The British view of the Baltic, 1919. Part 1

The British intervention in the Russian Civil War was not a great success - after all, the Reds won. However, one place where they did some good was in the Baltic. The Royal Naval commander there during 1919 was Rear Admiral Walter Cowan. This is his official report.

 London Gazette
6th April 1920

"Delhi" at Devonport,
SIR,
1. I have the honour to forward herewith this my report on my year's Service in Command of His Majesty's Naval Forces in the Baltic, where I relieved Rear-Admiral Sir Edwyn S. Alexander-Sinclair, K.C.B., M.V.O., on .the 6th January, 1919.

2. When I arrived the German situation was as.follows: German troops were nominally in occupation of Latvia, with Headquarters at Libau.
The Bolsheviks were in Riga, and gradually advancing South and West
The German Troops were of low morale, and in a poor state of discipline - and wherever the Bolsheviks advanced the Germans fell back, in many cases handing over arms and munitions to the Bolsheviks on their retirement.
3. The Bolsheviks had by the middle of February advanced so far as Windau, and were also within forty miles from Libau from the Westward.
4. I therefore in "Caledon " (Commander Henry S. M. Harrison-Wallace, R.N.) shelled them out of Windau; and made what preparations I could to evacuate the refugees from Libau, as I did not consider an indiscriminate shelling of the town in the event of its occupation by the Bolsheviks would be advisable if no troops were available to land for its reoccupation.

5. Shortly after this (at the end of February), large German reinforcements began to arrive by sea, and General-Major Graf Von. der Goltz assumed command. at Libau, and very soon afterwards stabilised the situation, and drove the Bolsheviks well East again - and this, so far, was satisfactory.
6. In the meantime the Letts - under the direction of M^. Ulmanis, the Acting President. - were making every endeavour to raise and equip a sufficient military force - aided by a. limited quantity of small arms and machine guns - to enable them to undertake the defence of their own country against the Bolsheviks when the time should come for the Germans to withdraw. It soon became evident, however, that it was not the Germans' intention to permit any Lettish Force being raised, and constant cases of friction, oppression and disarmament of Lettish Troops began to occur
7. The climax was reached on the 16th April, when at the Naval Harbour - where the Headquarters of the Lettish Troops were - German troops raided these Headquarters, arrested and disarmed all the Officers, and looted money and documents, killing and wounding several Lettish soldiers. Simultaneously with this, in the town of Libau itself, Baltic-German troops arrested those members of the Lettish Government who were unable to escape them, whilst the rest took refuge on board His Majesty's ships, and
M. Ulmanis, the Acting President, with the British Mission, which consequently was surrounded by Baltic-German sentries.
8. That night two young Baltic-German Officers came off to my ship and announced that they were the Heads of the Committee of Safety until the formation of a new Government, and asked me if I could guarantee them the support of His Majesty's Government in this movement.
I pointed out to them that until I had some satisfactory explanation for the events of the day I could listen to and recognise no such proposals.
I then sent them on shore again and heard nothing more of them.

Libau 1919

9. On my requiring an explanation from Von der Goltz for these happenings, he denied all responsibility or knowledge for them, saying that his troops were out of hand, and that the Baltic-Germans were not under his orders.
10. In consequence of this I called a meeting of the Allied representatives, and with them demanded the following from Von der Gdltz;
First. - That the unit which raided the Lettish Headquarters should be at once removed from the Libau district.
Second. - That the Commanding Officer of the offending Baltic-German Unit be relieved of his command.
We also gave him the time and date by which we required the fulfilment of these demands.
11. Both were complied with within the time, but Von der Goltz stated that as he considered the Lettish Government to be Bolshevik and a danger to the district he was administering by order of the Allies, he could not agree to their release from arrest, or the continuance of their functions.
12. This state of affairs was reported to Paris accordingly, and a very few days afterwards, owing to the melting of the ice, and signs of activity by the Bolshevik Fleet, I had myself to proceed, to the Gulf of Finland, and Commodore Arthur A. M. Duff, C.B., arrived on the 29th May and took charge of affairs in the Western Baltic; and thereafter, by his quick and accurate grasp of the whole German situation there, freed me from a very considerable portion of my preoccupations.
It is hard for me to do justice on paper to the adequacy and effectiveness of his administration until he left for England again on the 28th September. I have now transferred to him the duties of Senior Naval Officer in the Baltic.

13.. On arrival in the Gulf of Finland and reviewing the situation, my hope and intention was - as soon as ice conditions allowed it - to move as far East as possible in order to support the left flank of the Esthonian Front, and to protect it from any attempt at being turned from the sea.
14. After getting into touch with the Esthonian Naval and Military Authorities, I went over to Helsingfors to call on the Regent (General G. Mannerheim), and also to congratulate the Finns on the recognition of the independence, which had been announced the previous day. Circumstances then obliged me to return to Libau for a day on the 12th May.
15. I had previously - on the 7th May - shifted my flag from " Caledon" to "Curacoa," On returning from Libau to Reval on the 13th May " Curacoa " struck a mine, which disabled her from further service and occasioned eleven casualties amongst her personnel.

 HMS Caledon

16. I therefore shifted to " Cleopatra," and left Reval the next morning for the Eastward, and, from the 14th May onwards I lay - first in Narva Bay for a few days reconnoitring as far as Kaporia whilst the Esthonians were landing and operating between there and Louga - and then, as they established themselves further East, I moved forward to Seskar.
from which place, with the very good visibility prevailing day after day, I was able from the mast head to keep an effective watch on Petrograd Bay.

