Voronezh–Kastornoye operation (1919)

For the World War II operation with the same name, see Voronezh–Kastornoye operation.

Voronezh–Kastornoye operation

Part of Southern Front of the Russian Civil War

Front in Summer 1919

Date

13 October – 16 November 1919

Location

Voronezh Governorate, Russia

Result

Decisive Red victory

Soviet troops advanced up to 250 kilometers

Belligerents

Russian SFSR

Commune of the Working People of Estonia

Armed Forces of South Russia

Commanders and leaders

Units involved

Southern Front

1st Cavalry Corps
8th Army
13th Army

1st Estonian Red Division

Volunteer Army shock group

4th Don Corps
3rd Kuban Corps

Strength

12,000 infantry
8,400 cavalry
94 guns
351 machine guns

5,300 infantry
10,200 cavalry
60 guns
337 machine guns
3 tanks
6 armored trains

v t e Southern Front of the Russian Civil War
1917 1st Kharkiv 1918 Mughan Shamkhor Donbas-Don 1st Kiev Ice March Steppe March Iași–Don March Days 1st Crimea Transcaucasia Kuban Goychay Sochi Tsaritsyn Kurdamir Livny Baku Dibrivka Allied intervention 1919 Voronezh–Povorino Katerynoslav March Northern Caucasus Ukraine 2nd Kiev Khotyn Uprising 1st Donbas Hryhoriv Uprising Binagadi Chapan rebellion Vyoshenskaya Uprising Alexandrovsky Fort Bender Uprising Odesa 2nd Kharkiv Mamontov Raid Southern Front counteroffensive 3rd Kiev Perehonivka Advance on Moscow Nizhyn–Poltava Orel–Kursk Voronezh–Kastornoye Khopyor–Don Pavlohrad–Katerynoslav 3rd Kharkiv 4th Kiev 2nd Donbas 1920 Rostov–Novocherkassk Odesa North Caucasus Novorossiysk Azerbaijan Yalama Sarvan Ganja Ochakov Anzali Lankaran Ulagay's Landing Obytichnyi Spit Armenia Northern Taurida Dagestan uprising Tambov Rebellion Perekop–Chonhar 2nd Crimea Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict 1921 Anapa February Georgia Mountainous Armenia

Southern Front
of the Russian Civil War

1917

1st Kharkiv

1918

1919

1920

1921

The Voronezh-Kastornoye operation was an offensive operation by the Red Army during the Russian Civil War in October and November 1919, which was successfully carried out by parts of the 8th and 13th Army, which formed the left wing of the Southern Front.

Plans

After the failure of the White Advance on Moscow in August 1919, the Red Army had launched a successful counteroffensive. In October 1919, the command of the Southern Front, led by Alexander Yegorov, had designed a plan to

strike at the flank of the Cossack Shock Group of General Denikin,
destroy the main cavalry units of the Don and Volunteer Armies,
capture the city of Voronezh,
achieve favorable conditions for the dismemberment of Denikin's front and the launch of a subsequent offensive to the rear of the White troops in the direction of the cities of Oryol and Kursk.

The main attack was to be inflicted by the 1st Cavalry Corps of Semyon Budyonny in the direction of Voronezh and Kastornoye, in order to crush the White 4th Don Corps and the 3rd Kuban Corps, and create favorable conditions for the 8th Army to reach the Don River.

The course of the operation

On October 13, units of Budyonny's Cavalry Corps entered into battle with Mamontov’s Cavalry Corps near the village of Moskovskoye. The battle raged until October 19, and the village changed hands several times. On October 19, the cavalry corps of Andrei Shkuro and Mamantov struck at the junction of the Red 4th and 6th Cavalry Divisions in the direction of the village of Khrenovoe. Budyonny repulsed the attack and pushed the White troops back to the eastern outskirts of Voronezh.

On October 23, the 1st Cavalry Corps, in cooperation with the 12th and 15th Rifle Divisions of the 8th Army, launched an offensive towards Voronezh and, after fierce battles, seized the city on October 24. On October 26, the 33rd Rifle Division of the 8th Army occupied the city of Liski on the Don, thereby pushing the 3rd Don Corps over the river Don. On October 29, the 42nd Rifle Division of the 13th Army captured Dolgorukovo. On October 31, the corps of Budyonny was reinforced by the reserve 11th Cavalry Division. On November 2, Mamantov's corps counterattacked in the area of Klevna-Shumeyka, but retreated after suffering heavy losses. On November 3, the 42nd Rifle Division occupied Livny and began to advance towards Kastornoye. Kastornoye station was reached on November 5 by the Cavalry Corps of Budyonny and troops of the 8th and 13th armies.

In a new counterattack, troops of the White Army retook Liski, Talovaya, Novokhopyorsk and Bobrov. This created a threat that the Whites would reoccupy Voronezh. From 5 to 15 November, the 42nd Rifle and 11th Cavalry Divisions from the North, the 12th Rifle and 6th Cavalry Divisions from the South and the 4th Cavalry Division from the East, under cover of a serious snowstorm, launched a new attack and seized Kastornoye. By the end of November 16, the area was clear of Whites troops. On November 19, the Cavalry Corps of Budyonny was expanded into the 1st Cavalry Army.

Consequences

In the course of the operation, Soviet troops advanced up to 250 kilometers, defeated the main forces of the White cavalry and, threatening the flank and rear of the Volunteer Army, contributed to their defeat in the Orel–Kursk operation.

The Voronezh–Kastornoye operation is the first battle during the Russian Civil War with massive use of large cavalry formations.

References

^ Thomas & Boltowsky (2019), p. 8.

Works cited

Thomas, Nigel; Boltowsky, Toomas (2019). Armies of the Baltic Independence Wars 1918–20. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781472830777.
Voronezh-Kastornoy operation 1919 - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Literature

Nikolai Nikolaevich Azovtsev. Encyclopedia "Civil War and Intervention in the USSR" / S.S. Khromov .. - 1983. - P. 114–115. - 702 s.

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