Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich (short biography). Russian military leader General Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich: biography, achievements and interesting facts Drozdovsky Peter Ivanovich Academician General of the Tsarist Army

Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky (1881-1919) - Russian major general, one of the most prominent White Guard military leaders of the early period Civil War. Drozdovsky was born in Kyiv into a noble family. His father was a general who took part in the defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. Family traditions determined the further choice of Mikhail, the only son of the general. In 1899, he was released from the Kyiv Cadet Corps and entered the Pavlovsk Military School, from which he graduated “first class” (i.e. with honors). Even in the building, teachers noted the boy’s outstanding abilities, but at the same time complained about his wayward, rebellious character and exceptional ingenuity in pranks. At first it was very difficult for Drozdovsky to cope with his character.

He left the school as a second lieutenant and was sent to the Volyn Life Guards Regiment. In 1904 he passed the exams at the Nikolaev General Staff Academy. However, when did it start Russo-Japanese War, Lieutenant Drozdovsky decided to go to the front, where he fought as part of the 1st Siberian Corps of the 2nd Manchurian Army. For his courage, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree, and St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree.

After the war, Drozdovsky continued his education. A few years later, he became interested in aviation, which was then rapidly developing, and was sent to the Aviation Officer School in Sevastopol.

Mikhail Drozdovsky. Video

At first First World War was appointed to the operational department of the Office of the Quartermaster General of the North-Western Front. Drozdovsky was burdened by staff work, waited for participation in hostilities, and in the spring of 1915 he finally received the post of chief of staff of the 60th Infantry Division. He was constantly on the front line and was soon awarded the Arms of St. George. In 1916, Drozdovsky received the rank of colonel. Wounded soon after in the attack, he was forced to leave the front for a while. Returning at the beginning of 1917, Drozdowski became acting chief of staff of the 15th Infantry Division, and in the spring - commander of the 60th Zamosc Regiment.

However, the command in these months after February Revolution was not an easy test. The decline in discipline, the unreliability of units, and their flight from positions were painfully experienced by Colonel Drozdovsky as the collapse of the army. Using harsh measures, he tried to restore the combat effectiveness of his regiment.

Drozdovsky March

At the end of December 1917 in Iasi, on the Romanian Front, on the initiative of Drozdovsky, the formation of the 1st separate brigade of Russian volunteers began. Contrary to the order of the headquarters of the Romanian Front to prohibit such formations, a detachment of about a thousand people under the command of Drozdovsky set out in February 1918 from Iasi to the Don to join with Volunteer Army general Kornilov. This long-distance campaign through hostile territories, where Bolshevik and anarchist uprisings were raging, was called “madness” by many, but Drozdovsky managed to successfully carry it out.

March of the Drozdovites performed by Alexandra Bakhchevan

Nervous, thin, he was the type of warrior-ascetic: he did not drink, did not smoke, did not pay attention to the blessings of life; always - from Iasi until his death - he wore the same worn jacket, with a frayed St. George ribbon in his buttonhole, out of modesty not wearing the order itself. On Easter night from May 4 to 5, 1918, Drozdovsky’s detachment, which approached from the west with a bold attack, liberated Rostov-on-Don from the Reds, which at the same time was approached from the south after First Kuban campaign Volunteer army, led after the death of Kornilov Denikin. Drozdovsky came under the command of Denikin. With the soon-to-be reformation of the Volunteer Army, his detachment was renamed the 3rd Infantry Division and participated in all the battles of the Second Kuban Campaign.

In October 1918, near Stavropol, Drozdovsky was wounded in the leg by a rifle bullet. In the hospital, Denikin promoted him to major general. The wound was minor, and the Drozdov fighters expected that their beloved commander would soon return to command. But, after suffering from terrible pain for two months and undergoing several operations, Drozdovsky died of blood poisoning in the Rostov hospital. He was not even forty years old then. The coffin with his ashes was taken from Ekaterinodar at White retreat in March 1920 and transported to Sevastopol, where he was again buried secretly. The burial site was destroyed during the years

Age restrictions 18+

On October 19 (October 7, old style), 1881, Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky was born - Russian military leader, Major General of the General Staff (1918). Participant in the Russo-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars, one of the most prominent figures and leaders of the White movement in the South of Russia.

M.G. Drozdovsky became the first general in the history of the White movement who openly declared his allegiance to the monarchy at a time when the “democratic values” of February were still honored. General Drozdovsky is the only commander of the Russian Army who managed to form a volunteer detachment and lead it as an organized group from the front of the Great War to join the Don Army. Drozdovsky - organizer and leader of the 1200-verst march of a detachment of volunteers from Yassy to Novocherkassk in the spring of 1918. Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division in the Volunteer Army. Knight of the Order of St. George, 4th degree, Order of St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and bow, Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree with swords and bow, Order of St. Anne, 4th degree with the inscription “For bravery,” orders St. Stanislaus 3rd degree with swords and bow. Winner of the St. George's Arms, "Medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905" with a bow, medal "In memory of the Patriotic War", light bronze medal "In memory of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov".

Family, childhood

Mikhail Gordeevich came from hereditary nobles of the Poltava province. Father - Major General Gordey Ivanovich Drozdovsky (1835-1908) was a participant in the Defense of Sevastopol in 1855, in the 1890s he commanded the 168th Ostrog Infantry Reserve Regiment. Recipient of many orders and medals. Mother - Nadezhda Nikolaevna (1844-1893). Sisters - Julia (1866-1922); Ulyana (1869-1921), Evgenia (1873 - not earlier than 1916).

Mikhail Drozdovsky was born in Kyiv, two months later he was baptized in the Kiev-Pechora Spassky Church. At the age of 12 he was left without a mother and was raised by his older sister Yulia. Julia actually replaced Mikhail Gordeevich's mother. During the Russo-Japanese War, she was a sister of mercy, took part in campaigns, and was awarded a silver medal. After the occupation of Chernigov by the Whites in October 1919, Yulia was evacuated to the south, accompanied by a nurse of the Drozdovsky regiment, and died in exile in Greece. Mikhail Gordeevich's wife is Olga Vladimirovna, née Evdokimova (1883-?), daughter of a hereditary nobleman. She had been married to Drozdovsky since 1907, but her desire to become an actress, incompatible with her position as the wife of an officer in the Russian Imperial Army, led to conflict and then to divorce.

On October 31, 1892, Mikhail Drozdovsky was assigned to the Polotsk Cadet Corps, then transferred to the Vladimir Kiev Cadet Corps, which he graduated in 1899.

