Antonov uprising: Was there a large-scale use of poison gases against peasants hiding in the forest
One of the most discussed topics regarding the uprising of peasants in the Tambov province of 1920-1921 is the use of chemical weapons against the Antonovites. weapons.
Recall that at the end of May 1921, active actions of the Red Army began to eliminate the almost 50 thousandth army of Tambov rebels under the command of A.S. Antonov.
After a crushing defeat from the cavalry brigade G.I. Kotovsky on May 25 and the combined maneuver group I.P. Uborevich on June 2-7, the remnants of Antonov's "rebel army" hid in the Tambov forests.
Given the fact that the participants in the insurgent movement were well versed in the terrain and had a wide agent network, attempts to pursue disparate groups in the forest would hardly have brought results.
At the same time, the commander of the troops of the Tambov province, M.N. Tukhachevsky, received an order: to liquidate the uprising in no more than a month.
As one of the ways to solve the problem that arose, they considered "smoking out" the peasants who had settled in the forest with the help of chemical weapons. The corresponding order, providing for the dispatch of cylinders with poisonous substances and specialists, was issued and distributed by Tukhachevsky on June 12, 1921.
Despite the fact that more than 2 thousand cylinders with toxic substances were delivered to the Tambov province, according to archival documents, only 2 (with chlorine) were used, and then during the “trial fumigation”. There is also information about the use of 15 artillery shells with toxic substances by the Red Army.
Thus, there was no talk of any massive chemical attack against the insurgent peasants, in which Tukhachevsky is often blamed. However, it could have taken place if not for a number of reasons.
Firstly, at the disposal of the command of the troops of the Tambov province there were no specialists who could cope with the task assigned to them. A platoon of cadets of the Himrota, who arrived from Inzhavino, turned out to be completely unprepared.
Secondly, in Moscow they gave Tukhachevsky the “go-ahead” to carry out a chemical attack, provided that the inhabitants of nearby villages and livestock did not suffer from it.
At the same time, it was not advisable to send warnings to local peasants, since they would instantly transmit information about the impending attack to the rebels, and it was extremely difficult to accurately calculate the direction and area of distribution of poisonous substances.
The historian Pavel Aptekar tells in detail about the Tambov uprising in the video below:
- Vasily Volkov
- moi-goda.com
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