Sergey Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky(October 16, 1883, Vitebsk - April 7, 1951, Irkutsk region) - Russian and Czechoslovak military leader. Participant in the First World War and the Russian Civil War. One of the leaders White movement in Siberia. Major General of the Russian Service, General of the Army of Czechoslovakia.
Family
From the nobles of the Vitebsk province.
- Father - Nikolai Karlovich Voitsekhovsky (1857-1920), officer, then major general of the Russian Army.
- Mother - Maria Mikhailovna, nee Gnatovskaya.
- Wife - Margarita Viktorovna (1888-1965), née Temnikova, daughter of an officer in the Russian Army.
- Son - Georgy (Yuri) (1910-1993), lived in exile in the USA.
Education
Graduated real school in the city of Velikie Luki (1902), Konstantinovskoe artillery school(1904) and Nikolaev Academy General Staff (1912).
Officer of the Russian Imperial Army
On military service in the Russian Imperial Army since 1902. After graduating from artillery school, he served in the 20th artillery brigade of the 20th infantry division of the 1st Caucasian Army Corps in the city of Akhaltsykh: inspector of the training department (from September 1904), senior officer of the 3rd battery (from January 1905). In July 1905, he was enlisted in the 74th Artillery Brigade of the 18th Army Corps to be sent to the front of the Russo-Japanese War, however, due to the start of peace negotiations with Japan, this appointment was canceled in the same month, and Wojciechowski returned to his previous position . Since January 1907 - junior officer artillery battery and teacher of the divisional training team of the 5th rifle artillery division in Bialystok (according to other sources - in Suwalki), from April to August 1907 - adjutant to the commander of the artillery department, Colonel Temnikov, who in 1909 became his father-in-law. Since August 1909 - on leave “for domestic reasons”.
Since August 1910, he was a student of the academy, after graduating from May 1912, he served in the 1st Grenadier Brigade of the 1st Grenadier Division in Moscow, at the same time taught tactics at the Alexander Military School, and in 1913 he graduated from the aviation school of the Imperial Moscow Aeronautics Society. In April - October 1913 he was seconded to the headquarters of the Moscow Military District. In October 1913 - July 1914 - company commander in the 122nd Tambov Infantry Regiment of the 31st Infantry Division (Kharkov).
Participant of the First World War: in August 1914 - November 1915 - senior adjutant of the headquarters of the 69th Infantry Division in the South Western Front, in August 1915 he served as division chief of staff. In November 1915 - January 1917 - staff officer for assignments at the headquarters of the 20th Army Corps. He took part in hostilities in the Carpathians and the Dnieper Basin, was wounded, and was awarded several orders.
From January 1917 - chief of staff of the newly formed 176th Infantry Division, from February - head of the operational department of the headquarters of the 3rd Caucasian Grenadier Division, from the end of April - acting chief of staff of the 126th Infantry Division on the Romanian Front. He was listed in this position until the end of December 1917, but in fact, since August, he had already served as chief of staff of the 1st Czechoslovak Division as part of the Russian Army.
In Czechoslovak service in Russia
From December 1917 - commander of the 3rd Czechoslovakian Jan Žižka Infantry Regiment (took office in February 1918). From May 1918 - senior military commander of the Czechoslovak legionnaires in the Chelyabinsk region, was a member of the Military Collegium of the provisional executive committee of the Czechoslovak troops in Russia - the body that led the Czechoslovak armed forces who opposed the Bolsheviks. Active participant in the Russian Civil War in the Urals, Siberia and Transbaikalia.
Played big role in the uprising Czechoslovak Corps: on the night of May 26-27, 1918, commanding units of the 2nd and 3rd Czechoslovak rifle regiments, he occupied Chelyabinsk without losses. Since May 27, 1918 - commander of military units of the Chelyabinsk group and the Ural Front. As a result of hostilities in May - June 1918, the Chelyabinsk group united at the Tatar station with the troops of the Siberian group of Czechoslovak troops under the command of Radola Gaida.
