Misplaced Pages

#255744

97-434: The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first formation was created on May 20, 1942 and was commanded by Marshal Semyon M. Budenny throughout its existence. The Front incorporated forces from the (disbanded) Crimean Front and received additional forces from the (disbanded) Southern Front on July 28, 1942. The Front was composed of The 1st Rifle Corps reappeared in

194-862: A Common Assembly (Казачий Круг). The assembly elected temporary authorities — atamans . Don Cossacks were skilled horsemen and experienced warriors, due to their long conflict with the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire . They sold their military services to different powers in Eastern Europe. Together with the Polish King, they raided Moscow during the Time of Troubles (Смутное Время) and, under Russian authority, carried out raids and expeditions against Ottoman Turkey and Qajar Persia . Isolated between Russian and Muslim territory,

291-420: A bow, a cartridge, a bullet and a gun. All of these items were hung on the wall, over the boy's bed. At the age of three, the boy began to ride a horse. At the age of 7 to 8 he was allowed to ride in the street, to go fishing and hunt with adults. Horse racing was a popular pastime with Don Cossacks. Riders competed to hit a target, firing weapons from horseback. The most dexterous were able to do this standing on

388-568: A captured Russian officer aptly remarked — ‘He is a man with a very large moustache, but a very small brain.’" Because of his exceptional Civil War record and public popularity, he continued to enjoy Stalin's patronage and suffered no real punishment for the disaster in Kiev. After the war, Budyonny was appointed deputy Minister of Agriculture of the USSR , responsible, among other things, for horse breeding. When he retired, he retained his membership of

485-703: A farm labourer, shop errand boy, blacksmith 's apprentice, and driver of a steam-driven threshing machine , until the autumn of 1903, when he was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army . He became a cavalryman reinforcing the 46th Cossack Regiment during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. After the war, he was transferred to the Primorsk Dragoon Regiment. In 1907, he was sent to the Academy for Cavalry Officers in

582-549: A few instrumental vinyl records were issued in the USSR featuring a duo with his friend, cossack bayanist Grigory Zaytsev, titled as "Duo of bayanists" (Дуэт баянистов). The Military Academy of the Signal Corps in St. Petersburg carries the name of honour S. M. Budyonny. Budyonny's first wife was an illiterate Cossack whose forename and patronymic were Nadezhda Ivanovna. They were married in 1903, immediately before he joined

679-473: A five-volume memoir, in which he described the stormy years of civil war as well as the everyday life of the First Cavalry Army. He was frequently commemorated for his bravery in many popular Soviet military songs, including The Red Cavalry song (Konarmieyskaya) and The Budyonny March . Budenovka , a part of Soviet military uniform, is named after Semyon Budyonny. He was also frequently named in

776-472: A mechanized war. Soon after the war, Marshal Konev told the Yugoslav communist, Milovan Đilas : "Budyonny never knew much, and he never studied anything. He showed himself to be completely incompetent and permitted awful mistakes to be made." German Field Marshal Rundstedt , commander of Army Group South in the battles of Kiev and Uman, said after the war: "Of Budyonny, who commanded the armies facing me,

873-493: A minimum of 150,000 from a total of the 2,500,000 parish members of the Don Eparchy were Starovers. Ataman count Matvei Platov was of a Popovtsy Old Believers Family. Don Cossacks were tolerant of other religions – with the exception of Jews – and accepted Buddhists, Muslims, Old Believers , and pagans into their communities. The Cossacks had a democratic society where the most important decisions were made during

970-680: A proclamation from the Central Executive Committee announcing the formation of the Chechen Autonomous Region. The same year, he was also appointed assistant commander of the Red Army 's cavalry. During 1924–37, he was Inspector of Cavalry of the Red Army. He spent a great amount of time and effort in the organization and management of equestrian facilities and developing new breeds of horses. Budyonny

1067-599: A second echelon force by 1940–41, but Budyonny was never criticised for being on the wrong side of the argument, being a faithful ally of Stalin and Voroshilov. Budyonny graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy in 1932. In 1934, he was made a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . In 1935 Budyonny was made one of the first five Marshals of

SECTION 10

#1732772234256

1164-593: A series of short stories about the experience, which achieved worldwide acclaim as one of the greatest contributions to Soviet literature – but which offended Budyonny, who made a "rare and furious foray into print" in March 1924, demanding that the Red Cavalry's reputation should be protected against "slander" by a "literary degenerate". This provoked a response from Maxim Gorky , then the most famous living Russian writer, defending Babel, but in 1928, Budyonny returned to

