100 years ago, in February 1919, the battle for the North Caucasus ended. Denikin's army defeated the 11th Red Army and captured most of the North Caucasus. After completing the campaign in the North Caucasus, the whites began to transfer troops to the Don and Donbass.
Background
In October - November 1918, the Whites defeated the Reds in extremely stubborn and bloody battles for Armavir and Stavropol (Battle of Armavir; Stavropol battle). The second Kuban campaign ended successfully for Denikin's army. The Denikinites occupied the Kuban, part of the Black Sea coast, and a significant part of the Stavropol province. Received a strategic foothold and rear area for the further deployment of the White Army and the conduct of hostilities. The main forces of the Red Army in the North Caucasus suffered a heavy defeat.
However, the victory was achieved by extreme exertion of the forces and means of the Volunteer Army. The volunteers suffered heavy losses; many units changed their composition several times. Therefore, the Whites were unable to immediately continue the offensive and finish off the Reds in the Caucasus. The front stabilized for a while, both sides took a break, regrouped and reorganized their forces, and replenished the troops with the help of mobilizations. Both the reds and whites experienced supply problems, especially the lack of ammunition. The Whites reorganized their infantry divisions into 3 army and 1 cavalry corps under the command of Kazanovich, Borovsky, Lyakhov and Wrangel.
The new commander of the Red Army, after the death of I. Sorokin, was I. Fedko. The Reds reorganized all their forces into 4 infantry and 1 cavalry corps of the 11th Army. The Taman Army was incorporated into the 11th Red Army as the 1st Taman Infantry Corps. The army headquarters was located in Petrovsky, then in Alexandria. The main problem of the Red Army in the North Caucasus was the lack of full communication with central Russia and communication for supply. The rear of the 11th Army rested on the Caspian steppe, where there were no developed communications and rear bases. The closest rear base was Astrakhan, where a 400 km military road ran. Communication went through Georgievsk - Holy Cross - Yashkul and further to Astrakhan. But it was not possible to establish a full-fledged supply along this road. The smaller 12th Red Army (one Astrakhan division) fought in the eastern part of the North Caucasus against the White and Terek Cossacks of Bicherakhov. Also, the Reds occupied Vladikavkaz, which linked the 11th and 12th armies.
Battle for the eastern part of the Stavropol province
After a short pause, Denikin's army resumed the offensive. Particularly stubborn battles began in the area of Beshpagir, Spitsevka and Petrovsky. The 1st Army Corps of Kazanovich (as part of the 1st Division of Kolosovsky, 1st Kuban Division of Pokrovsky and 1st Caucasian Cossack Division of Shkuro), overcoming stubborn resistance from the Reds, went to the village of Spitsevka on November 24, 1918. Then White got stuck and for 9 days unsuccessfully attacked Gudkov's group in the Beshpagir area.
Meanwhile, Wrangel's cavalry corps (as part of Toporkov's 1st Cavalry Division, Ulagai's 2nd Kuban Division, Tchaikovsky's combined cavalry brigade and Khodkevich's 3rd Plastun Brigade) crossed the Kalaus River and took Petrovskoye on November 24. On November 25, the Tamans counterattacked and drove the Wrangelites out of Petrovsky. Heavy fighting went on for several days. Petrovskoe passed from hand to hand several times. The Wrangelites suffered heavy losses, the Wrangel headquarters itself was almost captured in Konstantinovsky, during a counterattack by the Reds. Only on November 28 did White finally take Petrovskoe.
Wrangel sent the 1st Cavalry Division and the Cavalry Brigade under the general command of Toporkov to the aid of Casanovich's corps. White went to the rear with red. At dawn on December 5, the Wrangelites in the Spitsevka area struck a surprise attack on the enemy. The Reds were defeated and fled, losing up to 2 thousand prisoners, 7 guns, 40 machine guns and a large baggage train. The Whites went to the Kalaus River. Gudkov's group suffered a new defeat, losing up to 3 thousand people prisoners. The Reds retreated to the area with. Medvedsky and on December 7, they were entrenched there. At the same time, the Tamans again tried to counterattack at Petrovsky, but were defeated by Toporkov's 1st Cavalry Division. Wrangel reports about 5 thousand prisoners.
It is worth noting that this time the Red Army in the Caucasus was in poor condition due to errors and squabbles of the command, constant reorganizations and restructuring in the conditions of incessant battles, which introduced great confusion, confusion in the command and control of troops, and reduced their combat effectiveness. The fighting qualities of the army dropped sharply due to defeats and losses in the fierce battles for Armavir and Stavropol. The most militant and stubborn units were drained of blood, and emergency mobilization could not quickly rectify the situation, since the replenishment was poorly trained, prepared, and had low motivation. The troops were poorly supplied. In the beginning of winter, the soldiers experienced a shortage of food and warm clothing. In addition, an epidemic of the Spanish flu and typhus began, it literally devastated the army. On December 1, there were about 40 thousand patients. The medical staff was sorely lacking, there was no medicine. All hospitals, train stations, sanatoriums and houses were filled with typhoid. A lot of people have died.
