Wrangel's Fleet

Wrangel's Fleet was the last remnant of the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy and existed from 1920 until 1924. This squadron was a "White" (anti-communist and anti-revolutionary) unit during the Russian Civil War. It was known also as the Russian Squadron (Русская Эскадра).

History

In 1919, according to Peter Kenez, "Denikin acquired his naval fleet also with the aid of his foreign friends: he claimed the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which at the end of the war came into the possession of the British and French. Two minesweepers which the French gave in January 1919 became the beginning of the White navy."

In 1920 the last remnants of the former Denikin's forces were confined to the Crimean Peninsula and commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel. In November 1920 the Bolsheviks captured the White position and the White forces evacuated to Turkey. The fleet was re-organised under the command of Rear Admiral Mikhail Alexandrovich Kedrov and was granted asylum by the French. The fleet moved to Bizerte in Tunisia by February 1921 and was interned there under the command of Rear Admiral Mikhail Berens. As well as the crews of the ships, the Russian community included 4,500 civilian refugees.

The French government recognized the Soviet Union in 1924 and gave ownership of the ships to the Soviets. A technical commission directed by Alexei Krylov arrived in Bizerte in December and found the warships unrepairable. The ships were sold as scrap metal by the Soviet government in Bizerte. Many of the sailors of the fleet settled in France as White Emigres.

Composition of the Russian Squadron

* Battleships
** ''General Alekseyev''
** ''Georgii Pobedonosets''
* Cruisers
** ''General Kornilov''
** ''Almaz''
* Destroyers
** ''Kapitan Saken''
** ''Bespokoiny''
** ''Derzky''
** ''Gnevny''
** ''Pylkiy''
** ''Pospeshny''
** ''Schastlivy'' (grounded 24 October 1919 while being towed to internment)
** ''Tserigo''
** ''Zharkiy''
** ''Zhivoi'' (sank on November 16, 1920)
** ''Zvonkiy''
** ''Zorkiy''
* Submarines
** ''Tyulen''
** ''Burevestnik''
** ''AG 22''
** ''Utka''
* Gunboats
** ''Vsadnik''
** ''Dzhigit''
** ''Gaidamak''
** ''Strazh''
** ''Grozny''

References

* Колупаев В. Е. Русский флот в Африке // Военно-исторический архив. — М., 2002, N 8 (32). — с. 26.
* Панова М. Русский Тунис //Русская мысль. — Париж, 1998, N 4247 (02.12).- с. 14
* Бизертинский «Морской сборник». 1921—1923 : указ. ст. : биографии авт. / Рос. фонд культуры; сост. В. В. Лобыцын. — М. : Пашков дом, 2000. — 39 с : ил., портр.
* Горячкин Г. В. Русская эмиграция в Египте и Тунисе (1920—1939) / Г. В. Горячкин, Т. Г. *
* Узники Бизерты : док. повести о жизни рус. моряков в Африке в 1920-25 гг. / сост. и предисл. Сергей Власов; ред. Наталья Алексеева. — М. : Рос. отд-ние Ордена св. Константина Великого, 1998. — 272 с, л. цв. ил. : ил. — Из содерж: О крымской эвакуации : Фрагмент воспоминаний / Ген. П. Н. Врангель. «Поход в Бизерту» : Фрагмент воспоминаний / П. А. Варнек. «Что было потом, после Бизерты» : Фрагмент воспоминаний / Н. Аленникова. Бизерский крест : очерк / Н. Андреев. Осколок Империи : очерк / Н. Черкашин.
* Ширинская А. А. Бизерта. Последняя стоянка / А. А. Ширинская. — СПб. : Отечество, 2003. — 343 с, л. цв. ил. : ил., портр.
* Языков Г. Л. Эвакуация Черноморского флота из Крыма в Бизерту в 1920 году // Новый часовой. — 1996. — N 4. — С. 160—166

Голгофа русской эскадры

External links

{{Commons category, Wrangel's fleet

France–Soviet Union relations
Imperial Russian Navy
Russian fleets
White movement