1261-821: A significant part in repelling Napoleon 's Invasion of Russia . Under the command of Count Matvey Ivanovich Platov , the Don Cossacks fought in a number of battles against the Grande Armée . In the Battle of Borodino , Don Cossacks made raids to the rear of the French Army. Platov commanded all the Cossack troops and successfully covered the retreat of the Russian Army to Moscow. The Don Cossacks distinguished themselves in subsequent campaigns, and took part in

1358-552: A student 33 years his junior, who cooked for him after Olga's arrest. This marriage lasted until his death. They had two sons, Sergei, born 1938, and Mikhail, born 1944, and a daughter, Nina, born 1939. Don Cossack Don Cossacks ( Russian : Донские казаки , romanized :  Donskiye kazaki , Ukrainian : Донські козаки , romanized :  Donski kozaky ) or Donians ( Russian : донцы , romanized :  dontsy , Ukrainian : донці , romanized :  dontsi ), are Cossacks who settled along

1455-564: A united community and were called "the Cossacks". At first the main occupation of these small armed detachments was hunting and fishing—as well as the constant struggle against the Turks and the Tatars who attacked them. Only later they began to settle and work on the land. The first records relating to the Cossack villages: the " stanitsas ", date back to 1549. In the year 1552 Don Cossacks under

1552-606: A workhorse, a black cow and a pig weighing 250 kilograms (550 lb). In July–September 1941, Budyonny was Commander-in-Chief (главком, glavkom ) of the Soviet armed forces of the Southwestern Direction ( Southwestern and Southern Fronts) facing the German invasion of Ukraine . This invasion began as part of Germany's Operation Barbarossa which was launched on June 22. He also served as an original member of

1649-688: The Black Sea Group of Forces on February 5, 1943. Lieutenant General Ivan Maslennikov , who was promoted to Colonel General in January 1943, initially took command. He handed over to Lieutenant General Ivan E. Petrov ( Russian : Иван Ефремович Петров ), in May 1943, and Petrov was then promoted to Colonel General in August. During the long series of engagements known as the Battle of the Caucasus ,

1746-551: The Christian IX of Denmark 18th Seversky Dragoon Regiment, Caucasian Cavalry Division on the Eastern Front . He became famous for his attack on a German supply column near Brzezina , and was awarded the St. George Cross , 4th Class. However, there was general ineptitude among the officers under whom he served (primarily Caucasian aristocrats who received commissions based on their social standing). In November 1916,

1843-477: The German–Soviet War , alleged that Budyonny killed his wife after she had confronted him over his infidelity. Budyonny told his daughter by a subsequent marriage that she shot herself, possibly unintentionally, when their marriage was failing. In 1925, he married a singer, Olga Stefanovna Mikhailova, who was around half his age, the daughter of a railway worker from Kursk . After their marriage, she entered

1940-566: The Holodomor . On 20 April 1936 the earlier ban on Cossacks serving in the Red Army was lifted. Later the same year two existing Red Army cavalry divisions were re-designated as Don Cossacks. By 1939 a number of these regiments had been issued with traditional Cossack uniforms, in ceremonial and field service versions. The dress of the Don Cossack units included dark-blue breeches with broad red stripes which had distinguished them prior to

2037-559: The Kerch-Eltigen Operation , the Soviet amphibious crossing of the Sea of Azov . Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny (Russian: Семён Миха́йлович Будённый , romanized : Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy , IPA: [sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj] ; 25 April [ O.S. 13 April] 1883 – 26 October 1973) was a Soviet cavalryman, military commander during

SECTION 20

#1732772234256

2134-540: The Novgorod Republic after the Battle of Shelon (1471), and from the neighboring Principality of Ryazan . Until the end of the 16th century, the Don Cossacks inhabited independent free territories. Cossacks of Ryazan are mentioned in 1444 as defenders of Pereslavl-Zalessky against the units of Golden Horde and in a letter of Ivan III of Russia from 1502. After the Golden Horde fell in 1480,

2231-661: The Order of St. George . When the Russian Civil War broke out Budyonny founded the Red Cavalry , which played an important role in the Bolshevik victory; Budyonny became renowned for his bravery and was the subject of several popular patriotic songs. In 1922 he also became commander of all the troops in the north Caucasian military district. While serving as inspector of the Red Army's cavalry (1924–37) and commander of

2328-768: The Ottomans and the Crimean Khanate . In 1637 the Don Cossacks, joined by the Zaporozhian Cossacks , captured the strategic Ottoman fortress of Azov , which guarded the Don. The defense of the Azov Fortress in 1641 was one of the key actions in Don Cossack history. After total taking of the Free Territories of Don Cossacks under the Moscovy control, Don Cossack history became more intertwined with

