Sretensk prisoner of war camp

Last updated
Sretensk
Prisoner-of-war camp
Travelogues; (1917) (14596370080).jpg
Sretensk in 1917
Russia administrative location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Sretensk within Russia
Coordinates 52°15′N117°43′E / 52.250°N 117.717°E / 52.250; 117.717 Coordinates: 52°15′N117°43′E / 52.250°N 117.717°E / 52.250; 117.717
Location Sretensk, Russia
Operated byRussia
Operational1914–1921
InmatesMainly Germans, Austro-Hungarians

Sretensk was a Russian prisoner-of-war camp established in October 1914 with the intent of housing Central Powers' troops captured during the course of World War I. The camp was situated in the city of Sretensk and combined barracks and private residences to house the internees. The internal affairs of the camp were regulated by a committee of interned officers and the camp authorities. Between December 1915 and March 1916 the camp was affected by a typhus epidemic. Following the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia in February 1917, conditions in the camp worsened. A number of prisoners joined rival factions during the Russian Civil War while those who remained came under fire when the fighting spread to the camp. The last prisoners were evacuated from the camp in the middle of 1921.

Contents

Background

The 28 June 1914 assassination of Austro-Hungarian heir presumptive Archduke Franz Ferdinand precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. The conflict quickly attracted the involvement of all major European countries, pitting the Central Powers against the Entente coalition and starting World War I. [1] [2] Russia fought on the side of the Entente, engaging the German Empire and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front. Russia took its first prisoners of war during the course of its invasion of East Prussia and the Battle of Galicia in August–September 1914. [3]

Camp

The Sretensk prisoner-of-war camp was established in October 1914 with the intent of housing captured German and Austro-Hungarian troops. Sretensk was among the 10 camps established in the Zabaykalsky Oblast, the others being Chita, Nerchinsk, Troitskosavsk, Verkhneudinsk, Barguzin, Peschanka, Dauria, Antipicha and Berezovka. The camps were not camps in the strictest sense but rather housing projects within preexisting settlements dedicated to the internment of prisoners. As of 14 October 1914, Sretensk housed around 1,000 prisoners. By the end of 1915 the number had risen to 11,000. In contrast, the city's permanent population numbered only 7,000. The majority of the prisoners were held in the barracks of the 16th Siberian Infantry Regiment and the railway station barracks. A small number of high ranking officers settled in private houses due to the lack of available quarters. The camp was guarded by the 719th Ufa Infantry Druzhina as the town's former garrison had departed for the frontlines. [3]

At first foreign officers were allowed to venture through the town freely visiting the local coffee shop and billiards club, but this was put to an end by an order dated 23 October 1914. Nevertheless, officers lived a relatively comfortable life, receiving at least 50 rubles per year depending on their rank, allowing them to acquire products from the local marketplace. They were assisted by batmen who acted as cooks and servants. The order also put into place an officers committee, tasked with maintaining order, regulating the health services, security, leisure, and religious life of the prisoners in conjunction with the camp authorities. Lutheran and Catholic Christians held services in a wooden church of their own construction, while Jews were permitted to practice in a separate room with the help of the town's rabbi. The committee organized football, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, athletics competitions, with an orchestra and a theater supplementing them. The committee also regulated the postage service and the distribution of aid from the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations. With the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war, the camp began receiving prisoners captured during the Caucasus Campaign. In early 1915, Sretensk received a group of 43 Ottomans, among whom were some Armenians. The absence of Turkish speaking translators complicated their internment and led to the 1917 transfer of Ottoman prisoners to the Dauria camp. [3]

The combination of extreme climatic conditions, contacts with civilians, the density of the population in the barracks and poor organization led to the first outbreak of typhus in December 1915. In February 1916, a quarantine was enforced and sick prisoners were transferred either to the hospital or separate barracks. The epidemic was subdued in March with the help of two Swedish Red Cross sisters of mercy who had arrived two months earlier. In order to further isolate the healthy from the sick, healthy prisoners formed groups which were employed in the local agricultural sector. Productivity improved rapidly once the work became paid. The spectrum of employment opportunities gradually expanded to include the telegraph–post service, railroad maintenance, leather work, logging, photo ateliers, mills, construction work, production of building materials and soap. The influx of cheap labor greatly benefited the local economy. Over time the camp was visited by delegations from the Danish and Swedish Red Cross as well as the American embassy. The commander of the Zabaykalsk gendarmerie believed the Swedish Red Cross mission to be motivated by intelligence gathering rather than humanitarian concerns. Reports issued by the delegation attested to the upholding of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. [3] [4]

