Death followed on his heels. But he was courageous, lucky and courageous, infinitely loved his homeland and honestly served it. It was no accident that he bore the title “The Last Knight of the Russian Empire”.
The Black Baron
Such a nickname was given to the person we want to talk about. This is Wrangel Peter Nikolaevich. A brief biography of him will be presented in the article.
By origin, he is indeed a baron. Born in the Coven province of Russia, in the city of Novoaleksandrovsk (now Kaunas). The family is from a noble, very ancient family. She is from the XIII century. from Henrykus de Wrangel - a knight of the Order of the Teutonic Knights - he leads his genealogy.
And the “black” general was nicknamed because since 1918 he constantly wore this color a Cossack Circassian. Yes, decorated with ghazyry. These are small cylinders made of bone or silver, where powder charges were placed. Gazyrs were usually attached to chest pockets.
Pyotr Nikolaevich was a very popular figure. Mayakovsky, for example, wrote: "He took a sharp step in a black Circassian style."
Descendant of the glorious military
He is an engineer by training. Graduated from the Mining Institute. His father - Wrangel Nikolai Egorovich - was an art critic and also a writer. Also a great collector of antiques.
This is probably why the son did not think to become a professional military man. But genes, apparently, have done their job. But the fact is that General P.N. Wrangel is a direct branch from Herman the Elder. There was such a field marshal in Sweden (XVII century). And his great-grandson named George Gustav served as a colonel with Charles XII himself. And already the son of the latter, whose name was George Hans, became a major, only in the Russian army. Not only grandfathers and fathers, as well as uncles and nephews were military and fought in those battles that were often led by Russia. Their family gave Europe seven field marshals, as many admirals, as well as more than thirty generals.
Therefore, young Peter knew all this, understood, could take an example from his ancestors. The same Russian officer, whose name is not inscribed somewhere, but on the wall of a famous church in Moscow. He is listed among those who suffered in the war of 1812. Another brave relative captured Shamil, the elusive leader of the highlanders. Ferdinand Wrangel, an explorer of the Arctic, is also famous as an admiral. The island is named after him. And Pushkin is a relative of the "black baron" through his grandfather Hannibal - the arap of Peter the Great.
An interesting, voluminous topic dedicated to such an outstanding personality as Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel is very difficult to summarize. It contains many facts that most fully convey the image of this exceptional person. Take only one motto of this kind - "I'm dying, but I don't give up!". But the hero of our essay followed him all his life.
War with japan
So, the newly-made engineer Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel did not see any connection between himself and the army in the future. True, he studied for another year at the Horse Regiment. But the new cornet was recorded ... in reserve. And he went far to work - to Irkutsk. And not at all a military, but a civilian official.
All the cards were mixed by the outbreak of war. Wrangel volunteered for her. And at the front he first showed his innate qualities as a military man. This became his real vocation.
The memoirs of Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel are published. He writes about everything in detail.
By the end of 1904 he was promoted to centurion. Two orders were awarded: St. Anne and St. Stanislav. They became the first "copies" in his large collection of awards.
When the war came to an end, the engineer no longer imagined himself without an army. He even graduated from the Imperial Academy of the General Staff in 1910.
Cavalry squadron
Petr Nikolaevich met the World War I with the rank of captain. He commanded a division of the cavalry regiment.
He already had a wife and 3 children. Could not go to the front. But he did not allow himself that. And in reports from the front, the authorities again wrote about the outstanding courage of captain Wrangel.
Only three weeks passed from the beginning of this massacre, and his detachment managed to excel. The cavalrymen famously attacked. The enemy’s battery was seized. And Wrangel for such a feat (among the first) was noted. Received the Order of St. George. Soon "matured" to the colonel. In 1917, in January, he was a major general. He is valued as a very promising military. In the description they wrote that Wrangel "courage outstanding." He understands quickly in any situation, especially in a difficult one. And also extremely resourceful.
In the summer of that year - the next step. Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel is now the commander of a large cavalry corps. But the October Revolution again drastically changed the trajectory of his life.
Fist
Her hereditary baron and important general could not accept for obvious reasons. He left the army. He moved to Yalta, lived with his family in his country house. Here he was arrested by local Bolsheviks. But what could they show him? Noble origin? Merit of battle? Therefore, he was soon released, but hid until the German army entered Crimea.
He went to Kiev. Thought to enter the service of the hetman Pavel Skoropadsky. However, he soon became disappointed. The Ukrainian government (new) turned out to be weak. It was held only thanks to the bayonets of the Germans.
Wrangel leaves for the city of Ekaterinodar. As a commander (1st Cavalry Division) enters the volunteer army. Thus began the new service of the baron in the White Army.
Experts now say that her success is to a large extent the merit of Wrangel, his cavalry. After all, he always has his own tactics. For example, he was opposed to fighting on the entire front. He preferred to collect cavalrymen “in a fist” and throw them on a breakthrough of any one sector. The blow always turned out so strong that the enemy simply fled. These brilliant operations, which were developed and carried out by the "black baron", and ensured the victory of the army both in the Kuban and in the North Caucasus.
