Troubles. 1919 year. 100 years ago, in May 1919, the offensive of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (ARSUR) began with the aim of defeating the Southern Front of the Red Army. Denikin's army, repelling the offensive of the Red Army, itself began a counteroffensive on the front from the Caspian to the Sea of Azov, delivering the main blows in the Kharkov and Tsaritsyn directions.
General situation on the Southern Front by the spring of 1919
At the beginning of 1919, in connection with the victory in the North Caucasus and the consolidation of a strategic bridgehead in the Kuban and Stavropol Territories, the White command planned to transfer troops to the Tsaritsyn area with the simultaneous preparation of an offensive on Astrakhan with the task of capturing Tsaritsyn and the lower reaches of the Volga River in order to establish contact with the army Kolchak. This offensive, with simultaneous offensive operations in the Kharkov and Voronezh directions, was supposed to eventually lead to a strategic strike in the center of Russia.
However, by February - March 1919, the situation on the Southern Front had radically changed in favor of the Red Army. The front line, which was already approaching Voronezh and Kursk, which created the preconditions for a decisive offensive in the Moscow direction, with the successes of the Red Army in Little Russia and Novorossia, the fall of the Directory and Petliura regimes in Kiev, rolled back to the Azov Sea. In January - February 1919, the third offensive of Krasnov's Don army on Tsaritsyn was choked. The Cossack Republic of Krasnova was in crisis. The Don army retreated from Tsaritsyn. The Don units were greatly demoralized and decayed. The front of the White Cossacks was crumbling. As a result, the Don Front, which reached Liska, Povorino, Kamyshin and Tsaritsyn, was completely upset and retreated to the Northern Donets and Sal. The Red Army, without encountering serious resistance, advanced on Novocherkassk. The Don army, which at the beginning of 1919 had up to 50 thousand bayonets and sabers, retreated beyond the Donets with 15 thousand soldiers. The Don government requested urgent assistance from Denikin. At the same time, the Krasnov government was negotiating with representatives of the Entente, but the Westernizers only made promises, there was no real help.
After the departure of the German interventionists, the left flank of the Don army opened up. The front line immediately increased by 600 kilometers. Moreover, this gap fell on the Bolshevik-minded coal basin of Donbass, where the Red Army was actively supported by local troops. The White command sent May-Mayevsky's infantry division to help the Krasnovites. The Donskoy detachment of May-Mayevsky occupied the section from Mariupol to Yuzovka. He was an experienced commander, loved by his soldiers. As a result, a small detachment of May-Mayevsky was advancing, then retreating, constantly maneuvering, and successfully withstood the pressure of the significantly superior forces of the Reds - the left wing of the Ukrainian and right southern fronts. Denikin, however, could not allocate additional forces at this time. The white command tried to create new powerful formations in the south of Russia, sending detachments to the Crimea, Northern Tavria and Odessa as the skeletons of new formations.
In addition, at this time in the North Caucasus, the last fierce battles were in full swing in the Terek region, in the region of Grozny and Vladikavkaz. Immediately after the capture of Vladikavkaz (February 10, 1919), the echelons of the Volunteer Army went to the north - the Caucasian division of General Shkuro was in the vanguard, followed by the 1st Kuban division of the corps of General Pokrovsky, the 1st Terek division and other units. Thus, the white command was forced to change the original plan of the offensive with the main forces on Tsaritsyn in order to preserve the Don region and positions in the Donbass. At the same time, preserving the possibility of an offensive in the Tsaritsyno direction.
In the meantime, the power on the Don has changed. Krasnov, due to failures at the front and the former pro-German orientation, became an uncomfortable figure. He was replaced by Bogaevsky. The advance of the Reds to the Don gradually slowed down. In the second half of February, the Don divisions recovered somewhat and struck a series of counterattacks on the Reds. The Reds were thrown back behind the Donets. The appearance of White Guard reinforcements raised the morale of the Don Cossacks. The formation of new volunteer units began. Besides, nature helped. After a severe winter, strong thaws and an early stormy spring followed. The roads have turned into swamps. The rivers overflowed, becoming almost insurmountable obstacles. As a result, the front stabilized for a while.