- Biography:
From the nobles of the Vitebsk province. Orthodox. A native of Vitebsk. An officer's son. He graduated from the Velikiye Luki Real School, then from the Konstantinovsky Artillery School (1904). Entered service on 10/01/1902. He was released from the school as a second lieutenant (08/09/1904) into the 20th Artillery Brigade (20th Infantry Division of the 1st Caucasian Armed Forces Corps). Later (during the Russo-Japanese War?) he served in the 74th Artillery Brigade. Participant in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Inspector of the educational department (1904-1905). Art. officer of the 3rd battery (1905-1907). Inspector of the educational department of the 5th page art. division in Bialystok (1907). Lieutenant (Article 10.08.1907). Adjutant to the commander of the artillery department (1907-1910). Staff Captain (08/10/1911). Graduated from the Imperial Nicholas Military Academy (1912; 1st category). For excellent success during his studies at the academy he was awarded the order St. Stanislaus 3rd Art. After graduating from the academy, he was sent to the 1st Grenada. art. brigade. During his service, he taught tactics at the Alexander Military School and at the same time graduated from aviation school. He was assigned to the General Staff with a secondment to the headquarters of the Moscow Military District (04/22/1913). Graduated from the Imp aviation school. Aeronautical Society (IMOV) (Diploma No. 196 received 07/18/1913). By order of the General Staff No. 27 of 1913, he was assigned to the 122nd Tambov Infantry Regiment for 1 year to command a company. Commander of the 6th company of the 122nd Tambov infantry. regiment (10/11/1913-07/17/1914). World War participant. Art. adjutant of the headquarters of the 69th Infantry Division (08.1914-11.1915). Captain (pr. 11/16/1914; art. 08/10/1913). He fought in the Carpathians and the Dniester Basin, was wounded, and awarded several orders. I.d. headquarters officer for assignments at the headquarters of the 20th Army Corps (from 12/03/1915; in office on 01/03/1917). Lieutenant Colonel (08/15/1916; 12/06/1915). In 1916-1917 he served as chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the 3rd Caucasian Grenads. divisions (? a strange position for a division headquarters and a number with the name of the division too). At the beginning of 1917 and. d. Chief of Staff of the 126th Infantry Division (01/29 - 12/24/1917). According to the decision of the commander of the 45th Army Corps, he was appointed to the post of chief of staff of the 1st Czechoslovak division from 08/07/1917 (according to the List of the General Staff on 03/01/1918 - acting chief of staff of the Czech-Slovak brigade from 08/25/1917). Admitted to fill the vacant position of commander of the 3rd Czechoslovakian Jan Žižka Infantry Regiment from 12/24/1917, took command of the regiment from 02/23/1918. From 05.1918 - senior military commander of the Czechoslovak legionnaires in the Chelyabinsk region, was a member of the Military Collegium (a body of three persons: Lieutenant Colonel S.N. Voitsekhovsky, Lieutenant S. Chechek, Captain R. Gaida) of the temporary executive committee of the Czechoslovak troops in Russia. On the night of May 26-27, 1918, commanding units of the 2nd and 3rd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiments, he occupied Chelyabinsk without losses. Appointed by verbal order of the corps commander as commander of military units of the Chelyabinsk group and the Ural Front (05/27/1918). As a result of hostilities from May 27 to June 9, 1918, the Chelyabinsk group united at Tatarskaya station with the troops of the Siberian group of Czechs R. Gaida. On June 10, 1918, the Gaida and Woitsekhovsky groups were divided into three: Western, Northwestern and Eastern. By the resolution of the congress of members of the Provisional Chelyabinsk Committee and the decision of the branch of the Czechoslovak National Council, he was promoted to colonel (11. 06.1918), led the Western Group (2nd and 3rd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiments and Kurgan Marching Battalion). The group was tasked with defending the Chelyabinsk region from the south and southeast and advancing to the west and northwest - to connect with units of the Penza group of Chechek. 06/18/1918 Voitsekhovsky’s group took Troitsk, 06/26/1918 - Zlatoust and 07/06/1918 at the Minyar station united with the vanguard of the Penza group of Czechs. In the northwestern direction, Voitsekhovsky’s group fought together with units of the Northwestern group in the Yekaterinburg area. 07/08/1918 The Western group was renamed the Ural group with the task of capturing Yekaterinburg. 07/25/1918 Yekaterinburg was taken and the group was renamed Yekaterinburg. In August-September 1918 the group was replenished with formations of the 2nd rifle division and fought in the Yekaterinburg region, for Nizhny Tagil, Kungur and Tyumen. Wojciechowski was produced by Czechoslovakia national council“for distinction in battles and outstanding service” to major general on 10/17/1918 (confirmed by the Supreme Ruler with the rank of major general on 03/08/1919). Appointed commander of the Samara group of forces of the Government of the Directory (from 10/17/1918), which fought defensive battles in the Volga region until the end of 1918. Commander of the 2nd Ufa army corps(01.01 - 18.08.1919) in the troops of A.V. Kolchak. From January 15 to March 19, 1919 he was on vacation in the Far East. By order of the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander dated 03/08/1919 he was transferred from the Czech to the Russian service with the rank of major general and inclusion in the lists of the General Staff. Awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class. for the capture of Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, Zlatoust, Yekaterinburg (order of the VP and VG 06/22/1919). At the head of the 2nd Ufa Corps, he participated in the White spring offensive of 1919, in the defense of Ufa, and in the Chelyabinsk operation. Commander of the Ufa Group of Forces (29.08 - 01.10.1919), awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class. for the Tobolsk operation (order of the VP and VG 09/12/1919). Then - commander of the 2nd Army (01.10.1919 - 25.01.1920). After the death of General V.O. Kappel - Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front (01/25 - 02/20/1920). Withdrew the remnants of troops to Transbaikalia. 02/20/1920 was appointed by order of Ataman G.M. Semenov commander of the troops of the Russian Eastern outskirts. 