In favor of Denikin
The cavalry of Wrangel took the city of Tsaritsyn in June 1919. And here it is, as it happens! After such luck, the baron fell into disgrace. Anton Denikin, commander of the volunteer army, was angry with him. Why? The fact is that both of them - large military men - had opposite views on further measures. Denikin aimed to go to Moscow, while Wrangel - to connect with Kolchak (in the east).
The biography of Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich shows that he turned out to be one hundred percent right. For a trip to the capital was a failure. But the opponent’s rightness infuriated Denikin even more. And he removed the general from business.
Wrangel resigned (February 1920). He left for Constantinople.
New Hope
Well, has a brilliant career ended? No, heaven decreed otherwise. A few months later Denikin left. Sam resigned. In Sevastopol, a military council was convened. Elected the commander in chief of Wrangel.
But what was he hoping for? After all, the position of the “whites” - and this is very clear - was simply sad. The army all retreated. Complete defeat has already begun to dawn on the horizon.
However, having accepted the army, Wrangel created an incredible miracle. He stopped the advance of the detachments of "red" fighters. The White Guards settled firmly in the Crimea.
King for a day
Over the past six months, the last Russian knight did a lot. Given the mistakes, he made incredible compromises. I wanted to make people from all walks of life my supporters. He developed a plan for agricultural reform, which was supposed to give land to peasants. Also adopted draft socio-economic measures. They should have “defeated” Russia, but not with weapons at all, but with their successes.
Even the baron assumed a federal structure of the country, proposed recognizing the independence of both the Highlanders and Ukraine as well.
But by the time he took power, the White Guard movement was lost - both internationally (the West refused to help them) and domestically. The Bolsheviks controlled most of Russia, with much greater resources.
In the spring of 1920, Wrangel again had to raise troops to repulse the “Reds” attack. It was possible in the summer. "Whites" entered the territory of Northern Tavria. They had to stock up on groceries. However, later there were no more successes.
Most importantly, we lost time. In Soviet Russia, people did not even hear about the proposed Wrangel reforms. For them, he is always only a “black baron” who seeks to return the “royal throne”.
Yes, the general did not hide his sympathies. Being politically flexible, intelligent, he did not focus attention on this in his program. And unequivocally did not insist that, unfortunately, it no longer mattered.
Emigration
It is impossible to tell everything about the life of Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich in one article. Volumes can be devoted to only one period of his stay abroad.
In November 1920, the Red Army broke into the Crimea. And in this situation, General Wrangel again showed himself perfectly. He managed to organize the evacuation of the White Army and civilians abroad in such a way that there was no confusion, chaos. All departed who wished. Wrangel personally controlled this when he traveled around ports on the destroyer.
It was just a feat. He is capable of only one Wrangel. After all, the general took out of Crimea (in November 1920), no less than 132 ships loaded to the limit! Refugees sailed on them - 145 thousand 693 people, as well as ship crews.
The organizer himself left too. There, far from the homeland, he founded the Russian All-Military Union (1924), which was ready at any moment to enter the armed struggle against Bolshevism. And he was able to do it. The backbone was made up of former officers. That was the most massive and most powerful organization of white emigrants. More than one hundred thousand members were registered.
The Bolsheviks treated them with great apprehension. It is no coincidence that many leaders were either abducted or killed by the Soviet secret services.
In the fall of 1927, the baron, who was very dreaming of revenge, had to remember that he had a large family in his arms. It is necessary to feed. From Constantinople, together with his family, he moved to Brussels. As an engineer, he got a job in one company.
On the battlefield
Every day of military everyday life, of which a combat general found many, he was very brave. Just one story that happened back in World War I, which is worth it. The cavalry squadron commander was, as always, courageous and impetuous. In one place in the current Kaliningrad region, captain Wrangel, having obtained permission to attack the enemy’s battery, carried out the attack with lightning speed. And he captured two guns. Moreover, one of them managed to make the last shot. He killed the horse on which the commander was sitting ...
While in Constantinople, Peter Wrangel lived on a yacht. One day she was rammed. It was an Italian ship, but came from our Batumi. The yacht sank before our eyes. None of the Wrangel family were on board then. And three crew members died. The strange circumstances of this incident raised suspicions of intentional collision on a yacht. They were confirmed today by researchers of the work of the Soviet special services. Olga Golubovskaya, an emigrant and an agent of Soviet bodies, is involved in this.
And one more fact. Just six months after arriving in Brussels, Pyotr Nikolayevich died unexpectedly (from contracting tuberculosis). However, the relatives suggested that he was poisoned by the brother of the servant, who was assigned to the baron. He was also an agent in the NKVD. Other sources confirm this version today.
Fast paced life! Interesting fate. There is a book, the preface to which was written by the prose writer Nikolai Starikov, “Memoirs of Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel”. It is worth reading. Suggests deep thought.