Troubles. 1919 year. During the counteroffensive of the Southern Front, the troops of the Red Army inflicted a heavy defeat on the main forces of the Volunteer Army, and finally buried the plans for a march of the All-Soviet Union against Moscow. The White Guards were driven back 165 km, the Reds liberated Oryol, Voronezh, Chernigov and Kursk. The Red Army has seized the strategic initiative.
Oryol-Kromskoe battle
By mid-October 1919, the position of Denikin's army deteriorated markedly. The situation in the rear was unsatisfactory. Its own war was fought in the North Caucasus, the Kuban was worried, where the independents took up. In New Russia and Little Russia, uprisings broke out one after another. Makhno's powerful uprising diverted reserves, reinforcements, and even troops from the front. It was not possible to achieve the support of the people in Little Russia. The peasants massively supported the Makhnovists and other chieftains. The hopes of supporting the cities also did not materialize. Even Kiev, a huge city full of refugees, gave almost no volunteers to the whites. The most intransigent left to the whites back in 1918, the rest remained neutral. Red Moscow concluded an armistice with Poland and the Petliurites, who were increasingly guided by Warsaw. This made it possible to transfer reinforcements to the Southern Front from the Western. And the 12th Red Army launched an offensive against the White Guards from the western direction.
The main blow of the Red Army was aimed at the most combat-ready core of the Denikin army. The Red Command drew the correct conclusion from previous defeats - the defeat of the core of the Volunteer Army would lead to a decisive turning point in the war. On the morning of October 11, 1919, Martusevich's shock group, units of the 13th and 14th armies struck in the Oryol-Kursk direction. The Estonian and 9th Infantry Divisions advanced head-on, while the Latvian Division attacked from the flank, from Bryansk. The 1st Army Corps of Kutepov met the counteroffensive of the Red Southern Front in a weakened state. Eight regiments of the former were transferred to Kiev and against Makhno. In the Dmitrovsk area, the Drozdovskaya division occupied the defense, the Kornilovsk division advanced near Orel, and the Markovskaya division near Livny. In the Orel area, a fierce battle ensued, where the red and white parts quickly mixed.
In the center, the White Guards were still rushing forward. The Kornilovites defeated the right flank of the 13th Red Army and took Oryol on October 13, 1919. Their advanced units reached Mtsensk. Parts of the 9th and 55th rifle divisions of the 13th army were crushed and defeated, the 3rd division was retreating. The Red 13th Army suffered a heavy defeat and was disorganized. There was a threat of loss of Tula. In this regard, the Shock Group was transferred from the 13th Army to the 14th and was tasked with eliminating the enemy's breakthrough in the Orel and Novosil area. At a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on October 15, a number of additional measures were taken to strengthen the Southern Front. In particular, it was decided to recognize the Southern Front as the main front of the Soviet Republic and additionally strengthen it at the expense of parts of the Western, Turkestan and South-Eastern fronts.
Meanwhile, the Strike Group crushed and pushed back the Samur Regiment. On October 15, the Reds took Kromy. The Drozdovites were forced to retreat to Orel, to join the Kornilovites, who successfully resisted the onslaught of the Estonian division. The Latvian division, after the capture of Krom, also turned north, reaching Orel from the south. The command of the Volunteer Army, due to the weakening of the right wing, concentrated its main forces in the Bryansk direction (Drozdovites, Samurians, 5th Cavalry Corps) and dealt a strong blow to the shock group of the 14th Army in the area of Sevsk and Dmitrievsk. At the same time, the Whites successfully held back the onslaught of the Red 13th Army in the Orel region.
