"Faces of the Civil War." Sergei Ulagai serving in the Tsarist army.
S. G. Ulagay in a photograph taken around 1920.
In the article "Faces of the Civil War"We also examined some of the reasons for the defeat of the White armies. One of these was the behavior of the White Guards, which shocked even the most rational representatives of the Entente countries and even some of Denikin's generals. Major General William Sidney Graves, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia and the Far East, in his book "America's Siberian Adventure," directly called Kolchak's army a "retreating band," and wrote of Grigory Semyonov, the "Supreme Ruler of Russia's Eastern Borderlands" and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Far East and the Irkutsk Military District, that he:
He openly boasted that he couldn’t sleep peacefully if he hadn’t killed at least someone during the day.
The "Armed Forces of Southern Russia," led by Denikin, were called "roving armies without popular support or rear services" by military representatives of the Entente countries. And the White Guard General I. Belyaev lamented in his memoirs:
The entire rear was engulfed by a hostile peasant movement. Punitive detachments, floggings and robberies without trial, reprisals, the return of embittered landowners to their nests—all this created a dire atmosphere of impending catastrophe.
In recent articles, we discussed such notorious figures of the White Terror as Andrei Shkura (Shkuro), Konstantin Mamantov (Mamontov), and Grigory Semyonov. Now it's time to point out that even within the White ranks, there were rare exceptions to the rule. Let's talk about the commander of the Second Kuban Cossack Corps, Sergei Georgievich Ulagay. Colonel I. M. Kalinin wrote about him in his memoir, "Under the Banner of Wrangel: Notes of a Former Military Prosecutor":
Ulagay neither robs himself nor gives to others.
The caustic Yakov Slashchev was known for his criticism of other White generals. He also routinely took a dig at Ulagay, calling him "an honest man, certainly, but without a broad military education." He also called him a "moonshining general." The fact is that in August 1918, Ulagay ordered a food train to be allowed into starving Petrograd, but confiscated three train cars of sugar: he exchanged it from the local population for moonshine, which he sent to the Sanitary Directorate of the Military Forces of Southern Russia. But Slashchev also called Ulagay "a popular Kuban general, it seems..." the only from the “famous” who have not stained themselves with robbery.”
Wrangel, as we've already mentioned in previous articles, couldn't stand Shkuro and Mamantov, considering both sadists and marauders harmful to the White cause (and Shkuro, a drunkard, to boot). But he had a completely different opinion of Ulagay:
An excellent cavalry commander, aware of the situation, brave and decisive, he could work miracles at the head of the Cossack cavalry, demonstrating timely personal initiative and resourcefulness.
However, he also noted some shortcomings:
I knew his negative qualities - lack of ability to organize, the ability to easily switch from high spirits to despondency.
Major General Afrikan Bogaevsky, who replaced Krasnov as ataman of the Great Don Host, described Ulagay as a brave and modest man. Colonel M.V. Mezernitsky also spoke highly of him (though he offered completely disparaging descriptions of Wrangel, Shkuro, Kutepov, Shatilov, and Vitkovsky):
Ulagay is a deeply honest, decent man, an excellent leader and an infinitely brave officer.
Let's start the story in order.
The origin and early life of an atypical white general
Sergei Georgievich Ulagai was a representative of an old Circassian-Shapsug noble family and was born on October 19 (31), 1875. There is no exact data about his place of birth: the village of Klyuchevaya (currently the city of Goryachy Klyuch), the Slobozhansky (near Kharkov) cities of Chuguev (his father Islam-Girey Shekhimovich, baptized Georgy Viktorovich Ulagai, served here) and Oboyan (where his mother lived) are mentioned.
The father of the article's subject was a combat officer who began serving in 1851. He took part in the Caucasian War and was awarded the "Badge of Distinction of the Military Order of St. George, 4th Class for Muslims." In 1861, he was promoted to staff captain.
In 1871, he applied for the "demarcation" of 400 dessiatines of land in the Kuban region. A positive response was received only in May 1876, and the land was allocated on the Belaya River in the Maykop district of the Kuban region. However, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 prevented him from taking ownership. Before the war began, in 1874, Ulagay married Olga Ivanovna von Ammerech (according to other sources, Alimert), the daughter of a retired lieutenant colonel of Courland German descent. The marriage was conditional on the groom's conversion to Christianity.
In October of the same year, the couple's eldest son, Anatoly (sometimes called Appolinary), was born. He would serve in the Second Khopersky Regiment of the Kuban Cossack Army and would die in November 1903 during a cavalry competition.
In October 1875, as we recall, the hero of this article was born. Then came the war with Turkey, during which Georgiy Viktorovich Ulagay was killed near the town of Elena (at the foot of Stara Planina) and, as a sign of his services, was posthumously promoted to colonel. In 1879, his widow apparently succeeded in obtaining the lands allocated to him in the Maykop district. Her sons attended the Mikhailovsky Cadet Corps in Voronezh. It is worth noting that, over the years, this institution's graduates included the weapons engineer S. I. Mosin, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb A. N. Lodygin, the Marxist G. V. Plekhanov, the Bolshevik V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, and the cavalry general and ataman of the Great Don Army A. M. Kaledin. It should be noted that this corps was abolished in 1918, but was “revived” in 1992.
