Battle of Lake Baikal: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1918 battle of the Russian Civil War}} |
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{{Infobox military conflict |
{{Infobox military conflict |
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|conflict =Battle of Lake Baikal |
|conflict =Battle of Lake Baikal |
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|image = |
|image = |
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|caption = |
|caption = |
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|date = |
|date =16 August 1918 |
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|place =[[Lake Baikal]], [[Siberia]] |
|place =[[Lake Baikal]], [[Siberia]] |
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|coordinates = |
|coordinates = |
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|map_label = |
|map_label = |
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|territory = |
|territory = |
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|result =Czechoslovak |
|result =Czechoslovak victory |
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|status = |
|status = |
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|combatants_header = |
|combatants_header = |
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|combatant1 ={{flagicon|Bohemia |
|combatant1 ={{flagicon|Bohemia}} [[Czechoslovak Legion]] |
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|combatant2 ={{ |
|combatant2 ={{flag|Russian SFSR|1918}} |
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|commander1 ={{flagicon|Bohemia |
|commander1 ={{flagicon|Bohemia}} [[Radola Gajda]] |
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|commander2 = |
|commander2 = <br /> |
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|units1 = |
|units1 = |
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|units2 = |
|units2 = |
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|strength1 = |
|strength1 =2 steamships armed with 4 howitzers |
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|strength2 =The ships |
|strength2 =The ships ''[[SS Baikal|Baikal]]'' and ''Angara'', defense of [[Babushkin (town)|Mysovsk]] and an [[armored train]] |
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|casualties1 = |
|casualties1 =19 men |
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|casualties2 = |
|casualties2 =''Baikal'' sunk, harbor and train station destroyed |
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|casualties3 = |
|casualties3 = |
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|notes = |
|notes = |
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|campaignbox = |
|campaignbox = |
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}} |
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The '''Battle of |
The '''Battle of Lake Baikal''' was a naval battle undertaken by Czechoslovak forces during the [[Russian Civil War]]. |
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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In August |
In August 1918, the [[Czechoslovak Legion]], under the leadership of [[Radola Gajda]], fought the [[Red Army]] for control of the mountain passes around [[Lake Baikal]] which were well defended. Gajda was troubled by the fact that Baikal was completely under the control of the Red Army's ships, which threatened the Czechoslovak units with landing units to the legion's rear. |
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While occupying various ports on the shores of the |
While occupying various ports on the shores of the Baikal, the Czechoslovak legionaries managed to capture two enemy steamships, the ''Sibirjak'' and the ''Fedosia''. These were later refitted with a pair of howitzers each. |
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== Battle == |
== Battle == |
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[[File:Ледокол Байкал.jpg|thumb |
[[File:Ледокол Байкал.jpg|thumb|The ferry-icebreaker [[SS Baikal|SS ''Baikal'']] was armed and used by the [[Red Army]] during the battle.]] |
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On 15 August 1918, the Czechoslovak fleet sailed out of [[Listvyanka, Irkutsky District, Irkutsk Oblast|Listvyanka]].<ref name="roupec">{{Cite web |last=Roupec |first=Jiří |date= |title=Pět bajkalských zastavení |url=http://jiri.cmunda.roupec.sweb.cz/4ces1-17.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927073539/http://jiri.cmunda.roupec.sweb.cz/4ces1-17.htm |archive-date=2021-09-27 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=jiri.cmunda.roupec.sweb.cz}}</ref> By noon on 16 August, the ships were about {{convert|8|km|mi|0}} from the port in [[Babushkin (town)|Mysovsk]] (now Babushkin) in heavy fog. After a few minutes, the fog started dissipating and the ships spotted Mysovsk.<ref name="battle1">{{cite journal |last1=McNamara |first1=Kevin J. |title=The Battle for Baikal |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Military History |date=22 August 2017 |volume=29 |issue=4 |url=https://www.historynet.com/the-battle-for-baikal-2.htm |accessdate=8 August 2020 |publisher=HistoryNet.com}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | The Red Army forces defending the town were under the impression that the approaching ships were friendly vessels bringing in supplies. This allowed the ships to approach the harbor to a distance of approximately {{convert|4|km|mi|0}}.<ref name="rigad">{{Cite web |last=Mládek |first=Radek |date=2024-01-23 |title=Naval victory of the Czech Republic legionnaires on Lake Baikal |url=https://www.rigad.com/magazine/naval-victory-of-the-czech-republic-legionnaires-on-lake-baikal |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Rigad.com |language=}}</ref> By the time the defenders of Mysovsk realized their error, it was too late. The ferry-icebreaker [[SS Baikal|SS ''Baikal'']] tried to initiate fire upon the Czechoslovak ships but they were faster. They began to fire, both at the ''Baikal'' and at the harbor. The ''Baikal'' was sunk and general confusion erupted in Mysovsk.