Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak could not imagine life without the sea, and military service was his element.
Returning after the Russian-Japanese campaign from Japanese captivity to Petersburg, he immediately with other officers of the Port Arthurians took up the creation of the General Naval Staff - a body planning the country's naval strategy in order to prevent defeats in the future. He ardently defended in the State Duma a plan to strengthen the Russian fleet and, in particular, the demand for the allocation of money for the construction of four battleships.
Kolchak made a great contribution to the restoration of the Russian fleet. And the fleet met a new, First World War fully armed. In the very first hours after Germany's attack on Russia, the Baltic Fleet, according to Kolchak's plan, closed the entrance to the German ships in the Gulf of Finland, arranging the mine and artillery position of Porkkala-udd - Nargen Island. Kolchak at the beginning of the war fought as a flag captain, developed operational tasks and plans. He possessed the rare talent of a true military strategist and developed non-standard operations that were unexpected for the enemy. The commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Essen, respected Kolchak and fully trusted him. Possessing a wayward character, Kolchak did not recognize any superiors and gave all the plans developed to Essen for approval personally. This quarreled Kolchak with senior officers, but gave him the opportunity to decisively control the implementation of the plan at all its stages, especially since he himself tried to lead the operation. His authority grew both among his superiors and officers and sailors.
He was loved for his honesty, selfless dedication and courage. “Oh, and we have a strict commander! We still have nothing, but poor officers!”- said the sailors
During the First World War, the sea became more complicated. Defensive tactics acquired great importance, namely, the setting of minefields and the construction of minefields against enemy ships. In the fall of 1914, a plan for an offensive operation was drawn up at the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. Kolchak went to approve him at Headquarters. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, Chief Commander of the Headquarters, did not approve of the plan. Kolchak returned to the headquarters angry, nervously reported to Essen about the failure. He noticed that Essen was disliked at Headquarters, and Kolchak himself did not like the Grand Duke with his ardor. And yet the sailors decided to attack the Germans, with constant torpedo boat operations they began to "fill up" the German shores with mines. Kolchak quickly became famous as the best mine specialist. But the staff work did not satisfy the captain of the first rank, his ardent, purposeful nature strove to the sea, into battle.
Under his direct supervision, minefields were laid near the island of Rügen, the banks of Stolpe, in the Danzig Bay. Four German cruisers, eight destroyers, twenty-three transports were blown up in minefields. The commander of the German Baltic Fleet has banned his ships from going to sea until the fields are cleared. For effective actions, Kolchak was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree with swords.
In 1915 he was already the head of the Mine Division. Its headquarters is on the destroyer "Siberian shooter". He does not allow his ships to stay in the harbor, they are on the march all the time. And the victories become the deserved result of his activities. With fire from his ships, Kolchak suppresses the firing points and manpower of the enemy on the shores of the Baltic Sea, helps to repel the attacks of the Germans of the 12th army of Radko-Dmitriev.
Then he began to lay mines in shallow waters off the coast occupied by German troops. This excluded the breakthrough of German submarines and blocked the path of transports supplying the German army. The division under the command of Kolchak was engaged not only in setting minefields, but also in finding and destroying enemy ships, both combat and transports. Kolchak's audacity and daring knew no bounds.
On one destroyer, he broke into Libau port. Sank the destroyer "Kronprinz" there, the transport "Karlsbad" and, while the Germans, shocked by the fearlessness of the Russians, came to their senses, turned around and in full steam jumped out of the enemy harbor
Russian ships practically blocked the channel for supplying Germany with iron ore from Sweden, because of the constant death of transports, the Germans abandoned it.
Kolchak was a war knight. Here are excerpts from his letters to his beloved Anna Vasilievna Timireva.
"Eternal peace is a dream, and not even beautiful, but in the war you can see beautiful dreams, leaving, upon awakening, regret that they will no longer continue" …
“War is beautiful, although it is associated with many negative phenomena, but it is always and everywhere good. I don’t know how She will react to my only and basic desire to serve Her with all my strength, knowledge, with all my heart and with all my thoughts”…
For Kolchak, war is a natural phenomenon of nature, it cleans the world, the earth from the abominations of human existence, from the filth of society. He considered that war is "one of the invariable manifestations of social life, the most frequent forms of human activity, in which the agents of destruction and destruction intertwine and merge with the agents of creativity and development, with progress, culture and civilization." As for his beloved, he believed that Anna Vasilievna was a deity given to him from above for severe military hardships …
In April 1916, by the decree of Emperor Nicholas II, who became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Kolchak was awarded the rank of Rear Admiral. And two months later, in June of the same year, he was promoted to vice admiral ahead of schedule. The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief assessed the remarkable abilities of the forty-two-year-old admiral and appointed him commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Kolchak became the youngest fleet commander in the world.
