04/25/1928. - Died in Brussels (probably poisoned) white general Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel
Wrangel:
“Preserve the honor of the Russian banner entrusted to the army”
Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel (15.8.1878–25.4.1928) was born in the city of Novo-Alexandrovsk, Kovno province, into a noble family of barons of an old Baltic family, in which military service was the main occupation. In Russian service, the Wrangels reached the highest military ranks during the reign. But his father, Nikolai Georgievich, did not choose a military career, but became the director of an insurance company in Rostov-on-Don. Peter spent his childhood and youth in this city.
Having graduated from the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg in 1900, young Wrangel was also very far from military career. After graduating from the institute, he underwent compulsory military service as a volunteer of the 1st category in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. Having risen to the rank of estandard cadet and passing the test for the rank of cornet, he was enlisted in the guards cavalry reserve in 1902. Receiving his first officer rank and serving in one of the oldest guard regiments changed his attitude towards a military career.
For an overview of the main stages of the White movement and the reasons for its defeat, see the book.
Discussion: 33 comments
Thank you for your work!
Thank you! We must not forget our warriors of the Spirit! And our children will not forget....
A real Officer.....nowadays there would be more of them...
It is very important for our people not to forget their heroes. after all, there is no future for the people who do not know their past.....
The elite of the Russian people was educated and cultivated for centuries. The nobles cherished the honor of their family name and rarely in history can you find any clan where there were many scoundrels and traitors. For the most part, the nobility chose military service, and the concepts of Honor and Motherland were sacred to them. Tragedy Civil War is that each side fought for its truth and its Russia. Baron Wrangel was a patriot and hero of his Russia
Thank you, this is exciting and we should never forget it, if it were done for us, for the sake of our future. So many people died for our freedom and we must remember this.
Thank you for helping me prepare the report!!!
Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven to the Russian hero-military leader Baron Wrangel, who until the last defended the honor of his Motherland from desecration.
I really liked it, but not that (((But very interesting)))
I advise you to completely re-read the Memoirs of P.N. Wrangel!!!
I read it. There were more questions than answers. I read this topic after a short conversation with Father Alexander.
General Wrangel is a faithful son of Russia, and remained faithful to it to the end. His feat, his service to the Motherland, is to this day an example for all patriots of Russia. Lord rest the soul of your servant Peter, and forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven!
Interesting, but they made the material too neglectfully, but +++++++
The article is certainly heart-warming, there is no information on economics and finance, because any army requires huge supply costs, so it would be interesting to know how much and what was sold in absentia to the Entente for weapons and food supplies for the volunteer army? Even if Ukraine and the Caucasus were granted independence, I’m even afraid to imagine what the Western “allies” “grabbed”, I read somewhere that Wrangel sold Russian railways, is this true?
But I read somewhere that all Marxists come from monkeys. Is this true?
One of the outstanding people in the history of Russia, whose family, like himself, put service to the fatherland above all else! His main character traits were valor, honor, pride, incorruptibility and courage, which he shared with his soldiers! During the civil war, he sided with the white movement and did everything possible to ensure that Bolshevism was defeated! During the war years, I admire the feat of his wife, who looked after ordinary soldiers of the White Army, who was always next to her husband. Many people said about him that he was noble and could sit at the same table with ordinary soldiers and was like a father to them! during the time of the white occupation zone, in which Crimea was located, people there did not starve; under the control of Wrangel, white Crimea was prosperous, there was a real market economy and democracy in the most positive ways! but a tragedy happened and the Reds defeated the Whites, alas and ah, we were mired in terror and famine with the collective farms that the Bolshevik government arranged for us, claiming millions of lives and instilling fear in the people! if the whites had won, then it seems to me that Hitler would hardly have attacked us, since the white army is the heirs of the RIA and there would have been a strong, philanthropic government and smart military leaders like Suvorov, Kutuzov, Ushakov, Yudenich, Wrangel, Kolchak, Nakhimov, that is the great heirs of the imperial martial art, smart and strong in strategy and tactics!
In order not to say anything special, I will present a slightly different view of a famous scientist and historiographer, who also has admirers of his talent, like the respected MVN.
And to believe or not to believe in the “holy cause of the white movement” is everyone’s business.
Here is an interesting opinion (of course, if censorship allows):
"strategically "red", thanks to cooperation former leaders Imperial Headquarters were incomparably superior to the “whites”.
