Hello everyone,
I am extremely happy to present the 3rd entry in our book club episodes on the book Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel. In my humble opinion, the first and second book club episodes are still some of the best in this podcast’s history. You can listen to the previous episodes below:
Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 1: Always with Honor Chapters 1-3
Mystery Grove Book Club Meeting 2: Always with Honor Chapters 4-6
Latest podcast episodes:
Ep91: [Minions & Monsters review] Should you see this new cinematic odyssey in theaters now? (Paid)
Ep90: Should you watch new movie Young Washington (2026) this Independence Day? (Paid)
Ep89: New anti-migrant thriller Citizen Vigilante (2026) really makes you think (Paid)
The paid subscribers did a really good job on their responses to the discussion prompts this time around. I’ve featured some of my favorites below, but I strongly encourage you to go back to the original discussion post to see for yourself. There are tons of great content in the replies, this is probably my favorite project that we’ve done on this Substack so far.
Featured discussion prompt responses below:
1. Talk about Wrangel’s actual description of the retreat (i.e. not his dispute with Denikin). What stands out to you about conditions on the ground?
Nixonsdaydreams:
Wrangel’s descriptions of how the soldiers had begun behaving during the retreat via the railroads stuck out especially. Many regiments that while diminished many had carriages full of war loot the soldiers mainly officers were actively trading, selling, and working to send back. Much of this loot was “requisitioned” from the places they had liberated from the reds during retreat much of it from the populace they were supposed to protect. Their behavior being more akin to bandits counting the spoils before an eventual exit than soldiers fit to retake their home.
Henry:
On #1–on pg. 124, “told me that the evacuation of Odessa had been a veritable nightmare. No measures had been taken to maintain even a semblance of order. In the port the refugees were killing one another and committing suicide in despair.”
This stood out to me because it was a stark reminder of what defeat looks like when political stakes are real. Just bluntly horrible and murderous and total succumbing to darkness. It’s just a very sobering and grim portrayal of (1) what actual defeat looks like—not just losing some vote, and (2) how bad things can get if people are careless with their duties in a political/military struggle.
2. Was Wrangel and Denikin’s big break inevitable? Talk about the actions of people who aren’t Wrangel and Denikin that might have contributed to the mess.
Wesley:
Wrangel and Denikin’s big break seems to me to have not been inevitable at first but would eventually enter a path of no return. In chapter 6 when Wrangel was surrounded after going to the theatre he writes, “Amongst other questions I was asked: ‘What are your relations with General Denikin? Is it true that you have broken completely with the Commander-in-Chief?’
An invisible hand was fostering intrigue behind the scenes and sowing the seeds of doubt and confusion in all minds.”
In any political system those shadowy forces are a fact of life. Ultimately it was up to Denikin to see the situation clearly enough to continue trusting Wrangel. Those seeds of doubt blossomed through the Disaster of chapter 7 as Denikins reputation continued to decline and Denikins close officers (as seen in Wrangels discussion with Romanovsky where Wrangel had his epic go-off moment on him “It means that intrigues are still flourishing—that is all…”) provided no help in seeing the situation clearly.
Aethermacht:
Denikin clearly had some degree of paranoia of Wrangel seizing power from him. The military defeats that led many to openly disavow Denikin while hyping up Wrangel certainly did not help this perception. Perhaps these sorts of personality issues could have been resolved if Denikin was not so feminine in his conflict with Wrangel. If upon receiving Wrangel’s demands Denikin made it clear that the offering of demands under threat of desertion was unacceptable, perhaps an understanding could have been reached. Instead in person Deinkin bent to Wrangel but in private he lashed out.
Also having a rebellious Captain Orlov publish a proclamation that his band would only submit to Wrangel was funny in how ill-timed it was.
3. Wrangel spends what seems to be an usually large amount of time describing the actual legal succession process between him and Denikin as head of White forces at the Council of War. What happened there and why does Wrangel give it so much emphasis?
WDot:
Honestly it was worth Wrangel putting in the effort to have the appearance of being an officially appointed successor to Denikin, rather than a democratically elected one. If the council can vote Wrangel in on a whim, they can vote him out on a whim, which could make an already chaotic situation worse.
“I personally considered it absolutely inadmissible that a new Commander-in-Chief should be elected by his future subordinates” -- I don’t think this came from pride, but from properly considering the source of legitimate authority. When Denikin was in charge, there was no legitimate democratic method to remove Denikin a Commander-in-Chief (and there should not have been!) If Denikin appoints a successor, this governance structure doesn’t change. For a military institution, especially one on the backfoot, that’s important!
What if some of Wrangel’s generals start grumbling about him over a particular order? The idea of voting in a new general would at least cross their mind. Bullying Denikin into issuing an edict that says the words “Wrangel is hereby appointed Commander-in-Chief,” with no reference to a vote, brought stability to that transition.
4. What are Wrangel’s main problems when actually assumes command in Crimea?
Wrangel details a litany of problems when he assumes command in Crimea: low morale; acute manpower and supply shortages; lack of control over backline cities; lack of legitimacy and public support; flagging international backers. To fuse these issues together, Wrangel inherits an army without a legitimate state.
5. How does Wrangel solve these problems?
Wrangel’s actions in Chapter 9 are his attempt to turn this weakness to a strength. He changes the goal of the Volunteer/Russian Army from contesting control of the entire Empire to defending a legitimate breakaway government on Russian soil, aiming to outlast the Soviets. His every action in that chapter is taken with the goal of establishing legitimacy.
Briefly, I would say Wrangel takes a three-pronged approach in creating legitimacy in his government. First, he fixes the most urgent and debilitating issues with supply and lawlessness, distinguishing his regime from Deniken’s. I’d note here that he takes time to mention that he ceases public executions as they are no longer effective. He just wants the free subscribers of Crimea totally disappeared, erased from history.
Second, he builds personal relationships with all of the stakeholders in the region, establishing his government as one for all true Russian patriots. I think he realizes that pretty much everyone left alive has panicked and made some mistakes at some point over the past few years, so he implements a campaign of persuasion rather than punishment. In Chapter 9 alone, he personally meets with the insane Cossack leaders, foreign dignitaries, the libtard newspapermen, that treasonous mayor, and even representatives from the bordering peasant soviets. He has boats everywhere trying to pick up refugees. He even writes to the Red Army itself!
Finally, and necessarily after the first two steps, Wrangel begins institution building. Hes built a tribunal system so far, and is about to start with the land reform program. This is incredibly important as the government at the moment is entirely dependent on his reputation and health. When these institutions are established, the hope is that people will start believing in government again, not just his personal leadership.
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