The Gurko brothers in Russian history. Generals of the First World War: Vasily Iosifovich Gurko Family of V.I. Gurko

Vasily Iosifovich Gurko

In this article we will talk about one of the best generals of the Russian Empire, who began the First World War as the head of a division and ended it as the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front.

Vasily Iosifovich Gurko(Romeiko-Gurko) was born in 1864 in Tsarskoe Selo. His father is Field Marshal General Joseph Vasilyevich Gurko, a hereditary nobleman of the Mogilev province, known for his victories in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

Studied V.I. Gurko at the Richelieu gymnasium. After graduating from the Corps of Pages, in 1885 he began serving in the Life Guards Grodno Hussar Regiment. Then he studied at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, was an officer for assignments, and a chief officer under the commander of the Warsaw Military District.

Boer War

Second Boer War 1899-1902 – the war of the Boer republics: the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State (Orange Republic) against Great Britain. It ended in victory for Great Britain, but world public opinion was mainly on the side of the small republics. In Russia, the song “Transvaal, my country, you are all on fire...” was very popular. In this war, the British first used scorched earth tactics on Boer land (the complete destruction of any industrial, agricultural, or civilian objects during retreat so that they would not fall to the enemy) and concentration camps, in which about 30 thousand Boer women and children and an unspecified number of blacks died Africans.

Boer War

In 1899 V.I. Gurko was sent to the Boer army in the Transvaal as an observer of the fighting. He completed the mission successfully and was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree, and for distinguished service in 1900 he was promoted to colonel.

Russo-Japanese War

With the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War, V.I. Gurko is in the Manchurian army, performing various tasks: he covered the detachment’s retreat to Liaoyang; during the Battle of Liaoyang, he protected the gap between the I and III Siberian Corps from a breakthrough and guarded the left flank of the army; took part in organizing the attack on the Putilov Hill, and then was appointed head of the Putilov defense section; formed the corps headquarters under the detachment of General Rennenkampf, stationed at Tsinghechen; organized the defense of the extreme left flank and communication with the rear, etc. For the battle of Liaoyang on August 17-21, 1904, V. I. Gurko was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 2nd degree with swords, and for the battle on the Shakhe River on September 22 - October 4, 1904 and the capture of Putilov Hill - with a golden weapon with the inscription “For bravery”.

Battle of Laoyang. Painting by an unknown Japanese artist

At the end of the Russian-Japanese War, in 1906-1911, V.I. Gurko was the chairman of the Military Historical Commission for the description of the Russian-Japanese War. And in March 1911 he was appointed head of the 1st Cavalry Division.

World War I

The first battle in which Gurko’s units took part was at Markgrabov on August 1, 1914. The battle lasted half an hour - and the Russian units captured Markgrabov. Divisional Commander Gurko showed personal courage in him.

Having captured the city, V.I. Gurko organized reconnaissance and destroyed the enemy’s communication means. Enemy correspondence was captured, which turned out to be useful for the command of the 1st Russian Army.

IN AND. Gurko

When the German army went on the offensive, during the first battle of the Masurian Lakes in August 1914, out of two German cavalry divisions (48 squadrons) going to the rear of the 1st Russian Army, 24 squadrons were held within 24 hours by Gurko’s cavalry division. All this time, V.I. Gurko’s units repelled attacks by superior forces of German cavalry, which was supported by infantry and artillery.

In September, V.I. Gurko's cavalry covered the retreat of the 1st Army from East Prussia. In October 1914, for active actions during the battles in East Prussia, the general was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree.

In East Prussia, Gurko showed all his abilities as a military leader, capable of independent active actions.

At the beginning of November V.I. Gurko was appointed corps commander during the Lodz operation.

Lodz operation- this is a major battle on the Eastern Front of the First World War, one of the most complex and difficult in 1914. On the Russian side, it was attended by the 1st Army (commander - P.K. Rennenkampf, 2nd Army (commander - S.M . Scheidemann) and the 5th Army (commander - P. A. Plehve). This battle had an uncertain outcome. The German plan to encircle the 2nd and 5th Russian armies failed, but the planned Russian offensive deep into Germany was thwarted.

After the operation was completed, the commander of the 1st Army, Rennekampf, and the commander of the 2nd Army, Scheidemann, were removed from their posts.

The 6th Army Corps of V.I. Gurko was the main formation of the 1st Army in the Battle of Łowicz (the final stage of the Battle of Lodz). The first battles of V.I. Gurko’s unit were successful, repelling enemy counterattacks. By mid-December, Gurko's corps occupied a 15-kilometer section of the front at the confluence of the Bzura and Ravka rivers, and here his troops first encountered German chemical weapons.

The year 1915 began with heavy fighting in the area of ​​Volya Shydlovskaya’s estate. This military operation was poorly prepared, enemy counterattacks followed each other, the troops suffered heavy losses, but the battles ended in nothing. Gurko warned about this in advance, but was forced to obey the command. Although his protests still had consequences - they led to an accelerated winding down of the operation.

Since June 1915, Gurko's 6th Army Corps became part of the 11th Army of the Southwestern Front in the area of ​​the river. Dniester. At least 5 infantry divisions were under the command of V.I. Gurko.

General V.I. Gurko

In the offensive operation near Zhuravino on May 27-June 2, 1915, troops of the 11th Russian Army inflicted a major defeat on the South German Army. In these successful actions, the central place belongs to V.I. Gurko: his troops defeated two enemy corps, captured 13 thousand military personnel, captured 6 artillery pieces, more than 40 machine guns. The enemy was thrown back to the right bank of the Dniester, Russian troops approached the large railway junction of western Ukraine, the city of Stryi (12 km away). The enemy was forced to curtail the offensive in the Galich direction and regroup forces. But the victorious offensive of the Russian army was curtailed as a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough. The period of defense began.

But the merits of General V.I. Gurko were appreciated: for the battles on the Dniester he was awarded in November 1915 the Order of St. George 3rd degree.

In the fall of 1915, the Russian front stabilized and a positional war began.

In December 1915, Gurko was appointed commander of the 5th Army of the Northern Front, in the winter of 1915/16. he was engaged in improving defensive positions and combat training of troops. On March 5-17, 1916, his army took part in one of the unsuccessful offensive operations to break through the enemy’s layered defenses - the Naroch operation of the Northern and Western fronts. The main task of the Russian troops was to alleviate the situation of the French at Verdun. The 5th Army carried out auxiliary strikes. The offensive took place in difficult weather conditions. Gurko wrote on this occasion: “... these battles clearly demonstrated the fact that an offensive undertaken in conditions of trench warfare during periods of frost or winter thaw, in our climate, puts the attacking troops in an extremely disadvantageous position compared to the defending enemy. In addition, from personal observations of the actions of the troops and their commanders, I concluded that the training of our units and headquarters is completely insufficient to conduct offensive operations in conditions of trench warfare.”

IN AND. Gurko

By the end of May, the 5th Army of General V.I. Gurko included 4 corps. We were preparing for the summer campaign. The army commander paid special attention to artillery and aviation preparations for the upcoming offensive.

On August 14, 1916, V.I. Gurko was appointed commander of the troops of the Special Army of the Western Front, but the 1916 offensive was already running out of steam. Gurko understood this, but approached the matter creatively: he paid special attention to capturing key points of the enemy position, which was well fortified, as well as artillery preparation. On September 19-22, the Special and 8th Army fought the inconclusive 5th Battle of Kovel. There weren't enough heavy shells. Gurko stated that in their absence on September 22, he would be forced to suspend the operation, although he perfectly understood that “the most effective means of breaking the Germans was persistent and continuous conduct of the operation, believing that any break would force us to start all over again and make the losses incurred in vain.”

It was dangerous to stop active operations - the available German reserves were concentrated mainly in the zone of the Special Army. An important goal was to reduce their ability to take active action. This goal was achieved: the Germans did not manage to remove a single division from the front of the Special Army; they even had to reinforce this sector with fresh units.

The military historian of the Russian Diaspora A. A. Kersnovsky considered General Gurko the best of the army commanders in the 1916 campaign. He wrote: “Of the army commanders, General Gurko should be put in first place. Unfortunately, he arrived in Volyn too late. A strong-willed, energetic and intelligent commander, he demanded a lot from the troops and commanders, but gave them a lot in return. His orders and instructions - short, clear, imbued with an offensive spirit, put the troops in the best position in the prevailing situation, which was extremely difficult and unfavorable for an offensive. Had Gurko led the Lutsk breakthrough, it is difficult to say where the victorious regiments of the 8th Army would have stopped, or if they would have stopped at all.”

During M.V. Alekseev's sick leave, from November 11, 1916 to February 17, 1917, Gurko acted as Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

IN AND. Gurko, together with General A. S. Lukomsky, developed a plan for the 1917 campaign, which provided for the transfer of strategic decisions to the Romanian front and the Balkans. But with the Gurko-Lukomsky plan, except for A.A. Brusilova, no one agreed. “Our main enemy is not Bulgaria, but Germany,” the other commanders-in-chief believed.

The February coup of 1917 found V.I. Gurko at the front, in the Special Army. The cleansing of the army from military leaders undesirable to the new government began, and on March 31, 1917, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Western Front, whose headquarters was in Minsk. But the army was already disintegrating in revolutionary frenzy. The policy of the new authorities led to the death of the army.

On May 15, 1917, the Declaration of the Rights of Military Personnel was promulgated. Gurko submitted a report to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government stating that he “disclaims all responsibility for the successful conduct of the matter.” Even during the preparation of this document, he wrote: “The proposed rules are completely incompatible with the life of the troops and military discipline, and therefore their application will inevitably lead to the complete disintegration of the army...”.

