The fall of the Novogeorgiev Fortress became one of the most serious failures of the Russian army in the entire history of the Russian Empire. On August 20, 1915, a first-class fortress equipped with the best artillery, ammunition, fodder fell under the onslaught of a group of opponents half as much as its own garrison. The unprecedented defeat and surrender of the fortress even today causes ardent indignation in the hearts of all who are familiar with its history.
History
Until 1915, the Novogeorgievskaya fortress lived a long and complex life. More than once she passed from one country to the command of another, she defended herself more than once, but she never gave up without a fight. It was built in 1807-1812. by order of Napoleon for crossing the river. Wisla was named Modlin, by the name of the nearby village. Novogeorgievskaya fortress received its Russian name only 20 years later, when, after the defeat of Napoleon, the Duchy of Warsaw joined Russia. Together with the new name on the instructions of Nicholas I, the fortification received a green light for modernization - in a short time Modlin was expanded and received a new line of defensive forts.
Status
Having modernized, Novogeorgievskaya fortress became one of the strongest in Europe. Military engineers from different countries emphasized her superiority over young to existing ones, comparing her with Verdun.
By 1915, the Novogeorgiev fortress only increased its military power. Before the start of World War I, it was again improved, and although the work was not completed, the new fortifications made it possible to withstand blows with heavy guns, including howitzers.
On the modernization of the fortification in 1912-1914. huge sums of those times left. In just two years, more than 30 million rubles were spent on the needs of the Novogeorgievskaya fortress. The year 1915 showed that the embezzlement did not justify itself: the fortification was surrendered by order of the authorities. At the same time, the fortress was better equipped with artillery, its walls were ready to withstand a long attack, and its soldiers were distinguished by discipline and training.
Strategic importance
Novogeorgievskaya fortress was an important strategic point. It was located at the junction of the Vistula River. The fortification became the main base point during the mobilization and played the role of a railway junction. The best officers were taken from the walls of the structure to the war, supplies and artillery were transported through it. In addition, the fortress was almost the only defensive fortification on the border of the Russian Empire.
Because of her extreme importance, she was nicknamed the land port of Arthur.
The task of the fortress
Increased funding was not accidental. The government has prepared for Novogeorgievsky fortress a difficult fate. At the direction of War Minister Sukhomlinov, it was decided to push the western line of defense inland so that Modlin was the only outpost. The plan involved the construction of new fortresses, while the old ones were dismantled.
Europe already smelled of gunpowder, and in Russia the construction of a new defense line was just beginning. It was decided to blow up all the old fortresses stubbornly erected by Nicholas I, and after him Alexander II and Alexander III and their brilliant associates. The fortifications were abolished, but fortunate enough, they were not destroyed: historians still puzzle whether this was a sabotage of local authorities or a simple lack of funding.
Sukhomlinov’s grandiose plan was not realized - the fortresses were not built. For this he was removed from office and put on trial as the culprit in the defeats of the Russian army. Unfortunately, the government realized its mistake too late. German troops had already approached the borders and were preparing a siege of the Novogeorgievskaya fortress. In Modlin, everything was prepared for a long defense.
Role of personality
Sometimes investing money is not enough to do great things. History has repeatedly proved that it is possible to defeat the enemy not only with the best weapons and numerical advantages, but also with willpower, courage and courage. A huge role in the war is played by leadership and their decisions. Unfortunately, the Novogeorgiev fortress was poor for outstanding heroes. It was led by Nikolai Pavlovich Bobyr, a man who was more likely a state than a military man, who spent his whole life on scientific expeditions and had almost no combat experience. He was probably a good scientist, but he was not able to manage the fortress talentedly. Nor were there any assistants ready to lead people to the feat. The chief of staff was N.I. Globachev, who proved himself an inept leader in the Russo-Japanese War and A. A. Svechin, a bureaucrat who was not familiar with military affairs.
The inexperience of the leadership could be compensated by the officer corps of the fortress, selected from really strong and experienced people. Unfortunately, almost all experienced soldiers were relocated from the fortress to the army at the beginning of the war.
The moral state of the Russian army
The Novogeorgievskaya fortress for World War I was not completed and fully equipped, but this did not play a decisive role in its fall. In addition to the unprepared generals, the fortification was defended by soldiers, who were very vague about the goals of the upcoming war. The First World War was incomprehensible to a simple Russian person, the soldiers did not see the point in the war, because nothing threatened their home and relatives. A simple soldier was far from politics and therefore did not want to die in fierce battles that did not make sense to him. The command was not too worried about the desertion sentiment in the ranks of the soldiers and did not seek to explain to them the goals of the war.
The blow to the fighting spirit of the New George soldiers inflicted the death of the chief engineer of the fortress - Colonel Korotkevich, who was killed during an inspection of the front lines. There was a rumor that they killed him in order to steal documents with a plan to strengthen the fortress and the location of the batteries, and this was done by Krenke, the chief of defense. And although the rumor was false - Krenke at that moment could not be next to the murdered engineer, he was not baseless. After all, the enemy really got a plan of fortifications of the structure.
The state of the German army
The enemy was already so close that he managed to get a plan of the fortress. Yes, things were better with the command and attitude in the German army than in the Russian. The siege of the Novogeorgievskaya fortress was led by experienced general Hans von Bezeler. He had at his disposal 45 battalions and 84 guns. The location of so many people and equipment took time, and at first von Bezeller moved to the fortress with utmost care. But the command of Novogeorgievsk, knowing this, did nothing.
The beginning of the siege
The Germans surrounded the fortress in a ring, gradually subjugating the outposts. By August 10, the enemy closed the encirclement and began firing from heavy guns and aircraft. The defense of the Novogeorgiev fortress was due to numerous fortifications around and thick fortress walls. The return fire was not from all the guns. The fortification command maintained the status quo; the soldiers themselves defended themselves without instructions from their superiors.