04/27/1920 sent to communicate with the Armed Forces of the South of Russia. Through Trieste he arrived in the Crimea, in the army of General P. N. Wrangel and was enlisted in the reserve. In November 1920 he was evacuated to Constantinople, and then moved to Czechoslovakia. On 05/01/1921 he enlisted in the Czechoslovak army. Commander of the 24th Foot Brigade (from 09.1921). Deputy commander of the troops of the Subcarpathian Military District in Uzhgorod (02.1922). Commander of the 9th Foot Division in Trnava (1924-1927). Head of the Zemstvo Military Administration in Brno (1927-1935), Zemstvo military commander in Prague (1935-1938). Army General (December 30, 1929). During the Munich crisis, he took an active anti-capitulation position, for which he was dismissed in 04.1939 and joined the EMRO (1939-1943). In 1939, after the German occupation, he created and headed the underground organization “Obrana naroda” (“Defense of the Nation”). He was a member of the underground Czechoslovak government, where he served as Minister of War. Until May 1945 he lived with his family in Prague. On 05/12/1945 he was arrested by counterintelligence "Smersh" and from 05/30/1945 he was kept in Moscow in Butyrka prison. Convicted on September 15, 1945 by a special meeting of the NKVD of the USSR under Article 58, paragraphs 4, 6 and 11 on charges of participation in the “anti-Soviet organization “Russian All-Military Union”, which set as its goal the armed overthrow of Soviet power and the organization of terrorist acts against the leaders of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Soviet government" to 10 years in prison. Until 03.1946 he was kept in Butyrka prison. Until 05.1949 he was kept in the Unzhensky camp (Sukhobezvodnaya station of the Gorky railway). On May 25, 1949, he arrived in Ozerlag and was placed in Special Camp No. 7 of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (Taishet, Irkutsk region). Due to poor health and old age, he qualified as a disabled person and worked as an orderly at a camp hospital. He died in the camp from “pulmonary tuberculosis and senile insanity.” He was buried in the cemetery of the Central Hospital No. 1 of the Ozerny camp near the village of Shevchenko, Taishet district Irkutsk region, in the grave marked 4-36. Rehabilitated by a resolution of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation dated June 5, 1996. 10/28/1997 by decree of the President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel S.N. Wojciechowski was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Lion, 3rd class. (the highest award of the Czech Republic). Works: Diary (manuscript); Úvahy o řízení operací a boje podle příkladů ze světové války. Kniha 1. - Praha:, 1933; Bitva u Tomaszowa a Komarowa. - Praha:, 1935; Úvahy o řízení operací a boje podle příkladů ze světové války. Díl 3. - Praha:, 1938.
- Ranks:
- Awards:
- Additional Information:
- Sources:
- 1918 in the East of Russia. M. 2003
- E.V. Volkov, N.D. Egorov, I.V. Kuptsov White generals of the Eastern Front of the Civil War. M. Russian way, 2003
- Information provided by Gennady Kaninsky (Chelyabinsk)
- List of the General Staff. Corrected to 06/01/1914. Petrograd, 1914
- List of the General Staff. Corrected to 01/01/1916. Petrograd, 1916
- List of the General Staff. Corrected on 01/03/1917. Petrograd, 1917
- List of the General Staff. Corrected on 03/01/1918./Ganin A.V. Corps of General Staff officers during the Civil War 1917-1922. M., 2010.
- VP for the military department/Reconnaissance No. 1279, 05/12/1915
Sergei Voitsekhovsky was born in Vitebsk in 1883. He came from a family of hereditary military men, from the Russified Polish-Lithuanian gentry. His father, Nikolai Karlovich, participated in the liberation of the Balkans from Turkish yoke
. The mother, who came from the family of Counts Elagin, was involved in raising children at home. In a traditionally military family, young Sergei’s career was predetermined in advance. After graduating from high school, he entered the Konstantinovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg. It was elite educational institution
In 1905 he went to the Far East, where the unsuccessful war with Japan for Russia was ending, but did not have time to take part in the hostilities. His further path lay in Bialystok (Poland), on the opposite end of the empire, to the position of instructor of the 5th rifle and artillery division, where his knowledge and erudition were highly appreciated by his commander, Colonel Temnikov. In 1909, Wojciechowski married his daughter, Margarita. A year later, their son George was born.
The goodwill of his superiors contributed to the fact that Sergei Nikolaevich was granted leave for further study, and in 1908 he entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. In 1912, having already become a captain, Woitsekhovsky graduated from it in the first category, i.e. with a gold medal. At the same time, he receives his first award - the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree. Being a medalist and having the right of free choice, he chooses the grenadier artillery brigade of the Moscow Military District as his place of further service. After a year of service here, he was transferred to the headquarters of the military district. The young officer sought to master new technology and in 1913 he graduated from the Moscow Aviation School, receiving the rank of pilot.
With the outbreak of World War II, Wojciechowski went to the front, where he proved himself to be a brave and, most importantly, able to think tactically and strategically as an officer, which was reflected in the numerous awards he received - the Order of St. Anne, Stanislav with swords and ribbon, and even the Order of St. Vladimir with swords and a bow, which was awarded only to military personnel who survived the battle under threat of death. At the end of 1914 he was awarded the rank of staff captain, and in 1915 he held the position of chief of staff of the division. He spent all the years of the war at the front. After being wounded in the Molodechno region (wounded in the leg and under the shoulder blade) and after correction, Sergei Nikolaevich returned to duty as the chief of staff of the 2nd Caucasian Grenadier Division, operating in the Vileyka region (Belarus), and at the end of August 1917. appointed chief of staff of the newly created Czechoslovak rifle division.
After the famous battle of Zborov, where the Czechs who fought on the Russian side distinguished themselves, increased recruitment of Czechoslovak troops began, for which the chief of staff was primarily responsible. Then the October Revolution occurred, the situation changed radically.
After the Bolshevik revolution, Czechoslovak units, according to an agreement between the Bolsheviks and the Western powers, were sent across Russia to Vladivostok. From there they must be transferred to France to fight against the Germans. But the Bolsheviks, who concluded the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with Germany, created obstacles for the Czechoslovaks, detained their trains, and at the end of May 1918 tried to disarm them. The Czechoslovaks resist and, under the command of Wojciechowski, overthrow the still weak Soviet power in Chelyabinsk.