The building of the Voronezh Mikhailovsky Cadet Corps in a photograph from the late 19th – early 20th centuries.
Sergei Ulagay completed his training in 1895, but as early as 1893, at his mother's request, he and his older brother were enlisted in the Kuban Cossack Host and assigned to the village of Klyuchevaya. Sergei Ulagay then studied in the so-called "Cossack Hundred" of the Nikolaev Cavalry School—the former School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. The section for cadets of other branches of the cavalry was called a "squadron."
Cadets of the Cossack Hundred of the Nikolaev Cavalry School
Theoretical classes for the Hundred and Squadron cadets were conducted jointly, while practical classes were conducted separately. Training lasted two years, and cadets were divided into those receiving state funding and those receiving their own funding. Cadets who graduated with first-class honors (an average score of 8 in military science and at least 6 in other subjects) were promoted to cornet or (Cossacks) ensign—both in the Guards with one year of seniority. Those with second-class honors (7 and 5 points, respectively) received the rank of cornet or ensign without seniority. Third-class cadets graduated as non-commissioned officers or Cossack sergeants, but after six months they could be promoted to officer rank at the request of the unit commander.
Among the graduates of this educational institution were many famous figures, although not all of them achieved fame in the military field. Among them are Mikhail Lermontov, Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Dmitry Skobelev (father of the famous "White General"), Pyotr Wrangel, Minister of War Vladimir Sukhomlinov, the infamous Carl Mannerheim, Afrikan Bogaevsky (who replaced P. Krasnov as ataman of the Great Don Army), Alexander Dutov, Vladimir Kappel, and Andrei Shkura (Shkuro). This school was known for its "tsuk" system: junior cadets were called "extreme beasts" and were required to "listen to and obey senior cadets, who instructed them in the traditions established at the school." And the famous "Smoking Room Order," which was read at the initiation of "special beasts," according to legend, was written by Lermontov himself, but was later expanded to reflect new trends. It began with the words:
Beasts, pure beasts - tailed, furry, feathered!
And then came a list of demands:
Remember, beasts, that by entering the glorious Guards School, you become a pitiful imitation of its cadets! Therefore, true beasts, you must remember the lofty dignity entrusted to you and do everything possible to ensure that you do not in any way degrade the honor bestowed upon you! Therefore, you must...
A modern photograph of the façade of the building that housed the Nikolaev Cavalry School. In front of it is a monument to Leromntov.
The beginning of military service
After graduating from the Nikolaev Cavalry School, the subject of this article, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the Khoper Cossack Regiment, and by June 1901, he had been promoted to sotnik. In 1903, he took part in horse races at the Moscow Hippodrome. One of the participants in these competitions was Yakov Fyodorovich Gillenshmidt, then a staff captain of the Guards Horse.artillery Brigade, during World War I he would become commander of the Fourth Cavalry Corps, where S. Ulagay would serve. In 1918, Lieutenant General J. Gillenshmidt would be killed in a battle during the Volunteer Army's retreat from Yekaterinodar.
At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, S. Ulagay was part of the Kuban Cossack Division, which was stationed in Warsaw and used as an escort for the commander of the military district. He managed to secure permission to be assigned to one of the Cossack regiments. The most commonly cited place of his service is the First Argun Regiment of the Transbaikal Cossack Host. However, some believe he may have served in the First Nerchinsk or Terek-Kuban Regiments. It is only known that in May 1904, S. Ulagay was wounded in the chest "in a skirmish near the village of Dapu" (and classified as "third-class wounded").
He was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th Class, with the inscription "for bravery." During this war, S. Ulagay also received the Order of St. Anne, 3rd Class, the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd Class with swords, the Order of St. Stanislav, 2nd Class with swords and bow, and the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with swords and bow. Note the constant inscription "with swords": this indicates that these orders were awarded specifically for military merit. In April 1905, Sergei Ulagay was promoted to the rank of podesaul.
After the war ended, he returned to Warsaw, where he served in the First Hundred of the aforementioned Kuban Division (consisting of three hundreds), holding the position of head of the farm, and on August 29, 1907, became a member of the divisional court. The 1909 performance appraisal states:
Podesaul Ulagay knows and loves military affairs very well, is a dashing horseman, can teach the lower ranks everything not only by story but also by personal example, loves horses and is passionate about racing.
In October 1913, Sergei Ulagay received the position of commander of the second hundred of his division.