2425-589: The Russian Civil War , Polish-Soviet War and World War II , and politician, who was a close political ally of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin . Born to a poor peasant family from the Don Cossack region in southern Russia, Budyonny was drafted into the Imperial Russian Army in 1903. He served with distinction in a dragoon regiment during the First World War , earning all four classes of

2522-463: The Russian Civil War , was of Don Cossack descent. Following the defeat of the White Army in the Russian Civil War , a policy of decossackization ("Raskazachivaniye") took place on the surviving Cossacks and their homelands, since they were viewed as a threat to the new Soviet regime. The Cossack homelands were often very fertile, and during the collectivisation campaign many Cossacks shared

2619-480: The Russian Empire and participated in most of its major wars. The name Cossack ( Russian : казак , romanized :  kazak ; Ukrainian : козак , romanized :  kozak ) was widely used to characterise "free people" (compare Turkic qazaq , which means "free men") as opposed to others with different standing in feudal society (i.e., peasants, nobles, clergy, etc.). The name "cossack"

2716-421: The St. Petersburg Riding School. He graduated first in his class after a year, becoming an instructor with the rank of junior non-commissioned officer. He returned to his regiment as a riding instructor with a rank of senior non-commissioned officer. At the start of World War I , he joined a reserve dragoon cavalry battalion. During World War I, Budyonny was the 5th Squadron's non-commissioned troop officer in

2813-651: The Stavka of the Supreme High Command , the highest Soviet body of military command during the Great Patriotic War , from the start of the war until February 17, 1945. Operating under strict orders from Stalin (who attempted to micromanage the war in the early stages) not to retreat under any circumstances, Budyonny's forces were eventually surrounded during the Battle of Uman and the Battle of Kiev by Nazi forces. The disasters which followed

2910-910: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . Budyonny died of brain hemorrhage on 26 October 1973, at the age of 90. He was buried with full military honours in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis , in one of the twelve individual tombs located between the Lenin Mausoleum and the Kremlin wall . Pallbearers at his funeral included the General Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev and the USSR Minister for Defence, Marshal Grechko . Budyonny wrote

3007-461: The capture of Paris . Napoleon is credited with declaring, "Cossacks are the finest light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them." In the general census of 1884, the male population of the Don Cossacks was reported to number 425,000. The Don Cossacks were the largest of the ten cossack hosts then in existence, providing over a third of total cossack manpower available for military service. On

North Caucasus Front - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-651: The 2008 Russo-Georgian war . In 2009, the Ukrainian Security Service banned a leader of the Don Cossacks from entering Ukraine in order to prevent the creation of an illegal parliamentary formation on Ukrainian territory. Since 2014, members of Don Cossacks have participated in the war in Eastern Ukraine as independent volunteers for the pro-Russian Donbass militias. Reportedly several military formations were formed though most of these groups were subsequently disbanded and integrated into

3201-649: The Caucasian Cavalry Division was transferred to the Caucasus Front , to fight against the Ottoman Turks . He was involved in a heated confrontation with the squadron sergeant major regarding the officers' poor treatment of the soldiers and the continual lack of food. The sergeant major struck out at Budyonny, who retaliated by punching the ranking officer, knocking him down. The soldiers backed Budyonny during questioning, claiming that

3298-570: The Common Assembly (Казачий Круг). If a Cossack wanted to marry a woman he was expected to bring her to the Common Assembly for presentation. If the Common Assembly gave approval, the marriage followed. The same procedure took place if there was a divorce. Peter I banned these practices in the Common Assembly, requiring Cossacks to marry only in church. A Cossack marriage is a complex ritual, accompanied by songs, dances and performances. A bridegroom arrives on horseback and takes his bride to

3395-442: The Don Cossacks developed a distinct culture and language which fused Ukrainian, Russian, Kalmyk, and Tatar elements. The Don Cossacks have a tradition of choral singing and many of their songs, such as Chyorny Voron (Black Raven) and Lyubo, Bratsi, Lyubo (It's good, brothers, good) became popular throughout the rest of Russia. Many of the songs are about death in war. Up to the 18th century marriages and divorces were held in

3492-640: The Don River and the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. The isolated city of Sebastopol fell on July 4, 1942. From July 25 to August 5, 1942, the front troops fought heavy defensive battles in the lower reaches of the Don, and then in the Stavropol and Krasnodar area's. In August–September 1942, the front troops conducted the Armavir-Maikop and Novorossiysk operations , but were unable to prevent

3589-597: The German Army, the XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps , a great part of them former Soviet citizens. The XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps included the 1st Cossack Division and the 2nd Cossack Division . The majority of the Cossacks remained loyal to the Red Army. In the earliest battles, particularly the encirclement of Belostok Cossack units such as the 94th Beloglisnky, 152nd Rostovsky and 48th Belorechensky regiments fought to their death. In

