“The General Without Honor”
General: Maurice Janin
1862-1946
Was a French General Appointed to Commander-in-chief of the french and british forces in Siberia during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.
He is known as
The General Without Honor
because of his betrayal to Admiral Kolchak who was the Supreme Ruler and Commander-in-Chief of All Russian Land and Sea Forces, while the surviving members of the royal family lived in exile abroad in safety.
“Vous avez ma parole d'officier.
Je vous garantis que votre sécurité”.
- General: Maurice Janin
On January 14, 1920, after giving his word to guarantee the safety of Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak, he ordered the Czechoslovak Legion to hand him over to the Left Socialist Revolutionaries authorities in Irkutsk.
On 20 January the government in Irkutsk surrendered power to a Bolshevik military committee. The White Army under the command of General Vladimir Kappel advanced toward Irkutsk while Kolchak was interrogated by a commission of five men representing the Revolutionary Committee during nine days between 21 January and 6 February. Despite the arrival of a rumored contrary order from Moscow, Admiral Kolchak was condemned to death along with his Prime Minister: Viktor Pepelyayev.
Both prisoners were brought before a firing squad in the early morning of 7 February 1920. According to eyewitnesses, Kolchak was entirely calm and unafraid, “like an Englishman.” The Admiral asked the commander of the firing squad, “Would you be so good as to get a message sent to my wife in Paris to say that I bless my son?” The commander responded, “I’ll see what can be done, if I don’t forget about it.”
On his return to France he was brought in for a court-martial with delegates from all allies present. The allied majority wanted him to be hanged, had it not been for his efforts during the Great War, it would have been the case. But despite his previous heroics, he was now a disgrace to the entire French army and the French Ministry of War. It was decided that he would be stripped of all rank and titles and be sentenced to life time in military prison. He was later released when he was diagnosed with a fatal tuberculosis.
Many saw him and see him today as the reason why the counter-revolution failed.
If Admiral Kolchak and his staff and government in exile had been successfully evacuated, then They could have regrouped and Launched a new invasion with help of the allies. And perhaps this time been better equipped and better coordinated.