<ref name="battle1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2012-06-19 |title=Great Ice-Breaker Of a Sad Destiny |url=https://englishrussia.com/2012/06/18/great-ice-breaker-of-a-sad-destiny/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=EnglishRussia.com |language=en}}</ref> The train station was in flames. An [[armored train]] arrived after half an hour of Czechoslovak bombardment. Guns were offloaded from it and began to return fire upon the Czechoslovak ships. Since the main mission of destroying the harbor and train station were completed, the legionaries left the battle. On the return journey they met the enemy ship ''Angara'' which decided to evade battle. The rest of the journey was uneventful and they returned to Listvyanka without any further incidents.<ref name="rigad" /> |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | The Czechoslovak Legion's campaign in Siberia impressed Allied statesmen and attracted them to the idea of an independent Czechoslovak state. As the legionaries cruised from one victory to another that summer, the Czechoslovak National Council began receiving official statements of recognition from various Allied governments. |
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News of the Czechoslovak Legion's campaign in [[Siberia]] during the summer of 1918 was welcomed by [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] statesmen in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] and [[French Third Republic|France]], who saw the operation as a means to reconstitute the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] against [[German Empire|Germany]]. [[United States|U.S.]] President [[Woodrow Wilson]], who had resisted earlier Allied proposals to intervene in Russia, gave in to domestic and foreign pressure to support the legionaries' evacuation from Siberia. In early July 1918, he published an [[aide-mémoire]] calling for a limited intervention in Siberia by the U.S. and [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] to rescue the Czechoslovak troops, who had been blocked by [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] forces in [[Transbaikal]]. |
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⚫ | However, the Czechoslovaks had already fought their way through. By the time most American and Japanese units landed in [[Vladivostok]], the Czechoslovaks were already there to welcome them. The Allied intervention in Siberia continued so that by autumn of 1918, there were 70,000 Japanese, 829 British, 1,400 Italian, 5,002 American and 107 French colonial ([[French Indochina|Vietnamese]]) troops in the region. Many of these contingents supported [[White movement|anti-Bolshevik Russians]] and [[Cossack]] warlords who had established regional governments in the wake of the Czechoslovak seizure of the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. |
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⚫ | The Czechoslovak Legion's campaign in Siberia impressed Allied statesmen and attracted them to the idea of an [[Czechoslovakia|independent Czechoslovak state]].<ref name="roupec" /> As the legionaries cruised from one victory to another that summer, the [[Czechoslovak National Council]] began receiving official statements of recognition from various Allied governments. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* [http://www.narmyslenka.cz/view.php?nazevclanku=namorni-bitva&cisloclanku=2008080006 Námořní bitva] |
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* [http://www.narmyslenka.cz/view.php?nazevclanku=namorni-bitva&cisloclanku=2008080006 Námořní bitva] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531095514/http://www.narmyslenka.cz/view.php?nazevclanku=namorni-bitva&cisloclanku=2008080006 |date=2020-05-31 }} |
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* [http://vojenstvi.cz/verteneverte-2003.htm Československé vojenství |
* [http://vojenstvi.cz/verteneverte-2003.htm Československé vojenství – Věřte nevěřte – Archiv 2003] |
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* [http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/p/332042 Gajda, Radola :: G :: Československo (CZK)] |
* [http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/p/332042 Gajda, Radola :: G :: Československo (CZK)] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Baikal}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Baikal}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Battles involving Soviet Russia (1917–1922)]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Battles of the Russian Civil War involving the Czechoslovak Legion]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Naval battles of the Russian Civil War]] |
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[[Category:Battles involving Bohemia]] |
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[[Category:August 1918 events]] |
[[Category:August 1918 events]] |
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[[Category:1918 in Russia]] |
[[Category:1918 in Russia]] |
Latest revision as of 17:56, 23 May 2024
Battle of Lake Baikal | |||||||
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Part of the Russian Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Czechoslovak Legion | Russian SFSR | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Radola Gajda |
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Strength | |||||||
2 steamships armed with 4 howitzers | The ships Baikal and Angara, defense of Mysovsk and an armored train | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
19 men | Baikal sunk, harbor and train station destroyed |
The Battle of Lake Baikal was a naval battle undertaken by Czechoslovak forces during the Russian Civil War.
