Siege of Tsaritsyn. N.Popov. J.V. Stalin in Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad. Here you can buy antiques of various subjects.

A brilliant military victory for Baron Wrangel was the capture of Tsaritsyn on June 30, 1919, which had previously been unsuccessfully stormed three times by the troops of Ataman P.N. Krasnov during 1918. The 10th Soviet Army was defeated and retreated up the Volga, pursued by the Kuban.
This is how a correspondent for the newspaper “Indivisible Russia” describes Wrangel’s first appearance in Tsaritsyn:
“At 12 noon on June 19, the commander arrived in Tsaritsyn on his train, greeted by a guard of honor and all railway employees. Having traveled in a car to the sound of Easter bells, Baron Wrangel at the entrance to the temple was enthusiastically greeted by a huge crowd of people and flowers.”

It was in Tsaritsyn that Denikin, who soon arrived there, signed his famous “Moscow Directive”. But, it should be noted that, according to Wrangel, it “was a death sentence for the troops of the South of Russia.”

Tsaritsyn was an important strategic point in all wars, as will be shown by the Second World War, when the city will be called Stalingrad. During the Civil War, the Bolsheviks proudly called their Tsaritsyn stronghold “Red Verdun.” During the First World War, the fortified area of the city of Verdun was the mainstay of the entire French front and was defended by eight divisions. “Tsaritsyn Verdun” was not inferior to the French: its defense surrounded the city with several lines, the trenches were reinforced barbed wire in 4-5 stakes. Strong, targeted artillery reliably covered all approaches.

Here is what Budyonny, beaten by Wrangel in Tsaritsyn together with Stalin, says about this in his memoirs “The Path Traveled”:
“Back in 1918, the Central Committee of the Party and V.I. Lenin personally, the direct organizers of the defense of Tsaritsyn K.E. Voroshilov and I.V. Stalin introduced into the consciousness of each of our soldiers and commanders the undeniable need to defend Tsaritsyn to the last drop of blood. In May 1919 years, when the 10th Army began to retreat to Tsaritsyn, V.I. Lenin in his telegram to the Revolutionary Military Council of the 10th Army demanded under no circumstances to give Tsaritsyn to the enemy. We all understood that Tsaritsyn was the strategic key to the fate of the revolution, the gate ". Through which the counter-revolutionary forces of the south of Russia want to advance to the heart of the Soviet Republic - Moscow. Close these gates tightly, stand as a wall at Tsaritsyn, defeat the enemy - this is what we saw as our task. Tsaritsyn is the fortress of the revolution on the Volga. The defenders of the city were aware of this with their souls and hearts ".

The white officer tells rifle regiment Captain Bulgakov in his memoirs:

“We set out on Tsaritsyn. Our commander, Colonel Cherkasov, was an ardent supporter of General Wrangel and as a sign of this he, and after him we, painted the letter “B” on our sleeve patch, which we were very proud of. A few days later, the Headquarters bombarded us with telegrams demanding "Immediately remove the seditious letter. This was not easy to do, since, for lack of anything else, the letter was drawn with a chemical pencil."

From the Grand Duke's, Wrangel's cavalry drove the Reds, crossing the grueling Kalmyk steppe, fought with a desperately resisting enemy on all kinds of fortifications, so that, having covered hundreds of miles, they stood near Tsaritsyn exactly within the three-week period assigned to Denikin by His Excellency the Baron. By June 10, units of General Wrangel’s Caucasian Army approached the enemy’s position along the Tsaritsa River.

Pyotr Nikolaevich led the troops, following on horseback with the 4th Cavalry Corps. The night before his first attack on Tsaritsyn, he and his army spent the night in a field, which he recalled:

“It was a quiet, starry night. The air was filled with the aroma of the steppe. The regiments’ bivouacs were spread far across the steppe. I slept on a burka, with a saddle cushion under my head. The voices of Cossacks were heard all around, horses were snorting, and shots were heard somewhere far away at the outpost. It seemed that history has taken us back a whole century, to the era of great wars, when there were no telegraphs or telephones, and army leaders themselves led their troops into battle."

The aristocrat, Orthodox monarchist von Wrangel went on, so to speak, a mystical assault, the return of his army to the White bosom of the city of TSARITSYN, with the second name in symbolism after the city of the Holy Cross (now Budennovsky, disgraced by Chechen militants, like the Soviet humiliated Stalingrad-Volgograd Tsaritsyn).

At dawn, the AFSR troops unitedly attacked the Reds. The 3rd Kuban Division, led by the brave Pavlichenko, who had already recovered from the last seven wounds, already with the rank of general, broke through the enemy front, and the 2nd Kuban Corps, pursuing the enemy on his heels, occupied the Tingutu station. As they approached Tsaritsyn, the enemy put up more and more fierce resistance.

Units were feverishly concentrated in the city instead of the defeated 10th Army: almost the entire 11th Army from the Astrakhan direction, a communist division from the front of Admiral Kolchak, another eight thousand reinforcements from sixteen cities of central Russia, Budyonny's 4th Cavalry Division, 6th Cavalry Apanasenko Division, Zhloba Separate Cavalry Brigade. Two destroyers arrived from Astrakhan to Tsaritsyn; the ships and barges of the Red Volga Flotilla were armed with light and heavy artillery. The enemy also had several armored trains.

General Wrangel later assessed the situation these days as follows:

“In the battle on the Tsaritsa River, the units again suffered heavy losses. However, the proximity of Tsaritsyn, which promised rest after a difficult short campaign, inspired strength in the troops and they moved forward with uncontrollable impulse... The 2nd and 4th corps approached the Chervlennaya River, fighting crossed it and shot down the enemy holding on the northern bank.At the same time, the 1st Corps, after a stubborn battle, captured the Krivomuzginskaya station, capturing about 2000 prisoners here.

My promise to General Denikin was fulfilled. Relentlessly pursuing the enemy, my cavalry, in the most difficult conditions, crossed the deserted and waterless Kalmyk steppe, overcame a number of fortified and desperately defended lines by the enemy and approached Tsaritsyn, “Red Verdun,” as the Bolsheviks called it, having covered about 300 miles, in the three-week period I had assigned to the Commander-in-Chief. term. In setting this deadline, I correctly took into account the situation. At the same time, the Commander-in-Chief’s promise to give me the forces and means necessary to complete the operation was not fulfilled. The developing successes in the Kharkov direction absorbed all the attention of the Commander-in-Chief and the Tsaritsyn direction became secondary in the eyes of General Denikin."

