Sergey Voytsehovskiy Czech Army Colonel, Major General Date of Birth: 16.10.1883 Country: Czech

Biography of Sergei Voitsekhovsky

Colonel of the Czech Army, Major General Sergei Nikolaevich Voitsekhovsky (1883-1951) graduated from the Nikolaevskaya Academy of the General Staff in 1912. He participated in World War I and was appointed to the Czechoslovak Corps in 1917, serving as the chief of staff of its 1st Division until June 1918. In addition to Russian, he was fluent in French, German, Slovak, and Czech languages. He commanded the 3rd Czechoslovak Regiment and was present at the Congress of Delegates of all corps units in Chelyabinsk on May 20, 1918. He became a member of the Military Council, which was created to coordinate the actions of scattered groups of the corps and establish communication with local anti-Bolshevik organizations. Along with Surovy, he commanded the Chelyabinsk group of Czechoslovak troops, consisting of 9,000 soldiers concentrated in the Chelyabinsk-Zlatoust region. He successfully led an operation against the Bolsheviks in Chelyabinsk on May 26, 1918, where he disarmed two "international" infantry regiments composed of Germans and Austrians, capturing significant trophies. He was later awarded the Order of St. George, 4th Class, for this achievement. By taking control of the Zlatoust-Chelyabinsk railway through a bold maneuver, he defeated the Reds in that area. On May 27, 1918, he was verbally appointed by the commander of the Czechoslovak Corps to command the Czechoslovak forces in the Chelyabinsk group and the Ural Front. In Omsk, on June 10, 1918, his troops joined the Siberian group of the Czechoslovak Corps. By the decree of the Congress of members of the Temporary Chelyabinsk Committee and the Czechoslovak National Council on June 11, 1918, he was promoted to colonel and temporarily appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Czech Corps while remaining in the position of a colonel and the commander of the Chelyabinsk group. After successfully fighting against the Reds in Zlatoust, Beryozovsky, and Ust-Katava, he united his forces on July 6, 1918, at the Minyar station near Zlatoust with the Penza group of Czech forces. After that, Voitsekhovsky shifted his military operations towards Yekaterinburg and captured the city on July 28, 1918, repelling the fierce counterattacks of the Reds. During the summer of 1918, he commanded the Yekaterinburg group of troops. During this time, he personally led battles at the Upper Neiva Plant, leading a flanking column of Czechoslovaks and capturing Nizhny Tagil. He then became the commander of the 1st Czechoslovak Division from June to October 1918. On October 17, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Major General by the Czech National Council and was appointed as the commander of the Samara group of troops in Ufa, where he was transferred from Yekaterinburg (formerly the Volga group of troops, replacing General Chechek). He not only halted the Red Army's advance but also pushed them across the Ik River, consolidating the position of the White Army on the Samara front. He was highly popular among Czechs and Slovaks. From the end of October to December 1918, he commanded the Ufa group of troops, which formed the basis for the formation of the Hanzhin Western Army in December 1918-January 1919. In Ufa, he was initially met with skepticism by Russian troops due to the difficult situation caused by the advance of the Red Army, but he quickly gained their sympathies. During this time, he fell out of the control of the Komuch. He formed a maneuver group consisting of 7 Czechoslovak battalions in the Beloretsk region while defending Ufa. He deployed Kappel's forces in the center of his positions. He defeated the Reds in the Ufa-Troitskosavsk-Belorey direction from November 10 to 18, 1918. He opposed the introduction of epaulettes in the army. In November-December 1918, to save Kappel's exhausted units, he sent small forces under Molchanov's command into battle, resulting in heavy casualties due to frostbite, but they carried out Voitsekhovsky's orders. During the coup on November 18, 1918, and afterwards, he banned Socialist Revolutionary Party agitators from visiting the troops, fearing their influence. He refused to bow to the pressure from Czechs and Slovaks who demanded actions against the orders from Omsk. Without receiving any instructions from the Chief Commander of the Czechoslovak Forces, Surovy, in December 1918, he transferred his service to Kolchak, who confirmed all the awards and ranks he had received in 1918 and relieved him of his duties as an officer of the Czechoslovak army. After the surrender of Ufa at the end of December 1918, the