Before the admiral left for Sevastopol, Nicholas II appointed him an audience and warmly admonished him before the new military service
The military situation there was deplorable; German cruisers and submarines ruled the sea.
Kolchak, as soon as he raised his flag and assumed command, immediately went to sea on the battleship "Empress Maria" to meet the German cruiser "Breslau" and put him to flight. Kolchak stepped up the activities of the fleet, the ships out to sea became permanent. The superiority of our forces over the German and Turkish fleets became obvious. And when Kolchak set up a minefield near the Bosphorus, and the German cruiser Goeben was blown up on it, the Russian fleet established itself as the sovereign master of the Black Sea. The movement of transports was secured, the supply of our Caucasian army improved.
But the main goal was ahead! For this strategic task, Alexander Kolchak was sent to the Black Sea. He, and only he, could translate this plan into reality, as the Supreme Command at Headquarters and Nicholas II himself believed. This goal is to nail a shield on the gates of Constantinople, to take possession of Constantinople, this capital of ancient Byzantium, captured by the Turks. The Turks baptized Constantinople to Istanbul, and since then the Russian people ardently desired the liberation of the Orthodox shrine from Muslim rule.
In 1878 g. Emperor Alexander II almost reached the cherished goal, but the intrigues of the "Englishwoman" stopped the Russian army at the very outskirts of Constantinople. General Skobelev with his army stood in sight of the city. All Turkish armies were defeated, small detachments surrendered without a fight to the "white general". Turkey was defeated. But the Russians did not enter Constantinople. The European powers stood up for a shattered Turkey and insisted that Russia soften the demands it presented for the conclusion of peace. Otherwise, England threatened war and had already sent a strong fleet into the Sea of Marmara. England was supported by Austria and Germany. Russia had to concede …
And now Russia was again close to realizing its dream. If successful, Russia took possession of the strategic straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, like a plug that blocked the exit from the Black Sea. Kolchak with his characteristic determination and assertiveness got down to business. He was preparing the Bosphorus operation, preparing ships and troops for the landing of troops on the Turkish coast. A specially formed infantry division of fired reliable soldiers under the command of General Svechin entered the direct subordination of Kolchak. This division was supposed to be the first to land on enemy territory, consolidate and expand the bridgehead for the offensive of the troops following it.
Preparations for the storming of the Turkish fortifications and the capture of Constantinople were nearing completion. The operation was planned for the spring of 1917, but the outbreak of the February Revolution canceled all plans
Admiral Kolchak did everything to prevent the revolutionary anarchy from affecting the fleet, so that it remained a single whole organism, and his ships, as before, were on duty. Kolchak believed: he swore allegiance to the Tsar and the Fatherland. The king abdicated the throne and ordered to serve the new government. The Tsar was gone, but the Fatherland remained. So, you need to serve the Fatherland! He adhered to this line with regard to his subordinates. He believed that with the change of power, the course of Russia would not change, and she, true to her allied duty, would fight against Germany and her satellites. He did his best to maintain discipline in units and on ships.
And he succeeded. The Black Sea Fleet, to the surprise of the whole country, retained its combat capability, was managed by Kolchak confidently, as always. Classes, preparation, operational work were not disturbed in any way, and the usual routine was not interrupted for a single hour. Officers, commanders, workers, the population of Sevastopol and the Crimean peninsula trusted him unconditionally. First of all, Kolchak managed to unite around him strong and decisive people, and this was a guarantee of stability. The fleet was on regular service.