Background
[edit]In August 1918, the Czechoslovak Legion, under the leadership of Radola Gajda, fought the Red Army for control of the mountain passes around Lake Baikal which were well defended. Gajda was troubled by the fact that Baikal was completely under the control of the Red Army's ships, which threatened the Czechoslovak units with landing units to the legion's rear.
While occupying various ports on the shores of the Baikal, the Czechoslovak legionaries managed to capture two enemy steamships, the Sibirjak and the Fedosia. These were later refitted with a pair of howitzers each.
Battle
[edit]On 15 August 1918, the Czechoslovak fleet sailed out of Listvyanka.[1] By noon on 16 August, the ships were about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the port in Mysovsk (now Babushkin) in heavy fog. After a few minutes, the fog started dissipating and the ships spotted Mysovsk.[2]
The Red Army forces defending the town were under the impression that the approaching ships were friendly vessels bringing in supplies. This allowed the ships to approach the harbor to a distance of approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi).[3] By the time the defenders of Mysovsk realized their error, it was too late. The ferry-icebreaker SS Baikal tried to initiate fire upon the Czechoslovak ships but they were faster. They began to fire, both at the Baikal and at the harbor. The Baikal was sunk and general confusion erupted in Mysovsk.[2][4] The train station was in flames. An armored train arrived after half an hour of Czechoslovak bombardment. Guns were offloaded from it and began to return fire upon the Czechoslovak ships. Since the main mission of destroying the harbor and train station were completed, the legionaries left the battle. On the return journey they met the enemy ship Angara which decided to evade battle. The rest of the journey was uneventful and they returned to Listvyanka without any further incidents.[3]
Aftermath
[edit]News of the Czechoslovak Legion's campaign in Siberia during the summer of 1918 was welcomed by Allied statesmen in Great Britain and France, who saw the operation as a means to reconstitute the Eastern Front against Germany. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who had resisted earlier Allied proposals to intervene in Russia, gave in to domestic and foreign pressure to support the legionaries' evacuation from Siberia. In early July 1918, he published an aide-mémoire calling for a limited intervention in Siberia by the U.S. and Japan to rescue the Czechoslovak troops, who had been blocked by Bolshevik forces in Transbaikal.
However, the Czechoslovaks had already fought their way through. By the time most American and Japanese units landed in Vladivostok, the Czechoslovaks were already there to welcome them. The Allied intervention in Siberia continued so that by autumn of 1918, there were 70,000 Japanese, 829 British, 1,400 Italian, 5,002 American and 107 French colonial (Vietnamese) troops in the region. Many of these contingents supported anti-Bolshevik Russians and Cossack warlords who had established regional governments in the wake of the Czechoslovak seizure of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The Czechoslovak Legion's campaign in Siberia impressed Allied statesmen and attracted them to the idea of an independent Czechoslovak state.[1] As the legionaries cruised from one victory to another that summer, the Czechoslovak National Council began receiving official statements of recognition from various Allied governments.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Roupec, Jiří. "Pět bajkalských zastavení". jiri.cmunda.roupec.sweb.cz. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ a b McNamara, Kevin J. (22 August 2017). "The Battle for Baikal". The Quarterly Journal of Military History. 29 (4). HistoryNet.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b Mládek, Radek (23 January 2024). "Naval victory of the Czech Republic legionnaires on Lake Baikal". Rigad.com. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Great Ice-Breaker Of a Sad Destiny". EnglishRussia.com. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
External links
[edit]- Bisher, Jamie (2005), White Terror: Cossack Warlords of the Trans-Siberian. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-714-65690-9
- Námořní bitva Archived 2020-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
- Československé vojenství – Věřte nevěřte – Archiv 2003
- Gajda, Radola :: G :: Československo (CZK)