units of the Samara group under Voitsekhovsky's command withdrew from there and were replaced by other White units. With the disbandment of the Samara group, from January 1 to June 1919, he commanded the 2nd Ufa Army Corps. He was wounded on January 8, 1919. From the second half of May 1919 to September 1919, he commanded the Ufa group of troops in the 2nd Army under General Lokhvitsky. During the summer of 1919, he was briefly out of the frontlines because he temporarily left the army in protest against the appointment of Saharov there. He took part in the Tobolsk offensive operation in September-October 1919 under Kolchak's command. He launched an offensive on September 1, 1919, when his right flank forces were in a difficult situation, successfully completing the task by striking the flank of the Red Army's 27th Rifle Division. After that, he turned his forces almost to the north during the battle and pushed back the enemy on the Siberian Army front, allowing it to advance, which it had failed to do during the counteroffensive. For this, Voitsekhovsky was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd Class, on September 12, 1919. From September 1919 to January 1920, he commanded the 2nd Army (replacing Lokhvitsky), with the rank of Lieutenant General. On November 20, 1919, he shot and killed Major General Grivin in the village of Ust-Tatarka for leaving the front without permission, which forced Voitsekhovsky's southern group to retreat. This happened when Voitsekhovsky received a second refusal from Grivin to return and a threat of attack with a saber. After that, he appointed a new commander for Grivin's troops and ordered them to return to their positions. After a report from Kappel and Saharov about this incident on November 26, 1919, he was thanked for restoring order in the army. In Novo-Nikolaevsk, a part of the Siberian Army led by Colonel Ivakin staged a mutiny against him, which he suppressed. In mid-December 1919, he firmly refused the position of Commander-in-Chief of the White Forces on the Eastern Front. He challenged the commander of the Czech and Slovak troops, Surovy, to a duel for their collaboration with the Bolsheviks during the Great Siberian Ice Campaign, but the Czech general did not show up. He became the commander of the Moscow group of troops (from January 15, 1920, it became the Far Eastern White Army), consisting of the 1st and 2nd corps, to which the 3rd corps, mostly composed of Semyonov's troops ("Kolchak-Kappel Army"), was later attached. He successfully broke out of the encirclement near Krasnoyarsk on January 5-6, 1920, which was prepared by the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionary Party members for the retreating White Army. By January 7, 1920, he crossed the Yenisei River with his forces without entering Krasnoyarsk. After that, he moved his forces to the Kan River and, due to Kappel's illness, ordered the White Army to retreat to the east. From January 21 (according to other sources, from January 26, 1920) to April 25, 1920, he was the last commander of the Siberian White Army after taking over the command from General Kappel. At that time, he had a force of 30,000 soldiers under his command, including Annenkov's Cossacks, Krasilnikov's brigade, General Volkov's soldiers, the Izhevsk-Votkinsk Division, and volunteers from Verzhbitsky, as well as units from separate numbered divisions. He approached Irkutsk and on January 29, 1920, occupied the town of Kuitun, launching further offensive along the railway line towards Irkutsk. On January 30, 1920, he defeated the Red Army forces under Nesterov near Zima station with the "unexpected" assistance of Czech and Slovak troops. The outcome of the battle was decided by Voitsekhovsky's engagement with the 25th Admiral Kolchak Rifle Regiment. As a result, at least 3 Red Army units were defeated. On February 1, 1920, Voitsekhovsky took the outskirts of Irkutsk in Chermkhovo. After that, he defeated the Red Army covering group near Usolye, approaching the city. On February 5-6, 1920, he engaged in fierce battles near the villages of Sukhovka and Olonki in the vicinity of Irkutsk. On February 6, 1920, Voitsekhovsky issued an ultimatum to the Reds: 1. Withdraw their troops to the north. 2. Surrender Kolchak and the gold reserves. 