“If we look at the composition of Wrangel’s government, we will see in it such personalities as the legal Marxist Freemason P. B. Struve, former minister agriculture major mason A.V. Krivoshein. Krivoshein was Wrangel’s head of government, and Struve was actually the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Wrangel's Minister of Finance was the former Minister of Finance of the Provisional Government, freemason M. V. Bernatsky. Wrangel's confidant in Paris was N. A. Basili, one of the main executors of the conspiracy against Emperor Nicholas II. This was the “right” government of Baron Wrangel, with whose name for some reason monarchism and right-wing radicalism are associated. V. A. Maklakov wrote on October 21, 1920 in a letter to B. A. Bakhmetyev that Wrangel had no ideology at all, “and if skeptics, undermining Wrangel, reproach him for restoration plans, then they were deeply mistaken in essence.”
“And these are Kornilov’s statements: “I believe that the revolution that has taken place in Russia is a sure guarantee of our victory over the enemy. Only a free Russia, which has thrown off the oppression of the old regime, can emerge victorious from the real world struggle.”
Author: Peter Multatuli
Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich (born August 15 (August 27), 1878 - death April 25, 1928) Baron, lieutenant general, participant in the Russian-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars, commander of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia and the Russian Army.
Awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree (1914), the soldier's Cross of St. George (1917) and other orders. Author of the memoirs “Notes: in 2 parts” (1928).
Origin
The Wrangel family, dating back to the 13th century, was of Danish origin. Many of its representatives served under the banners of Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Holland and Spain, and when Livonia and Estland finally gained a foothold in Russia, the Wrangels began to faithfully serve the Russian crown. There were 7 field marshals, 18 generals and 2 admirals in the Wrangel family (the islands in the Arctic and Pacific oceans are named after one of them, F. Wrangel).
Many of the representatives of the Wrangel family in Russia devoted their lives to military careers. However, there were also those who refused it. One of them was Nikolai Georgievich Wrangel. Having abandoned his military career, he became director of the Equitable insurance company, which was located in Rostov-on-Don. Nikolai Georgievich had the title of baron, but had neither estates nor fortune. He inherited the title to his son, Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel, who became one of the most famous military figures of the early 20th century.
Education
Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich was born in Novoaleksandrovsk on August 27, 1878. Primary education he got a home, and then entered the Rostov real school. After graduating from college, Peter went to St. Petersburg, where in 1896 he successfully passed the exams at the Mining Institute.
The title of baron and family ties allowed the young Peter Wrangel to be accepted in high society, and higher education gave him the opportunity to serve military service, mandatory for Russian citizens, for only one year and choose his own place of service.
Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
Peter Wrangel graduated from the Institute in 1901 and in the same year he volunteered in the Life Guards Horse Regiment. On next year he was promoted to cornet after passing exams for the officer rank at the Nikolaev Cavalry School. Then, having retired to the reserve, he went to Irkutsk to serve as an official for special assignments under the Governor-General. The outbreak of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. found him in Siberia, and Wrangel again entered active military service and was sent to Far East. There Pyotr Nikolaevich was enlisted in the 2nd Argun Regiment of the Transbaikal Cossack Army.
1904, December - Pyotr Wrangel was promoted to centurion - “for distinction in cases against the Japanese.” During military operations, for courage and bravery, he received his first military orders - St. Anne of the 4th degree and St. Stanislav. 1905 - served in a separate reconnaissance division of the 1st Manchurian Army and by the end of the war received the rank of captain ahead of schedule. During the war, Wrangel strengthened his desire to become a career military man.
Revolution 1905-1907
The first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. marched across Siberia, and Pyotr Nikolaevich, as part of the detachment of General A. Orlov, took part in pacifying the riots and eliminating the pogroms that accompanied the revolution.
1906 - with the rank of headquarters captain he is transferred to the 55th Finnish Dragoon Regiment, and the next year he is a lieutenant of the Life Guards Horse Regiment.
1907 - Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel entered Nikolaevskaya military academy General Staff, which he graduated in 1910 among the best - seventh on the list. It should be noted that the future marshal studied on the same course with Wrangel Soviet Union B. Shaposhnikov.
1911 - he takes a course at the cavalry officer school, receiving a squadron under his command, and becomes a member of the regimental court in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment.