The teachers noted Mikhail's courage, his honesty and scrupulousness. “He directly, without hesitation, confessed to his offenses, was never afraid of punishment and did not hide behind the backs of others. Therefore, despite his temper, ardor and sometimes harsh frankness, he enjoyed the respect and trust of his classmates. The love for military affairs disciplined the boy, who also excelled in his studies.”

On August 31, 1899, Mikhail entered the service as a cadet of private rank at the Pavlovsk Military School in St. Petersburg, famous for its particularly strict discipline and considered exemplary in the training of officers of the Russian Imperial Army. He graduated from college in 1901, in the first category of the first category; was the first of the cadets to graduate. Since 1901, Mikhail Gordeevich served in the Volyn Life Guards Regiment in Warsaw with the rank of second lieutenant. Since 1904 - lieutenant. In 1904 he entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, but without starting his studies, he went to the front of the Russo-Japanese War.

Participation in the Russo-Japanese War

In 1904-1905, Drozdovsky served in the 34th East Siberian Regiment as part of the 1st Siberian Corps of the 2nd Manchurian Army. He distinguished himself in battles with the Japanese from January 12 to 16, 1905 near the villages of Heigoutai and Bezymyannaya (Semapu), for which, by order of the troops of the 2nd Manchurian Army Nos. 87 and 91, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree with the inscription “For bravery.” . In a battle near the village of Semapu he was wounded in the thigh, but from March 18 he commanded a company. On October 30, 1905, for participation in the war, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree with swords and a bow, and on the basis of orders No. 41 and 139 by the Military Department he received the right to wear a light bronze medal with a bow “In memory of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905".

1905-1914

After graduating from the Academy on May 2, 1908, “for excellent achievements in science,” M.G. Drozdovsky was promoted to staff captain. For two years he passed the qualification command of a company in the Life Guards Volyn Regiment. Since 1910 - captain, chief officer for assignments at the headquarters of the Amur Military District in Harbin, since November 1911 - assistant to the senior adjutant of the headquarters of the Warsaw Military District. On December 6, 1911 he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. Received the right to wear a light bronze medal “In memory of the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812.” Later, Mikhail Gordeevich will also receive the right to wear a light bronze medal “In memory of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov.”

With the outbreak of the 1st Balkan War in October 1912, Mikhail Gordeevich applied for a secondment to the war, but was refused. In 1913, he graduated from the Sevastopol Aviation School, where he studied aerial observation (he made 12 flights each lasting at least 30 minutes; in total he was in the air for 12 hours 32 minutes). The officer went to sea on a battleship for live firing, walked in a submarine and went underwater in a diving suit. Upon returning from aviation school, Drozdovsky again served at the headquarters of the Warsaw Military District.

World War I

At the beginning of the First World War, Drozdovsky was appointed... d. assistant to the head of the general department of the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the North-Western Front. Since September 1914 - chief officer for assignments from the headquarters of the 27th Army Corps. He put into practice the experience gained during his stay at the flight school, while flying on an airplane and in a hot air balloon. Since March 22, 1915 - Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff, confirmed in his position. On May 16, 1915, he was appointed acting chief of staff of the 64th Infantry Division. Having headed the headquarters, Mikhail Gordeevich was constantly on the front line, under fire - the spring and summer of 1915 for the 64th division passed in endless battles and transitions. On July 1, 1915, for distinction in cases against the enemy, Drozdovsky was awarded the Order of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and bow. On November 2, 1915 he was awarded the Arms of St. George. From October 22 to November 10, 1915, he served as chief of staff of the 26th Army Corps on the Southwestern Front. On August 31, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Drozdovsky personally led the attack on Mount Kapul. One of Mikhail Gordeevich’s colleagues recalled these events as follows:

“The attack had the character of a rapid, uncontrollable onslaught. But when the advanced chains, under the influence of deadly point-blank fire, lay choking in front of the wire, Lieutenant Colonel Drozdovsky, ordering a new reserve to be sent to the aid, raised the lying chains, and, shouting “Forward, brothers!”, with his head naked, rushed in front of the attackers.”

In the battle on Mount Kapul, Drozdovsky was wounded in the right hand. At the end of 1916, for the courage shown in this battle, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, and promoted to colonel.

After spending several months in the hospital, Drozdovsky was appointed acting chief of staff of the 15th Infantry Division on the Romanian Front. As Mikhail Gordeevich’s closest assistant in his service at the headquarters of the 15th division, the later famous Kornilovite Colonel E. E. Messner, wrote:

“...not having fully recovered from his serious wound, he came to us and became the chief of staff of the 15th Infantry Division. It was not easy for me to serve as a senior adjutant under him: demanding of himself, he was demanding of his subordinates, and of me, his closest assistant, in particular. Strict, uncommunicative, he did not inspire love for himself, but he did evoke respect: his entire stately figure, his thoroughbred, handsome face exuded nobility, directness and extraordinary willpower.”

Mikhail Gordeevich showed this willpower, according to Colonel E. E. Messner, by transferring the division headquarters to him and taking command of the 60th Zamosc Infantry Regiment of the same division on April 6, 1917. General revolutionary instability did not prevent Drozdovsky from being an imperious regiment commander both in battle and in a positional situation.

Revolution of 1917

Soon events took place in Petrograd that turned the tide of the war: the February Revolution marked the beginning of the collapse of the army and the state, ultimately leading the country to the October events.

The abdication of Sovereign Nicholas II made a very difficult impression on Mikhail Gordeevich, a staunch monarchist. He opposed the interference of soldiers' committees in the operational orders of command staff. The reprisals of unruly soldiers against officers, which took place even on the most prosperous Romanian front, also made a depressing impression. At the end of April 1917, Mikhail Gordeevich wrote in his diary:

“My situation in the regiment is becoming very acute. You can live well only as long as you indulge everyone in everything, but I can’t. Of course, it would be easier to leave everything, simpler, but dishonest. Yesterday I spoke several bitter truths to one of the mouths, they were indignant and angry. They told me that they wanted to “tear me to shreds,” when it would be enough to cut me into two equal parts, after all, and perhaps I would have to experience unsweetened moments. All around you observe how the best element gives up in this useless struggle. The image of death is all deliverance, the desired exit.”

However, by using the most drastic measures, including the execution of deserters and fugitives, Drozdovsky managed to partially restore discipline in the regiment entrusted to him. Here such character traits of Mikhail Gordeevich as determination, toughness, and confidence in the correctness of the decisions made were fully revealed.

The regiment distinguished itself in heavy battles at the end of June - beginning of August 1917. For the battle on July 11, when Drozdovsky and his regiment participated in breaking through the German position, Mikhail Gordeevich was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree; for the battles of July 30 - August 4, he was nominated by the front command to be awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree (the proposal was not implemented due to the collapse of the front). Mikhail Gordeevich received the Order of St. George, 4th degree, only on November 20, 1917 - after the Bolshevik coup.