17. The situation then was somewhat of an anxiety to me, as the strength of the Bolshevik. Naval Forces was known to include Armoured Ships - the Esthonians were lying in Kaporia with 1 unarmed Transport (including the Nekmangrund Light Vessel, so hard up were they for ships), an old,  slow ex-Russian Gunboat " Bobr," and one ex-Russian Destroyer, dependent on me for fuel, of which I had then, only a limited supply - and my own Force consisted only of "Cleopatra " and four Destroyers, the Seventh Submarine Flotilla arriving shortly afterwards at Reval.
18. From then onwards I maintained a watch on the Bay, whilst the Esthonians were constantly in contact with the Bolshevik Troops, bombarding and pushing forward here and there, and landing more men, whilst relieving those who needed refit, always under the direction of Admiral John Pitka, who, before the War, was a Shipowner of Reval and Director of a Salvage Company, but who assumed command of the Esthonian Naval Forces last winter, and has always shown a most correct instinct for war, both on land and sea. He has since been decorated by His Majesty.

19. On the 17th May a great deal of smoke was observed over Kromstadt; and on the 18th five Bolshevik craft, led by a large Destroyer of the "Avtroil" type came as far West as Dolgoi Nos, five miles clear of the Petrogriad Minefields, and then while still close under the land turned back. So in "Cleopatra" (Captain Charles James Colebrooke Little, C.B) with " Shakespeare " (Commander, now Captain, Frederick Edward Ketelbey Strong, D.S.O.), " Scout " (Lieutenant-Commander Edmund F. Fitzgerald), and " Walker " (Lieutenant-Commander Ambrose T. N.), I went ahead full speed from Seskar on an Easterly course, closing the range rapidly from 20,000 to 16,000 yards when fire was opened, the Bolshevik Destroyer, flying a very large red flag, firing the first shot. I stood on until within half a mile of the mined area, and came under the fire of the Grey Horse Battery, but by this time the range was opening and spotting very difficult, owing to the vessels being close under the land all the time.
20. The speed of the enemy appeared to be reduced to about ten knots, one good hit on the Destroyer at any rate was observed, but under the circumstances I did not consider it advisable to run in over the minefields and under the guns of the shore batteries in order to obtain a decision, and so these craft made good their escape.
21. To the Eastward, but not taking part in the action, was a three-funnelled Cruiser, the "Oleg," and to the Eastward of her again was smoke - and it was reported that the Bolshevik Dreadnought Battleship "Petropavlovsk" was also out.

22. On the 24th May General Sir Hubert Gough arrived in "Galatea" on a special Mission to Finland and the Baltic States, and I accompanied him over to Helsingfors to assist at his ceremonial landing, and to salute him there, and went with him to interview the Finnish authorities, thereafter leaving again for the Eastward, leaving " Galatea" at Helsingfors.

 HMS Walker

23. On the 31st May, whilst still lying off Seskar in "Cleopatra" with "Dragon" (Captain Francis Arthur Marten, C.M.G., C.V.O.), "Galatea" (Captain Charles Morton Forbes, D.S.O.), " Wallace" (Captain George William McOran Campbell), "Voyager" (Lieutenant-Commander Charles Gage Stuart, D'.S.C.), "Vanessa" (Lieutenant- Commander Edward Osborne Broadley, D.S.O.), "Wryneck" (Commander Ralph Vincent Eyre, E..N.), "Versatile" (Commander Gerald Wynter, O.B.E.), "Vivacious" (Commander Claude L. Bate, R.N.), and with "Walker" and two Submarines on patrol, a Bolshevik Destroyer was sighted coming West with a Dreadnought Battleship, and two other small craft behind the minefields. The Destroyer was engaged by "Walker" and chased Eastwards, the Battleship opening a heavy and well-controlled fire at the same time.
24. On the first report I weighed and steamed East, a Bolshevik aeroplane appearing overhead and dropping bombs among my force as it advanced, but it flew off Eastwards on being fired at.
25. The Destroyer fell back on the battleship, which manoeuvred behind the minefields and kept up a heavy and well-disciplined fire on "Walker" as she fell back to meet me;
Fort Krasnaya Gorka having a kite balloon up and firing also.
26. I stood up and down the edge of the minefield, but the Bolshevik Force showed no intention of coming on, and retired Eastwards after a few salvoes had been fired.
27. "Walker " was hit twice, but no appreciable damage was done, and there was one slight casualty only.
28. It now became apparent to me that with the small forces at my disposal it would be necessary, in order to keep an effective watch on Bolshevik Naval movements, and in particular to, if possible, ensure that no mines were laid to the Westward of the existing fields across the entrance to Petrograd Bay, that I should.have a Base nearer to Kronstadt than Reyal.
29. I therefore moved to Biorko, and required certain assistance from the Finns in the way of patrols and accommodation on shore agreed to by them.

Estonian cavalry

Compared to the large cavalry armies of the East, Estonia seems to have had remarkably few cavalry. For example, at the battle of Cesis in June 1919 they had only 65 with 6,500 infantry, whereas the German Frei Korps had 500-600 for about the same number of infantry. When the 1st Cavalry Regiment had been formed in December 1918 most of the officers had had no cavalry training in the Tsarist forces, and many of the men could not even ride.

Estonian cavalry 1919 (The Estonian War Museum - General Laidoner Museum)

By May 1919 there were two cavalry regiments, the 1st with 4 squadrons, the 2nd with 3, and both with machine gun and signal detachments, about 900 men. There were differences though, the best trained, and motivated, men had joined the 1st Regiment when it was formed, so that throughout the war it performed much better than the 2nd Regiment, and had higher morale. In May, both cavalry regiments were attached to the 3rd Division, so the the 1st and 2nd Divisions had no cavalry formations at all. By October the 1st Regiment had been transferred to the 2nd Division, but the 1st still had none.

Instead, cavalry were attached to other units, so that each infantry regiment had a cavalry detachment of about 20-30 men (a Ratsakomando) for scouting. Gradually the numbers increased, so when the 7th Infantry Regiment was formed in December 1919 it had about 80 cavalry out of 1,714 men, as well as a ski/ cyclist platoon.