Wrangel telegraphed Denikin:
“After a three-week difficult campaign, waging continuous battles, the army approached Tsaritsyn. Two days of bloody attacks crashed against the equipment, the strongest artillery and the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. Considering the importance of Tsaritsyn, the enemy continues to bring in reinforcements. Honestly looking the truth in the eye, I see that without powerful infantry , artillery and technical means I cannot take Tsaritsyn. I must admit the idea that the enemy's transition to the offensive will lead to the loss of part of the captured space, bled dry by the army. I cannot blame the army. During the operation, some regiments reached a hundred strength. Five division commanders were killed and wounded , three brigade commanders, eleven regiment commanders."

At this time, the Bolsheviks had 16,000 bayonets, 5,000 sabers, 119 guns, and 6 armored trains near Tsaritsyn. On the Volga there was a flotilla of four divisions, boats, pontoons, nine gunboats and destroyers. One of the regiments of the 2nd Red Division, transferred from Ufa via Saratov, had just approached Tsaritsyn, and the rest were expected to arrive in the coming days.

On June 29, 1919, the Caucasian army of the white baron Wrangel inspiredly rushed to break through the powerful defense of “Red Verdun”. The tanks helped wonderfully - they crushed the wire barriers! The iron monsters, unseen by many, dispersed to the right and left, giving manpower behind them, shooting in panic the red infantry that scattered. White warriors poured into the breakthrough, followed by the Kuban Cossack regiments whistling!

At dawn the next day, the Reds, who were still trying to hold Tsaritsyn, were crushed with the help of armored trains. They burst into the city, defeating the Bolshevik units in all areas.

From the order for the Caucasian Army:

"The city of Tsaritsyn.

Glorious troops of the Caucasian army!

...Near the Velikoknyazheskaya station you defeated the enemy and drove him to Tsaritsyn.

Since then, for forty days, without knowing a rest, you chased the enemy. Neither the lack of water of the Kalmyk steppes, nor the scorching heat, nor the desperate resistance of the enemy, to whom reinforcements were constantly approaching, could stop you.

In a series of fierce battles, you defeated the enemy’s 10th and approaching 11th armies and, approaching the Volga, burst into the enemy’s lair - Tsaritsyn...

During all these forty days, the enemy lost 40,000 prisoners, 70 guns, 300 machine guns; his armored trains, armored cars and other spoils of war fell into your hands.

Hurray for you, brave men, invincible eagles of the Caucasian army.

The glory of your new exploits will flash like thunder, and the news of your victories in your native villages, villages and auls will make the hearts of your fathers, wives and sons beat with pride.

General Wrangel."

In Tsaritsyn itself, in addition to a mass of prisoners, guns and machine guns, two “resonant” red armored trains “Lenin” and “Trotsky”, 131 steam locomotives and about 10,000 carriages were captured, of which 165 class and 2085 with artillery and quartermaster cargo.

The terrible details of the Bolsheviks’ domination in the city began to be revealed; in the “Summary of information about the atrocities and lawlessness of the Bolsheviks N23” the following information appeared about members of Alekseev’s organization:

"Tsaritsyn. On July 5 and 6, the graves of those tortured and shot by the Bolsheviks were excavated. The picture is stunning: arms and legs are convulsively intertwined, the corpses were found at a depth of half an arshin. According to a medical examination, many were buried alive. In the cemetery for brick factory 63 corpses were discovered... Among those shot were many officers and one woman - Mrs. Petrova, in whose apartment meetings of Alekseevites took place."

The workers of Tsaritsyn at a general meeting passed a resolution in which they thanked Wrangel and his troops for liberating the city from the Red occupiers:

Decoding text in modern spelling:

Workers of Tsaritsyn
Thank you Volunteers!
July 2, 1919 in the city. The Tsarina had something in common
meeting of workers at which a resolution was passed,
The Resolution, adopted unanimously, reads as follows:
“We, the workers of the Tsaritsyn factories, consider morality
It is my personal duty to express to YOUR EXCELLENT-
STVU (General Wrangel) our immense gratitude for
deliverance from Soviet power as a destructive power,
VIOLENT AND DESTRUCTIVE FOR OUR RO-
DINA.
With the occupation of Tsaritsyn by you and your valiant
troops, we saw with our own eyes that things were getting better in the city
order, tranquility and is made possible calmly and
work honestly.
Rumors spread and spread are painful
Shevite authorities that the VOLUNTEER ARMY
IT WILL BE SHOOTING US, THE WORKERS, OUR WIVES AND
THE PRISONERS TURNED OUT TO BE REAL Nonsense AND
ANOTHER VILE Slander of the Bolsheviks
COMMISSIONERS
Once again we bring to the valiant General from the depths
we express our gratitude and bow to the ground, and
TO HIS EXCELLENCE GENERAL DENIKIN we ask
convey on our behalf our deep gratitude that
he is in his announced reconstruction program
the national life of our homeland has not forgotten us, the workers,
and broadly and fully met our interests
myself "
Volgograd Memorial and Historical Museum

What did Baron Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel look like these days? We read about this in the book “In the White Army of General Denikin” by General P. S. Makhrov, who was the head of military communications of the Caucasian Army in the period he describes:
“The train I was on was approaching the southern outskirts of Tsaritsyn... The train of the commander of the Caucasian Army stood at the station on a siding. A brass band was playing near the train. The platform was crowded with people wandering about, looking with curiosity into the window of the army commander's carriage. everyone was cheerful. Those walking were dressed up, the children had flowers in their hands. I approached the carriage, where guards with sabers were standing at the entrance...

General Wrangel sat behind desk in a luxurious salon with his chief of staff... General Wrangel looked very impressive: tall, slender, dressed in a black Circassian jacket with white gazyrs and a small elegant dagger at his belt. He had a handsome, clean-shaven face, a short-cropped mustache, big eyes reflected the mind, will, energy. Wrangel's manners were elegant in their simplicity and ease. His voice sounded pleasant, and he spoke briefly and clearly."

On June 30, 1919, the Caucasian Army took Tsaritsyn and stayed in the city for six months, the commander was General Wrangel, with short breaks - about three months. Wrangel's residence was located on Petrovskaya Street (now Chuikov Street), in Zimin's house.

