- Pavel Bermondt-Avalov
Pavel Rafalovich Bermondt-Avalov (Avalishvili) ( _ru. Павел Рафалович Бермонт-Авалов, _lv. Pāvels Bermonts-Avalovs) (
4 March 1877 -27 January 1974 ,New York, NY ) [cite book
last = Pētersone
first = Inta
authorlink = Inta Pētersone
title = Latvijas Brīvības cīņas 1918-1920 : enciklopēdija.
language = Latvian
publisher = Preses nams
location = Riga
series =
year = 1999
isbn = 9984003957
oclc = 43426410] was an Ussuri Cossack andwarlord . He descended from the Georgian princely family ofAvalishvili (Avalov) on his mother's side.Bermondt-Avalov was appointed to lead the German-established Russian army (subsequently frequently known after his name as "the
Bermontians ") which was meant to go to fight theBolsheviks in theRussian Civil War , but, believing that communists would be defeated without his help, Pavel Bermondt-Avalov decided to strike against the newly independent nations ofLithuania andLatvia instead. His "Special Russians Corps" supposedly numbered about 50,000 men, mostlyBaltic Germans as well as some Russian POWs recruited from Germans camps, but is unlikely to have numbered more than 20,000 fighting men. He was one of the few anti-communist generals who openly propagandized monarchist ideals.Bermondt-Avalov was promoted
Major General in 1918. He took over the White Forces in the Baltic from PrinceAnatoly Liven , who commanded a contingent in the Baltische Landwehr. In 1919, his forces joined those of Major GeneralRüdiger von der Goltz to form the so-called "Western Volunteer Army" ("Западная добровольческая армия") which attempted to proclaim the "Western Central Government" in Riga. The Bermontians managed to capture a large part ofSamogitia and western Latvia and enteredRiga , but later were defeated by the Lithuanian and Latvian armies, with the help of theEstonia n forces. This Baltic diversion of Avalov heavily contributed to his already existing reputation as anadventurer (such as General Bulak-Balakovich).Pavel Bermondt-Avalov then emigrated to Western Europe, where he published a book of memoirs. He also sympathised with German Nazis. Pavel Bermondt-Avalov died in
New York City .Bibliography
#cite book
last = Bermondt-Avalov
first = Pavel
authorlink = Pavel Bermondt-Avalov
title = Im Kampf gegen den Bolschewismus. Erinnerungen von General Fürst Awaloff, Oberbefehlshaber der Deutsch-Russischen Westarmee im Baltikum.
language = German
publisher = Verlag J.J. Augustin
location = Glückstadt, Hamburg
series =
year = 1925
oclc = 15188750
# Paluszyński Tomasz, Walka o niepodległość Łotwy, Warszawa 1999.
# Валерий Клавинг, Гражданская война в России: Белые армии. Военно-историческая библиотека, Москвa, 2003.References
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