Chapter 14

The Russian Naval base at Kronshtadt is on Kotlin Island in the estuary of the river Neva. A short distance away lay Petrograd, the city founded by Peter the Great as his capital. Prior to 1914 it had been named Saint Petersburg, but that was too German sounding. In the nationalist euphoria following the outbreak of war, it was thought it should have a Slavic name.

The cruiser Oleg had survived the battle of Tsushima to become modernised into a new class of vessel, a light cruiser. The vessel had been retrofitted with modern, quick-firing main guns and a central director for these was perched above the expanded bridge. Its three funnels remained, but below she'd been fitted with a new set of French Belville boilers, then popular with the Russian Navy. Its triple-expansion, reciprocating steam engines still pushed her along at 24 knots, a reasonable speed for a vessel now 15 years old.

The Oleg lay off Kronshtadt at the base's 'ready' anchorage. Her boiler fires were banked, allowing her to set sail, if need be, with a half hour's notice. On this night, however, instead of the St Andrews Ensign waving fitfully in the weak breeze, a new flag dangled from the staff on the stern of the ship.

The flag was red and carried the letters 'VMF RKKA' in gold Cyrillic script. Translated, the letters stood for, 'The Red Fleet of the Workers and Peasant's Army.' The year was 1919 and much had happened in the last two years.

Not far away, Comrade Yvgeny Ivanovich Gorshin, his woollen greatcoat pulled up around his ears, looked out from the stern rail of the Destroyer Gavriil. His three-funnelled command had been built in 1916 at the Baltic Shipyards. She displayed her British influence in her narrow lines, smart businesslike design, and powerful Parsons Steam Turbine propulsion that pushed her along at over 33 knots.

Yvgeny Gorshin's journey to the Gavriil had started in March 1917 on the day that Tsar Nicholas the Second had abdicated in favour of the Grand Duke. Michael had not wanted the job so eventually a civilian Government was put together from pro-war factions under the War Minister, Alexander Kerensky.

Gorshin, like all servicemen, had sworn loyalty to the person of the Tsar. Upon his abdication, many considered they were under no obligation to follow the dictates of a civilian Government. Personal loyalties to outstanding personages and comrades became more important.

So too was the Socialist programme espoused by the Socialist Revolutionary Party that had gained overwhelming influence in the Navy. Their fierce adherence to democratic principles, however laudable that may have been, often meant, though, that their decision-making process was lengthy and arduous. The Bolsheviks, with whom they'd formed a Popular Front, by contrast, were tightly disciplined, pragmatic, secretive and ambitious.

The 'Kerensky Offensive' under the able Marshal Brusilov had successfully pushed back the Central Powers in the Carpathians. When that attack ran out of steam, the Popular Front exerted its muscle. Within weeks virtually the entire Russian army deserted its posts and drifted back from the front.

A desperate Kerensky called on the Cavalry Corps to put the Petrograd Soviet in its place, but the Cossacks were met with a solid wall of determined militias and deserting soldiers. The Cossacks dissolved, some going over to the Soviet, while others returned to the Caucasus to found the Cossack Southeastern Union. Under overwhelming pressure the civilian Government collapsed and out of the chaos stood one man, Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov, known by his alias, Lenin.

Lenin had the decisive support of the Kronshtadt sailors who'd met him at Finland station when he returned from exile.

"You ask why I joined the Bolshevik cause?" continued Admiral Gorshin, "well," he tugged his white beard, "simply, my men begged me not to desert them."

"In the Navy we sailors judge men by different rules. Courage, comradeship, these things are more important than grand speeches. I did not warm to Lenin when he first came to Kronshtadt. He was a fine speaker, sure, said all the right things, but I always thought there was something driving that man, something inside... not natural. Trotsky was a small man with a big voice. I didn't care that he was Jewish, although some did. But in the end, there was no doubting his courage. He rallied the Red troops at Kazan, all by himself... saved the day against the Left SRs. He visited all the fronts in his armoured train. He personally led his cavalry into battle. That impressed us greatly."

"What part did you play in the Civil War?" asked Ensign Koscuisko.

"I was given the Gavriil by Comrade Dubrovnin, then Commissar of the VMF RKKA. The Destroyer men voted for me to command them, a great honour. Three other Destroyers elected to be part of my flotilla, the Vladimir, Konstantin and Azard. That's the way we did things then until Comrade Trotsky ordered the foundation of the Soviet Navy in April 1919, with ranks, discipline and chains of command. We had to do that, it was too chaotic."