First world war
The outbreak of the First World War brought Pyotr Nikolaevich to the front. Together with the regiment, with the rank of captain of the guard, he became part of the 1st Army of the North-Western Front. Already in the first days of the war he was able to distinguish himself. 1914, August 6 - his squadron attacked and captured a German battery. He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. After the unsuccessful East Prussian operation, Russian troops retreated, but despite the fact that there was practically no active combat, Wrangel was repeatedly awarded for bravery and heroism. He was promoted to colonel and awarded the Golden Arms of St. George. For him, the title of officer had great meaning, and he said that he was obliged to set an example to his subordinates through personal courage.
1915, October - Pyotr Nikolaevich was transferred to the Southwestern Front and took command of the 1st Nerchinsky Regiment of the Transbaikal Cossack Army. Upon transfer, he was given the following description by his former commander: “Outstanding courage. He understands the situation perfectly and quickly, and is very resourceful in difficult situations.”
Under his command, the regiment fought in Galicia and took part in the famous “Brusilovsky breakthrough”. 1916 - Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel was promoted to major general and he became commander of the 2nd brigade of the Ussuri Cavalry Division. By the end of the war he was already heading the division.
Wrangel was a monarchist by his convictions, but often criticized both the senior command staff and personally in conversations. He associated failures in the war with the weakness of the command. He considered himself a true officer and made high demands both on himself and on anyone who wore officer's shoulder straps. Wrangel repeated that if an officer admits that his order may not be carried out, then “he is no longer an officer, he does not have officer’s shoulder straps.” He was highly respected among fellow officers and ordinary soldiers. He considered the main things in military affairs to be military valor, the intelligence and honor of the commander and strict discipline.
Civil war
Wrangel with his wife Olga Ivanenko
Pyotr Nikolaevich accepted the February Revolution immediately and swore allegiance to the Provisional Government. But the collapse of the army, which began soon, had a very difficult impact on her state of mind. Not wanting to continue to take part in this, Pyotr Nikolaevich, citing illness, went on vacation and went to Crimea. For almost a year he led a very secluded life, practically did not communicate with anyone.
1918, summer - Wrangel decides to act. He comes to Kyiv to the former commander of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, General, and now Hetman Skoropadsky, and becomes under his banner. However, the hetman cared little about the revival of Russia; he fought for the “independence” of Ukraine. Because of this, conflicts began to arise between him and the general, and soon Wrangel decided to leave for Yekaterinodar.
Having joined the Volunteer Army, Wrangel received a cavalry brigade under his command, with which he participated in the 2nd Kuban campaign. Having extensive combat experience behind him, without losing courage, determination and courage, Pyotr Nikolaevich very soon received recognition as an excellent commander, and his command was entrusted first with the 1st Cavalry Division, and 2 months later with the entire 1st Cavalry Corps.
He enjoyed great authority in the army and often addressed the troops with bright patriotic speeches. His orders were always clear and precise. 1918, December - he was promoted to lieutenant general. It should be noted that Wrangel under no circumstances allowed a weakening or violation of discipline. For example, during successful operations in Ukraine, cases of looting became more frequent in the Volunteer Army. Many commanders turned a blind eye to this, justifying the actions of their subordinates by the poor supply of the army. But the general did not want to put up with this and even carried out public executions of marauders in the units entrusted to him as a warning to others.
Successful actions in the south significantly increased the front of the offensive. At the end of May 1919, a decision was made to create a new Caucasian army for operations in the Lower Volga. Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel was appointed commander of the army. The offensive of the Caucasian Army began successfully - they were able to take Tsaritsyn and Kamyshin and launch a campaign against Saratov. However, by the autumn of 1919, large Red forces were gathered against the Caucasian Army, and its victorious offensive was stopped. In addition, all reserves were transferred from the general to the Volunteer Army, which was advancing towards Tula and Moscow, which significantly weakened the Caucasian Army.
Having suffered a crushing defeat under counterattacks from the Southern Front, the Volunteer Army retreated. The remnants of the white armies were consolidated into one corps under the command of Kutepov, and Wrangel was instructed to go to Kuban to form new regiments. By this time, the disagreements between him and Denikin, which began in the summer of 1919, had reached their highest point. General Wrangel criticized Denikin both for the methods of military leadership, and on issues of strategy, and for the civilian policy he pursued. He opposed the undertaken campaign against Moscow and insisted on joining with. The result of the disagreement was that Wrangel was forced to leave the army and go to Constantinople.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South
1920, March - Denikin resigns and asks the Military Council to find a replacement for him. Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich was elected (unanimously) as the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the South.