On May 22, Gurko was removed from his post and placed at the disposal of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with a ban on holding positions higher than the head of a division, i.e. the position from which he started the war. This was an insult to the military general.

Exile

IN AND. Gurko in exile

On July 21, 1917, he was arrested for corresponding with the former Emperor Nicholas II and placed in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, but was soon released. And on September 14, 1917, V.I. Gurko was dismissed from service and, with the assistance of the British authorities, he arrived in England through Arkhangelsk. Then he moved to Italy. Here V.I. Gurko actively participated in the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS), which united military organizations and unions of the White emigration in all countries, and collaborated in the Sentinel magazine.

Cover of the Sentinel magazine for 1831.

This magazine was rightly called the chronicle of the Russian army in exile, an encyclopedia of military thought abroad.

Book by V.I. Gurko

Vasily Iosifovich Gurko died on February 11, 1937; buried in the Roman non-Catholic cemetery of Testaccio.

Awards V.I. Gurko

• Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. (1894);
• Order of St. Anne 3rd class. (1896);
• Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class. (1901);
• Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class. with swords (1905);
• Golden Arms (1905);
• Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class. with swords (1905);
• Order of St. Anne 2nd class. with swords (1905);
• Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class. (1908).
• Order of St. George 4th class. (25.10.1914).
• Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class. with swords (06/04/1915);
• Order of St. George 3rd class. (03.11.1915).

All that remains is to once again be amazed at the fact how easily the new Soviet government said goodbye to those who brought glory to Russia and who did not spare their lives for it. Getting acquainted with the biographies of the military leaders of the Russian Empire, you partly understand the reasons for the difficult results of the Great Patriotic War - the entire old guard was either destroyed or sent abroad.

Family V.I. Gurko

In Italy V.I. Gurko married a Frenchwoman, Sofia Trario. His only daughter Catherine was a nun (Maria in monasticism). She died in 2012 and was buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois in Paris.

Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko was born on July 16, 1828 in the family estate of Aleksandrovka in the Mogilev province. He was the third child in the family and belonged to the old noble family of Romeiko-Gurko, who moved to the west of the Russian Empire from the Belarusian lands. His father, Vladimir Iosifovich, was an extraordinary man of complex and brilliant fate. Having begun his service as an ensign in the Semenovsky regiment, he rose to the rank of infantry general. He fought in the battles of Borodino, Maloyaroslavets, Tarutin, Bautzen, commanded troops in the Caucasus, participated in the liberation of Armenia, and pacified the Polish rebellion. Vladimir Iosifovich told his son a lot about his military campaigns, great battles, legendary commanders of the past and heroes of the Patriotic War. It is quite clear that from an early age the boy dreamed only of a military career.

Joseph began his studies at the Jesuit college school. In 1840-1841, their family suffered great grief - first Gurko’s mother, Tatyana Alekseevna Korf, died, and then her elder sister Sophia, a beauty and maid of honor at the imperial court. Vladimir Iosifovich, having difficulty surviving the losses, submitted his resignation, justifying it with upset household affairs and illnesses. However, the forty-six-year-old lieutenant general never received his resignation; on the contrary, in 1843 he was sent to the Caucasus into the thick of battles with the highlanders. He had to send Joseph’s older sister, seventeen-year-old Marianna, to her aunt, and place his son in the Corps of Pages.

At the beginning of 1846, Vladimir Gurko was appointed head of all reserve and reserve troops of the army and guard, and Joseph successfully graduated from the corps on August 12 of the same year and was assigned to serve in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment with the rank of cornet. Daughter Marianna had by that time married Vasily Muravyov-Apostol, the younger brother of Matvey, who was sent into exile in Siberia and Sergei, who was executed. Meanwhile, Vladimir Gurko’s health continued to deteriorate. He spent the autumn and winter of 1846 on the Sakharovo estate, and in the spring of 1847 he went abroad for treatment. Joseph Gurko buried his father in 1852. The young officer inherited a number of estates, but had little interest in the farm, transferring them to the full care of the managers.

Very quickly, Joseph Gurko became a first-class cavalry officer. On April 11, 1848 he was already promoted to lieutenant, and on August 30, 1855 to captain. In 1849, in connection with the outbreak of the revolution in Hungary, Gurko, as part of his regiment, made a campaign to the western borders of the Russian Empire, but did not have time to take part in hostilities. When the Crimean War began, Joseph Vladimirovich tried all possibilities in order to get to besieged Sevastopol. In the end, he had to change the shoulder straps of a guard captain to the shoulder straps of an infantry major. It was at that time that he uttered the words that later became famous: “Live with the cavalry, die with the infantry.” In the fall of 1855, he was transferred to the Chernigov infantry regiment, located at the Belbek positions in the Crimea, but again did not have time to take part in hostilities - at the end of August 1855, after 349 days of valiant defense, Russian troops left Sevastopol.

In March 1856, a peace treaty was signed in Paris with the participation of Prussia and Austria, and six months earlier - on February 18, 1855 - Nicholas I died of pneumonia, and Alexander II became his successor. Gurko's service, meanwhile, continued. With the rank of captain, he again returned to the hussar regiment, where he was entrusted with command of the squadron. In this position, he established himself as an exemplary leader, a strict but skillful educator and teacher of his subordinates. And these were not just words. The emperor himself paid special attention to the brilliant drill and combat training of Gurko’s squadron during the next review of the troops. Soon after this (November 6, 1860) Joseph Vladimirovich was transferred to the post of aide-de-camp of His Imperial Majesty.

In the spring of 1861, Gurko was promoted to colonel, and soon sent to the Samara province in order to monitor the progress of the peasant reforms carried out by Alexander II and personally report on the state of affairs to the tsar. Upon arrival at the site on March 11, Joseph Vladimirovich immediately got involved in the matter. At the most important moment of the reform, namely during the promulgation of the manifesto, he gave the order to print the required number of legislative acts in local newspapers. Gurko went against the decisions of the local nobility, which in any case demanded that the authorities use military force against the peasants. Speaking as an ardent opponent of forceful measures, he argued that any “insubordination” of the peasants and the suppression of peasant unrest could be resolved by “simple explanations.” Joseph Vladimirovich personally visited all the most “problematic” villages of the Samara province, holding long conversations with the peasants, explaining and explaining to them the essence of the changes that had taken place.

Indicative are the measures taken by Gurko against the captured peasant Modest Surkov, who “freely” interpreted the manifesto to the peasants for a monetary payment, as well as private Vasily Khrabrov, who called himself Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and distributed rights and freedoms to local peasants. Joseph Vladimirovich spoke out strongly against the death penalty for “interpreters.” He said that death would elevate them to the rank of folk heroes in the eyes of the peasants, which in turn could result in large-scale protests. Showing himself to be a far-sighted politician, Gurko put pressure on the investigative commission, ensuring that both “interpreters” in all the villages they passed through were publicly exposed, and then subjected to corporal punishment and sentenced to prison.

The aide-de-camp also took a lot of energy in the fight against the abuses of the landowners of the Samara province. In his reports to the sovereign, he regularly reported on the almost universal abuse of power by landowners in relation to the peasants, among which the most common were: exceeding the norms of quitrent and corvée and the redistribution of fertile land. Acting according to the situation, Gurko influenced local authorities, for example, he could give orders to distribute grain to peasants who, due to the fault of the landowners, were deprived of all supplies. The case of the court marshal of the imperial court, Prince Kochubey, who took from the peasants all the good land they owned, received wide publicity. Without mincing words, Gurko in his next report to Alexander II outlined the picture of what was happening, and as a result, the confrontation between the landowner and the peasants was resolved in favor of the latter.

The actions of Joseph Vladimirovich during the peasant reform were positively assessed even by the opposition newspaper “Bell” Alexander Herzen, who once said that “the aiguettes of Adjutant Gurko’s wing are a symbol of honor and valor.” Konstantin Pobedonostsev reported to the Tsar: “Gurko has a soldier’s conscience, straight. He is not susceptible to the influence of political talkers, he has no cunning and is incapable of intrigue. He also does not have any noble relatives who are trying to make a political career through him.”

At the beginning of 1862, thirty-four-year-old Gurko married Maria Salyas de Tournemire, nee countess and daughter of the writer Elizaveta Vasilyevna Salyas de Tournemire, better known as Eugenia Tour. The young wife became a loyal friend to Joseph Vladimirovich, their love for each other remained mutual throughout their lives. It is curious that this marriage caused condemnation from the emperor, since both the writer herself, nicknamed by her contemporaries “the Russian George Sand,” and her family and comrades were considered too liberal for a promising aide-de-camp. Writer and journalist Evgeny Feoktistov recalled: “The Emperor did not want to forgive Gurko for his marriage for a long time. The young people settled in Tsarskoe Selo, where Joseph Vladimirovich was content with a rather limited circle of acquaintances. He seemed to have fallen into disgrace, and to the considerable surprise of his colleagues, who had no idea what had happened between him and the Tsar, he did not receive any appointments.”

Over the next four years, Gurko carried out minor administrative assignments. He also observed the recruitment drives taking place in the Vyatka, Kaluga and Samara provinces. Finally, in 1866 he was appointed commander of the fourth Mariupol Hussar Regiment, and at the end of the summer of 1867 he was promoted to major general with an appointment to the emperor's retinue. In 1869, Gurko was given a horse-grenadier regiment to the Life Guards, which he commanded for six years. The generals rightly believed that this regiment was distinguished by excellent training. In July 1875, Joseph Vladimirovich was appointed commander of the second guards cavalry division, and a year later he was promoted to lieutenant general.

