Mikhail Alekseev
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Vasiliyevich Alekseyev (November 3, 1857 – September 25, 1918) was an Imperial Russian Army
general during World War I
and the Russian Civil War
. Between 1915 and 1917 he was Chief of Staff to Tsar
Nicholas II
, and after the February Revolution
, March–July 1917 the commander in chief of the Russian army. He later took charge of the Volunteer Army
in the Russian Civil War and died in 1918 while fighting the Bolshevik
s in the Volga region.
. His father, Vasili Alekseyev, was an army captain in the 64th Kazan Regiment from a modest background. In 1873 Alekseyev entered as a volunteer in the 2md Grenadiers Regiment in Rostov
. He graduated from the Moscow Infantry School in 1876 and was commissioned an ensign in the same 64th Kazan Regiment. He served as an orderly to General Mikhail Skobelev
during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and was wounded in combat near Pleven
, Bulgaria
. He was promoted to lieutenant in January 1881, and captain in May 1883.
Completing his studies at the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1890 with the rank of lieutenant colonel
, he was posted as a senior adjutant in the headquarters of the 1st Army Corps in the St. Petersburg Military District. He served in this capacity and as a professor at the Academy's Department
of Military History
from 1898 to 1904. In March 1904, he was promoted to the rank of major general.
, in October 1904 Alekseyev was appointed Quartermaster General
of the Russian 3rd Manchurian Army. During the war he was awarded a gold sword
, the Order of St. Stanislav, and the Order of St. Anne
.
After the war he became first senior quartermaster of the General Staff’s main directorate, while maintaining his position as professor at the General Staff Academy. In 1908 he was made Chief of Staff of the Kiev
military district
and promoted to lieutenant general
. In 1912 Alekseyev was given command of the 13th Army Corps.
in August 1914 saw Alekseyev appointed Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front
(which held the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Armies), where he planned the Russian offensive into Galicia with the rank of General-of-Infantry. He was subsequently awarded the Order of St. George
(4th class). In March 1915 Alekseyev became the overall commander of the Russian Northwestern Front
.
When Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich of Russia stepped down as Russian supreme Commander-in-chief
in August 1915 to be replaced by Tsar Nicholas II, Alekseyev was appointed as Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters (Stavka
) and placed in charge of all military operations. He served in this capacity from August 1915 to March 1917.
In his capacity as Chief of Staff, Alekseyev proved to be a tradionalist, unable to adapt to tactical changes and the techniques of a modern war. He was also incapable of changing a political system which permitted to promotion of incompetent commanders, through nepotism, patronage and the use of court intrigue. The Great Retreat
of 1915 was undertaken on his orders. After the failure of the Battle of Lake Naroch in the spring of 1916, he no longer believed in the ability of the Russian Army to mount an offensive, contributing to the apathy and paralysis which characterized the Russian officer corps towards the end of the war.
of 1917, Alexeyev sent a telegram to the Tsar advising him to abdicate the throne. This telegram, combined with one from his uncle Grand Duke Nicholas, pressure from the Stavka and two representatives of the Duma, led to the Tsar's decision to abdicate on the 2 March 1917 in favour of his brother Grand Duke Michael
, who ultimately refused the throne.
From March to May 1917, Alekseyev's position remained ambiguous. While he was the Commander-in-chief and later adviser to the Provisional Government, he spoke against the Soviets and democratization
of the army. On August 30, 1917, Alekseyev became Chief of Staff of the Stavka under Commander-in-Chief Alexander Kerensky
. His goal was to prevent the Kornilov movement (see Kornilov Affair
) from developing into civil war. That same day, Alekseyev arrived at the General Headquarters, arrested General Lavr Kornilov
and his men and sent them to prison in Bykhov (a town in Mogilev
oblast in Belarus
), from which they would "break away" with the help of General Nikolai Dukhonin. He then resigned his post in protest of Kerensky's policies.
After the October Revolution
, Alekseyev fled to Novocherkassk
, where he received the support of the leader of the Don Cossacks
, General Alexey Kaledin. On November 15, 1917, he first formed "Alekseyev's Officer Organization", which would become the core of an anti-Bolshevek Volunteer Army
. He was joined by General Kornilov, who never forgave him for his arrest in 1917, and the bad relations between the generals threatened to destroy the movement. In December 1917, Kornilov took command of the combat forces within the army and Alekseyev took charge of political and financial matters. After the death of Kornilov in April 1918 Alexeyev led Volunteer Army back in the Don region. He was appointed head of the Special Council, which would function as a government under Anton Denikin. However, Alekseyev, sick for some time, died of heart failure in Ekaterinodar in September 1918. He was first buried in the crypt of the Cossack
host cathedral, but his family moved his remains to Belgrade
, Serbia
, where they remain to this day.
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
general during World War I
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...
and the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Between 1915 and 1917 he was Chief of Staff to Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, and after the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, March–July 1917 the commander in chief of the Russian army. He later took charge of the Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
in the Russian Civil War and died in 1918 while fighting the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s in the Volga region.
Biography
Alekseyev was born in TverTver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
. His father, Vasili Alekseyev, was an army captain in the 64th Kazan Regiment from a modest background. In 1873 Alekseyev entered as a volunteer in the 2md Grenadiers Regiment in Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. He graduated from the Moscow Infantry School in 1876 and was commissioned an ensign in the same 64th Kazan Regiment. He served as an orderly to General Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and was wounded in combat near Pleven
Pleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. He was promoted to lieutenant in January 1881, and captain in May 1883.
