Nikolai Linevich
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Petrovich Linevich, also Lenevich and Linevitch was a career military officer, General of Infantry (1903) and Adjutant general
in the Imperial Russian Army
in the Far East
during the latter part of the Russo-Japanese War
.
, Linevich entered military service as a cadet in 1855. Stationed with the 75th Infantry Regiment at Sevastopol
, his first combat experience was against the mountain tribes of the western Caucasus Mountains
. He made a name for himself in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), and was appointed commander of the South Ussuri Division in 1895.
During the Boxer Rebellion
, Linevich was commander of the 1st Siberian Army Corps. His forces were attacked at Shanhaiguan
by the Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves under Dong Fuxiang
. After defeating the Chinese Muslim forces, he participated in the Battle of Peking
in 1901. In 1903, he was appointed commander of the Amur Military District
as Governor General of Dauria.
At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War
he was temporarily in charge of the Russian Manchurian Army until the arrival of General Aleksey Kuropatkin
on March 15, 1904. He was again placed in command of the Manchurian Army from October 1904 to March 3, 1905. After the Russian defeat at the Battle of Mukden
, General Kuropatkin was relieved of his command, and Linevich was promoted to succeed him as commander in chief of the Russian armies in the far east. However, once promoted, Linevich procrastinated, irking the Tsar with never-ending demands for reinforcements, and refusing to go on the offensive against the Japanese positions. After the Treaty of Portsmouth
ended the war, Linevich oversaw the evacuation of Russian forces from Manchuia, hampered by strikes and revolutionary agitation by the railroad workers. He refused to take action against the workers, and when a portion of his troops revolted as part of the Russian Revolution of 1905
, he was in no hurry to put down the risings. As a result, he was relieved of his duties in February 1906. Linevich spent the rest of his life in retirement. His wartime journal ("The Russian-Japanese War. From the diaries AN Kuropatkin and NP Linevich") was published posthumously in 1925.
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
in the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in the Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
during the latter part of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
.
Biography
Born in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Linevich entered military service as a cadet in 1855. Stationed with the 75th Infantry Regiment at Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, his first combat experience was against the mountain tribes of the western Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
. He made a name for himself in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), and was appointed commander of the South Ussuri Division in 1895.
During the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
, Linevich was commander of the 1st Siberian Army Corps. His forces were attacked at Shanhaiguan
Shanhaiguan District
Shanhaiguan District is a district of the city of Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, People's Republic of China, named after the pass of the Great Wall within the district, Shanhai Pass...
by the Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves under Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang
Dong Fuxiang , a Chinese, was born Gansu, China. He commanded an army of Chinese Muslim soldiers, which included the later Ma clique generals Ma Anliang and Ma Fuxiang. According to the Western calendar, his birth date is in 1839.- Religion :Conflicting accounts are given about his religion and...
. After defeating the Chinese Muslim forces, he participated in the Battle of Peking
Battle of Peking
The Battle of Peking, or the Relief of Peking, was the battle on 14–15 August 1900 in which a multi-national force relieved the siege of foreign legations in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion...
in 1901. In 1903, he was appointed commander of the Amur Military District
Amur Cossacks
The Amur Cossack Host , a Cossack host created in the Amur region and Primorye in the 1850s on the basis of the Cossacks relocated from the Transbaikal region and freed miners of Nerchinsk region....
as Governor General of Dauria.
At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
he was temporarily in charge of the Russian Manchurian Army until the arrival of General Aleksey Kuropatkin
Aleksey Kuropatkin
Alexei Nikolayevich Kuropatkin was the Russian Imperial Minister of War who is often held responsible for major Russian drawbacks in the Russian-Japanese War, notably the Battle of Mukden and the Battle of Liaoyang.-Early years:Kuropatkin was born in 1848 in what is now Pskov, in the Russian...
on March 15, 1904. He was again placed in command of the Manchurian Army from October 1904 to March 3, 1905. After the Russian defeat at the Battle of Mukden
Battle of Mukden
One of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I, the , the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria...
, General Kuropatkin was relieved of his command, and Linevich was promoted to succeed him as commander in chief of the Russian armies in the far east. However, once promoted, Linevich procrastinated, irking the Tsar with never-ending demands for reinforcements, and refusing to go on the offensive against the Japanese positions. After the Treaty of Portsmouth
Treaty of Portsmouth
The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 after negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine in the USA.-Negotiations:...
ended the war, Linevich oversaw the evacuation of Russian forces from Manchuia, hampered by strikes and revolutionary agitation by the railroad workers. He refused to take action against the workers, and when a portion of his troops revolted as part of the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, he was in no hurry to put down the risings. As a result, he was relieved of his duties in February 1906. Linevich spent the rest of his life in retirement. His wartime journal ("The Russian-Japanese War. From the diaries AN Kuropatkin and NP Linevich") was published posthumously in 1925.
Honors
- Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 3rd class, August 1900 - Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 4th class - Order of St Vladimir, 3rd degree,
- Order of St Vladimir, 4th degree
- Order of St. Anne
Order of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
3rd degree - Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree
- Order of Leopold, 1st degree (Belgium)
- Order of the Rising SunOrder of the Rising SunThe is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
, 1st degree, (Japan) - Order of St. AndrewOrder of St. AndrewThe Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...