The battles for Kiev took place at about the same time as the Kharkov operation. Mezheninov's 12th Soviet army on the left bank of the Dnieper advanced deep to the south, approaching Kiev, threatening Cherkassy and Kremenchug. White troops under the command of General Dragomirov held Kiev from December 10, 1919. However, under the threat of encirclement, the White Guards left the city on December 16. The 58th Infantry Division of the 12th Army entered Kiev.
At that time, the Galician army went over to the side of the White Guards, which broke with Petliura. The Galician riflemen had nowhere to go. The homeland was captured by the Poles. Petliura began to seek an alliance with Poland, that is, he was ready to cede Lvov to the Poles. Petliura's troops, mainly all sorts of bandit formations, had extremely low combat effectiveness, that is, they could not fight the Red Army. The Galicians, who were in the Vinnitsa region, went over to the side of the volunteers. But this could not change the general situation. White lost the battle for Little Russia.
The defeated Kiev group of Dragomirov began to retreat to join the Odessa group of Schilling. Denikin entrusted Schilling with the general command of the troops cut off from the main forces in the southern part of Novorossiya, ordered the defense of the Crimea, Northern Tavria and Odessa. For the defense of Crimea and Tavria, Slashchev's corps was sent, which was never able to finish off the Makhnovists. The Galicians and White Guards, snapping at Cherkassy, retreated to the Right Bank of the Dnieper, with rearguard battles retreated to the Zhmerinka - Elizavetgrad line.
Khopero-Don operation
At the same time, Sidorin's Don army also suffered a heavy defeat (about 27 thousand bayonets and sabers, 90 guns). The Donets held the defense on the line Bobrov, Berezovka, Archedinskaya. On November 20, 1919, the troops of Stepin's 9th Soviet Army and Dumenko's Horse-Free Corps (18 thousand bayonets and sabers, 160 guns) went on the offensive. The main forces of the 9th Army (36th, 23rd and 14th Infantry Divisions) and Dumenko's corps delivered the main blow at the junction between the 3rd and 2nd Don corps of the enemy in order to reach Pavlovsk. Auxiliary strikes were delivered on the flanks. On the right wing of the army, Blinov's 2nd cavalry division (Don Cossack, one of the organizers of the red cavalry) attacked with the task of reaching Talovaya, Pavlovsk. Here the offensive was supported by the left-flank divisions of the 8th Army (33rd and 40th). On the left wing, the 22nd Infantry Division attacked the villages of Kumylzhenskaya, Ust-Medveditskaya with the task of defeating parts of the 1st Don Corps of the Whites in the area of the Medveditsa River. Here the offensive was supported by the right-flank units of the 10th Army.
Blinov's cavalry broke through the defense of the Don and on November 23 took Buturlinovka. The division commander Mikhail Blinov died in this battle. The White Cossacks launched a flank counterattack with the forces of the 1st Don Cavalry Division, the 7th Don Cavalry Brigade (3rd Don Corps) and the cavalry group of the 2nd Don Corps. By November 25, the Reds had been thrown back. On November 26, Soviet troops crossed the Khoper River on a wide front, capturing a bridgehead on its right bank. The main forces of the 9th Army broke through the 2nd Don Corps and on November 28, Dumenko's cavalry captured Kalach. The 22nd Infantry Division struck at the 6th Don Plastun division of the enemy and threw it back to the southern bank of the Don by 26 November. The White Cossacks counterattacked with the forces of the 1st and 2nd Don corps, trying to surround and destroy Dumenko's corps. Several times Dumenko's corps found itself in a difficult position, his brigades were surrounded, but the red cavalry skillfully maneuvered, repulsed enemy attacks.
Meanwhile, the 8th Army was advancing from Voronezh, which, taking advantage of the success of Budyonny's Cavalry Army, expanded and consolidated the foundation of its breakthrough. Parts of the 8th Army began to hang over the Don Army from the northwest. The offensive was resumed by Blinov's cavalry division, which, with the support of the 21st rifle division (from the reserve of the 9th army), defeated the equestrian group of the 2nd Don corps in the Buturlinovka area and, together with Dumenko's cavalry corps, began to push the Donets to the south. Sidorin's army was divided into two parts, it was threatened with encirclement and complete death. To save the troops from complete annihilation, the white command left the area between the Khoper and Don rivers, and began to withdraw units to the southern bank of the Don. On December 8, 1919, the troops of the 9th Soviet Army and the Dumenko corps reached the Don River in the Rossosh, Ust-Medveditskaya sector. The Reds could not complete the encirclement and destruction of the Don army due to the slow pace of the offensive, there was not enough cavalry.
Conflict between Denikin and Wrangel
The question arose about the ways of retreat of the Volunteer Army. Wrangel believed that since the volunteers could not hold the defense and the situation on the right flank threatened to disaster, it was necessary to withdraw troops to the Crimea. Referring to the inevitability in this case of breaking communication with the Headquarters, he asked for the appointment of a general commander over the troops of the Kiev region, Novorossiya and the Volunteer Army. Militarily, the withdrawal of troops to Tavria and the Crimea was justified, the movement to the east, to Rostov, was a difficult flanking maneuver, under constant enemy attacks. Denikin was categorically against it. He believed that if it was impossible to resist, then it was necessary to retreat to Rostov, keeping in touch with the Don. The departure of the volunteers would have caused the collapse of the entire Cossack front. The volunteers lost the Don and the land connection with the North Caucasus, where the rear base, hospitals and families were located.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Volunteer Army admitted further resistance in the Donetsk basin was impossible and proposed to withdraw the troops of the central group beyond the Don and Sal. Wrangel also proposed, in order to preserve the personnel of the army and part of the weapons, to begin negotiations with the Entente on the evacuation of troops from Russia. The Baron refused command of the Volunteer Army, proposing to reform it, due to its small numbers, into a corps. Wrangel himself was supposed to form a cavalry army in the Kuban, consisting of three corps, the Terek corps, part of the Don and volunteer cavalry. Denikin agreed with these proposals. The commander of the Volunteer Corps, which later received the name of the Separate Volunteer Corps, was appointed General Kutepov, who had previously commanded the 1st Army Corps (the combat core of the Volunteer Army).
