Vladimir Mikhailovich Besobrasov

Vladimir Mikhailovich Besobrasov

Vladimir Mikhailovich Besobrasov , Russian Владимир Михайлович Безобразов (born January 11, 1857 in Saint Petersburg , † September 19, 1932 in Nice ) was a Russian cavalry general , commander of the Brusil Corps in World War I , and adjutant general of the Tsar's 1916 offensive Commander in Chief of the so-called Special Army .

Life

origin

He was the son of the Petersburg district council and imperial chamberlain Count Mikhail Alexandrowitsch Besobrasow (1815–1879) and his wife Olga Grigoryevna, née Countess Nostitz (1828–1894). Younger brother of State Secretary Alexander Michailowitsch Besobrasow (1853–1931), grandson (paternal side) of Senator Alexander Michailowitsch Besobrasow (1784–1871) and grandson (maternal side) of General Karl von Nostitz-Jänkendorf (1781–1838), great-grandson of General Count Fjodor Grigoryevich Orlov (1741–1796).

Military career

He joined the 8th Vosnesensky Infantry Regiment as an ensign in January 1877 and took part in the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78 . He was on August 30, in 1880 after he joined the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard lieutenant , on 8 August 1884 to staff captain , and on 24 April in 1888 Captain transported. On August 30, 1891 he reached the rank of colonel and on September 8, 1896, after four years of service, he became the leader of a squadron in the 9th Uhlan Regiment, which he himself commanded from May 30, 1900 as the Guard Cavalry Regiment "Maria Feodorovna". On July 22, 1900 he was promoted to major general and was given command of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division of the Guards on April 6, 1904.

General Besobrasov was one of the founders of the Imperial Russian Automobile Club, which was founded on May 15, 1903 on the initiative of Pavel Pavlovich Bekel. At the first meeting of the society, Besobrazov was elected chairman of the club. On November 6, 1906, he was appointed commander of the cavalry officer school. On April 22, 1907 he rose to lieutenant general and from January 5, 1909 he acted as commander of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. On January 29, 1912 he was entrusted with the command of the Guard Corps and on April 14, 1913 he reached the rank of General of the Cavalry.

In the first World War

At the beginning of the First World War he commanded the guards as part of the 4th Army under General Ewert in the battle of Galicia . At the end of August 1914, the corps covered the advance of the Russian 4th Army from the Lublin area to the south from the western bank of the Vistula . On September 6th his troops were able to stop the advance of the Austro-Hungarian X. Corps at Targawki and throw them back, for this achievement he was awarded the Military Order of St. George. During the battle between Cracow and Czestochowa (November 1914) his troops were able to prevent the enemy breakthrough at the seam between the Russian 4th and 9th armies . Until the end of 1914, Besobrasov's corps (1st and 2nd Guard Divisions and Guard Rifle Brigade) served as the reserve of the central front in the Warsaw area . On December 15, 1914, he was appointed adjutant general to the Tsar.

In the spring of 1915 the Guard Corps was assigned to the 12th Army and from June 1915 to the 3rd Army under General Leonid Lesch . During the Battle of Krasnostaw (July 16-18, 1915) his troops faced the Prussian Guard Corps . He opposed the Great Withdrawal of the Army and was made available to the Commander-in-Chief on August 25, 1915. On November 26, 1915, after the formation of the II. Guard Corps, which was merged with the Guard Cavalry Corps, he was appointed commander of this reserve unit, which was initially on the northwest front in the Wolochisk? was concentrated.

On June 2, 1916, he became the commander of all Guard troops. On June 26th, the Stawka decided to support the main strike on the Southwest Front under General Alexei Brusilov by deploying the Special Army , whose command was given to General Besobrasov. During the Brusilov offensive in August 1916, General Besobrasov was also subordinated to the 3rd Army and the right wing of the 8th Army (1st and XXXV Army Corps and 5th Cavalry Corps) as an independent army group. The special army set up for the breakthrough on Kovel was formed from the I. Guard Corps (General of the Cavalry Grand Duke Paul ) and the II. Guard Corps (General of the Cavalry Rauch ) and Guard Cavalry Corps (General of the Cavalry Hussein Khan Nachitschwanski). Although the Besobrasow Army Group was able to bring about 20,500 prisoners, it was unable to break through the opposing Army Group Linsingen on August 3.

After difficult regrouping, Besobrasov launched a second attack on August 8, 1916: the additionally subordinate XXX. Army Corps was stopped and the 1st Army Corps was repulsed with the loss of about 4,000 soldiers. The I. Guard Corps had suffered great losses in the attack from the Kuckhara Forest and also had to withdraw. On August 9, the Russian II Guard Corps tried in vain to break out of the western Stochod bridgehead near Witoniez, and on August 11 the offensive had to be finally stopped. The special army was transferred to the western front, General of the cavalry Besobrasov was recalled from his command on August 14th, but remained at the Tsar's headquarters. On February 28, 1917, in Saint Petersburg, he demanded decisive action against the rebels in vain. After the October Revolution of 1917 he fled to Copenhagen and then went with his wife into French exile in Nice .

family

Vladimir Michailowitsch was married to the lady-in-waiting and Countess Nadeschda Stenbock-Fermor (July 1, 1871– June 13, 1944), a daughter of Count Vladimir Alexandrowitsch Stenbock-Fermor (1849–1897) and Comtessa Eudokia Ivanovna Apraxin (1850–1875) . The children Wladimir, Eudokia, Michail, Olga, Georgi, Elisabeta, Maria and Irene come from the marriage.

Web links

• Biography (russian)