Nikolai Iudovich Ivanov (, tr. ; 1851 – 27 January 1919) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

artillery general in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. In July 1914, Ivanov was given command of four armies in the Southwestern Front against the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

army, winning a major

battle of Galicia The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Great Battle of Galicia, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely def ...

. During the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

of March 1917,

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

ordered Ivanov to suppress the revolutionaries but as promised reinforcements failed to come to his aid, he canceled the aborted mission. In 1917, he retired but a year later took command of the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. In 1919, Ivanov died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia ( rus, Юг России, p=juk rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a Colloquialism, colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia. The term is generally used to refer to the region of Russia's So ...

Family

Ivanov's family origin was debatable, some sources say that Ivanov came from a noble family originated from the Kaluga Governorate, but other sources told that he was the son of a

cantonist Cantonists (; more properly: , "military cantonists") were underage sons of conscripts in the Russian Empire. From 1721 on they were educated in special "cantonist schools" () for future military service (the schools were called garrison school ...

. Despite all of these sources about his family, the true identity of where his family originated from is still a mystery.

Early life

Ivanov was born on 22 July 1851 (based on the old calendar at use in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

at that time), in Mosalsk in the Kaluga Governorate. He attended the 2nd Cadet Corps and the Pavlovsky Cadet Corps in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

at an early age, and graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School in 1869, and served in the 3rd Grenadier Guards and artillery brigades. He first saw action during the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

, and was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in mid August 1877. After which he subsequently remained in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to serve as an instructor to the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

. In late July 1884, he was commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Imperial Guards Artillery, and in early April 1890, was appointed commandant of the fortress artillery of

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

. In mid-December 1899, he was selected to be an aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Michael. He also participated in the suppression of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

in China during the beginning of the century, after which he was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in early December 1901.

Russo-Japanese War

General Ivanov participated in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

in 1904, he was appointed to the 1st Manchurian Army. In mid-July 1904, he was appointed commander of the Eastern Detachment, after its commander, Lieutenant General Fyodor Keller was killed at the Battle of Motien Pass, and was later appointed to the 3rd Siberian Army Corps, and commanded the corps during retreating from

Liaoyang Liaoyang ( zh, s=辽阳 , t=遼陽 , p=Liáoyáng) is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is hom ...

after the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

ended. Later during the

Battle of Shaho The Battle of Shaho ( (''Saka no kaisen''), ) was the second large-scale land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Shaho River along the Mukden– Port Arthur spur of the China Far East Railway north of Liaoyang ...

, he was ordered to bypass the left flank of the Japanese Army and repulse them back to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. After that, the Japanese retreated due to heavy resistance by the Russians. After that at

Mukden Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a p ...

, he distinguished himself during defending against the Japanese. After that brief success of his, he was awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

both the 3rd and the 4th class for military distinction. After the war, he became the commander of the Manchurian Army. In early November 1907, he became the commander of the 1st Army Corps. After that, he was appointed the chief of staff of the city of

in mid-April of that year, and governor-general in November. Later that same year, he was appointed adjutant general. In mid April 1908, he was promoted to General of the Artillery; he was also appointed commander-in-chief of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

later in early December.

World War I

General Ivanov with General Marquis de Laguiche

At the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Ivanov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front. At first, he together with the aged general Saltza suffered a minor defeat at Kraśnik, and Plehve with

Evert Evert is a Dutch and Swedish short form of the Germanic masculine name "Everhard" (alternative Eberhard).Evert
at the

lost the

battle of Komarów The Battle of Komarów, or the Battle of Zamość Ring, was one of the most important engagements of the Polish-Soviet War. It took place between 20 August and 2 September 1920, near the village of Komarowo (now Komarów-Osada, Komarów) near Za ...

; but success came next when his Russians made good progress into

Austrian Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The crown land was established ...

by winning the battles of Gnila Lipa and Rawa with the Russian casualties of about 200,000, the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

having roughly twice the casualties, including thousands of

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. For the huge successes at the front, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class with swords, and the Order of St, George of the 2nd degree, being three of the only generals that were awarded this high decoration, the other two generals being General Nikolai Ruzsky and

Nikolai Yudenich Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich ( Russian: Николай Николаевич Юденич; – 5 October 1933) was a commander of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in northweste ...

. During the battle at the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

, he with his Southwestern Front armies ( 4th Army and the 9th Army), together with the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

commander-in-chief General Ruzsky with his armies ( 2nd Army and the 5th Army) from the North. In the matter of a month, General Ivanov and General Ruzsky's troops successfully repulsed the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

advance, taking about a hundred kilometres of land. Later on, General Ivanov commanded an operation towards

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, it was successful at first, but was later ordered to retreat, ending the initial success. In early 1915, General Ivanov gained approval of the

Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...

to launch an offensive towards

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, but the offensive was disturbed by the Germans in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Furthermore, the Austro-German forces launched an offensive in southern Poland. During the battle, the Russians suffered casualties up to 350 thousand men, and the Russians were pushed out of Galicia, starting the Russian

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

. General Ivanov repeatedly showed examples of poor leadership of the troops and indecisiveness, much like many other Russian generals at that time. Most particularly, he and the General

Radko Dimitriev Radko Ruskov Dimitriev (; ; 24 September 1859 – 18 October 1918) was a Bulgarian general who served as the head of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army from 1 January 1904 to 28 March 1907, as well as a general in the Russian Army durin ...