The house on Petrovskaya Street was not Wrangel’s only place of residence in Tsaritsyn. Part of the time he worked and lived on his staff train. Wrangel held parades and reviews of individual units of the Caucasian Army in Tsaritsyn, reviewed and approved the verdicts of military courts, traveled to the front lines on inspection trips, and personally supervised military operations in important sectors of the front, driving his car to the front line. Active, energetic, logically thinking and able to make quick decisions, he was aware of many problems of the army and the city.

From the memoirs of P.N. Wrangel:
“The city of Tsaritsyn, Red Verdun, as the Bolsheviks called it, found itself in a terrible state. The entire more or less wealthy or intelligent population was exterminated, shops and shops did not exist. In winter, terrible epidemics raged in the city, the mortality rate was enormous, they did not have time to bury the dead, corpses were dumped in a ravine near the city prison. According to residents, up to 12,000 corpses were dumped in the ravine. In the spring, the corpses began to decompose, the stench stood for several miles around. I gave the order to form working teams from prisoners and fill up the ravine. The work lasted a whole week . The streets of the city were a dumping ground. More than 400 horse corpses alone were taken out of the city and its suburbs. Within a few days after our arrival, the city began to come to life. The streets were filled with people. All kinds of living creatures and greenery were brought from the left bank of the Volga. Products quickly fell in price "Gradually, shops began to open."
In Tsaritsyn, a peaceful way of life gradually improved; shops, cinemas, and cafes opened their doors wide. However, as usual in front-line cities, revelry, scandals and drunken brawls began here at first. General Wrangel put an end to them with a merciless hand.
“While fierce fighting did not stop at the front, a peaceful way of life was gradually improving in the rear of the army. A number of shops, cinemas, and cafes opened in the city. Tsaritsyn came to life. At first, there were pictures of rear debauchery, scandals and drunks so characteristic of front-line cities brawls. However, taking into account all the evil that could result from this, I, without stopping at cruel measures, suppressed the disgrace at the very root. Taking advantage of the fact that several officers led by the Astrakhan esaul committed a huge brawl in the city assembly with shooting, breaking windows and dishes, during which it is unknown how part of the silverware disappeared, I brought them all to a military court on charges of armed robbery. The court sentenced Yesaul, a famous drunkard and rowdy, to death penalty through execution, and the rest - to lower punishments. Despite numerous petitions addressed to me by the governor, the Astrakhan military headquarters and a number of people, the sentence was carried out and my corresponding order was posted in all public and entertainment places of the city. After this incident, drunkenness and revelry immediately stopped."

At the end of July, the Red troops, surrounded on all sides and pressed against the Volga, fled and Kamyshin fell under the crushing blows of General Pokrovsky. During this three-day operation, many enemy units were almost completely destroyed, about 13,000 prisoners, 43 guns and a lot of machine guns were taken. In Kamyshin, 12 locomotives, more than 1000 wagons, a large number of shells and cartridges, 3 wagons of entrenching equipment and other large supplies were captured.
General Shatilov, chief of staff in the troops of General Wrangel, recalled: “Wrangel held Tsaritsyn for a long time, actively defending against the superior forces of the Reds (and Dumenko and Budyonny were with cavalry against us). This was achieved by acting along internal operational lines. We either attacked the Bolsheviks near the Don, or inflicted strong cavalry attacks on them in the interval between the Don and the Volga, then attacked them on the lower Volga. Now in one direction, now in the other, Wrangel concentrated his big fists, inflicting brutal blows on the Reds. All attempts by the Reds to capture the city were unsuccessful. These operations were the brilliant leadership of our commander.

When the Red command removed the cavalry of Dumenko and Budyonny from our Tsaritsyn front, and when our armies on the main, so-called Moscow direction were forced to stop the offensive and an inevitable retreat became apparent, Wrangel proposed to the high command to transfer two cavalry corps there from the Tsaritsyn front, thus fulfilling already on a larger scale of action along the internal operational lines that he so successfully carried out under Tsaritsyn. However, there was no agreement to this. And after some time, when our armies in the main direction began to retreat with heavy losses, it was precisely the two Kuban cavalry corps that were gradually removed from the Tsaritsyn Front and joined the retreating Volunteer Front, which suffered great losses of honor, which gave almost no results.

Here again Wrangel’s correct assessment was revealed general position on a strategic scale, offering bold to big solutions.

What happens next is well known. Our withdrawal continued and began after the Novorossiysk evacuation of the Crimean period with Wrangel taking over the main command."

Defense of Tsaritsyn is the collective name for a number of Red Army operations to defend Tsaritsyn from the Don Army of General P.N. Krasnov and the Caucasian Volunteer Army of General P.N. Wrangel.

The strategic importance of Tsaritsyn was determined by the fact that it was an important communications hub that connected the central regions of the Soviet Republic with the Lower Volga region, the Northern Caucasus and Central Asia and through which the center was supplied with food, fuel, etc. For the white command, the capture of Tsaritsyn created the possibility of connecting with the troops Ataman A.I. Dutov and provided the right flank of the White Army in the main Voronezh direction for Krasnov.

In May 1918, due to the worsening food situation in the country, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Stalin responsible for food supplies in the south of Russia and was sent as an extraordinary commissioner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement and export of grain from the North Caucasus to industrial centers. Arriving in Tsaritsyn on June 6, 1918, Stalin took power in the city into his own hands, led the defense in the Tsaritsyn region from the troops of Ataman Krasnov, using harsh measures and arrests. However, the very first military measures taken by Stalin together with Voroshilov resulted in defeats for the Red Army.

The Red Army troops in the Tsaritsyn sector (about 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, over 100 guns) consisted of scattered detachments; The most combat-ready units were those from the 3rd and 5th Ukrainian armies, which retreated here under the pressure of the German interventionists. On July 22, the Military Council of the North Caucasus Military District was created (chairman I.V. Stalin, member K.E. Voroshilov and S.K. Minin).

In July 1918, Krasnov’s Don Army (up to 45 thousand bayonets and sabers, 610 machine guns, over 150 guns) launched the first attack on Tsaritsyn: Colonel Polyakov’s detachment (up to 10 thousand bayonets and sabers) had the task of striking from the South from the Velikoknyazheskaya area ; the operational group of General K.K. Mamontov (about 12 thousand bayonets and sabers), concentrated in the Verkhnekurmoyarskaya - Kalach area, was supposed to attack Tsaritsyn with its main forces; The operational group of General A.P. Fitzkhelaurov (about 20 thousand bayonets and sabers) struck from the Kremenskaya, Ust-Medveditskaya, Chaplyzhenskaya area to Kamyshin.