Dissolution

Following the abdication of Czar Nicholas II of Russia in February 1917, conditions within the camp turned for the worse. Rations were reduced and the supply of clothing and medication limited to the point of distributing the clothes of dead internees to their comrades. The outbreak of the October Revolution of 1917 marked the beginning of the Russian Civil War, making the internees almost entirely dependent on the help of the Red Cross. On 3 March 1918, the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia's participation in World War I. At the same time Adolf Osipovich a local Bolshevik agitator began his propaganda campaign in the camp. A number of Hungarian internees were persuaded by his appeals to world revolution and joined the Bolshevik International Battalions. German and Austrian prisoners on the other hand enlisted into units under the command of Grigory Semyonov and Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, who belonged to the rival white movement. However, the majority of the prisoners remained neutral, awaiting their release. In early 1920, a Bolshevik unit under Ivan Fadeev took cover in the camp's barracks leading to numerous casualties among the internees after it became the target of a Japanese artillery bombardment. In April 1921, the remaining prisoners were transferred to Primorie, the last prisoners left for their homelands from Vladivostok in the middle of the same year. A self made memorial dedicated to the prisoners that perished in the camp was erected in the Fillipicha valley outside the camp, an inscription in Hungarian reads, "To our comrades that perished so far from the motherland. Officers and soldiers of the allied Austrian–Hungarian–German–Turkish army. 1914–1915–1916." [3]

Footnotes

  1. Albertini 1953, p. 36.
  2. Fischer 1967, p. 73.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Ilkovskiy 2014, pp. 196–206.
  4. Shalamov 2015, pp. 317–323.

Related Research Articles

Central Powers Military coalition in World War I

The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires, was one of the two main coalitions that fought World War I (1914–18). It consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria; hence it is also known as the Quadruple Alliance. Colonies of these countries also fought on the Central Powers' side such as the Micronesia and German East Africa, until almost all of their colonies were occupied by Allies.

Czechoslovak Legion Volunteer armed force fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I

The Czechoslovak Legion were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I. Their goal was to win the support of the Allied Powers for the independence of Bohemia and Moravia from the Austrian Empire and of Slovak territories from the Kingdom of Hungary, which were then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the help of émigré intellectuals and politicians such as the Czech Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik, they grew into a force of over 100,000 strong.

Eastern Front (World War I) The East European theater of World War I

The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier between the Russian Empire and Romania on one side and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and the German Empire on the other. It stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, involved most of Eastern Europe, and stretched deep into Central Europe as well. The term contrasts with "Western Front", which was being fought in Belgium and France.

Bosnian Crisis Crisis trigged by Austria-Hungarys annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908

The Bosnian Crisis, also known as the Annexation Crisis or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted on 5 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, territories formerly within the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire but under Austro-Hungarian administration since 1878.

Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland (1919–1924)

Camps for Russian prisoners and internees in Poland that existed during 1919–1924 housed two main categories of detainees: the personnel of the Imperial Russian Army and civilians, captured by Germany during World War I and left on Polish territory after the end of the war; and the Soviet military personnel captured during the Polish–Soviet War, the vast majority of them captured as a result of the battles of 1920. Locations of the camps included Strzałkowo, Pikulice, Wadowice, and Tuchola.

A separate peace is a nation's agreement to cease military hostilities with another even though the former country had previously entered into a military alliance with other states that remain at war with the latter country. For example, at the start of the First World War, Russia was a member, like the United Kingdom and France, of the Triple Entente, which went to war with the Central Powers formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. After the fall of Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the rise to power of the Bolsheviks, Russia defaulted on its commitments to the Triple Entente by signing a separate peace with Germany and its allies in 1917. This armistice was followed on 3 March 1918 by the formal signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Allies of World War I Group of countries that fought against the Central Powers in World War I

The Allies of World War I or Entente Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and their colonies during the First World War (1914–1918).

