Mark Plant wrote:Where are these Makhnovist accounts written by guys who actually fought?
Meanwhile accounts by soldiers who actually fought make it clear that prolonged hand-to-hand combat was a very rare event. One side cracks at the last moment and either stops the charge or flees.
Makhno writing in Arshinov book (I translate from french):
"Denikin cavalry was a true one, deserving its name. The one, numerous, of the red army, was only a cavalry by name. It never was able to fight in close combat, and only moved when their enemy was defeated by artillery or machinegun fire. During all the civil war, red cavalry, although always more numerous, never agree to fight with saber the makhnovist cavalry. Caucasian and cosak cavalry regiments of Denikin were very different. They always agreed to fight with saber and always rushed flat out to the enemy, never waiting for the artillery and machinegun fires to desorganise the enemy."
Archinov follows:
"However, Denikin cavalry broke their neck more than once when fighting against makhnovists. The chiefs of denikin regiments often wrote in their notebooks we took that their war versus makhnovist artillery and cavalry was the more dreadfull and painfull in all their campaign."
So, ok, you're right, Arshinov gave no name nor exemple of those papers.
This applies to cavalry in all wars. That the Anarchists in the Russian Civil War would break the pattern of centuries is just not credible.
And they broke it. They were inconceivable.
Slashov (the general that Denikin had sent chasing the makhnovists) wrote there was the legend of 'Kleist', a german colonel who in the Makhno' shadow was believed assisting and leading the makhnovists, as few White could believe the moujiks could make war by themselves!
The Red army too didn't understand. But they were smart as they studied hard and copied them, applying this against Poland (but Stalin spoiled it, and later had spoilled it for long...).
No it wasn't. The cavalry sent against Makhno was the standard White cavalry.
At Peregenovka the Whites sent hardly any cavalry. And the Taman Cossacks were hardly a crack regiment.
Denikin made a mistake taking Makhno too lightly. As part of that, his mistake was to not send enough quality troops.
You're some right:
The white cavalry didn't (want to?) go so far with Slashov.
There were "quality troop" against makhnovists, but that was infantry.
The elite cavalry was only sent (and all of them!) by Denikin when it was too late, but they were defeated by makhnovists too as they were sent alone (again Denikin underestimated makhnovists, always!).
Of course he made that mistake precisely because his experience is that his men did not find the Makhnovists particularly staunch opponents.
They did! Even Slashov did, but Denikin never wanted to listen to them.
It is not consistent to argue that the Makhnovists always provided strong opposition, yet experienced soldiers did not seem to notice that! White accounts are quite consistent: the Makhnovists provided a strong military challenge because they were hard to pin down,. But they were never really worried about one-on-one battles in open ground.
You're right, but it's not the entire truth. Maknovists didn't look for one vs one battle (against Whites), they were not fools and they were fast. But they didn't flee when they could win (contrary to the red cavalry). The makhnovists were challenging because they were an actual threat too, not because they were just non catchable. General Slashov/Slashehev/Slachtchev become real mad for Denikin was so narrow-minded. Maybe that's why, late, desperate, he finally joined the Reds...