Blaming “military experts” for the defeats of the Red Army, Stalin carried out large-scale arrests and executions. Ataman Krasnov came close to the city and semi-blocked it. The chairman of the RVS, Trotsky, telegraphed Lenin with a request to immediately recall Stalin, citing the fact that “things in the Tsaritsyn sector are going very badly, despite superiority in forces.” Stalin was recalled, withdrawn from the RVS of the Southern Front and sent to Moscow.

Soon after Stalin's departure, in the 20th of August, the Whites were driven back from the city, but the further counter-offensive of the Red Army floundered.

September 17, 1918 The Don Army under the command of General Denisov begins a new offensive. She managed to capture a number of settlements on the outskirts of Tsaritsyn. From September 27 to 30, there were fierce battles in the area of Krivomuzginskaya station. The Whites had to shift the direction of the main attack south of Tsaritsyn, they managed to capture the Zhutovo station and cut off the 1st Don and Kotelnikov divisions of the 10th Army. The fighting took place in the area of Sarepta, Beketovka, and Otrada. Tsaritsyn was covered from Pichuga in the north to Sarepta in the south. The city's defenders were in dire need of ammunition and uniforms.

Fierce fighting continued until October 18, when the Red Army went on the offensive and drove the Whites back to the Don. General Krasnov left his post as ataman of the All-Great Don Army and was forced to leave Russia. The Don Army came under the command of General A.I. Denikin and became part of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYUR).

On May 4, 1919, the Caucasian Volunteer Army under the command of General P.N. Wrangel, which was part of the AFSR, went on the offensive in the Tsaritsyn direction. The Whites managed to capture the Torgovaya station (now Salsk) and by June 1 reach the Aksai River. The Red 10th Army did not have sufficient forces to stop the enemy's advance. The neighboring 9th and 11th armies also found themselves in a difficult situation, and a large gap opened up between them. The counterattacks of the red cavalry were local in nature and could not change the general situation. Red Tsaritsyn faced the threat of encirclement. On June 11, the White Guards managed to capture Sarepta; the city was less than 30 miles away.

On June 12, 1919, a state of siege was again declared in Tsaritsyn. The Whites are approaching Beketovka. In fierce battles that took place from June 15 to 19, the Red Guards managed to drive Denikin’s troops out of the Voroponovo station. On June 20, the Reds managed to recapture Basargino and Karpovskaya. But on June 29, the Caucasian Army launched a new offensive with the support of 17 tanks of the First Tank Division, formed in Yekaterinodar, and five armored trains: light “Eagle”, “General Alekseev”, “Forward for the Motherland”, “Ataman Samsonov” and heavy “ United Russia”, and broke through the front of the 10th Red Army. Of the tanks, formed into 4 tank detachments of 4 tanks each, eight were heavy cannon Mk, and nine were machine guns, of which one (“extra”, 17th) contained the British crew of the one-armed Captain Cox “for sport”. By the end of the day, the red units received orders to leave Tsaritsyn. General Denikin solemnly entered the city; on July 3, he signed a directive on a campaign against Moscow.

On August 18, the Red troops launched a counteroffensive with the support of the ships of the military flotilla and the landing detachment of sailors I.K. Kozhanov. On August 22, Kamyshin was taken, on September 1, Dubovka, on September 3, Kachalino, and on September 4, Rynok-Orlovka. On September 5, the Red Army soldiers began the assault on Tsaritsyn. However, it was not possible to take the city right away. Only Kozhanov's landing, supported by sailors, achieved success. 28th and 38th rifle divisions were unable to break through and come to the aid of the paratroopers. Kozhanovites retreated to their original lines. The fighting continued from September 6 to 8.

At the end of November 1919, the troops of the South-Eastern Front went on the offensive. The raid of B. M. Dumenko’s combined cavalry group on the rear of the Whites brought serious success; General Toporkov's six-thousand-strong corps was defeated. The 10th Army was able to improve its position and prepare for a new offensive on Tsaritsyn, for which fighting began. On December 28, E.I. Kovtyukh’s 50th Taman Division, part of the 11th Army, advanced from beyond the Volga. The 37th division of P.E. Dybenko from the 10th Army was advancing along the right bank towards Tsaritsyn. On the night of January 3, 1920, Red Army troops entered Tsaritsyn. At two o'clock in the morning on January 3, 1920, Tsaritsyn was finally captured by the Reds.

Tsaritsyn defense 1918-19, operations of Soviet troops to defend Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) from the White Cossack army of General P. N. Krasnov in July 1918 - February 1919, during the Civil War in Soviet Russia. The strategic importance of Tsaritsyn was determined by the fact that it was an important communications hub that connected the central regions of the Republic with the Lower Volga region, the Northern Caucasus and Central Asia and through which the center was supplied with food, fuel, etc. For the White Cossack command, the capture of Tsaritsyn created the opportunity to connect with the troops of the ataman A.I. Dutov and provided the right flank of the White Cossack army in the main Voronezh direction for Krasnov. In July 1918, Krasnov’s Don Army (up to 45 thousand bayonets and sabers, 610 machine guns, over 150 guns) launched the first attack on Tsaritsyn: Colonel Polyakov’s detachment (up to 10 thousand bayonets and sabers) had the task of striking from the south from the Velikoknyazheskaya area ; the operational group of General K.K. Mamontov (about 12 thousand bayonets and sabers), concentrated in the Verkhnekurmoyarskaya - Kalach area, was supposed to attack Tsaritsyn with its main forces; The operational group of General A.P. Fitzkhelaurov (about 20 thousand bayonets and sabers) struck from the Kremenskaya, Ust-Medveditskaya, Chaplyzhenskaya area to Kamyshin. Soviet troops in the Tsaritsyn sector (about 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, over 100 guns) consisted of scattered detachments; The most combat-ready units were those from the 3rd and 5th Ukrainian armies, which retreated here under the pressure of the German interventionists. On July 22, the Military Council of the North Caucasus Military District was created (chairman I.V. Stalin, member K.E. Voroshilov and S.K. Minin). The Communist, 1st Don, Morozov-Donetsk and other divisions and units were formed. On July 24, Soviet troops were divided into sections: Ust-Medveditsky (chief F.K. Mironov, about 7 thousand bayonets and sabers, 51 machine guns, 15 guns), Tsaritsynsky (chief A. I. Kharchenko, about 23 thousand bayonets and sabers, 162 machine guns, 82 guns) and the Salsk group (chief G.K. Shevkoplyasov, about 10 thousand bayonets and sabers, 86 machine guns, 17 guns); There was a reserve in Tsaritsyn (about 1,500 bayonets and sabers, 47 machine guns, 8 guns). On the approaches to Tsaritsyn, 2-3 km to the north-west, west and south-west. from the ring railway branches (Gumrak - Voroponovo - Sarepta) 2-3 lines of trenches with wire fences were built. Railway a branch in the rear of the position made it possible to quickly maneuver along the front and support the troops with fire from armored trains. The flanks of the Soviet troops were covered by the fire of the ships of the Volga military flotilla.

