Is Przewalski a military intelligence officer?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Usually the name of the traveler Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888) and his associates V. Roborovsky (1856-1910), P. Kozlov (1863-1935) and others is associated exclusively with science. And this is true - the contribution of these researchers to the study of the geography of Central Asia is invaluable and recognized by the domestic and foreign scientific world even during their lifetime.

At the same time, few people know that the main customer of these expeditions, along with the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, was the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire represented by the General Staff. And in the very Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGO), created in 1845, there were many military men - the goals of scientists and military men often coincided.

By the nineteenth century, the European powers had basically discovered the African, American and Asian continents and began their systematic study and colonial development. But Central Asia was still a blank spot on geographical maps. Formally referring to China, in reality it was almost not controlled by it, and therefore represented a tidbit for European states. But before making a political decision, European governments needed to understand whether it was worth fighting for these vast, sparsely populated territories with a harsh climate. The main struggle for influence in this region, which Kipling called the Great Game, unfolded between Russia and England. The task of applicants for the "big prize" was simplified by the fact that the local population did not like the Chinese and the authorities were weary of them. The weak Chinese army struggled to suppress the frequent uprisings, and did not control many territories at all.

The period of the Great Game coincided with important changes in the nature of military intelligence. They began during the Napoleonic Wars and were the result of the development of Russian military thought. In the course of preparing and waging wars, they began to use scientific methods for the accumulation and systematization of information. First of all, this concerned the collection of information on the size of the enemy's armed forces and its mobilization resources, on the topography of the theater of military operations, and on the character of the local population.

NEW APPROACH IN EXPLORATION

IN PREVIOUS centuries, intelligence information about neighboring countries was mainly collected by diplomats, military attachés, officials of border posts, merchants and missionaries. This was the so-called passive reconnaissance, which was carried out "on ourselves." This information was accumulated slowly, was fragmentary, it took years to recheck, efficiency and reliability were low.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky can be considered the ancestor of a new type of reconnaissance - operational (operational and in the range of action - to the depth of the theater of military operations, and in terms of the speed of obtaining information). It was he who, in essence, for the first time in modern history proposed to conduct active reconnaissance - "from himself", that is, do not wait for the receipt of information, but look for the necessary information yourself. The agents of the European powers were actively conducting intelligence in all countries of the region, but thanks to Przhevalsky, Russia immediately gained a huge advantage in the Central Asian theater of operations.

A graduate of the Academy of the General Staff, Przhevalsky received his first practical experience of independent work in the field during an expedition to the Far East in 1867-1869. Enlisting the support of the vice-president of the IRGO, P. Semenov-Tyanshansky, the young lieutenant, accompanied by only two assistants, mapped the region along the Amur and Ussuri rivers - new possessions of the Russian Empire, equal in size to England.

In 1870-1873, the first Central Asian expedition of Przhevalsky took place. In the future, he organized and carried out four more, and his students, among whom V. Roborovsky and P. Kozlov achieved the greatest results, about ten more.

GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND PLANNING OF THE SEARCH

The POLITICAL goal of the expeditions was an attempt, if not to annex, then at least to achieve an increase in Russia's influence in Central Asia. Therefore, one of the main tasks was to reach the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, and establish relations with the Dalai Lama, the religious head of the peoples professing Buddhism. The scientific goal is a comprehensive study of the nature of Central Asia.

The military objectives were the most extensive. This is, first of all, a detailed mapping of the area, collecting information about the state of the Chinese army, about the penetration of emissaries of other European powers into this region, water supply of territories, the nature of the local population, its attitude to China and Russia, climate, search for passages in the mountains and deserts, and more.

Based on the main, reconnaissance goal, each expedition was planned and organized as a deep raid of a reconnaissance detachment behind enemy lines. This, in fact, was Przewalski's contribution to the development of military thought in general and intelligence in particular. First, they carried out clear planning, formulated goals and objectives, mapped out the route, then determined the forces and means, the order of communication with the center. Based on the results of the expeditions, detailed reports were drawn up. Some of these reports have not been made public until now - Przhevalsky was a supporter of a military solution to the problem of the annexation of territories.