After the October events in Petrograd - the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks and their signing on behalf of Russia of the shameful and ruinous Brest Peace Treaty - the complete collapse of the Russian army began. Mikhail Gordeevich, seeing the impossibility of continuing to serve in such conditions, began to be inclined to continue the struggle in a different form.

Volunteering

At the end of November - beginning of December 1917, against his will, Colonel Drozdovsky was appointed head of the 14th Infantry Division. After the arrival of Infantry General M.V. Alekseev to the Don in November 1917 and the creation of the Alekseev organization (soon transformed into the Dobrarmia), communication was established between him and the headquarters of the Romanian Front. As a result, the idea arose on the Romanian front to create a Corps of Russian Volunteers for its subsequent dispatch to the Don. The organization of such a detachment and its further connection with the Volunteer Army became from that moment the main goal of Mikhail Gordeevich.

On March 11, 1918, the campaign of a detachment of volunteers began under the leadership of M.G. Drozdovsky on the Don. This campaign went down in the history of the White movement under the name “Drozdovskaya campaign.” It was also called the Romanian campaign or the “Yassy-Don campaign.”

It lasted 61 days and ended with the capture of Novocherkassk by the Drozdovites. While in Novocherkassk, Mikhail Gordeevich dealt with the issues of attracting reinforcements to the detachment, as well as the problem of its financial support. Drozdovsky sent people to different cities to organize the registration of volunteers: so he sent Lieutenant Colonel G. D. Leslie to Kyiv. The work of the Drozdov recruiting bureaus was organized so effectively that 80% of the replenishment of the entire Dobrarmia at first went through them. Eyewitnesses also point to certain costs of this method of recruitment: recruiters from several armies sometimes met in the same cities, incl. and independent agents of the Drozdovsky brigade, which led to unwanted competition. The results of Mikhail Gordeevich’s work in Novocherkassk and Rostov also include the organization of warehouses for the needs of the army in these cities. An infirmary was organized for the wounded Drozdovites in Novocherkassk, and in Rostov - with the support of Professor N.I. Napalkov - the White Cross Hospital, which remained the best hospital for the Whites until the end of the Civil War. Drozdovsky gave lectures and distributed appeals about the tasks of the White movement, and in Rostov, through his efforts, even the newspaper “Bulletin of the Volunteer Army” began to be published - the first White printed organ in the South of Russia.

Mikhail Gordeevich has already brought almost 3,000 well-uniformed and armed, battle-hardened fighters to the Don. And the entire Volunteer Army led by General Denikin, pretty battered in the battles of the 1st Kuban (Ice) Campaign, numbered in those days a little more than 6,000 bayonets and sabers.

Drozdovsky's brigade, in addition to small arms and 1,000,000 (!) cartridges, had three artillery batteries, several armored cars and airplanes, its own convoy of trucks and radiotelegraph units.

It is clear that Ataman Pyotr Krasnov, who headed the All-Great Don Army in the same May days of 1918, wished to see the Drozdovites under his command, inviting Mikhail Gordeevich and his people to become the “Don Foot Guard.” But for Drozdovsky, the political views of the ataman, who was trying to create an independent state on the Don and for this purpose did not disdain an alliance with the Germans, were unacceptable. Drozdovsky, a statist and monarchist by conviction, considered his brigade to be part of the Russian army, which continued to be at war with Germany. He did not want to participate in the dismantling of the country into destinies and therefore led his people to the area of ​​the villages of Mechetinskaya and Yegorlykskaya, where the Volunteer Army, which had emerged from brutal battles, was gaining strength.

It is important to note that Drozdovsky, after his Detachment completed the Romanian campaign and arrived on the Don, was in a position where he could choose his own future path: join the Volunteer Army of Denikin and Romanovsky, accept the offer of the Don Ataman Krasnov, or become a completely independent and independent force . Mikhail Gordeevich later, directly during his conflict with the Chief of Staff of the Volunteer Army, General Romanovsky, directly wrote about this to the Commander-in-Chief General Denikin:

“By the time my detachment joined the Volunteer Army, its condition was infinitely difficult - this is well known to everyone. I brought with me about 2½ thousand people, perfectly armed and equipped... Taking into account not only the number, but also the technical equipment and supplies of the detachment, we can safely say that it was equal in strength to the army, and its spirit was very high and faith in success lived... I was not a subordinate executor of someone else’s will, the Volunteer Army owes such a major strengthening to me alone... From various people... I received offers not to join the army, which was considered dying, but to replace it. My agents in the south of Russia were so well established that if I had remained an independent commander, the Volunteer Army would not have received even a fifth of the personnel that later poured into the Don... But, considering it a crime to separate forces... I categorically refused to enter into any whatever the combination, which would not be headed by you... The joining of my detachment made it possible to launch an offensive that opened a victorious era for the army.”

Ruslan Gagkuev writes that Drozdovsky could successfully lay claim to an independent military-political role, given the size of the human and material resources available to his brigade immediately after the completion of the Yassy-Don Campaign, the effective work of his recruiting bureaus and the rapid growth in the size of his detachment.

On May 26 (June 8), 1918, the Detachment (Brigade of Russian Volunteers), consisting of about three thousand soldiers, set out to join the Volunteer Army. On May 27 (June 9), 1918, he arrived in the village of Mechetinskaya. After the ceremonial parade, which was attended by the leadership of the Volunteer Army (generals Alekseev, Denikin, headquarters and units of the Volunteer Army), by order No. 288, the Brigade of Russian Volunteers of the General Staff of Colonel M. G. Drozdovsky was included in the Volunteer Army. The leaders of the Dobrarmiya could hardly overestimate the significance of the addition of the Drozdovsky brigade - their army almost doubled in size, and it had not seen such a material part as the Drozdovites contributed to the army since its organization at the end of 1917.

The brigade (later the division) included all the units that came from the Romanian Front: the 2nd Officer Rifle Regiment, the 2nd Officer Cavalry Regiment, the 3rd Engineer Company, a light artillery battery, a platoon of howitzers consisting of 10 light and 2 heavy guns

When the Volunteer Army was reorganized in June 1918, Colonel Drozdovsky's detachment formed the 3rd Infantry Division and participated in all the battles of the Second Kuban Campaign, as a result of which Kuban and the entire North Caucasus were occupied by white troops. M. G. Drozdovsky became its chief, and one of the conditions for his Detachment to join the Army was the guarantee of his personal irremovability as commander of the Drozdov division.

