Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich
Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich (Николай Николаевич Юденич) (
July 18 ,
1862 (
July 30,
New Style ) –
October 5,
1933), was the most successful general of the Russian Imperial Army during
World War I. Later a leader of the
counterrevolution in Northwestern
Russia during the
Russian Civil War of
1918-
1920.
Yudenich was born in Moscow. He graduated from the Alexandrovsky Military College in
1881 and the
General Staff Academy in
1887. Yudenich commanded a
regiment during the
Russo-Japanese War of
1904-
1905. He was appointed
Chief of Staff of the
Kazan 1912 and
Caucasus (1913) military districts. In the beginning of the
World War I Yudenich was appointed Chief of Staff of the Caucasus army and in that position he won the
battle of Sarikamis against
Enver Pasha.
In January
1915 he was appointed
commander of the Russian Caucusus army, replacing General
Vorontsov. Yudenich tried to exploit the Turkish defeat by attacking into Turkish territory, specifically around
Lake Van. While the Russians did capture
Van in May 1915, they were forced to withdraw from the city two months later. The Turks re-occupied Van in August. At this time,
Grand Duke Nicholas, having been removed from command of all of Russia's armies, was put in charge of the Caucusus region. General Yudenich was given a free hand by the Grand Duke and, in September, the Russian retook Van. Fighting back and forth around this region continued for the next 14 months without a clear victory for either side.
In 1916 Yudenich successfully carried out an offensive, winning the
Battle of Erzurum (1916) and capturing the city of Trapezund (today's
Trabzon). In the summer of that year, his forces fought off a Turkish counter attack culminating in the
Battle of Erzincan (despite the presence of Turkish General
Mustapha Kemal). The success of the Russian army (limited though it was) in Eastern
Anatolia had some influence over the course of the
Armenian Genocide.
Following the
Russian Revolution, the new government removed Yudenich from the Caucusus and sent him to the unimportant Kavkaz front in March. One month later, he retired from the army.
A year after the
October Revolution of 1917, Yudenich emigrated to
France and then
Estonia. In July of 1919 he joined the
Russian Civil War, as commander of the Northwestern
White Army. He also became a member of the
counterrevolutionary Northwestern "government", created with the help of
Great Britain.
Yudenich spent the next three months organizing and training his army. Funds for this effort were supplied by the British government. Eventually Yudenich had a fairly well organized army some 20,000 strong. In early October, 1919, Yudenich launched his army against
Petrograd.
With the
Bolshevik armies actively engaged on several other fronts (fighting
Kolchak's forces in Siberia and several
Cossack armies in the Ukraine) only small forces stood between Yudenich and
Petrograd.
Yudenich's friend, from the
Imperial Russian Army,
Mannerheim, asked the president of
Finland,
Ståhlberg, to join Yudenich's force and attack
Petrograd with the help from the
Finns. The White Movement would recognize
Finland's independence and
Finland's pro-
Triple Entente relationships would be recognized. However, President Stålhberg refused and Yudenich attacked
Petrograd alone.
On
October 19 1919 his troops reached the edges of the city. At this point the main leadership of the Bolshevik government in Moscow was prepared to let Petrograd fall but
Trotsky did not agree. Leon Trotsky went to
Petrograd and personally organized the defence of the city. Factory workers were given weapons and sent out to oppose Yudenich's men. The attack by Yudenich's forces failed and by
November 1, Yudenich began to retreat.
His forces took refuge in
Estonia where they agreed to be disarmed. In
1920 his forces were evacuated by
British ships out of
Estonia. Yudenich went into exile in
France. In his remaining 13 years he played no significant role among White Army émigrés. He died at
Saint-Laurent-du-Var, near
Paris, on
October 5 1933.
Biography of Yudenich at First World War.com*
Caucasus Campaign*
White movement*
Russian Civil War