Sergei Ulagay during World War I
Cossack junction
Ulagay entered the new war as part of the same Kuban Division, which served as a convoy escort for the army headquarters and corps headquarters. Nevertheless, on November 11, 1914, the division's Cossacks, led by the subject of this article, distinguished themselves in a battle near the village of Radogosh, for which Ulagay was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class with Swords. He eventually secured a transfer to the Caucasian Native Division, where he served for only two months, and then, on July 20, 1915, to the First Line Regiment of General Velyaminov of the Kuban Cossack Host. This unit was part of the Second Combined Cossack Division, commanded by the infamous Pyotr Krasnov, the future head of the Cossack Affairs Directorate of the Third Reich's Eastern Ministry.
By this time, S. Ulagay had already attained the rank of Yesaul, and in the First Line Regiment, he had risen to the rank of troop starshina—but he did not have a permanent position, as he was only listed as an attached officer. He was usually given one-off assignments, during which he commanded two or three specially assigned companies. Most often, at this time, he had to cover the retreat of other Russian units. In one battle, which took place on September 17, 1915, near the villages of Kukhotskaya and Volya, S. Ulagay, "commanding four companies of dismounted Cossacks, under intense effective fire, rushed at the head of the companies onto the enemy trenches, thereby contributing to the restoration of our entire previously shaken position." He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th Class.
By the way, V. Serebryannikov in his book “Sociology of War” claims that during the First World War, the Cossack troops suffered the greatest losses in the Russian army.
In May 1916, the 1st Line Regiment took part in the famous Brusilov (Lutsk) breakthrough.
P. Ryzhenko. Brusilov Offensive
It should be noted that, according to the command's plans, the 4th Cavalry Corps was supposed to engage in battle after the infantry units had broken through the front line—to strike at Kovel. However, the infantry units were unable to break through in this sector, so dismounted Cossacks were sent to assist. In one battle, three Cossack squadrons commanded by Ulagay, drawing infantry units along with them, crossed the Stokhid River on horseback. In the ensuing battle, three lines of enemy trenches were captured, although they were forced to abandon them by the afternoon. Later, some Cossack units were redeployed to the Lutsk sector, where infantry units managed to breach the Austrian defenses.
By autumn, active hostilities had ceased, with local battles raging along the front line. The 1st Line Regiment, in which Ulagay served, was then quartered for the winter near the village of Leshnevskie Zakhody. In January 1917, Sergei Ulagay received the Gold St. George Cross. weapon – the seventh in his regiment. His high standing can also be judged by the fact that he was the chairman of the regimental court at the time. The minutes of one of the hearings have survived, at which Cossack I. Kurbatov of the 1st Company was sentenced to three months of solitary confinement in a military prison for stealing 49 rubles from a private in the engineer work squad named Telegin. However, the execution of the sentence was postponed until the end of the war.
Incidentally, we remember that Sergei Ulagay was seriously wounded in his very first battle during the Russo-Japanese War. But during World War I, he didn't even suffer a slight concussion, despite never hiding behind his subordinates.
Overall, we see that at the time of the February Revolution, 41-year-old Army Sergeant Major (equivalent to lieutenant colonel in the army) Sergei Ulagay was not exactly a shining example. He was a proactive and courageous officer, but just one among many. His path to the top was blocked by incompetent members of "noble" families. Ironically, it was the revolution itself that allowed his talents to blossom, the very thing he chose to fight against. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong side: in the Red Army, he could have been far more useful to our country and become an outstanding high-ranking military leader, like Frunze, Budyonny, Yegorov, Voroshilov, and many others.
S. Ulagay after the February Revolution
In late March 1917, G. Yevseyev, commander of the 1st Line Cossack Regiment and known for his monarchist leanings, was effectively dismissed under the pretext of a vacation. For only two weeks, the duties of the regiment's commander were fulfilled by the senior sergeant major Ulagay, who was promoted to army colonel on the occasion. Then, in early May 1917, he became temporary commander of the 2nd Zaporozhian Regiment. Meanwhile, after the issuance of the notorious "Order No. 1," the army rapidly deteriorated. The Cossack regiments were no exception. Krasnov himself wrote:
The Cossacks... began to rapidly disintegrate. Meetings began, with the most outrageous resolutions being passed. Demands were rejected, but the Cossacks themselves began to implement them. The Cossacks stopped grooming and regularly feeding their horses. Any kind of occupation was out of the question. A mass of over four thousand people, most between the ages of 21 and 30—that is, strong, vigorous, and healthy, and not drawn into daily, hard labor—wandered around all day with nothing to do, began drinking, and began to misbehave.
S. Ulagay, who had taken command of the 2nd Zaporozhian Regiment, faced similar problems while attempting to maintain the remnants of discipline. In late August 1917, Colonel S.G. Ulagay supported General L. Kornilov's failed uprising. As a result, Ulagay was not only removed from command of the regiment but also arrested, and was released after the Provisional Government was dispersed by the Bolsheviks.
In the next article, we will continue the story and discuss Sergei Ulagay's activities during the civil war and his life in exile.
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