An Estonian armoured train in the forest

Companies also operated in conjunction with armoured trains (Soomusrongide divisjoni eskadrons), which were quite a feature of warfare in the area. The Estonians had pioneered the use of attachments of infantry and cavalry in this regard - the infantry, heavily equipped with automatic weapons, could hold areas, whilst the cavalry could scout around a prevent unpleasant surprises.

An example comes from the reminiscences of Willem Rakfeldt, leader of the cavalry troop on No. 3 armoured train, which took part in the liberation of Tartu in 1919. The line to Tartu was held by Latvian units, and other trains had been repeatedly held up by partisans cutting the track.

"We were ten men at the disposal of the commander of the train. Several of our horses were captured from the enemy. Our horsemen moved ahead on both sides of the train and we saw a lot of Reds but they did not break the rails in front of us.
I sent two young men on horseback to gather intelligence. However they were made prisoner. They were placed in a pig sty and locked in. But the boys managed to break out and escape to the forest. They were shot at, but manged to evade and fortunately came back to us unscathed.

 The attack on Tartu

Armoured trains 1 and 3 went on towards Tartu. A few kilometres from the city we left the train and circled around to enter the city from the left. The Reds were retiring and setting fire to the city. Locals immediately directed us to the Kreditklassa building where prisoners were held in the basement. We reached there at the same time as men from No. 1 train. We opened the basement door and saw terrible images. People were lying on the floor and on top of each other, still warm and bloody. We found one man who was wounded and had multiple leg wounds. He survived."
http://vapsid.weebly.com/artur-sirk.html

Estonian armour, 1919

During 1919 the small republic of Estonia had to fight for it´s existence against vastly superior numbers of Bolshevik Russians coming from the North and East, and then German Frei Korps from the South. With help from the British Royal Navy, and many volunteers from the Scandinavian countries, especially Finland, they somehow survived.

The Estonians didn´t inherit much from Tsarist Russia. The only destroyer in their fleet had been captured by the British from the Bolsheiks, and they had no armoured cars. They did however have a factory in Taliin, the Federal Foundary, and they resolved to make their own.

The first, the "Tasuja", was built on a Renault chassis and rushed into action against the Bolsheviks in the winter of 1918/9. Unfortunately it got stuck on a damaged bridge during a battle in March and was consequently destroyed.

The next two designs were the "Estonia" and the "Wahur", the latter based on a Packhard lorry chassis. They were rapidly send into action in March 1919, but the "Estonia" was found to be two heavy for the winter roads, and was restricted to Tallinn, though in the summer it was sent south, and by the autumn it had managed to get to Narva to take part in the defence against the Red Army.

 The "Estonia"

There was also the "Vanapagan", based on a Delahaye (2-ton) chassis. It was described at the time as looking as though the armour had been added by a village blacksmith, and Vanapagan was a clumsy giant in Estonian folklore, but it was effective enough.

By now the Estonians were experienced enough to develop a standard design of armoured car, though armoured truck would be more appropriate. Based on an AEC 3 ton chassis, each had a 37mm automatic gun in the turret, two rear facing MGs and a Madsen LMG to the front. The armour was 6-10 mm thick and they weighed up to 8 tons! We are not talking mass production here, they were individually made, and each had a name. Apparently the cars were so noisy when driving that it was almost impossible for the crew to shout to each other.

"Toonela" - complted in April 1919 and on active duty April 22nd
"Kalewipoeg"- completed April 1919, on active duty April 25th. The Kalewipoeg was commaned by a         Swedish volunteer, Einar Lundburg, of which more anew.
"Wibuane" - completed April 1919, and on active duty April 23rd
"Kotkasilm" -  completed January 1920.
"Erilane" - completed January 1920, later renamed "Lembit"

In 1919 the Estonians captured two "proper" ex-Russian army cars, which they renamed the "Tasuja 2" and "Suur Tõll". These were Austin-Putilovs, each with two 7.62mm Maxim MGs in two turrets.

 The Tasuja 2

There was also a Peerless anti-aircraft car, captured by the Finnish volunteer regiment Pohjan Pojat on the 14th March 1919 and donated, willingly or not, to the Estonians in April, where it was renamed the "Pisuhänd". These were basically Peerless trucks adapted by the British to carry a machine gun and pom pom gun, and used by the Russian army as anti-aircraft guns. Even by the standards of the day it was considered slow and heavy, with poor off road performance, but reliable

During summer the cars were painted olive-green , in winter grey/white or just grey, to blend into the inevitable snow. Nonetheless, the name was invariably painted on the side in large letters!

Operation

Although they had pretty good armour and firepower, the Estonian armoured cars were not well suited to cross country travel, especially in the deep Baltic winter. Mostly, they had to stick to roads and were used for patrols behind the front line. Nonetheless, when they could be used they were often effective.

i) Fighting the Frei Corps

The "Estonia", "Toonela" and "Vanapagan"  were part of the reinforcements sent to the Southern front in June 1919, to resist the pro-German Frei Corps, the "Vanapagan" attached to the 6th Regiment.

On June 20th 1919, near Riga, the Germans launched attacks all along the front. All day these were resisted, but at about 5 pm the Vilandi Cadets were finally forced to retreat from the mansion they had been defending, and the way was open to Stolben. At this moment the commander, Lt. Col Reek, committed his reserve, the “Estonia” and “Toonela” together with an assault detachment on an armoured train. The "Estonia" carried on down the road whilst the "Toonela" peeled off and moved amongst estate outbuildings. This drove back the attack, although even then infantry from the assault company werer needed to fill the line, as the armoured cars could not traverse the terrain. Further attacks were made but the front had been stabilised.

 The "Vanapagan"

The "Vanapagan", and a handful of infantry from the sappers of the 6th Regiment, skirmished with some Red Latvian infantry & cavalry on the 21s,t but it didn't amount to much and they returned to the Murmuiža estate were they were based.

