Aurora's horn sounded and brought us Marxist ......

This is a phrase that Hersman often heard in later generations - during his elementary, middle, and high school years. It seems that the October Revolution began with the shelling of the armored cruiser Auror, anchored on the banks of the Neva!

And now, when Hersmann, who was the "military expert Comrade Antonov", personally threw himself into the revolution and helped Trotsky to draw up the plan for the uprising. Only then did he realize that he couldn't let the armored cruiser Aurora shoot. That's an armored cruiser with 14 152mm guns! Can you use the 152-mm cannon above to bombard the Hermitage and Maria? Is it to demolish these two ancient palaces with a long history?

Moreover, it was not the well-trained commandos of the German Army who attacked there, but the half-hung garrisons and armed workers of Petersburg. They didn't have the ability to direct the artillery to hit the target accurately - if there was anything worth bombarding with a 152mm cannon. Perhaps the Aurora's shells would fall on their heads, and the 152-millimeter blast would have killed and wounded them heavily.

So the armored cruiser Aurora was not on top of the plans developed by Hersman.

Secondly, it is completely unnecessary for Haiti to storm the Hermitage and Maria. Because there is not much defense there. In Petrograd, the Provisional Government now has only 1,500 women and a similar number of non-commissioned officers, as well as an unknown number of officers. Moreover, there were very few strongholds left in the possession of the Provisional Government. With the exception of the Maria Palace, the Winter Palace, the General Staff building, the Admiralty building, the Overseas Exchange, the Russian Imperial Bank building, and other important strongholds, the whole of Petrograd has actually fallen into the hands of various armed forces that support the Bolsheviks.

So there was no problem in capturing Petrograd - Hersmann devised a plan to seize Petrograd by night, and without having to mobilize the masses to take to the streets, he mobilized sailors and garrisons to surround the Winter Palace and Maria Palace and arrest Kerensky and his ministers. Try to shed as little blood as possible, just a peaceful coup d'état.

The real difficulty of the August Revolution was how to repel the counter-revolutionary forces mobilized by the opponents from the front, which was already very close to Petersburg on the Baltic coast due to the rout of the Russian army after the Kerensky offensive. The headquarters of the Russian Northern Front has now been withdrawn to Pskov, next to St. Petersburg, and the front line of the fighting between the two sides is in Latvia, west of Pskov.

Although the Russian army there could not stop the Germans in front of them (historically, the Germans occupied Pskov in the winter of 1917, only a step away from Petrograd), but they were the first-line troops, the best equipped, the best trained, and the most experienced in actual combat in Russia at the moment. Compared to them, the garrison of Petrograd was at best a militia, and the armed workers were even less worthy of mention.

And a part of the Russian army on these fronts (mainly Cossack and Caucasian units) was controlled by old officers loyal to the Provisional Government. Among them were the remnants of the Cossack general Kornilov (about a few thousand men) and the cavalry of another Cossack general, Krasnov, who had won a great victory and then suffered a crushing defeat in the Kerensky offensive, (about five thousand men).

In addition, there are some wall grasses on the Pskov front, such as some predominantly Ukrainian teams. After the February Revolution, the Ukrainians had their own government, the Central Rada, and were ready to become independent or achieve full self-government. Since the Ukrainians are quite numerous in the Russian army, both Kerensky and Lenin gave this Central Rada a certain promise. The former agreed with the Central Rada to lead Ukraine until after the elections to the Constituent Assembly, while Lenin fully agreed with the Central Rada's proposition. However, since Lenin was in the opposition when he made his promise, the Central Rada was still working with Kerensky.

There were also Slavic armies from outside Russia who might also support the Provisional Government. For example, the Czechoslovak Legion, which was recruited by the Provisional Government after the February Revolution from among the Czechoslovak diaspora and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Russia, numbered about 50,000, and was not under the influence of the Bolsheviks.

If Kerensky had been allowed to mobilize some forces and fight back to Petrograd, the revolution would have fallen short.

Therefore, blocking the Pskov line of Russian counteroffensive loyal to the Provisional Government into Petrograd was the most important task of Hesman in the August Revolution (August 15 in the Gregorian calendar, August 27 in the Russian calendar).

