Army of Liechtenstein. Fun facts about Liechtenstein

Perhaps this is our great-power chauvinism or Russian irony, but when you hear the phrase “army of Liechtenstein” (Luxembourg, Andorra, Monaco), no, no, someone will laugh or at least smile. And there is a reason, but there is also something to think about.

Liechtenstein itself owes its birth as at least some subject of European politics (at least the fifth creeping, but still a subject) exclusively to the career appetites of one vain family. The Austrian family of Liechtenstein, which, like any family in Europe, was taking root, growing rich and thirsting for power, had long dreamed of placing the fifth point of one of its offspring in a chair in the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire. But here’s the problem: in order to warm the coveted chair, the Liechtensteins had to own lands, the overlord of which was the emperor himself.

Liechtenstein Castle in Vaduz

On the horizon of the 17th century, just to the advantage of Austrian businessmen, two tiny fiefs appeared - Vaduz and Schellenberg. For previous services, the owners of these two gardens achieved the assignment of the status of an imperial county to these lands. Then their affairs did not go well, and they decided to auction off part of the fiefs. The perspicacious then head of the Liechtenstein family, Hans-Adam I, first bought the fief of Schellenberg in 1699, and 13 years later the second “piece” - Vaduz. So a proud independent microstate can easily be called a country dacha for a family of feudal lords, or even a kind of bribe given in order to occupy a high position.

So the two family gardens would have been hanging out if not for another member of the Liechtenstein house - Anton Florian. Antosha, who served in the imperial treasury and was always hovering around the court, with the help of his matchmaker Eugene of Savoy, achieved the unification of two fiefs into the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1719, and Emperor Charles VI recognized Florian himself as the Prince of Liechtenstein with certain freedoms and relative sovereignty.

Despite the dizzying somersaults of the European, the united dacha estate, named after the citizens who bought the plot, existed as part of the Holy Roman Empire right up to 1806. True, since 1799 this status was purely nominal, because The principality was occupied by the French. The princes of Liechtenstein at that time had no time for gardening - the division of the European buffet began.

The heads of the Liechtenstein family succeeded each other, and some became leaders more than once during their lives. And so Johann I ascended to the role of the official “godfather”, and he just became the last prince of Liechtenstein, who nominally ruled it as part of the Roman Empire. The empire was fragmented, some were afraid of the greatness of others, others of the power of others, and all together trembled from the power of Napoleon. Part of Germany was already occupied by the French, and citizens of the empire from Baden, Bavaria, etc. were already fighting on the side of the Corsican monster. The empire, whose elite held on to their possessions and titles rather than to unity, eventually collapsed.

Despite various historical storms and participation in the war against Napoleon, Johann I remained the ruler of Liechtenstein, although his title was regency for some time, and Liechtenstein itself was part of the puppet Confederation of the Rhine. Taking advantage of the opportunity that arose in the military-political situation, Liechtenstein jumped out of the union in 1813, the following year Johann I became a prince again, and a year later Liechtenstein entered the German Confederation.

Less than half a century had passed before the German Confederation followed the same rake as the Holy Roman Empire. Internal strife against the backdrop of the confederal structure, the rise of nationalism, a series of revolutions in the constituent entities of the confederation, famine and war predetermined the decline of the union. In 1866, Prussia decided to take matters into its own hands - war broke out between Prussia, Italy and a number of duchies on the one hand and the nominal German Confederation, Austria, various kingdoms and duchies on the other.

Liechtenstein sided with Austria. The proud holiday village of one family sent as many as 80 soldiers into the mouth of war. This pioneer detachment did not participate in battles at all. Moreover, when Austria ended the war, the brave veterans took a long walk through the surrounding area and made their way home without losing a single person. Moreover, they brought a friend with them. Having met either an Italian or an Austrian on a walk, they were so inflamed with friendly feelings for him that they invited him along. Not an army, but just a bouquet of dandelions. As they like to say, it's cute...

In 1868, the “army” was disbanded, and about a hundred men fled to their homes. From the same year, Liechtenstein declared its neutrality and sovereignty. This is how Liechtenstein lived, periodically basking in the rays of Austria-Hungary, and after the latter’s loss in the First World War - in the bosom of Switzerland.

Second world war The Principality of Liechtenstein found 33-year-old Franz Joseph II under the reign. While the head of the family was playing the tune of neutrality and internal cohesion (it’s a big problem to unite 11 thousand ordinary people), the princely family itself was buying up the property of Jews exterminated by the Nazis for their own benefit. Those. had close, mutually beneficial connections with the Nazis, because I have not come across any mention of Nazi commissions - all connections of this kind were personal, and all participants in these “business” relationships were aware of where such wealth and antiquities flowed into the Reich’s bins. As if such a “nice” detail was not enough, the chatter about neutrality did not particularly touch the hearts of the citizens of the principality.

As a result, almost a hundred loyal subjects of Franz Joseph II joined the SS troops. Is this too much? Apparently not. But this amounted to almost 1% of the entire population of Liechtenstein. Where did the modest residents of a “nice” seemingly independent European corner come from to bring such a mania to bring a “new European order” to dissident “barbarians”? The question is rhetorical.