On the 22nd the Estonians counter attacked at the village of Starte. The road into the village emerged from woodland and then through about 500m of open farmland before entering the village. All of this was well covered by machine guns from the defenders and the company attacking made very slow progress down drainage ditches. Suddenly, the "Vanapagan" dashed full tilt down the road into the village, firing as it went, the Estonians lept to their feet and charged the village, and it was taken. Unfortunately the "Vanapagan" could not follow up the pursuit as it was running low in fuel.

By the 25th the “Vanapagan” needed essential maintenance, and the "Estonia" had serious mechanical problems, but the “Toonela” was stationed on the Riga-Pskov highway guarding the bridge at Cesis.

ii) Einar Lundborg

Einar Lundborg and the "Kalevipoeg"

Einar Lundourg was one of those people who are natural adventurers. He had been in the Swedish army before resigning to join a Swedish volunteer brigade, helping the Finns in their fight for independence against the Russians. He did well there, but when the war was won he returned to Sweden and joined the 5th Hussars. This seemed to bore him rather, so when an office opened in Stockhom recruiting for the Estonian war of Independence he volunteered. By March 1919 he was with other Swedish volunteers, the Svenska Karen, at the battle of Narva.

In April a number of armoured cars became available, and Lundborg was chosen to captain the "Kalevipoeg", setting off for the Southern front.

On May 25th, Lundberg was with the Estonians when they took Pskov, the highwater mark of their advance. The "Kalevipoeg" cleared the way for the attack into the town, and Lundborg was later known as the "King of Pskov".

In September the "Kalevipoeg" was part of August Nieländer's armoured car squadron when it temporarily turned away from the main column, leaving them unprotected from Bolshevik attacks. This seems to have given rise to some bitterness in the infantry, so that shortly afterwards Lundborg found himself without infantry support during a five and and half hour battle, losing 5 of his men. He was only rescued when the "Pishund" appeared and drove the enemy off.

Disillusioned, Lundberg resigned and joined the Swedish White Legion with the White Russian forces at Narva, but something there did not suit him either, and by November he was back in Sweden. Lundborg went on to be a pilot, earning fame for the rescue to Umberto Noble when his airship crashed in the Artic, and in the end dying flying as a test pilot in 1931.

The Black Army of Nestor Makhno

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires left a vacuum which many peoples tried to fill. For the historic kingdom of Ukraine, split between the the Russians and Austrians, this was a heaven sent opportunity. Unfortunately, hundreds of years in different worlds had left little in common between the two parts, who fielded two separate armies, and were defeated and absorbed separately, by the Poles and Russians. But there was, for a while, a third force, the Black Army, or Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine.

The RIAU was led by Nestor Makhno (hence they were sometimes known as Makhnovists) the son of a very poor family who had worked in a iron foundry in Huliaipol, where he had first got involved in Anarchist politics. He eventually rose to command all the Anarchist groups in South Eastern Ukraine, where he tried to impose an Anarchist/ Communist society, abolishing capitalism, "nationalising" all land and setting up workers communes, though, strangely enough, most of the senior leaders seemed to come from Makhnos forces. In true Communist style Makhno adopted a nickname, "Batko", meaning Father.

Mostly though the RIAU fought, against White Russians, Red Russians, anybody really. To distinguish them from the White and Reds, and because they marched under the black Anarchist flag, they were known as the Black Army. In 1918 Makhno swiftly won victories against the much larger forces of the Hetmanate - the client state set up in Ukraine by Germany and Austro-Hungary - capturing vast amounts of supplies, and encouraging many Ukrainian peasants to join his cause.

By early 1919 Makhno had 15,000 men, mainly Ukrainian and Cossack peasants, equipped from the hundreds of thousands of Austrian and German soldiers streaming back through the Ukraine from the Eastern front. From the outside they didn't look too different from other armies of the time, with infantry, cavalry and artillery. The cavalry, both regular and guerrilla, was reportedly very good. Two things set the RIAU apart. Firstly, there were no officers as such, all commanders were elected by the troops, and major decisions taken by mass assemblies. Although ideologically pure in the anarchist sense, it was also responding to necessity. The Austro Hungarian army had had very few Ukrainian officers, and they were unlikely to join an Anarchist militia when there were White forces available. In contrast, the Polish forces for example, could draw on a large cadre of trained ex-Austrian officers, especially in the cavalry.

A tachanka and RIAU cavalry

The second distinctive feature was the tachanka. This was a two horse cart with a driver and one or two soldiers in the back, with a rear facing heavy machine gun. Again this suited well the local conditions, where the warfare was mobile and cavalry important, this gave the cavalry extra fire power, as well as covering the retreat, as the machine gun faced backwards. The RIAU used them en mass and it made a big impression on their enemies. Of course tachankas could also be used to transport infantry, much faster than marching.

Events in deepest Ukraine tended to be ignored in the Western press, one of few mentions of Makho concerns an interview in July 1919 with General Gregoriev, who had set up an independent republic in Odessa on the Black Sea, and who was associated with the "Green" army. Makhno and Gregoriev were, superficially, allies. Anyway, suspecting that he was going to defect to the Whites (highly likely given Gregoriev's numerous changes of side in the past), Makhno drew a pistol, and shot him.

 A tachanka and cavalry

The Black army had a number of successes, especially against the Whites of Admiral Denikin, but it was the Bolsheviks who were their downfall. Makhno's brand of Anarchism was a mixture of brutality and naivety, so that when a unit was captured the officers would be executed, but the troops often released to walk home as "proletarian brothers". Thus, although detesting the Cheka secret police, and the Bolshevik dictation of its subjects lives, Makhno regarded the Reds as natural allies. He was, inevitably, betrayed in June 1920 when Red units suddenly attacked various RIAU outposts, Trotsky ordered the Cheka to murder thousands of Ukrainian peasants sympathetic to the Anarchist cause, and two Cheka agents were sent to assassinate Makhno. Even then, when in the Communists offered another alliance in September 1920 Makhno agreed, and campaigned against the White General Wrangel, preventing the Ukrainian grain harvest from falling into White hands.

