Boris Alekseyevich Smyslovsky
Born(1897-12-03)3 December 1897
Terijoki (Vyborg Province), Grand Duchy of Finland[lower-alpha 1], Russian Empire
Died5 September 1988(1988-09-05) (aged 90)
Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Allegiance
Service/branchRussian Imperial Army
German Army (Wehrmacht)
RankCaptain (Russian Imperial Army)
Generalmajor (Wehrmacht)
Commands heldSonderdivision R
First Russian National Army
Battles/warsWorld War I
Russian Civil War
World War II
AwardsOrder of the German Eagle, Ostvolk Medal, Order of Saint Anna, Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov)

Boris Alexeyevich Smyslovsky[lower-alpha 2] (Russian: Борис Алексеевич Смысловский; 3 December 1897 – 5 September 1988), also known under the pseudonyms Hauptmann von Regenau and (later) Arthur Holmston (Russian: Артур Хольмстон), was a Russian-Finnish general, émigré and anti-communist. He commanded the pro-Axis collaborationist First Russian National Army during World War II.

World War I

He joined the Imperial Russian Army, where he advanced to the rank of captain in the Imperial Guards.

Russian Civil War and the interwar period

During the Russian Civil War he fought against the Bolsheviks in the White Army and then moved to Poland and later to Germany. He attended the Prussian Military Academy. His view was that foreign intervention and help was needed to free Russia from Bolshevism.

World War II

The White émigré and Russian nationalist Boris Smyslovsky, commanded the eastern battalion of the Russian All-Military Union based in Warsaw, and in July 1941 formed an Abwehr Training Battalion (Lehrbattalion) for anti-partisan and warfare duties under Wehrmacht Army Group North. By December, he had recruited more than 10,000 Russians into 12 reconnaissance battalions, unified into Sonderdivision R.[1] In March 1942, Smyslovsky formed the Sonderstab R counterintelligence agency in Warsaw, with Colonel Mikhail M. Shapovalov controlling 1,000 agents in detachment in Pskov.

He soon realized that Nazi ideology was at collision with his views of intelligent use of Russian anti-Bolshevik forces and established feelers to Switzerland in case he would need asylum at the war's end.

1st Russian National Army

Towards the end of the war Germany upgraded its Russian volunteers in the war effort, and the army led by Smyslovsky was eventually elevated to the 1st Russian National Army, i.e. the status of an independent Axis army, on 10 March 1945. By April 1945, Smyslovsky had moved his fighters to Feldkirch where he met Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich, the Romanov claimant to the Russian Imperial Crown. The whittled-down army of 462 men, 30 women, and 2 children then moved into neutral Liechtenstein[2] on 2 May 1945, the Grand Duke, however, decided to stay in the US occupied zone in Austria because neither Liechtenstein nor Switzerland would issue him a visa.[3][4] The Russians were cared for by the Liechtenstein Red Cross. On 16 August 1945, a Soviet delegation came to Liechtenstein in an attempt to repatriate the Russians. About 200 of the group agreed to return. The remainder stayed in Liechtenstein for another year, resisting with support of Liechtenstein further pressure by the Soviet government to participate in the repatriation program.[5] Eventually the government of Argentina offered asylum, and about 100 people left. Smyslovsky later served as an advisor to Juan Perón.[6]

According to Alexander Frick, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, the Russians were at no point in danger of being extradited, and the local population fully supported the government in providing asylum to the Russians.[4] The small population of the country (12,141 in 1945) supported the émigrés (4% of the population) at a rate of 30,000 Swiss francs per month for two years, and paid their costs to move to Argentina; they did not know that these costs were later to be reimbursed by Germany. Liechtenstein was the only country that routinely refused requests by Soviet authorities for the extradition of Soviet citizens suspected of treasonous activities and/or war crimes during World War II. The Liechtenstein government did not obstruct individuals who agreed voluntarily to return to the Soviet Union.[4]

Death

Like most of the rest he went into exile in Argentina. In 1975 he returned to Liechtenstein with his wife Irene. He died in Vaduz on 5 September 1988.[7]

Awards and decorations

Movie

The 1993 French movie Vent d'est, directed by Robert Enrico, is based on the perambulation of Smyslovsky and his army. He is portrayed by Malcolm McDowell.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ today Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg, Russia
  2. ↑ also Smyslovsky-Holmston and Holmston-Smyslovsky

References

  1. ↑ Nigel, Thomas (2015). Hitler's Russian & Cossack Allies 1941–45. Osprey Publishing.
  2. ↑ "Argentina: Last of the Wehrmacht". Time (13 April 1953). Archived from the original 22 December 2008.
  3. ↑ John Curtiss, Constantine V. Pleshake (5 August 2008). The Flight of the Romanovs. Basic books (2000). p. 323. ISBN 978-0-465-02463-6.
  4. 1 2 3 Nikolai Tolstoy (1978). The Secret Betrayal. Charles Scribner's Sons (1977). ISBN 0-684-15635-0.
  5. ↑ "Russische Nationalarmee – Historisches Lexikon". historisches-lexikon.li (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-28.
  6. ↑ Egorov, Boris (2019-10-10). "Russian Jews who became Wehrmacht generals". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  7. ↑ Brief obituary

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