95 years ago, in December 1919, the existence of Yudenich's North-Western White Army ended. Her combat path was not very easy. In 1917-18. The Baltic states and the Pskov province were occupied by the Germans. In Finland, the local Bolsheviks clashed with the nationalists, led by K. G. Mannerheim (former general of the tsarist army). Having invited the Germans, they drove out their Reds. But in the fall of 1918, Germany collapsed into a revolution. The occupation units were evacuated to their homeland. In Pskov, the White Guard Northern Army of Colonel Neff began to be created. They did not have time to form it. Following the departing Germans, the Reds poured in. Detachments of Neff defended Pskov, but they were bypassed from two sides. The remnants of the whites escaped with difficulty and divided.
Some of them retreated to Estonia. She entered into an agreement that she joins the units of the Estonian militia, formed to defend the republic. This detachment was led by General Rodzianko. The other part went to Latvia. Self-defense forces, the Baltic Landswehr, were also created here. It included Lieven's Russian detachment. Landsver failed to defend Riga, was defeated. The Latvian government fled to Libava. But it asked for help from Germany, which allocated volunteer units, which undertook to supply the Latvians with weapons and ammunition. The Reds were stopped and then driven back.
In Estonia, the situation was different. Here the government led a fierce national chauvinist policy against the Germans. They confiscated the lands of the German landowners, dismissed the German officials. This earned the encouragement of England. A British squadron appeared, covering and helping to defend Tallinn. Supply and armament support for the Estonian army began. They also took on the support of the Russians who fought for Estonia.
There were many Russian refugees in Finland, and in the first months after the revolution it was easy to cross the border. In January 1919, the "Russian Committee" arose here under the leadership of infantry general Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich. He was a hero of the Russian-Japanese and World Wars. The commander, who did not know a single defeat, crushed the Turks at Sarykamysh and Alashkert, who took Erzurum and Trebizond. One of the few holders of the Order of St. George II degree (no one had I degree).
In the spring of 1919, representatives of the White Movement in Paris, Generals Shcherbachev and Golovin, presented to the Supreme Ruler Kolchak a report on the need to create, from strategic considerations, a new, "Estland-Finnish" front with the task of attacking Petrograd. For this, it was proposed to unite the detachments of Rodzianko, Lieven and those troops that Yudenich would form in Finland with the support of Mannerheim. Kolchak agreed and appointed Yudenich commander-in-chief of the new front. A rather vague declaration of the North-Western Army was issued on the revival of Russia on the basis of "democracy", the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, democratic freedoms, the right of nations to self-determination, and the transfer of land to the peasants.
But the real creation of the army stalled. Yudenich led negotiations with Mannerheim - the entry into the war of Finland, which had a rather strong army, guaranteed one hundred percent capture of Petrograd. Mannerheim agreed in principle. However, Finnish nationalists feared the resurgence of a strong Russia. The Entente powers also intervened. Their "one and indivisible" also did not suit them in any way. They relied on the dismemberment of Russia and national neoplasms. The head of the allied missions in the Baltic States, the English General Goff, intervened in the negotiations. General Marushevsky, a participant in these meetings, wrote that Goff did literally everything so that the Finns would not side with the Whites.
As a result, very strange conditions were worked out. The White Guards were required not only to recognize the independence of Finland, but also to give it Karelia, the Kola Peninsula. And even for such a price, the Finns' military actions against the Bolsheviks were by no means guaranteed! The only promise was that the concessions would become "the basis for preparing public opinion for an active speech." Yudenich asked for Kolchak, and the Supreme Ruler rejected such demands. Mannerheim himself, despite his sympathy for the White Guards, could not help them, he was only the temporary ruler of the country. And in June, the presidential elections were held in Finland, the Western powers actively supported the rival Mannerheim Stolberg, the leader of the "party of peace". He stood at the helm of the state, and the question of an alliance between the Finns and the White Guards was removed from the agenda. They were not even allowed to create detachments on the territory of the country, and Yudenich moved from Helsinki to Estonia.