Sretensk Town in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia

Sretensk is a town and the administrative center of Sretensky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Shilka River, 385 kilometers (239 mi) east of Chita, the administrative center of the krai. Population: 6,850 (2010 Census); 8,192 (2002 Census); 10,445 (1989 Census).

Ukrainian Austrian internment

The Ukrainian Austrian internment was part of the confinement of enemy aliens in Austria during World War I. Central Camp Talerhof was a concentration camp operated by the Austro-Hungarian imperial government between 1914 and 1917 in the Austrian state of Styria.

Thalerhof internment camp

Thalerhof was a concentration camp created by the Austro-Hungarian authorities active from 1914 to 1917, in a valley in foothills of the Alps, near Graz, the main city of the province of Styria.

Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary) Award

The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence. It became obsolete in 1918 with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Polish I Corps in Russia was a military formation formed on 24 July 1917 in Minsk from Polish and Lithuanian personnel serving in the Western and Northern Fronts of the Russian Army.

Samu Hazai

Baron Samu Hazai was a Hungarian military officer and politician of Jewish origin, who served as Minister of Defence of Hungary between 1910 and 1917.

Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia 1914—1918 military occupation

The Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia was a military occupation of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces that lasted from late 1915 until the end of World War I.

Tuchola prisoner of war camp

The Tuchola prisoner of war camp, located in the town of Tuchola, was built and operated by the German Empire from 1914 until 1918 and then by the Second Polish Republic from 1920 until 1921.

Ottoman Empire in World War I Involvement of Ottoman Empire in World War I

The Ottoman Empire came into World War I as one of the Central Powers. The Ottoman Empire entered the war by carrying out a surprise attack on Russia's Black Sea coast on 29 October 1914, with Russia responding by declaring war on 5 November 1914. Ottoman forces fought the Entente in the Balkans and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The Ottoman Empire's defeat in the war in 1918 was crucial in the eventual dissolution of the empire in 1922.

The diplomatic history of World War I covers the non-military interactions among the major players during World War I. For the domestic histories of participants see home front during World War I. For a longer-term perspective see international relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919) and causes of World War I. For the following (post-war) era see international relations (1919–1939). The major "Allies" grouping included the British Empire, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Opposing the Allies, the major Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Bulgaria. Other countries and their colonies also became involved. For a detailed chronology see timeline of World War I.

Sliven was a prisoner-of-war camp established in Sliven in 1915 with the intent of housing Serbian troops captured during the course of World War I. Over time Greek and Serbian civilians joined their ranks reaching 19,000 at its peak. From 1916 until its dissolution in 1918 then camp served as a punitive institution. Internees suffered from the lack of proper housing conditions, typhus, malnutrition and ill treatment from their guards. This led to the deaths of over 6,000 prisoners.

Chita Operations

The Chita Operations were a series of military engagements fought in the Russian Civil War. On 10 April 1920, the army of the Far Eastern Republic (FER) launched the first operation, aiming at destroying the White Movement's Chita holdup in east Transbaikal which prevented it from connecting with its allies in Primorsky Krai. The first operation ended three days later, a second offensive likewise failed to achieve its final objectives. Fighting continued, however neither side could boast significant territorial gains. On 15 July, the FER signed the Gongota Agreement of 1920 with Japan, the latter's withdrawal from Transbaikal severely weakened the Whites. The FER army was restructured and reinforced by its new commander Genrich Eiche, while morale under Grigory Semyonov's White units plummeted. On 1 October, Eiche launched the final Chita operation, by the end of the month the area of the Chita holdup had been subjugated.

Hong Kong during World War I

The British colony of Hong Kong saw no military action during World War I (1914–1918). The biggest external threat to the colony was perceived to be the German East Asia Squadron, but the squadron was eliminated in December 1914. Nonetheless, the city served as an important port in East Asia, including as the headquarters of the British China Station, and saw significant socioeconomical changes during the war.

References