In the summer of 1875, anti-Turkish uprisings broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later in Bulgaria. For more than five hundred years, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Macedonians and other peoples close in faith and blood to the Slavs were under the Turkish yoke. The Turkish government was cruel, all unrest was punished mercilessly - cities burned, thousands of civilians died. The irregular Turkish troops, nicknamed the Bashi-Bazouks, were particularly bloodthirsty and ferocious. In essence, these were unorganized and uncontrollable bands of bandits, recruited mainly from the warlike tribes of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor and Albania. Their troops demonstrated particular cruelty during the suppression of the April Uprising, which broke out in 1876 in Bulgaria. More than thirty thousand civilians died, including old people, women and children. The massacre caused widespread public outcry in Russia and European countries. Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Victor Hugo, and Giuseppe Garibaldi spoke out in support of the Bulgarians. In Russia, special “Slavic committees” were formed to collect donations for the rebels, and volunteer detachments were organized in cities. Under Russian pressure, a conference of European diplomats was held in Constantinople in 1877. It did not put an end to the atrocities and genocide of the Slavic peoples, but it allowed our country to achieve an unspoken agreement between the European powers on non-interference in the brewing military conflict with Turkey.

The plan for a future war was drawn up at the end of 1876 and at the end of February 1877 was studied by the emperor and approved by the General Staff and the Minister of War. It was based on the idea of ​​a lightning victory - the Russian army was supposed to cross the Danube in the Nikopol-Svishtov sector, which does not have fortresses, and then split into several detachments with different tasks. Gurko at that time was already 48 years old, but he was built like a young man, strong and hardy, and unpretentious in everyday life like Suvorov. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, commander-in-chief of the Danube Army, knew him well, since he had been inspector general of cavalry since 1864. It is known that he personally insisted on the appointment of Joseph Vladimirovich to the active army, saying: “I don’t see another commander of the advanced cavalry.”

On April 12, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. On June 15, the advanced units of the Russian army crossed the Danube, and on June 20, Gurko arrived at the army’s location. By order of June 24, 1877, he was appointed head of the Southern (advanced) detachment, receiving at his disposal one rifle and four cavalry brigades, three hundred Cossacks with thirty-two guns and six squads of the Bulgarian militia. The task before him was set extremely clear - to occupy the city of Tarnovo and the passes through the Balkans.

Joseph Vladimirovich, who had no previous military experience, showed himself brilliantly in command of the Southern Detachment. During this operation, his remarkable military genius, combining liveliness, intelligence and reasonable courage, was revealed for the first time. Gurko liked to repeat to his commanders: “With proper training, combat is nothing special - the same training only with live ammunition, requiring even more order, even more calm. ...And remember that you are leading a Russian soldier into battle, who never lags behind his officer.”
On June 25, 1877, approaching Tarnovo, Gurko undertook reconnaissance of the area. Correctly assessing the enemy's confusion, he immediately turned the reconnaissance into a lightning-fast cavalry attack and captured the city in one swift blow. The Turkish garrison retreated in panic, abandoning their ammunition and ammunition. about the capture of the ancient capital of Bulgaria within an hour and a half and only with the forces of one cavalry was greeted with delight in Russia. Russian soldiers in liberated Bulgarian settlements were greeted as liberators. The peasants called them to stay, treated them to honey, bread and cheese, the priests made the sign of the cross over the soldiers.

After the occupation of Tarnovo, the troops of the Southern Detachment began to carry out their main task - the capture of the Balkan passes. There were four passages through the Balkan Mountains, the most convenient of which was Shipkinsky. However, the Turks greatly strengthened it and kept large reserves in the Kazanlak area. Of the remaining passes, only the most difficult one, the Khainkoi Pass, was not controlled by them. The southern detachment successfully defeated him and by July 5 defeated the Turkish forces near the city of Kazanlak. Under the circumstances, the enemy, entrenched on Shipka, could be attacked simultaneously from both the north and the south (that is, from the rear), where Gurko’s detachment was located. The Russian troops did not miss such an opportunity - after fierce two-day battles, the enemy, no longer trying to hold their positions, retreated at night along mountain paths to Philippopolis (now Plovdiv), abandoning all artillery.

The victories of the Southern detachment, which had three times fewer forces than the opposing Turkish troops, caused real panic in Constantinople. Many of the highest dignitaries of the Ottoman Empire were removed from their posts. The commander-in-chief of the Turkish forces on the Danube - the incompetent and elderly Abdi Pasha - was dismissed, and in his place the Turkish General Staff appointed the forty-five-year-old General Suleiman Pasha. This was a truly worthy opponent, a military leader of a new, European formation. In seventeen days by sea and by land, covering almost seven hundred kilometers, he managed to transfer a twenty-five thousandth corps from Montenegro and immediately threw it into battle.

During this time, Gurko received reinforcements in the form of one infantry brigade, as well as permission to “act according to the circumstances.” Having set the task of preventing Turkish forces from reaching the Khainkoi and Shipka passes, Gurko crossed the Small Balkans and on July 10 at Stara Zagora, on July 18 at Nova Zagora and on July 19 at Kalitinov he won several more brilliant victories. However, at the end of July, large enemy forces approached the village of Eski-Zagry. This place was held by a small detachment of Russian soldiers and Bulgarian militias under the leadership of Nikolai Stoletov. After five hours of fierce defensive battles, the threat of encirclement appeared, and Nikolai Grigorievich gave the order to leave the settlement. Unfortunately, the main forces of Joseph Vladimirovich were unable to arrive to the rescue in a timely manner - on the way to Stara Zagora they met with the troops of Reuf Pasha. The enemy was eventually defeated, but time ran out, and Gurko ordered all units to retreat to the passes. The sacrifices were not in vain; the battered army of Suleiman Pasha licked its wounds for three weeks and did not move.

The second unsuccessful assault on Plevna and the inability to strengthen the Southern detachment with reinforcements served as the basis for ordering Gurko’s detachment to retreat north to Tarnovo. Joseph Vladimirovich himself, who did not have the necessary reserves not only for an offensive, but also for operational counteraction to the Turkish detachments, said: “If Suleiman Pasha came against me with the entire army, then I would resist to the last extreme. The thought of what will happen here when I leave makes me tremble. My retreat will be a signal for a general massacre of Christians. ...Despite my desire, I cannot avert these atrocities, due to the fact that I cannot split up the troops and send detachments to every place.”

Gurko's forces joined the forces of General Fyodor Radetsky holding the southern region of the theater of operations. The army command in the person of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich appreciated the actions of Joseph Vladimirovich, awarding him the rank of adjutant general and awarding him the Order of St. George, third degree. However, immeasurably higher than all the awards was the honor and glory that he earned from ordinary warriors. The soldiers had unlimited faith in Gurko and called him “General Forward.” He amazed everyone with his endurance and indomitable energy, composure during battles, calmly standing under bullets on the front line. Contemporaries described him as follows: “Slender and thin with huge sideburns and sharp, gray, deep eyes. He spoke little, never argued, and seemed impenetrable in his feelings, intentions and thoughts. His entire figure exuded inner strength, menacing and authoritative. Not everyone loved him, but everyone respected him and almost everyone feared him.”

The southern detachment was disbanded, and in August 1877 Gurko left for St. Petersburg in order to mobilize his second Guards Cavalry Division. On September 20, he already arrived with her near Plevna and was placed at the head of the entire cavalry of the Western detachment, located on the left bank of the Vita. Plevna, like an unbearable block, blocked the Russian troops’ path to Constantinople. The three-time assault on the stronghold was unsuccessful, and Russian-Romanian troops, according to the plan of Eduard Totleben, who led the siege, besieged the city from the south, north and east. However, in the southwest and west, the routes for the enemy were actually open and ammunition and food regularly arrived along the Sofia highway for the soldiers of Osman Pasha. The reserve units of Shefket Pasha, engaged in guarding the highway, erected along it near five villages - Gorniy Dybnik, Dolniy Dybnik, Telish, Yablunits and Radomirts - powerful fortifications located at a distance of 8-10 kilometers from each other and consisting of a number of redoubts with forward trenches.

The task of blocking the Sofia highway was assigned to Gurko. He developed a plan according to which the combined forces of the cavalry and guard were to act. The headquarters approved his proposal, and Joseph Vladimirovich received under his command the entire guard, including the Izmailovsky regiment. This decision caused dissatisfaction among many military leaders. Of course, Gurko’s length of service was less than that of most division commanders, including the chief of staff of the Guards Corps. However, the complexity of the situation forced the commander-in-chief of the Danube Army not to take into account the pride of senior commanders who had experience but did not have the necessary qualities. Taking command of the guard, Gurko told the officers: “Gentlemen, I must tell you that I passionately love military affairs. I have had such happiness and such an honor that I never dared to dream of - to lead the Guard into battle.” He told the soldiers: “Guardsmen, they care about you more than the rest of the army... and now it’s time for you to prove that you are worthy of these worries... Show the world that the spirit of the troops of Rumyantsev and Suvorov is alive in you. Shoot with a smart bullet - rarely, but accurately, and when it comes down to it with bayonets, then make a hole in the enemy. He can’t stand our ‘hurray’.”

The first blow to the enemy was struck at Gorniy Dybnyak on October 12. This bloody battle took a prominent place in the annals of military art, since here Gurko used new methods of moving the rifle chain before the attack - crawling and running. Joseph Vladimirovich approached the attack on the Telish fortifications differently. Seeing the futility of the assault, he ordered a powerful artillery barrage. The fire from the Russian batteries demoralized the enemy and on October 16 the five-thousand-strong garrison stopped resisting. And on October 20, Dolny Dybnik capitulated without a fight. Despite the success of the operation, which ensured a complete blockade of Plevna, its cost was enormous. Russian losses amounted to over four thousand people. And although Alexander II, who was at that time near Plevna, awarded the general a golden sword studded with diamonds and with the inscription “For bravery,” Gurko himself was very upset about the losses that the guard suffered.

