The campaign in Moscow of the Denikin Volunteer Army, whose start date is July 1919, is one of the military campaigns of the Civil War in Russia. It was carried out by one of the White Guard associations called the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, abbreviated as VSYUR. In the summer of 1919, Denikin’s campaign in Moscow was aimed at taking the city. According to A.I. Denikin (Commander-in-Chief of the All-Union Federal League of Justice), this was to decide the outcome of the war, bringing the White Army closer to the final victory.
Denikin’s campaign in Moscow can be divided into two stages. The first is the offensive, the second is a reflection of the counterattack from the Southern Red Front. Further on these events will be described in detail.
Historical setting
By the beginning of Denikin’s campaign against Moscow, the situation on the Southern Front in the Civil War was characterized as follows. It was clearly in favor of the White Guard. Two rebellions, Veshenskoye and Grigoryevskoye, directed against the Bolsheviks, among other things, played a large role in this.
Their cause was the terror and robberies launched by the Bolsheviks in the territory under their control. In this regard, in the rear of the Red Army, Soviet power remained only in the cities, as well as in those places where the troops were concentrated. The remaining territory was under the control of a large number of rebel chieftains and local government.
An early stage of Denikin’s campaign in Moscow
The date of this stage is July-August 1919. 07/03/1919 Denikin was given the Moscow Directive, which prescribed the possession of the city. Throughout July, VSYUR performed it as far as possible. In the middle of the month, the Red Army began to attempt to launch a counterattack.
Despite the fact that these attempts did not give the expected result, they nevertheless for some time suspended the advance of the White Guards towards Moscow. But in the western and southwestern directions, successes were achieved by whites. On July 31, VSYUR troops captured Poltava. The forces of the Reds were defeated west of Yekaterinoslav and in Northern Tavria.
By the end of July, Denikin’s troops were on the Verkhnodniprovsk-Nikopol line, moving further along the Dnieper. On July 28, the Caucasian army captured Kamyshin, after which it began to advance to the North. The Cossack division, which is part of this army, crossed the Volga River and created an extensive bridgehead in the Tsaritsyn area.
Slow development
At the same time, the Don Army during the campaign of the troops of A.I. Denikin to Moscow was pursued by failure. She did not succeed in moving forward, and in the course of the heavy battles that went on with varying success, she was forced to retreat behind Don, losing Balashov and Liski.
In July, the offensive operations of the White Army developed very slowly and intensely. Nothing that looked like a fast advance last month was happening. This was due to reinforcements, which continuously arrived in the Red Army. They far exceeded those that the whites had.
Historians distinguish only two major offensive operations, these are Poltava and Kamyshinskaya. The second half of July was very difficult for part of the front of the VSYUR, belonging to the eastern wing. In fact, it revealed the futility of further offensive operations on the Tambov-Saratov line.
Amended directive
The next stage of the campaign in Moscow of the Denikin volunteer army dates back to the period of August-September 1919. In the first ten days of August, Denikin stubbornly sought to implement part 1 of the Moscow directive. She assumed the capture of Balashov and Saratov.
However, attempts by the Caucasian and Don armies to launch an offensive on the eastern bank of the Don failed. Whereas in the west, the Volunteer Army was lucky. By mid-August, she, not meeting much resistance from the enemy, defeated him and continued the pursuit.
Unexpectedly, the western part of the Red Army, located on the Southern Front, showed low combat efficiency. This was the reason that Denikin’s battle plan was adjusted. Although formally the former tasks of the Moscow Directive in the east have not been canceled, Denikin on August 12 issues a new directive.
It provides for an immediate transition to a general offensive in the western direction of the Volunteer Army, as well as 3 separate corps. This step is taken regardless of the situation in other sectors of the front. To attack Kiev, a Kiev group of forces was created under the command of General Bredov.
Onslaught of volunteers
At the same time, Denikin’s main goal at this time was to ensure the creation of a straightened broad front so that he could subsequently move to Moscow. But this time with a western bias. The formation of such a front was facilitated by a successful prospect - to unite with the Poles and create a common line with them directed against the Bolsheviks.