"And what of Katka, your family?"

"I moved them onto base for safety. Mobs of ill-disciplined troops and militias were all about, murdering, raping... They had no cause, there was no-one to stop them. I got myself a submachine gun, a Bergmann, like the German Stormtroopers used. I got into a fight outside the mansion one day at the end of 1918... very handy weapon," the Admiral smiled. (The original 'Stosstruppen' of WW1. Not the Nazi version, the Brown-shirted 'Shturm Abteilungen')

CMB 9 was a 55 foot Coastal Motor Boat of the Royal Navy. Armed with a single 18 inch torpedo, CMB 9 was one of a flotilla of light forces based along the Northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. A variety of engines powered these small boats, mostly converted aero-engines. CMB 9 had a Thornycroft, although Beardmores and Rolls-Royces were also popular.

What made Russia's former allies, the British, French, Japanese and the Americans intervene in the Revolution and subsequent Civil War? The reasons changed with the fortunes of the World War. Even today, the Allied Intervention is subject to much debate.

With the rise to power of the Bolsheviks in October 1917 (old style calendar) it was clear the new Government intended to take Russia out of the War and abrogate her undertakings to the Allies. It was strongly suspected also, that Lenin was acting under authority from the German Government. His passage through Germany from his exile in Geneva suggested conspiracy, to Paris, London and Washington.

When a ceasefire was negotiated and peace talks began at Brest-Litovsk between representatives of the Bolsheviks and the German Government, the Royal Navy began to pull its submarine flotillas away from possible capture by German forces. 7 boats were based at Reval, now Talinn, Estonia, and these sailed over to Helsingfors (Helsinki) together with some Russian subs with which they'd been operating.

Royal Marines at Murmansk and Arkhangel'sk took control of the tons of British war materiel piled up on the docks, again for fear they would be handed over to Germany. In fact, the Murmansk Soviet asked the British to do this as the local forces were weak and feared the Germans more than the British.

However, in the Baltic, German forces were still on the move and threatened Riga. In Finland, the constituent assembly felt they were no-longer under any obligation to remain as part of Russia. Their oath of loyalty was to the Tsar, not a civilian Government in Petrograd.

The Bolsheviks had promised self-determination to all the Russian provinces, and were shocked when most took the new Government at their word. Finland was the first, then Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania promptly split from Russia and declared independence, albeit under German 'protection.'

In a cunning about face, Lenin had Stalin rewrite the rules. Now independence could only be declared upon a referendum of the Working Class only. The Upper and Middle classes were to be disenfranchised. As the vote was to be taken through the local Soviets, well under control of the Central party, Moderates and Nationalists saw the whole thing as being rigged, and the Civil War ensued.

In Finland, Marshal Mannerheim, Tsarist commander of the Finland Military District, called on General Hoffmann of the German 5th army for help to oust the Red Guards from Finland. The Germans promptly sent a division to Hango, who then advanced on Helsinki. The Royal Navy scuttled their Submarines and withdrew the crews. End of round 1.

In the Caucasus there arose Independent Republics in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, which promptly began squabbling over territory. The Turks seized Trebizond and began advancing along the Black Sea coast. The Cossacks declared their independence and formed the Southeastern Union.

In August 1918, the Socialist Revolutionaries formed independent governments at Samara and Omsk in Western Siberia. Incidentally, they captured the Tsarist Gold reserves at Kazan.

The Czech Legion was made up of prisoners of war who had signed up with Imperial Russia. They had been promised that they'd be sent to France to help free their homeland from the Habsburg Empire of Austria-Hungary. A deal of some sort was negotiated with the Bolsheviks for them to exit Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Bolsheviks didn't want this well-disciplined force to be used by their enemies.

In one of the Bolsheviks' about-faces, however, and one of Trotsky's serious mistakes, in May 1918 the Red Guards blocked their route and ordered the Legion to side with the new Government. The Czechs promptly revolted and eventually seized most of the railway.

The plight of the Czech Legion captured the World's imagination. The Japanese offered to land in Vladivostok and open an escape route. Suspecting Japanese motives, the Americans waded in and suggested a joint landing. Eventually a large Japanese force was followed by a smaller American contingent, and they slowly advanced West along the railway.