The supply of ammunition and provisions for the besieged city ceased, and the fate of the fortress was sealed. Gyaurko Pasha, as the Turks called Joseph Vladimirovich, proposed a new plan to the command - to immediately go to the Balkans, cross the mountains, defeat the just-forming army of Mehmet-Ali, and then unblock the Shipka troops holding back the forces of Suleiman Pasha. Most participants in the military council called Joseph Vladimirovich's plan insane. In response, the general, not at all prone to pathos, said: “I will hold accountable for my actions to my fatherland.” The disagreements went so far that, bypassing his immediate superiors, Gurko, who had the nickname “Thorn” at headquarters, sent the emperor a memo outlining the measures he proposed. It ended with the following words: “Ambitious plans are far from me, but I don’t care at all what posterity will say about me, and therefore I inform you that we need to attack immediately. If Your Majesty does not agree with me, I ask you to appoint another boss to my position, one who is better prepared to carry out the passive plan proposed by Headquarters than I am.”

As a result, it was decided that Gurko’s detachment, having received reinforcements, would cross the Balkan Mountains and move along their southern slope to Sofia. At the end of October - beginning of November 1977, Gurko's cavalry occupied the cities of Vratsa, Etropole and Orhaniye (now Botevgrad). By the way, a twenty-five thousand strong group was concentrated near the Bulgarian city of Orhaniye, preparing to release the troops of Osman Pasha. Gurko's pre-emptive strike shocked the enemy, the commander of the group died on the battlefield, and the Turkish troops, having suffered heavy losses, retreated to Sofia. Just like a year ago, Gurko’s advance detachment was enthusiastically received by the local population. Young Bulgarians asked to join Russian detachments, helped cavalrymen in reconnaissance, watered horses in bivouacs, chopped wood and worked as translators.

General Joseph Gurko in the Balkans. P.O Kovalevsky, 1891

Having achieved a number of successes, Joseph Vladimirovich was preparing to march for the Balkans, but the commander-in-chief of the Danube Army, showing caution, detained his troops near Orhaniye until the fall of Plevna. Gurko's people waited for this event for more than a month with poor supplies and in the conditions of the approaching cold. Finally, in mid-December, a detachment reinforced by the Third Guards Division and the Ninth Corps (about seventy thousand people with 318 guns) moved through the Balkans. They were met by snowstorms and terrible cold, snow-covered paths and icy descents and ascents - it seemed that nature itself was on the side of the enemy. A contemporary wrote: “In order to overcome all difficulties and not give up on the goal, you needed unshakable faith in your troops and yourself, an iron, Suvorov-like will.” During the transition, Joseph Vladimirovich set everyone an example of personal endurance, energy and vigor, sharing all the difficulties of the campaign along with the rank and file, personally commanding the ascent and descent of artillery, encouraging the soldiers, sleeping in the open air, and being content with simple food. When at one Gurko pass they reported that it was impossible to lift artillery even by hand, the general replied: “Then we’ll drag it in with our teeth!” It is also known that when a murmur began among the officers, Gurko, having gathered the entire guards command, said menacingly: “By the will of the sovereign emperor, I have been placed above you. I demand unquestioning obedience from you and will force each and every one to strictly carry out, and not criticize, my orders. I ask everyone to remember this. If it’s hard for big people, then I’ll put them in reserve and go forward with the little ones.”

Most foreign military leaders seriously believed that it was impossible to conduct military operations in the Balkans in winter. Joseph Vladimirovich broke this stereotype. Overcoming oneself and fighting the forces of nature lasted eight days and ended with the victory of the Russian spirit, also predetermining the outcome of the entire war. The detachment, finding itself in the Sofia Valley, moved west and, after a fierce battle on December 19, captured the Tashkisen position from the Turks. And on December 23, Gurko freed Sofia. In an order on the occasion of the liberation of the city, the military commander reported: “Years will pass, and our descendants, visiting these harsh places, will say with pride - the Russian army passed here, resurrecting the glory of Rumyantsev and Suvorov’s miracle heroes!”

Following Joseph Vladimirovich, other units of our army also crossed the Balkan Mountains. At the beginning of January 1878, in a three-day battle near Philippopolis, Gurko defeated the troops of Suleiman Pasha and liberated the city. This was followed by the occupation of Adrianople, which opened the way to Constantinople, and finally, in February, the western suburb of Constantinople, San Stefano, was captured. It was in this place that a peace treaty was signed, ending the Turkish yoke in Bulgaria. Soon a new state appeared on all maps of Europe, and three settlements were named in honor of General Gurko in Bulgaria - two villages and one city. For this campaign in January 1879, Joseph Vladimirovich was awarded the Order of St. George, second degree.

After the end of the war, the military leader, who became very famous both in his homeland and in Europe, took a vacation for some time. He preferred to relax in Sakharov with his family, which, it must be said, was quite large. At different times, six sons were born into the Gurko family, three of whom - Alexey, Evgeniy and Nikolai - died or died during the lifetime of their parent. By the time of the death of Joseph Vladimirovich, three of his sons remained - Dmitry, Vladimir and Vasily. After the revolution they all went into exile.

On April 5, 1879, after the sensational assassination attempt on Alexander II, Gurko was appointed to the post of temporary military governor-general of St. Petersburg. Its main task was to combat the terrorist activities of the populists. Uncompromisingly and rather harshly, he brought order to the capital. Evidence of this was a number of mandatory rules regulating the circulation of explosives and firearms. Also, on the initiative of Joseph Vladimirovich, all the capital’s janitors were mobilized to serve in the police.

From the beginning of 1882 to July 1883, Gurko served as temporary governor-general of Odessa and commander of the local military district. His main occupation was the education and training of garrison troops. In this post, Joseph Vladimirovich took part in the trial of Nikolai Zhelvakov and Stepan Khalturin, who killed Vasily Strelnikov, a military prosecutor and an active fighter against the revolutionary underground. Following a direct order from Alexander III, he executed them.

Soon Gurko was moved to the post of Governor-General, as well as commander of the Warsaw Military District. His goal was to restore order in the Privislensky region and train garrison units. Reports from agents of neighboring countries, intercepted and delivered to Gurko, indicated an unfavorable situation in the international arena. The military leader himself was convinced of the growing threat from Germany and Austria and, using his vast experience, carried out intensive training of troops. Joseph Vladimirovich paid great attention to the fortification defense of the district, strengthening the fortifications of Novogeorgievsk, Ivangorod, Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk, creating a line of new fortified points, covering the area with a network of strategic highways and establishing close and lively connections between the fortresses and troops. The district's artillery received a new extensive training ground, and the cavalry - the object of Gurko's special attention - was constantly on the move, performing tasks for speed, mass action, reconnaissance, etc.

Training sessions, exercises, live firing and maneuvers replaced each other and were carried out both in summer and winter. In the order for the troops of the district, Joseph Vladimirovich spoke out against commanding officers who approached the matter “from a formal point of view, without putting their hearts into it, putting personal convenience above the assigned responsibilities for leading the training and education of people.” Military experts noted Gurko’s non-standard methods, and the traditions established under him in training troops were preserved until the beginning of the First World War. In addition, Joseph Vladimirovich pursued a policy of defending the national interests of the Russian people in the Warsaw Military District. Carrying out the will of Alexander III, he remained true to his personal views, adhering to non-violent principles in resolving conflict situations.

Long years of service undermined the health of the military general. On December 6, 1894, sixty-six-year-old Joseph Vladimirovich was dismissed at his personal request. For services rendered to the Fatherland and the throne, the sovereign promoted Gurko to field marshal general. It is worth noting that Joseph Vladimirovich, a native of an old family, winner of the highest awards of the empire, the son of an infantry general, who himself reached the rank of field marshal, surprisingly, was never elevated to either princely or count's dignity. The main reason for this was obviously the straightforwardness of his judgment. Without paying attention to personalities, in any situation, “straight as a bayonet,” Gurko boldly expressed his opinion. This character trait more than once led to his conflicts with the Russian emperors.

On the day of the coronation of Nicholas II in the spring of 1896, Gurko became a Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and was also appointed chief of the fourteenth rifle battalion, part of the fourth rifle brigade, which in 1877, under the leadership of Joseph Vladimirovich, won the nickname “iron”. Gurko spent the last years of his life on the Sakharovo estate, located near Tver. The commander was seriously ill, his legs gave out, and he could not move independently. Nevertheless, he supervised the work to improve the park - the alleys that made up the IVG monogram were laid out of larches, birches and relic fir trees. The field marshal died of a heart attack on the night of January 14-15, 1901, at the seventy-third year of his life, and was buried in the family crypt.