3686-652: The German lines and liberated Mineralnye Vody , and Stavropol . The Don Cossacks were revived in the early 1990s and were officially recognised by the Russian Government in 1997, its Ataman holding the rank, insignia and uniform of a full Marshal. In 1992 they joined the separatist forces during the Transnistria War . Don Cossacks volunteered by hundreds to fight in South Ossetia during

3783-568: The Imperial Guard wore a "Tsar's green" (a dark shade common to the army) uniform, with the black and red distinctions of the artillery as a branch. Всколыхнулся, взволновался православный Тихий Дон written by Fedor Anisimov in 1853. (in Russian) Most Don Cossacks are Russian Orthodox , who consider themselves guardians of the faith. However, a large percentage of Don Cossacks were Starovers . Even in 1903,

3880-802: The Khans of the Orda, did not accept serfdom, were pained by all kinds of social injustice, and rebelled against feudal rule". More than two thousand years ago the Scythians lived on the banks of the river Don. Many Scythian tombs have been found in this area. Subsequently, the area was inhabited by the Khazars and the Polovtsians . From the 16th to the 18th centuries the steppes of the Don River were part of "the Wild Field" ( Russian : Дикое Поле ). In

3977-475: The Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1930, then joined the Bolshoi Theatre. According to the Croatian communist, Ante Ciliga , members of the Communist Youth ( Komsomol ) were so shocked to see him with his new bride at a public banquet, kissing her hands, that they threatened to create a scandal which the party authorities "had to use a very heavy hand to stifle". Budyonny divorced her before September 1937. Next, Budyonny married Olga's cousin, Maria Vasilevna,

North Caucasus Front - Misplaced Pages Continue

4074-441: The Moscow military district (1937–40). As a political ally of Joseph Stalin, he became one of the original five Marshals of the Soviet Union . He was one of the two most senior army commanders that survived the Great Purge and in post at the time of German invasion of the USSR in 1941. After the Soviet forces under Budyonny's command were routed in the battles of Kiev and Uman , he was removed from frontline command. He received

4171-417: The North Caucasian Front included the Additionally it commanded the Black Sea Fleet and the Baku Army of PVO . The fighting remained reasonably static from February until September 1943 when the Germans ordered fresh withdrawals from the Kuban bridgehead , which effectively ended the period of fighting in the Caucasus. The Front was reorganized into the Separate Coastal Army on November 20, 1943 during

4268-443: The North but by that time Tukhachevsky's forces had been driven back, forcing a general retreat. After Budyonny's army was defeated in the Battle of Komarów (one of the biggest cavalry battles in history), he was forced to withdraw onto Soviet-held territory. Budyonny took part in the reconquest of Crimea , the final phase of the Russian Civil War. Despite the defeat in Poland, Budyonny was one of Soviet Russia's military heroes by

4365-460: The Ottoman Turks to the south. The continued value of the Don and other Cossacks as mounted troops was illustrated by the decision taken in 1916 to dismount about a third of the regular Russian cavalry, but to retain the cossack regiments in their traditional role. At the outbreak of the February 1917 Revolution, three regiments of Don Cossacks (the 1st, 4th and 14th) formed part of the garrison of St. Petersburg. Consisting partly of new recruits from

4462-404: The Revolution. The Don Cossack Cavalry Corps saw extensive active service until 1943, after which its role diminished, as did that of the other remaining horse-mounted units in the Red Army. However Don Cossack cavalry was still in existence in 1945 and participated in the Victory Parade in Moscow . During World War II, the Don Cossacks mustered the largest single concentration of Cossacks within

4559-402: The Soviet OOB on 1 June 1942, directly subordinated to the North Caucasus Front, and was made up of four rifle brigades. The North Caucasus Front at different times also included the 9th, 12th, 18th, 24th, 37th, 56th Army, 4th and 5th Air Army. The Front also had operational control over The task of the North Caucasus Front was to keep the Sevastopol defensive area and to defend the border of

4656-424: The Soviet Union . Three of these five were executed in the Great Purge of the late 1930s, leaving only Budyonny and Voroshilov. Early in the Great Purge, Budyonny was appointed commander of the Moscow Military District , possibly because Stalin was nervous that there would be a military coup after he had decided to move against two of the most popular Bolsheviks, Nikolai Bukharin and Alexei Rykov . When Bukharin

4753-433: The Soviet authorities admitted that all eight defendants were innocent. The 'evidence' consisted of confessions forced out of them under torture. Two weeks after their execution, Budyonny sent a memo to Voroshilov disclosing that Tukhachevsky initially withdrew his confession, yet Budyonny concluded that all eight were "patented spies ... since 1931, and a few of them even earlier were worming their way into our ranks ever since