Next, the Chelyabinsk group of Lieutenant Colonel Voitsekhovsky struck to the east and, having taken Omsk, united with the Siberian army of R. Gaida. On June 11, 1918, the Branch of the Czechoslovak National Council in Russia promoted Wojciechowski to colonel. While remaining commander of the 3rd Jan Žižka Regiment, he directed the actions of the Chelyabinsk group and acted as chief of staff of the Czechoslovak Corps.
Having defeated the Red troops near Troitsk, Voitsekhovsky turned west, took Zlatoust and established contact in Minyar with the Penza group of Lieutenant S. Chechek. In July, Colonel Voitsekhovsky transferred operations to Yekaterinburg. In ten days, the troops he led literally destroyed the opposing Red regiments and on July 25, 1918, entered Yekaterinburg, where a few days earlier they had been shot Royal Family
. With the direct participation of Sergei Nikolaevich, military power was organized in the city, and a garrison chief and commandant were appointed. On August 3, 1918, Woitsekhovsky left for Kuzino to prepare for the attack on Perm, which began on August 5. The main blow was delivered along the Western Ural railway
in the direction of Kyn and Kalino. On August 10, the Kormovishche station was taken, and the Reds hastily evacuated Lysva. A major success was planned, but everything fell apart as a result of the counter-offensive of the Red troops on Yekaterinburg.
Assessing the threat, Woitsekhovsky changed his plan and transferred his main forces again to Yekaterinburg. On August 12, in a battle near the Copper Mine (now Verkhnyaya Pyshma) and the village of Baltym, the red troops were defeated and thrown back to the north.
On October 7, 1918, Colonel Voitsekhovsky was replaced as commander of the North Ural Front (Ekaterinburg Group) by Major General R. Gaida, and Sergei Nikolaevich was appointed commander of the Samara Group of Forces, later renamed the 2nd Ufa Corps. In the spring and summer of 1919, Major General Voitsekhovsky, who returned to Russian service (in the troops of the Supreme Ruler A.V. Kolchak), led operations against the strike groups of the Red Eastern Front and retreated with his regiments across the Belaya River, through the Urals to Chelyabinsk and across the Ishim River. White launched a counter-offensive more than once, trying to seize the initiative, but this was not possible.
During this time, relations between the Whites and Czechoslovaks were steadily deteriorating: after the victory of the Entente on the Western Front and the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia, many legionnaires did not see the point in further participation in the Russian Troubles. But Voitsekhovsky, one of the most talented White Guard commanders, is highly valued by the Czechs. This is what Matej Nemec, commander of the 3rd Czechoslovak Regiment named after Jan Zizka, wrote about him: “He successfully commanded us in critical situations and achieved many victories. Not only his military abilities, but also his honest character earned him the deep respect of our soldiers."
Wojciechowski was firm, sometimes cruel. In November 1919, he commits perhaps his most morally dubious and terrible act: during a quarrel with a subordinate, General Grivin, whose troops retreated without orders, he kills Grivin in a rage, after which he orders his troops to return to their abandoned positions.
However, after reporting to Kappel about this incident, on November 26, 1919, he received gratitude from him for restoring order in the army. In Novo-Nikolaevsk (present-day Novosibirsk), part of the Siberian Army, led by Colonel Ivakin, raised a rebellion against him, which he suppressed. In mid-December 1919, Wojciechowski categorically refused the post of Commander-in-Chief of the White Forces of the Eastern Front. For the connivance of the Czechs and Slovaks in Siberia to the Bolsheviks during the Great Siberian Ice Campaign, he challenged their commander Syrov to a duel, to which the Czech general did not show up.
Successfully withdrew his troops from encirclement near Krasnoyarsk on January 5-6, 1920. After the death of the legendary Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel, Voitsekhovsky at the beginning of 1920 became the commander of the White Guard forces near Irkutsk (being near death, Kappel, by order of January 21, 1920, transferred command to Woitsekhovsky). With the remnants of his troops, he fights his way to Transbaikalia with heavy fighting. The general doesn't find it there common language with Ataman Semenov, who is prone to robberies and riots, and soon leaves for another front - to the Crimea, to General Wrangel. However, the White Resistance was already doomed by that time.
In exile in Istanbul, for some time Sergei Nikolaevich was involved in the repatriation of Russian military personnel, but even then he made a decision: Czechoslovakia would become his second home. In May 1921, he received confirmation from Prague that his general rank was recognized (on the condition that he take Czechoslovak citizenship within one year). In the summer of 1921, General Sergei Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky first came to Czechoslovakia, which became his second home and which he served as selflessly as Russia.
The 9th Infantry Division in Trnava, Slovakia, was placed under Wojciechowski's command. The general is mastering Czech, performs his official duties flawlessly. His career speaks to this: in 1927, Wojciechowski was appointed commander of a military district centered in Brno. In December 1929, he was awarded the rank of army general. The modern Czech publicist Vladimir Bystrov, a descendant of Russian emigrants, cites in his recently published book about Wojciechowski the general’s service description given to him by the chief of the Czechoslovak General Staff, Ludvik Krejci: “He has an honest, energetic, responsible character. Reliable. A highly educated commander with rich military experience... He is highly observant. Works proactively, purposefully and systematically. An excellent district commander." This evidence is all the more valuable because General Krejci had rather tense relations with Wojciechowski.