Based on materials from Mikhailov’s book “Heroes of Shipka” and the website http://tver-history.ru/

GURKO IOSIF VLADIMIROVICH

Gurko, Joseph Vladimirovich - Field Marshal General. Born 1828; was brought up in the page corps; Serving in His Majesty's Life Guards Hussar Regiment, he immediately declared himself to be an outstanding cavalry officer. Before the start of the war of 1877, he commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. When our troops crossed the Danube at Sistov, the Grand Duke Commander-in-Chief decided to move forward a special detachment to quickly capture some of the passes through the Balkans. This order was entrusted to Gurko, who on June 24 took under his command an advance detachment consisting of four cavalry regiments, a rifle brigade and a newly formed Bulgarian militia, with two batteries of horse artillery. Gurko completed his task quickly and boldly and won a series of victories over the Turks, ending with the capture of Kazanlak and Shipka. During the struggle for Plevna, Gurko, at the head of the guard and cavalry troops of the western detachment, defeated the Turks near Gorny Dubnyak and Telish, then again went to the Balkans, occupied Entropol and Orhanye, and after the fall of Plevna, reinforced by the IX Corps and the 3rd Guards Infantry Division , despite the terrible cold, crossed the Balkan ridge, took Philippopolis and occupied Adrianople, opening the way to Constantinople. At the end of the war, he was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District, and from April 7, 1879 to February 14, 1880, he served as the St. Petersburg interim governor-general. In January 1882, he was appointed temporary Odessa Governor-General and commander of the troops of the Odessa Military District, in July 1883 - Warsaw Governor-General and commander of the Warsaw Military District, and in 1884 - a member of the State Council. During his 12-year command of the troops of the Warsaw Military District, Gurko significantly improved military affairs in the troops of the district. The defense capacity of the Warsaw District was strengthened by Gurko by creating a fortified area, a line of new fortified points and an entire network of strategic highways. On December 6, 1894, Gurko was dismissed from the positions he held in Warsaw. Died January 15, 1901

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

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Gurko Vasily Iosifovich

Battles and victories

Russian military leader, one of the outstanding commanders of the First World War. “The name of the hero is securely forgotten by ungrateful descendants,” - this is how, in the style of publicists of the early 20th century, one could determine the fate of the general.

Indeed, Gurko belongs to that galaxy of military leaders who forged the glory of Russia on the battlefields of the First World War, and then, for ideological reasons, were not even mentioned for decades. Returning their names is our task.

Born into the family of Field Marshal Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko (Romeiko-Gurko, hero of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78 and military administrator), he came from hereditary nobles of the Mogilev province.

V. I. Gurko’s assets include the Richelieu Gymnasium and the Corps of Pages of His Imperial Majesty. According to the exam, he was promoted to cornet and on August 7, 1885 he was released into the Life Guards Grodno Hussar Regiment. Upon completion of the 1st category course at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (May 13, 1892), Captain Gurko was assigned to the General Staff and assigned to serve in the Warsaw Military District. The officer's further service was connected with him - one of the leading military districts of the Russian Empire. In November 1892, V.I. Gurko was appointed to the post of senior adjutant for the combat unit (and later senior adjutant of the General Staff) of the headquarters of the 8th Infantry Division. Subsequently, he was seconded to the Life Guards of the Grodno Hussar Regiment, and from August 9, 1896, Lieutenant Colonel Gurko was a staff officer for special assignments under the commander of the Warsaw Military District.

The next stage of Gurko's service and the first stage of his combat career was associated with the events of the Anglo-Boer War. He was sent to the Boer army in the Transvaal to observe the progress of the fighting (21 November 1899). For the successful execution of the mission he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree (January 1, 1901), and for distinguished service on August 7, 1900, he was promoted to colonel.

“For soldiers, the presence of a commander in close proximity to them makes a strong impression, as does the knowledge that the commander can appear on the very front line if necessary.”

Gurko V. I.

With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904, V.I. Gurko was a staff officer for assignments under the Quartermaster General of the Manchurian Army. Upon arrival in Liaoyang, he temporarily served as chief of staff of the 1st Siberian Army Corps (from March 25, 1904 to June 27, 1904). In the ranks of the corps, for the battle of the village of Vafangou on June 1–2, 1904, Gurko was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 2nd degree with swords (June 12, 1904).

Subsequently, Vasily Iosifovich temporarily commanded the Ussuri cavalry brigade and the advanced cavalry detachment of the 1st Siberian Army Corps, served as chief of staff of the corps, and was seconded to the detachment of Lieutenant General P.-G. K. Rennenkampf. For the battle of Liaoyang on August 17–21, 1904, V.I. Gurko was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree with swords (November 4, 1904), and for the battle on the river. Shahe September 22 - October 4, 1904 and the capture of Putilov Hill - with a golden weapon with the inscription “For bravery” (January 4, 1905).

Colonel V.I. Gurko met the second year of the war in the post of commander of the Transbaikal brigade of the Ural-Transbaikal combined Cossack division with promotion to major general for military distinction and enlistment in the Transbaikal Cossack army. For the battle of Mukden and the defense of the Modzyadan positions in February 1905, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree with swords (August 25, 1905). Also, for distinction in cases against the Japanese, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree, with the inscription “For bravery” (September 22, 1905).

Characterizing the moral character of V.I. Gurko, it should be noted that he was not subject to punishments or penalties in his service; on July 31, 1911, he married the widow Countess E.N. Komarovskaya (nee Martynova). It is noteworthy that even as a general and division chief, Vasily Iosifovich loved to study and pass on his accumulated experience. Thus, recalling pre-war officer lectures (read weekly by officers of the General Staff and specialists in all military districts), an eyewitness noted: “... in 1912–1913. there was a war in the Balkans. Officers who had been in this war came and conveyed their impressions. General Gurko often attended the reports and asked questions to the lecturer - he answered.”

On December 6, 1910, for distinguished service, Vasily Iosifovich was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed head of the 1st cavalry division with enrollment in the army cavalry (from March 12, 1911).

With the outbreak of World War II, the division concentrated in the city of Suwalki, becoming part of the 1st Army of the North-Western Front. Gurko, as the senior commander, was subordinate to the 5th Infantry Brigade - from that moment on, Vasily Iosifovich had to have large groups of troops under his command, which he successfully led during the war.

The first battle in which Gurko’s units had a chance to participate was near Markgrabov on August 1, 1914. After a half-hour battle, Russian units captured Markgrabov. It is significant that the street battle provided an opportunity for the division commander to show personal courage. Having captured the city, Gurko’s headquarters took measures to organize reconnaissance and destroy the enemy’s communications equipment discovered. Moreover, a significant amount of enemy correspondence was captured, which turned out to be extremely useful from an intelligence point of view for the command of the 1st Russian Army.

It is noteworthy that on August 15, V.I. Gurko saw the Germans withdrawing (they were transferring forces against the troops of A.V. Samsonov’s central group) and reported this to the army commander. On August 17, Gurko’s units began to prepare to move to Allenstein - to establish contact with Samson’s army - and on August 18 they approached Allenstein. But there was no one to contact - the 2nd Army was defeated. It should be noted that V.I. Gurko is a competent tactician - the choice of route, the general’s orders during the movement to Allenstein and the breakthrough back cost the division entrusted to him minimal losses.

Gurko (Romeiko-Gurko) Vasily Iosifovich, general. St. Petersburg, beginning of the 20th century. Bergamasco Photos

The Germans went on the offensive, and the merit of Vasily Iosifovich’s cavalry was that during the first battle of the Masurian Lakes (August 25–31, 1914), by August 26, two German cavalry divisions (48 squadrons) went to the rear of the 1st Russian Army , were held for 24 hours by Gurko’s cavalry division (24 squadrons).

The division occupied an important position at the junction of two armies. According to the general’s own memoirs: “...I did not hesitate at all when deciding what I should do. To intercept the narrow isthmuses between the lakes... I sent strong cavalry detachments. At the same time, I left ... to personally select a position near the isthmuses that would be relatively easy to defend with small detachments.”

In conditions of unreliable communications, the location of the detachment near the town of Aris (the left flank of the 1st Army) was a strategically competent decision of the division commander. During the day, V.I. Gurko’s units repelled attacks by superior forces of German cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery. The army came out from under attack.

In early September, V.I. Gurko’s cavalry operated near Suwalki, actively covering the retreat from East Prussia of the 1st Army units. During the first August operation, Gurko's troops operated north of the Rominten Forest - the most important direction of the Second Campaign in East Prussia. During this period, Vasily Iosifov already headed a cavalry corps consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd cavalry divisions, an infantry regiment with two artillery batteries.

In October 1914, the general was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. In East Prussia, V.I. Gurko proved himself to be an energetic military leader with a broad military outlook, capable of independent active action.

At the beginning of November, Vasily Iosifovich handed over command of the 1st Cavalry Division - a new stage of his career began.

A colleague of the general spoke about the outgoing chief in the following way: “Having said goodbye warmly to the division, he went to his new assignment. A strict, demanding and fair boss, a cavalryman in soul and body, exceptional courage, outside of service - a charming man, Gurko was loved by his subordinates. The division was proud of its commander both in peacetime and in wartime.”

Now V.I. Gurko had the opportunity to distinguish himself on the Russian-German front as a corps commander during the Lodz operation, one of the most difficult and difficult battles of the world war. Gurko's 6th Army Corps becomes the key formation of the 1st Army in the Battle of Łovichi in the final stage of the battle. In the battles of November 17, V.I. Gurko’s units were successful, and in the following days they repelled energetic counterattacks of the enemy. By mid-December, the 6th Army Corps occupied a 15-kilometer section of the front at the confluence of the Bzura and Ravka rivers. At this time, Vasily Iosifovich’s troops first encountered German chemical weapons.

For the corps of V. I. Gurko, 1915 began with the most difficult battles - in the area of ​​​​the farm (estate) of Volya Shidlovskaya. The battles at Wola Szydłowska on January 20–24 are a classic example of a battle aimed at distracting and exhausting enemy forces. The German command's demonstrative offensive, on the one hand, provoked the command of the North-Western Front to conduct an operation in order to restore lost positions. On the other hand, this diverted attention from the upcoming major offensive operation in East Prussia.

The unprepared operation, which consisted of intermittent enemy counterattacks, ended in nothing, and the troops suffered heavy losses. It is significant that Gurko was against the counter-offensive. Vasily Iosifovich argued that it would only lead to a waste of human and material resources, but was forced to obey.