"STEADFAST TO 'THE END, WRANGEL'S LAST DAYS IN TIE CRIMEA, The following is the substance of an  Oficial Report, published in the London "Times" of December 10 1920, on the evacuation of the Crimea by Lieutenant-Colonel Count Leon Ostrorog, an eye-witness and competent observer of the incidents he describes:- Having proceeded to the Crinea from Warsaw in the latter part of October on my own initiative with a view to ascertaining what assistance, if any, could be rendered to Wrangel's Army, I was an eye witness of the last scenes of the retreat and evacuation of both the Army and civil population, which commenced on November 11. 

Some days previous to that date an unprecedented cold wave had struck the peninsula, accompanied by a fierce norfherlv gale. The plight of Wrangel's Army, for the greater part in rags, shoeless, on short rations, lacking stores of every kind, with a scanty medical service, beggars imagination; in addition, munitions were scarce and artillery practically nil. This Army, composed of units of every description. though chiefly of Don and Kuba Cossacks, was flanked by Makhno's partisan bands on its' extreme right. The total fighting strength, infantry, cavalry and artillery, numbered originally 100,000 men, officers, rank, and file, on the Mariupol, Alexandrovsk, Aleshki. Kherson front-namely, 500 kilometeres (310 miles). It had fought without a break for over six months against vastly superior forces well armed, equipped, and fed, with a great superiority, not only in artillery and  ordnance, but ammunition as well, the Bolshevists being well supplied with both shell and fuses of the latest pattern. The heavy casualties among officers of high rank testify to the fierceness of the fighting, while, owing to lack of sea transport and the immense difficulty of communications for such as wished to join Wrangel's Army the General's reserves were reduced to nil. Nevertheless, this battered Army stood its ground in spite of the overwhelming forces which poured against it from the opening of the Polish-Soviet peace negotiations, until the effectives were reduced to 45,000 men, forming three divisions, against 28 Red divisions. This took place on October 28, and 10 days' continuous battle was followed by the retreat to the Perekop line. 

 RIAU troops

General Wrangel, besides directing operations, maintainnmg order among the population by his indomitable courage and personality, led in person many of the attacks against the Bolshevists, still hoping against hope that a hitch might occur during the. Polish Soviet peace negotiations, thus causing the withdrawal of some of the Bolshevist forces, and give time for supplies to reach him. His spirit and that of his troops never broke down. The last offensive; which had begun on October 28, ended on November 14, when Sebastopol fell. No words can describe the superb spirit of the inhabitants, as well as that of the few troops in Sebastopol. when it was announced officially that all hope was at an end, and that evacuation must commence at once. There was no panic, no looting, no disorder; absolute calm prevailed. When it is realised that officers' wives, delicate women, and children had been living for days on end in a city practically devoid of fuel, with Arctic cold, scanty food, ill-clothed, ill-lodged, cut off from and apparently abandoned by the outer world, one can but bow to such heroism, and see in its spirit the certain regeneration and ultimate grandeur of the Russian peoples."

 Two weeks after Wrangel's defeat in November 1920 Mahkno's headquarters staff met the Red Army command for a planning meeting, and were murdered. The Black army never really recovered, their best leaders gone and the peasants in the Ukraine cowed by Trotskys campaign of terror. In August 1921 Makhno slipped across the Romanian border to exile, finally in Paris where he worked amongst other things, as a stage hand at the Paris Opera.

Spartacist Prequel - Christmas in Berlin 1918

Daily News. 27th Dec1918

The Amsterdam correspondent of the 'Daily Chronicle' says that the news from Germany shows that the spirit of Christmastide is ^entirely absent" There is a dreary atmosphere of defeat,, which hangs over all. Food is scarcer than ever. It is true that the restaurants, cabarets, music halls and theatres are gay and bright, but these are only scanty tinsel hiding the dirt and depression and dullness of Berlin. Candles for the Christmas trees are unobtainable, and toys are scarce, and expensive. Thousands of demobilised soldiers wander dejectedly through the streets of Berlin, tryiing to earn a living by selling cigarettes, newspapers, and postcards. Beggars in rags abound. The restrictions on drinking  and  dancing have been removed, so hundreds of the. dancing palaces are overcrowded, where drinking continues untill five o'clock in the morning. A small portion of the population is earning fabulous wages.under the revolution, but 99 per cent of the people are hungry and workless.

The Argus. 28th Dec 1918

 The Neuer Marstall "stables" on Schlossplatz - the huge edifice on the right. In 1900.

 
Details of the riots in Berlin early in the week, in the course of which 100 persons were killed in street fighting when marines and Spartacusites (extreme Socialists) occupied the Royal castle and arrested the commandant of the city are now available

On Tuesday morning, Christmas Eve, 800 sailors who were guarding the Red Palace arrested General Weiss, commander of the Berlin garrison and two assistants, because Weiss proposed to dissolve the Sailors Corps and refused to incorporate it in the Republican Guard The Government at once made preparations  to disperse the sailors and ordered the Republican Guard to place machine guns in the streets The sailors refused to surrender and occupied the ex Kaisers palace which the Guard bombarded with batteries of .77 s firing at point blank range. The castle is considerably damaged the walls being full of holes whilst the balcony from which the ex Kaiser made his famous speech at the beginning of the war when he declared ' I know no parties" was smashed up before the Guard succeeded in occupvmg the castle. Many sailors were killed and others fell in the fighting in the Unter den Linden and elsewhere.

