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{{Short description|1919–20 White Army retreat during the Russian Civil War}}
{{About|the White Army's retreat across Lake Baikal|the 1918 retreat towards the Kuban|Ice March}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox
|image=File:KolchakInviernoDe19191920.svg
|image_size=300
|caption=Retreat of the White Army (Nov. 1919 - March 1920).
|conflict=Great Siberian Ice March
|partof= the [[Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War]]
|place=East [[Central Siberia]]
|date= 14 November 1919 - March 1920
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|combatant2= {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Russian state|Russian State]]
|commander1= [[File:Flag RSFSR 1918.svg|22px]] [[Sergey Kamenev]]<br />[[File:Flag RSFSR 1918.svg|22px]] [[Vladimir Olderogge]]<br />[[File:Flag RSFSR 1918.svg|22px]] [[Genrich Eiche]]
|commander2=[[File:Flag of Russia.svg|22px]] [[Alexander Kolchak]]{{Executed}}<br />[[File:Flag of Russia.svg|22px]] [[Vladimir Kappel]]{{KIA}}<br />[[File:Flag of
|strength1=
|strength2=
|casualties1=
|casualties2=
}}{{Eastern Front of Russian Civil War}}▼
▲{{Eastern Front of Russian Civil War}}
The '''Great Siberian Ice March''' (
General [[Vladimir Kappel]], who was appointed to this position in mid-December 1919, led the retreat. After his death from pneumonia on 26 January 1920, General [[
[[File:Za Sibirskii poxod.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Order of the Great Siberian Ice March]]]]
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== Prelude ==
In the summer of 1919, the Red Army had [[Counteroffensive of Eastern Front|gained a great victory]] against Kolchak's Army. The White forces re-established a line along the [[Tobol River|Tobol]] and the [[Ishim river]]s to temporarily halt the Red Army, which was faced by an [[Advance on Moscow (1919)|advance on Moscow from the south]] by [[Anton Denikin]]'s [[Armed Forces of South Russia|White Army]]. By the autumn, Denikin had been defeated and the Red Army was able to direct reinforcements back to the [[Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War|Eastern Front]]. The Reds broke through on the Tobol River in mid-October and by November the White forces were falling back towards Omsk in a disorganised mass. [[Omsk]] was conquered by the Reds on 14 November 1919.▼
▲By the autumn, Denikin had been defeated and the Red Army was able to direct reinforcements back to the [[Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War|Eastern Front]]. The Reds broke through on the Tobol River in mid-October and by November the White forces were falling back towards Omsk in a disorganised mass. [[Omsk]] was conquered by the Reds on 14 November 1919.
== The retreat from Omsk to Lake Baikal==
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The White retreat was complicated by numerous insurgencies in the cities where they had to pass and attacks by partisan detachments, and was further aggravated by the fierce Siberian frost. After the series of defeats, the White troops were in a demoralized state, centralized supply was paralyzed, replenishment not received, and the discipline dropped dramatically.
In these circumstances, the appointment as commander of the Army of [[Vladimir Kappel|General Kappel]], who enjoyed unlimited trust and prestige amongst Kolchak's troops, was the first step to avoid the disintegration of the entire Kolchak army. Only the 2nd Army came under his command, as communication with the 1st and 3rd armies had been lost. Control of the railway was in the hands of the [[Czechoslovak Legion]], as a result of which parts of General Kappel's Army were deprived of the opportunity to use the railway. They were also harassed by partisan troops under command of [[Alexander Kravchenko (revolutionary)|Alexander Kravchenko]] and [[Peter Efimovich Schetinkin]].
The pursuing Red 5th Army took [[Tomsk]] on 20 December 1919 and [[Krasnoyarsk]] on 7 January 1920
== The march across Lake Baikal ==
The bloodiest campaign battles occurred at the villages of [[Yakovlevka]], [[Birulka]], and [[Gruznovskaya]], as well as the city of [[Ust-Barguzin|Barguzin]].<ref name="east-front.narod.ru">{{cite web|url=http://east-front.narod.ru/memo/barnaulets.htm|script-title=ru:Ледяной поход 3-го Барнаульского стрелкового полка (Северный путь)|publisher=Тернистый путь. Однодневная газета. 1 февраля 1921 г. Издание Владивостокского объединенного комитета по устройству недели каппелевцев|language=
As the Arctic winds blew unobstructed across the lake, many in the army and their families froze to death. Their bodies remained frozen on the lake in a kind of [[Tableau vivant|tableau]] throughout the winter of 1919–20. With the advent of spring, the frozen corpses and all their possessions disappeared in 5,000 feet of water. Kappel himself
</ref>
== End of the March ==
The survivors of the March found a safe haven in [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]], the capital of [[Eastern Okraina]], a territory under control of Kolchak's successor [[Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov]], who was supported by a significant Japanese military presence.
The Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party issued an order not to advance any further beyond Irkutsk, to avoid a military conflict with Japan, at a moment when the main threat for the young Soviet State was in Europe (Poland).▼
▲The [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party]] issued an order not to advance
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Military operations of the Russian Civil War]]
[[Category:Military marching]]
[[Category:History of Siberia]]
[[Category:1920 in Russia]]
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[[Category:January 1920 events]]
[[Category:February 1920 events]]
[[Category:Military withdrawals]]
[[Category:Battles involving Soviet Russia (1917–1922)]]
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