3. Provide the White Army with food, forage, and warm clothing for 50,000 soldiers. At the request of the local authorities in Irkutsk, negotiations began between the Czechs, Slovaks, and Voitsekhovsky on the conditions for his forces to pass through the city. By that time, the majority of Voitsekhovsky's troops were suffering from typhus in the field hospitals. In the prolonged negotiations between the Czechoslovaks and the Bolsheviks, Voitsekhovsky decided to break through to Transbaikalia, bypassing Irkutsk, despite Saharov's desire to capture him. Learning about Kolchak's execution, Voitsekhovsky divided his army into two parts and bypassed the city: the 1st group crossed the frozen Lake Baikal and headed to Transbaikalia, while the 2nd group bypassed Irkutsk from the south and went to Chita. Voitsekhovsky's decision was influenced by the Czechs and Slovaks' reluctance to let his forces enter Irkutsk. During the crossing of Lake Baikal from February 11-13, 1920, Voitsekhovsky issued an order to promote officers in the army to the rank of colonel and senior non-commissioned officers up to the rank of regimental sergeant major without even a superficial review of their previously submitted cases, resulting in most officers moving up 2-3 ranks. Major General Feldman accused him of corrupting the officer corps by this action, giving the army "54 illiterate staff officers and even more non-commissioned officers." Upon arriving in Transbaikalia in February 1920, he stationed his troops in the Peschanka area and neighboring villages. He called a meeting of senior leaders of his forces to gather information on whether they should obey Semenov or not. He tried to negotiate special privileges for his troops with Semenov. He remained in command of the army, but Semenov had more authority over him, despite Voitsekhovsky being more respected. In Chita, he gathered his subordinates again to decide on further actions. During this time, he actively enforced discipline in the army through strict measures. Voitsekhovsky met the arrival of General Sukin's and Colonel Kambalin's white units in Transbaikalia after him with little enthusiasm. As the commander of the Russian Far Eastern Borderlands troops, Voitsekhovsky declared in his address to the population of Transbaikalia on March 23, 1920, that the peasants, Cossacks, and Buryats should send their representatives to Chita for a congress by June 6, 1920. Despite the weak fortification of Transbaikalia as a whole and Chita in particular, according to General Feldman, who was critical of Voitsekhovsky, as defenses were only built on the Yablonovy Range, in April, during Easter, with the help of Semyonov and the Japanese, he defeated the advancing Red Brigade. He supported Feldman's idea of pre-evacuating officers' families in order to free up rolling stock and retreat routes, and the creation of a special officer reserve, which was to play the role of the most resilient white unit to boost the morale of others. He did not allow Feldman to create an officer battalion as planned, using individual officers and dissolving the officer guard units attached to the generals. In response to Feldman's protest, he reassigned him to a secondary position. He failed to establish the "Army Combat Capability Enhancement Courses" proposed by Feldman. In May 1920, in Chita, he handed over the command of the Far Eastern White Army to General Lokhvitsky and went to Vladivostok, joining the Czech and Slovak forces. This was due to his unwillingness to contribute to the split in the troops between "Kappel's men" and "Semyonov's men." From September 1920 to 1930, he lived in Manchuria in exile. In Harbin, from September 1920, he fiercely criticized Semyonov along with Pepelyaev, including on the pages of the official "Russian Army" publication. He was the leader of the Russian All-Military Union in Mukden until 1929. From 1929 to 1945, he was in Prague, holding responsible positions in the Czechoslovak Army. During this time, he became an excellent pilot and driver, and he was known for his knowledge of Poland, the Caucasus, Siberia, and Subcarpathian Rus. He was promoted to Army General on December 30, 1929, and received foreign awards. In 1919, he was awarded the Czechoslovak Military Cross and later received the Czechoslovak Revolutionary Medal, Czechoslovak Victory Medal, French Legion of Honor 4th Class (1926), French Legion of Honor 3rd Class (1929), Yugoslav Order of St. Sava 2nd Class (1929), Yugoslav Order of St. Sava 1st Class (1930), Yugoslav Order of the Crown 1st Class (1937), and Romanian Order of the Star 1st Class. He commanded the 1st Army of Czechoslovakia from September 25 to October 14, 1938. One of the top Czechoslovak generals, L. Krejci, characterized him during this time as follows: "The army commander is very good. During the political crisis, he showed an uneven character and personal ambitions. He is unfit for higher command." Voitsekhovsky advocated resisting the Germans, but this was not supported by the Czechoslovak leadership. He was arrested by SMERSH in 1945, repressed, and died in a camp near Taishet.