In 1935, Sergei Voitsekhovsky was appointed to one of the key positions - commander of the Prague Military District. Among his concerns is the construction of fortifications along the Czech-German border, in the most likely places for future battles. Wojciechowski was aware of the threat posed by the aggressive policy of the Nazis, who sought to secede the Sudetenland, inhabited by a German minority, from Czechoslovakia. Historian Jiri Fidler writes that the general “worked for his new homeland to the limit of his physical capabilities” - after all, it was at this time that he fell ill with a severe form of stomach ulcer.
It was not easy for Wojciechowski politically either. After 1935, Czechoslovakia began to move closer to the USSR, which was unacceptable for the former White Guard. He negotiated with Soviet military representatives only when absolutely necessary.
The year 1938 is coming - a fatal year for Czechoslovakia. President Benes, under pressure from the Western powers, decides to accept the terms of the Munich Treaty, according to which Czechoslovakia cedes border lands to Germany. On September 29, Wojciechowski attends a meeting with the president, where five Czechoslovak generals are trying to convince Benes not to obey the dictate. “Mr. President, no matter what the great powers decide, we must fight,” Wojciechowski’s friend, General Lev Prhala, begged the president almost in tears. - The people are united, the army is strong and wants to go into battle. Even if we are left alone, without allies, we cannot give up - the army is obliged to defend the integrity of the republic, it wants and will fight.”
Munich was the first step towards the loss of independence. On March 15, 1939, the Nazis occupy Czech lands. The Czechoslovak army was disbanded. Just a few days after these events, Sergei Voitsekhovsky participates in the creation of the underground organization Obrana národa (“Defense of the Nation”). In September of the same year he was arrested by the Germans, but two weeks later he was released under the constant supervision of the Gestapo. Subsequently, the general did not take an active part in the resistance - both because of health problems and, perhaps, because of disappointment in Czechoslovak politicians, because the coordination of the activities of the underground was carried out by the emigrant government led by the same Benes, to whom after 1938 Wojciechowski could not harbor warm feelings. A descendant of the general, Sergei Tilly, in an article published in the Russian-language Prague press, claims that in 1944, German representatives approached Wojciechowski with a proposal to lead the anti-Bolshevik Russian Liberation Army instead of General Vlasov, but he resolutely refused. There is no documentary evidence of this episode.
Wojciechowski was obviously being followed not only by the Germans, but also by Soviet agents. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the fact that already on May 12, in the first, very chaotic days after the liberation of Prague from the Nazis, the general was found and arrested by employees of the Soviet counterintelligence SMERSH. He was accused of membership in the emigrant organization “Russian All-Military Union”, accusing him of “training command personnel to fight the USSR.” There was and is no evidence of such activities by Voitsekhovsky. However, the general was transported to Moscow and sentenced to 10 years in the camps (in 1996 he was completely rehabilitated). But, of course, for an elderly man with poor health (remember his stomach ulcer), this was more than enough. Nevertheless, he was a courageous man, he stood strong, and even managed to put pressure on the ulcer. He was sent to many camps, but the last one was Ozerlag near Taishet (Irkutsk region). Sergei Nikolaevich set himself a goal - to survive. He managed to hold out for nine and a half years. But, unfortunately, in December 1954 he died from another gastric bleeding; the camp infirmary did not help him at all.
The place of his burial remains unknown. Wojciechowski became one of hundreds of figures of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian emigration - citizens of Czechoslovakia, despite arrested by Soviet secret services on Czechoslovak territory. Despite the attempts of Wojciechowski’s relatives and several of his former associates to get the Czechoslovak authorities to protect the general, official Prague did nothing: President Benes believed that his country needed good relations with the USSR - at almost any cost.
The merits of Sergei Voitsekhovsky were appreciated by his second homeland much later - alas, posthumously. On October 28, 1997, Czech President Vaclav Havel signed a decree awarding General Wojciechowski the highest award of the republic - the Order of the White Lion "for outstanding services in the field of defense and security of the state."
On October 23, 2003, in the Prague Orthodox Cathedral Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, on Resslova Street, its head, protopresbyter, Doctor of Theology Yaroslav Shuversky, held a memorial service for General S.N., who was killed in the Siberian Gulag. Voitsekhovsky. The memorial service was attended by representatives of the city authorities, parliament, the organizers of the memorial exhibition, and the already few, familiar Wojciechowski family. After for long years
separations scattered throughout the world, the members of his family themselves gathered in the temple. Two granddaughters came from the USA - Elena and Margarita, a grandson, also Sergei Voitsekhovsky, and the Prague branch was represented by the author of the article, Sergei Tilly, with his son, also Sergei. The memorial service, with the participation of the church choir, was very solemn and touching, and in the sermon many words of gratitude were said in memory of the Russian emigrant, Czech general Sergei Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky. April 7, 1951. The village of Taishet, Irkutsk region. Camp hospital. A gray-haired, very thin old man with a tired face in a white sanitary coat sits in front of an iron potbelly stove. Sometimes he opens the stove door, looks at the fire and throws in some wood chips. What is the former lieutenant colonel thinking about? tsarist army
April 7, 1951. The village of Taishet, Irkutsk region. Camp hospital. A gray-haired, very thin old man with a tired face in a white sanitary coat sits in front of an iron potbelly stove. Sometimes he opens the iron door of a hot stove, looks intently at the fire and throws in wood chips. What is the former lieutenant colonel of the tsarist army, the former army general of Kolchak’s troops and the former commander of the Prague Military District of the Czech Republic, Sergei Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky, thinking about? Maybe he remembers how here, very close by Siberian standards, in November 1919, he personally shot and killed a classmate at the Konstantinovsky School, a comrade-in-arms in the White movement, General Pyotr Grivin? Or that then, in Prague in 1944, he did not succumb to the persuasion of the German command and did not lead the treacherous Russian Liberation Army instead of Vlasov? Who knows. Or maybe he remembers his childhood, Vitebsk, the father of Nikolai Karlovich, general of the tsarist army, hero of the Balkan wars?
