Commander's determination is the key to a successful horse attack
Frames decide everything
The success of the attack depends on the leader, the commander. Someone must dare to rush on a horse to meet the danger and overcome death, and wounds, and all the horror of a hurricane of shrapnel, rifle and machine-gun bullets racing towards the fire. In this regard, it is worth recalling the titanic personality of the captain of the 12 th hussars of the Akhtyrsky regiment Boris Panayev. He leads a squadron - a bullet penetrates his arm. He continues to lead the squadron, and the bullet punches him in the stomach. Despite the excruciating pain, he continues to ride at the head of the squadron and falls killed only when the squadron has already gotten hold of the enemy. What powerful will power, self-control and determination, fill, without exaggeration, with the halo of holiness the feat of this cavalryman.
In the battle of 24, June 1916, when the 1 th Argun regiment had already occupied the town of Manevichi, an Austrian march with six machine guns began to leave the forest to the south of Manevichi. The company landed at one of the stations west of Manevich on the night of June 21, and went, knowing nothing about the fact that the army of A. Linzingen was defeated and the Galuziya-Volchetsk front was broken by the Russians. Having seen hundreds of Transbaikalians, the Austrian machine-gunners opened fire, and the company, turning into battle chains, began to attack. Transbaikal began to depart. When in Manevichi, where the Don brigade of the 2-th Consolidated Cossack Division was at that time, they heard machine-gun fire and saw a Trans-Baikal who rode with alarming news of an Austrian attack from the forest, a platoon was sent there (26 Cossacks) 17, and a Karak Penguin Army, which was the Cossack Army. team cornet Shishova. Shishov drove up to the commander hundreds of Arguns. A hundred departs, bullets whistle from somewhere in the forest, a machine gun pops. What is the matter - no one knows. At that time, when the commander of the hundreds and the horny Shishov were discussing how to be, the platoon commander of the 17 Don Cossack Regiment from the Shishov detachment approached him and offered: “let your honor, strike the attacker on them!” stopped the hesitations of both officers. A team was distributed - and the Don members, interspersed with Transbaikalians, flew into the attack. Without loss, the entire marching company was captured with two officers and six machine guns - more than 100 people in total.
It was necessary only to decide!
In the same battle, during the movement of the Don brigade of the 2 Consolidated Cossack Division from Manevichi to Leshnevka, in the forest near Leshnevka, the avant-garde squadron was stopped by the enemy's machine-gun fire. Gunshots were heard nearby. The forest and marshland forced the commander of the 17 Don Regiment to dismount and begin a firefight with the enemy. The case was delayed. The head of the column demanded a more vigorous advance and capture Leshnevka. But the equestrian unit, which had already climbed down to the ground for foot combat, always finds it difficult to mount horses, especially if it fought without a break for almost a day. Therefore, the 1-I of the 16-th Don Cossack Regiment was moved to the forefront. But when the Cossacks of the 17 Don Cossack Regiment saw a hundred other regiments enter the field, their pride began to speak. Quickly jumping on their horses, the 1-I of the hundreds of 17-th Don Cossack regiment under the command of the accesso-saul Ivankov and the centurion Vlasov rushed to Leszhniewka. The squadron of Hungarian hussars defending Leshnevka and a company of dismounted cavalrymen with machine guns fled. The young Hungarian lieutenant tried to stop the attack with a counter-counterattack, but he was stabbed with a lance, and his people were partially stabbed and some were taken prisoner. The Cossacks had no losses.
Once the part decided to attack and the terrain conditions did not prevent the attack, it won.
Of particular importance was the personality of the senior cavalry commander. Thus, it is difficult to overestimate the contribution of F. A. Keller, Chief of the 10 Cavalry Division, to the victory at Yaroslavitsy, Chief of the 2 Combined Cossack Division, A. A. Pavlov, to the victory at Buchach, etc.
The determination to go to the end is an important key to success.