4850-465: The St. George Cross, 1st class, for capturing a senior non-commissioned officer and six men. After the February Revolution overthrew the Tsarist regime in 1917, Budyonny was elected chairman of the squadron committee and a member of the regimental committee. When the Caucasian Cavalry Division was moved to Minsk , he was elected chairman of the regimental committee and deputy chairman of the divisional committee. Returning to Platovskaya , Budyonny

4947-454: The Steppes. Gotho - Alans could also have played a role in forming Don Cossack culture, which originated in the western part of the North Caucasus . The theory of Russian historian A. M. Orlov is that Cossacks hosts were formed among Turkic nomads. He then thinks, that the Don Cossacks were originally formed largely by "Meshchera Tatars" under the Golden Horde , which he also connects to later Mishar Tatars . A. V. Mirtov wrote that

SECTION 50

#1732772234256

5044-423: The White General Anton Denikin , Trotsky described them contempuously as "Budyonny's corps — a horde, and Budyonny — their Ataman ring leader...He is today's Stenka Razin , and where he leads his gang, there will they go: for the Reds today, tomorrow for the Whites." However, in October 1919, Budyonny pulled off a spectacular victory when, in the greatest cavalry battle of the civil war, he attacked and defeated

5141-425: The White army corps commanded by Konstantin Mamontov . On 25 October, Trotsky sent a dispatch forecasting that the White army in the south would never recover from this defeat, and hailing Budyonny as "a true warrior of the workers and peasants". When Poland declared independence, there was no agreement between its government and the Soviet authorities over where the border would be. In April 1920, Budyonny's cavalry

5238-411: The area around the Don River was divided between the Crimean west side and the Nogai east side . On their border since the 14th century the vast steppe of the Don region was populated by those people who were not satisfied with the existing social order, by those who did not recognize the power of the land-owners, by runaway serfs, by those who longed for freedom. In the course of time they turned into

5335-419: The armed forces of the DPR and LPR . The Don Cossacks flag 3:4 was inaugurated during the Don Cossacks assembly in Novocherkassk , Don Republic , on 4 May 1918 under chiefing of Ataman Pyotr Krasnov . The flag has three colours: blue, yellow, and red. The flag is similar to that of the Ukrainian State , also established in 1918, which the Don Republic bordered to its west. The Don Cossacks Coat of Arms

5432-435: The army. He did not see her for seven years. After the Bolshevik revolution, she travelled with the Red Cavalry, organising food and medical supplies. In 1920–23, the couple lived with the Voroshilovs in Yekaterinoslav . They moved to Moscow in 1923. In 1924, Nadezhda Ivanovna was killed by a gunshot. Her death led to numerous stories. Mikhail Soloviev, a Soviet army officer who settled in the west after being captured early in

5529-409: The attack in an open letter to Gorky accusing Babel of "crude, deliberate and arrogant slander", which Gorky said was an "undeserved insult". William Reswick, a correspondent for the American agency AP, described a celebration backstage at an opera house around the 10th anniversary of the revolution, at which: Budyonny, the celebrated cavalry, an amateur dancer and admirer of the ballet joined us. He

5626-430: The beginning of the revolution" . Later, as the Great Purge continued, the NKVD came to interrogate and arrest Budyonny; Budyonny's response was to arm himself with his service Nagant M1895 revolver and call Stalin to demand he have the agents removed. Stalin complied and the event was not discussed again. By December 1937, Budyonny had been allocated a large dacha with orchards, raspberry and gooseberry bushes,

5723-491: The blame for many of Stalin's military strategic errors in the early part of World War II, but he was retained in the Soviet high command. In 1953 he resumed his post of inspector of the cavalry. Budyonny was a staunch proponent of horse cavalry . During the Great Purge, he testified against Mikhail Tukhachevsky 's efforts to create an independent tank corps , claiming that it was so inferior to cavalry and illogical that it amounted to " wrecking " (sabotage). After being told of

5820-420: The cavalry-oriented works of Isaac Babel. Babel had originally begun covering Budyonny as a writer for a Soviet newspaper during the Polish–Soviet War. Budyonny, who was a renowned horse breeder, also created a new horse breed that is still kept in large numbers in Russia: the Budyonny horse , which is famous for its high performance in sports and endurance. Semyon Budyonny was also an amateur bayan player;

5917-406: The church, followed by a marriage train. After the wedding all present would adjourn to the bridegroom's house. There, the parents would bless the couple, break a loaf of bread above their heads, and sprinkle them with wheat, nuts, sweets and hops. The bride's hair would then be unbraided according to traditional rites. When a son was born to a Cossack family, his parents presented him with an arrow,

