National units of the Russian army in the First World War. 4 part
The compound differed prowess and high fighting spirit.
The Wild Division was characterized as one of the most reliable units and the pride of the army [Paletsky A. About the Wild Division / Wild Division. Collection of materials. M., 2006. C. 69].
About the loyalty of the Highlanders to the Russian arms The episode presented by the representative of the British army at the Russian Headquarters testifies: “... recently, the Austrians who were fighting against the Wild Division signaled to the enemy:“ We have many people of the same faith with you, the Turks. Go to us! ”“ Now, ”replied the soldiers of the Wild Division, switched to that side, conducted a good raid, shooting many enemies, and returned safely [Sir John Hanbury-Williams. The Emperor Nicholas II. As I knew him. London, 1922. P. 81-82].
Another contemporary wrote that the division was one of the best up to the collapse of the army and fully fulfilled its duty, without giving up deserters and surrendering during the war [Maksimovich S.V. Memories of service in the Headquarters of the Caucasian Equestrian Division // Military History. 1968. No. 93. C. 22].
15 November 1914 began the transfer of the Caucasian native horse division to the South-Western Front - in the area of Sambora. In early December, its regiments took up positions in the Carpathians on the banks of the r. San and engaged in battle with the Austrians at with. Citizen - Rybne.
Highlanders faced with unusual conditions of war for them. They considered being in the trenches to be disgraceful and believed that the earth should be a haven of the dead, not a shelter for the living, and left the trenches at the slightest opportunity, preferring to lie under fire than in them.
In February, the 1915 between the 8-th army and the Romanian border appeared 9-th army, which also included the Caucasian native horse division.
On February 15, a squadron of the Ingush cavalry regiment under the command of the captain M. Khimshiyev attacked those in the trenches near the villages. Tsuben Austrian company. The enemy's company was destroyed, the village was taken, and the komesk was awarded the Order of St. George of the 4 degree. On the same day, units of the Chechen Horse Regiment distinguished themselves - the squadron of the captain of the count A. Keller attacked and took with. Bryn, occupied by the Austrian infantry, and a little later the regiment, headed by the commander - colonel Prince A. S. Svyatopolk-Mirsky - with a cavalry attack dropped the Austrians from a fortified position in the Carpathians. The regiment commander was killed and was posthumously awarded the Order of St. George 3 degree.
16. A. S. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, the hero of the battle at s. Shave.
But 9-I army, not having time to concentrate, came under the flank attack of the Austrian army group Pflanzer-Baltina and after fierce fighting, withdrew in mid-March for the river. Dniester. Crossing the river, the Austrians occupied a bridgehead on its left bank - near the city of Zaleshchiki.
19 On April, the Austro-German Army Group A. von Mackensen broke through the defenses of the Russian 3 Army at the front of Gorlitsa-Tarnov, and within a week of fighting deeply penetrated the defenses of the South-Western Front. The 9 Army, to help its neighbors, April 26 launched an offensive, setting off the Transnistrian battle. The Zaleschik bridgehead was liquidated, and the army, forcing the Dniester, to the 2 of May, rejected the Austrian 7-th army over the river. Rod.
Part of the native division, joining the 2 Cavalry Corps, from April 29 began to force the Dniester.
In these battles, the crosses of St. George Ali Sultan Shakmayev, Shokhai Battayev and Khadzhimusa Sattaev received, because, being April 29 as part of the junction of the village. Gorodnitsa, 7 German cavalrymen who captured the Grodno hussars 2, and, on their own initiative, attacked, freeing the hussars from captivity, discovered [Opryshko O.L., Caucasian Horse Division 1914-1917. Return from oblivion. Nalchik, 1999. C. 127].
The division moved to Verenchak through Kiselevka - during the battle of 30 on April with the dismounted cavalry of the enemy, 31 captured, bombed, 60 bombs and 120 grenades were captured. 1 May, the regiments of the division came out to Prut in the area of Sniatyn, occupying the village of Nepokolokutu, Beleluy and Ustye nad Prut.
2 May 2-th Horse Corps attacked enemy positions on the right bank of the r. Prut, having mastered dd Karlov and Vidinovo. In a battle with the native horsemen, I. Broz Tito was captured - in the future, the president of Yugoslavia.
However, the general defeat in the center of the front forced to curtail their successful offensive and retreat.
On the night of May 28, the division moved beyond the river. Dniester. At dawn 29 in May, when the Austrian infantry began crossing, under cover of thick fog, they were greeted by a machine-gun platoon of the division and a hundred 2-th Dagestan regiment.