However, by this time, Mikhail Gordeevich was already ready to fulfill an independent role - the six months that had passed since the collapse of the Romanian Front had taught him to rely only on himself, as well as on his own, proven and reliable personnel. Drozdovsky already had quite a solid, and more importantly, very successful experience in organizational and combat work. The colonel knew his worth and rated himself very highly. He enjoyed the full support of his subordinates, united by the monarchical spirit, for whom he became a legend during his lifetime. Therefore, Drozdovsky had his own personal view on many things and often questioned the appropriateness of some orders of the Dobrarmia headquarters.

Drozdovsky's contemporaries and associates expressed the opinion that it made sense for the leadership of the Volunteer Army to use the organizational abilities of Mikhail Gordeevich and entrust him with organizing the rear, allowing him to organize supplies for the army, or appoint him Minister of War of the White South. He could be entrusted with organizing new regular divisions for the front. However, the leaders of the Volunteer Army, perhaps fearing competition from the young, energetic, intelligent colonel, preferred to assign him the modest role of division chief.

Conflict with the leadership of the Volunteer Army

In July-August 1918, Drozdovsky's 3rd Infantry Division took part in the battles that led to the capture of Yekaterinodar. In September, the Drozdovites took Armavir, but under the pressure of superior Red forces they were forced to leave it.

During this period, Drozdovsky’s tense relations with the headquarters of the Dobrarmiya entered the phase of conflict. During the Armavir operation, the 3rd Infantry Division was entrusted with a task that could not be accomplished by its forces alone. According to division commander Drozdovsky, it was necessary to postpone the operation for several days in order to strengthen the strike group using existing reserves. The colonel repeatedly brought his opinion to the attention of army headquarters, but did not receive a positive response from Denikin. Seeing the ineffectiveness of these reports, on September 17 (30), 1918, Drozdovsky actually ignored the order of the Commander-in-Chief to attack Armavir.

Denikin sharply, in the form of a public reprimand, expresses his dissatisfaction to Drozdovsky. In response, Mikhail Gordeevich sent his report to the commander, which, at first glance, gave the impression of a bile-soaked rebuke to an undeserved insult:

“...Despite the exceptional role that fate gave me to play in the revival of the Volunteer Army, and perhaps saving it from dying, despite my services to it, who came to you not as a modest petitioner for a place or protection, but who brought with him a faithful me a large fighting force, you did not hesitate to publicly reprimand me, without even investigating the reasons for the decision I made, you did not think about insulting a person who gave all his strength, all his energy and knowledge to the cause of saving the Motherland, and in particular, the army entrusted to you. I won’t have to blush for this reprimand, because the whole army knows what I did for its victory. For Colonel Drozdovsky there is a place of honor wherever they fight for the good of Russia.”

This fragment was preceded by Drozdovsky’s detailed analysis of the actions of his division during the Armavir operation and the Second Kuban campaign. Mikhail Gordeevich emphasized that he never complained to the command about the severity of the situation and did not take into account the superiority of the Red forces, however, “in the Armavir operation things were completely different...”. Drozdovsky draws Denikin's attention to the biased attitude of the headquarters, headed by Romanovsky, towards his division, and the unsatisfactory work of the medical and logistics services. In fact, Drozdovsky used his report to remind Denikin of his merits and substantiate his claim to independently solve combat missions.

General Denikin subsequently noted that Drozdovsky’s report was written in such a defiant tone that he demanded “new repression” against its author. “Repression” would only lead to the departure of Drozdovsky and his division from the Volunteer Army. As a result, Denikin actually concedes to Drozdovsky, leaving the report without consequences. According to Denikin, it was I.P. Romanovsky did everything in his power to “smooth out” the conflict between the ambitious colonel and the Commander-in-Chief. It was he who advised Denikin to “forgive” Drozdovsky for his scandalous report. The departure of an entire division at such a difficult moment for the Dobrarmia was completely unacceptable, and the public scandal that Drozdovsky sought could only lead to a decline in the authority of the commander and a split in the entire White movement in southern Russia.

Injury and death

In October 1918, Drozdovsky personally led a counterattack of the 3rd Infantry Division during heavy fighting near Stavropol. On October 31 (November 13) he was slightly wounded in the foot and sent to the hospital. In November 1918, Colonel Drozdovsky was promoted to major general. During treatment in Yekaterinodar, his wound festered and gangrene began. On December 26, 1918 (January 8, 1919), in a semi-conscious state, Drozdovsky was transferred to a clinic in the city of Rostov-on-Don, where he died.

After the death of Major General Drozdovsky A.I. Denikin issued an order informing the army about the death of Mikhail Gordeevich, ending with the following words:

“... High selflessness, devotion to the idea, complete contempt for danger in relation to himself were combined in him with heartfelt concern for his subordinates, whose lives he always put above his own. Peace to your ashes, knight without fear or reproach."

Initially, Drozdovsky was buried in Yekaterinodar in the Kuban Military Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. After the Red troops attacked Kuban in 1920, the Drozdovites, knowing how the Reds treated the graves of white leaders, broke into the already abandoned city and took out the remains of General Drozdovsky and Colonel Tutsevich. The remains were transported to Sevastopol, where they were secretly reburied on the Malakhov Kurgan. For the purpose of secrecy, wooden crosses with the inscriptions “Colonel M.I. Gordeev” and “Captain Tutsevich” were placed on the graves. Only five Drozdov hikers knew the burial place. Drozdovsky's symbolic grave exists in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetery near Paris, where a memorial sign has been erected.

After the death of General Drozdovsky, the 2nd Officer Regiment (one of the “colored regiments” of the Volunteer Army) was named after him, which was later deployed into the four-regiment Drozdovsky (General Drozdovsky Rifle) division, the Drozdovsky artillery brigade, the Drozdovsky engineering company and (operating separately from the division) 2nd Officer's Cavalry Regiment of General Drozdovsky.

Versions about the death of Drozdovsky

There are two versions of the general’s death as a result of a seemingly minor wound.

According to the first of them, Drozdovsky was deliberately brought to death. It is known that Mikhail Gordeevich, almost from the moment he joined the army in May 1918, had a conflict with the chief of staff of the army, General I.P. Romanovsky. The conflict, apparently, was based on personal hostility and ambition of both officers, which was superimposed on a number of external factors. An important factor was also Romanovsky’s fears regarding the spread of Drozdovsky’s influence over the entire army with all the ensuing consequences. The confrontation was fueled and inflamed by the entourage of both Drozdovsky and Romanovsky and soon developed into a personal conflict, when their reconciliation became extremely unlikely.