Front line by March 1919
In the Tsaritsyno direction, the Don troops of General Mamontov (5-6 thousand people) were located, which were located between the Salom and Manych rivers. Behind Manych, a group was concentrated under the command of General Kutepov (about 10-11 thousand people), partly in the Velikoknyazheskaya area, partly to the south, near Divnoe - Priyutny. In the center, behind the Donets, the main forces of the Don army were located, led by General Sidorin (12-13 thousand soldiers). On the left flank of the Don army, in the Luhansk direction, a group of General Konovalov was operating. In the area of Aleksandro-Grushevsky, north of Novocherkassk, the divisions of General Pokrovsky and Shkuro gathered, which were transferred to the Luhansk direction.
On the right flank of the Southern Front, from the Kolpakovo station to Volnovakha and Mariupol, units of the Caucasian Volunteer Army (12 thousand people) were located. Since the North Caucasus was connected with the Donetsk Basin by only one main railway, the concentration of troops proceeded slowly. Thus, the AFYUR had 750 versts of the Southern Front about 45 thousand bayonets and sabers. The most combat-ready were the troops on the left wing - units of the Caucasian Volunteer Army and the Don cavalry divisions in the Luhansk direction.
On March 2, 1919, the white troops received the following tasks: to continue the transfer of troops from the Caucasus to the Donetsk basin; conduct an active defense in the western sector of the Donetsk basin, as well as along the Donets and Don, with the right wing of the Caucasian Volunteer Army and the left wing of the Don Army to strike at the main forces of the Reds on the Debaltseve-Lugansk front; the group of General Kutepov, after concentration, together with the right wing of the Don army, advance in the direction of Tsaritsyn.
From the side of the Red Army in the southern strategic direction, the Soviet armies of the Southern Front under the command of Vladimir Gittis (he ended the world war as a colonel and in October went over to the side of the Soviet regime) and the Ukrainian Front under the command of Vladimir Antonov-Ovsienko acted. After an unsuccessful attack on Novocherkassk from the northeast of the 8th and 9th red armies, the Soviet command changed its plan and began to regroup its forces.
In March 1919, a new offensive of the Red Army began. Egorov's 10th Army (23 thousand bayonets and sabers) advanced along the Tsaritsyn-Tikhoretskaya railway line with advanced cavalry units. It also included a group of Reds, which had previously operated in the direction of Stavropol. Along the Don, from the Chir to the mouth of the Donets and along the Donets, the 9th Army of Knyagnitsky (28 thousand people) was located. To the west, moving from the Voronezh direction to the Luhansk one, the troops of Tukhachevsky's 8th Army (about 27 thousand people) were located. From mid-March, the 8th Army was led by Khvesin. Further south to Yuzovka was the section of the 13th Army of Kozhevnikov (about 20-25 thousand people), created in March on the basis of the group of forces of the Donetsk direction.
In the area of Yuzovka there was a junction of the Southern and Ukrainian Red Fronts. On the left wing of the Ukrainian Front, the 2nd Ukrainian Army deployed under the command of Skachko (later the 14th Army), which was created from units of the group of forces of the Kharkov direction, rebel detachments of Ataman Makhno, Opanasyuk and others (3rd and 7th Ukrainian divisions). This group, which had up to 20-25 thousand fighters, was located with the main forces against Yuzovka - Volnovakha. Then a special Crimean group was stationed along the Berdyansk - Melitopol - Perekop line.
Thus, against the White Guards and White Cossacks of the AFSR, the Southern Front (plus part of the forces of the Ukrainian Front) of the Reds had about 130 bayonets and sabers. The Red troops had two main groupings: on the Tsaritsyn direction - a strong 10th Army, and on the Lugansk - Volnovakha line - the 8th, 13th and most of the 2nd Ukrainian army. The Soviet command planned to destroy the enemy group covering the Donetsk basin. To do this: in the center, Soviet troops held the front, on the flanks they inflicted powerful blows. The 8th and 13th armies attacked in the Donbass, cutting off parts of the Volunteer Army from the White Cossacks, and the 10th Army from Tsaritsyn on Tikhoretskaya to cut off the Don from the Kuban.
Spring battle on the southern front
As a result of the plans of the white and red command, the regrouping of forces, in March 1919 a fierce oncoming battle began in the south of Russia. In the space between the Sea of Azov and the Donets, the Soviet armies, which had a serious numerical advantage, went on the offensive. In the area between the upper Mius and the Donets, counter battles were in full swing between the 8th Army and part of the 13th and the White Shock Group. Here were the best units of Denikin's army: Konovalov's Don corps, Pokrovsky's Kuban corps and Shkuro's cavalry corps. That is, elite units of the White Army fought here: Drozdovsky, Markovsky, Kornilovsky regiments, Kuban cavalry Shkuro. This group was headed by Wrangel, who distinguished himself in battles in the North Caucasus.
