Nikolai Yudenich

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich
Russian Caucasus Army
Battles/wars
AwardsSee below

Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich (

Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in northwestern Russia during the Civil War.[1]

Early life

Yudenich was born in

Life Guards Regiment in Lithuania from November 1889 to December 1890. In January 1892, he was transferred to the Turkestan Military District and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1892. He was a member of the Pamir Expedition in 1894 and was promoted to colonel
in 1896. From September 20, 1900, Yudenich served on the staff of the 1st Turkestan Rifle Brigade.

In 1902, Yudenich was appointed commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment, which he continued to command during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. He was wounded in the arm during the Battle of Sandepu and wounded in the neck during the Battle of Mukden. At the end of the war, he was promoted to major general.

From February 1907, Yudenich served as

chief of staff at Kazan
, followed by the Caucasus Military District in 1913.

World War I

Nikolai Yudenich

At the beginning of

Caucasus Campaign. Yudenich tried to exploit the Ottoman defeat by attacking into Turkish territory, specifically around Lake Van during the Siege of Van. The Russians captured Van in May 1915, but they were forced to withdraw from the city two months later. The Ottoman 3rd Army
reoccupied Van in August.

Administration for Western Armenia
in June 1916. Fighting back and forth around the region continued for the next 14 months without a clear victory for either side.

In 1916, Yudenich successfully carried out an

Mustafa Kemal. During the battle, Yudenich was awarded the Order of St. George
(2nd degree), the final time the decoration was awarded in the Russian Empire.

After the

Petrograd, where he supported the Kornilov revolt
.

White Army

The building of barricades in Petrograd during the offensive of General Yudenich in 1919

After the

northwestern Russia with absolute powers. In the spring of 1919, Yudenich visited Stockholm
, where he met with diplomatic representatives of Britain, France, and the United States and tried with limited success to obtain assistance in developing a Russian volunteer corps to fight the Bolsheviks.

In June 1919, Yudenich made contact with Admiral

Estonian High Command
. Yudenich appointed Rodzyanko as his aide.

In August 1919, under pressure from the British government, ad hoc to issue a legally-binding guarantee of the independence of his key ally

counterrevolutionary "Regional Government of Northwest Russia,"[2] which included monarchists, Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Mensheviks. Yudenich served as Minister of War and spent the next two months organizing and training his army. By September 1919, he had a fairly well-organized army of approximately 17,000 troops, with 53 guns and six tanks. The six tanks were supplied by Britain, together with their volunteer crews, who were the only British ground troops to fight alongside the Northwestern Army.[3]

In early October 1919, Yudenich

nation-states
.

On 12 October 1919, the Whites retook

Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway, which allowed the Revolutionary Military Council to send in massive reinforcements to prevent the fall of the city. Yudenich's stalled offensive collapsed in late October, and the 7th and the 15th Red Armies repulsed the White Russian troops back into Estonia in November. Distrustful of the White Russians, the Estonian High Command disarmed and interned the remains of Northwestern Army, which retreated behind Estonian lines. Politically, the Bolsheviks secured a separate armistice with Estonia on 3 January by promising to recognize Estonian independence, an offer contrary to the White Army's and the Kolchak government's position.[4]

During the civil war, like many other generals, Yudenich issued currency to pay his troops.[5] They were reported to be so worthless that a Tallinn chocolate company requested permission to use the banknotes as wrappers for its products.[6]

On 28 January 1920, General Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz, together with several Russian officers and the Estonian Police, arrested Yudenich as he tried to escape to Western Europe. Yudenich was later released from prison.

Later life

After his release, Yudenich departed for exile in France.[7] During his remaining 13 years, he played no significant role among White émigré community there.

Yudenich died at Saint-Laurent-du-Var, near Nice, on the French Riviera, on 5 October 1933.

Honors

Nikolai Yudenich grave
  • Order of St. Stanislaus
    3rd degree, 1889
  • Order of St. Anne
    3rd degree 1893
  • Order of St. Stanislaus
    2nd degree 1895
  • Order of St. Anne
    2nd degree 1900
  • Order of St Vladimir
    , 4th degree, 1904
  • Order of St Vladimir
    , 3rd degree with swords, 1906
  • Order of St. Stanislaus
    1st degree with swords, 1906
  • Gold Sword for Bravery
    , 1906
  • Order of St. Anne
    1st degree 1909
  • Order of St Vladimir
    , 2nd degree with swords, 1913
  • Order of St. George, 4th class, 1916
  • Order of St. George, 3rd class, 1916
  • Order of St. George, 2nd class, 2 February 1916

Sources

References

  1. ^ Egorov, O. (December 27, 2019). "Meet Russian Imperial officers who almost stopped the Bolsheviks". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Richard K. Debo Survival and Consolidation. The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921, p. 126. McGill-Queens University Books, 1992
  3. ^ Lt Col A J Parrott RLC British Army. With Lieutenant Colonel Hope Carson in Estonia and Russia Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Baltic Defence Review, February, 1999
  4. ^ Richard K. Debo Survival and Consolidation. The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921, pp. 137-139 McGill-Queens University Books, 1992
  5. ^ Serge, Victor (2011). Revolution in Danger: Writings from Russia 1919–1921. Chicago: Haymarket Books. p. 109.
  6. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. .

External links