Spring offensive of the White Army
| Spring Offensive of the Russian Army | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Volga Region | |
| Result | White victory |
Red Army
White Army Alexander Kolchak Radola Gajda[citation needed] Mikhail Hanzhin Alexander Dutov379 guns
more than 200 guns
The Spring Offensive of the Russian Army was an offensive of the White Army of the White movement led by Alexander Kolchak on the Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War, between March and April 1919.
Background
At the end of 1918, the situation on the
At the beginning of 1919, the Supreme Command of the White Army decided to advance in two directions. The purpose of the northern advance was to connect with the
The Whites had three[clarification needed] armies:[1]
- Orenburg Independent Army (cossacks) (11,000 - 13,000 men, commanded by Alexander Dutov) on the southern flank, from May renamed the Southern Army of 25,000 men under General Petr Belov
- Western Army (42,000 - 48,000 men, 120 guns, commanded by Mikhail Hanzhin) in the middle between Birsk and Ufa
- Siberian Army (45,000 - 52,000 men, 83 guns, commanded by Radola Gajda) on the northern flank between Glazov and Perm
- Another 25,000 Orenburg and Ural Cossack fighters (the Ural Army), south of the Dutov-Belov Army.
The Reds had three armies in the south:[1]
- 4th Army (commanded by Mikhail Frunze),
- Turkestan Army (commanded by Georgy Zinoviev) and
- Gaya Gai) in the region to the north of the Caspian Sea(52,000 men, 200 guns and 613 machineguns in common)
and three armies to the north of them :
- Jan Blumberg), defending a 200 km front in the center
- Vasilii Shorin), near Sarapul
- 3rd Army (27,000 men, 69 guns and 491 machineguns, commanded by Mikhail Lashevich, since 5 March - Sergei Mezheninov), near Perm railway.
Therefore, on the northern flank both sides were equal, the Whites were stronger in the center (49,000 of Hanzhin's soldiers against the Red 5th Army's 10,000), and the Reds had an advantage on the southern flank (52,000 against 19,000). Both sides decided to strike on the right flank (the Whites on the right flank and in the center) and to cut the communication lines of their opponent's left flank. At the end of February, the Whites pushed back the left flank of the Reds' 2nd Army, forcing it to retreat.
Offensive
On 4 March, the Siberian Army of the Whites began its advance. On 8 March it captured
On 6 March Hanzhin's Western Army stroke between the Red 5th and 2nd Armies. After four days of fighting the Red 5th Army was crushed, its remains retreated onto Simbirsk and Samara. The Reds had no forces to cover Chistopol with its bread storages. It was a strategical breakthrough, the commanders of Red's 5th Army fled from Ufa and the White Western Army captured Ufa without a fight on 16 March. On 6 April they took Sterlitamak, Belebey the next day and Bugulma on 10 April.[1]
In the South, Dutov's Orenburg Cossacks conquered Orsk on 9 April and advanced towards Orenburg.[1]
After receiving information about the defeat of the 5th Army, Mikhail Frunze, who had become commander of the Red Southern Army Group, decided not to advance, but to defend his positions and wait for reinforcements. As a result the Red Army was able to stop the White advance on the southern flank and to prepare its counteroffensive.
Aftermath
The White Army had made a strategical breakthrough in the center, but the Red Army had been able to prepare its counteroffensive on the southern flank.
On April 22, Mikhail Frunze launched his successful Eastern Front counteroffensive against the over-extended Western Army.[1]
Sources
- Н.Е.Какурин, И.И.Вацетис "Гражданская война. 1918-1921" (N.E.Kakurin, ISBN 5-89173-150-9