Completing his studies at the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1890 with the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, he was posted as a senior adjutant in the headquarters of the 1st Army Corps in the St. Petersburg Military District. He served in this capacity and as a professor at the Academy's Department
Academic department
An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level....
of Military History
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
from 1898 to 1904. In March 1904, he was promoted to the rank of major general.
Russo-Japanese War
With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, in October 1904 Alekseyev was appointed Quartermaster General
Quartermaster general
A Quartermaster general is the staff officer in charge of supplies for a whole army.- The United Kingdom :In the United Kingdom, the Quartermaster-General to the Forces is one of the most senior generals in the British Army...
of the Russian 3rd Manchurian Army. During the war he was awarded a gold sword
Gold Sword for Bravery
The 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...
, the Order of St. Stanislav, and the Order of St. Anne
Order of St. Anna
The 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...
.
After the war he became first senior quartermaster of the General Staff’s main directorate, while maintaining his position as professor at the General Staff Academy. In 1908 he was made Chief of Staff of the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
military district
Military district
Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.Navies have also used...
and promoted to lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
. In 1912 Alekseyev was given command of the 13th Army Corps.
World War I
The beginning of World War IWorld 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...
in August 1914 saw Alekseyev appointed Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front
Southwestern Front (Russian Empire)
The Southwestern Front was a major unit of the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War. It was established on 19 August 1914.- Commanders of the Southwestern Front :* 19.07.1914-17.03.1916 — General of Infantry Nikolai Ivanov...
(which held the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Armies), where he planned the Russian offensive into Galicia with the rank of General-of-Infantry. He was subsequently awarded the Order of St. George
Order of St. 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 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). In March 1915 Alekseyev became the overall commander of the Russian Northwestern Front
Northwestern Front (Russian Empire)
The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War.It was established in August 1914. In August 1915 it was split into Northern Front and Western Front....
.
When Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich of Russia stepped down as Russian supreme Commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
in August 1915 to be replaced by Tsar Nicholas II, Alekseyev was appointed as Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters (Stavka
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
) and placed in charge of all military operations. He served in this capacity from August 1915 to March 1917.
In his capacity as Chief of Staff, Alekseyev proved to be a tradionalist, unable to adapt to tactical changes and the techniques of a modern war. He was also incapable of changing a political system which permitted to promotion of incompetent commanders, through nepotism, patronage and the use of court intrigue. The Great Retreat
Great Retreat (Russian)
The Great Retreat was a Russian retreat from Galicia and Poland during World War I.-Background:During this period, the buildup of forces generally favored the Central Powers. Four new German armies, the Eleventh, Twelfth, Army of the Niemen and Army Bug, were being formed up, dramatically shifting...
of 1915 was undertaken on his orders. After the failure of the Battle of Lake Naroch in the spring of 1916, he no longer believed in the ability of the Russian Army to mount an offensive, contributing to the apathy and paralysis which characterized the Russian officer corps towards the end of the war.
Russian Civil War
During the February RevolutionFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917, Alexeyev sent a telegram to the Tsar advising him to abdicate the throne. This telegram, combined with one from his uncle Grand Duke Nicholas, pressure from the Stavka and two representatives of the Duma, led to the Tsar's decision to abdicate on the 2 March 1917 in favour of his brother Grand Duke Michael
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas and...
, who ultimately refused the throne.
From March to May 1917, Alekseyev's position remained ambiguous. While he was the Commander-in-chief and later adviser to the Provisional Government, he spoke against the Soviets and democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
of the army. On August 30, 1917, Alekseyev became Chief of Staff of the Stavka under Commander-in-Chief Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
. His goal was to prevent the Kornilov movement (see Kornilov Affair
Kornilov Affair
The Kornilov Affair, or the Kornilov Putsch as it is sometimes referred to, was an attempted coup d'état by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, in August 1917 against the Russian Provisional Government headed by Alexander Kerensky.-Background:Following the...
) from developing into civil war. That same day, Alekseyev arrived at the General Headquarters, arrested General Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War...
and his men and sent them to prison in Bykhov (a town in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
oblast in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
), from which they would "break away" with the help of General Nikolai Dukhonin. He then resigned his post in protest of Kerensky's policies.
After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, Alekseyev fled to Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
, where he received the support of the leader of the Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
, General Alexey Kaledin. On November 15, 1917, he first formed "Alekseyev's Officer Organization", which would become the core of an anti-Bolshevek Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
. He was joined by General Kornilov, who never forgave him for his arrest in 1917, and the bad relations between the generals threatened to destroy the movement. In December 1917, Kornilov took command of the combat forces within the army and Alekseyev took charge of political and financial matters. After the death of Kornilov in April 1918 Alexeyev led Volunteer Army back in the Don region. He was appointed head of the Special Council, which would function as a government under Anton Denikin. However, Alekseyev, sick for some time, died of heart failure in Ekaterinodar in September 1918. He was first buried in the crypt of the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
host cathedral, but his family moved his remains to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, where they remain to this day.
Awards
- Order of St. AnneOrder 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...
Grade 4 "for courage" (1878) - Order of St. Stanislav Grade 3, with swords and bow (1879)
- Order of St. Anne Grade 3, with swords and bow (1879)
- Order of St. Stanislav Grade 2 (1892)
- Order of St. Anne Grade 2 (1896)
- 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....
4 degrees, with swords and bow (1900) - Order of St. Vladimir Grade 3 (1901)
- Order of St. Stanislav Grade 1 with Swords (1905)
- Golden Sword of St. George "for courage"Gold 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...
(1906) - Order of St. Anne Grade 1 (1906)
- Order of St. Vladimir Grade 2 (1911)
- 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...
Grade 4 (1914)