Having taken office, Pyotr Nikolaevich first began to put the army in order and began to reorganize it. The generals whose troops were distinguished by indiscipline - Pokrovsky and Shkuro - were fired. The commander-in-chief also changed the name of the army - now it became known as the Russian Army, which, in his opinion, should attract more supporters to its ranks. He himself and the “Government of the South of Russia” he created tried to create a new state on the territory of Crimea that could fight the Soviets with an example of the best government system. The reforms carried out by the government were not successful, and the support of the people was not received.
1920, early summer - the Russian army numbered 25,000 people in its ranks. Wrangel carried out a successful military operation to capture Northern Tavria, taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the Reds were in Poland. In August, he sent a naval landing force to Kuban, which, not meeting the support of the Cossacks there, returned to Crimea. 1920, autumn - The Russian army tried to take active steps to capture Donbass and break through to Right Bank Ukraine. The size of Wrangel's army by this time had reached 60,000 people.
Fall of White Crimea
But soon military operations in Poland were stopped, and 5 armies were sent against the Russian army, including two cavalry armies under the command of M.V. Frunze, numbering more than 130,000 people. It took the Red Army just one week to liberate Northern Tavria, break through the Perekop fortifications and break into Crimea. The Russian army, unable to withstand a numerically superior enemy, began to retreat. General Wrangel nevertheless managed to make this retreat not a disorderly flight, but an organized withdrawal of units. From Crimea, tens of thousands of Russian army soldiers and refugees were sent to Turkey on Russian and French ships.
Emigration
Baron Wrangel stayed in Turkey for about a year, remaining with the army, maintaining order and discipline in it. During this year, the soldiers of the Russian army gradually dispersed around the world, and many went back to Russia. At the end of 1921, the remnants of the Russian army were transferred to Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
Instead of the collapsed Russian army, the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS) was founded in Paris, which had departments in countries where former officers and participants in the White movement found shelter. The purpose of the EMRO was to preserve officer cadres for future struggle.
Until his death, Baron Wrangel remained the leader of the EMRO and did not stop fighting the Bolsheviks. The EMRO carried out extensive reconnaissance work and had a combat department that developed plans for carrying out armed actions on the territory of the USSR.
Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich died in Brussels on April 25, 1928, several months short of his 50th birthday. His body was transported to Yugoslavia and solemnly buried in Belgrade in the Russian Church of the Holy Trinity.
Name: Wrangel Petr Nikolaevich
State: Russian Empire
Scope of activity: Army
Greatest Achievement: The struggle for autocracy against the Red Army. General
Baron Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel was born on August 27, 1878 into a family of German Russified aristocrats in Novoaleksandrovka.
He first received his education at the Rostov Real School. Then in 1901 he graduated from the Mining University in St. Petersburg, choosing engineering as his specialty. However, the young aristocrat did not forget about his military career. In the same year, Peter voluntarily joined the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. IN next year Wrangel is selected for a prestigious educational institution - the cavalry school in the capital of Russia and continues his academic path as a reserve lieutenant.
Participated in Russo-Japanese War and the First World War.
Wrangel joins the White Guard, fighting to preserve the old order. He leads the cavalry corps and begins successful attacks on the Red Army soldiers.
In February 1920, Pyotr Nikolaevich officially resigned and left with his family (wife Olga and four children - Peter, Natalya, Elena and Alexei) to Constantinople (Istanbul).
As a state, it had both advantages and disadvantages. However, these are the realities of many countries. However, a huge advantage of Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century was its excellent military education - not only the children of aristocrats, but also mere mortals (if they had talent) were able to make a dizzying career in the military field. After the revolutionary upheavals of 1917, some went over to the side of the new, Soviet government, while others wanted to fight for autocracy to the end. One of these fighters was Pyotr Wrangel, the legendary “black baron” (he was so nicknamed for his signature style of clothing - a black Cossack Circassian coat).
The beginning of the journey
Baron Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel was born on August 27, 1878 into a family of German Russified aristocrats in Novoaleksandrovka (now the territory of Lithuania). His family tree dates back to the 13th century; Pyotr Nikolaevich’s ancestors lived in Estonia, Sweden, Russia, and were famous sailors and military leaders.
His father, Nikolai Wrangel, was a famous antiques collector and writer. Military service did not bypass him either (according to the law of that time, all aristocrats had to serve - for this they could receive various benefits from the state).
It is not surprising that with such a family biography, Petya decided to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. He first received his education at the Rostov Real School. Then in 1901 he graduated from the Mining University in St. Petersburg, choosing engineering as his specialty. However, the young aristocrat did not forget about his military career. In the same year, Peter voluntarily joined the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. The following year, Wrangel is selected for a prestigious educational institution - the cavalry school in the capital of Russia and continues his academic path as a reserve lieutenant.
