Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich

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General Nikolai Yudenich

Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich (Николай Николаевич Юденич) (July 18, 1862 (July 30, New Style ) – October 5, 1933), was the most successful general of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was later a leader of the counterrevolution in Northwestern Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920.

Yudenich was born in Moscow. He graduated from the Alexandrovsky Military College in 1881 and the General Staff Academy in 1887. Yudenich commanded a regiment during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Kazan 1912 and Caucasus (1913) military districts. In the beginning of the World War I Yudenich was appointed Chief of Staff of the Caucasus army and in that position he won the battle of Sarikamis against Enver Pasha.

In January 1915 he was appointed commander of the Russian Caucusus army, replacing General Vorontsov. Yudenich tried to exploit the Turkish defeat by attacking into Turkish territory, specifically around Lake Van. While the Russians did capture Van in May 1915, they were forced to withdraw from the city two months later. The Turks re-occupied Van in August. At this time, Grand Duke Nicholas, having been removed from command of all of Russia's armies, was put in charge of the Caucusus region. General Yudenich was given a free hand by the Grand Duke and, in September, the Russian retook Van. Fighting back and forth around this region continued for the next 14 months without a clear victory for either side.

In 1916 Yudenich successfully carried out an offensive, winning the Battle of Erzurum (1916) and capturing the city of Trapezund (today's Trabzon). In the summer of that year, his forces fought off a Turkish counter attack culminating in the Battle of Erzincan (despite the presence of Turkish General Mustapha Kemal). The success of the Russian army (limited though it was) in Eastern Anatolia had some influence over the course of the Armenian Genocide.

Following the Russian Revolution, the new government removed Yudenich from the Caucusus and sent him to the unimportant Kavkaz front in March. One month later, he retired from the army.

A year after the October Revolution of 1917, Yudenich emigrated to France and then Estonia. In July of 1919 he joined the Russian Civil War, as commander of the Northwestern White Army. He also became a member of the counterrevolutionary Northwestern "government", created with the help of Great Britain.

Yudenich spent the next three months organizing and training his army. Funds for this effort were supplied by the British government. Eventually Yudenich had a fairly well organized army some 20,000 strong. In early October, 1919, Yudenich launched his army against Petrograd.

With the Bolshevik armies actively engaged on several other fronts (fighting Kolchak's forces in Siberia and several Cossack armies in the Ukraine) only small forces stood between Yudenich and Petrograd.

Yudenich's friend from the Imperial Russian Army, Mannerheim, asked the president of Finland, Ståhlberg, to join Yudenich's force and attack Petrograd with the help from the Finns. Yudenich would recognize Finland's independence and Finland's pro-Triple Entente relationships would be recognized. But Kolchak (who was nominally the leader of the White Armies) did not recognise Finlands independence. Stålhberg refused and Yudenich attacked Petrograd alone.

On October 19, 1919 his troops reached the edges of the city. At this point the main leadership of the Bolshevik government in Moscow was prepared to let Petrograd fall, but Leon Trotsky did not agree. Trotsky went to Petrograd and personally organized the defence of the city. Factory workers were given weapons and sent out to oppose Yudenich's men. The attack by Yudenich's forces failed and by November 1, Yudenich began to retreat.

His forces took refuge in Estonia where they agreed to be disarmed. In 1920 his forces were evacuated by British ships out of Estonia. Yudenich went into exile in France. In his remaining 13 years he played no significant role among White Army émigrés. He died at Saint-Laurent-du-Var, near Nice on the French Riviera, on October 5, 1933.