Pyotr Wrangel

General Baron Pyotr Wrangel
Пётр Врангель
Wrangel in 1920
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of South Russia
In office 4 April – 21 November 1920
Preceded by	Anton Denikin
Succeeded by	Office disestablished
Commander of the Caucasus Army
In office 21 May – 8 December 1919
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Viktor Pokrovsky
President of the Russian All-Military Union Commander of the Russian Army
In office 1 September 1924 – 25 April 1928
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia
Personal details
Born	August 27 [O.S. August 15] 1878 Novalexandrovsk, Zarasai County, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	25 April 1928(1928-04-25) (aged 49) Brussels, Belgium
Awards	See below
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Russian Empire (1902–1917) White Movement (1917–1920)
Branch/service	Imperial Russian Army White Army
Years of service	1902–1920
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Caucasus Army of South Russia
Battles/wars	Russo-Japanese War World War I Battle of Galicia Gorlice–Tarnów offensive Brusilov offensive Russian Civil War Southern Front of the Russian Civil War Northern Caucasus Operation (1918–1919) Advance on Moscow (1919) Northern Taurida Operation Siege of Perekop (1920) Albanian–Yugoslav border war (1921)

Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (Russian: Пётр Николаевич Врангель, pronounced [ˈpʲɵtr nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ ˈvranɡʲɪlʲ]; German: Peter von Wrangel; August 27 [O.S. August 15] 1878 – 25 April 1928), also known as the Black Baron, was a Russian military officer of the Baltic German nobility who served in the Imperial Russian Army and as the last commanding general of the White Army in the Russian Civil War. After the White defeat, he was a leading figure of the White émigré community in exile.

Born into the Wrangel family, which had a long history of military service, Wrangel graduated from the Mining Institute and volunteered for the army. He was commissioned as an officer after serving in the Russo-Japanese War. During World War I, he distinguished himself as a cavalry commander, earning the Cross of St. George for his heroism at the Battle of Kaushen. After the October Revolution, he joined the anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Army.

In 1919, as commander of the Caucasian Army, he achieved a major victory with the capture of Tsaritsyn. His strategic disagreements with General Anton Denikin led to his dismissal. He was reinstated in 1920 as Commander-in-Chief of the White forces in Crimea. As head of the self-proclaimed Government of South Russia, he conducted sweeping administrative and land reforms in an attempt to win popular support. Overwhelmed by the Red Army, Wrangel organized a mass evacuation from Crimea in November 1920, saving more than 145,000 soldiers and civilians.

In exile, he worked to preserve the Russian military and cultural identity, establishing the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS) to unite émigré veterans. He lived in Yugoslavia and later Brussels, where he died in 1928. His family believed he was poisoned by a Soviet agent.