Alexander Fok: Difference between revisions
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Fok graduated from the Konstantinovskoe Artillery School in [[St. Petersburg]] in 1864, and from 1871 |
Fok graduated from the Konstantinovskoe Artillery School in [[St. Petersburg]] in 1864, and from 1871 to 1876 served in the [[Special Corps of Gendarmes]], an elite uniformed [[security police]] force responsible for [[Security agency|state security]]. From 1877 to 1878, he saw combat in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War]]. From 1900, Fok was commander of the 4th East Siberian Rifle Brigade, and participated in the suppression of the [[Boxer Rebellion]].<ref name= Kowner>Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 121.</ref> |
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During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], Fok commanded the [[4th Siberian Rifle Division (Russian Empire)|4th East Siberian Rifle Division]] stationed at [[Lüshunkou|Port Arthur]]. He was noted for his precipitous retreat and failure to reinforce Colonel [[Nikolai Tretyakov]] at the [[Battle of Nanshan]], leading directly to the Russian defeat. He was relieved of command on 21 August 1904 for refusing direct orders to send reserves forward to reinforce faltering Russian lines at the fortification of East Panlung and West Panlung during the [[Siege of Port Arthur]]. However, he remained on the staff of General [[Anatoly Stessel]], who insisted on naming Fok commander of the landward defenses of Port Arthur and promoting him to lieutenant general after the death of General [[Roman Kondratenko]].<ref name= Kowner /><ref name="Nozhin">Nozhin, Lindsay, Swinton, ''The Truth about Port Arthur'', p. 280</ref> Fok was further awarded the [[Order of St. George]] (3rd degree) in October 1904. As commander, Fok constantly refused to commit reserves or reinforcements to front-line units, and after eight months of the siege was one of the first to urge acceptance of the surrender terms extended by Japanese general [[Nogi Maresuke]] at the end of 1904. |
During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], Fok commanded the [[4th Siberian Rifle Division (Russian Empire)|4th East Siberian Rifle Division]] stationed at [[Lüshunkou|Port Arthur]]. He was noted for his precipitous retreat and failure to reinforce Colonel [[Nikolai Tretyakov]] at the [[Battle of Nanshan]], leading directly to the Russian defeat. He was relieved of command on 21 August 1904 for refusing direct orders to send reserves forward to reinforce faltering Russian lines at the fortification of East Panlung and West Panlung during the [[Siege of Port Arthur]]. However, he remained on the staff of General [[Anatoly Stessel]], who insisted on naming Fok commander of the landward defenses of Port Arthur and promoting him to lieutenant general after the death of General [[Roman Kondratenko]].<ref name= Kowner /><ref name="Nozhin">Nozhin, Lindsay, Swinton, ''The Truth about Port Arthur'', p. 280</ref> Fok was further awarded the [[Order of St. George]] (3rd degree) in October 1904. As commander, Fok constantly refused to commit reserves or reinforcements to front-line units, and after eight months of the siege was one of the first to urge acceptance of the surrender terms extended by Japanese general [[Nogi Maresuke]] at the end of 1904. |
Revision as of 10:37, 13 February 2024
Alexander Viktorovich Fok | |
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Born | 6 September 1843 |
Died | 2 December 1926 | (aged 83)
Allegiance | Russian Empire Kingdom of Bulgaria |
Service | Imperial Russian Army |
Years of service | 1864-1906 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Battles / wars | Russo-Turkish War Boxer Rebellion Russo Japanese War First Balkan War |
Awards | Order of St. George |
Alexander Viktorovich Fok (also Foch, Template:Lang-ru; 6 September 1843 – 2 December 1926) was a lieutenant general of the Imperial Russian Army during the Russo-Japanese War.
Biography
Fok graduated from the Konstantinovskoe Artillery School in St. Petersburg in 1864, and from 1871 to 1876 served in the Special Corps of Gendarmes, an elite uniformed security police force responsible for state security. From 1877 to 1878, he saw combat in the Russo-Turkish War. From 1900, Fok was commander of the 4th East Siberian Rifle Brigade, and participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion.[1]
During the Russo-Japanese War, Fok commanded the 4th East Siberian Rifle Division stationed at Port Arthur. He was noted for his precipitous retreat and failure to reinforce Colonel Nikolai Tretyakov at the Battle of Nanshan, leading directly to the Russian defeat. He was relieved of command on 21 August 1904 for refusing direct orders to send reserves forward to reinforce faltering Russian lines at the fortification of East Panlung and West Panlung during the Siege of Port Arthur. However, he remained on the staff of General Anatoly Stessel, who insisted on naming Fok commander of the landward defenses of Port Arthur and promoting him to lieutenant general after the death of General Roman Kondratenko.[1][2] Fok was further awarded the Order of St. George (3rd degree) in October 1904. As commander, Fok constantly refused to commit reserves or reinforcements to front-line units, and after eight months of the siege was one of the first to urge acceptance of the surrender terms extended by Japanese general Nogi Maresuke at the end of 1904.
Taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese after the fall of Port Arthur, Fok returned to Russia after the end of the war. Faced with strong public criticism, he was arrested and brought before a court martial in late 1906 on his return, but was acquitted and released from military service in 1908.[1]
Fok retired from service, but later participated in the Balkan War of 1912-1913 as a volunteer in the Bulgarian Army. He died in 1926 under uncertain circumstances,[1] and according to his wish was buried in a mass grave outside Svishtov in Bulgaria.
Honors
- Order of St. George, 3rd class, 1903
References
- Connaughton, R.M (1988). The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5, London, ISBN 0-415-00906-5.
- Kowner, Rotem (2006). Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4927-5.
- Jager, Sheila. The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Birth of Modern East Asia, (2023). ISBN 9780674983397
- Jukes, Geoffry. The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). ISBN 978-1-84176-446-7.
- Warner, Denis & Peggy. The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905. (1975). ISBN 0-7146-5256-3.
- Nozhin, Evgenii Konstantinovich; Lindsay, Alexander Bertram; Swinton, Ernest Dunlop. The Truth About Port Arthur. London. John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. (1908)
External links
Notes
- 1843 births
- 1926 deaths
- Imperial Russian Army generals
- Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
- Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree
- Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars
- Russian people of the Boxer Rebellion
- Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
- Prisoners of war from the Russian Empire
- White Russian emigrants to Bulgaria
- Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Bulgaria
- Russian duellists