(commander of the 3rd Army) didn't make any effort to strengthen the 3rd Army, which the Austro-German forces inflicted the main blow at and nearly wiping the army. Later in June, General Ivanov ordered General Nikolai Khodorovich, commander-in-chief of the Kiev Military District, to take 1 in a 1000 local German civilians as hostages, and imprison them for the rest of the war. General Ivanov also prescribed to requisition that all the German hostages could only have a small portion of food of all the supplies they had got, and the hostages were settled in a highly secured residence. And if any hostages didn't follow the orders, they would be met with

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. Later at the end of 1915, he conducted a failed operation by the 11th Army against the enemy's forces. And in March 1916, he was replaced by General

Aleksei Brusilov Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov (, ; rus, Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ brʊˈsʲiɫəf; – 17 March 1926) was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the developmen ...

as the commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front, he was then appointed a member of the State Council, and was made adjutant to tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

himself. General Brusilov recalled that, when he arrived and accepted the post, General Ivanov burst into tears and said that he couldn't understand why he was to be replaced. General Brusilov assumed that it was due to the fact that General Ivanov was too passive, who believed that the front couldn't succeed. LPDF 72 Nicolas Ivanoff

General Ivanov, with his loyalty towards the tsar and surprisingly the tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna and the mystic

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final ye ...

as well, he enjoyed great confidence and reputation from the royal family. After General Mikhail Alekseyev was appointed chief of staff to the supreme commander-in-chief in mid 1915, which was the tsar himself, the tsarina wrote a letter to her husband, advising him not to let Alekseyev be the only person in charge of the Stavka and advised him to let Ivanov to assist him, saying that: Further actions showed that it was Ivanov was the mastermind behind Alekseyev, who was not trusted by the tsarina. In return, Ivanov was treated very well by Nicholas. Later on, the tsar wrote to his wife: Since September 1915, the tsarina had sent many letters to her husband, exerting pressure on him in order to summon General Ivanov back from the front to be at the post of

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. The tsar later accepted it in March and summoned the general to the headquarters to be the tsar's secondment person. By the end of 1916, the tsarina launched a series of letters against General Alekseyev, Ivanov joined her by informing the situations of the Stavka and reported it to Alekseyev.

February Revolution

On 27 February (12 March) 1917, the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

broke out in Russia, and was centered in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, the capital. General Alekseyev proposed to send a detachment by its commander with full power, to restore order in the capital. The tsar then ordered to allocate an infantry and cavalry brigade from the Northern and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Fronts, and appointed Ivanov as the head of the general-adjutants and commander-in-chief of the Petrograd Military District, replacing Lieutenant-General Sergei Khabalov. Later on, the tsar ordered him to take command of the St. George Battalion in

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

to ensure the royal family's safety. There was also a speech of the Stavka about strengthening the Petrograd Garrison by allocating "strong regiments" from the front back to the capital. Later, when the soldiers and police loyal to the Imperial Government surrendered to the revolutionaries,

General Mikhail Belyaev declared Petrograd a stage of siege, and military operation against the revolutionaries in the capital had begun. General Alekseyev ordered Northern Front commander-in-chief General Yuri Danilov to send Ivanov two infantry and two cavalry regiments, reinforced by a machine-gun team: The Western Front informed General Alekseyev about dispatching the 34th Sevsky and 36th Orlovsky Infantry Regiments, the 2nd Hussar Pavlograd and the 2nd Don Cossack Regiments during February 28 and March 2. The Northern Front singled out the 67th and 68th Infantry Regiments, the 15th Ulansky Tatar and the 3rd Ural Cossack regiments. General Ivanov is described by Solzhenitsyn of being reluctant to obey his orders by the Tsar to restore order in Petrograd and he delayed the dispatch of troops assigned to him for this purpose. In any case, “he vanovdid not even reach the city.” Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr (1986, 2008 Eng. trans.). The Red Wheel, March 1917, Node III, Book 2. (p.682). University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana

Russian Civil War

After the October Revolution, he joined the White movement in southern Russia. In October 1918, he agreed to the invitation of

Pyotr Krasnov Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (; – 17 January 1947), also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer and later Nazi collaborator. Krasnov served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and la ...

to take command of the Southern Army. In the autumn of 1918, it numbered more than 20,000 troops, of which there were about 3,000 at the front. Parts of the army operating in the Voronezh and Tsaritsyn areas suffered heavy losses. In February–March 1919, they were reformed and became part of the 6th Infantry Division of the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Ar ...

. Nikolai Ivanov died of typhus on 27 January 1919 in Novocherkassk.

Honors

RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

, 4th class * RUS Order of Saint George 3rd class ribbon 2000

Order of St. George, 3rd class * RUS Order of Saint George 2nd class ribbon 2000

Order of St. George, 2nd class * Order of St Vladimir, 1st class * Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 1st degree * Band to Order St Alexander Nevsky

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

Order of the White Eagle *

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...

References

External links

First World War.com — Who's Who — Nikolai Ivanov

2009-11-01) * * ''Out of My Past: The Memoirs of Count Kokovtsov'' Edited by H.H. Fisher and translated by Laura Matveev; Stanford University Press, 1935. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Nikolay Iudovich 1851 births 1919 deaths People from Mosalsky District People from Mosalsky Uyezd Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian monarchists Russian anti-communists Imperial Russian Army generals White movement generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Deaths from typhus Infectious disease deaths in Russia People of the February Revolution