At the end of July, due to the capture of Torgovaya and Velikoknyazheskaya by the White Guards, Tsaritsyn’s connection with the North Caucasus was interrupted. In early August, Fitzkhelaurov’s group broke through the front north of Tsaritsyn, occupied Erzovka and Pichuzhinskaya and reached the Volga, disrupting Tsaritsyn’s connection with Moscow. On August 8, Mamontov’s group went on the offensive in the central sector and on August 18-20 began fighting on the near approaches to the city, but was stopped. On August 20, Soviet troops with a sudden attack drove the enemy north of the city and by August 22 liberated Erzovka and Pichuzhinskaya. On August 26, they launched a counteroffensive along the entire front and by September 7, they drove the White Cossack troops, who had lost about 12 thousand killed and captured, beyond the Don.

In September, the White Cossack command decided to launch a new attack on Tsaritsyn and carried out additional mobilization. The Soviet command took measures to strengthen defenses and improve command and control. By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic of September 11, 1918, the Southern Front was created (commander P. P. Sytin, member of the Revolutionary Military Council I. V. Stalin until October 19, K. E. Voroshilov until October 3, K. A. Mekhonoshin from October 3, A. I. Okulov since October 14). On October 3, Soviet troops in the Kamyshin and Tsaritsyn directions were brought into

10th Army (commander K.E. Voroshilov), in the Voronezh direction - in the 8th Army, in the Povorinsky and Balashovsky directions - in the 9th Army, and in the North Caucasus - in the 11th Army. On September 22, the main forces of Krasnov’s Don Army went on the offensive against Tsaritsyn for the second time. The White Guard command created 2 operational groups: General Fitzkhelaurov (20 thousand bayonets and sabers, 122 machine guns, 47 guns, 2 armored trains), which advanced on Elan, Krasny Yar, Kamyshin, Kachalino, Dubovka, Tsaritsyn, and General Mamontov (25 thousand). bayonets and sabers, 156 machine guns, 93 guns, 6 armored trains), operating in the Voroponovo - Tsaritsyn and Sarepta - Tsaritsyn directions. In the rear, the White Cossacks had a reserve of about 20 thousand people. “young army” (from recruits). The Soviet 10th Army consisted of about 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, about 200 machine guns, 152 guns, 13 armored trains.

On September 27-30, fierce battles broke out in the central sector near the Krivomuzginskaya station. At the end of September, the White Cossacks struck south of Tsaritsyn, captured Gniloaksayskaya on October 2, and Tinguta on October 8. They managed to cross to the left bank of the Volga, create a threat to Soviet troops from the rear, and by October 15 break through to the suburbs of Tsaritsyn - Sarepta, Beketovka and Otradnoe. Soviet troops, in stubborn battles, supported by fire from an artillery group of 21 batteries (about 100 guns) and armored trains, stopped the enemy’s advance and inflicted heavy losses on him. An important role was played by the Steel Division of D.P. Zhloba, which arrived from the North Caucasus and attacked the White Cossacks from the rear. The 10th Army was greatly assisted by the active actions of the 8th and 9th armies, which distracted a significant part of Krasnov's troops. As a result of the joint efforts of the 10th and 9th armies, the enemy was driven back beyond the Don by October 25.

On January 1, 1919, Krasnov launched a third attack on Tsaritsyn. By mid-January, the White Cossacks, having broken the stubborn resistance of the 10th Army (commander A.I. Egorov since December 26), again engulfed the city in a semicircle. On January 12, they struck north of Tsaritsyn and captured Dubovka. To eliminate the breakthrough, the Soviet command removed the Combined Cavalry Division of B. M. Dumenko from the southern sector and transferred it to the north. Taking advantage of the weakening of the southern section, the White Cossacks captured Sarepta on January 16, but this was their last success. On January 14, Dumenko’s division drove the White Cossacks out of Dubovka, and then, under the command of S. M. Budyonny (due to Dumenko’s illness), made a deep raid behind enemy lines. The 8th and 9th armies, which went on the offensive, began to threaten the Tsaritsyn group of White Cossacks from the rear. In mid-February, the enemy was forced to retreat from Tsaritsyn.

In the Tsaritsyn defense. The Soviet command skillfully organized engineering support for defense, close interaction between various types of troops, skillfully carried out bold maneuvers and counterattacks, combining them with stubborn defense in fortified positions. An outstanding role in the Tsaritsyn defense was played by the workers of Tsaritsyn, who replenished the ranks of the defenders and provided the troops with weapons. On May 14, 1919, the Soviet government awarded Tsaritsyn the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner and on April 14, 1924, the Order of the Red Banner.

Sources: Directives of the command of the fronts of the Red Army (1917-1922). Sat. documents, vol. 1, M., 1971; Southern front. Sat. documents, Rostov n/D., 1962; Vodolagin M. A., Bastions of Glory, M., 1974.

100 years ago, on September 6-8, 1918, the first defense of Tsaritsyn ended. Red troops drove the enemy away from the strategically important city. On September 6, 1918, on behalf of the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District, Stalin telegraphed to the Council of People's Commissars: “The offensive of the troops of the Tsaritsyn region was crowned with success... The enemy was completely defeated and thrown back beyond the Don. Tsaritsyn's position is strong. The offensive continues."

As a result, on September 6, the Reds threw back parts of the Volunteer Army from Tsaritsyn to a fairly large distance (more than 50 kilometers to the west), beyond the bend of the Don River. But at the same time, the Reds did not inflict a serious defeat on the Whites, and they were preparing for a new assault on the city. On September 8, People's Commissar Joseph Stalin, who was in the city, sent a telegram to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Vladimir Lenin, about the liquidation of the Socialist Revolutionary underground in Tsaritsyn. In mid-September 1918, the Don Army launched a second offensive against Tsaritsyn.