The version is that Romanovsky allegedly ordered the attending physician to treat the military leader incorrectly. The perpetrator of the crime was named Professor Plotkin, a Jew who treated Mikhail Gordeevich in Yekaterinodar. After Drozovsky’s death, no one asked Plotkin about the cause of infection or asked about his medical history. Soon after Drozdovsky's death, the doctor received a large sum of money and disappeared abroad, from where, according to some information, he returned to Russia under the Bolsheviks. This version is not confirmed by any of the published documents and can only be associated with the general hostility of many Volunteer Army officers towards General Romanovsky. I.P. Romanovsky, being the chief of staff and personal friend of A.I. Denikin, acted exclusively in the interests of the Commander-in-Chief. Perhaps the chief of staff was afraid of Drozdovsky’s growing influence in the army, feared that he would “eclipse” Denikin with his merits and authority, but the physical elimination of the talented military leader in the winter of 1918-1919 was neither in the interests of Denikin nor in the interests of the AFSR. Subsequently, Romanovsky was accused of his hypothetical connections with world Zionism, and the replacement of Drozdovsky by the alcoholic May-Maevsky, and the “malicious” influence on the actions of the Commander-in-Chief himself in the summer-autumn of 1919. It is possible that the popular version of the involvement of a general close to Denikin in the death of Drozdovsky became one of the reasons for his murder in Constantinople on April 5 (18), 1920.

And yet, the honors that were given by the command of the Volunteer Army to Mikhail Gordeevich shortly before his death suggest that its headquarters could have known in advance about Drozdovsky’s incurability. On the day of his angel, November 8 (21), Drozdovsky was promoted to major general; On November 25 (December 8), a special order was issued to install a commemorative medal for the Iasi-Don Campaign, perpetuating the memory of the transition. It was the serious condition of Mikhail Gordeevich that prompted the hiking officers to take this action.

The second version of Drozdovsky’s death looks more prosaic and closer to reality. In the winter of 1918-1919 in Ekaterinodar there were almost no antiseptics, not even iodine. The management of medical treatment in the hospitals of the white armies also left much to be desired.

Eyewitnesses of the events give conflicting opinions about what happened, so it is impossible to make an unambiguous conclusion about whether the death of Mikhail Gordeevich was the result of a conspiracy or an accident in the conditions of unsanitary conditions that reigned in the White South.

The army commander, General Denikin, who visited Drozdovsky in the hospital shortly before his death, sincerely grieved over his death: “I saw how he languished in his forced peace, how he devoted himself entirely to the interests of the army and his division and was eager for it... The struggle lasted for two months between life and death... Fate did not promise him to lead his regiments into battle again..."

And a prominent Drozdovite, General A.V. Turkul, later wrote: “Various rumors circulated about the death of General Drozdovsky. His wound was light and not dangerous. At first there were no signs of infection. The infection was discovered after a doctor in Yekaterinodar began treating Drozdovsky, who then went into hiding. But it is also true that at that time in Ekaterinodar, they say, there were almost no antiseptics, not even iodine...”

March of the Drozdovsky Regiment

From Romania by hike
The glorious Drozdovsky regiment was marching,
For the salvation of the people,
Fulfilling a difficult duty.

He has many sleepless nights
And endured hardships,
But hardened heroes
The long path was not scary!

General Drozdovsky boldly
He walked forward with his regiment.
Like a hero, he firmly believed
That he will save the Motherland!

He saw that Rus' was Holy
Dies under the yoke
And, like a wax candle,
It fades away every day.

He believed: the time will come
And the people will come to their senses - They will throw off the barbaric burden
And he will follow us into battle.

The Drozdovites walked with a firm step,
The enemy fled under pressure.
And with the tricolor Russian Flag
The regiment has gained glory for itself!

Let us return gray
From bloody labor
Russia will rise above you,
The sun is new then!

In 1929, the song “Across the Valleys and Along the Hills” was written to the music of the “March of the Drozdovsky Regiment,” although there is reason to believe that there was no plagiarism in this case and both songs were written based on the melody of the ancient song of Far Eastern hunters “Across the Valleys, Along Zagorye."

The person discussed in this article has gone through a very difficult path. He was destined to survive one of the most difficult and fatal periods for Russia. But, despite all the difficulties, he persevered, retained his views and honor. During the difficult times of the Civil War, this man managed not only to preserve the regiment entrusted to him, but also to maintain its combat effectiveness, discipline and lead soldiers from the front of the First World War to the front of the Civil War. His name is General Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky, a general devoted to duty and oath, a true knight of the Tsarist Army and the entire White Movement.

Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky was born on October 19, 1881 in Kyiv into a family of hereditary nobles. Mikhail Gordeevich’s father, Gordey Ivanovich Drozdovsky, was a participant in the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, and in the 1890s he was the commander of the 168th Ostrog Infantry Reserve Regiment.

Mother - Nadezhda Nikolaevna. Little Mikhail lost his mother very early, and at the age of 12, his sister Yulia took upon herself all the responsibilities of raising him. She was his “second mother”; during the Russo-Japanese War she went to the front as a nurse, and during the Civil War, after the occupation of Chernigov by the Whites in October 1919, she was evacuated to the south; died in exile in Greece. According to his older sister, as a child Mikhail was distinguished by his independence, extraordinary curiosity, and impressionability.

In 1892, Mikhail Drozdovsky entered the Polotsk Cadet Corps, later transferred to the Vladimir Kiev Cadet Corps, which he graduated from in 1899. Teachers already in these years noted Mikhail’s courage and honesty. “He directly, without hesitation, confessed to his offenses, was never afraid of punishment and did not hide behind the backs of others. Therefore, despite his temper, ardor and sometimes harsh frankness, he enjoyed the respect and trust of his classmates. The love for military affairs disciplined the boy, who also excelled in his studies.” General Drozdovsky will undergo further training at the Pavlovsk Military School with the rank of cadet, and subsequently also graduate from the Nikolaev General Staff Academy in 1908. In 1901, Mikhail Gordeevich began his military service in the Volyn Regiment with the rank of second lieutenant (from 1904 - lieutenant). During the Russo-Japanese War he served in the 34th East Siberian Regiment as part of the 1st Siberian Corps of the 2nd Manchurian Army. He distinguished himself in battles with the Japanese from January 12 to 16, 1905 near the villages of Heigoutai and Bezymyannaya (Semapu), for which, by order of the troops of the 2nd Manchurian Army No. 87 and No. 91, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree with the inscription “For bravery.” . In a battle near the village of Semapu he was wounded in the thigh, but from March 18 he commanded a company. On October 30, 1905, for his participation in the war, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree with swords and bow, and later received the right to wear the medal “In memory of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.”

