Ice March - Kornilov's Death

Kornilov's Death

On 23 February, as the Red Army entered Rostov, Kornilov began the march south across the frozen steppelands. The soldiers, carrying one rifle each, and hauling some field artillery, were accompanied by long trail of civilians, the middle-classes of Rostov, fearful of Bolshevik reprisals. Anton Denikin, Kornilov's second-in-command, later recalled, "We went from the dark night of spiritual slavery to unknown wandering-in search of the bluebird." The bluebird was a traditional symbol of hope in Russian fairy tales and legend. The march continued day and night, sometimes in a long single-file through the deep snow, avoiding the railways and hostile population centres. Those who could not endure the ordeal, the sick and the wounded, were simply left behind, many shooting themselves rather than risk falling captive to the enemy.

After several weeks of wandering, and several skirmishes with pursuing enemy forces, Kornilov decided to mount an attack on Ekaterinodar, the capital of the recently established North Caucasian Soviet Republic. The attack, which began on 10 April, was met with heavy resistance from forces more than twice the size of the Volunteers. Kornilov was killed when an artillery shell destroyed the farmhouse where he had set up headquarters. He was succeeded in command by Denikin, who decided to abandon the assault and withdraw to the north. Hearing of the death of Kornilov, Lenin told the Moscow Soviet, "It can be said with certainty that, in the main, the civil war has ended." It was, rather, no more than the end of the beginning.