Resolve to bring the attack to the end. Here we have to make a serious amendment to the fact that the cavalry attack almost always takes place without prior reconnaissance - only then it will be sudden and only then will people be able to rush into it. How many times have witnesses testified to how the cavalry commander spoke to his subordinates: “Gentlemen, we will attack the enemy in the equestrian system,” and then he sent reconnaissance, gave orders, orders and ... did not attack. As soon as the cold mind was turned on, the mind won, prompting so many arguments against the cavalry attack that the latter was postponed, units and units dismounted, not even thinking of attacking on horseback. Horse attack should be carried out, so to speak, headlong, without thinking, quickly, uncontrollably - forward.
In the battle under the Oak in August 1914 (the final stage of the Tomashevsky battle 1914), a message was received that enemy infantry had appeared in the rear of the 5 Don Cossack Division. Who said - team, who said - battalion. The division commander, Major General G. M. Vannovsky ordered the commander of the 10 Don Cossack Regiment to find out the situation. The regiment commander turns the 4 th and 5 th hundreds of the regiment into the first line, and the 1 th and 2 th hundreds into the second line and proceeds in the direction of the shots. When the Austrians opened a quick fire, the horses of the head hundreds, still in peacetime, were accustomed to rush into the quarry at the infantry, which was lying and frequently fired, picked up, and hundreds rushed to the attack. The losses of the Russians were negligible - 6 - 8 people, while the Austrians killed 36 and captured 202 people - that is, more companies. The other company behind it, which saw the massacre of the Cossacks over their comrades, scattered through the forest, abandoning their rifles.
In the 29 battle of May 1915 near the station Dzvinyache it was necessary to stop the victorious offensive of the Austrians, who had broken through the front between Zaleshchiki and Zhezava. An order was received to move hundreds of 3 and 4 Zaamur border cavalry regiments into the equestrian line. “Where to?” Is the first natural question - “left flank along the highway, right along the railway” .., “Who is there”? "Austro-German infantry ..." "Maybe it is better to dismount?" - "No, no, in the equestrian system, rather, rather, it is necessary to turn around." They turned around as if they were being watched under the fierce fire of continuous bursts of 6-gun batteries, which stood in complete safety behind the river. Dniester. Owing to dust, the battery gave flights half a mile and a mile away, unaware of the speed of movement of the people of Zaamur. When the Zamur people built two lines of lavas and climbed the ridge, in front of them, steps in six hundred, thick chains of advancing infantry appeared. The infantry, seeing the cavalry, opened a furious fire from rifles and six machine guns on the Zamaurtsy. The minute was terrible.
“We wanted to turn already,” said the Zaamurtsi, but our Mongolians, as they went into the quarry, couldn’t turn them, we came to! ”.
Around 350, the Zamur people have attacked more than Austrians on 800. The Austrians threw rifles and raised their hands up, and then, when the Zamurtsy skipped ahead, again grabbed weapon and shot in the back. The losses of Zamaur men were heavy: from 12, 2 officers were killed and 6 was wounded, 61 was killed and 58 soldiers were wounded; but the Austrians hacked more 600 people and 200 people captured. Horse attack has done its job.
Even more characteristic is the example of 2 horse attack of hundreds of 1 of the Volgsky regiment of 21 of July of 1915 in der. Chulchice We wrote about it in detail, and now we only remind you. It was evening, almost night. At one o'clock in the morning the German infantry broke through the Russian positions at the village. Chulchice and broke into the chains of the 71 Infantry Belevsky and 279 Infantry Lokhvitsky Regiments. The Belevsky regiment withdrew to the village of Saygace and embarked 4 versts behind the Lokhvitsky regiment. In this breakthrough rushed German infantry. The Lokhvitsky regiment was about to withdraw, and its headquarters, batteries, and the rear of the 14 Army Corps, which would have had to leave Savin from the suburbs, put it in a difficult position. Such was the situation before the horse attack. The commander of the 2-th Consolidated Cossack Division, who was in the area of the Lokhvitsky regiment in the village of Gretskov, summoned hundreds of the 2-th Volga Cossack regiment from his 1 reserve. The Cossacks in the dark jumped to the village Chulchitsa and, out of habit to fight in dismounted ranks, began to shoot rifles.
