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Alexey Kaledin

Alexey Maksimovich Kaledin (Russian: Алексей Максимович Каледин; 24 October 1861 – 11 February 1918) was a Don Cossack Cavalry General who commanded the 12th Cavalry Division and Russian Eight Army during World War I.

Born~Died Oct 24, 1861 ~ Feb 11, 19180 views in 30 daysLast edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:28 PM

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Details

Born ~ Died: Oct 24, 1861 ~ Feb 11, 1918
Born: (1861-10-24)24 October 1861, Ust-Khopyorskaya, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire
Died: 11 February 1918(1918-02-11) (aged 56), Novocherkassk, Russian SFSR
Allegiance: Russian Empire, Don Republic (White Movement)
Branch: Imperial Russian Army, Don Army (White Movement)
Service years: 1889–1918
Rank: General of the cavalry
Commands: 12th Cavalry Division and 8th Army (WW1), Don Army
Conflicts: Russo-Japanese War World War I Brusilov offensive Battle of Lutsk Battle of Kostiuchnówka Russian Civil War
Location: 49.5716, 42.4043

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Contents

1.Early years
2.World War I
3.Civil War
4.Honours and awards
5.References
6.Notes

Alexey Maksimovich Kaledin (Russian: Алексей Максимович Каледин; 24 October 1861 – 11 February 1918) was a Don Cossack Cavalry General who commanded the 12th Cavalry Division and Russian Eight Army during World War I. He also led the Don Cossack White movement in the opening stages of the Russian Civil War.

Early years

Kaledin attended the Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School and the General Staff Academy.¹

World War I

Kaledin served as a cavalry commander at the beginning of the war, before taking over command of a cavalry corps, and rising to the rank of General of the Cavalry. He was then assigned command of the 8th Army on the Southwest Front, participated in the Brusilov Offensive,¹² and won the Battle of Lutsk.

Kaledin spoke at the Moscow State Conference, stating "all Soviets and committees must be abolished, both in the army and in the rear." Following the Kornilov affair, Kaledin retreated back to Novocherkassk, and protection of the voisko, to avoid arrest by the Provisional Government.³¹

When he was 55 years old, the Cossack krug had elected Kaledin as their ataman. According to Peter Kenez, Kaledin "...thus became the first democratically chosen leader of the Cossacks since 1723."¹

Civil War

According to Kenez, "On November 9, immediately after receiving news of the Petrograd revolution, and acting in the name of the voisko government, he invited the members of the Provisional Government to Novocherkassk to join him in organizing the anti-Bolshevik struggle." On 15 November, Mikhail Alekseyev arrived and started organizing a new army. On 20 November, the voisko declared its independence. On 5 December, Kaledin declared martial law when news came that a Red Guard detachment had been sent by the Soviet regime. Between 9 and 15 December, with the aid of the Alekseev Organization, Kaledin was able to suppress Bolshevik resistance in Rostov-on-Don, and then open the third session of the krug. On 19 December, Lavr Kornilov arrived, and by the end of the month, had reorganized the Alekseev Organization into the Volunteer Army. By January 1918, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko was threatening Rostov and Taganrog with a force led by Sivers. On 10 February [O.S. 28 January] 1918 Sivers had taken control of Taganrog, and Kornilov decided to retreat from the Don.¹

The prospect of the loss of Rostov-on-the-Don⁴ and the impending retreat of the Volunteer Army during their Ice March⁵ led Kaledin to believe that the whole situation had become hopeless. On (11 February [O.S. 29 January] 1918) he resigned from his post and committed suicide by shooting himself.⁶⁷

Honours and awards

Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1897)
Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class (1902)
Order of St. George, 4th class for the battle on the river near the village of Hnyla Lypa, October 12, 1914.
Order of St. George, 3rd class for the Battle of Kalush, September 12, 1915.
Sword of St. George

References

A biography and other resources (in Russian)
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia entry for Kaledin (in Russian)

Notes

Kenez, Peter (2004). Red Attack, White Resistance; Civil War in South Russia 1918. Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9780974493442. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Buttar, Prit (2017). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 120, 126. ISBN 9781472824899. ↩
Chamberlin, William (1935). The Russian Revolution, 1917-1921. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 204, 220. ↩
Rostov-on-the-Don fell to Sivers on 23 February 1918. ↩
The Ice March took place between 22 February and 13 May 1918. ↩
First World War.com - a multimedia history of world war one ↩
Bourne, J. M. (2001). Who's who in World War One. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-415-14179-6. Retrieved 17 June 2009. ↩

Early years

Kaledin attended the Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School and the General Staff Academy.¹

World War I

This page is based on “Alexey Kaledin” from English Wikipedia, (r1379823463) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.

Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:28 PM · r113168 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Kenez, Peter (2004). Red Attack, White Resistance; Civil War in South Russia 1918. Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9780974493442. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Buttar, Prit (2017). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 120, 126. ISBN 9781472824899. ↩
Chamberlin, William (1935). The Russian Revolution, 1917-1921. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 204, 220. ↩
Rostov-on-the-Don fell to Sivers on 23 February 1918. ↩
The Ice March took place between 22 February and 13 May 1918. ↩
First World War.com - a multimedia history of world war one ↩
Bourne, J. M. (2001). Who's who in World War One. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-415-14179-6. Retrieved 17 June 2009. ↩

Kenez, Peter (2004). Red Attack, White Resistance; Civil War in South Russia 1918. Washington, DC: New Academia Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9780974493442. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Buttar, Prit (2017). Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 120, 126. ISBN 9781472824899. ↩
Chamberlin, William (1935). The Russian Revolution, 1917-1921. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 204, 220. ↩
Rostov-on-the-Don fell to Sivers on 23 February 1918. ↩
The Ice March took place between 22 February and 13 May 1918. ↩
First World War.com - a multimedia history of world war one ↩
Bourne, J. M. (2001). Who's who in World War One. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-415-14179-6. Retrieved 17 June 2009. ↩

Alexey Kaledin

Early years

World War I

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Early years

World War I

Opinions 0

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Other languages

Early years

World War I

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Sub-pages

Opinions 0

Nearby events

Alexey Kaledin

Early years

World War I

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Footnotes

Early years

World War I

Opinions 0

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Footnotes

Other languages

Early years

World War I

Civil War

Honours and awards

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sub-pages

Opinions 0

Nearby events