In 1908, Drozdovsky graduated from the Academy of the General Staff and was promoted to the rank of staff captain. Mikhail Gordeevich successfully completed his military service; already in 1910 he was a captain, and in December 1911 he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. Later, Mikhail Gordeevich will also receive the right to wear a light bronze medal “In memory of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov.” Mikhail Gordeevich is one of the first Russian officers to take part in testing domestic aviation equipment. Made 12 flights each lasting at least 30 minutes; In total, he was in the air for 12 hours and 32 minutes. In addition, Drozdovsky participated in naval exercises, went to sea in a submarine and went underwater in a diving suit.

Mikhail Gordeevich met the First World War in the position of assistant to the head of the general department of the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the North-Western Front. He put into practice the experience gained during his stay at the flight school, while flying on an airplane and in a hot air balloon. In March 1915, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in May of the same year he was appointed acting chief of staff of the 64th Infantry Division. The spring and summer of 1915 for the division were spent in battles and transitions. Drozdovsky more than once showed courage and bravery while under enemy fire on the front line. On July 1, 1915, for distinction in cases against the enemy, he was awarded the Order of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and bow. From October 22 to November 10, 1915 - acting chief of staff of the 26th Army Corps. Since the summer of 1916 - Colonel of the General Staff. He spent 1916 on the Southwestern Front. I was especially remembered by my colleagues during the attack on Mount Kapul. In this battle, Mikhail Gordeevich again showed heroism, courage and perseverance, and the desire to fight to the end. When the attack of the Russian army fizzled out, the colonel moved his reserves forward and, being in front of the column, managed to bring the matter to victory, despite being wounded in his right hand. After this battle, Drozdovsky was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. In January 1917, he headed the headquarters of the 15th Infantry Division on the Romanian Front. His adjutant E. Messner described the colonel this way: demanding of himself, he was demanding of his subordinates, and of me, his closest assistant, in particular. Strict, uncommunicative, he did not inspire love for himself, but he did evoke respect: his entire stately figure, his thoroughbred, handsome face exuded nobility, directness and extraordinary willpower.

Despite the beginning of the disintegration of the army under the influence of revolutionary ideas, Colonel Drozdovsky managed to maintain the overall combat effectiveness and discipline of the units entrusted to him. The events of February 1917 deeply shocked the staunch monarchist Colonel Drozdovsky. Having applied the most drastic measures, including the execution of deserters and fugitives, Drozdovsky managed to partially restore discipline - here such traits of his character as determination and toughness, confidence in the correctness of the decisions made were fully revealed.

At the end of November - beginning of December 1917, against his will, he was appointed head of the 14th Infantry Division, but soon resigned his command, taking up the formation of volunteer anti-Soviet formations. After the Bolshevik coup, Mikhail Alekseev arrived on the Don and a connection was established between him and the Romanian Front. As a result, the idea arose on the Romanian front to create a Corps of Russian Volunteers for its subsequent dispatch to the Don. The organization of such a detachment and its further connection with the Volunteer Army became from that moment Drozdovsky’s main goal.

In March 1918, the Drozdovsky Volunteer Corps, consisting of a thousand people, most of whom were young officers, left the Romanian town of Iasi. The colonel’s 1,200-mile march from the Romanian Front to the theater of the Civil War in Novocherkassk is one of the brightest pages of the White Movement. This campaign is a vivid example of the determination of the Drozdov commander, sincere patriotism and devotion to his Fatherland, engulfed by Bolshevism. Drozdovsky maintained strict discipline in the detachment, suppressed requisitions and violence, and destroyed detachments of Bolsheviks and deserters encountered along the way. On May 4, the “Drozdovites” liberated Rostov, and by the evening of May 7, they occupied Novocherkassk. Thus ended the famous Yassy-Don campaign. The volunteer army received the necessary replenishment and another talented commander.

June 8, 1918 - after a vacation in Novocherkassk - a brigade of Russian volunteers consisting of already three thousand soldiers set out to join the Volunteer Army and arrived on June 9 in the village of Mechetinskaya, where they united with the main units of the Volunteer Army. The brigade (later the division) included all the units that came from the Romanian Front.
In the summer of 1918, the Second Kuban Campaign began. The headquarters set the same goal as in the First Kuban Campaign (Ice Campaign) - the capture of Yekaterinodar, strengthening the positions of the White Army in the Kuban. Drozdovsky's division also played a decisive role in the military campaign. With their overall success, the volunteers liberated Kuban, the North Caucasus, took Yekaterinodar in August, and Armavir in September. But it is worth saying that during the Armavir operation, Drozdovsky had a conflict with General Denikin. Drozdovsky's division was entrusted with a task that could not be accomplished by its forces alone and, in the opinion of its commander, the likelihood of failure of the entire operation due to the literal execution of the orders of the Volunteer Army headquarters, which overestimated the division's strength, was very high. On September 30, 1918, he actually ignored Denikin’s order. The commander sharply, moreover in the form of a public reprimand, expresses his dissatisfaction to Drozdovsky. In response, a few days later, on October 10, Drozdovsky sent his report to Denikin, which, at first glance, gave the impression of a bile-soaked rebuke to an undeserved insult. Mikhail Gordeevich had a tense relationship with the general, chief of staff I.P. Romanovsky.

General Denikin subsequently wrote that Drozdovsky’s report was written in such a tone that it demanded “new repression” against its author, which, in turn, according to the commander, would lead to Drozdovsky’s departure from the Volunteer Army. As a result, Denikin actually concedes to Drozdovsky, leaving the report without consequences: Denikin writes that “morally, his departure was unacceptable, being an injustice against a person with such truly great merits.” The commander-in-chief, in addition to the above, certainly realized that the repressive action against Drozdovsky could, as the division commander hinted at in his report, lead to at least a conflict with the 3rd division, and quite possibly even to its departure from the Volunteer Army .

In November 1918, Drozdovsky was promoted to major general. A talented military leader, commander of the Drozdovskaya division, was wounded in the foot during the battles for Stavropol in November 1918. Mikhail Gordeevich was transported to a hospital in Yekaterinodar, and then to Rostov. But the wound progressed: it festered and gangrene began. The general died on January 8, 1919. The general was buried in Yekaterinodar, later the ashes were transported to Sevastopol, and after the Great Patriotic War, traces of the grave were lost. A symbolic tombstone for the general was built at the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois in Paris.
General Drozdovsky...his name brought fear to the Red Army divisions. His services to the White Idea cannot be underestimated. A sincere patriot of his Fatherland, an officer devoted to the Sovereign-Emperor, he fought against the enemies of his country until his death. In the ranks of the White Army, he can be placed on a par with generals Kornilov, Denikin, Alekseev. Drozdovsky played a key role in the liberation of the South of Russia and left the theater of hostilities with dignity. After his death, General Denikin wrote: “... High selflessness, devotion to the idea, complete contempt for danger towards himself were combined in him with heartfelt concern for his subordinates, whose lives he always put above his own. Peace to your ashes, knight without fear or reproach.”