Situation in the region

In the spring of 1918, the situation in the south of Russia worsened. At the end of March, a Cossack uprising began on the Don. In April 1918, the creation of the All-Great Don Army was announced in Novocherkassk. On the basis of the rebel units and the detachment of General P. Kh. Popov, who returned from the Steppe Campaign, the creation of the Cossack Don Army began.

By the beginning of May, the cities of Rostov, Nakhichevan-on-Don, Taganrog, Millerovo, and Chertkovo were occupied by German troops. The leadership of the Don Soviet Republic was evacuated to Tsaritsyn. General P. N. Krasnov was elected Ataman of the All-Great Don Army in Novocherkassk. He waged war with Soviet Russia and entered into an alliance with Germany. During the same period, M. Drozdovsky’s detachment broke through to the Don and A. Denikin’s volunteers returned from the unsuccessful First Kuban Campaign.

On May 28, a meeting was held in the village of Manychskaya with the aim of organizing joint actions of the main anti-revolutionary forces in the south of Russia with the participation of generals Krasnov, Denikin, Alekseev. General Krasnov proposed that the Volunteer Army jointly advance on Tsaritsyn, which, according to his plan, was to become the base for a further White offensive in the Middle Volga region. Here, according to Krasnov, the Volunteer Army was supposed to gain a foothold and unite with the Orenburg Cossacks of Ataman A. Dutov. The command of the Volunteer Army, however, rejected this plan. The volunteers considered themselves enemies of the Germans, unlike Krasnov, and saw themselves as allies of the Entente. In addition, it was impossible to leave the strong North Caucasian group of the Red Army in the rear. Denikin believed that Kuban and the North Caucasus, after the defeat of the Reds, would be a powerful base and rear for further military operations against the Bolsheviks.

Therefore, Denikin’s men began the Second Kuban Campaign. On June 25, the Volunteer Army captured the Torgovaya station, cut the railway connection between the North Caucasus and central Russia and moved to Velikoknyazheskaya in order to assist the Don Army in capturing the Salsky district, which was supposed to provide it with a rear from Tsaritsyn. On June 28, Velikoknyazheskaya was taken, and after a two-week stop, on July 10, the Volunteer Army turned south to Tikhoretskaya. And Krasnov’s Cossacks planned to completely clear the northern regions of the Don Region from the Reds and take Tsaritsyn in order to eliminate the threat to their right flank and rear.

Pyotr Nikolaevich Krasnov - Major General of the Russian Imperial Army, Ataman of the All-Great Don Army

Tsaritsyn, thanks to its significant working population, was one of the main revolutionary centers in the southeast of European Russia. Economically and militarily, it was important to both sides as an industrial center. The strategic importance of Tsaritsyn was determined by the fact that it was an important communications hub that connected the central regions of Russia with the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus and Central Asia and through which the center was supplied with food, fuel, etc. For the White Cossack command, the capture of Tsaritsyn created the opportunity to connect with troops of the Orenburg ataman Dutov and provided the right flank of the Cossack army in the Voronezh direction, the main direction for Krasnov.

As I. Stalin noted: “The capture of Tsaritsyn and the interruption of communications with the south would ensure the achievement of all the objectives of the enemy: it would unite the Don counter-revolutionaries with the Cossack tops of the Astrakhan and Ural troops, creating a united front of counter-revolution from the Don to the Czechoslovaks. It would have secured the south and the Caspian Sea for the counter-revolutionaries, internal and external, it would have left the Soviet troops of the North Caucasus in a helpless state... This mainly explains the tenacity with which the White Guards of the south are trying in vain to take Tsaritsyn" (Stalin. About the South of Russia, " Pravda" No. 235, 1918).

Organization of defense. Tsaritsyn conflict

On May 6, 1918, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the North Caucasus Military District was established, which included the territories of the Don Region, Kuban and the North Caucasus. On May 14, by order of the Chairman of the Supreme Military Council L. Trotsky, Lieutenant General of the General Staff A.E. Snesarev was appointed military leader of the district. He was given the task of gathering detachments and combat groups scattered over a large area and organizing counteraction to the Don Army of General Krasnov advancing on Tsaritsyn. Immediately after arriving in Tsaritsyn on May 26, Snesarev energetically began organizing the defense, spending a lot of time in the detachments and units that fought fighting. On May 29, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed I.V. Stalin was responsible for carrying out the “food dictatorship” in the south of Russia and sent him as an extraordinary representative of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement and export of grain from the North Caucasus to industrial centers. At the same time, Stalin was ordered to “restore order (to the troops), unite the detachments into regular units, establish proper command, expelling all those who disobey.” Arriving in Tsaritsyn on June 6, 1918, Stalin took power in the city into his own hands and led the defense in the Tsaritsyn area.

On June 23, at the insistence of Stalin, Snesarev gave order No. 4 to unite all the Red troops on the right bank of the Don into a group under the overall command of K.E. Voroshilov, who managed to break through at the head of the Luhansk working detachment to Tsaritsyn. The Red Army troops in the Tsaritsyn direction (about 40 thousand bayonets and sabers, over 100 guns) consisted of scattered detachments; The most combat-ready units were those from the 3rd and 5th Ukrainian armies, which retreated here under the pressure of German troops. On July 19, the Military Council of the North Caucasus Military District was created (chairman I. Stalin, members K. E. Voroshilov and S. K. Minin).

A conflict broke out between Stalin and Snesarev, caused partly due to a general negative attitude towards military experts, and partly due to the fact that Stalin considered the general to be Trotsky’s protege. As a result, Snesarev and his entire staff were arrested. Moscow, however, demanded that Snesarev be released and his orders carried out. The arriving Moscow commission, headed by Okulov, a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, decided to leave Stalin and Voroshilov in Tsaritsyn, and recall Snesarev to Moscow. Formally, Snesarev remained the military leader of the North Caucasus District until September 23, 1918. In fact, Stalin became the military leader in the Tsaritsyn region. Snesarev was appointed commander Western region defense created between the Northern and Southern fronts, then commanded the Western Army.

