Sergei Mikhailovich Sheydeman (russian: Сергей Михайлович Шейдеман; german: Sergei Michailowitsch Scheidemann; August 18, 1857 – 1922) was an army commander of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, he sided with the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

Military service

Sheydeman graduated from the Petrovsky Poltava military gymnasium and entered military service on 9 August 1874. In 1877 he graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

and assigned to the 19th

Horse Artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to ...

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. He later transferred to the 3rd Guards

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

. He participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, and received a promotion to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 18 December 1878. In 1883, Sheydeman graduated from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in the second category. He was assigned to the staff 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 ...

. On 6 December 1883, he was promoted to headquarters

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and on 9 December 1883 he was appointed senior

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the headquarters of the

11th Cavalry Division 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

. On 29 March 1885, he was promoted to captain. On 1 December 1888, Sheydeman took command of a squadron of the 34th Dragoon ''Starodubovsky''

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

. On 16 December 1889, he returned to the 11th Cavalry Division as a senior adjutant of its headquarters. On 1 April 1890, he was appointed lieutenant colonel by the officer in charge for special assignments at the headquarters of the 2nd Army Corps. On 26 August 1892, Sheydeman became senior adjutant to the headquarters of the Vilnius Military District. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

on 17 April 1894. From 6 May to 6 November 1895 he was seconded to the 4th Life-Dragoon Pskov Regiment to familiarize himself with the general requirements of management and leadership. On 2 December 1896, Sheydeman was appointed chief of staff of the 4th Cavalry Division. On 22 March 1901, he became commander of the 1st Life-Dragoon Moscow Regiment. On 21 March 1902 he became an assistant chief of staff of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military ...

. He was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 14 December 1902. He was appointed District Quartermaster General of the Headquarters of the Moscow Military District on 20 May 1905. During the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

, when an uprising broke out in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in December 1905, he issued an order on 18 December 1905 that said in part: “If armed resistance is provided, then exterminate everyone without arresting anyone.”М. Н. Гернет. История царской тюрьмы. (Карательные экспедиции в 1905 году) (in Russian).
/ref> Sheydeman took charge of the headquarters of the Amur Military District on 27 November 1906. He was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

on 6 December 1907. On 31 August 1908 took command of the 3rd Cavalry Division. On 15 May 1912, he became commander of the 2nd Army Corps (which consisted of the 26th and 43rd

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

Divisions), a component of the 2nd Army under the command of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Alexander Samsonov Aleksandr Vasilyevich Samsonov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Самсо́нов, tr. ; ) was a career officer in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army and a general during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. He ...

. On 14 April 1913, Sheydeman was promoted to

general of the cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

World War I

World War I broke out when

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

invaded

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

on 28 July 1914. Russia entered the war on 1 August 1914. On 22 August 1914, Sheydeman's 2nd Army Corps was transferred to the 1st Army under General

Paul von Rennenkampf Paul Georg Edler von Rennenkampf ( rus, Па́вел Ка́рлович Ренненка́мпф, r=Pavel Karlovich Rennenkampf, p=ˈpavʲɪɫ ̍karɫəvʲɪtɕ ˈrʲennʲenˈkampf; – 1 April 1918) was a Baltic German nobleman, statesman an ...

. After General Samsonov's 2nd Army was almost completed destroyed during the Russian defeat in the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russi ...

in late August and an ashamed Samsonov committed suicide, Sheydeman took command of the 2nd Army on 5 September 1914. In September, Sheydeman's 2nd Army participated in the Russian offensive in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

. Although the 2nd Army delivered a blow from the south that forced the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the ...

to divert some forces to face it and saved the Russian 1st Army from destruction, the Russian offensive ended in a Russian defeat. In October 1914, the 2nd Army took part in the

Battle of the Vistula River The Battle of the Vistula River, also known as the Battle of Warsaw, was a Russian victory against the German Empire and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front during the First World War. Background By mid-September 1914 the Russians were dr ...

. On 7 October 1914, German troops under General

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of th ...

attacked the 2nd Army near Troitsa. On 11 October, Sheydeman's 2nd Siberian Army Corps took the Warsaw forts. Three days later, the forces of the 1st Siberian, 2nd Siberian,

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, 2nd, and 4th Army Corps attacked the Mackensen group in the Prutkov region. They took Błonie and

Sochaczew Sochaczew () is a town in central Poland, with 38,300 inhabitants (2004). In the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), formerly in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Sochaczew County. Sochaczew has a narrow-gauge railway m ...

on 15–17 October, and on 24 October Scheidemann's army threw the German 9th Army back behind Rawka river. On 30 October Sheydeman's troops occupied Lodz. In November 1914, the 2nd Army took part in the Battle of Łódź. Sheydeman was not able to prevent the encirclement of Lodz and on 20 November 1914 he was removed from command by General

Nikolai Ruzsky Nikolai Vladimirovich Ruzsky (russian: Никола́й Влади́мирович Ру́зский; – October 18, 1918) was a Russian general, member of the state and military councils, best known for his role in World War I and the abd ...

for his misunderstanding of the situation. On 5 December 1914, he officially relinquished command of the 2nd Army to General

Vladimir Vasilyevich Smirnov Vladimir Vasilyevich Smirnov (4 July 1849 – 1 November 1918) was an Imperial Russian Army general of the infantry who was a division, corps and field army commander. He fought in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and in World War I. Bio ...

, and took command of the

1st Turkestan Army Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. In 1916, Sheydeman successfully acted as part of the 8th Army during the successful Brusilov Offensive on the Southwestern Front. Between 5 and 9 July, in the battles at Tuman and Rosinich, Sheydeman broke the group of General Fata and forced a crossing of the river Stokhod. Under pressure from German troops, he was forced to withdraw his corps back across the Stokhod on 10–11 July. Due to illness, Sheydeman transferred on 4 June 1917 to the reserves at the headquarters of the Kiev Military District. After returning to active duty, he was appointed commander of the 10th Army in November 1917.

Russian Civil War

In 1918, Sheydeman voluntarily joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

and was appointed military leader of the

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

unit screening the Moscow region. In the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, he commanded the Red Army's 1st Ryazan Infantry Division. From 22 October to 5 November 1920 he headed the headquarters of the 17th Cavalry Division of the Red Cossacks. Subsequently, Sheydeman was arrested. According to some reports, he died in prison.

Awards and honors

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

, 4th class (1879) * RUS Order św

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

, 3rd class (1886) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

, 3rd class (1889) * RUS Order św

, 2nd class (1893) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

, 4th class (1896) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

, 3rd class (1905) * RUS Order św

, 1st class (1906) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

, 1st class (1910) * RUS Order of St

Order of Saint 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 Empero ...

(15 March 1916)

References

External links