Wrangel Petr Nikolaevich (born August 15 (August 27) 1878 - died April 25, 1928) Baron, Lieutenant General, participant in the Russian-Japanese, World War I and Civil War, commander of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia and the Russian Army.
He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree (1914), the soldier's St. George Cross (1917), and other orders. Author of memoirs "Notes: in 2 parts" (1928).
Origin
The Wrangel family, which dates back to the 13th century, was of Danish origin. Many of its representatives served under the banners of Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Holland and Spain, and when Livonia and Estonia finally consolidated their positions behind Russia, Wrangels began to serve the Russian crown with faith and truth. The Wrangel family included 7 field marshals, 18 generals and 2 admirals (the islands in the Arctic and Pacific oceans are named after one of them, F. Wrangel).
Many of the representatives of the Wrangel family in Russia have dedicated their lives to military careers. However, there were those who refused it. One of them was Nikolai Georgievich Wrangel. Having abandoned a military career, he became the director of the Equitable insurance company, which was located in Rostov-on-Don. Nikolai Georgievich had the title of baron, but he had neither estates nor fortune. He inherited the title to his son, Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel, who became one of the most famous military leaders of the early 20th century.
Education
Promotional video:
Wrangel Petr Nikolaevich was born in Novoaleksandrovsk on August 27, 1878. He received his primary education at home, and then entered the Rostov real school. After graduating from college, Peter went to St. Petersburg, where in 1896 he successfully passed the exams at the mining institute.
The title of baron and family ties allowed the young Pyotr Wrangel to be accepted in high society, and higher education made it possible for him to serve the military service obligatory for Russian citizens for only one year and choose the place of service himself.
Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
Peter Wrangel graduated from the Institute in 1901 and in the same year he joined the Life Guards Horse Regiment as a volunteer. The next year he was promoted to cornet, having passed the exams for the officer rank at the Nikolaev Cavalry School. Then, having retired to the reserve, he went to Irkutsk as an official for special assignments under the governor-general. The outbreak of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 found him in Siberia, and Wrangel, again enters active military service, and goes to the Far East. There, Pyotr Nikolaevich was enlisted in the 2nd Argun Regiment of the Transbaikal Cossack Army.
1904, December - Pyotr Wrangel was promoted to centurion - "for distinction in cases against the Japanese." During the hostilities, for courage and bravery, he received his first military orders - St. Anna, 4th degree and St. Stanislav. 1905 - Served in a separate intelligence division of the 1st Manchurian Army and by the end of the war early received the rank of podsaul. During the war, Wrangel strengthened his desire to become a career soldier.
Revolution 1905-1907
The first Russian revolution 1905-1907 walked through Siberia, and Pyotr Nikolaevich, as part of the detachment of General A. Orlov, took part in pacifying the riots and eliminating the pogroms that accompanied the revolution.
1906 - in the rank of head captain he was transferred to the 55th Finnish Dragoon Regiment, and the next year he was a lieutenant of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment.
1907 - Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel entered the Nikolaev Military Academy of the General Staff, from which he graduated in 1910 among the best - seventh on the list. It should be noted that the future Marshal of the Soviet Union B. Shaposhnikov studied on the same course with Wrangel.
1911 - he takes a course at the officer's cavalry school, having received a squadron under his command, becomes a member of the regimental court in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment.
World War I
The outbreak of the First World War brought Pyotr Nikolaevich to the front. Together with a regiment with the rank of captain of the guard, he became part of the 1st Army of the North-Western Front. Already in the first days of the war, he was able to distinguish himself. 1914, August 6 - His squadron attacked and captured a German battery. Was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. After the unsuccessful East Prussian operation, Russian troops retreated, but, despite the fact that there were practically no active hostilities, Wrangel was repeatedly awarded for bravery and heroism. He was promoted to colonel and awarded the St. George golden weapon. For him, the rank of officer made a lot of sense, and he said that he had to set an example for his subordinates with his personal courage.
1915, October - Pyotr Nikolaevich was transferred to the South-Western Front and took command of the 1st Nerchinsk Regiment of the Trans-Baikal Cossack Army. When translated, he was given the following description by his former commander: “Outstanding courage. He understands the situation perfectly and quickly, he is very resourceful in a difficult situation."
Under his command, the regiment fought in Galicia and took part in the famous "Brusilov breakthrough". 1916 - Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel was promoted to major general and he becomes the commander of the 2nd brigade of the Ussuri cavalry division. By the end of the war, he already leads the division.
Wrangel was a monarchist by his convictions, but often criticized in conversations both the highest commanding staff and personally Emperor Nicholas 2. He associated the failures in the war with the weakness of the command. He considered himself a true officer and made high demands both on himself and on anyone wearing officer's shoulder straps. Wrangel repeated that if an officer admits that his order may not be carried out, then "he is no longer an officer, there are no officer shoulder straps on him." He was highly respected among fellow officers and ordinary soldiers. He considered the main thing in military affairs to be military valor, intelligence and honor of a commander and strict discipline.
Civil War
Peter Nikolaevich accepted the February revolution at once and swore allegiance to the Provisional Government. But the collapse of the army, which began soon, had a very difficult effect on her state of mind. Not wishing to continue to take part in this, Petr Nikolaevich, referring to his illness, went on vacation and left for the Crimea. For almost a year he led a very secluded life, with practically no contact.
