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The First Kuban (Ice March) Campaign of the Volunteer Army began
The First Kuban Campaign of the Volunteer Army, which also went down in history under the name “Ice March”, took place from February 9 (22), 1918, when the army fought a retreat from Rostov-on-Don, to April 30 (May 13), 1918 - by this time the volunteer units had returned to Don Region. The campaign was caused by an active offensive by the Red Guard troops, accompanied by the reluctance of the Don Cossacks to fight against the Bolsheviks, which led to the capture of Rostov by Soviet troops on February 23 and Novocherkassk on February 25.
Under these conditions, trying to preserve the army, generals L. G. Kornilov and M. V. Alekseev decided to retreat south, in the direction of the capital of the Kuban Cossack Army - Yekaterinodar, considering the region as a possible base for the deployment of the army. The number of units that went on the campaign was about 4 thousand people, except a significant number of civilians who fled from the Bolsheviks. However, the plans of the volunteers were thwarted by the news of the entry of the Red Guard into Yekaterinodar on March 14, and the abandonment of the city by detachments of the Kuban regional government under the command of Colonel Pokrovsky.
General L. G. Kornilov announced that the army was moving further, beyond the Kuban, where he planned “in the mountain villages and Circassian villages” to give the soldiers rest and “to wait for more favorable circumstances”. In Transkuban Region, the army found itself almost completely surrounded by Bolsheviks and fought incessantly. However, it managed to connect with the Kuban units, as a result of which the size of the army increased to 6 thousand people. Constant combat clashes with opponents were complicated by dramatically changed weather conditions: rain gave way to frosts with piercing winds and snowstorms, as a result of which clothes were covered with an ice crust. According to one version, for this reason the campaign was dubbed “Ice March”.
Together, on April 9–13, an attempt was made to storm Yekaterinodar. Superior enemy forces under the command of A. I. Avtonomov and I. L. Sorokin repulsed the attacks of the Volunteer Army, which suffered a heavy loss under the walls of the city: on April 13, General Kornilov was killed by a random grenade. General A. I. Denikin took command of the army. He managed to lead the army out of encirclement and fight its way to the Don, where by that time the anti-Soviet uprising of the Don Cossacks had begun.
During the 80-day campaign, in difficult weather conditions, surrounded by Soviet troops, the Volunteer Army covered about 1 thousand 200 km with continuous battles, while not only maintaining its integrity, but even increasing its numbers due to the addition of troops of the Kuban regional government.
On September 21 (October 4), 1918, by order of the commander of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General A. I. Denikin, the “Insignia of the First Kuban Campaign” was established in memory of the First Kuban (Ice March) Campaign. The award was a silver crown of thorns, crossed from the bottom up by a silver sword with a gilded hilt, on the St. George ribbon, decorated with a white, blue and red rosette. Over 3.5 thousand direct participants in the campaign were awarded the insignia. Badge № 1 was posthumously awarded to General Kornilov. Among the participants of the White movement, this was the most respected award.
Лит.: Белое движение. Исторические портреты: Л.Г. Корнилов, А.И. Деникин, П.Н. Врангель…/сост. А.С. Кручинин. М., 2006; Богаевский А.П. Ледяной поход. Воспоминания 1918 г. Нью-Йорк, 1963; Венков А.В. Донское казачество в Гражданской войне (1918-1920). Ростов н/Д., 1992; Гагкуев Р.Г. Белое движение на юге России. Военное строительство, источники комплектования, социальный состав. 1917-1920 гг. М., 2012; Гуль Р.Б. Ледяной поход. М., 1992; Добрынин В.В. Борьба с большевизмом на Юге России. Участие в борьбе Донского казачества. Февраль 1917 – март 1920. Прага, 1921; Хмелевский К.А., Хмелевский С.К. Буря над тихим Доном. Исторический очерк о гражданской войне на Дону. Ростов н/Д.,1984.
Basеd on the Presidential Library's materials:
Первый Кубанский («Ледяной») поход Добровольческой армии // 1918 год: [цифровая коллекция]