Dmitry Shcherbachev
Encyclopedia
Dmitry Grigorevich Shcherbachev (1857–1932) served as a generally unsuccessful artillery commander in the Russian Army during the World War I
.
Shcherbachev advocated the use of French breakthrough tactics, consisting of heavy artillery attacks concentrated on a narrow front of the enemy's line. He was in command of the IX Infantry Corps at the outbreak of the war. Under the command of Nikolai Ivanov he used this tactic during the disastrous Russian campaigns in Galicia and Bessarabia
.
In the Bessarabia offensive Shcherbachev led the Seventh Army. The breakthrough tactic allowed the defenders to attack his flanks, bringing the overall advance to a halt.
Likewise his tactics proved disastrous at the start of the Brusilov Offensive
- some 20,000 men were lost in a failed attack along the Strypa. However, commander Alexei Brusilov's insistence on a secondary attack at Jaslowiec on 4 June 1916 produced the desired breakthrough. The southern wing of Bothmer, the German general, was turned.
This success enabled the rehabilitation of Shcherbachev's military reputation. In 11 April 1917 Shcherbachev replaced Andrei Zayonchkovsky as commander of the Romanian Front
. He held this position until 25 March 1918.
He subsequently joined the anti-Bolshevik White Army, fighting on the Don
before fleeing into exile in France
in 1919.
He died in 1932.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Shcherbachev advocated the use of French breakthrough tactics, consisting of heavy artillery attacks concentrated on a narrow front of the enemy's line. He was in command of the IX Infantry Corps at the outbreak of the war. Under the command of Nikolai Ivanov he used this tactic during the disastrous Russian campaigns in Galicia and Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
.
In the Bessarabia offensive Shcherbachev led the Seventh Army. The breakthrough tactic allowed the defenders to attack his flanks, bringing the overall advance to a halt.
Likewise his tactics proved disastrous at the start of the Brusilov Offensive
Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive , also known as the June Advance, was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Prof. Graydon A. Tunstall of the University of South Florida called the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 the worst crisis of...
- some 20,000 men were lost in a failed attack along the Strypa. However, commander Alexei Brusilov's insistence on a secondary attack at Jaslowiec on 4 June 1916 produced the desired breakthrough. The southern wing of Bothmer, the German general, was turned.
This success enabled the rehabilitation of Shcherbachev's military reputation. In 11 April 1917 Shcherbachev replaced Andrei Zayonchkovsky as commander of the Romanian Front
Romanian Front (Russian Empire)
The Romanian Front was a formation of the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War.-Commanders:* 12.12.1916—01.04.1917 — General of Cavalry Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov* 11.04.1917—25.03.1918 — General of Infantry Dmitry Shcherbachev...
. He held this position until 25 March 1918.
He subsequently joined the anti-Bolshevik White Army, fighting on the Don
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
before fleeing into exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1919.
He died in 1932.
Honours
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class (1879), 2nd class (1888), 1st class (1905);
- Order of St. AnnaOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
, 3rd class (1885), 2nd class (1896), 1st class (5 June 1911); - Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
, 4th class (1891), 3rd class (1899); - Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 4th class (1914), 3rd class 1915 - Gold Sword for BraveryGold Sword for BraveryThe Gold Sword for Bravery was a Russian Empire award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the St George Sword and considered as one of the grades of the Order...
(23 April 1915) - Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Order of Michael the BraveOrder of Michael the BraveThe Order of Michael the Brave is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of World War I, and was again awarded in World War II...
, 3rd and 2nd classes (Romania)