Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel Paperback – October 23, 2020

This is really excellent stuff, though it is so sad to think how things could have been so different. I really do think Wrangel could have won, and – to use Churchill’s phrase – strangled the Bolshevik baby in its cradle, thus saving Russia and the world from oceans of suffering. The treachery and betrayal of the British – largely due to my namesake and distant kinsman General George Milne – is particularly painful for me to read.Wrangel’s tone is fair, dispassionate, and measured. The military action is explained in clear and fascinating detail, especially the key battles around Tsaritsyn – which, of course, is the city which under its (temporary) name of Stalingrad would later be the scene for equally decisive conflict on a far greater scale. Political matters are given their due too – especially Wrangel’s determined attempt to introduce democracy and land reform. Tragically, all his reforms were undone when the Bolsheviks won. One of the inevitable consequences of undoing all Wrangel’s sensible agrarian policies and imposing Bolshevik policies instead was a devastating famine in which millions died – and yet that was only the first of many famines, all either caused or exacerbated by Bolshevism, which would poison the land for decades to come.There are some very entertaining pen portraits of some of Wrangel’s colleagues, who included the heroically brave and inspirational but also alcoholics, incompetents, and the clearly insane. Efforts at the front were frequently vitiated by enemy propaganda behind the lines, or by the foolishness of his allies – which included newspapers advocating pogroms, for example. One senses Wrangel’s frustration as his noble efforts, both on the battlefield and to build a free Russia, are undermined from both within and without.Wrangel is icily polite about many of his colleagues, but in ways which make it clear why they were so useless. This is particularly true of the unfortunate General Denikin. His catastrophic handling of the White cause in south Russia meant that the command he bequeathed to Wrangel was by then a poisoned chalice. All that could really be achieved was a successful evacuation of the Crimean last bastion – which, had anyone but Wrangel been in charge, would almost certainly have been a disaster.Wrangel – never shy of recording the failures as well as the triumphs of those who served with him – notes at one point that he had one of his own officers executed “for certain excesses in a restaurant.” Maybe it’s just as well we aren’t told what those excesses were – one presumes something more serious than ordering the wrong wine or blowing one’s nose on the napkin.

This was a really good book. It sheds light on a corner of history I knew the rough outline of, but never spent particular time focusing on. I thought I knew what happened, but the details were surprising.It's an intimate portrait of what it was like for Wrangel to watch his nation collapse and fight on long after everyone else gave up trying to keep it alive. It's tragic, knowing how it ends, but it makes for an incredible story and the final speech he made about the Russian veterans was touching. If you're a Russian history fan, get this book and enjoy it.

Must read for anyone who has interest in Russian history and the warnings issued by General Wrangel of the dire consequences of Communism and how it applies to our situation today. General Wrangel was a genius on the battlefield. His ability to access and approach the enemy is extraordinary. Only a handful of leaders are in his category; i.e. Stonewall Jackson, Irwin Rommel, George Patton to mention a few. In addition to this excellent work there is a movie that use to be available on Prime but now is accessible "free" on YouTube, "The Admiral" English subtitles produced in Russia. Production and acting is much better than the inferior product produced in the U.S. Worth everyone's time to view.

The Russian Communist Revolution and its consequences has resulted in a muddied timeline. The new Soviet government worked hard and fast at obscuring its origins, shortfalls, and outright atrocities. statistics are unreliable, reports by many actors within the state are untrustworthy due to the conflict of interest that came from their positions and due to the circumstances of heavy censorship for anything that was remotely critical of the Soviet government. Many people are no-doubt dulled to the pain of engaging with the sycophants of this old regime. any serious attempts to research this period of history have long been frustrated by the memes propagated by academics and the lazy.Now, you have a first hand account that proudly states its biases and shortfalls, while also being the account of an important individual during this tumultuous time in history. in just the first 20 pages, the reader can see that this revolution is a foreign regime change operation, that the entire apparatus of government is subverted with many officials colluding with this outside force or simply being too inept to stop it. With some having ambitions to perhaps secure a higher standing in the future Soviet government, members of government, military, press, and intelligentsia betrayed their own country. so much more is said in these pages, but suffice to say that through the simple words of General Wrangel, one obtains a near-complete picture of the moods and issues of 1917 Russia.This book is a gem and is clearly worth reading if you want to really round out your understanding of the 20th century.

Absolute page-turner. Brilliant book, 100% recommend. Good printing, no noticeable imperfections, good paper, and binding.

Ótima reimpressão!

Ich habe das Buch nach einer Erwähnung in einer Rede von Tucker Carlson gekauft. Es war viele Jahre lang in englischer Sprache verschollen und wurde nun endlich wieder übersetzt. Ich bin überrascht, wie relevant die Themen der roten Revolution auch heute noch sind; es ist fesselnd zu lesen. Das Buch basiert auf realen Ereignissen und zeigt, wie sich die Welt im Grunde bei politischen Instabilitäten nicht verändert hat . Gerade die Szene aus dem Buch, in der Studenten, Schüler und Taxifahrer alle gemeinsam eine rote Schleife in Solidarität mit der Roten Armee trugen, zeigt, wie gefährlich Ideologien sein können und wie sie die interne Stabilität schwächen. Ich habe die Kindle-Version erworben und finde, dass sie für jeden erschwinglich ist. Ich empfehle es uneingeschränkt und werde es auch meinen Eltern empfehlen.

A great book, well printed and easy to follow. It was also very cheap compared to other editions, it is a must have for everyone interested in the Russian Civil War or the White Army

Great piece of history written by a Tsarist general during the Russian civil war, recommended for people interested in Russian politics or the history of WWI as a whole.