For two weeks, violent oncoming battles raged along the entire front line. On October 16, the Kornilovites defeated the Separate Rifle Brigade from the Shock Group, but the Latvians, with powerful artillery support, counterattacked and drove the White Guards back. On the 17th the Kornilovites again went on the attack and almost reached the Kroms, but they were again thrown back. As a result, units of the Shock Group could not complete the assigned task, but forced the 1st Infantry Division of the enemy to stop the offensive on Tula, to concentrate all forces on repelling the attacks of the Reds. This allowed the red command to restore and replenish the right flank of the 13th Army, and again throw troops into the offensive on Oryol. Meanwhile, the troops of the 14th Army took Sevsk on October 18 and launched an offensive on Dmitrovsk. Strengthening their left flank, the Denikinites launched a counterattack, repelled the enemy's offensive Dmitrievsk and on October 29 again took Sevsk. On the right flank, the Alekseevsky regiment took Novosil on October 17-18, and the Markovites reached the Yelets, where they ran into large enemy forces and could not take the city.
The Denikinites were gradually losing the initiative, and the command of the 1st Infantry Division, fearing encirclement, decided to leave the Oryol. On the night of October 19-20, the Kornilovites broke through the blockade and began to withdraw along the Oryol-Kursk railway line. On October 20, the Reds occupied Oryol. The Denikinites withdrew to the Eropkino station. This was the turning point of the battle. From that moment on, despite a number of private successes and victories of the White Guards, they were only retreating. So on October 24 - 24, White again took Kromy, but already on the 27th they left, like Dmitrovsk. On the right flank, the 13th Red Army launched an offensive. The Markov division, under pressure from the enemy, left Livny.
Thus, the Red Army was unable to break through the enemy's front and destroy the combat-ready core of the Volunteer Army (Kutepov's corps). However, the Reds seized the strategic initiative, and the campaign against Moscow of Denikin's army was over. The Reds freed the Eagle, the White ones retreated, although they snapped hard. Both sides suffered huge losses. For example, the losses of the Latvian division reached 40-50%, the Separate Cavalry Brigade of the Red Cossacks lost a third of its composition. Kutepov reported to May-Mayevsky: “Under the onslaught of superior enemy forces, our units are withdrawing in all directions. In some regiments of the Kornilovites and Drozdovites, 200 bayonets each remain. Losses from our side reach 80 percent …”. In bloody battles, the 1st Army Corps (the most combat-ready core of the AFSR) was drained of blood. At the same time, the reds could quickly replenish their losses, but the whites could not.
Development of the offensive of the Southern and Southeastern Fronts
On October 27, 1919, the Volunteer Army went over to the defensive, planning to stop the enemy offensive on the Sevsk - Dmitrovsk - Eropkino - Yelets line. Then go on the offensive again. The 13th and 14th red armies developed their offensive. White slowly retreated, inflicting strong counterattacks. So, Kutepov's corps received reinforcements and at the beginning of November dealt a strong blow to the Latvian division. But at the same time, in another sector, southeast of Dmitrovsk, two divisions of Uborevich's 13th Army broke into the enemy's defenses and the 8th Cavalry Division of the Red Army began a raid in the rear of the Whites. The Red cavalry captured the Ponyri on November 4, and created a threat to Fatezh. As a result of the raid, the White Guards' defense system was broken.
A serious threat also emerged on the right flank of the Volunteer Army. The cavalry corps of Budyonny went to the large railway junction of Kastornaya. One of the regiments of the Markov division was pulled here to support Shkuro's corps. A stubborn battle broke out for Castorna. The 13th Red Army, breaking through and bypassing the thin line of defense of the Markov Division, occupied Maloarkhangelsk.
Kutepov again had to withdraw the troops back. The volunteer army withdrew to the line Glukhov - Dmitriev - Fatezh - Kastornoye. However, even here the White Guards could not resist. In mid-November 1919, after regrouping forces and receiving new reinforcements, the Red Army renewed its onslaught along the entire Denikin front. On the western flank, the troops of the Kiev region of General Dragomirov barely held back the onslaught of the Reds. Whites held Kiev, although their positions were only 40-60 km from the city, near Fastov and on the river. Irpin. But to the north, the troops of the 12th Soviet Army occupied Chernigov, broke into the Left Bank, breaking the connection between the units of Dragomir and May-Mayevsky. By November 18, the Reds occupied Bakhmach and began to threaten the left flank of the Volunteer Army. The front was also broken through on the right flank of the Volunteer Army. After a bitter struggle on November 15, the Reds took Kastornaya. Thus, the shock group of Budyonny, dropping back the cavalry of Shkuro, took Kastornaya, going into the rear of the Volunteer Army.