The commanders of the GRU special forces reconnaissance groups of the modern Russian army will be surprised to find that the norms and rules for conducting a reconnaissance raid that were then developed have survived to this day. I didn’t make a reservation. If we evaluate from the standpoint of today the planning, goals and objectives of the expeditions, the depth of their actions, the procedure for conducting, the composition of the participants, weapons, equipment and even the order of battle, then, with certain reservations and amendments for the time, we will see that these expeditions were in pure in the form of raids by an operational reconnaissance detachment to the depth of the theater of operations. In modern conditions, these tasks are performed by the special-purpose intelligence of the GRU General Staff - the GRU special forces.

The last expeditions of Przhevalsky were led by the future Minister of War A. Kuropatkin (1848-1925), who held the post of chief of the Asian department of the General Staff in 1883-1890.

ORGANIZATION OF THE RIDE

EXPEDITIONAL detachments of Przewalski were recruited exclusively by volunteers. People left for 2-2, 5 years to nowhere. The routes were measured in tens of thousands of kilometers. Communication with Russia was unstable, information about the death of the expeditions came repeatedly.

Usually the detachment consisted of three or four officers, the same number of soldiers, an interpreter, five or six escort Cossacks from the border guard. In some areas, guides joined the detachment. The total number of the detachment in different expeditions was 10-20 people. We moved on horses. The goods were transported on horses and camels, in the highlands - on yaks. Each scout had a rifle and two revolvers. Before leaving, the weapons were shot. Regular practice firing was carried out during the campaign as well. Food was replenished from the local population and hunted. A small herd of sheep was also driven with the caravan. Intermediate warehouses were created along the route. Regular tents were used for the night.

All expeditions, without exception, took place in very harsh climatic conditions. When crossing the deserts, the temperature during the day rose to plus 60 degrees, so we moved around at night. In many areas there was no water at all. Significant sections of the route passed in high mountains, at altitudes up to 4000-4500 m, and even up to 5000 m. Firewood had to be taken with you, because in many places there were none at all.

At times, patrols were sent from the main forces of the detachment to a distance of up to 100 km, and sometimes the expedition was divided into two detachments, each of which performed its own task.

But not only the climate and the mountainous desert landscape were serious obstacles for the detachment. The campaign actually took place in a combat situation. The peoples inhabiting Central Asia treated uninvited guests differently. Sometimes delegations came with a request to hand over to the “white tsar” a petition for citizenship, but armed clashes also occurred regularly. It is no coincidence that the participants of the expeditions, along with scientific awards, received medals for their participation in hostilities.

One of such skirmishes, which occurred during the expedition of 1883-1885, was recounted by Przhevalsky in his memoirs. The detachment was attacked by about 300 Tanguts horsemen. "Like a cloud, this horde, wild, bloodthirsty, rushed at us, and in front of their bivouac silently, with rifles aimed, stood our little group - 14 people, for whom now there was no other outcome than death or victory." For 500 steps, the scouts opened volley fire, but the Tanguts galloped onto the detachment until their commander was knocked off his horse. Then they turned around and disappeared behind the ridge. Przhevalsky, taking 7 people with him, began the pursuit. Roborovsky and 5 Cossacks remained to guard the camp. In total, the battle lasted 2 hours. 800 cartridges were used up, about 30 Tanguts were killed and wounded. On February 13, 1894, a Roborovsky detachment of 8 people also entered into battle with two hundred Tanguts. The battle lasted over 2 hours. To the credit of the commanders-officers, there were no combat losses among the forces of the detachment.

The scouts did not part with their weapons even during sleep. In case of a surprise attack, sentries were posted.

DEATH AT THE BATTLE POST

The SIXTH expedition of Przewalski approached the border in order to then cross it. But the leader suddenly fell ill with typhus and died suddenly on October 20, 1888. At the combat post …

On the death of Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, A. Chekhov wrote words that can be attributed to all intelligence officers who honestly performed or are fulfilling their duty today: his laziness and his debauchery by the absence of a definite goal in life, ascetics are needed, like the sun … There are, there are still people of heroism, faith and a clearly realized goal."