At the same time, Wrangel stood in tough opposition to Denikin. On December 24, at the Yasinovataya station at the headquarters of the Volunteer Army, a meeting was held between Generals Wrangel and Sidorin. The Baron, severely criticizing the strategy and policy of Headquarters, raised the issue of overthrowing the commander-in-chief. To resolve this and other issues, General Wrangel proposed to convene a conference of three army commanders (Wrangel, Sidorin, Pokrovsky) in Rostov one of the next few days. Denikin banned this meeting.
Donbass, Don and Tsaritsyn
On December 18, 1919, the left wing of the Southern Front (13th Army, 1st Cavalry Army and 8th Army) began the Donbass operation. In the sectors of the Volunteer and Don armies, the situation continued to deteriorate rapidly. If the flanks were still holding - in the area of Poltava and on the Don, near Veshenskaya, then in the center, under the onslaught of Budyonny's shock group, the front collapsed. White rolled back to the Seversky Donets, red broke through to Luhansk. The equestrian group of whites, created to fight the breakthrough of Budyonny, finally collapsed. The Kubans left for their homeland in droves.
On December 23, 1919, the Reds crossed the Seversky Donets. The volunteer army was under threat of dismemberment. Volunteers who still remained in Little Russia were ordered to retreat to Rostov. Denikin's headquarters from Taganrog was transferred to Bataysk, the government was evacuated to Yekaterinodar and Novorossiysk. The equestrian group Ulagaya, trying to detain the Budennovites, was able to give one more battle at the Popasnaya station. White cavalry was able to stop the Reds, but then Gorodovikov's 4th cavalry division broke through at the junction of the White Cossacks and the infantry, which decided the outcome of the battle in favor of the Budennovites. Further, the movement of Budyonny's army was restrained only by volunteer units that retreated in the most difficult conditions from west to east - under the blows of the 1st Cavalry and divisions of the 8th Soviet army from the north. Moreover, the corridor for the retreat of the volunteers was constantly narrowing and shifting to the south. It was extremely difficult for the White Guards, some units, in particular, the Markovites, made their way in complete encirclement.
Meanwhile, units of the 8th and 9th red armies expanded the breakthrough of Budyonny's army at its base and began to liberate the Don region. On December 17, 1919, the Bogucharo-Likhai operation began. The 9th Army and the Dumenko Consolidated Cavalry Corps of the South-Eastern Front, together with part of the forces of the 8th Army of the Southern Front, crossed the Don. Dumenko's cavalry broke through to the south and reached Millerovo on December 22. Here the Reds were met by Konovalov's cavalry of the 2nd Don Corps. In the oncoming battle, the red and white cavalry clashed. Nobody wanted to give in. Konovalov withdrew to the city, went over to the defensive. Dumenko was forced to wait for the approach of the infantry. Then he went on the offensive again and occupied Millerovo. Under the influence of defeats, volunteer and their own, the Don people lost heart. Affected by the retreat, heavy losses, the typhus epidemic that began again, tiredness from an endless war and another collapse of hopes of victory. The Cossacks did not want to surrender, but the fighting spirit was extinguished.
After the Red Army crossed the Don along the entire upper and middle reaches, there was a threat of cutting off the Caucasian army in the Tsaritsyn fortified area, which was still holding back the pressure of the 10th and 11th Soviet armies. On December 28, 1919, Denikin ordered to clear Tsaritsyn and retreat to the west, to take up defenses along the river. Sal to cover the Kuban and Stavropol regions from the east. Parts of Pokrovsky, destroying important objects, left the city and on the night of January 3, 1920, the Red Army entered the city: the 50th Taman Division of the 11th Army across the ice across the Volga, and the 37th Division of the 10th Army from the north.
The Caucasian army of Pokrovsky along the railway retreated, leading rearguard battles, to Tikhoretskaya. The 11th Soviet Army, freed after the occupation of Tsaritsyn, moved along the Caspian coast to Dagestan, Grozny and Vladikavkaz. A white group led by General Erdeli was defending there.
Thus, Denikin's armies suffered a heavy defeat. The radical turning point in the war was over. The troops of the Southern Front in the Donbass operation, with the support of the red partisans, inflicted a new defeat on the Volunteer and Don armies, liberated the Donbass. By the beginning of 1920, Budenny's army was breaking through to Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don. The 14th Army of the Southern Front cut off the left-flank group of forces of the Volunteer Army from its main forces. In the Bogucharo-Likhai operation, the 9th Army and the cavalry corps of the South-Eastern Front, together with part of the forces of the 8th Army of the Southern Front, crossed the Don, repulsed the counterstrikes of the Don Army, took Millerovo and reached the approaches to Novocherkassk. The Red Army occupied the central part of the Don region. The 10th and 11th armies of the South-Eastern Front carried out the Tsaritsyn operation and on January 3, 1920, Tsaritsyn was liberated. The Caucasian army retreated from Tsaritsyn under the pressure of the 10th Soviet Army, which was relentlessly following it, and at the beginning of 1920 was located behind Salom. The 11th Soviet Army moved to liberate the North Caucasus.