Here Rodzianko's corps was successful. He helped the Estonians to liberate their lands, and on May 13 he broke through the Soviet defenses near Narva, entered the territory of the Petrograd province. The corps was small, 7 thousand bayonets and sabers. But even in Petrograd itself, dissatisfaction with the Bolsheviks was ripe, conspiracies were drawn up. And most importantly, the Baltic Fleet was hesitant. The sailors, "the beauty and pride of the revolution," saw with their own eyes the disasters that this revolution led Russia to. A real opportunity opened up to win them over to the side of the whites - and after that it would not have been difficult to seize Petrograd. If Kronstadt rises against the Reds, where can the “northern capital” hold out?
The sailors themselves had already thought about this, on some ships the crews conspired at the opportunity to go over to Yudenich and Rodzianko. Two destroyers became the "first swallow". We raised the anchors and after a short voyage we moored in Tallinn. But the British … gave the ships to Estonia! The crews were interned, several people were shot. This became known in Kronstadt. It is clear that other sailors did not repeat the sad experience. No, the British were completely uninterested in poaching the fleet. They set a different task - the destruction of the Baltic Fleet. That it would not be in any Russia - neither red nor white. A year ago, they made an attempt to sink ships through the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs Trotsky. Then the fleet was saved at the cost of his life by the chief of the Baltic naval forces, Shchastny.
Now the attempt was repeated. In May, the British suddenly launched an attack on Kronstadt with torpedo boats. Sank one cruiser, but the Russian sailors showed that they had not yet lost their skills. The attack was repulsed, the British destroyer and submarine were destroyed. However, after that, there could be no question of going over to the side of the enemy. The Baltic people became embittered and prepared to fight in earnest.
Nevertheless, anti-communist sentiments still persisted in many parts. In June, the forts "Krasnaya Gorka", "Gray Horse" and "Obruchev" revolted, guarding the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. They numbered 6, 5 thousand fighters, there were rich depots of weapons, ammunition, provisions. The moment for the strike on Petrograd was extremely favorable! The road was actually open. The white command begged the British to send warships, to cover the rebellious forts from the sea. No. Requests were not heard. The British squadron stuck out in the neighborhood, in Tallinn and Helsinki, and did not even think to move to help the rebels. But battleships and cruisers from Kronstadt approached, began to shoot the forts with large-caliber artillery. After 52 hours of bombing, the garrison left the broken-down fortifications and went off to join up with the Whites.
And Rodzianko's army fought on its own. She started well, took Pskov, Yamburg, Gdov. But as soon as she went outside Estonia, she was removed from the supply of the Estonian army. Weapons and ammunition remained to be obtained only at the expense of trophies. There was no money, no salary was given, people were starving. They looked with envy at the Estonians who sported English uniforms and shoes, while they themselves wore rags. The occupied Russian regions were infertile, plundered by the surplus appropriation system, could not even feed the troops, and the White Guards did not see hot food for two months.
True, the British promised that the necessary supplies would be shipped in May. But nothing was sent either in May, or in June, or in July. And to Yudenich's inquiries, General Goff answered approximately in the same way as they drive a beggar out of the yard. He wrote that “the Estonians have already bought and paid for the equipment they have now received”. “The allies will be forever grateful for the help of great Russia in the days of war. But we have already more than repaid our debt in kind”(this is how the assistance to the armies of Kolchak and Denikin was assessed - which, by the way, did not receive anything at this time either). The offensive ran out of steam.
Meanwhile, the Reds were building up their strength. Stalin and Peters were sent to Petrograd to organize the defense. They put things in order, stopped the panic. Mass raids and purges swept through the city, nests of ripe riots and conspiracies were destroyed. Mobilizations were announced, echelons of reinforcements from other fronts were approaching. The thinned parts of Rodzianko began to push back to the border.
Another White Guard corps, Prince Lieven, at this time reached 10 thousand bayonets and sabers, together with the Baltic Landswehr, completed the liberation of Latvia. But here, too, the intrigues of the Entente began. General Goff began to play the role of the chief master of the fate of the Baltic states. British politicians and the military regarded the Latvian government and Landswehr as "pro-German" - and opposed them with "pro-British" Estonia. Not only opposed, but set against the Latvians. The Estonian army started a war against them, overturned Landswehr. She laid siege to Riga, shelling it with guns.