In July, the 12 Cavalry Division, with the support of the Caucasian Indigenous Equestrian Division, attempted to eliminate the enemy’s foothold. Although the Russian troops failed to throw the enemy into the Dniester, but the Austrians lost the initiative.
On August 25, units of the Tatar cavalry regiment under the command of Colonel Albrecht successfully attacked the enemy at der. Novoselki-Kostyukhovo.
Part of the division was transferred to the area of Buchach, where they operated in September at the junction of the 33 and 11 of the army corps.
On September 10, the division of the Kabardian Equestrian Regiment under the command of Prince Colonel F.N. Bekovich-Cherkassky attacked the trenches occupied by the Austrian infantry near the village of Dobropolye. The trenches were taken, while 17 officers and 176 enemy soldiers were captured. The 2 division of the Dagestan cavalry regiment, which also captured prisoners and machine guns, distinguished itself in this battle.
17. F.N. Bekovich-Cherkassky, with 25. 02. 1916, the commander of the Tatar cavalry regiment.
October 27 4-I hundred of the Ingush equestrian regiment of cornet Shengelaya attacked the Austrian infantry. On the same day, a hundred Tatar cavalry regiments distinguished themselves, which, in the area of the Moloch-Pole farm, stopped the advancing Austrian infantry.
In November, 1915 was returned to the Caucasian division to the Zaleshchik bridgehead. The compound occupied the left bank of the Dniester - on the right flank of the 9 Army. Positional battles began.
With the beginning of the Brusilovsky breakthrough 22 in May 1916, the highlanders once again distinguished themselves.
23 May Dagestan and Tatar horse regiments made a horse attack at m. Tasta. May 24 The 3 Brigade of the division was transferred to the 41 Army Corps.
31 May distinguished Tatarian cavalry regiment, carried out a horse attack at the village. Tyshkivtsi.
26 June 3 hundreds of Ingush cavalry regiments under the command of the captain S. G. Ulagay led a horse attack on the r. Stokhod. And on July 15 near Yezerian the Ingush cavalry regiment especially distinguished itself, hundreds of which fought off the German guns 7.
The report of the division's chief of staff, Colonel P. A. Polovtsov, contained the following lines about the actions of the native horsemen during this period: “May 29 .... The Kabardian regiment, transferred to the 41 Corps in the 1 Don Division, made ... a brilliant equestrian attack in the village of Luzhany, capturing 1300 people. with 13 officers ... May 31. In the morning, the Tatar regiment, 3, hundreds ... was sent to Tyshkovets ... The Tatars attacked an enemy battalion in equestrian ranks, which occupied hurriedly dug trenches in front of Tyshkovets, took 200 officers, many chopped up, occupied the village and defeated the enemy on foot. the enemy on the western outskirts ... At the same time, the Circassians also attacked in the equestrian ranks. Windows, captured 6 prisoners with one officer, many chopped up and captured a huge quartermaster warehouse with a lot of different property ...
15 July ... At 19 hour. 15 min. The 1-I hundredth of the Ingush Regiment was launched ahead, and behind it almost simultaneously the 2-I and 3-I.
... The Ingushs galloped through the front chains of our infantry, taking the footsteps on 300 in front of Yezerians under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire. ... Hundreds almost at the same time jumped into the village, the battle began on the streets. The German companies that were in Ezeriany fought with great persistence, in some places the Germans jumped out of the hut, sometimes the horsemen dismounted and broke into the courtyards. Nevertheless, the enemy’s resistance was quickly broken, few enemies were captured, but many were hacked ...
The 3 Brigade took 200 prisoners with 5 officers, 6 heavy guns, 20 charging crates, and an artillery depot in 3000 heavy shells.
Thanks to this attack, the enemy’s resistance on the right flank of the 41 corps was finally broken, and its entire line in front of the left flank of the 33 was retracted ”[From the combat past of the Russian army. Documents and materials about the exploits of Russian soldiers and officers. M., 1947. C. 376-377].
18. Colonel P. A. Polovtsov. For the attack near Ezerian awarded with St. George weapon
19. Mikhail Alexandrovich among the officers of the 2 Brigade of the Caucasian Native Horse Division
During this period, the division was divided: the 2 I brigade advanced to the Wooded Carpathians through Bukovina, while the 1 I and 3 brigades, which were part of the 41 Army Corps, advanced to Halych and Stanislavov.