On August 18, the Bolshevik front in New Russia collapsed. The forces of the 12th Red Army in this region were encircled. At the end of August, Odessa and Kiev were taken by the troops of the All-Ukrainian Union of Independent Forces.
Meanwhile, Soviet troops, moving from the central Chernozem region, prepared for a counter offensive. However, the Denikinites eliminated this breakthrough by the end of August. The group under the command of Selivachev suffered a complete defeat, being thrown back to their original positions under the onslaught of volunteers.
The Bolshevik troops advancing near Tsaritsyn were defeated by the Caucasian army, and the city was defended. At the same time, the troops crossing the Don River managed to push the Reds to Khopr.
General offensive in the campaign of Denikin’s army to Moscow
The start date is September, and the end date is October 1919. The apparent defeat of the August performance of the Red Army prompted A.I. Denikin to give an order to begin the general offensive of the All-Union Socialist League. It was from this moment that the implementation of the initial directive should begin in the part concerning the mastery of Moscow.
Now for this there were such important factors as a broad front and initiative in the hands of the Union. According to the plan, the offensive had to be carried out along the central, shortest route. It had to consist of two stages:
- 1st: exit to the Dnieper - Bryansk - Oryol - Yelets line.
- 2nd: concentric attack on Moscow.
Red defense
On the Don and Tsaritsyno borders, the Reds took up strategic defense. Throughout the period from mid-September to mid-October, the implementation of this plan was extremely successful. Regarding the Southern Red Front, the impression was that it had completely collapsed.
Especially from September 12 to September 14, that is, in the first two weeks, for the attackers they became a complete triumph. They practically had no resistance. In mid-September Oboyan, Sumy, Stary Oskol were captured. And towards the end of the month - Kursk, Fatezh, Rylsk.
The forces of the Bolsheviks were close to defeat, and they began to prepare to leave underground. In this regard, they created an underground party committee in Moscow. After that, government agencies began to be evacuated to Vologda.
In late September, the Southern Front was divided in two. One part became South, and the second - Southeast. The second congress of the RKSM, held in early October, announced the mobilization of Komsomol members to the front.
The collapse of the offensive
It was he who ultimately approached the campaign of Denikin’s army in Moscow. This happened in October-December 1919.
The position of Denikin’s troops began to deteriorate noticeably from mid-October. As a result of one of the raids carried out by the rebel army of Nestor Makhno, the rear of the SSYUR was destroyed. The Makhnovists broke through the front of the White Guards in the area of the city of Uman. In addition, they had to remove units from the front against them.
Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks managed to sign a truce with Poland, whose troops approached the Berezina. Earlier, in negotiations with the Poles, Denikin refused to recognize their independence, and, as a result, the victory of the White Army was unprofitable for Pilsudsky. And also the Bolsheviks entered into a truce with the Petliurists, thereby liberating forces to oppose Denikin.
In mid-October 1919, the Red forces were numerically superior. They joined the Latvian, Estonian and Chinese national units. The Bolsheviks launched an offensive in the direction of Orel and Kursk. The number of their sabers and bayonets was 62 thousand against 22 thousand among whites.
At first, fierce fighting led to an advantage on the side of the volunteer army. But by the end of the second decade of October, their offensive along the entire front began to choke, and they hardly repulsed enemy attacks in the area of cities such as Orel, Dmitrovsk, Kromy, Sevsk.
South of the city of Orel, fierce battles were with varying success. Then, by the superior forces of the Reds of the Southern Front, by the end of October, units of the Volunteer Army were defeated. They began to retreat along the entire front.
In the winter period of 1919-1920. the troops of the Volunteer Army left Kharkov, Kiev, the territory of Donbass. So ended Denikin’s campaign in Moscow.
Main battles
In conclusion of the consideration of the question of Denikin’s campaign against Moscow, a number of major battles of this period should be noted. We are talking about the following fights:
- Horse raid under the command of General Mamantov (August-September 1919).
- Counterattack of the Southern Front (August-September 1919).
- Oryol-Kromsk operation (October-November 1919).
- Voronezh-Kastornensky operation (October-November.).
- Liski-Bobrov operation (October-November).
- Chernihiv operation (October-November.).
History does not like the subjunctive mood, but what would happen if Denikin’s ideas were realized?