Pyotr Wrangel

Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (27 August [O.S. 15 August] 1878 – 25 April 1928), nicknamed the "Black Baron", was a Russian military officer who served as a commanding general in the anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Army during the Russian Civil War. In 1920, he became the last commander-in-chief of the White forces in Southern Russia, which he reorganized as the Russian Army.

A scion of the prominent Baltic German Wrangel noble family, Wrangel initially pursued a civilian career at his father's behest, graduating as a mining engineer, but later decided on a military career after volunteering for service in the Russo-Japanese War. A graduate of the Imperial General Staff Academy, he distinguished himself during World War I, becoming one of the first Russian officers to be awarded the Order of St. George for heroism. He rose to the rank of major general.

After the October Revolution, Wrangel joined the Volunteer Army in August 1918 and was given command of major cavalry formations. He became known for his aggressive leadership and battlefield successes in the Northern Caucasus. In 1919, he captured the strategic city of Tsaritsyn but soon clashed with his superior, Anton Denikin, over the latter's Moscow Directive, a plan Wrangel considered strategically flawed. The growing rivalry led to his dismissal from command in December 1919.

Following Denikin's resignation in April 1920, Wrangel was elected commander-in-chief of the shattered White forces in Crimea. He established the Government of South Russia and attempted to win popular support with a wide-ranging series of reforms, including a radical land reform. After initial military successes against the Red Army, his forces were defeated, and he organized a mass evacuation from Crimea in November 1920, successfully evacuating over 145,000 people. In exile, he remained a leader of the White movement and founded the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS) in 1924. He is remembered as the last commander of the White Army, a more able administrator and strategist than his predecessors, who took command when the White cause was already considered lost.