SECTION 60

#1732772234256

6014-446: The command of Ataman Susar Fedorov joined the Army of Ivan the Terrible during the Siege of Kazan in 1552. On 2 June 1556 the Cossack regiment of Ataman Lyapun Filimonov , together with the Army of Moscovits comprising strelets , conquered and annexed the Astrakhan Khanate . During the reign of Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV), the ataman Yermak Timofeyevich went on an expedition to conquer Siberia . After defeating Khan Kuchum in

6111-407: The encirclement cost the Soviet Union 1.5 million men killed or taken prisoner. This was the largest encirclement in military history. On 13 September 1941, Stalin sacked Budyonny as a scapegoat , replacing him with Semyon Timoshenko . He was never allowed to command troops in combat again. First he was put in charge of the Reserve Front (September–October 1941), then made Commander-in-Chief of

6208-400: The end of the 16th century until 1918. As of 1992, by presidential decree of the Russian Federation, Cossacks can be enrolled on a special register. A number of Cossack communities have been reconstituted to further Cossack cultural traditions, including those of the Don Cossack Host. Don Cossacks have had a rich military tradition - they played an important part in the historical development of

6305-404: The end of the Civil War. With Semyon Timoshenko and Kliment Voroshilov he was one of the Cavalry Army clique leaders, and a supporter of Stalin . In 1920, Soviet songwriter Dmitry Pokrass wrote the song "Budyonny's March", which was one of the first songs to become widely popular throughout the Soviet Union. The writer Isaac Babel rode with Budyonny's cavalry in Poland, and published

6402-432: The enemy from breaking in the Caucasus along the Black Sea. On September 1, 1942 the Front was reorganized as the Black Sea Group of Forces and assigned to the Transcaucasian Front during the German occupation of the Krasnodar Krai . . The second formation of this Front was created on January 24, 1943 from the Northern Group of Forces in the Transcaucasian Front (located in the eastern Caucasus), and reintegrated

6499-446: The eve of World War I, the Don Cossack Host comprised 17 regular regiments plus 6 detached sotnias (squadrons). In addition two regiments of the Imperial Guard were recruited from the Don territory. By 1916 the Don Host had expanded to 58 line regiments and 100 detached sotnias. The central location of the Don territories meant that these units were employed extensively on both the German and Austro-Hungarian fronts, though less so against

6596-519: The fall of 1582 and occupying Isker , the capital of the Siberian Khanate , Yermak sent a force of Cossacks down the Irtysh in the winter of 1583. The detachment, led by Bogdan Bryazga (according to other sources, the Cossack chieftain Nikita Pan) passed through the lands of the Konda-Pelym Voguls and reached the walls of the town of Samarovo. Surprised by the Cossack attack, the Ostyaks surrendered. In fall 1585, shortly after Yermak's death, Cossacks led by voevoda (army commander) Ivan Mansurov founded

6693-404: The fate of the kulaks . According to historian Michael Kort, "During 1919 and 1920, out of a population of approximately 1.5 million Don Cossacks, the Bolshevik regime killed or deported an estimated 300,000 to 500,000". Others, such as Peter Holquist, estimate a figure of 10,000 deaths during this period, while a far greater number would die during the engineered Soviet famines of 1932–33 and

6790-410: The first Russian fortified town in Siberia, Obskoy , at the mouth of the Irtysh river on the right bank of the Ob river . The Mansi and Khanty lands thus became part of the Russian state, finally secured by the founding of the cities of Pelym and Berezov in 1592 and Surgut in 1594. As a result of Yermak's expedition, Russia was able to annex Siberia. In the 17th century Cossacks waged war against

6887-415: The headdress to denote the distinguished conduct of individual regiments. Officers had silver braiding on their collars and epaulettes plus silver/black girdles. Shoulder-straps of other ranks were the same dark blue as the caftan (coat). A whip was used instead of spurs. Prior to 1908, individual cossacks from all Hosts were required to provide their own uniforms (together with horses and harness). However

6984-407: The hinterlands of the 9th German Army before successfully breaking out. Whilst units under the command of General Pavel Belov, the 2nd Cavalry Corps of Don, Kuban and Stavropol Cossacks spearheaded the counter-attack onto the right flank of the 6th German Army, delaying its advance towards Moscow. The high professionalism that the Cossacks under Dovator and Belov (both generals would later be granted

7081-469: The history of the rest of Russia. In exchange for protection of the Southern borders of medieval Russia, the Don Cossacks were given the privilege of not paying taxes and the tsar's authority in Cossack lands was not as absolute as in other parts of Russia. During this period, three of Russia's most notorious rebels, Stenka Razin , Kondraty Bulavin and Emelian Pugachev , were Don Cossacks. After 1786,