It was then that the Supreme Arbitrators spoke, and Goff dictated the terms of the peace. Latvia was to conclude an alliance treaty with Estonia. All “pro-German elements” were expelled from Landswehr, even local, Baltic Germans. And Landswehr himself passed under the command of the British Colonel Alexander. Lieven's Russian corps was subordinate to Landswehr only in operational terms - politically, he recognized the Kolchak government as the supreme power. But the fate of this detachment was decided by Goff. It was ordered to cleanse it of "Germanophile elements", hand over the heavy weapons and equipment received from the Germans, and relocate to Estonia. This angered many, and the detachment split. The unit carried out the order and went under Narva at the disposal of Yudenich. Another unit, led by General Bermond, refused to obey and formed an independent, Western Volunteer Army.
But it was bad in Estonia too. Its government, after fierce anti-German persecutions, reoriented to a new direction - Russophobic. In the summer of 1919, the Tallinn press, ministers, parliamentarians began fanning a propaganda campaign against "Russian imperialism", allegedly threatening their independence, against "the Pan-Russian governments of Kolchak and Denikin and the North-Western army fighting under their banners." And the Northwestern Army existed without a rear, completely dependent on the Estonians and their western patrons. The White Guards were subjected to constant harassment and humiliation. For example, the carriage of Yudenich himself, traveling to Tallinn for a meeting with the British, was uncoupled from the train at the whim of the station commandant.
And in August, in the absence of Yudenich, General Goff and his assistant Marsh gathered Russian public figures, industrialists in Tallinn, and demanded that they immediately, without leaving the room, form a "democratic government."The list of ministers was also prepared in advance. Moreover, the first thing that the “government” had to do was “recognize the absolute independence” of Estonia. For everything about everything was given 40 minutes. Otherwise, as the British threatened, “we will abandon you,” and the army will not receive a single rifle and a pair of boots. Yudenich, who was in Narva, sent a telegram so that no cardinal decisions would be made without him. And the leaders gathered in the "government" doubted whether Yudenich would agree with the unilateral recognition of Estonia, without any mutual obligations. Goff and Marsh replied that "we have another commander-in-chief ready for this case." They said about Yudenich's telegram that it was "too autocratic, we did not like it."
The Northwest “government”, formed in such an unusual way, had no choice. It fulfilled all the requirements. The British appreciated forced obedience in their own way. Still, they sent steamers with cargo for the army. By the way, the volume of this aid was subsequently exaggerated by Soviet sources in order to explain their defeats. In fact, the Allies sent all the trash left over from the World War. Of the tanks shipped to Yudenich, only one was serviceable, and none of the airplanes. But all the same, the army was at least able to get dressed, put on shoes, load rifles and guns. And she perked up, regaining combat effectiveness. Lieven's units arrived from Latvia - 3,500 soldiers and officers, well armed and seasoned in victorious battles. The number of Yudenich's troops reached 15-20 thousand people.
On September 28, they went on the offensive. The 7th and 15th red armies were overturned. They triumphantly entered Yamburg and took Luga. And on October 10, regrouping his forces, Yudenich dealt the main blow to Petrograd. The demoralized Bolsheviks fled, surrendering city after city. Pali Gatchina, Pavlovsk, Krasnoe Selo, Tsarskoe Selo, Ligovo. The Bolsheviks developed plans for street battles and built barricades. We began the evacuation of the city, taking out 100 wagons per day. Although many considered it pointless. They were convinced that the fall of Petrograd would cause the collapse, uprising and collapse of Soviet power itself. Panic reigned among the Bolsheviks. We were getting ready to go underground, flee abroad …
To save the situation, Trotsky rushed to St. Petersburg. He put things in order with draconian measures. In units that fled from the battlefield, he arranged "decimations" - he shot every tenth. He carried out a massive mobilization into the army, scooping up workers, "co-workers" and even "bourgeois" into it. Such militias were armed with lances, police checkers, or even nothing. And behind the back they put machine guns and drove them into attacks. This turned into wild slaughter, 10 thousand mobilized were killed at the Pulkovo Heights. But gain was gained in time to redeploy connections from other regions of Russia.