Climax
In three days of attacks, the Germans managed to subjugate two forts of thirty-three. The fortress held on. But then ten more forts fell in a short period of time, and General Bobyr lost faith that the fortification could be maintained. On August 19, he made a difficult decision - to surrender the fortress. It is difficult to say what explains his act. Perhaps you cannot blame the general for high treason - he was a patriot, but he was not a military man. Being an educated and learned man, but not knowledgeable in the war, he decided in this way to stop further bloodshed. At night Bobyr surrendered, was taken to the headquarters of von Bezeler, where he signed the order to surrender the fortress. Before surrendering himself, Bobyr gave the last order to the garrison of the New George Cross: to gather in the square and surrender weapons.
The pacifism of General Bobyr was not understood by soldiers and officers. Despite the fact that the order to surrender the Novogeorgiev Fortress was signed, blood continued to pour, and the fortification held the defense even with a vengeance. It was led by the most proactive soldiers and officers. Now for them the war made sense: they defended the approaches to the borders of their country.
Solemn surrender
On August 20, Kaiser Wilhelm II, in a festive atmosphere, surrounded by the highest command officials of the German army, accompanied by the Minister of War, entered Modlin. He counted on a solemn meeting and a celebration, but his eyes had a completely different picture: dilapidated buildings littered with the bodies of Russian and German soldiers, the corpses of horses killed by Russian soldiers so that they could not get to the enemy, and even a small fresh cemetery with the graves of defenders - soldiers buried fallen soldiers while they had the opportunity. Despite the heroic defense, the fate of the soldiers and officers of the Novogeorgievskaya fortress was sad: some of them died during the defense, and most were captured. The losses of prisoners in the fortress exceeded the number of all prisoners during the Russo-Japanese war.
The German military leaders, recalling their first appearance in the fortress, noted the incredible courage of Russian soldiers.
Army losses
Together with the capture of the Novogeorgiev Fortress, Russia was losing not only the last defensive line on the borders of the empire and an important strategic point. Lost confidence in the authorities and military commanders. To avoid unrest, Nicholas II was forced to remove Sukhomlinov from his post and put him on trial as an indirect culprit in this situation.
In addition to the huge number of prisoners (83 thousand people were captured!), The Russian army lost a large number of soldiers killed. Together with the fortress, advanced weapons, shells, and provisions fell into the hands of the enemy. In total, thanks to the capture of Novogeorgievsk, the German army received more than a thousand guns.
Reasons for defeat
Why did the fortress fall? To answer the question, you need to look into her story. The defeat cannot be explained by one reason, it was a lot of factors that arose long before the siege.
Could the fortress withstand the defense? It is definitely impossible to answer this question. But it is noteworthy that Novogeorgievsk continued to defend himself even after the order of General Bobyr to surrender to the enemy.
The following reasons for the fall of the fortress can be distinguished:
- The mistakes of senior management, the unpreparedness of the fortress for the position assigned to it, is the only restraining post on the approaches to the Russian border.
- Lack of strong command staff. General Bobyr himself surrendered the fortress to the enemy, part of the military command fled after him. In addition to the personal moral qualities of some of the military commanders, a strong command structure could not be formed due to the constant rotation of personnel.
- Shortly before the start of the defense, several garrisons were taken to the front from the fortress, replacing them with exhausted fighters who returned from advanced battles.
- The fortress was not fully completed and equipped.
- There were no lines of communication and communication between the fortress and command headquarters, which prevented the timely supply of weapons and food.
- The soldiers at the initial stage of the defense of the fortress were disoriented and demotivated, they did not receive orders from the command and did not know when to proceed with the defense.
- The fortress lacked ammunition! A typical Russian problem - the lack of shells affected the Novogeorgievskaya fortress. Because of this, it was not possible to conduct defense for a long time.
Memory
On the August morning of 1915, the head of the telegraph station, Captain Kastner, received a message from the besieged Modlin. According to an eyewitness, after listening to the radiogram, Kastner with an expression of grief and barely holding back tears, silently went to the map and put an end to Novogeorgievsk. It is not known who sent the telegram, but it said that the fighters can no longer fight under continuous fire, do not have time to fix the damage and stop the defense, having fulfilled their duty. At the end was a request. “Please do not forget us,” read the radiogram.
Unfortunately, the cross drawn by the head of the telegraph became symbolic for Novogeorgievsk. The defense of the fortress became a taboo subject for discussion, for many decades, as if it had disappeared from Russian history. Even military historians preferred to bypass the tragic history of the defense of Novogeorgievsk.
The request of the soldiers was not fulfilled. Only after more than a hundred years, people began to recall the tragic history of the fortress. It turned out that information about the soldiers who defended the fortress is extremely small. Among the outstanding officers of the imperial army involved in the defense of the fortress, four surnames are named: Fedorenko, Stefanov, Ber and Berg. These names are known thanks to the story of the former tsarist and then Soviet officer V.M. Dogadin. They did not obey the commandant’s order and did not surrender, but hid from the fortress and went to catch up with the far-gone Russian army. For 18 days they made their way through the rear of the Germans, traveled 400 kilometers during this time, and only near Minsk reached the location of our units.
Today, the surviving part of the fortress is a memorial complex located in the city of Nowy Dvur Mazowiecki (Poland).
Relatives of soldiers and officers who served in the Novogeorgievskaya fortress make a certain contribution to the restoration of historical justice and historical memory of the Modlin fortress. Fedor Vorobyov is one of the servicemen whose relatives, looking for information about their family, help restore information about the heroic and tragic pages of Russian history.