 Volksmarine sailors in Berlin

 

Amsterdam advices that the rioting commenced at 8 oclock on Tuesday morning when the Marines, who held extreme Socialist views, occupied the Imperial Palace and stables. The Guards assaulted the two buildings under cover of artillery and after three hours of  fighting the Marines retreated having come to terms with the troops supporting the Government. The marines casualties were 68.
Street fighting arising from the revolt continued throughout Tuesday on to Wednsday morning
A large number of the Berlin Guards joined the sailors and also a few of the Republican Guards. A great number of armed civilians continued to join the sailors who occupied the Koenig strasse as far as the town. The Spartacist partv supported the sailors demand that the Ebert Government should resign in favour of one constituted bv Herr Labedour  and Dr. Karl Liebnecht. A long conference with the Ministers was held bv Dr Liebknecht at the Chancellors palace The result was not disclosed. Further fighting was feared as the Spartacists and the the sailors had decided to compel the Guards to return to Potsdam The latter are now stationed in the Unter den Linden and Werderschenplatz.

On Wednesday evening, Christmas Day, the situation was more dangerous for the Government. The Alexander and Franzen regiments openly joined the sailors and it was reported that nearly the whole of the Berlin garrison intended to do likewise Thus the Governnient was likely to be left without troops. It was believed that large forces of sailors from Kiel and Wilhelmshaven  were proceeding to Berlin to assist their comrades. Soldiers and 50 sailors occupied the Royal castle while 1,200 sailors held the Roval stables. Both groups declared that they would not surrender before both buildings were destroyed over their heads.

The latest advices are that the disturbances have somewhat subsided the soldiers and sailors declaring that the trouble is over. The  sailors remain in the city, but have evacuated the badly battered palace.Each regiment in Berlin together with the sailors will select delegates. These will form a committee which will appoint one of their number as supreme commander the troops, the commander to be responsible to the Peoples Councils.

The riots have caused a decision by the military commanders to pay off the members of the Naval Reserve who are on duty at the Revolutionary headquarters.

The Spartacist forces have seized the War Ministry and the office of "Vorwarts", a newspaper.

The Mercury. 30th Dec 1918


Telegraphing, on Christmas Day, the Berlin correspondent of the "Daily Express" states that the German Government has given way to the sailors' demands, and allowed them to remain in Berlin. Berlin is rapidly approaching anarchy. Many of the wives and sweethearts of sailors are now armed . Some took part in yesterday's fighting. Not a few sailors state openly that no peace is possibles for Germany until Allied troops arrive in Berlin.

Spartacists in Berlin 1919

In January 1918 the Kaiser was on the throne of a Germany that looked like winning the war. The Russians were collapsing with a victorious, strong, Germany seizing their territories, and a knockout blow was ready in the West. By January 1919, the dream was shattered. The war lost, the Kaiser had abdicated, Germany's colonies were gone and the allies were discussing how to cut Germany down, and keep her there. In the capital Berlin, short of food and supplies in deep winter, and with thousands of men returning from the front, bitter and disillusioned, power was there for the taking. The Left were inspired by Bolshevik Russia, the Right were horrified by Communism, and longed to make Germany strong again. On the Right the gangs called themselves Frei Korps, and were usually based on the previous unit of the men, so that the Frei Korps Potsdam, for example, was formed from ex- Guards. So groups of both sides, heavily armed and military trained, were roaming the streets of Berlin.

What government there was was led by Friedrich Ebert, and held in power by whatever army was left in Berlin, as well as, until recently, the Volksmarinedivision of mutinied sailors who were based in  the Neuer Marstell (Royal Stables) across from the Imperial City Residence. When they had occupied the Imperial Chancellery Ebert had made the mistake of sending troops against them, only to see these repelled and expelled from the city centre. With Ebert without regular troops and the Volksmarine uninterested in seizing power themselves there was a dangerous vacuum.

Spartacists marching through Berlin

Early in January, Left wing gangs had seized several buildings in the newspaper district around Kochstrasse, including the offices of Vorwarts, which had been highly critical of the Left, especially the Spartacists. These were Marxists, who had named themselves after the slave who rose against Imperial Rome. Although they had changed their name to the Communist Party of Germany, and in fact were only one of several groups, what came next became known as the Spartacist Rising.

Gathering in the former police headquarters on Alexanderplatz the various fraction leaders discussed what to do. Predictably, there was endless discussion, but no agreement. Even amongst the Spartacists, Karl Liebknecht wanted to take over the state whilst Rosa Luxemburg favoured negotiation. The military leader of the Spartakists, Robert Eichhorn naturally favoured the former. Also there was Karl Radek, a close associate of Lenin and Vice-Commisar for Foreign Affairs for the Russian Bolshevik government who was a long term advocate of Revolutionary War. When material was found at Vorwarts urging attacks by the Frei Korps, they all agreed on fighting.They tried to bring over the army regiments to their cause, especially the Volksmarine, but there was little enthusiasm there for a communist state, not least because many in the Army blamed strikes and disturbances back home for Germany´s defeat in the war.

Meanwhile, Ebert was bringing troops back into Berlin, and encouraging the Frei Korps. On Saturday 11 January they made their move.

The battles for Berlin

The bombardment of the Police Headquarters in Alexanderplatz began at 6 in the morning. Artillery (7cm guns) had been placed on the roofs of houses in streets to the south of Alexanderplatz, and together with more on a railway car on the stone railway arches to the east they opened fire. The Spartacists replied with machine gun fire, but they were out gunned and these were silenced in less than 15 mins. Soon after there was a terrific crash as part of the 2nd storey collapsed and soon after they surrendered. 400 prisoners were taken and over 60 dead and wounded recovered. According to some reports many of the machine gun crews were women. 

Alexanderplatz after the battle. A trench mortar can be seen in the foreground

Meanwhile the Potsdam Freikorps under Major von Stephani deployed around the Vorwarts building. Stephani had already been inside, disguised as a Spartakist, and was confident of success. At 8.15am he gave the order to fire and artillery, machine guns and trench mortars slammed into the building. Whenever a Spartakist machine gun opened fire it was swiftly silenced. The building was then stormed, and cleared room by room, according to one account using flame throwers. 300 prisoners were captured.