I. Stalin in the Tsaritsyn direction

In addition, another conflict occurred. By Order No. 1 of the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District dated July 22, 1918, former colonel of the tsarist army Kovalevsky was temporarily appointed military commander of the district; Colonel Nosovich, also a military expert, became the chief of staff of the district. At the same time, Kovalevsky was introduced to the Military Council of the district. However, already on August 4, he was removed from all positions, as he considered the defense of the district a hopeless matter. By order of Stalin, the Tsaritsyn Cheka arrested all employees of the artillery department of the district headquarters, and liquidated the headquarters itself. Was liquidated on August 6 economic management districts. On August 10, 1918, the clearly anti-Soviet Nosovich was removed from the post of chief of staff of the district. However, Nosovich and Kovalevsky were soon, already on August 13, released from arrest by order of Trotsky on the bail of the inspectorate, which arrived, led by the chairman of the Higher Military Inspectorate Podvoisky, in Tsaritsyn the day before. On the same day, the liberated military experts, together with the inspection group, left for Kamyshin. Later, in October 1918, Nosovich with secret documents went over to the side of the Volunteer Army. This caused the second arrest of the district headquarters, Kovalevsky by decree Special Department in the fight against counter-revolution and espionage on the Southern Front in early December 1918, he was shot “for transmitting military information to the White Guards” and “connecting with the leaders of the White Guard.”

Blaming military experts for the first defeats, Stalin made large-scale arrests. There were good reasons for these repressive measures. Local counter-revolutionary organization behind support Constituent Assembly, significantly strengthened and, having received money from Moscow, was preparing for an active performance to help the Don Cossacks in the liberation of Tsaritsyn from the Bolsheviks. The counter-revolutionary organization was headed by engineer Alekseev, who arrived from Moscow, and his sons. The uprising was scheduled for the moment the White Cossacks reached the city. The emergency edition of the newspaper “Soldier of the Revolution” reported: “On August 21, 1918 at 5 p.m. In Tsaritsyn, a White Guard conspiracy was discovered. Prominent participants in the conspiracy were arrested and shot. 9 million rubles were found in the possession of the conspirators. The conspiracy was completely stopped by the measures of Soviet power.” The conspirators expected that at least three thousand people, armed with 6 machine guns and 2 guns, would take part in the rebellion. The British vice-consul Barry, the consuls of France - Charbot and Serbia - Leonard, took part in the preparation of the conspiracy. Later, speaking at the VIII Congress of the RCP(b), V.I. Lenin will say: “It is the merit of the Tsaritsyn people that they discovered this conspiracy of Alekseev.”

M. Grekov. On the way to Tsaritsyn

Fighting

In July 1918, Krasnov's Don Army (up to 45 thousand bayonets and sabers, 610 machine guns, over 150 guns) launched the first attack on Tsaritsyn: Colonel Polyakov's detachment (up to 10 thousand bayonets and sabers) received the task of striking from the south from the Velikoknyazheskaya area ; the operational group of General K.K. Mamontov (about 12 thousand bayonets and sabers), concentrated in the Verkhnekurmoyarskaya - Kalach area, was supposed to attack Tsaritsyn with its main forces; The operational group of General A.P. Fitzkhelaurov (about 20 thousand bayonets and sabers) struck from the Kremenskaya, Ust-Medveditskaya, Chaplyzhenskaya area to Kamyshin.

On July 24, 1918, the defending troops of the Red Army were divided into sections: Ust-Medveditsky (chief F.K. Mironov, about 7 thousand bayonets and sabers, 51 machine guns, 15 guns), Tsaritsynsky (chief A.I. Kharchenko, about 23 thousand bayonets and sabers, 162 machine guns, 82 guns) and the Salsk group (chief G.K. Shevkoplyasov, about 10 thousand bayonets and sabers, 86 machine guns, 17 guns); There was a reserve in Tsaritsyn (about 1,500 bayonets and sabers, 47 machine guns, 8 guns).

In early August, Fitzkhelaurov’s task force, advancing in the northern direction, throwing back the Red units 150 km, reached the Volga from Tsaritsyn to Kamyshin, interrupting the communication of the Tsaritsyn group with Moscow. Mamontov's group, advancing in the center, broke through the front on August 8 and drove the Reds back from the Don to Tsaritsyn, capturing Kalach. On August 18-19, Mamantov’s units, having broken through the junction of the Communist and Morozov divisions, captured the suburbs of Tsaritsyn, Sarepta and Erzovka, and began fighting directly outside the city. However, Polyakov’s group, advancing along railway Tikhoretsk - Tsaritsyn from the area of the station. The Grand Ducal attack on the city from the south, which was supposed to provide the right flank and rear of Mamantov’s group, got bogged down in local battles and never reached Tsaritsyn. In addition, the Don units had few heavy weapons and combat infantry regiments necessary for regular combat operations and storming cities. Obviously, there was hope for an uprising in Tsaritsyn itself, which was supposed to help the Krasnovites take Tsaritsyn.

One of the best cavalry commanders of the Civil War, Major General Konstantin Konstantinovich Mamontov (Mamantov) (1869−1920)

The Red Command brought up reinforcements, carried out mobilization and formed worker regiments, which were immediately sent to the front line. This made it possible to repel the enemy offensive and launch a counteroffensive. On August 23, Red troops attacked the flank and rear of Mamantov’s group. The White Cossacks were forced to begin a retreat. On August 29, 1918, the Reds liberated Kotluban and Karpovka, and on September 6, Kalach. The front moved 80-90 versts to the west. The armored trains of F. N. Alyabyev played a serious role in the defeat of the Whites. The sailors of the Volga Military Flotilla under the command of K.I. Zedin were active. On September 6, 1918, on behalf of the Military Council of the North Caucasian Military District, Stalin telegraphed to the Council of People's Commissars: “The offensive of the troops of the Tsaritsyn region was crowned with success... The enemy was completely defeated and thrown back beyond the Don. Tsaritsyn's position is strong. The offensive continues."

In these battles, the Red Army defeated four divisions of the Don Army. The Whites lost 12 thousand killed and captured, 25 guns and more than 300 machine guns. The losses of the Red Army are estimated at up to 60 thousand people killed, wounded and captured. The White Cossacks' advance on Voronezh - Moscow was temporarily stopped. In general, the situation in the Tsaritsyn direction was unstable, and a decisive victory of the Red Army was far away. Indeed, the Don government decided to launch a new offensive on Tsaritsyn, and additional mobilization of Cossacks into the army began. In mid-September 1918, the Don Army launched a second offensive against Tsaritsyn.