But as soon as the “new European order” began to look for a hole into which to crawl away from these same “barbarians,” the leaders of Liechtenstein made another somersault. Hoping to curry favor with the West in a future battle with the Union, and, perhaps, directly on orders from the United States (the principality always warmed itself by someone else’s fireplace), Liechtenstein accepted and provided refuge to the Judases from the Russland battalion. Those. from the very 1st Russian National Army of Boris Smyslovsky, which was essentially engaged in the destruction of our compatriots in the hope of obtaining Gauleiter rights to what was once their own people. By that time, there were 462 undead enemies of the people left. Apparently, very valuable things, because... reconnaissance and sabotage were also part of the duties of Hitler’s servants.

Soon these citizens, whom Liechtenstein flatly refused to extradite, began to scatter like rats. It is generally accepted that most of a pack of rats rushed to Argentina, but, in my humble opinion, if their fidgety tails appeared in the Buenos Aires area, it was only while passing through; at least, especially valuable personnel were unlikely to stay there. But the fate of the SS volunteers from quiet Liechtenstein after the war was somehow not advertised.

Now Liechtenstein does not have an official army, only a law enforcement force of 120 people. The head of the dwarf state is still the prince; now the son of Franz Joseph II, Hans-Adam II, rules. Idyll modern principality is emphasized by the idyll of the princely family itself. Hans-Adam and his offspring position themselves as connoisseurs and benefactors of the arts, sciences and entrepreneurship. And again we see the already familiar bouquet of dandelions. At the same time, connections with the Nazis were carefully erased from the official historical position of the princely house. And the father of the current prince is pure, like the lamb of God.

This is not even emphasized by the fact that the whole of Europe fought against the Union, whose genetic memory will emerge to teach, and at the same time rob the “barbarians,” no matter who they are. This emphasizes immense cynicism, hypocrisy and extremely short memory, especially when it is really necessary. And one can only count on a share of gratitude and honesty in following the letter of any agreements on the part of Europe in feverish delirium.

The Russian monument is a small memorial stone in the village of Hinterschellenberg near the border of Liechtenstein and Austria.

The stone contains the following text:

HIER IN HINTERSCHELLENBERG ÜBERSCHRITTEN IN DER NACHT VOM 2. AUF DEN 3. MAI 1945 DIE ASYLSUCHENDEN RESTE DER “1. RUSSISCHEN NATIONALARMEE DER DEUTSCHEN WEHRMACHT» UNTER IHREM GENERALMAJOR A. HOLMSTON SMYSLOWSKY - ETWA 500 PERSONEN - IN VOLLER AUSRÜSTUNG DIE GROSSDEUTSCHE REICHSGRENZE NACH LIECHTENSTEIN. IN DER "WIRTSCHAFT ZUM LÖWEN" FANDEN DIE ERSTEN VERHANDLUNGEN STATT. DIE ZUR ASYLGEWÄHRUNG DURCH DAS FÜRSTENTUM LIECHTENSTEIN FÜHRTEN. ALS EINZIGER STAAT WIDERSETZTE SICH LIECHTENSTEIN DAMIT DEN SOWJETISCHEN AUSLIEFERUNGSFORDERUNGEN NACH ZWIEIEINHALB JAHREN WURDE DEN RUSSEN DIE AUSREISEN EIN LAND IHRER WAHL ERMÖGLICHT

Here, in Hinterschellenberg, on the night of May 2, 1945, in search of refuge, the remnants of the 1st Russian National Army of the German Wehrmacht under the command of Major General A. Holmston-Smyslovsky in the amount of about 500 people with full weapons crossed the border between the Greater German Reich and Liechtenstein . The first negotiations took place in the Wirtschaft Zum Löwen inn, leading to the granting of asylum in the Principality of Liechtenstein. Thus, Liechtenstein became the only state that resisted Soviet demands for extradition. Two and a half years later, Russians were given the opportunity to travel to countries of their own choice.

This monument is marked on the Liechtenstein tourism map distributed in Vaduz. The monument is located near the Wirtschaft Zum Löwen tavern and 100 meters from the border with Austria. There are 50 buses daily to the village of Hinterschellenberg, according to Wikipedia.

Information from “White Russia”:
Holmston-Smyslovsky Boris Alekseevich (December 3, 1897, Terijoki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian empire- September 5, 1988, Vaduz, Liechtenstein) - Russian count, white immigrant, a fighter against communism during World War II, by the end of the war he led the 1st Russian National Army, created on German territory from Russian emigrants and Soviet prisoners of war.