The Spartakists had fortified the Boetzow brewery, but withdrew, piling into trucks and transferring to the Silesian station by the Spree, where they planned a last stand. All the streets leading in were covered by machine guns, but it was not enough and they were overwhelmed.

Skirmishes continued throughout the night of the 11/12th, with attacks by Spartakists on government patrols, shooting from roof tops or lobbing hand grenades. Reports came from Charlottenstrasse, Mohrenstrasse, Friedrichstrasse, Leipzigerstrasse, Taubenstrasse, and Wilhelmstrasse. At 5am a battle raged in the streets crossing Freidrichstrasse from the station at Belleallianz platz.

The following excerpts, though not the pictures, are newspaper reports from the time. In this case from the Advertiser in Australia on January 16th 1919.

Government artillery firing on the Vorwarts building

Fortified brewery

On Saturday the Government troops atacked all the Spartacist strongholds in Berlin. In the afternoon they surrounded the newspaper district, after a short struggle, and captured the "Vorwaerts" building. There were 125 dead bodies found in the building. The troops on Saturday night were still attacking the "Berline Tageblatt" building. The Spartacist leaders have deserted the police headquaters, and have brought great quantities of weapons and food to the large Boetzow brewery, which is strongly fortified. Eichhorn, the late Police Commissioner, and Radek, the Russian Bolshevik agent, are directing the battle from that place. Radek is keeping up the spirit of the Spartacus Anarchists by continually declaring that the Russian army is on the way to Berlin. Two thousand of the Spartacist sympathisers in Hanover on Saturday commandeered a train which was travelling to Berlin. More from all parts of Germany are making their way to the capital. 
 

It Doesn't Look Real


    The correspondent of the "Daily Chronicle'' in Rotterdam states:-Thousands of criminals have flocked to Berlin and they are participating in the looting and the raiding of the shops. Many secured arms by joining the Red Guards. They all bave motor lorries, by means of which organised bands of criniinals carry out extensivec pillage. Despite the street fighting there are thousands of sightseers in the thoroughfares, who fly off hurridly when firing is heard. The street hawkers have become so accustomed to the fighting that they do not remove their stalls unless firing comes close to them, when they retire for a few yards up a side street. They return as soon as the firing ceases. The sightseers also return, and the shops resume business. The organ grinders, the players of mouth organs, and other street musicians, continue playing amidst the flames, and the street beggars remain at their posts.

Paper Barricades

Noske, the German War Minister, commanding four regiments, including many Volunteers, has recovered the greater part of Spandau. He also captured and shot the Spartacist leader.
The "Frankfurter Zeitung" states that the Spartakist forces barricaded the "Vorwaerts" office with large reels of paper, and posted machine guns behind them arid also in the windows. The Government artillery demolished part of the front building and buried some of the rioters under the debris. Others then fluttered handkerchiefs and white paper from the windows to proclaim their surrender, and three hundred men were captured.


1,300 Rebels Killed.

The Workers' and Soldiers' Council at Leipzig refused a passage to a troop train to Berlin on the ground that the motives of the force were anti-revolutionary. The revolutionary police attempted to disarm the soldiers, and there was fighting on both sides, which caused several deaths. Eventually the police were victorious. There were similar encounters subsequently on the arrival of other trains, and the troops were disarmed.
A message from Copenhagen states: After a brief armistice on Saturday the fighting was renewed in the newspaper quarter of Berlin, and continued all night long.' A force of 13,000 Government troops reached Berlin on Saturday, making a total of 40,000 soldiers in the city. The Spartacist followers killed since the outbreak of the Revolt are estimated at 1,300, including many deaths around the "Vorwaerts " office. The troops arrested Herr Liebnecht , one of the Spartacus leaders, at his residence.

 Street fighting in Berlin

Aftermath

Liebnecht and Luxembourg were captured, interrogated and shot. They weren't the only ones, as all over Germany revolts were put down. Effectively this destroyed the Communists as a military force in Germany, although they still had some industrial strength. Despite other revolts and threats from both Left and Right the Ebert government, and it's successor the Weimar government, lasted until the 1930s, and the rise of Nazism.

Utria 1919

In the chaos following the First World war and the Russian revolution many peoples seized the chance to leave the Russian Empire. One such was the tiny republic of Estonia on the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, the Bolsheviks turned out to be just as Imperialist as the Tsars, if not more so, and in 1918 a huge Soviet army entered Estonia sweeping all before it. The 6th Red Rifle division captured Narva with support from an ex Imperial cruiser and two destroyers giving artillery support, whilst the 2nd Novgorod Division attacked south of Lake Peipus. Both Russian divisions were about 7,000 strong well stocked with artillery, machine guns and supported by armoured trains and armoured cars. The Estonians were about equal in man power, but only about 2,000 had proper training and they only had light weapons, the rest were untrained militia. By December the Reds were within 34km of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and were shelling from the sea.

Estonia was saved mainly by Britain and Finland. A Royal Navy squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair arrived off Tallinn on the 31st of December, and captured the two Russian destroyers, Spatak and Avtril, turning them over the the Estonians to be renamed Vambola and Lennuk. The rest of the Soviet fleet was then bottled up in Kronstadt. They also delivered 6,500 rifles, 200 machine guns and 2 field guns. The Finns delivered 5,000 rifles and 20 field guns for the new army, and 2,000 volunteers arrived in January. Early in 1919 the counter attack began, and city after city was liberated. Narva was still held by the 6th Red Rifle division, and with control at sea guaranteed by the Royal Navy a daring plan was hatched to capture it.