For the first time, Peter is given the opportunity to show his knowledge and skills during. If before 1904 Wrangel hesitated whether to give preference to military service or switch to something else, then with the beginning of the military conflict with Japan he makes the final decision to connect his life with the army. He enters (again as a volunteer) into the military unit of the Cossack regiment in Transbaikalia. For bravery and valor in battles, he was nominated for awards - the medals of St. Stanislaus and St. Anne, and he also received an award weapon.
In 1907 he was presented to the Tsar. Pyotr Nikolaevich had already been promoted to the rank of lieutenant and transferred to his regiment, from where he began his service, simultaneously continuing to improve his knowledge in military affairs and combat technology.
Participation in the First World War
Of course, few prominent military figures want to put into practice what they have learned in educational institutions knowledge. But the beginning of the 20th century provided many of them with a chance to prove themselves in battle. In 1914, one of the most terrible pages in world history began -. Naturally, such a prominent officer as P.N. Wrangel, could not pass by. He held the rank of captain and commanded a squadron. Already from the first weeks of the war, it became clear that Wrangel was a born warrior - he managed to capture a German battery, for which he was nominated for one of the highest military awards and received the rank of colonel.
Wrangel's subsequent service was again associated with the Transbaikal Cossack Regiment. It is worth saying that Pyotr Nikolaevich’s rise through the ranks was long. But deserved. He proved with sweat and blood that he was worthy of each of the medals and orders given to him. On the battlefields, according to the recollections of his compatriots and colleagues, Wrangel was distinguished by incredible courage. Of course, he could not help but take part in the legendary (or Lutsk breakthrough, as it is sometimes called) - at that time Peter was on the Southwestern Front. The year 1917 was marked by new awards. A new rank was also granted - major general.
Wrangel in Crimea. Participation in the Civil War
In some matters, Wrangel behaved like a true aristocrat. This also applied to autocracy. He was one of the few military leaders who spoke negatively about the Soviet regime and met the 1917 revolution with hostility. they remembered it. They never forgave insults (just remember the further history of the young man and the struggle for power). After the victory of the October Revolution, Wrangel resigned from the army and went to Crimea, where he lived in his mansion in Yalta. The first wave of police came here to arrest Pyotr Nikolaevich. True, he was not detained for long and was soon released.
This event further strengthened Wrangel’s hatred of the Bolsheviks and Soviet power. He decides to start fighting. How? In a known way- war. It was during this period that the Civil War began in Russia, and Wrangel joined the White Guard, fighting to preserve the old order. He leads the cavalry corps and begins successful attacks on the soldiers. In 1919 he became commander of the Caucasian Army in southern Russia. Soon the city of Volgograd (formerly Tsaritsyn) falls into the hands of the army.
Defeat of Wrangel's army
His boss was the notorious Anton Denikin, with whom Wrangel had conflicts. proposed to quickly direct all forces to Moscow, but Wrangel insisted on advancing along the border of the city. In addition, this would give a chance to unite their forces with units. And then the White Guard would become invincible. However, Denikin rejected Wrangel's proposal and removed him from military service, despite the fact that Wrangel was right. Further battles with the Red Army proved this, but nothing can be corrected. In February 1920, Pyotr Nikolaevich officially resigned and left with his family (wife Olga and four children - Peter, Natalya, Elena and Alexei) to Constantinople (Istanbul).
Emigration and death
Since 1921, Wrangel lived in Serbia, then moved to Brussels, where he worked in his direct specialty - an engineer. The civil war in Russia was still ongoing, and Pyotr Nikolaevich did not forget his homeland and led the white movement from afar. In 1928, he suddenly fell ill with tuberculosis and died. His death gave rise to rumors that the Bolsheviks poisoned the former baron. Whether this is true or not, we will never know. And Wrangel himself was buried in Brussels, but a year later he was transported to Belgrade and reburied in Orthodox Church Holy Trinity.
Pyotr Nikolaevich believed until the last in the victory of the White Army over the hated Bolsheviks. The soldiers respected him, he taught his subordinates to discipline and severely punished those who were guilty. Even when in 1920 it became clear that he would win, Wrangel took command of the Armed Forces of Southern Russia and continued the fight. He proposed creating a new democratic state in Crimea with freedom and a well-functioning economic mechanism. However, his dreams were not destined to come true, and the baron soon gave the order to evacuate from Crimea. Who knows, maybe the history of the Civil War would have turned out differently if Denikin had listened to the advice of the “Black Baron”. But history does not know the subjunctive mood.