But the socialists, together with the Bolsheviks, continued to destroy the armed forces. The revolutionary infection began to eat away at the Black Sea Fleet. Although the external order was observed, it was felt that everything could be crushed. Kolchak fought. An excellent orator, he did not miss the opportunity to speak to officers and sailors. His speech in the circus in front of the representatives of the teams was amazing. He spoke with inspiration, succinctly, brightly. The admiral's words made a tremendous impression, aroused patriotic enthusiasm in the audience. Many were crying. The teams immediately selected 750 of the best sailors from among their midst to be sent to the front in order to influence the soldiers who had succumbed to the defeatist agitation of the Bolsheviks. The envoys of Sevastopol called the soldiers of the front to fight the German invaders by word and personal example, most of the sailors of the Black Sea delegation died a heroic death in battles on land. This weakened the sailors' committees and affected the state of the fleet. The best left and died …
True to its oath, the Black Sea Fleet did not give rest to the commissars. A group of Baltic sailors with "mandates" from the Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet is sent to Sevastopol for the "socialization" of units. That fleet, which practically ceased to exist, was abandoned by the front, whose sailors, struck by the "virus" of the revolution, brutally killed their commander, Vice-Admiral Nepenin. They began to gather meetings, to shame and reproach the Sevastopol people: “Comrades of the Black Sea, what have you done for the revolution? You have the old regime everywhere, you are commanded by the commander of the fleet, who was still under the tsar! Do you obey the officers? Your ships go to sea and approach enemy shores to annex them. The people have decided to make peace without annexations, and your fleet commander is sending you to conquer the enemy shores! This is not the case in the Baltic Sea …”.
Little by little propaganda eaten away at the ranks of the sailors. The sailors began to arrest the officers and take away their weapons. The admiral sent a radio telegram to the ships: “The rebellious sailors demanded that the officers be seized of their weapons. This inflicted an insult on the loyal and valiant sons of the Motherland, who had been fighting a formidable enemy for three years. Resistance is impossible, therefore, in order to avoid bloodshed, I suggest the officers not to resist."
A group of rebels entered Kolchak's cabin to take away his weapon. Kolchak drove them away. “Why does he need a saber? Hanging in the closet! - the sailors were perplexed, - wears it only at parades. We will give it away for parades. The admiral went up to the deck, went to the side near the ladder. The entire crew of the flagship St. George the Victorious froze.
In complete silence, Kolchak took off his gold saber of St. George with the engraving "For courage", raised it high above his head, looked piercingly into the blue sea distance, said in a trembling voice: "This weapon of the brave gave me the sea, let it receive it," and with a wide sweep, he threw the saber overboard
Kolchak was anxious, like a deity, treated melee weapons. He brought two old saber blades from Japan and carefully preserved them. Here is what he wrote to Anna Vasilievna: “I seem to have written to you about Japanese blades. The Japanese saber is a highly artistic work that is not inferior to the masterpieces of Damascus and India. Probably, in no country has edged weapons received such importance as in Japan, where what the British call the cult of cold steel existed and still exists. This is indeed a cult of cold steel, symbolizing the soul of a warrior, and the embodiment of this cult is a blade welded from soft steel magnetic iron with a blade of amazing steel properties that takes the sharpness of a surgical instrument or razor. In these blades is part of the "living soul" of the warrior, and they have the ability to have a special effect on those who treat them appropriately."
The sailors were discouraged by the admiral's action. They knew him as an honest courageous military leader who more than once went on military campaigns with them, looked death in the eye, and respected him. They knew that Kolchak had received a golden weapon for bravery back in the Russo-Japanese war. Sea divers, having sunk to the bottom, raised the Georgievskaya saber from the depths. The ship's delegation handed it to the admiral.
Kolchak sent a telegram to the government that after the riot that took place, he was not able to command the fleet. Admiral Kolchak was leaving Sevastopol. Sailors, residents of the city came to see him off. When he got into the carriage, one of the officers, in a loud voice that echoed throughout the station, admonished the admiral: “Courage and valor, a sense of duty and honor at all times served as an adornment of peoples. Hooray!". The mighty "Ur-ra-a" and the locomotive whistle merged into one farewell symphony.
We had officers mainly in the guards regiments, the General Staff, - Alexander Vasilyevich thought about the collapse on the fronts and the agony of Russia. - but they were few and not enough for such a war; for two and a half years they saved their homeland, giving their lives to it, and they were replaced by a new type of officer of the "wartime" … speaking of courage …
Arriving in Petrograd, Kolchak made a report on the current situation in the Black Sea Fleet at a meeting of the Provisional Government.
He openly declared to Kerensky that it was his fault and his government that the army and navy were disintegrating, the fronts were bare, and Russia was surrendering its positions without a fight
He demanded that criminal agitation be abolished in the troops, soldiers 'and sailors' committees should be banned, and one-man command should be reintroduced. He insisted on returning the death penalty in order to restore discipline in the units. But the Provisional Government did not listen to the admiral. Kerensky, whom Kolchak called "a chatty schoolboy", remained true to himself and continued to contribute to the destruction of Russia. And it is clear that after that the admiral was not offered any position. The patriot of Russia, who served the Fatherland with faith and truth for a quarter of a century, turned out to be not needed by the new government …