The defense line was also broken through in the central sector. On November 14, units of Uborevich's 14th Army attacked Fatezh. Red cavalry was again brought into the breakthrough. The 8th cavalry division, taking advantage of a strong blizzard, infiltrated into the rear of Denikin, on November 14 took Fatezh, on the 16th - Lgov, where the field headquarters of May-Mayevsky and the headquarters of the Alekseevsk division were located. The white command was able to escape the blow. However, communication between the troops of the Volunteer Army was broken. The Drozdovskaya division, which stood near Dmitriev, was cut off from its own and began to retreat, breaking through the Red-occupied Lgov. The Drozdovites broke through to their own. At the same time, units of the 13th Army took the town of Shchigry. Kursk was surrounded on three sides. Fighting for the city began. White armored trains directed from Kursk stumbled upon the exploded tracks, then the red ones destroyed the canvas in their rear. The Red Army men surrounded the enemy. After a stubborn battle, the crews blew up armored trains and, breaking through the encirclement, went south. On November 18, 1919, the Estonian and 9th Infantry Divisions occupied Kursk. The volunteers went to the Sumy - Belgorod - Novy Oskol line. Thus, the Volunteer Army practically aligned the front with the Don Army in the Liska area.
At the same time, the Red 9th Army of the South-Eastern Front renewed its offensive on the Don Front. Almost everywhere the Cossacks repulsed the enemy's onslaught. However, Dumenko's 2nd Cavalry Corps broke through the enemy's defenses and took Uryupinskaya on November 11. Then the red cavalry wedged deeply between the 1st and 2nd Don corps. The defense of the White Cossacks along Khopru was broken.
At the same time, the 10th Red Army again tried to take Tsaritsyn, but without success. However, the situation on the right flank of the Armed Forces was difficult. The Caucasian army, from which most of the cavalry and reinforcements were withdrawn, which went to other directions, was greatly weakened. Due to the small number, all the remaining units were pulled into the Tsaritsyn fortified area. The insignificant forces that were beyond the Volga were also transferred to the right bank, to the city, so that they would not be cut off and destroyed. Their place was immediately taken by the 50th Taman Rifle Division of Kovtyukh, which was part of the 11th Army. Since that time, Tsaritsyn has been subjected to constant shelling from the other side of the Volga. From the south and north, the Reds were preparing for a decisive assault.
Results of the battle
During the counteroffensive of the Southern Front, the troops of the Red Army inflicted a heavy defeat on the main forces of the Volunteer Army, and finally buried the plans for a march of the All-Soviet Union against Moscow. The White Guards were driven back 165 km, the Reds liberated Oryol, Voronezh, Chernigov and Kursk. The Red Army intercepted the strategic initiative and created the conditions for the development of the offensive to liberate Belgorod, Kharkov, Poltava, Kiev and the Don region.
At the same time, there was a reshuffle in the white command. After failures in the second half of October and November, as a result of revealed personal shortcomings (drunkenness), General May-Mayevsky was dismissed. Baron Wrangel was appointed in his place. General Pokrovsky received the Caucasian army.
At the same time, it was obvious that May-Mayevsky's mistakes were not the main reason for the defeat of the Volunteer Army. The defeat was natural. Denikin also recognized this, in his memoirs he noted: “… the fact of the retreat of the Volunteer Army from Orel to Kharkov, given the then balance of forces and the general situation, cannot be blamed on either the army or the commander. God will judge him! Wrangel in 1920 returned May-Mayevsky to the army. During the defense of the Crimea, he led the rear units and garrisons of the Russian army. May-Mayevsky, according to one version, committed suicide during the evacuation of the White Guards from Sevastopol in November 1920, according to the other, he died of a heart failure in one of the Sevastopol hospitals or while moving to evacuate.
