General Wrangel

General WrangelAuthor(s): Harold WilliamsSource: The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 7, No. 19 (Jun., 1928), pp. 198-204Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4202254 .

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I98 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

General he made journeys of exploration to the Pacific Islands, -and brought back much material of great scientific importance.

He began by specialising on Karst phenomena, which he studied in Jugoslavia, France, Jamaica, Java, Queensland, Cuba and Mexico. In California he extended his interests to other branches of geomorphology and anthropogeography. His third and last visit to California has proved fatal to him. The researches which he made there would have been produced in book form, but they will unfortunately now remain incomplete.

The results of the expedition undertaken by Danes and Domin to India and Australia appeared in A Twofold Paradise, 2nd edition, I927. On his return from Australia he published a large work entitled Three Years in the Pacific (I926), also On the Origin and Decay of the Aborigines in Australia and Oceania (1925), The Earth and the Development of Mankind (I927), as well as many articles on the Karst in Jugoslavia, Java and Jamaica. It is the merit of Danes and Professor Purkyn6 that theyhave intro- duced to us the science of geomorphology, a subject which we had hitherto neglected. Apart from his own numerous research publications, Danes created a group of young scientists who have made a particular portion of our country their peculiar study. The time is not far distant when a complete picture of the geographical development of Czechoslovakia since prehistoric times will be possible. His death has left us poorer, but we can at least hope to carry on his work in the same conscientious and scholarly spirit.

Danes was a geographer in the broader sense, as is apparent from such works as The Economic Problems of World Politics (I9I2), The United States of America (published by Otto, of Prague), Panamerican Politics (Czech Review, I908), Geographical and Political Economic Problems of Australia (Proceedings of the Czech Geographical Society, I9I0). A full bibliography of his publications is being prepared by the Czechoslovak Geographical Society.

GENERAL WRANGEL GENERAL WRANGEL died in Brussels on 22z April, after a short and severe illness. He was in his fiftieth year, his energy seemed unabated, he was full of plans and hopes. The news of his death came with a shock of surprise and grief to very many, for though Wrangel's work as leader and guide at a critical moment seemed to be accomplished, though the elementary needs of the army



GENERAL WRANGEL. 199

he rallied and rescued over seven years ago are now satisfied and its members are settled in civilian occupations in the many lands of the new diaspora, his name and personality remained a symbol of continuity and cohesion. He was still a leader for many thousands who were tiding over the evil years until the release and the return. The fact that he was living and working somewhere made exile a little less hard to bear. It is impos- sible to say how much his buoyancy meant in the worst days of collapse. This was just the temperament that was needed then; he appealed to the imagination; he restored faith-justified it by a short and brilliant campaign and transformed it, through the skilful evacuation from Crimea, into the endurance needed for long exile.

Baron Peter Nikolayevich Wrangel was born on I5 August, I878. His family, of Swedish origin, was not wealthy; its members served in the Army or in government offices, and some were drawn into the Intelligentsia. Peter Wrangel's father published a few years ago a volume of reminiscences full of delicate humour. His mother was very active in educational work of various kinds in St. Petersburg, and it was not her wish that her son should become a soldier. He was educated for a civilian career, completed a course at the School of Mines, and was to have become a mining engineer. In those days he was clever and resourceful, but there were no signs that he had any particular intellectual interests. He did his military service in the Horse Guards, passed an examination at the Cavalry School, and received a commission as cornet. For a short time he was private secretary to the Governor of Irkutsk, and when the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904 he joined a Trans-Baikal Cossack regiment, distinguished himself in the course of the campaign, and was promoted Captain. By this time he had become definitely attached to a military career. When the war ended he rejoined the Horse Guards. In I906 he entered the Nicholas Academy of the General Staff. He was no student, but he had an extraordinary facility for passing examinations by making the most of all he knew; he was a very ready impro- viser. He completed his course, so to speak, with honours, and in the interval until the beginning of the European War he carried out the routine duties of a Guards officer in and around St. Petersburg. In i9i2 he was given the command of the Third Squadron of his regiment, and when the war broke out he led it into the field. His first exploit was the capture of a German battery by a daring cavalry attack at Kauschen, in East Prussia,



200 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

on 6 August, I9I4. For this he received a St. George's Cross, was promoted Colonel, and made A.D.C. to the Emperor. Later, in the Carpathians, he commanded a Cossack Regiment, achieved fresh distinction, was promoted Major-General, and received suc- cessively the command of a Cossack brigade, the Ussuri Cossack Division, and finally in I9I7, under General Kornilov, that of the combined Cavalry Regiment.

By this time the Revolution was demoralising the Army. Kornilov's attempt to stop the rot failed, and his associates all suffered in various degrees. Wrangel took no part in politics at that time, but he was relieved of his command. When the Bolsheviks seized power he retired into the hills in Crimea. Throughout the war Wrangel was a good cavalry officer, who won promotion rapidly, but of whom little was known outside his own military circle. His men liked him and followed him gladly; his brother officers admired his dash and resource, were amused at his bravado, but never dreamed that he would attain to any great distinction.