Famous Minsk collectors and historians Alexander and Inna Radaev unexpectedly came across the name of their compatriot S.N. Voitsekhovsky, and, amazed by the power of this figure, they began to closely study his biography. Later they organized a wonderful exhibition at the State Historical Museum Belarus, dedicated to the general. Alexander Radaev writes:
It all started with the fact that on one of our trips to Prague, while walking along Wenceslas Square, we went into a bookstore and on the shelf of Russian-language literature we saw the book “House in Exile,” which was a collection of essays about the fate of the Russian post-revolutionary emigration in Czechoslovakia. Due to the fact that the publication was local and in the vast former USSR It was basically impossible to find it; it was immediately acquired. And we did not regret it: there were quite a few well-known people, whose names are familiar to many, and were in one way or another connected with Czechoslovakia during the First Republic. Among them: Princess Natalya Yashvil, writer Arkady Averchenko, poetess Marina Tsvetaeva, grandmother of the Russian revolution Ekaterina Breshko-Breshkovskaya and many others to whom Czechoslovakia became a second home at that time.
But one of the essays struck, perhaps, most of all. The fate of the Russian officer, general of the Kolchak army, and subsequently general of the Czechoslovak army Sergei Voitsekhovsky was so bright, dramatic, and ultimately tragic that it was simply impossible not to pay attention to this figure. We were always interested in history, but this name was an absolutely blank spot for us at that time. Even the fact that in the fairly well-known and recently sensational Russian film “Admiral” the role of General S. Voitsekhovsky was played as a separate episode, unfortunately remained unnoticed by us and, probably, by many. And after we learned that S. Voitsekhovsky was our fellow countryman at his place of birth in Vitebsk, the family circle immediately came up with the idea of holding an exhibition dedicated to the general in his homeland in Minsk, and then directly in Vitebsk.
From that moment on, the search began for materials related to the life of our hero, which sometimes turned into fascinating and sometimes detective stories that have not ended to this day.
However, first things first. One of the most prominent generals of the White movement, Sergei Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky, was born on October 28, 1883 in Belarus into a family of Belarusian-Lithuanian gentry. All of his male ancestors were military men. By the way, he always emphasized that he was an Orthodox Russian officer. My maternal grandmother was from the eminent family of Counts Elagin. He also gave Russia many worthy officers. So young Sergei didn’t have much choice. And he himself sincerely strived for military service. After graduating from high school, Voitsekhovsky entered the elite Konstantinovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg. He graduated among the first with honors and went to the Caucasus as a second lieutenant.
Started Russo-Japanese War. He writes a report asking to be sent to fight. The report has been approved, but while the young officer gets to Far East By the time he gets settled into the service, the war ends. He does not take part in hostilities. A peace shameful for Russia has been signed. The homeland lost the war. Wojciechowski is annoyed. It seems to him that if he had made it to the theater of hostilities, everything would have been different... He does not yet know that he will still have time to fight in full in his life.
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A graduate of the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, staff captain S.N. Voitsekhovsky.
He serves in Bialystok as an adjutant to Colonel Viktor Temnikov, his future father-in-law. In 1908 he entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. In 1909 he married Margarita, the daughter of his commander. In 1912 he graduated from the Academy with a gold medal, that is, in the first category, and with the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree, for brilliant studies. He can choose his own place of service, and the young captain is sent to the elite Moscow Military District. In those same years, he studied and graduated from the Moscow Aviation School of the Imperial Aeronautical Society, receiving a pilot's license.
After Moscow - Tambov. There he meets the First world war. At the front, he is a brave, courageous officer who knows how not only to go on the attack, but also to think tactically and strategically. He was awarded several military orders, including St. Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and bow (1916). By the way, this Order of St. Vladimir was awarded only to officers who survived the battle under the threat of death. At the end of 1914 he was awarded the rank of staff captain, and in 1915 he held the position of chief of staff of the division. After being wounded in the leg and under the shoulder blade, Sergei Nikolaevich returned to duty as the chief of staff of the 2nd Caucasian Grenadier Division, which operated in the Vileika area (Belarus). In 1916 - lieutenant colonel. In January-December 1917 - as chief of staff of the 126th Infantry Division. Since August 1917 - chief of staff of the 1st Czechoslovak division as part of the Russian army.
But the Great Troubles had already arrived. The tsar abdicated, the empire that Wojciechowski served ceased to exist. And later, taking advantage of the lack of will of the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks took power. Sergei Nikolaevich did not accept the new government. It must be said that back in December 1917, the French government - a leading member of the Entente - recognized the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia as an independent unit under the direct leadership of the French High Command. And it decided to evacuate the legion to France through Vladivostok. Because the west of Russia was engulfed in a bloody civil war.