At Brest-Litovsk a Ukrainian delegation suddenly turned up and began separate negotiations with the Germans. Eventually a puppet regime was formed in Kiev and German forces occupied the territory. The Russian Black Sea Fleet abandoned Odessa, which was occupied by the German Army.

Admiral Kolchak formed his 'Siberian Republic' with former Tsarist Officers and began negotiating with the Czechs for joint operations. His initial target was not the Bolsheviks, however, but the Left SR Republic at Omsk. This he captured in early 1919 driving the SRs Westward.

Tsarist Chief of Staff General Alexeev fled the Red Guards South with such of Stavka that wanted to go. He formed the 'White Volunteer Army' and began negotiations with the Don Cossacks.

At Arkangel'sk, the British began arming local White Forces under Tsarist General Miller with a view to linking up with Kolchak's Siberians.

In two short months, Russia's borders had shrunk to those of the 16th century. Its very viability was in question, as was its ability to feed itself. Many of the industrial and manufacturing centres had been shorn off. The Revolution was in serious trouble.

For years Moscow blamed the murder of Nicholas Romanov and his family on the local Red Guard, but it's now obvious the elimination of the former Tsar was ordered by the top leadership of the Party. Regardless, it dealt a serious blow to the anti-Bolshevik forces. Now the Monarchists no-longer had a viable, agreed candidate around whom to build a future Government. Many senior Officers decided it was a lost cause and made plans to leave Russia.

"The Allies now saw Russia as pro-German, or even an enemy," continued the Admiral, "and wasted little diplomatic effort to bring down the new Government. Things were finely balanced in France and a flood of new German Divisions transferred from the Eastern Front might see things fall the way of Germany. That is perhaps understandable, but we were very angry at this interference in our affairs. Had we not spilt enough blood on their behalf? Had we not given enough sons? Russia alone had suffered more casualties than the rest of them put together and still they weren't satisfied."

For some weeks previously Royal Navy seaplanes had flown over Kronshtadt. Once the armistice with the Central Powers was signed, in November 1918, the British were once again able to build up their forces in the Gulf of Finland.

A White Army was formed in Estonia with British equipment under General Iudenich and began to march on Petrograd. The Russian Capital, however, had been abandoned by the Government who had removed to Moscow. The British intended to eliminate the Baltic Red Fleet as a threat to enable the Whites to attack the former Capital.

Four Battleships of the Baltic Fleet survived WW1: two Dreadnoughts, Poltava and Petropavlosk, and the 'intermediate Dreadnoughts' Andrez Pervozanni and Pavel the First. The combined artillery from these heavy ships would have made an assault on Petrograd problematic.

Red Destroyers and Minelayers were very active sowing new fields in the already dense defenses. These were protected by a motley collection of old and new cruisers. After some inconsequential sparring between the Royal Navy and the Red Navy's light forces, the British decided to take firmer action.

Their problem was the minefields surrounding Kotlin, the confined waters and the heavy guns of the Russian shore batteries and Battleships. Coastal Motorboats and aeroplanes seemed a promising way to penetrate the Russian defences.

"I heard them coming," recounted Gorshin, "but I couldn't tell whether they were aeroplanes or their motorboats. We knew they had fast torpedo boats based in an inlet to the East of Helsinki, but they sound the same as their seaplanes. It's a kind of rattling, droning sound... only when they got closer could we hear the thumping of their hulls as they bounced over the waves."

"The Oleg switched on her searchlights. At first they swept the sky searching for aircraft, then played over the sea. They're very hard to spot, these motorboats, especially at night... I'm sorry we missed them."

"When I saw the Englishman, he was very close to Oleg. The Cruiser hadn't time to man her guns. We got a machinegun into action but it was too late. A torpedo hit Oleg amidships."

"She settled slowly then rolled over onto her side. Most of the crew were on shore anyway and those that remained on board jumped and were picked up by launches. After that I asked that our gun crews remain on standby. In those days, I had to ask, while explaining carefully why it was needed. I was better off than some of the Captains who had trouble getting the crews to do anything. Old Rhozdventsky would have been beside himself," the Admiral chuckled.

The next day a British Naval Felixstowe Flying Boat came over the Khronshtadt anchorage to observe the result of the night's work. It was met by a fusilade of fire from practically every gun in the fleet. The Oleg had been a popular ship.