Yes, Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky can rightfully be called a crusader of the holy crucified Motherland, one of the last knights of the Russian Empire.

Anton Belov
Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky (October 7 (October 19) 1881, Kyiv - January 14, 1919, Rostov-on-Don) - Russian military leader, Major General of the General Staff (1918). Participant in the Russian-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars.
The only commander of the Russian Army who managed to form a volunteer detachment and lead it as an organized group from the front of the First World War to join the Volunteer Army - the organizer and leader of the 1200-mile transition of a volunteer detachment from Yassy to Novocherkassk in March - May (new century) 1918 of the year. Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division in the Volunteer Army.
During childhood. Kyiv. 80s of the XIX century

M.G. Drozdovsky. Warsaw, 1903.

During the First World War

Photos from different years

In June 1918 - after a vacation in Novocherkassk - a detachment (Brigade of Russian Volunteers) consisting of about three thousand soldiers set out to join the Volunteer Army and arrived on June 9 in the village of Mechetinskaya, where, after a solemn parade, which was attended by the leadership of the Volunteer Army - generals Alekseev, Denikin, headquarters and units of the Volunteer Army, by order No. 288 of May 25, 1918 of the Commander-in-Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General A.I. Denikin, the Brigade of Russian Volunteers, Colonel M.G. Drozdovsky, was included in the Volunteer Army. The leaders of the Dobrarmiya could hardly overestimate the significance of the addition of the Drozdovsky brigade - their army almost doubled in size, and it had not seen such a material part as the Drozdovites contributed to the army since its organization at the end of 1917.
In November, Drozdovsky led his division during stubborn battles near Stavropol, where, having led a counterattack of division units, he was wounded in the foot on November 13, 1918 and sent to a hospital in Yekaterinodar. There his wound festered and gangrene began. In November 1918 he was promoted to major general. On January 8, 1919, in a semi-conscious state, he was transferred to a clinic in Rostov-on-Don, where he died.
Portrait

Drozdovtsy, drozdy - the name of the military units of the Volunteer Army (later the Armed Forces of the South of Russia and the Russian Army), which received the personal patronage of one of the founders of the White movement in the South of Russia - Major General M. G. Drozdovsky. Initially, Drozdovites were the name given to the fighters of the First Separate Brigade of Russian Volunteers, which made a 1,200-verst march on February 26 (March 11), 1918 - April 24 (May 7), 1918, under the command of then Colonel M. G. Drozdovsky.
After the death of General Drozdovsky on January 1 (14), 1919, on January 4 (17) the following were named after him:
the 2nd Officer Regiment created by him, renamed the 2nd Officer General Drozdovsky Rifle Regiment (later the 1st Regiment, deployed into a division),

2nd Officer Cavalry Regiment, October 10 (23) renamed into the 2nd General Drozdovsky Regiment,

Drozdov artillery brigade,

Armored train "General Drozdovsky".

On July 29 (August 11), 1919, by order of the 1st Army Corps of the Volunteer Army No. 215, on the basis of the 3rd battalion of the 1st regiment, mobilized and captured, the 4th (later 2nd) Officer Rifle Regiment of General Drozdovsky was formed , and also the Officer Rifle Brigade of General Drozdovsky was created as part of the 3rd Infantry Division.
On August 25 (September 7), 1919, the 2nd and 4th Drozdov regiments were renamed the 1st and 2nd, respectively.
On September 21 (October 4), 1919, the 3rd Officer Rifle Regiment of General Drozdovsky was formed from the soldiers of the 3rd battalion of the 1st regiment.
In June-July 1919, the patronage regiments of V.S.Yu.R. began to form the second and third “registered” regiments based on volunteers and captured Red Army soldiers. In August-September 1919, the Drozdovites were deployed into a division of four regiments.
On October 14 (27), 1919, by order of the Commander-in-Chief V.S.Yu.R., on the basis of the 3rd Infantry Division, the Officer General Drozdovsky Infantry Division was formed, consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd regiments, a reserve battalion, Drozdovskaya engineering company and Drozdovskaya artillery brigade (former 3rd artillery brigade). Later, reserve battalions of the Drozdov regiments were organized.
On April 28 (May 11), 1920, already as part of the Russian Army, the division was renamed the Rifle Division of General Drozdovsky (Drozdovskaya) as part of the 1st Army Corps; and its regiments - in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd General Drozdovsky (Drozdovsky) regiments.
The reserve battalion of the Russian Army, which took part in the Trans-Dnieper operation and consisted 100% of captured Red Army soldiers, was renamed the 4th Drozdovsky Rifle Regiment for its distinction in battle by order of the Commander-in-Chief.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Konstantinovich Vitkovsky (April 21, 1885, Pskov - January 18, 1978, Paolo Alto, San Francisco) - Lieutenant General (1920). Participant of the First World War and the White movement in the South of Russia. St. George Knight, Drozdovets, commander of the Drozdovskaya division. During World War II he served with the Germans in the Russian Corps

Ceremonial uniform of the Life Guards Kexholm Regiment of General Vitkovsky

White emigration in Bulgaria. Sitting from right to left are the generals - Shteifon, Kutepov, Vitkovsky. Standing (behind Kutepov) are the generals - Skoblin, Turkul. Bulgaria, 1921

Commander of the Volunteer Army Mai-Maevsky inspects the horse-mountain battery of the 3rd division of General Vladimir Konstantinovich Vitkovsky at the South Station of Kharkov

01/14/1919. – White General Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky died due to injury

(07.10.1881–14.01.1919) - one of the first military leaders of the White movement.

Born into the family of a major general, a participant. He graduated from the Kiev Vladimir Cadet Corps (1899), the Pavlovsk Military School (1901) and the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1908). Participant: officer in the 34th Siberian Regiment, was wounded. Awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th class, with the inscription “For Bravery,” and the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class, with swords and bow. From November 1911 - assistant to the senior adjutant of the headquarters of the Warsaw Military District, awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree.

Regimental badge of "Drozdovites"

Having traveled from Romania through the whole of Ukraine about 1,500 km, while maintaining friendly neutrality with the Germans and clashes with Petliurists and Bolshevik partisans, Colonel Drozdovsky’s detachment approached Rostov and, after a stubborn battle with the Red units, liberated the city in May 1918. Then it helped the Don Cossacks hold Novocherkassk , from where he set out to unite with the Volunteer Army. He arrived at the village of Mechetinskaya, where on May 26 he was met by the generals (at the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army after the death of Kornilov). Drozdovsky, having replenished his detachment with Don volunteers, brought with him about 3,000 well-armed and equipped soldiers, with three batteries, 2 armored cars, airplanes, and a radiotelegraph; gave the Volunteer Army 1,000 rifles, 200,000 cartridges and 8,000 shells. The White army has almost doubled in size. Drozdovsky's detachment was reorganized into the 3rd Infantry Division and took part in the 2nd Kuban Campaign, liberating Kuban and the North Caucasus from the Bolsheviks.