The troops of the 8th and 13th red armies were outnumbered, the plan of the operation was good. However, the whites, incessantly maneuvering, staunchly defended themselves and inflicted strong counterattacks on the red. The same white units were transferred from one site to another. There was no one to replace them, but they held out. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The battle was intense. Wrangel, who went through two wars and became a talented commander of the Civil War, suffered a severe nervous breakdown and took sick leave. He was replaced by Yuzefovich.
On the western sector of the front, the corps of General May-Mayevsky fought the "railroad" war with the same great tension. In the face of the great superiority of the Red forces, the white general used special tactics. Using the dense network of railways in this area, May-Mayevsky occupied the main points on the front line in small detachments and placed armored trains and mobile reserves in the rear at the hub stations. They were transferred to dangerous areas and could be taken back on the same day and transferred to another threatened sector of the front. The enemy had the impression that White had significant forces and reserves in all directions, although they were the same units. Thus, the offensive of the Red Army, which swept over Northern Tavria and Donbass, was repelled.
In mid-March 1919, after regrouping new forces and reinforcements, the Red Army again launched an offensive in the direction of Debaltsev, Grishin and Mariupol. The Caucasian Volunteer Army was pushed back. The Reds took Yuzovo, Dolya, Volnovakha and Mariupol. Shkuro's corps, which took the 17th Debaltseve, was sent on a raid along the enemy's rear. Within two weeks, from March 17 to April 2, the Kuban parts of Shkuro passed from Gorlovka to the Sea of Azov. The Whites panicked the rear of the Reds, chopped up, scattered and captured several thousand people, took large trophies, including armored trains. Between Volnovakha and Mariupol, Shkuro's corps was defeated by one of Makhno's detachments, which fled, throwing weapons and various property. As Shkuro's cavalry moved and at the same time, other parts of the Whites went on the offensive and restored their former positions.
In many ways, the success of Shkuro's raid and Denikin's army as a whole was due to the fact that decomposition began in the 13th Army, and the detachments of Makhno and other "Ukrainian" atamans had low combat effectiveness, they preferred to avoid direct combat. The quick victories of the Reds in Little Russia and Novorossiya over the Petliurites led to the fact that “Ukrainian” detachments of various fathers and chieftains massively joined the ranks of the Red Army. In fact, these were bandit formations that were reorganized into Soviet units. However, they remained semi-bandit, partisan detachments, with low discipline, anarchy and chieftaincy. Such units could not withstand the selective volunteer regiments of White and White Cossacks, did not hold the front, fled and deserted, and by their existence corrupted other Soviet units. As a result, the number of deserters in February - April 1919 on the Southern Front reached 15 - 23%.
Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Volunteer Army Yakov Davydovich Yuzefovich
Central sector of the front
In the center, the front remained more or less calm. This allowed the Don army, in which after the defeat about 15 thousand people remained, to recover and replenish the ranks. The 9th Red Army tried several times to check the enemy's defenses on the Donets, but all of its attacks were repulsed by the Donets. At the end of March, the Reds attacked here with large forces, crossing the river at the same time at Kamenskaya and Ust-Belokalitvenskaya. Don units were thrown back. The situation was straightened out by the cavalry corps of Colonel Kalinin, transferred from the Luhansk direction, which defeated and left for the Red River near Kamenskaya. Then he turned to Kalitva and, together with General Semiletov's corps, successfully attacked here too. In the first half of April, units of the 9th Army tried to cross the river in the lower reaches of the Donets, but without success. As a result, there was a lull in this sector of the front.
Simultaneously with the attack at Kamenskaya, the red units went on the offensive in the Luhansk direction. However, the corps of Kalinin and Shkuro transferred here, together with other left-flank units of the Don army, defeated the enemy in the 20th of April and threw him back across the Belaya River.
Thus, by mid-April 1919, a month and a half after the start of the Red Army's offensive and after fierce battles, especially on the western flank of the front, the troops of the Caucasian Volunteer and Don armies held their positions, retaining the Donbass and Donetsk bridgehead. At the same time, the Don army was able to partially recover. The Don command skillfully used its best units, maneuvering them at the front, and at the same time led the reorganization and restoration of the army. Here a favorable factor helped the White Cossacks. In the rear of the Reds, the Cossacks of the Upper Don District revolted (Veshensky uprising). This uprising diverted some of the Red Army forces that could act against the whites.