The personality of this man is strongly connected with the White movement and the island of Crimea - the last stronghold and fragment of the Russian Empire.
Biography and activities of Peter Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel, born on August 15, 1878 in the city of Novoaleksandrovsk. Wrangel's ancestors were Swedes. Over several centuries, the Wrangel family has produced many famous military leaders, navigators and polar explorers. Peter's father was an exception, choosing a career as an entrepreneur over a military career. He saw his eldest son the same way.
Children's and teenage years Peter Wrangel was held in Rostov-on-Don. There he graduated from a real school. In 1900 - gold medal Mining Institute in St. Petersburg. In 1901, mining engineer Wrangel was called up to undergo compulsory one-year military service. He serves as a volunteer in the prestigious Life Guards cavalry regiment. However, Wrangel does not like serving in peacetime. He prefers to become an official of special assignments under the Irkutsk Governor-General and retires with only the rank of cornet. This continues until .
Then Wrangel returns to the army, actively participates in hostilities, and is awarded the Annin weapon for bravery. Wrangel's long letters home from the battlefields, revised by his mother, were published in the magazine " Historical Bulletin" In 1907, Wrangel was presented to the emperor and transferred to his native regiment. He continues his education at the Nikolaev General Staff Academy. In 1910 he completed his studies, but did not remain with the General Staff.
In August 1907, Olga Ivanenko, the daughter of a chamberlain and maid of honor of the Empress's court, became Wrangel's wife. By 1914, the family already had three children. Wrangel became the first Knight of St. George in the outbreak of the world war. His wife accompanied Wrangel on the war fronts and worked as a nurse. Wrangel often and for a long time talked with. Baron commands Cossack units. Wrangel did not climb the career ladder quickly, but it was completely deserved.
Unlike many liberal intellectuals and colleagues - and Denikin, Wrangel met with hostility the February Revolution and the decrees of the Provisional Government, which undermined the very foundation of the army. His then insignificant rank and position made him an outsider to the big political game among the highest ranks of the army. Wrangel, as best he could, actively opposed the elected soldiers' committees and fought to maintain discipline. Kerensky made an attempt to involve Wrangel in the defense of Petrograd from the Bolsheviks, but he pointedly resigned.
After the October Revolution, Wrangel reunited with his family who were in Crimea. In February 1918, revolutionary sailors Black Sea Fleet The baron was arrested, and only the intercession of his wife saves him from inevitable execution. German troops occupy Ukraine. Wrangel meets with the Ukrainian Hetman Skoropadsky, his former colleague. In 1919, Commander-in-Chief Denikin appointed Wrangel commander of the so-called. Volunteer Army. However, their personal relationship is hopelessly damaged.
In April 1920, Denikin was deposed and Wrangel was elected as the new commander. Wrangel was in charge of the last piece of Russian land still free from the Bolsheviks for only seven months. The defense of Perekop covered the evacuation of the civilian population. In November 1920, the remnants of the White Army left Russia forever through Kerch, Sevastopol, and Evpatoria. Wrangel died of transient consumption on April 25, 1928 in Brussels. According to one version of modern historians, it was provoked by OGPU agents.
- The legendary white Circassian woman of Wrangel from the pen of Makovsky in the poem “Good!” turned into black - for the sake of sound expressiveness.
Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel
Having become the head of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, Lieutenant General Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel was fully aware of the difficult, almost hopeless situation of the White Army, transported from Novorossiysk to Crimea.
Wrangel said that in the absence of allied help there is no way to count on a successful continuation of the struggle, and the only thing he can promise is not to bow the banner to the enemy and to do everything to withdraw the army and navy with honor from the current situation. To do this, he set himself the goal: “To create, at least on a piece of Russian land, such order and such living conditions that would attract all the thoughts and strength of the people groaning under the red yoke.”
The implementation of this goal encountered the desperate economic situation of the poor natural resources Crimea. Whites vitally needed access to the rich southern districts of Northern Tavria. Meanwhile, the Reds fortified these territories in order to more firmly close the exit from the Crimean Peninsula.
Wrangel. The path of the Russian general. Movie one
The troops of General Wrangel, renamed at this time Russian army, already represented a serious force of 40 thousand people with the material part put in order. The troops had time to rest and recover from the heavy defeat. At least temporarily it was possible to be calm about the fate of Crimea.