On September 19, 1918, V.I. Lenin sent a welcoming telegram to the defenders of Tsaritsyn: “Soviet Russia notes with admiration the heroic exploits of the communist and revolutionary regiments of Khudyakov, Kharchenko and Kolpakov, the cavalry of Dumenko and Bulatkin, the armored trains of Alyabyev, and the Volga Military Flotilla. Hold the Red Banners high, carry them forward fearlessly, eradicate the landowner-general counter-revolution mercilessly and show the whole world that socialist Russia is invincible.”

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From the compiler

The Tsaritsyn epic of 1918 was extremely unlucky in Soviet historiography. Having immediately become a bone of contention in the political leadership of the Bolsheviks, it inevitably turned out to be mythologized - and these myths changed in accordance with the direction of the “general line”. Historians of the 1920s, many of whom were in one way or another associated with Trotsky, sought to downplay Tsaritsyn’s strategic role in the campaign of the first year of the Civil War, although it was completely impossible to deny it.

Since the early 30s, when Stalin firmly established himself in power in the USSR, and the entire leadership of the armed forces was gradually concentrated in the hands of Voroshilov, the situation changed dramatically. Now Tsaritsyn has become an official myth, demonstrating both the military leadership of the leaders of his defense and the treachery of the demonic Trotsky. Alexei Tolstoy’s novel “Bread” was dedicated to the events related to the defense of Tsaritsyn - by the way, an excellent example of artistic reconstruction, which on the whole quite adequately reflected the outline of both military and political events.

In the 50s, after the death of Stalin, the exposure of the “cult of personality” and the disgrace of Voroshilov as a member of the “anti-party group”, the role of the defense of Tsaritsyn was again revised. It was not kept silent, but faded into the shadows, joining other episodes of the Civil War. This was largely due to the unofficial desire to mention Stalin’s name as little as possible, and without him it was impossible to adequately present the history of the Tsaritsyn epic.

As a result, the importance of Tsaritsyn was again downplayed, and without a correct understanding of him it became impossible to adequately assess the strategic pattern of the entire 1918 campaign. In fact, the city on the Volga provided communications between Central Russia and Astrakhan, the Caspian region and the North Caucasus, from where not only food, but also oil went to the Center. And at the same time he turned out to be the wedge that divided the White Guard forces in the Don and Kuban with Eastern Front on the Volga, which arose as a result of the Czechoslovak rebellion.

Here is what the emigre historian, former White Guard general Zaitsov writes about the significance of this point in his “Essays on the History of the Russian Civil War”:

“The liberation of the Don, the return of the Volunteer Army from the campaign against Kuban and the formation of a front on the Volga naturally raised the question of coordinating the efforts of these three main groups of the Russian counter-revolution. And this problem, from a military point of view, was Tsaritsyn’s problem.

Any advance of the Don people to the northeast, to join the Samara Front of the People's Army, was flanked by Tsaritsyn. The red forces of the North Caucasus were based on it. Tsaritsyn secured Astrakhan for the Bolsheviks, which separated the Ural Cossacks from the southeastern Cossacks... Tsaritsyn ensured possession of the Caspian Sea and the Urbach-Astrakhan railway connecting it with the center.”

This collection does not pretend to put a definitive end to the history of the defense of Tsaritsyn and the events around it. Rather, this is just a selection of materials intended to further explore this issue. The collection is based on the work of the prominent Soviet military historian V.M. Melikov's "Heroic Defense of Tsaritsyn", published in a second edition in 1940 and still the most detailed study on this topic. As an appendix to it, a selection of documents taken from two fundamental collections of documents of the Civil War is given - “Directives of the High Command of the Red Army” (1969) and the first volume of “Directives of the Command of the Fronts of the Red Army” (1971). The documents are arranged in chronological order, which helps to better understand their internal logic; they, like Melikov’s work, are accompanied by comments, including those linking the content of the operational description with the content of certain orders and reports.

In addition, the collection includes two articles analyzing various aspects of the actions of the Soviet leadership during the defense of Tsaritsyn based on modern materials.

Divisional Commander V.A. MELIKOV, professor at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army

Heroic defense of Tsaritsyn

Part one. Voroshilov's campaign

Chapter I. Invasion of Austro-German troops into the Soviet Republic in 1918

Although the Kaiser's government signed the peace treaty in Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, German-Austrian troops continued to advance into Ukraine. Long before February 18, 1918, the counter-revolutionary Central Ukrainian Rada sold Ukraine to German imperialism. Overthrown by Ukrainian workers and peasants at the end of January 1918, the Central Rada managed to flee to Zhitomir. On February 9, she signs an agreement with the German government, according to which not only the sale of Ukraine to German imperialism is formalized, but German and Austrian troops must occupy these vast lands.

On February 18, German-Austrian troops invaded Ukraine, continuing their offensive until the end of May 1918, occupying Ukraine, the Donetsk coal basin, Crimea and part of the North Caucasus in three and a half months.

The German high command, having sent 29 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions to Ukraine, with a total number of up to 300,000 soldiers with 1,000 guns, hoped that these troops would very quickly, briefly complete the task assigned to them. But already from the first days of the Austro-German-Haydamak offensive, it became clear that the enemy would face a big, severe struggle for every step forward.

Before moving on to characterize the military operations in Ukraine during this period, let us briefly consider the general military-political situation for the Kaiser’s Germany, as well as the strategic plans of German imperialism that they developed in 1918, before their invasion of Ukraine.

The entry of the United States of America into the world war on the side of the Entente dramatically changed real ratio the forces of both imperialist coalitions are not in favor of the powers of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey).

The economic and political situation of Germany, which played a leading role in this union, was critical by the beginning of 1918. The military dictatorship of Ludendorff and Hindenburg subjugated all the resources of the state. Famine raged inside the country and at the front. The high mortality rate from systematic malnutrition severely weakened the population and armies of the Central Powers. Dissatisfaction and indignation with the Kaiser's government and command grew not only among the working people, but also among the masses of soldiers. Already at the end of 1917, the government and the main German command faced a dilemma: either immediately end the war and conclude an unfavorable peace, or concentrate the last forces and in 1918 achieve victory in the main - Franco-British - theater of military operations.

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Siege of Tsaritsyn. N.Popov. J.V. Stalin in Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad. Here you can buy antiques of various subjects.