- “Throw rifles! The attack will be equestrian! "
Silhouettes of the Cossacks, painted against the background of the village of Čulčice, threw rifles, it was clear how people took off their hats and were baptized.
- “Where is the attack?” Asked the eldest of the hundred-member commanders, Esaul Raskolov.
Targeting: direction for the left flank - along the burning village, for the right flank - to the top of Lysa Gora, lit by fire. Followed by two lavas - in front of the 5-I hundred, and behind it - 6-I. At the same time - loudly boom.
The terrain was characterized as passable, without swamps and ditches.
This exchange of phrases, made on the go, took half a minute.
The command was distributed. Hundreds crumbled, went to the mountain at a trot.
When the Cossacks approached the enemy a half-verst, they were noticed - and the Germans opened a terrible rifle and machine-gun fire. The answer to the fire was a geek - and soon there was almost complete silence.
The advanced attackers, enthusiastic about the valiant young officer Cornish Kulesh, jumped to the German trenches. And here, under the brave ones, horses were killed.
Kulesh, along with 6-th Cossacks, rushed into the trenches, starting to work with daggers. In the battle, the cornet died.
The Germans crowded around the brave men, but the rest of the Cossacks arrived, and the cutting began.
On the front of the German division, news broke that the masses of the Cossacks were attacking - and the chains began to withdraw. To the rescue of the attacked units, a battalion of German infantry moved in a convoy, fleeing to the battlefield.
He jumped on him, passing through 6-th hundred, second hundred. Cossacks hacked down the Germans and rushed to the master's court der. Becoming where the headquarters of the division. The latter fled. But the swamp, narrow crap and total darkness stopped the further movement of the Volgians. Russian losses during this Cossack night attack - to 25 Cossacks, German losses - more than 500 felled infantrymen.
But the real damage of the enemy from the cavalry attack of two hundred, very weak in numbers (no more than 200 horsemen), was not so important as the moral shock of the German troops advancing towards Vlodawa. The size of the moral upheaval indicated subsequent events.
At one o'clock in the morning the infantry of the 14 Army Corps departed from the Savin Posad to the village of Kosych, and on the front of the two German corps there were the 2-I Combined Cossack Division and the 278-th Kromsky Infantry Regiment.
The Germans of July 22 did not attack, confining themselves to firing from the side of the light and heavy batteries of the Savin tenement and the liquid line of Cossack outposts. According to the captured later captured German officers, the whole day was devoted to calming down the infantry, shaken by the attack of two hundred Cossacks. To "protect" the German infantry, entrenched in the same places where it was located and 21-th field, the regiment of the German cavalry was nominated.
In the evening, the Dobrynia armored car was sent to the head of the rearguard of the 14 Corps, commander of the 2 Consolidated Cossack Division. In the 11 hour of the night "Dobrynya" was on the highway in the direction of the Hill. Three miles from the line of Russian escort, he noticed a German cavalry regiment stationed at the Vlodavskoye highway, and began to fire at him from his cannon. The Germans hurriedly mounted their horses and rode back. The German infantry, taking its cavalry for the Cossacks, met her with murderous rifle and machine-gun fire. The confusion began again, which was only stopped by morning. Due to these nocturnal misunderstandings, the German offensive stopped for the period of July 23 — 26. Only 27-th avant-garde of the Germans overtook Russian troops near the village of Petrilova, Bukov and Lukowska.
To be continued ...
- Oleynikov Alexey
- Natural and artificial obstacles - the mortal enemy of the cavalry
Business card of the imperial cavalry. Russian cavalry attacks in the First World War
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