Nikolai Golovin

Nikolai Nikolayevich Golovin (Russian: Николай Николаевич Головин; 4 December 1875, – 10 January 1944) was an Imperial Russian general and military historian.

Nikolai Golovin
Nikolai Golovin
Born	4 December 1875 Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	10 January 1944 (aged 68) Paris, France
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Service/branch	Imperial Russian Army White Army
Years of service	1895(?)–1918
Rank	Chief of Staff
Commands held	Grodno Hussar regiment Professor, General Staff Academy Quartermaster General, 9th Army Chief of Staff, 7th Army
Other work	The problem of the Pacific in the twentieth century. 1922. (co-authored with Andrei Bubnov) The Russian Campaign of 1914: The Beginnings of the War and Operations in East Prussia. Fort Leavenworth, KS, The Command and General Staff School Press, 1933.

Biography

Since 1908 Golovin was professor of tactics at General Staff Academy.

At the beginning of the First World War Golovin commanded Grodno Hussar regiment. Later he was transferred to staff of the general Lechitsky 9th Army as Quartermaster-General (Director of operations), and in 1916 as Chief of Staff of 7th Army. In 1917 he was Chief of Staff of Romanian Front.

After the Russian Revolution and break-up of the army he retired to Odessa where he lived in obscurity until the victory of the Allies and opening of the Black Sea allowed him to come to Western Europe.

In autumn 1919 he travelled from Paris through Vladivostok to Siberia to join admiral Kolchak's anti-bolshevik "white" forces. It was assumed that Golovin would be the Chief of Staff of Kolchak's army. But when he arrived at Omsk, Kolchak's army was already retreating in disarray. Golovin decided that the situation was hopeless and did not take command, returning to Vladivostok and Europe.

While living as an emigre in Paris he authored numerous books and articles on military theory and military history. He collected documents on Russian history for the Hoover library. Golovin's personal collection of documents was also deposited in the Hoover Institution's archive.[1]

Works

Books

• The problem of the Pacific in the twentieth century. 1922. (co-authored with Andrei Bubnov)
• The Russian Army in World War I. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1931.
• The Russian Campaign of 1914: The Beginnings of the War and Operations in East Prussia. Fort Leavenworth, KS, The Command and General Staff School Press, 1933.
• Air strategy. 1936.

Articles

• Great battle for Galicia: A Study in Strategy The Slavonic Review, Vol. 5, No. 13 (Jun., 1926), pp. 25–47
• Brusilov's Offensive: The Galician Battle of 1916. The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 13, No. 39 (Apr., 1935), pp. 571–596
• The Russian War Plan of 1914. The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 14, No. 42 (Apr., 1936), pp. 564–584.
• The Russian War Plan of 1914: II. The Execution of the Plan. The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 15, No. 43 (Jul., 1936), pp. 70–90

References

1. Register of the Nikolai Nikolaevich Golovin Papers, 1912-1943

Literature

• Timothy C. Dowling. Golovin, Nikolai (1875–1944) // Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond [2 volumes]. — ABC-CLIO, 2014. — P. 311. — 1166 p. — ISBN 9781598849486.
• Головин, Николай Николаевич // Военная энциклопедия : [в 18 т.] / под ред. В. Ф. Новицкого [и др.]. — СПб. ; [М.] : Тип. т-ва И. Д. Сытина, 1911—1915. [in Russian]
• Залесский К. А. Головин Николай Николаевич // Кто был кто в первой мировой войне. Биографический энциклопедический словарь. М., 2003. [in Russian]
• Порохин С. Генерального штаба Генерал-лейтенант, профессор Головин Николай Николаевич // Посев. — 2011. — Вып. 10 (1609). — С. 41-44. — ISSN 0234-8284. [in Russian]