The defeat of the Terek uprising
During the Second Kuban campaign, when the main forces of the Red Army in the North Caucasus were linked by battles with volunteers, uprisings against Soviet power broke out in the North Caucasus. In Ossetia, a veteran of the wars with Japan, Germany and Turkey (he commanded a Cossack brigade in Persia), General Elza Mistulov, spoke out against the Bolsheviks. In Kabarda, Prince Zaurbek Dautokov-Serebryakov, an officer of the Kabardian regiment of the Indigenous Division during the Great War, raised an uprising. On the Terek, the Cossacks were raised by the Socialist-Revolutionary Georgy Bicherakhov. It was the brother of Lazar Biherakhov, who in Persia formed a Cossack detachment and, in alliance with the British, fought in Baku against the Turkish-Azerbaijani troops, and then went to Dagestan, captured Derbent and Port-Petrovsk (Makhachkala). There L. Bikherakhov headed the government of the Caucasian-Caspian Union and formed the Caucasian army, which fought against the Turkish-Azerbaijani troops, Chechen and Dagestan troops, and the Bolsheviks. He supported the Terek Cossacks with weapons.
The Terek Cossacks were annoyed by the policy of the Bolsheviks, who relied on the highlanders. This led to the loss of the previous position, the land. In addition, the turmoil caused a criminal revolution, gangs arose everywhere, the highlanders recalled their former craft - raids, robberies, kidnapping. Therefore, the Cossacks opposed both the Bolsheviks and the mountaineers. In June 1918, the Cossacks captured Mozdok. On June 23, a Cossack-Peasant Congress was held in Mozdok, which advocated "Soviets without Bolsheviks" and elected a Provisional Government headed by Bicherakhov. In the summer - fall of 1918, Biherakhov was the de facto ruler of the Terek. The military forces were led by General Mistulov. The Cossacks occupied the villages of Prokhladnaya and Soldatskaya.
In August 1918, the insurgent Cossacks attacked Vladikavkaz and Grozny, the center of Soviet power in the Terek region. But they could not achieve victory. The Cossacks captured Vladikavkaz for a short time, but then they were beaten out. In Grozny, which was under siege for more than three months, the Bolsheviks were able to put together an efficient garrison of soldiers, mountaineers and Red Cossacks (mostly the poorest part of the Cossacks). Since the end of September, the defense has been led by Ordzhonikidze and the commander of the Vladikavkaz-Grozny group of forces, Lewandovsky. They formed the Soviet troops of the Sunzhenskaya line under the command of Dyakov (from the Red Cossacks and the so-called "nonresident"), which attacked the rebels from the rear.
In early November 1918, the red command decided to strike at the insurgent area. The 1st Extraordinary Division of Mironenko, reinforced by the mountaineers, was transformed into the 1st Shock Soviet Shariah Column. The mountaineers who fought for Soviet power in the North Caucasus were headed by Nazir Katkhanov, a teacher of the Arabic language and history of the East. The Reds planned to take the villages of Zolskaya, Maryinskaya, Staro-Pavlovskaya, Soldatskaya, and then develop an offensive on Prokhladnaya and Mozdok. Thus, defeat the troops of Bikherakhov, liquidate the anti-Soviet uprising on the Terek, unite with the Red troops in the region of Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Kizlyar and the coast of the Caspian Sea. This made it possible to occupy the railway to Kizlyar, establishing a reliable connection with Astrakhan through Kizlyar along the Caspian coast, providing the army with ammunition, ammunition and medicines. Strategically, the defeat of the Terek uprising made it possible to strengthen the rear of the Red Army in the North Caucasus in order to continue the fight against Denikin's army; and allowed the offensive to Petrovsk and Baku, restoring positions in the Caspian, to return the important Baku oil fields.
Source of the map: V. T. Sukhorukov XI army in battles in the North Caucasus and the Lower Volga (1918-1920). M., 1961
The main blow to the villages of Zolskaya, Maryinskaya, Apollonskaya station was inflicted by the Shock Shariah column (about 8 thousand bayonets and sabers, 42 guns, 86 machine guns) and the Georgievsky combat area (more than 3, 5 thousand bayonets and sabers with 30 guns and 60 machine guns) … Then they went to the line Staro-Pavlovskaya, Maryinskaya, Novo-Pavlovskaya and Apollonskaya. The Svyato-Krestovsky combat area (more than 4 thousand people with 10 guns and 44 machine guns) struck at the village of Kurskaya, and then at Mozdok. Further, by joint efforts, they planned to defeat the enemy near Prokhladny and Mozdok, and then unite with Soviet troops in Vladikavkaz and Grozny.