Nevertheless, his protests led to an accelerated winding down of the operation. The general wrote: “We were inferior to the enemy in artillery and the number of machine guns, and I, having assessed all the existing circumstances, reported to the commander of the 2nd Army, General Smirnov, that, in my deep conviction, further fruitless attacks do not make sense. If, nevertheless, the higher command insists on continuing attempts to capture our previous positions, then it must send a new commander to carry out this task; the command may, if you like, consider me incapable of organizing the counterattack necessary for this.”

The operation shows V.I. Gurko as a good tactician, a caring boss and a subordinate who is not afraid of responsibility. It should be especially noted that during certain periods of the operation Gurko had up to 11 divisions at his disposal - an entire army! As a result, although Gurko failed to achieve operational success in the battle of Volya Shidlovskaya, his accumulated military leadership experience allowed him to successfully conduct a defensive-offensive operation against the Austro-Hungarian troops on the Dniester in late May - early June 1915.

Since June 1915, the 6th Army Corps became part of the 11th Army of the Southwestern Front in the area of ​​the river. Dniester. Once again, several formations were under the command of Gurko: up to five infantry divisions.

We are talking about the offensive operation at Zhuravino on May 27 - June 2, 1915, when the troops of the 11th Russian Army inflicted a major defeat on the South German Army. The central place in these successful actions belongs to Gurko’s operational group: his troops defeated two enemy corps, taking 13 thousand prisoners, capturing 6 artillery pieces and over 40 machine guns.

As a result of the operation, the enemy was not only thrown back to the right bank of the Dniester - Russian troops approached the city of Stryi, a major railway junction in Western Ukraine. The Zhuravn victory forced the enemy to curtail the offensive in the Galich direction and regroup forces. But the current situation (the withdrawal of neighboring armies as a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough) forced the victorious offensive to be curtailed and go on the defensive.

The decisiveness of V.I. Gurko is also noteworthy - he, on his own initiative, attacked the advancing German army in the flank.

The general’s merits were duly appreciated by the military-political leadership: for the battles on the Dniester he was awarded on November 3, 1915 the Order of St. George, 3rd degree.

In the fall of 1915, units of the 6th Army Corps had the opportunity to take part in the offensive operation of the southern armies of the Southwestern Front on the river. Seret. By the beginning of November, acting together with the 17th Army Corps, the Gurkin regiments took over 10 thousand prisoners, guns and machine guns.

The Russian front stabilized - a positional war began.

After a short vacation, V.I. Gurko was appointed commander of the 5th Army of the Northern Front on December 6. Vasily Iosifovich wrote about the new appointment: “Approximately in mid-December, I arrived in Dvinsk and began to assume the duties of commander of the 5th Army.... Soon after my arrival, I toured the front line occupied by the army and inspected the work of subordinate headquarters.”

In the winter of 1915–1916, V.I. Gurko was actively involved in improving defensive positions and combat training of the troops of the 5th Army. The lack of necessary reserves forced him to postpone active operations. Vasily Iosifovich took up issues of generalizing combat experience and developing the necessary tactical recommendations.

The army under the command of Gurko had a chance to participate in one of the unsuccessful offensive operations to break through the enemy’s layered defense. We are talking about the Naroch operation of the Northern and Western fronts on March 5-17, 1916. The main task of the Russian troops was to alleviate the situation of the French, who were bleeding at Verdun. The 5th Army launched an auxiliary attack, attacking with three army corps from Jacobstadt to Ponevezh on March 8-12.

The offensive was carried out in difficult weather conditions in the presence of deep-echeloned enemy defense. V.I. Gurko wrote: “... these battles clearly demonstrated... that an offensive undertaken in conditions of trench warfare during periods of frost or winter thaw, in our climate, puts the attacking troops in an extremely disadvantageous position, compared with the defending enemy. In addition, from personal observations of the actions of the troops and their commanders, I concluded that the training of our units and headquarters is completely insufficient to conduct offensive operations in conditions of trench warfare.”

The general noted the disastrous circumstances that affected the operation - the lack of surprise, the weakness of artillery (especially heavy) and the terrain inconvenient for an infantry attack.

By the end of May, the 5th Army of General Gurko's cavalry included 4 corps. Vasily Iosifovich's troops were preparing for the summer campaign. The army commander paid special attention to artillery and aviation preparations for the upcoming offensive.

On August 14, 1916, V.I. Gurko was appointed commander of the troops of the Special Army of the Western Front. By this time, the 1916 offensive was already running out of steam. From September 19 to 22, the Special and 8th Army fought the inconclusive 5th Battle of Kovel. Already on September 20, the Special Army felt a shortage of heavy shells, and Gurko stated that in their absence, on September 22, he would be forced to suspend the operation.

Subsequently, the control of the 8th Army was transferred to the Wooded Carpathians, and its troops became part of Gurko’s army, the number of which reached 12 army and 2 cavalry corps! It was dangerous to stop active operations - the German reserves suitable for fending off the Russian offensive were concentrated to a large extent in the zone of the Special Army (in September it was opposed by 23 Austro-German divisions in a 150-kilometer area!). The important task was to grind them down and reduce the ability to take active action. And the main goal of the operation was achieved - the Germans did not manage to remove a single division from the front of the Special Army. Moreover, they had to reinforce this area with fresh units.

Military historian A. A. Kersnovsky quite rightly considered General Gurko the best of the army commanders in the 1916 campaign: “Of the army commanders, General Gurko should be put in first place. Unfortunately, he arrived in Volyn too late. A strong-willed, energetic and intelligent commander, he demanded a lot from the troops and commanders, but gave them a lot in return. His orders and instructions - short, clear, imbued with an offensive spirit, put the troops in the best position in the extremely difficult and unfavorable situation for an offensive. Had Gurko led the Lutsk breakthrough, it is difficult to say where the victorious regiments of the 8th Army would have stopped, or if they would have stopped at all.”

"Horrors of war. We've arrived! Attack of the Russian infantry on the German trenches” by P. P. Koryagin. 1918

The strategic outline of the war speaks as follows about the significant role of Gurko in the autumn operations of 1916, distinguishing him from a number of other army commanders: “We must give Gurko justice that of all the army commanders, he showed the greatest perseverance, ability to lead troops, and speed in achieving his goal. regrouping and finding new ways to fight to break through fortified zones. In this regard, a detailed analysis of his actions near Stokhod is interesting not only in strategic, but also in tactical terms.”

As one of the most capable generals and the leader of the largest formation in the active army, V. I. Gurko, during M. V. Alekseev’s sick leave from November 11, 1916 to February 17, 1917, acted as chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Gurko owed his appointment almost exclusively to his outstanding military reputation and personal qualities.

The head of the naval department of the Headquarters, A.D. Bubnov, wrote in this regard: “The official position that General Gurko occupied did not intend him to occupy such a high post, for he was younger than all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts and many commanders of the armies. But it was known about him that he was very decisive, strong in character...”

Developed by Gurko together with General A.S. Lukomsky (Deputy Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief), the 1917 campaign plan provided for the transfer of strategic decisions to the Romanian Front and the Balkans. But only A. A. Brusilov agreed with Gurko-Lukomsky’s plan. The commanders-in-chief of the Northern and Western Fronts categorically opposed the Balkan direction, believing that “our main enemy is not Bulgaria, but Germany.” They did not understand the specifics of a coalition war. General Gurko was at Headquarters temporarily, could not insist, and the adopted plan was a compromise.

At the same time, General Gurko was able to demonstrate another of his talents - the talent of a military diplomat. He had to lead the activities of the Petrograd Conference of the Allies (January 19 - February 7, 1917). M. Paleolog conveyed his impressions of the opening of the conference: “In his ringing... voice, General Gurko reads to us a number of questions that he wants to propose to the conference in the field of military operations. The first question leaves us in amazement...: “Will the 1917 campaigns have to be decisive?” The British statesman D. Lloyd George, characterizing Gurko as a good commander, focuses on the part of his speech devoted to coordinating the actions of the allies - the most important aspect of a coalition war.

“General Gurko... is an active, brilliant, flexible mind.”

Paleologue M., Ambassador of France to Russia

Gurko met the February coup of 1917 at the front, in his Special Army. The purge of the association from military leaders who were incapable or objectionable to the new government began, and on March 31, 1917, he was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Western Front.

The general had to restore order in Minsk (the front headquarters was located there), revive the disciplinary power of the commanders, maneuvering in the current conditions of revolutionary frenzy. Vasily Iosifovich tried to fight the defeatist agitators sent into the troops. I myself had to speak at meetings at various levels (for example, at the April congress of representatives of front units). An attempt to reorganize the front forces in connection with preparations for the summer offensive failed. Despite measures to increase the combat effectiveness of units, “democratization” was in full swing.

And after the promulgation of the Declaration of the Rights of Military Personnel on May 15, 1917, Gurko submitted a report to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government that he “disclaims all responsibility for the successful conduct of the matter.” The general rightly believed that the policy of the new authorities was leading to the death of the army, and did not want to be a witness and participant in the collapse of the cause to which he had given his whole life. Even during the preparation of this document, he wrote: “... the proposed rules are completely incompatible with the life of troops and military discipline, and therefore their application will inevitably lead to the complete disintegration of the army...”

Demonstration in Minsk during the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates of the Western Front. Speech by General V.I. Gurko, Minsk April 9, 1917

The arguments of Gurko and other prominent generals were not successful. On May 22, Vasily Iosifovich was removed from his post and sent to the disposal of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with a ban on holding positions higher than the head of the division. To end the war in the same position in which he began it was an insult to a military general. Moreover, his rights were violated even based on the content of the norms of the Declaration of the Rights of Military Personnel.

