The White general who led the Volunteer Army closest to Moscow, only to collapse from overstretched lines and alcoholism
In the summer of 1919, a British mission arrived at Volunteer Army headquarters bearing a decoration for 'General Kharkov.' Kharkov was a city, not a person, and the Order of St Michael and St George went to its commander, May-Mayevsky.
A career Imperial Russian Army officer who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I and rose to lieutenant general. Joining the Volunteer Army as a private in 1918, he rose to division command and, in May 1919, became commander of the Volunteer Army. Leading the Moscow offensive, he captured Kharkov, Kursk, and Oryol and advanced closer to the Bolshevik capital than any White commander. But his overstretched front, failure to coordinate with the Don Army, and the Makhno uprising in his rear collapsed the offensive; worsening alcoholism led Denikin to replace him with Wrangel in November 1919. He died in Sevastopol during the Crimean evacuation in November 1920, apparently by suicide.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1885–96Graduated 1st Cadet Corps and Nikolaevsk Engineering School; completed General Staff Academy
- 1904–05Served in Russo-Japanese War; promoted to colonel
- 1914–17Commanded 1st Guards Corps in WWI; promoted to lieutenant general
- 1918Joined Volunteer Army as private; appointed commander of 3rd Rifle Division after Drozdovsky's death
- 1919.5Appointed commander of Volunteer Army; also Chief Commander of Kharkov region after its capture
- 1919.6–10Led Moscow offensive; captured Kursk and Oryol
- 1919.11Dismissed after offensive collapsed; Wrangel succeeded him
- 1920Commanded rearguard in Crimea; died during Sevastopol evacuation
Related historical events
- 1914–1918First World WarCommander of the 1st Guards CorpsHe commanded the 1st Guards Corps in World War I.
- 1917–1921Ukraine’s revolution and warsWhite commander in UkraineAfter capturing Kharkov, his forces advanced toward Kiev.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionWhite Army commander of the Moscow offensiveAs commander of Denikin's Volunteer Army, he took Kursk and Oryol, coming closest to Moscow of any White force, but the offensive collapsed due to overextended lines and failure to coordinate with the Don Army.
The Volunteer Army in the Moscow offensive and retreat
On 23 May 1919, after driving the Red Army from Kharkov, May-Mayevsky was appointed commander of the Volunteer Army. Denikin’s 3 July directive for the march on Moscow assigned him to take Kursk, Oryol, and Tula, while securing the Ukrainian flank and entering Kiev. He had achieved results on the Donbas front by using railways to move troops rapidly; after Kharkov fell, his forces advanced toward Kiev, Oryol, and Voronezh. Kutepov’s forces captured Kursk on 20 September, and the Whites entered Oryol on 14 October. They reached a point about 360 kilometers from the capital, but administration in the occupied territories and army recruitment worked poorly, while the front grew dangerously long. In eastern Ukraine, Makhno’s Revolutionary Insurgent Army threatened the rear, forcing the Whites to divert troops, while the Red Army concentrated reinforcements on the Southern Front. The Red counteroffensive drove May-Mayevsky from Oryol on 20 October. He retreated in good order toward Kursk, but amid criticism over the failed offensive and his drinking, Denikin dismissed him on 27 November and replaced him with Wrangel.