"Dear comrades, soldiers of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment of the Petrograd Garrison, I am honored to once again be appointed by the Revolutionary Committee of the Soviet Military as Chairman of your Soldiers' Council. Now I'm going to tell you great news! ”

On the morning of 15 August, Hersman left Petrograd and arrived at Tsarschasya in the evening, taking over the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, which had arrived two days earlier on the orders of the Petrograd Soviets of Engineer Deputies (already under the control of the Bolsheviks) - a force of Lenin's hardcore that had been split up by the Provisional Government and transferred to the front for its involvement in the "July Bloodshed", but which has not yet taken place. Naturally, this regiment remained in Petrograd, and it was also strengthened, absorbing quite a few "deserters" who returned from the front, numbering more than 10,000. It is almost the strength of a division, and it also has a small number of artillery and mortars, and the number of Maxim machine guns is relatively sufficient, at least one per company, and the ammunition is enough to support a campaign. The only deficiency was the shortage of officers, and the soldiers' committees at all levels took full control of the troops. Such an army is a good hand when it makes trouble, but it may not be good to go to the battlefield!

Standing on the second floor of the Alexander Palace (Nicholas II's family had been transferred by the Provisional Government, and this is now the temporary headquarters of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment), on a balcony facing the Great Lawn, stood a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee, Joseph Brown. Stanislavovich. Winshlicht. He was a Polish-Jew, an old Bolshevik, who looked and dressed like a university professor. All the armies south of Petersburg upwards under the leadership of the Military Revolutionary Committee were under the command of a military committee headed by him, of which Hersman was in fact his assistant.

The lawn, on the other hand, was crowded with soldiers of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, a black and spectacular patch, some of whom knew Hersman (who had previously briefly served as chairman of the regiment's Soldiers' Committee). Hearing Hersman say great news, everyone held their breath.

"The Bolshevik Party********** and the Military Revolutionary Committee have passed a resolution to launch an uprising on the night of August 15, this evening, to overthrow the reactionary bourgeois Provisional Government! In a few hours, all power in Russia will belong to the Soviets! ”

"Ulla! Ulla! ”

"Long live the Soviets! Long live the Bolshevik Party! ”

The atmosphere immediately seemed to be ignited, the cheers were deafening, and countless military hats were thrown high into the sky. But the people who cheered "Ula" did not realize that tonight's revolution would be the beginning of a long and brutal civil war!

Nor would anyone have imagined that the Bolsheviks would not only not bring them peace, land, and the right of workers to supervise the factories, but would also completely deprive them of democracy and freedom, the fruits of the victory of the February Revolution!

Hersman and Winshlicht glanced at each other, Winshlicht raised his right hand in the air, the cheers subsided, and everyone held their breath once more.

Hersman took a deep breath and looked at the blackened people on the lawn, now about to announce that they had lost their "freedom".

"Dear comrades!" "I hear your cheers and understand your feelings," exclaimed Hersmann with all his might, but at this important turning point in history, I am compelled to pour cold water on you on behalf of the Soviet Military Revolutionary Committee - it is now possible to declare the revolution begin, but not to declare it victorious, because the enemies of the revolution are still very strong!" Not only the Russian bourgeoisie and the old aristocracy, but also imperialism and capitalism in the rest of the world, especially in Germany! They want us to be slaves forever and will never watch us be liberated, so the brutal struggle has just begun! Only if we are brave enough, if we are firmly united around the Soviets, and are not afraid to sacrifice everything, will we be able to win the final victory! Comrades! Are you willing to fight to defend the revolution, to defend the Soviets? Are you willing to accept the leadership of the Soviet Military Revolutionary Committee? Even if the Revolutionary Military Council asks you to die honorably? ”

"Yes! We do! ”

No one said no......

Hersman nodded and shouted: "Now I announce the order of the Military Revolutionary Committee: from this day forward, all soldiers' committees in all Russia must obey the leadership of the Military Revolutionary Committee!" The Military Revolutionary Committee has the power to dismiss any chairman and member of the soldiers' committee who disobeys orders, and the soldiers' committee has the power to carry out the death penalty on any soldier who refuses to carry out orders or escapes! ”

The soldiers raised their arms and shouted: "Resolutely support the Soviets!" Long live the socialist revolution! ”

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At the end of the article, Rollo continued to roll all over the ground for recommendations and collections!