Early in I9I8 Wrangel was, in fact, an unknown quantity. He came from Crimea to Kiev during the German occupation, mingled for a time with the crowd of officers who surrounded the Ukrainian Hetman, Skoropadsky, and then moved down to the Don Steppes to join the Volunteer Army that Kornilov and Alexeyev were slowly gathering together to fight the Bolsheviks. Here, in the swift chances and changes of civil war, he found full scope at last for those special gifts of dash and improvisation. He soon showed himself one of the most capable leaders among the throng of officers under Alexeyev's command. He carried out successful operations against the Bolsheviks in the Northern Caucasus, and was appointed commander, first of a cavalry division, then of the army group that was operating in the direction of the Caspian, and finally in May, I919, of the so- called Causasian army that moved through the Steppes towards Tsarytsin on the Volga and took that town at the end of June.

But Wrangel was a restless subordinate. He had his own views of tactics and strategy, which often did not coincide with those of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff. His entourage were suspected of intriguing against Denikin in I919-there was a marked coldness between the two generals, and from time to time Wrangel was relieved of a command, only to be appointed shortly afterwards to a more responsible post. The dispute on strategy bore on two points. In the first place, Wrangel advo-



I GENERAL WRANGEL. 20I

cated a concentration of the available strength of the Volunteer Army in an operation on the Volga, in order to effect a junction with Kolchak's forces during their rapid advance. In fact, the principal movement was directed through the Donets basin upon Kharkov and the main railway to Moscow, and only a comparatively smaLl force was detached for the Volga operation. By the time Wrangel himself reached Tsarytsin, it was practically too late to effect a junction with Kolchak's forces, who had been checked in their advance by the Red Army and were very soon forced to retreat.

The second point of difference between Denikin's Chief of Staff and Wrangel related to the conduct of the advance on Moscow. Wrangel strongly held that the westward movement across the Dnieper to Kiev was an unnecessary diversion, and that after the failure to link up with Kolchak, everything should have been sacrificed to the requirements of a rapid advance on Moscow. It is useless now to attempt to examine the arguments of either side in this painful controversy. General Denikin is a thoroughly honourable and single-minded man, but through his very industry and his devotion to the routine of his duties he often let the personal initiative he should have retained slip into less worthy hands. He was not a good judge of men, and he was not stern enough. Wrangel showed very plainly that he was irritated by his own subordinate position and by the spectacle of the obvious mistakes that were being made on other sections of the front His own little army on the Tsarytsin front was well organised and well disciplined, but he could do little more than hold the flank in expectation of a successful advance towards Moscow in the centre.

The centre group actually reached Orel; then came a series of reverses and defections, and the retreat began which, by the end of the year, brought the remains of the Volunteer Army back to the Black Sea. The Commander of the centre group, with its headquarters in Kharkov, was a certain May-Mayevsky, whose idea of his functions seemed to be a perpetual banquet with champagne. Why Denikin ever appointed him is a mystery. How, in spite of his demoralising influence, the Volunteer Army actually reached Orel would be hard to explain but for the per- tinacity under difficulties of some of his subordinates, particu- larly GeneraJ Kutepov. When the retreating army neared Kharkov and the signs of its demoralisation increased, Denikin was compelled at last to yield to urgent appeals to get rid of May-Mayevsky. Wrangel was appointed in his place, but all




he could do was to attempt to make the retreat a little more orderly. He advised that the retreating army should be directed on Crimea, but his advice was not taken. Rostov was lost on the Russian Christmas Day of I9I9. Wrangel was relieved of his command, and went to Novorossiisk, where for some weeks he lived in his train on a wharf. He was in a sense in disgrace, and was in open opposition to Denikin.

Those were gloomy days. The winter storms raged over Novorossiisk, which was crowded with refugees of all conditions, dreading the end. Typhus carried off hundreds of victims, including Prince Eugene Trubetskoy, the philosopher, and that erratic patriot Purishkevich. Denikin's prestige was gone. A front was still being held by desultory fighting south of Rostov, but the final defeat could only be staved off for a little while. Wrangel's train on the water's edge became a centre of despairing inquiry. Could nothing be done ? Politicians and officers came to him to discuss the past and the future. He drew up a memor- andum setting forth his view of the causes of failure. These he considered were not political, but lay in false strategy, a lack of discipline and a failure to organise supplies, with the result that the troops lived on the population, and so became demoral- ised and aroused hostility.