On October 31, 1918, Mikhail Gordeevich was wounded in the leg in a battle near Stavropol, and in November he was promoted to major general by General Denikin. He died of blood poisoning on January 1, 1919 in Rostov. He was buried in the cathedral of Yekaterinodar, but during the retreat in March 1920, the coffin with Drozdovsky’s ashes was taken by his subordinates from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol. There, a new secret burial was made in the Malakhov Kurgan cemetery, under an assumed name. (A Drozdovite sent to Sevastopol during the German occupation did not even find traces of the cemetery itself.)

Drozdovsky’s campaign from Iasi to the Don region was of great importance for the formation of the White Volunteer Army; a thousand officers showed by their example to everyone that their duty was now to turn their arms against the Bolsheviks as Germany’s proteges on the internal front. Mikhail Gordeevich himself was an extraordinary and brave military leader. One of the colleagues, V.M. Kravchenko gave him the following description:

“Nervous, thin, Colonel Drozdovsky was the type of ascetic warrior: he did not drink, did not smoke and did not pay attention to the blessings of life; always - from Iasi until death - in the same worn jacket, with a frayed St. George's ribbon in the buttonhole; Out of modesty, he did not wear the order itself. Always busy, always on the move. It was difficult to understand when he even found time to eat and sleep. An officer of the General Staff - he was not a man of the office and papers. On a horseback campaign, with an infantry rifle over his shoulders, he was so reminiscent of the medieval monk Peter of Amiens, who led the crusaders to liberate the Holy Sepulcher... Colonel Drozdovsky was a crusader of the crucified Motherland. A man of low rank, but of great energy and daring, he was the first to light the lamp of struggle on the Romanian front and did not let it go out.”

After the death of General Drozdovsky, the 2nd Officer Regiment was named after him, later deployed into the four-regiment Drozdovsky (General Drozdovsky Rifle) division, the Drozdovsky artillery brigade, the Drozdovsky engineering company and (operating separately from the division) the 2nd officer cavalry regiment of General Drozdovsky. In 1919, the “Drozdovites” under the command of Colonel A.V. Turkula distinguished itself by taking Kharkov, and in 1920 with successful raids in the Kuban, Crimea, and Dnieper. , later settled in Bulgaria.

Lyrics of the Drozdovsky Regiment song

From Romania by hike
The glorious Drozdovsky regiment was marching,
For the salvation of the people,
Fulfilling a difficult duty.

He has many sleepless nights
And endured hardships,
But hardened heroes
The long path was not scary!

General Drozdovsky boldly
He walked forward with his regiment.
Like a hero, he firmly believed
That he will save the Motherland!

He saw that Rus' was Holy
Dies under the yoke
And, like a wax candle,
It fades away every day.

He believed: the time will come
And the people will come to their senses -
Will throw off the barbaric burden
And he will follow us into battle.

The Drozdovites walked with a firm step,
The enemy fled under pressure.
Under the tricolor Russian Flag
The regiment has gained glory for itself!

Let us return gray
From bloody labor
Russia will rise above you
The sun is new then!

These days the glory will not be silent,
It will never fade!
Officer outposts
They occupied cities.
Officer outposts
They occupied the cities!

(Subsequently, the melody and lyrics of the song were remade into the Red Army song “Across the valleys and along the hills.”)

Books used:

"Drozdovsky and the Drozdovites." Moscow, "Posev", 2006.
A.V. Turkul. "Drozdovtsy on Fire: Pictures of the Civil War, 1918-20." (3rd ed., Sowing-USA, 1990).
Vl. Kravchenko. "Drozdovites from Iasi to Gallipoli." Munich, 1973.
Colonel Nilov. "Knight of the Spirit" // "Sentry". 1969. No. 512

“...while maintaining friendly neutrality with the Germans...” fought “... against the Bolsheviks as proxies of Germany on the internal front...” Wonderful. Logical. Brave patriot.

Are you sure that the given sign is genuine? Can you find out the dimensions of the sign? Can you see the reverse?

The regimental badge of the Drozdovites was established according to the design of General Turkul, who commanded the division already in exile. In addition to the above, there was also the cross of Captain Epiphany. It was slightly smaller in size.
Description of the sign: “A gilded cross 3 cm long and 2 cm wide, the upper and right ends of which are covered with crimson enamel, and the left and lower ends with white. In the middle of the cross, the initial letter of the name of the regiment chief - General Drozdovsky - “D”. On top is the inscription “Yasi”, and below the date "1917". The inscription and the letter "D" are gilded."

These are the real heroes of the Russian people, who did not spare their lives in the fight against the Jewish evil spirits! And how many remained in oblivion?! May they rest in peace!

I read the material with interest. Drozdovsky’s detachment passed my Kakhovka in 1918, but there are no details anywhere, including in our history. museum. Maybe someone can tell me where I can read the details of the hike from Iasi.
Inaccuracy in the text. Equestrian art also bore Drozdovsky’s name. battery (see S. Mamontov “People and Horses”, memoirs).

Interesting and instructive. I’m sure blood poisoning is the hand of the Cheka, through doctor Plotkin. This is how they always acted! Well, no matter what, we will remember him proudly standing at full height in the chains of the Russian Army. Glory to the heroes!

From the diary of M.G. Drozdovsky: “Only courage and strong will accomplish great things. Only an unyielding decision brings success and victory. Let us continue, in the coming struggle, to boldly set high goals for ourselves and strive to achieve them with iron tenacity, preferring glorious death to shameful refusal to fight.”

Very interesting. I live near the village of Olginskaya. How much we didn’t know. Glory to the heroes!

The book by A.V. Turkul stunned me; to my shame, I knew nothing about the Drozdov division before. This is what it means to be an officer in the Russian army! The topic interested me so much that I was looking for information about these heroes everywhere. Nikita Mikhalkov made a series of programs “Russian Choice "I hope that the topic of the Drozdovsky division was not ignored there.

Sorry, of course, but there is an error in the title. Mikhail Gordeevich passed away in the glorious city of Rostov-on-Don, where he was transported from Ekaterinodar. At the Rostov Medical Institute.

Thank you. Corrected. It’s good that the article itself is correct.

Another valiant son of the Russian Land! Kingdom of Heaven to Mikhail Gordeevich and eternal memory!