Vasily Iosifovich’s misadventures did not end there - on July 21, 1917, he was arrested “for correspondence” with former Emperor Nicholas II (in reality there was only one letter) and placed in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, but, however, was soon released. By imprisonment (carried out in violation of the law) in the location of political criminals, they tried to neutralize the active general as a representative of reasonable military opposition to the destructive actions of the Provisional Government.

And on September 14, 1917, V.I. Gurko was dismissed from service and sent abroad through Arkhangelsk. The exile initially arrived in England and subsequently lived in Italy, actively participating in the activities of the emigrant community. In the last period of his life, Vasily Iosifovich’s talent as a memoirist awakened. He wrote in the Sentinel magazine and was the author of memoirs. Died in Rome.

As a combat general of the Great War, V.I. Gurko successively rose from the post of division chief (1st cavalry), corps commander (6th army), commander-in-chief of the army (5th, Special), commander-in-chief of the front (Western). An important stage in his career was holding the post of Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

V.I. Gurko attached great importance to the human factor in war and worked with the personnel of the troops entrusted to him. The general’s concern for his subordinates was combined with the qualities of a “father-commander.” Thus, the orders of Vasily Iosifovich during the battles of 1915 at Volya Shidlovskaya regularly drew the attention of the generals subordinate to him to the supply and contents of their fighters.

The determination of Gurko the commander was manifested in a variety of circumstances. The detachment's activity in the battle near Markgrabov allowed us to obtain important operational information. The general's responsible decision to defend the junction of the 1st and 10th armies during the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes led to the pinning of two German cavalry divisions. The fact that, on his own initiative, Vasily Iosifovich attacked the advancing German army on the flank during the Battle of the Dniester helped win the battle at Zhuravino.

The general sought to protect the troops entrusted to him - this is illustrated by his demand to curtail the operation at Volya Shidlovskaya, as well as artillery preparation without infantry attacks in the 6th Battle of Kovel.

As a good tactician, V. I. Gurko was distinguished by his eye and correct understanding of the situation. His troops maneuvered competently, combining firefighting with attack; artillery skillfully interacted with infantry and cavalry. The 1916 campaign witnessed new tactics created by Gurko. Vasily Iosifovich was not afraid of responsibility, putting the solution of a combat mission above maintaining good relations with his superiors.

“I remember with particular pleasure my joint service with General Gurko. He grasped the essence of the matter amazingly quickly and always gave quite definite and clear instructions. At the same time, he did not interfere in the details and, within the limits of the assigned task, allowed his closest assistants to carry out the work completely independently. In addition, he always challenged his assistants to show their personal initiative, and if the speaker was able to correctly and reasonably confirm a newly expressed thought or remark against the instructions given by General Gurko, then he agreed and never persisted in his original instructions.”

Lukomsky A. S., Lieutenant General

Two circumstances characterize Vasily Iosifovich as a strategist. Firstly, when, during the beginning of the fighting at Wola Shydlovskaya, he was able to see not only the causes and consequences of the enemy’s offensive, but also the essence of his operational maneuver during the period of the “Winter Strategic Cannes”. Secondly, while serving as chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he developed a strategically correct plan for the 1917 campaign - the best of all campaign plans for the Russian army during the First World War.

Oleynikov A.V., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Ph.D.

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Vasily Iosifovich Gurko was born in 1864 in the family of Field Marshal I.V. (Romeiko)-Gurko, a prominent military figure of that era and a popular hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, in which he distinguished himself with brave raids. It is not surprising that Gurko Jr. received an excellent military education: first he graduated from the elite Corps of Pages, and subsequently from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, which was the center of military thought in Russia. Subsequent career experience was also rich. Thus, during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1904), which agitated the international community, he was in the Transvaal as a military agent. And with the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905) he found himself at the front, rising from a staff officer to the commander of the 2nd Transbaikal Cossack Division, where, by the way, he had the opportunity to serve under the command of the famous hero of those years, General P.K. von Rennenkampf, with whom apparently friendly relations began. After the war V.I. Gurko found a new field - historical and analytical, becoming a member of the Historical Commission to study the experience of the past war with Japan. His brother was a well-known right-wing politician, which allowed the general to plunge into political life and establish close ties with Duma officials (among them was the Octobrist leader Guchkov), as well as take part in the ongoing struggle over reforming the military department. According to some reports, this was precisely the reason for Gurko’s removal from the capital and transfer to Moscow to the post of head of the 1st Cavalry Division. At its head he met the First World War.

Division V.I. Gurko became part of the 1st Army of General P.K. von Rennenkampf (North-Western Front), which concentrated on the East Prussian border with the aim of developing an offensive towards Königsberg, bypassing the Masurian Lakes from the north. The 1st Cavalry Division, located on the left flank, covered the concentration, and on August 14 launched a raid in the direction of the German Markgrabow. Gurko himself assessed the results of the raid positively:

“The retreat took place without any special incidents and in the absence of pressure from the enemy. Our hope of obtaining valuable information from the letters captured in the post office was fully justified.”

One of the main results was that the German command paid too much attention to Russian activity in this area, and therefore incorrectly determined the direction of the main attack of the 1st Army, believing that it would be south of the Rominten Forest. This was reflected in the decision-making of the commander of the 1st German Corps, General G. von Francois, who immediately after the Russians crossed the border on August 17 decided to attack (as he thought) their right flank, although the blow fell directly in the center (near the city. Stallupenen). Had the Russian commanders shown greater skill, the battle could have ended in the defeat of the Germans. However, due to the lack of interaction between the formations, the 27th Russian division was defeated.

With the start of the East Prussian operation (August 17), Gurko's cavalrymen received the task of securing the left flank of the 1st Army, knocking down German units at Kovalen on the very first day of the offensive. During the successful Battle of Gumbinnen for the Russians (which took place on August 20, when the German 8th Army was defeated and forced to retreat), the division was located at Rudschen, providing a flank in the event of a possible enveloping movement of the enemy in this area. Here she remained until P.K. was restored. von Rennekampf commanded the army and continued the offensive deep into the province. Now before V.I. Gurko was given the task of actively conducting reconnaissance. As documents show, he coped with this to the fullest, contrary to popular belief, correctly determining the direction of the enemy’s retreat to Konigsberg and Rastenburg (unfortunately, the higher command for some reason considered that the enemy was retreating, although in fact he was transferring forces to the front 2 of the Russian army of General Samsonov, which at that time was developing an offensive in the south of the province).

On August 25, the division's attention was focused on Letzen and Angerburg. It is worth noting that having at his disposal the rather modest forces of V.I. Gurko was able to achieve noticeably greater success than his “colleague”, the commander of the cavalry corps, General Khan Nakhichevansky.

At this time, believing that the enemy had been defeated, the front headquarters drove Samsonov’s troops north, sending the 1st Army to Konigsberg, thereby separating their efforts. As a result of a series of gross mistakes, the 13th and 15th corps of the 2nd Army found themselves in a difficult situation. When the situation became clearer for the front command on the evening of August 27, it ordered Rennenkampf to support its “neighbor” through a raid on Allenstein, in which the cavalry had to rely only on speed and surprise.

The daring raid itself behind enemy lines was scheduled for August 31, by which time the 2nd Army had already been defeated and its central corps captured, but due to communications, the report about the cancellation of the order came too late - cavalrymen consisting of 15.5 squadrons at 6 guns under the command of Gurko left their positions..

The first battle took place near the railway near Frankenau, the next one was near Kramensgorf, where the division had to attack the enemy on foot to clear the cavalry route. Moving further, the vanguards blew up the Wartenburg-Allenstein railway. Despite the increased resistance, Gurko decided to continue the raid, but at Frankenau, 6 km south of the target, he had to face a difficult battle with superior enemy forces. Realizing that it would not be possible to get through to Allenstein and there would be no need to wait for help, Gurko soon gave the order to withdraw. W. Littauer, non-commissioned officer of the hussar regiment, describes this event as follows:

At this time, the lead detachments of German infantry emerged from the forest and headed across the field in our direction. They stopped shooting, probably deciding that our small army, located deep in the German rear and practically surrounded, had no choice but to surrender to the mercy of the winner. I think they already viewed us as prisoners of war. There was complete silence for a couple of minutes. Then Gurko rode forward and, as if at a parade, commanded:
- Division, to the right! Keep distance between shelves! Forward! Step march! - and indicated the direction of movement with a saber.
The column turned around. The order immediately followed to let the horses trot and then gallop. Not believing their own eyes, the Germans watched our maneuvers. When they finally realized that we were slipping out of their hands, they opened fire, but it was too late.”

As a result, the cavalry division, which showed miracles of heroism and courage and caused a lot of trouble to the enemy, managed to fight its way back.
Already in mid-September, under enemy attacks, the retreat of the 1st Russian Army began. In those days, the V.I. division Gurko was transferred to the neighboring 10th Army, on September 9 she took part in the battles against Brecht’s cavalry corps, and then found herself in the Augustow area to defend the only section of the Beaver River suitable for crossing significant forces.

Active operations in this area began at the end of September with the beginning of the First August Operation, when the 10th Army decided to drive out the small enemy forces from the Augustov forests. The role of Gurko's cavalry was limited to defense between the two groups and reconnaissance in the Johannesburg-Ortelsburg-Neidenburg area. The balance of forces at that time was in favor of the Russians, but the terrain conditions generally neutralized this superiority and allowed the Germans to make transfers to the south. By October 3, it was possible to push the enemy back to East Prussia. In order to build on the success, fighting began near the border on October 5, which led to nothing. In particular, Gurko's cavalry assisted units of the III Siberian Corps in unsuccessful attacks on Lyk.