Wrangel had a convincing way with him. His appearance was impressive. With his tall, lithe figure in Cossack uniform, and a face in which the prominent blue eyes and the large mouth expressed vivacity and energy, he seemed a natural leader. His name passed from lip to lip in Novorossiisk, and when Novorossiisk was evacuated and the remains of the army transported to Crimea, the cry for Wrangel grew stronger. In the meantime he had gone with his family to Constantinople, which was then crowded with Denikin refugees. In Crimea the position seemed hopeless. The peninsula was still defended against the Bolsheviks, but the army had become a rabble and the population suffered under its depredations. A Council of Generals was held on 22 March, i92o; Denikin appointed Wrangel as his successor, laid down his command, and left for England.

Wrangel accepted the summons, and on his arrival in Crimea set to work to reorganise the army. He imposed a stern discipline: officers convicted of marauding were shot without mercy, and the troops were put upon their honour. Supplies were care- fully organised, the battle front was set in order; hope and confidence revived as if by magic. Many officers who had taken refuge in the Balkans returned to join in the struggle. Wran-



GENERAL WRANGEL. 203

gel's presence was inspiriting. The flamboyant tone of his army orders had an extraordinary effect. "Eagles " he called his men; they almost believed him, and went out to fight with a new enthusiasm. The civilian population, too, was cheered. Wrangel knew little of politics, but he very soon discovered what was essential. He was no doctrinaire, and his capacity for rapid improvisation showed itself in a series of excellent administrative measures. He governed Crimea through a number of elective councils or Soviets in which all classes were repre- sented.

But the time was short. During the summer the reorganised army advanced beyond the Crimean peninsula into the Steppes, and took Melitopol and Alexandrovsk on the Dnieper. At that time the main body of the Red Army was engaged in fighting the Poles. It was clear that as soon as the war with Poland was over, Wrangel's small army would not long be able to main- tain its resistance. The autumn came; the war with Poland was ended, and the Bolsheviks sent their picked troops down to the Crimean front. Wrangel foresaw the inevitable issue, and quietly made preparations for the inevitable retreat. With the help of Admiral Kedrov, he collected in Crimean waters the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and every other available vessel. In October, after a fierce struggle, the Bolsheviks broke through the line of defence at Perekop, but the arrangements made were so complete that the operation of embarking the whole army and a considerable number of the civilian population on the waiting transports was successfully carried out. Wrangel himself was the last to embark at Sevastopol. The overladen ships moved off over a smooth sea to Constantinople on 20 November.

The arrival in Constantinople of this host of destitute refugees taxed all the resources of charity. Wrangel's next task was to make some provision for them, keeping his army as far as possible intact. The task demanded herculean efforts, endless and difficult negotiations with discordant Allied authorities in Con- stantinople, tenacity in the face of rebuffs and humiliation, a persistent assertion of the elementary rights of the thousands who had lost all and had none to protect them. Wrangel was admirable in this phase; and Sir Samuel Hoare, who went out at a later stage to arrange on behalf of the League of Nations for the distribution of the refugees, has testified to his tact, his foresight and his courage. The bulk of the army was sent to the Gallipoli peninsula, where for many months it lived heroically, under the stern discipline of General Kutepov, in great privation




but with a splendid esbrit de corps. Most of the civilian refugees found their way into Bulgaria and Serbia. The Czechoslovak Government generously provided for the maintenance of a considerable number of officers as students in Prague. Part of the troops were transferred from Gallipoli to Bulgaria, part to Serbia, where little by little they found employment, chiefly in hard physical labour. Wrangel watched with care over this slow process of absorption of the refugees. He left Constantinople and made his headquarters in Karlovci, near Belgrad, and from there he kept alive a sense of cohesion in his now scattered army, In all these efforts he received great help from his wife, Olga Mikhailovna (nee Ivanenko), who made the children of the refugees her particular care.

The years passed. The refugees from the Crimea, now widely dispersed, gradually settled down in civilian occupations. The day of return was still deferred. Wrangel's immediate task was completed. Two years ago he moved to Brussels, where he had been offered a post as mining engineer. He continued to travel, and maintained contact with the Russian officers' organisations in various countries. In a sense, his work was done. He had saved the honour of the Russian army at a critical moment; and after defeat he had done his utmost to save the lives of the men committed to his charge, and to keep them faithful, in the hardest conditions, to the cause of Russia.

HAROLD WILLIAMS.

CHRONICLE RUSSIA.

A Swing to the Left, THE latest developments in Russia all point to what may be termed a drastic " swing to the left " in the policy of the Soviet Government. It seems almost that having, outwardly at least, crushed their oppo- nents of the Opposition, Stalin and his group found themselves compelled to adopt the very policy for which they turned out Trotsky. The fallacy of Stalin's " moderation," upheld by many, has been exposed by Stalin himself in a most unequivocal speech to the Moscow " activists " in April, in which he reiterated emphatically the revo- lutionary principles of the Soviet Government and its determination to carry them through at whatever cost. The action is once more being all along the line suited to the word, and " socialist constructive- ness" applied in all branches of the national life.

Private enterprise, whether in trade or elsewhere, is being rooted



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