In general, there were legends about Trotsky's train in the civil war - where he appeared, the situation was straightened out, defeats were replaced by victories. This was explained by the fact that the headquarters of the most experienced military specialists traveled with the People's Commissar, the train itself could support the battle with Trotsky's personal "guard", with heavy naval guns. Although it had weapons that were much more dangerous than cannons. A powerful radio station, which made it possible to communicate even with stations in England, France, Spain.
And you can identify some mysterious (or not entirely mysterious?) Pattern. When the Reds had a hard time, and Lev Davidovich arrived to rectify the situation, by “coincidences” problems began in the white rear! Moreover, the problems were somehow connected with foreign powers. And Lev Davidovich - again, by "coincidence", always very skillfully used the difficulties faced by the enemy. So it was in October 1919 near Petrograd.
According to the agreements that Yudenich was able to reach with the allies and the Estonians, the white troops delivered the main blow. And the secondary sectors on the flanks were occupied by Estonian units. The Estonians were also responsible for negotiations with the garrison of the Krasnaya Gorka fort. There, the soldiers and commanders again showed hesitation, expressed their readiness to go over to the side of the whites. The seaside flank was supposed to cover the British fleet. But the Estonians did not even begin any negotiations with Krasnaya Gorka. Moreover, at the decisive moment there were no Estonian units at the front at all. They're gone! We dropped our positions. British ships did not appear either. They suddenly received another order, and the entire British squadron, which was in the Baltic, withdrew to Riga.
And Trotsky, with amazing "perspicacity", directed the arriving fresh divisions precisely to the bare areas. He ordered to land amphibious assault forces in the rear of Yudenich. The North-Western Army found itself almost completely surrounded and began to fight its way back. And the Estonians did not consider it necessary to hide the reason for what happened. The Tallinn government declared: “It would be an unforgivable stupidity on the part of the Estonian people if they did it” (ie, helped the White Guards to win). In a memorandum dated December 16, 1919, Estonian Prime Minister Tenisson and Foreign Minister Birk blurted out: “… Two months ago, the Soviet government made a peace proposal to the Estonian government, openly declaring that it was ready to recognize the independence of Estonia and renounce all offensive actions against it.”. Thus, just in October, in the midst of the battles for Petrograd, backstage negotiations began.
In November-December, the remnants of Yudenich's army, along with crowds of civilian refugees, poured across the Estonian border. But they were greeted with wild anger and repression. An eyewitness wrote: “Russians began to be killed in the streets, locked up in prisons and concentration camps, in general they were oppressed by all means. Refugees from the Petrograd province, of whom there were more than 10 thousand, were treated worse than cattle. They were forced to lie for days in the bitter frost on the railway sleepers. A lot of children and women died. All have had typhus. There were no disinfectants. Under these conditions, doctors and nurses also became infected and died. In general, the picture of the disaster is such that if it happened to the Armenians, and not to the Russians, then the whole of Europe would shudder with horror. In winter, Estonians kept people behind barbed wire in the open air. Not fed.
And the official Tallinn in a memorandum of December 16 insolently declared: “The Estonian military and civilian authorities are doing everything that they consider possible and necessary to do. It is completely impossible for them to supply the Russian units … with clothing, since the Estonian government does not have enough of it. Moreover, the Northwestern Army was richly supplied with food and uniforms … Taking into account its small food supply, the Estonian government cannot allow such large masses to feed without giving in exchange for their work … road construction and other hard labor. Thousands of people died.
All this took place with the full connivance of the Entente. And Trotsky paid generously for the services rendered. On December 5, a truce was concluded with Estonia, and on February 2 - the Treaty of Tartu, according to which Estonians were given 1 thousand square kilometers of Russian lands in addition to their national territory.