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Colonel S.N. Voitsekhovsky, September 24, 1918, Siberia.
At the beginning of May 1918, Czechoslovak troops under the command of Wojciechowski made their way to Chelyabinsk. And as part of the only then organized and real military force in Siberia they began to fight the Reds. Units of the Czechoslovak Corps united with local anti-communist forces and crushed the Bolsheviks from the Volga to Siberia. Sergei Voitsekhovsky is fighting in the Urals, his units are liberating Yekaterinburg. A couple of days after the Bolsheviks executed the royal family there. He fights with Chapaev and the future Soviet Marshal Tukhachevsky. His group of troops took Troitsk, Kungur and Tyumen. He personally led the battles to capture the Verkh-Neivinsky plant, leading an encircling group of Czechoslovaks that went around Lake Tavatuy and took Nizhny Tagil. On October 17, 1918, “for distinction in battles and outstanding service,” he was promoted to major general by the Czechoslovak National Council and appointed commander of the Samara Group of Forces of the Directory Government. Under his command, the group fought defensive battles in the Volga region: not only stopped the Reds’ advance, but also threw them back across the Ik River.
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Observation artillery point, Art. Argayash, before the attack on Kyshtym.
Meanwhile, relations between whites and Czechoslovaks deteriorate. After the victory of the Entente on the Western Front and the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia, they see no point in further participation in the Russian civil war. But Voitsekhovsky, one of the most talented commanders of that time, is highly valued by the Czechs. This is what Matej Nemec, commander of the 3rd Czechoslovakian Jan Žižka Regiment, wrote about him: “He successfully commanded us in critical situations and achieved many victories. Not only his military abilities, but also his honest character earned him the deep respect of our soldiers."
By order of the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Admiral Kolchak dated March 8, 1919, he was transferred from Czech to Russian service. With retention of the rank of major general and inclusion in the lists of the General Staff. Awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class. for the capture of Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, Zlatoust, Yekaterinburg. At the head of the 2nd Ufa Corps, he participated in the White spring offensive of 1919, in the defense of Ufa, and in the Chelyabinsk operation. Commander of the Ufa Group of Forces, awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class. for the Tobolsk operation. Then he was already the commander of the 2nd Army.
In November 1919, in the village of Ust-Tarka, Voitsekhovsky committed probably the most terrible act of his life. In a rage, he shot his comrade, Major General P.P. Grivin, with a revolver for leaving the front without permission. With his retreat, he forced Woitsekhovsky’s southern group to retreat. After this, he appointed a new commander to Grivin’s troops and ordered them to return to their abandoned positions. Some said that Grivin was not guilty of anything, he was following the orders of his superiors, and Woitsekhovsky killed an innocent man. Others supported Sergei Nikolaevich, because in this situation it was impossible to be soft, the front was crumbling and Grivin really retreated on his own initiative. It's not for us to judge him. But the fact remains a fact.
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Major General S.N. Voitsekhovsky. Kolchak's army. 1920
Successfully withdrew his troops from encirclement near Krasnoyarsk in January 1920. On January 25, 1920, after the death of General V.O. Kappel during the legendary Great Siberian Ice Campaign, he replaced him as commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front. Already dying, Kappel transferred command to Wojciechowski by personal order.
He led the White Army's attack on Irkutsk. On January 30, 1920, he defeated the Red troops near Irkutsk, and his troops were weakened by a typhus epidemic. He demanded that the red command hand over the captured Admiral Kolchak and the gold reserves to the whites, as well as provide the white troops with food, fodder, and warm clothing. Having learned about the execution of Kolchak, he did not storm Irkutsk. It was clear that the war was lost and he did not want to risk the lives of Russian soldiers. The army circled the city in two marching columns and ascended along the Angara River to Lake Baikal. And on February 14, in the conditions of the beginning of the ice drift, he brought the remnants of Kolchak’s troops to the eastern shore, in Transbaikalia.
At the beginning of 1920, by order of Ataman G.M. Semenov, he was appointed commander of the troops of the Russian Eastern outskirts. But it already became obvious that it was all over. In addition, he does not find a common language with Ataman Semenov, who is prone, to put it mildly, to robbery and robbery. In the summer of 1920, he was seconded to communicate with the Armed Forces of the South of Russia. Arrived in Crimea, in the army of General P.N. Wrangel. In November 1920 he was evacuated to Constantinople. Then he already made a decision: Czechoslovakia would become his second home. In May 1921, he received confirmation from Prague that his general rank was recognized. Provided that he accepts Czechoslovak citizenship.
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General of the Army of the Czechoslovak Republic S.N. Voitsekhovsky.
Minsk collectors and historians Alexander and Inna Radaev continue:
“First of all, upon returning home, we immediately asked for an audience with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Belarus, Mr. Jiri Karas, with whom we had a very good relationship even before that.” a good relationship for art exhibition projects. Having listened carefully to our proposal for holding an exhibition about the general, he immediately ordered a letter of recommendation to be drawn up on embassy letterhead with his signature, where he asked any Czech institutions to assist us in collecting material about S. Wojciechowski, which subsequently opened many necessary doors in our search.
The next step was a letter to the publishers, in which we outlined our idea for the exhibition and asked to put us in touch with the author of the essay and other people who could help us in this matter.