In early October, the 1-th and 3-th brigade was transferred to the Wooded Carpathians, where they joined the 2-brigade.
November 17 Caucasian Equestrian Division advanced to Romania. Having passed about 600 km, the mountaineers came to the river. Rymnik and entered the 4-th Army.
20. Highlanders in attack
In December, the division fought with the troops of the German 9 Army in the Moldavian Carpathians and Wallachia.
In connection with the preparation of the offensive of the South-Western Front, the riders of the division again in early June 1917 were transferred to Galicia - they became part of the 12 Army Corps of the 8 Army. June 25 Corps broke the 26 and 13 of the Austrian army corps. 27 June Circassian cavalry regiment with the support of 4 machine guns famously forced the river. Lomnitsa. On this day, Russian troops occupied Galich, and 28 - Kalush, but the failures of the neighboring 11 and 7 armies, as well as the general demoralization of the troops, forced them to stop the offensive.
The breakthrough of the South German army near Tarnopol forced the armies of the South-Western Front to quickly roll back to the state border line. For two weeks the regiments of the Caucasian native horse division covered the retreat.
Given the reliability and discipline shown by the mountaineers during the summer battles of 1917, Supreme Commander L. G. Kornilov decided to unite all the Caucasian units into one corps. By order of 21 of August No. 354, the Ossetian and 3 Dagestan cavalry regiments were transferred from the 1 Caucasian Cavalry Division to the Caucasian Indigenous Horse Division. In addition, it was prescribed to form the 2 Ossetian Horse Regiment. They were supposed to make up the 2 divisional Caucasian native cavalry corps: the 1 division — Kabardinian, Chechen, Circassian and Tatar horse regiments; while the 2 division is the 1 and 2 Ossetian, 1 and 2 Dagestan and Ingush horse regiments.
The division from Podolia was transferred to the Pskov province: on August 27, on the order of L. G. Kornilov, loading of its parts into echelons began - to march on Petrograd. The first to come was the 3-I Brigade
30 - 31 August the echelons of the mountaineers stuck on the tracks were subjected to intensive processing by Petrograd agitators. As a result, on September 1, the division expressed support for the Provisional Government - a speech by L. G. Kornilov ended in failure. In October, the 1917 of the regiments returned to their homeland - in the chaos of the authorities, the rampant crime and ethnic clashes.
The emerging Caucasian native cavalry corps was abolished in January 1918.
Obvious are the following trends associated with the formation and development of national units of the Russian army.
Initially (and some throughout the war) they were voluntary in nature - this testified to the patriotism and love of the inhabitants of the national outskirts of the empire for their common homeland.
In the period 1914-1918. organizationally, they have improved significantly and have grown - from battalions (Latvian, Armenian, Czech squad, Polish legion squads) and divisions (Caucasian native horse) to corps (three Polish, Czechoslovak, Armenian, Caucasian native horse). This indicated both an increased sense of national identity of the peoples of the outskirts of the Russian empire, striving to "their" units, and the fact that the national units and formations fully justified themselves, achieved combat successes and consciously deployed by the command into larger combat units.
Thus, having emerged as volunteer formations during the war, the national military units of the Russian army ended the war as regular corps units.
Virtually all national formations showed themselves brilliantly in the course of hostilities, affecting the course of many combat operations. Czech squad in 1914-1915 were the "eyes and ears" of the 3 Army of the Southwestern Front, and the 1 I Czechoslovak Brigade fought well in the June offensive of 1917 near Zborov.
Although the Polish infantry, which was sitting in the trenches near Baranavichy, did not particularly recommend itself, the lancers acted brilliantly.
The most important role on the Northern front was played by the Latvian arrows, who fought with distinction at the Riga bridgehead, near Mitava and Bauska.
The Caucasian native horse division had brilliant attacks in the winter in the Carpathians, in Zadnestrovie and on the Dniester. Excellent, it also proved itself during the 1916 South-West Front Offensive - in particular, having distinguished itself by the Ingush attack near Yezeriany.
Armenian squads (later infantry battalions) also showed themselves brilliantly - both in Turkey and in Persian Azerbaijan. The highest order from 01. 01. 1917 was created from Armenians and volunteers Euphrates Cossack army - the last Cossack army of the Russian Empire.
During the war years, national formations of the Russian army gained combat experience, organizational strength strengthened, and national command cadres went through a good school in the ranks. And Russia, so on. became the birthplace of the national armies 20-30. XX century - the Czechoslovak, Polish, Latvian and Armenian.
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