Wrangel with his wife Olga Ivanenko
Summer 1918 - Wrangel decides to act. He comes to Kiev to the former commander of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, General, and now Hetman Skoropadsky, and stands under his banner. However, the hetman did not care much about the revival of Russia; he fought for the "independence" of Ukraine. Because of this, conflicts began to arise between him and the general, and soon Wrangel decided to leave for Yekaterinodar to see General Denikin.
Having joined the Volunteer Army, Wrangel received a cavalry brigade under his command, with which he participated in the 2nd Kuban campaign. Having a great combat experience behind him, without losing courage, determination and courage, Pyotr Nikolaevich very soon received recognition as an excellent commander, and his command was entrusted at first with the 1st Cavalry Division, and after 2 months, the entire 1st Cavalry Corps.
In the army, he enjoyed great authority and often addressed the troops with bright patriotic speeches. His orders were always clear and precise. 1918, December - he was promoted to lieutenant general. It should be noted that Wrangel under no circumstances allowed a weakening or violation of discipline. For example, during successful operations in Ukraine in the Volunteer Army, cases of looting became more frequent. Many commanders turned a blind eye to this, justifying the actions of their subordinates by the poor supply of the army. But the general did not want to put up with this and even used public executions of looters in the units entrusted to him for the edification of others.
Successful operations in the south greatly increased the front of the offensive. At the end of May 1919, it was decided to create a new Caucasian army for operations on the Lower Volga. Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel was appointed commander of the army. The offensive of the Caucasian army began successfully - they were able to take Tsaritsyn and Kamyshin and undertake a campaign against Saratov. However, by the fall of 1919, large forces of the Reds were drawn against the Caucasian army, and its victorious offensive was stopped. In addition, all reserves were transferred from the general to the Volunteer Army, which was advancing towards Tula and Moscow, which significantly weakened the Caucasian army.
Having suffered a crushing defeat under the counterattacks of the Southern Front, the Volunteer Army retreated. The remnants of the white armies were consolidated into one corps under the command of Kutepov, and Wrangel was instructed to go to the Kuban to form new regiments. By this time, the disagreements between him and Denikin, which began in the summer of 1919, reached their highest point. General Wrangel criticized Denikin for his methods of military leadership, strategy, and his civilian policy. He opposed the undertaken campaign against Moscow and insisted on joining up with Admiral Kolchak. The result of the disagreement was that Wrangel was forced to leave the army and go to Constantinople.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South
1920, March - Denikin resigns and asks the Military Council to find a replacement for him. Petr Nikolayevich Wrangel was elected (unanimously) as the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the South.
Having assumed office, Petr Nikolaevich began, first of all, to put the army in order and began to reorganize it. The generals whose troops were notable for their indiscipline - Pokrovsky and Shkuro - were dismissed. The commander-in-chief also changed the name of the army - now it began to be called the Russian Army, which, in his opinion, should have attracted more supporters to its ranks. He himself and the "Government of the South of Russia" created by him tried to create a new state on the territory of Crimea, which could fight the Soviets with an example of a better state structure. The reforms carried out by the government were not successful, and the support of the people was not received.
1920, early summer - The Russian army numbered 25,000 people. Wrangel conducted a successful military operation to capture Northern Tavria, taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the Reds were in Poland. In August, he sent an amphibious assault to the Kuban, which, not meeting the support of the Cossacks there, returned to the Crimea. 1920, autumn - The Russian army tried to take active steps to capture the Donbass and break through to the Right-Bank Ukraine. The number of Wrangel's army by this time reached 60,000 people.
The fall of the white Crimea
But soon military operations in Poland were stopped, and 5 armies were thrown against the Russian army, including two cavalry armies under the command of M. V. Frunze, numbering more than 130,000 people. It took the Red Army only one week to liberate Northern Tavria, break through the Perekop fortifications and break into the Crimea. The Russian army, unable to resist the numerically superior enemy, began to retreat. General Wrangel still managed to make this retreat not a disorderly flight, but an organized withdrawal of units. From the Crimea on Russian and French ships, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Russian army and refugees were sent to Turkey.
Emigration
Baron Wrangel spent about a year in Turkey, staying with the army, maintaining order and discipline in it. During this year, the soldiers of the Russian army gradually dispersed around the world, and many left back to Russia. At the end of 1921, the remnants of the Russian army were transferred to Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
Instead of the disintegrated Russian army, the Russian General Military Union (ROVS) was founded in Paris, which had departments in countries where former officers and members of the White movement found shelter. The purpose of the ROVS was to preserve the officer cadres for the future struggle.
Until his death, Baron Wrangel remained the leader of the ROVS and did not stop fighting the Bolsheviks. The ROVS carried out extensive reconnaissance work and had a combat department developing plans for conducting armed actions on the territory of the USSR.
Wrangel Peter Nikolaevich died in Brussels on April 25, 1928, several months before his 50th birthday. His body was transported to Yugoslavia and solemnly buried in Belgrade in the Russian Church of the Holy Trinity.
Y. Lubchenkov