The editors responded immediately. It turned out that these were really people who were passionate about their work, mainly from the wave of Russian emigration of the 1990s. By the way, in their periodical “ Russian word“We then found a lot of valuable information.
Journalist Marina Dobusheva was a real guide for us among the Russian diaspora in the Czech Republic. It was from her that we learned that, unfortunately, the author of the essay about General S. Voitsekhovsky, by the way, his great-nephew, Sergei Georgievich Tili, died literally six months before the time when we decided to take on this topic. But his widow, Natalya Alexandrovna Tili, allowed him to use family photographs and the archive. From her came one of the main “threads” in our search to the direct descendants of the general who now live in the USA. The fact is that The only son general, born in Russia in 1910, by the way, also served as an officer at one time in the Czechoslovak army, in 1945 before joining Soviet troops left Prague for Munich, in the American zone of occupation, and then completely emigrated to America. He has already died, but his two sons and three daughters still live in the United States. One of the granddaughters of General Sergei Wojciechowski, Elena Zgagowski, is the keeper of the family archive. It was with her, through my cousin Valeria Andreeva, who lives in America and is fluent in English language, we corresponded and subsequently entered into a license agreement for free targeted use of their family archive. This common practice for the Western world turned out to be a new and useful experience for us in providing or exchanging information, although this was not the first time we were organizing exhibition projects. By the way, at the opening of the exhibition, the general’s descendants sent their letter of welcome, which was read out.
Among the people who at that time had the most complete knowledge of the issues that interested us was the famous Czech publicist, a descendant of white emigrants, Vladimir Bystrov, who at one time wrote the book “The Fate of a General” about S. Voitsekhovsky, and was also the initiator of the exhibition “Sergei Voitsekhovsky. Soldier and Democrat”, which took place in Prague in 2003. I never managed to get to know him. V. Bystrov was already seriously ill at that time and did not make contact with anyone, although even before that, according to eyewitnesses, he was quite zealous about this topic. He died in June 2010.”
To be continued
) - one of the leaders of the White movement in Siberia, Russian and Czechoslovak military leader, major general. Participant of the Great Siberian Ice March. General of the Army of Czechoslovakia.
Born into the family of a retired lieutenant colonel. He graduated from the Velikiye Luki Real School, in 1904 from the Konstantinovsky Artillery School, and in 1912 from the Academy of the General Staff. Participant in the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars. Since September 1917, lieutenant colonel. Chief of Staff of the 1st Czechoslovak Division, since February 1918 commander of the 3rd Czech Regiment. When the corps set out on May 26, he led a combined group of 9 thousand people and captured Chelyabinsk. On June 11 in Russia he was promoted to colonel. In November-December - commander of the Samara group, promoted to major general. In the spring and summer of 1919 S.N. Wojciechowski led operations against the southern group of Reds. Since October - commander of the 2nd White Army.
Replaced Lieutenant General as Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front. On January 30, 1920, the Kappelites, with the assistance of the Czechs, defeated a Red detachment of 1,500 people arriving from them under the command of A. S. Nesterov. On February 7, they occupied the station, preparing for the assault. They received a demand not to borrow with a threat to take the side of the Reds. In this regard, with the news of the admiral’s execution and the scarcity of ammunition, the majority of the White commanders spoke in favor of a detour. The Kappelites walked across the ice to Mysovaya, to the units of Ataman G.M. Semenov, to whom, by the last decree, he presented power in the territory of the “Russian Eastern Outskirts”. Voitsekhovsky brought up to 24 thousand soldiers with 11 guns to Transbaikalia and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Russian Eastern outskirts.
In 1921 he accepted citizenship of Czechoslovakia. In the Czechoslovak army he commanded a brigade for three years, then a division, and from 1927 he led the Brno district. After the German occupation - Minister of War of the underground government.
After arrival Soviet army in 1945 he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years under Article 58. Until May 1949 he was kept in UNZHLAG (Sukhobezvodnaya station of the Gorky Railway), then in E (Art.), he worked as an orderly at a camp hospital.
He was buried in grave “4-36” in the cemetery of the central hospital No. 1 of Ozerlag near the village of Shevchenko.
Awards
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree (1912, for successful completion Nikolaev Academy General Staff).
- Swords and bow for the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class (1916).
- Order of St. Anne, 4th degree “For bravery” (1915).
- Order of St. Anne, 3rd class with swords and bow (1915)
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class with swords (1915).
- Order of St. Anne, 2nd class with swords (1915).
- Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class with swords and bow (1916).
- Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class with swords (1919)
- Order of St. George, 4th class (1919).
- Order of St. George, 3rd class (1919).
- Insignia of the Military Order "For the Great Siberian Campaign" 1st degree (No. 1; 1920).
- Military Cross (Czechoslovakia, 1919).
- Order of the Falcon, 1st class with swords (Czechoslovakia).
- Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor (France, 1926).
- Commander's Cross of the Legion of Honor, 3rd degree (France, 1929).
- Order of St. Sava, 2nd degree (Yugoslavia, 1929).
- Order of St. Sava, 1st degree (Yugoslavia, 1930).
- Order of the Crown, 1st class (Yugoslavia, 1937).
- Order of the Star, 1st class (Romania, 1937).
- Order of the White Lion for military merit, 3rd degree (awarded posthumously on October 28, 1997 by decree of Czech President Vaclav Havel).
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