The Military Writings of
Leon Trotsky

Volume 2, 1919

How the Revolution Armed

The Southern Front

I. The Red Army’s Offensive
Towards the Ukraine and the Don (January-May 15, 1919)

TELEGRAM ON THE
OCCASION OF THE DEATH
OF COMRADE KIKVIDZE

From the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic to the Headquarters of the 16th Division

Transcribed and HTML markup for the Trotsky Internet Archive by David Walters

* * *

[Comrade Kikvidze, commanding the 16th Division, was mortally wounded by a bullet which struck him above the heart on January 10, in the fighting before Zubrilov. – L.T.]

Your leader, Kikvidze, one of the revolution’s best soldiers, has been taken from us. Though recently shell-shocked, he remained at his post. This time, the enemy bullet found its mark. One of the most formidable foes of the Krasnovite counter-revolution has been stricken from our ranks. Hence forth, the 16th Division will be called the Kikvidze Division. From now on, the Kikvidze Division must have but one watchword, one war-cry: ‘Merciless revenge for the death of our leader, death to the Krasnovites, and eternal remembrance for the hero Kikvidze.’

Last updated on: 23.12.2006