7178-586: The importance of the tank in the coming war in 1939, he remarked, "You won't convince me. As soon as war is declared, everyone will shout, 'Send for the Cavalry! ' " Budyonny was born into a poor peasant family on the Kozyurin farmstead near the town of Salsk in the Don Cossack region of the southern Russian Empire (now Rostov Oblast ). Although he grew up in a Cossack region, Budyonny's family were ethnic Russians from Voronezh province. He worked as

7275-648: The late Middle Ages the area was under the general control of the Golden Horde , and numerous Tatar (especially Crimean Tatar ) armed groups roamed there, attacking and enslaving merchants and settlers. The first Christians to settle on the territories around the Don were the Jassi and Kosogi tribes of the Khazar Kaghanate of the 7th to 10th centuries. After the fall of the Golden Horde in 1480, more colonists started to expand onto this land from

7372-646: The left bank of the river Ei. During the opening phase of the Battle of Stalingrad , when the Germans overran the Kuban, the majority of the Cossack population, long before the Germans began their agitation with Krasnov and Shkuro, became involved in Partisan activity. Raids on the German positions from the Caucasus mountains became commonplace. After the German defeat at Stalingrad , the 4th Guards Kuban Cossack Corps, strengthened by tanks and artillery, broke through

7469-489: The life and language of Don Cossacks were heavily influenced by " Tatars from Meshchera ". G. Shtekl on the other hand wrote that the first Russian Cossacks were simply "Russified Tatars." V. N. Tatishchev: "Some of them lived in the small cities of Meshchera, their capital being Donskoy, where the Donskoy Monastery is now." A. A. Gordeyev connects them to the Golden Horde also, and states: "They did not fall under

7566-475: The middle and lower Don . Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host ( Russian : Донское казачье войско , romanized :  Donskoe kazache voysko , Ukrainian : Головне Донське військо , romanized :  Holovne Dons'ke viis'ko ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-day Southern Russia and parts of the Donbas region of Ukraine , from

7663-403: The most famous Kuban Cossack unit was the 17th Cossack Corps under the command of general Nikolay Kirichenko . During one particular attack, Cossacks killed up to 1,800 enemy soldiers and officers, took 300 prisoners, and seized 18 artillery pieces and 25 mortars. The 5th and 9th Romanian Cavalry divisions fled in panic, and the 198th German Infantry division hastily departed with large losses to

7760-559: The opening phase of the war, during the German advance towards Moscow, Cossacks were extensively used for raids behind enemy lines. The most famous of these took place during the Battle of Smolensk under the command of Lev Dovator , whose 3rd Cavalry Corps consisted of the 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions from the Kuban and Terek Cossacks mobilised from the Northern Caucasus. The raid in ten days covered 300 km and destroyed

7857-566: The poorer regions of the Host territory, these units were influenced by the general disillusionment with the Tsar's government. Accordingly, they did not act effectively when ordered to disperse the growing demonstrations in the city. Reports that the historically loyal Don Cossacks could no longer be relied on were a significant factor in the sudden collapse of the Tsarist regime. The Don Cossack Host

7954-522: The sergeant major was kicked by a horse. Budyonny was stripped of his St. George Cross, though he could have faced a court martial and death. Budyonny would go on to be awarded the St. George Cross, 4th class, a second time, during the Battle of Van . He received the St. George Cross, 3rd class, fighting the Turks near Mendelij, on the way to Baghdad . He then received the St. George Cross, 2nd class, for operating behind Turkish lines for 22 days. He received

8051-570: The size and relative affluence of the Don Cossack Host permitted the setting up of communally owned clothing factories. A khaki field tunic was adopted in 1908, replacing the dark blue coats or white (summer) blouses previously worn for ordinary duties. However the blue riding breeches with broad red stripes long characteristic of the Don Host, continued to be worn even on active service during both World Wars. The Don Cossack Battery of

8148-575: The territory of the Don Cossacks was officially called Don Host Land, and was renamed Don Host Oblast in 1870 (presently part of the Rostov , Volgograd , and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation as well as part of the Luhansk region of Ukraine ). In 1805 the Don Cossack capital was shifted from Cherkassk to Novocherkassk (New Cherkassk). Don Cossacks are credited with playing

8245-405: The title Hero of the Soviet Union and their units raised to a Guards (elite) status) ensured that many new units would be formed. The Germans during the whole war only managed to form two Cossack Corps, while the Red Army in 1942 alone had 17. Many of the newly formed units were filled with ethnically Cossack volunteers. The Kuban Cossacks were allocated to the 10th, 12th and 13th Corps. However,