On October 14, Gurko took command of the cavalry corps (1st, 2nd and 3rd cavalry divisions), participating in minor skirmishes on the East Prussian border. At the end of October, when all the corps of the neighboring 1st Army were transferred to the 10th Army (General Sievers), Gurko's corps was shifted to the right flank and took part in local hostilities in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bVerzbolov and Stallupenen.

On November 21, Gurko became the commander of the 6th Corps (4th and 16th Infantry and 4th Cavalry Divisions), which was part of the 1st Army on the left bank of the Vistula (probably Rennenkampf, who valued his former subordinate, decided to “take away” him to himself). Arriving on November 26 at the location of his units, V.I. Gurko took part in the final stage of the Lodz operation, where the Russians sought to restore the front between the 1st and 2nd armies. To this end, the VI Corps on the left flank launched an offensive in the direction of Bielawa. Gurko’s formation, encountering stubborn resistance, slowly moved forward; on November 28, the Germans launched a counterattack on Lowicz, and attacked so energetically that the city was almost lost, but the arrival of reinforcements and Gurko’s flank attack decided the outcome of the battle in favor of Russian weapons. At the same time, the rest of the corps took the city of Belyawy, capturing trophies in the form of 100 prisoners and 2 machine guns. On the same day, the active base of battles on the front of the 1st Army ends, and with it the Battle of Lodz, after which the opposing armies began to dig in positions and the battles took on a positional character.
At the beginning of 1915, using reinforcements, the Germans decided to conduct a major operation against our right-flank 10th Army, located in East Prussia. To divert the attention of the Russian command on the front of the 1st and 2nd armies, numerous demonstrations of the operation were undertaken, one of which took place on the front of Gurko's corps. On January 31, using gas shells, the Germans took F. Volya Shidlovskaya, after which they successfully repelled the Russian counterattack. Having overestimated the importance of this point and the enemy forces, the Commander-in-Chief of the Northwestern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky strengthened the VI Corps to 8 divisions and ordered a counterattack. IN AND. Gurko protested, as he later wrote in his memoirs:

“At that time it was foreseeable that the only result of our new offensive would be the disorganization of the last fresh divisions to arrive.”

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened: the corps commander could not disobey the order of his superiors. The attacks lasted only 4 days, when only ruins remained from Volya Szydlovskaya, the losses were huge and amounted to 40,000 thousand killed and wounded. It can be concluded that the German demonstration was a success, while the operation against the 10th Army, although it ended in its defeat, did not bear strategic fruit. Gurko's corps switched to normal organization and remained in occupied positions until May 15.

On May 2, 1915, the famous Gorlician Breakthrough began when Mackensen's 11th Army broke through the 3rd Army's positions to encircle Russian forces in the Carpathians and Galicia. As a result, the entire Southwestern Front was under threat. Headquarters, in order to stop the enemy, began feverishly transferring reinforcements to support the 3rd and 11th armies. The latter (led by the talented General D.G. Shcherbachev) included Gurko’s corps. Already on June 9, near the village of Zhuravno, Gurko, on his own initiative, interacting with the XVIII Corps, attacked the German army of Linsingen in the flank. As a result, the enemy's advance was stopped, and our trophies during the battles of June 9-15 were about 19,000 prisoners of war, 23 guns and 77 machine guns. Here is what the commander of the VI Corps, Gurko, wrote about this episode:

“... and within ten days, four of our divisions, albeit incomplete, fought halfway to the city of Stryi, and were able to capture approximately 25 thousand prisoners, along with a corresponding number of officers, machine guns and other various property.”

It was not possible to develop the success and subsequently the 11th Army had to leave Galicia in a hurry. The Great Retreat for VI Corps ended by August. However, for these successful battles on the Dniester against the backdrop of serious defeats, Gurko was noted and awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree.

A new page in the general’s career began on December 6, 1915, when he took command of the 5th Army as part of the Northern Front of General A.N. Kuropatkina. In the spring of 1916, in view of the favorable conditions created on the Eastern Front, the general agreement on a general spring offensive with the allies, and also taking into account the difficult situation of the French at Verdun, Headquarters planned a new operation. Its goal was to reach the line Mitava, Bausk, Vilkomir, Vilna, Delyatichi; For the operation, they collected an unprecedented amount of shells and artillery pieces, most of them field artillery pieces, not suitable for fighting German fortifications. It was planned to use 12 corps of 4 armies, of which the main blow was delivered by Gurko’s 5th Army and General V.V.’s 2nd Army. Smirnova. In this operation, Gurko, trying to improve control, divided his troops into two groups: Slyusarenko and Gandurina. However, the improvised formations did not live up to expectations and complicated the control of the assigned units, which later became one of the reasons for the failure of the offensive at Naroch. The measures to ensure surprise also turned out to be unsatisfactory.

For Gurko's army, the operation began on March 21 with a strike in the direction of Jacobstadt. Attempts to break into the German defenses ended in vain; even minor gains, expressed in two captured villages and one trench line, could not be held. Active operations by the 5th Army ceased on March 25 (the operation itself ended on the 30th with the stopping of Smirnov’s troops). Gurko himself wrote in his memoirs that “the offensive, initially successful, soon clearly showed the impossibility of serious development of active operations both due to a lack of material resources and due to the difficulties of conducting a winter offensive in conditions of trench warfare.”

Subsequently, the 5th Army remained in its positions. It is interesting that at this time Gurko began to analyze the experience of current events and issued the first Russian instructions on trench warfare. August 27 V.I. Gurko received command of the Special Army, which on September 23, 1916 became part of the South-Western Army, having 7 corps, 3 cavalry divisions and 4 rifle brigades. Gurko's troops were intended for a new offensive in the Kovel area (the third in a row) in order to develop the successes achieved over the summer in the Brusilovsky breakthrough. The plan was worked out in detail, it was possible to gather fresh forces, but the blow was delivered in a narrow area, where our superiority in the infantry was offset by the Germans' better equipment of trench warfare and terrain features that impeded maneuver. Taken together, all these factors led to the fact that the entire offensive, despite significant, by the standards of the Russian front, artillery preparation, ended in vain and stopped on October 5.

In mid-October, after a significant increase, the offensive was resumed, but again ended in failure. Subsequently, historian A.A. Kersnovsky wrote:

“...Ewert would be enough here for him to sit quietly in the trenches. The energy and assertiveness of General Gurko only led to harm, unnecessarily multiplying the already enormous losses.”.

At the same time, another researcher and military man A.M. Zayonchkovsky noted:

“We must give Gurko justice that of all the army commanders, he showed the greatest persistence in achieving his goal, the ability to lead troops, the speed of regrouping and finding new ways to fight to break through fortified zones.”

In November, Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief General M.V. Alekseev became seriously ill and for the duration of treatment he left V.I. in temporary duties. Gurko. It is worth noting that Emperor Nicholas II himself was Supreme, which means that for a short period of time Gurko actually concentrated all operational control of the Russian armies in his hands, and also began to prepare a campaign plan for 1917. However, his proposal to transfer the main efforts to the Romanian front met resistance from the commanders-in-chief of the fronts, Evert and Ruzsky, and only thanks to Alekseev’s intervention was it possible to break the resistance of the generals. The essence of the plan being developed was to deliver a main attack in the direction of Lvov on the Southwestern Front and private attacks on the Western and Northern fronts. The strategic offensive was planned to begin on May 1. In Gurko’s plan, private strikes were aimed at pinning down enemy troops, while the main one was delivered at the moment of greatest Russian power and taking into account the actions of the allies.

Also preparing for a new offensive, Gurko reorganized the army. From all regiments of the 4th battalion, one battalion was withdrawn to form new divisions that would cover secondary directions. This allowed one of the divisions to be kept in reserve by the corps, for training troops or rest, and at the regimental level this transition, by reducing the size of the regiment, simplified management. The weak point of the reform was the need to replenish officer personnel and material, which made them especially vulnerable to moral decay.

In February, after General M.V. returned to his post. Alekseeva Gurko returned to command of the army. Soon the revolution broke out. From the very beginning, Gurko saw the threat it posed to the army. Although he swore allegiance to the Provisional Government, he was not afraid to write a letter of loyalty to the deposed emperor, in which he indicated in particular that

“It is impossible not to foresee the possibility that after acquiring the painful experience of internal turmoil, after experiencing the life of the state structure and forms of government, for which, historically and socially, the Russian people are by no means ready, the country will again turn to the rightful emperor and the Anointed of God.”

In mid-April, Gurko was appointed commander-in-chief of the Western Front. Already in the first days, he issued an order to restore some wartime laws, as well as prohibit the activities of agitators until their direct meeting with Gurko. He also continued to prepare for the summer offensive, not giving up hope that he would be able to calm down the revolutionary events. Continuing the unequal struggle to restore discipline and constantly criticizing the democratic authorities, he, like many career officers, tried with all his might to dissuade the Provisional Government from issuing the “Declaration of the Rights of the Soldier,” believing that its publication would finally destroy the last remnants of discipline in the troops. However, resistance did not make sense (the country was ruled by people who did not understand the consequences of their liberal opportunism and amateurism), and after the adoption of the Declaration at the end of May, Gurko submitted a report to Minister of War Guchkov, in which he indicated that:

“disclaims all responsibility for the successful conduct of the business.”

The answer was not long in coming, and on June 4, Gurko was removed from his post, prohibiting him from holding a post higher than the division commander.

Subsequently, in August he was temporarily arrested, and in September 1917, under pressure from the Provisional Government, he was forced to emigrate. Despite the requests of General N.N. Yudenich, he refused to participate in the Civil War, remaining in Italy, where he became an active member of the EMRO, collaborating with its press organs. Gurko Vasily Iosifovich died in 1937 in Rome and was buried in the Roman cemetery of Testaccio.

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