The total number of rebels in the Terek region was about 12 thousand people with 40 guns. About 6 - 8 thousand bayonets and sabers, 20 - 25 guns acted against the St. George and St. George battle areas. That is, the Reds had a twofold superiority in this direction. It should be noted that by this time the Cossacks had already lost their former motivation and combat capability, as it was with them on other fronts (on the Don), they were tired of the war.
On November 2, 1918, the regiments of the Shock Shariah Column set out from the Pyatigorsk region. The right flank (3 infantry and 2 cavalry regiments) advanced on the Zalukokoazhe area - the Zolskaya stanitsa; the left flank (1 infantry and 1 cavalry regiment) - was supposed to strike at Zolskaya from the rear. In this area, the group of Colonel Agoev held the defense. By noon, the Reds occupied Zalukokoazhe, by evening, after a stubborn battle, Zolskaya. The White Cossacks retreated to Maryinskaya.
On November 3, the Reds attacked Maryinskaya and crushed the Whites. The Cossacks retreated to the villages of Staro-Pavlovskaya and Novo-Pavlovskaya. The offensive of the red troops was unexpected for the White Cossacks. Agoev asked for help from the headquarters of the Terek division of General Mistulov in Prokhladnaya. The Cossacks organized a counterattack. On the evening of November 4, Serebryakov's regiment unexpectedly struck the Zolskaya, in the rear of the Shariah column. White planned to disrupt the Red offensive, which had begun so successfully. However, the Derbent regiment of Beletsky and two squadrons of the Nalchik cavalry regiment, which arrived in time, defeated the enemy.
On November 5 - 6, the Shock Shariah column defeated the White Cossacks at the Staro-Pavlovskaya and Novo-Pavlovskaya line. The enemy, avoiding complete encirclement and destruction, retreated to the Soldier. The troops of the Shariah column joined up with the forces of the Georgievsky combat area under the command of Kuchura. On the night of November 7, the troops of the Georgievsky combat area went on the offensive with the support of armored train number 25, and reached the line of Sizov, Novo-Sredniy and Apollonskaya. In the meantime, the forces of the Shariah column occupied Staro-Pavlovsk, Novo-Pavlovsk and Apollonian. The White Cossacks retreated to Soldierskaya and Prokhladnaya.
On November 8, Soviet troops defeated the enemy in the Soldatskaya area and took the village. The enemy, having lost a significant area with the Cossack villages, retreated to Prokhladnaya. The White command was forced to lift the siege from Grozny and Kizlyar, to concentrate all the remaining forces in the Prokhladnaya area in order to give the Reds a decisive battle here. General Mistulov hoped to deliver a strong counterattack and launch a counteroffensive. The Soviet command was also preparing for a decisive battle, regrouping forces, and tightening up reserves. For the battle, all the forces of the Shariah column and the Georgievsky battle area were involved. The troops of the Shock Shariah Column attacked Prokhladnaya from the west and south, units of the Georgievsky combat area attacked Prokhladnaya from the north and supported the operation from the Mozdok direction. The 1st Svyato-Krestovskaya division at that time was fighting in the Kursk region.
On November 9, the Cossacks launched a counterattack from Prokhladnaya along the railway to Soldatskaya. The Reds repulsed the enemy attack, and then began a general assault on Prokhladnaya from the south, west and north. The enemy could not stand it and began to retreat. However, Soviet troops from the north and south blocked the White Cossacks. The enemy threw into battle the last reserve (2 cavalry regiments and 3 plastun battalions), which attacked from the Yekaterinograd side. In the course of a stubborn battle, the enemy was defeated and thrown to the village of Chernoyarskaya. The commander of the Terek Cossacks, General Mistulov, in view of the collapse of the front and the hopeless situation, committed suicide. After that, the Reds took Cool. Most of the Cossack troops were destroyed or captured, only a small detachment broke through to Chernoyarskaya.
Thus, the matter was resolved, the Reds defeated the main forces of the White Cossacks. By November 20, the Red Army cleared the road to Mozdok of the rebels. The white command, pulling up the remaining forces from Kizlyar and Grozny, tried to organize the defense of Mozdok. On the morning of November 23, the Reds went to the assault on Mozdok, by the end of the day the city was taken.
As a result, the Terek uprising was suppressed. Two thousand Terek Cossacks, led by General Kolesnikov and Bikherahov, went east, to Chervlennaya and further to Port-Petrovsk. Another more numerous detachment under the command of Colonels Kibirov, Serebryakov and Agoev went to the mountains and later united with the Denikinites.
The victory on the Terek temporarily strengthened the position of the Red Army in the North Caucasus. The hotbed of counter-revolution was suppressed, Soviet power was restored in the Tersk region. Grozny, Vladikavkaz and Kizlyar were liberated from the blockade. Communication with the 12th Red Army was established, railway and telegraph communication from Georgievsk to Kizlyar was restored, and direct communication with Astrakhan was restored. That is, the Red Army in the North Caucasus has strengthened its rear.
One and the leaders of the Terek uprising, General Elmurza Mistulov