8342-575: The troops in the North Caucasus Direction (April–May, 1942), Commander of the North Caucasus Front (May–August, 1942) - but was removed from this post as the Germans approached, and appointed Cavalry Inspector of the Red Army (from 1943), as well as various honorific posts. Despite his bravery as a cavalry commander, the view of his fellow officers was that Budyonny was demonstrably incompetent at commanding an army in

8439-583: Was "a very aristocratic family of troops, commanded by princes, barons, and counts." Despite Trotsky's objections, the 1st Socialist Cavalry Regiment was formed in Tsaritsyn in October 1918, commanded by Boris Dumenko , with Budyonny as deputy commander. Budyonny joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1919. During the summer of 1919, while the Red Cavalry were in action against

8536-625: Was also applied to migrants, free-booters and bandits . It has the same etymological root as " Kazakh ", an unrelated Central Asian Turkic people. The exact origins of Cossacks remain unclear. In the modern view, Don Cossacks descend from Slavic people connected with Russian lands like the Povolzhye , the Novgorod Republic , and the Principality of Ryazan , and Ukrainian lands like the Dnieper . As well as nomadic Turkic tribes inhabiting

8633-688: Was assigned to driving the Polish army out of Ukraine. On 5 June, he took part in recapturing Kiev , and over the next few days successfully drove the Poles westward. At the start of the war with Poland, he was assigned to the southern front, which Stalin commanded. On 15 August, he asked the commander-in-chief of Soviet forces in Poland, Mikhail Tukhachevsky , for authority to swing north and assist in capturing Warsaw. With Stalin's agreement, he attempted to capture Lviv first. Unsuccessful, he eventually diverted to

8730-517: Was considered a courageous and colourful cavalry officer, but displayed disdain for the tools of modern warfare, particularly tanks, which he, along with Grigory Kulik , saw as "incapable of ever replacing cavalry". This brought him into direct conflict with Tukhachevsky, who was in charge of weapons developed, and foresaw the imminence of mechanized warfare. Even after Tukhachevsky's arrest, the Red Army never stopped developing large scale mechanized corps, and each front had numerous such corps attached as

8827-654: Was disbanded on Russian soil in 1918, after the Russian Revolution , but the Don Cossacks in the White Army and those who emigrated abroad, continued to preserve the traditions, musical and otherwise, of their host. Many found employment as trick riders in various circuses throughout Europe and the United States. Admiral Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak , one of the leaders of the White movement during

8924-796: Was elected deputy chairman of the Stanitsa Soviet of Workers', Peasants', Cossacks' and Soldiers' Deputies on 12 January 1918. On 18 February, he was elected to be a member of the Salsk District Presidium and head of the District Land Department. On the night of 23 February, Budyonny organized a force of 24 men to retake Platovskaya from the white guards , but was soon joined by a large number of new recruits. By morning, they had freed 400 inhabitants and killed 350 White Russian soldiers. His force now consisted of 520 men, from whom, on 27 February, he formed what

9021-645: Was in high spirits. After helping himself to some vodka, he offered to outdance any professional in the Kamarinskaya . Ballerina Abramova took up the challenge. Thereupon Budyonny called over a harmonic player and went into a spin, cutting a Cossack caper with the ease and grace of a youngster. From 1921 to 1923, Budyonny was deputy commander of the North Caucasian Military District . In 1923, Budyonny arrived in Chechnya with

9118-543: Was known from the 17th century. It was adopted as a symbol of the Don Republic on 15 September 1918. Until 1914 the distinguishing colour of the Don Cossack Host was red: worn on the cap bands and wide trouser stripes of a dark blue uniform of the loose-fitting cut common to the Steppe Cossacks. Tall lambskin hats were worn on occasion, with red cloth tops edged in white lace. Silver metal scrolls were worn on

9215-511: Was later recognised as the first 120-strong squadron of red cavalry. Eventually he was elected battalion commander. Budyonny met Stalin and Voroshilov in July 1918. Both supported the idea of creating a cavalry corps to fight on the Bolshevik side in the Russian Civil War ; but when Leon Trotsky , the People's Commissar for War, visited south Russia soon afterward, he told Budyonny that cavalry

9312-399: Was one of the judges at the trial of Tukhachevsky and seven other Red Army commanders, whose execution was the start of a massive purge of the Red Army officer corps. At the trial, he provided testimony that Tukhachevsky's efforts to create an independent tank corps was so inferior to horse cavalry and so illogical that it amounted to deliberate " wrecking ". Half a century after the trial,

9409-481: Was trying to defend himself, during a plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, on 26 February 1937, Budyonny barracked him, calling him a Jesuit . On 24 May 1937, Budyonny was copied into a resolution proposing to arrest Marshal Tukhachevsky, and the high ranking party official Janis Rudzutaks . He wrote on it: "It's necessary to finish off this scum." On 11 June, he

#255744