Plans and forces

The road to Narva was blocked by various garrisoned towns which would hold up any advance and withdraw onto the main force at Narva itself. The plan was to launch an amphibious assault between these garrsions and Narva, catching them by surprise and stopping them retreating into the city.

On 12th January Captain Johan Pitka was put in charge of the operation. On the 13th the newly Estonian Lennuk brought in the information that the 50th infantry regiment was at Hungerburgis, at the mouth of the river Narva, and the 46th Estonian Red Regiment was nearby. 600 men of the Finnish volunteer battalion were embarked on two transport ships from the port of Kunda and they rendezvoused with the Estonian contingent on the evening of the 16th outside Taliin.

In total there were 600 Finns and 400 Estonians, together with sailors and some machine guns. The biggest contingent was the Finnish volunteer battalion under Major Martin Ekströmi consisting of four companies, the 1st under Captain Antto Eskola. Then there was the Estonian Assault battalion under Karl Aleksander Pauluse. This consisted of three "roods" of about 100 men each under Lieutenants Karl Tulmini,  Otto Jansoni and staff Sergeant Hans Rebase. After that there were two small detachments. The Narva Defence League of 28 men under under Ensign Aleksandrovi, which although small was invaluable for their local knowledge. And also a squad of White Russian officers (30 men).

There was no real Estonian uniform as such, according to the Estonian War Museum most were wearing ex-Russian uniforms at this time.The Finns though had their own uniforms.

 Finnish volunteers arriving in Talinn, December 1918

There were nine ships in the fleet. The most powerful was the Lennuk whose 5x 100mm guns had arange of nearly 14 km. As a "gift" from the British she was to prove invaluable. Also very busy was the gun boat Lembit. There were two mine sweepers, the Olev and Kalev, two coast guard vessels, the Laene & Lood, two tugs, the Wrangel & Santsev, and the Reval.

Opposing them the Soviets had many men, but scattered and not expecting an attack from this direction. In Narva itself there was the 7th Petrograd regiment, with one battalion of the 50th at Narva-Joesuu, about 800 and 200 men respectively. Assigned to coastal defence was the 86th regiment, with 500 men and 10 guns. In addition to these units there were 200 marines from Kronstadt, a battalion of Estonian communists (the 53rd Viljandi Kütipolgu) and a cavalry squadron of about 50 sabres. There was also, significantly, two armoured trains. This sounds quaint now, but armoured trains were potent weapons at the time. Not only could they travel vast distances in mid winter, they also mounted wagons with heavy artillery, delivering it where it was needed.

The Landings

At three in the morning of the 17th January 1919 the little fleet left the Bay of Kunda, sailing through the bitterly cold night.  There were reports that the Russian ice-breaker 'Ogon', which was adapted to lay sea mines, had visited the mouth of the Narva river so this was discounted as a landing site. Instead Pitka chose a village near the Kotsenevi palace where it was known that the beach had little surf, though the area  could be windy. This area was a popular holiday resort in the summer because of the beaches and there were many manor houses and dachas scattered amongst the woodland.

Part of the landing beach at Utria

About 250 men were ferried ashore in 11 boats starting at midday. There was scattered artillery fire, especially from the Soviet armoured trains, but the landing ships were out of range and the fire from the "Lennuk" and"Lembitu" soon silenced the guns. However, by then the wind was getting up and after two boats were capsized, tipping their men into the freezing water,  Captain Pitka stooped further landings at 18-40

The first wave, mainly Finns and a detachment of cadets from Narva, (the Narva Kaitseliidu salgast) immediately moved inland across the snow and assaulted Utria, breaking into the village centre after a small battle and driving out the Soviets leaving four dead. Barriers were placed on roads entering the village in anticipation of a counter attack.

By 23:00 the wind had died down and the remaining troops could be landed through the night, it was still bitterly cold but a full moon helped and they finished at 11 am on the 18th. A conference was held between Pitka and Ekstrom on how to proceed and they distributed their forces. The Finnish 2nd company was ordered to join the first that had landed in the first wave and push on towards Narva. The 3rd and 4th Finnish companies and the Russians were sent towards Laagna followed by the Estonian battalion, less the 2nd company which stayed to garrison Utria. The men from Narva were split between the other detachments to act as guides.

Meanwhile, the "Lembit" and "Lennuk" had headed to the mouth of the Narva River and started bombarding Narva. At approximately 11-30, after a 1hr bombardment, white flags appeared over Hungerburgis at the river mouth. The Lembit continued shelling Narva whilst the Lennuk returned to support the landings at Utria.

The amphibious assault behind their lines had taken the Reds completely by surprise. On the 18th Ekström Utriast announced that the 4th Finnish company had taken Laagna, the 2nd had taken Merikülani and then turned towards Riigiküla as Narva-Jõesuu had already been taken by the crew of the Lembit. The 3rd company had reinforced the 4th and had repelled an attack by communist Estonian forces on Laagna manor.

 Laagna Manor

The main Soviet counter attack came at Laagna Manor, with two of the Red Army companies, a squad of cavalry, and two armoured trains. They assembled around the railway line and poured fire into the house. After the first two assaults had been repelled the defending commander sent the following message...

"The enemy is located in the woods opposite Laagna manor , around the track. From reports of prisoners are there for 2 companies and a squad of cavalry. We are taking a  lot of fire from there. Two offensives, we hit back, and are waiting for the third. Condition is serious but not hopeless. Anyway, do not retreat from our estate. I lost three good officers, one of them died, some 10 soldiers wounded and dead. The Finns are hit especially hard."

The Lennuk shelled both the railway track and surrounding forest and the Soviet forces were driven off. The hinterland of the landing area was now secure.

Aftermath

The landings had been a complete success, taking the Russians by surprise and capturing territory. Most importantly, with the area under Estonian control the fight for the important city of Nara could start, and it fell in heavy fighting the next day. The front now became the Narva river. Despite campaigning in the middle of winter the Estonians had advanced 200 km in just 11 days.