Introduction This time period was chosen due to it's being the height of the AFSR. At this time in had received a bulk of the British aide on was slowly getting it to the front. After this timeframe the AFSR fell apart during the winter retreat that never really stopped until the final evacuation of Novorossisyk. The AFSR was comprised of three armies: the Volunteer, Don and Caucasus (Kuban).: The first was made up of remnants of the Imperial Army, mostly officers at first that established itself in the anti-Bolshevik regions of the independent Cossacks. The latter two were Cossack National Armies with nation problems of independence, especially the Kuban. Their cooperation was proportional to the threat of the Red Army on their country. On 8 January 1919 these armies came together under one command to form the AFSR. During the spring they consolidated and secured the area they held, the Kuban and lower Don, and built up British aide. When summer arrived they attack on all sectors with a vengeance and greatly extended there Zone of Control from the Rumanian border to the Volga River and North to within 200 miles of Moscow. In the Northwest the Whites in on the doorstep of Petrograd, the end look certain for the Reds. Order of Battle The Order of Battle (OOB) below appears impressive as it did to General Denikin. English supplies were rolling in and recruiting numbers were up and the summer's victories had put a vast amount of territory under White rule. However, the dark realities were apparent to some. Below are some bullets as to the reasons for the fall of the AFSR. The AFSR occupied more area than it could hold. The elite Volunteer 1st Corps was always the main effort on the offense and had lost much of its quality. Replacements were conscripts or "deserters turned White" that had brought the Named Regiments , i.e. Markov Regt., up to Division strength. The 1st Corps was exhausted and no longer elite. Many Divisions were not up to strength and were really Brigade strength. Mammotov's Don Corps had returned from its famous raid and was exhausted. The raiders had brought back a lot of booty and were eager to return home. Morale was not high. Many Don Cossack Conscripts were tired and eager to return for the harvest. Kuban national politics were not helpful to the war effort. Recruits were being supplied to Wrangel's Army. Kuban politics were affecting morale. The Reds vastly outnumbered the Whites. They had taken their licks, but had quietly amassed troops and were ready for a counterattack on all sectors. Budenny's Horse Army had avoided White Intelligence and was ready to make it appearance in the South. The Reds were learning how to fight and Budenny's Horse Army was part of the new and improved Red Army. The British training program has only just begun and training on British equipment was ongoing. Vast numbers of British equipment had not yet reached units. It was stockpiled for units to be trained on or for combat units to restock with. British equipment was not always suited for Russians or the war (see British mission). The transportation rail system was not sufficient to move equipment forward for re-supply or unit around to training depots. The AFSR had over extended itself. When the great retreat started in November the rails were clogged with southbound trains. Equipment and supplies could not get north. Bandit groups, Greens and Reds, were eating away at the law and order in the rear. The transport system was not safe. Chechni and Georgia were not friendly or helpful Southern neighbors. In fact they were hostile to White ideas of a "One Russia". The AFSR had to guard against them. Table of Organization A typical corps had 2 divisions, engineer battalion, corps artillery with 2 batteries, reconn/bomber air detachment A/O (12 aircraft), corps train, hospital and telegraph companies. Armor and more or less aircraft could be attached. The T/O goes down to the division level with famous mentioned. A typical division had 2 brigades of: 2 regiments each, division trains, and divisional artillery with 4-8 batteries. Cavalry corps had 2 divisions, aviation detachment, armored cars detachment, and signal. Cavalry divisions had 2 brigades with 2 regiments each, a divisional artillery with 2 horse batteries, and trains. British Mission The mission contained many things, observers, advisors, training schools and combat units. The schools and combat units started to arrive in 22 March 1919. Six MkV and six MkA arrived with 29 instructors in Novorossisyk and eventually established a school in Taganrog. They continuously trained and maintained the 56 MkV and 17 MkA tanks delivered until the evacuation. A second school was setup for artillery to train Russian on the 18pdr gun and others. The Russian never took well to the British guns due to their complexity and use of mules.: The Russian preferred their simpler 3" and 6" guns pulled by horses for use with artillery and designed with the peasant soldier in mind. They trained units at the school and in the field on a total of 1,121 guns. The third school was the English Flying School setup in Ekaterinodar. The school completed three rounds of training. At first, 3 Russian Volunteer A/Os were trained quickly on DH.9 and a Volunteer and Don A/O were trained on Camels, all were ready by June. Second, 3 Volunteer A/Os were trained on RE.8, this was lengthy on difficult, they were ready in October. A third class was started in October with 3 Don A/O (?) and may never have been completed due to the retreat.: Aircraft totals to South Russia were 130 RE.8, 160 DH.9 or 9a, 50 Camels and 15 SE.5a for use by the RAF and Russians. Many never made it to combat and had the Russians held the line over the winter of 1919/20 they would have had a strong air force. England deployed three squadrons to support the AFSR in combat operations. They drew their equipment from the stocks sent. The 221st SQD deployed in the Astrakhan region until disbanded August when their planes were handed over. The 226th SQD deployed with seaplanes to the Astrakhan region until pulled out in August. The 47th SQD deployed one DH.9 flight in July and another plus the Camel flight in September to the Tsaritsyn region. In October when all combat units were to be pulled from Russia they stayed on as "A" Group of the RAF mission or the "Kuban Group" or Volunteer A/Os 11, 12, and 13. They fought until the mission was pulled in March 1920. It needs to be mentioned that the RE.8 was less than successful. The planes in 1919 were old and worn. Even in its heyday it was regarded as difficult to fly and subject to spins. The Russians crashed several in training and required two months to master it. More White Armies on the South Front OOB Part 1: Introduction Part 2: General Anton Deniken (Jul-Nov 1919) Part 3: Units in the Siberian Army, 9 May 1919 Back to The Gauntlet No. 21 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com