Count Boris Alekseevich Smyslovsky was born into the family of Guards Artillery General Alexei Smyslovsky. He graduated from the 1st Moscow Empress Catherine II Cadet Corps vice sergeant major. Then he graduated from the Mikhailovskoe Artillery School with the rank of cadet harness and entered service in the Life Guards 3rd Artillery Brigade. At the age of 18 he found himself at the front of the First World War and fought in the Russian Imperial Army, by 1917 captain. In 1918 he joined the Volunteer Army of General Denikin. Member of the White Movement. After civil war emigrated to Poland, then to Germany. In March 1920, his unit was interned in Poland, and Boris Smyslovsky moved to Berlin, where he began working in the Abwehr, the military intelligence of the German army, under the leadership of Admiral Canaris.

From 1928 to 1932 he studied at the Higher Courses at the Military Department (General Staff Academy) of the Reichswehr. While in exile, he maintained contacts with Russian emigrants and the Imperial House, and was a legitimist monarchist. During World War II he took Active participation in the formation of Russian units. He believed that the Germans could contribute to the restoration of Russia: “The victory of the German armies should lead us to Moscow and gradually transfer power into our hands. To the Germans, even after partial defeat Soviet Russia, we will have to fight against the Anglo-Saxon world for a long time. Time will work in our favor, and they will have no time for us. Our importance as an ally will increase, and we will have complete freedom of political action." He said: “I’m not at war with Russia either, I’m at war with Stalin.” At the beginning of 1943, the Germans organized a special purpose division “Russland” from Soviet prisoners of war and Colonel von Regenau, aka Smyslovsky, was appointed its commander. From the very beginning, its chief establishes connections with detachments of the Polish Regional Army and formations of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, as is known, on two fronts - both with the Germans and with the Red Army. This is what led to the arrest of Colonels von Regenau (Smyslovsky) by the Gestapo in December 1943 and the disbandment of the Russland division. Met with A.A. Vlasov several times, supporting him on some issues, but not on others. At the end of 1943, Smyslovsky refused to sign the Smolensk Appeal of Vlasov’s Russian Committee. Soon he was accused by the Germans of supporting AK, NTS and UPA. He was also accused of refusing to hand over Colonel Bulba-Borovets, who visited the headquarters, to the Gestapo. Smyslovsky was arrested, the division was disbanded. At the same time, the Germans lost the flow of intelligence information. Smyslovsky was under investigation for six months.

After its completion, the head of Sonderstab-R was completely rehabilitated and awarded the Order of the German Eagle. Correcting their mistake, the department of the General Staff “Foreign Armies of the East”, headed by R. Gehlen, invited Smyslovsky to once again lead the work in the rear Soviet troops. He set conditions for the German leadership, upon fulfillment of which he agreed to take the post of division commander: 1. Expansion of Russian military intelligence formations. 2. Sanction for their existence from the political leadership of Germany. 3. Providing all rights and means for organizing anti-Soviet partisan movement in the territory Soviet Union. 4. Activities are limited only to the Eastern Front and are conducted only against the USSR. The Supreme Command accepted these conditions and formed a special headquarters under the OKH, transferring 12 training battalions to Smyslovsky. In 1943, Holmston-Smyslovsky was promoted to the rank of colonel, which gave him the right to ignore the demand of some German commanders that the division remain simply a reconnaissance division. His division received combat status and began to directly fight at the front. At the beginning of 1945, Smyslovsky, using his influence in the German General Staff, obtained an order to transfer the 3rd ROA division under his command in order to withdraw it from the Eastern Front to neutral Liechtenstein. However, the division commander, General M. M. Shapovalov, refused to carry out the German order to transfer the division. On April 4, 1945, a few weeks before the end of the war, Smyslovsky’s division received the name of the 1st Russian National Army, and its commander was promoted to major general Wehrmacht. At the end of the war, he withdrew his unit to Liechtenstein, where he surrendered to the government of the principality, which remained an independent and neutral state during the war. Liechtenstein refused to extradite Smyslovsky and his subordinates to the USSR, citing the lack of legal force of the Yalta Agreement on the territory of Liechtenstein.

In 1948 he moved to Argentina. From 1948 to 1955 he was an adviser to President Perón. In 1966-1973 he was an adviser to the General Staff Armed Forces Germany. Founded the Russian military liberation movement named after Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov (the so-called “Suvorov Union”). In 1966 he returned to Liechtenstein, where he died in 1988.

And here from Radio Liberty:

When they write or talk about the history of either citizens of the USSR or Russian emigrants who fought on the side Hitler's Germany, usually referring to General Vlasov and his Russian Liberation Army. Meanwhile, in addition to the Vlasov army, there were three more auxiliary Russian formations in the German military machine. These include the Russian Corps, also known as Schutzkorp, which fought in Yugoslavia under the command of General Shteifon, the Cossack units of General Krasnov and the so-called “Northern Group”, which later became known as the First Russian National Army under the command of General Smyslovsky. The formation and subsequent activities of the armed forces of General Smyslovsky is one of the darkest and least studied episodes of the Second World War. London journalist Efim Barban says:

IN state archive the Principality of Liechtenstein, the smallest state Central Europe, sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland, a report from the head of the border guard, Lieutenant Colonel Vis, was preserved: “From Austria, a column of military vehicles and infantry was slowly moving along the mountain road. A tricolor white-blue-red flag fluttered above the lead vehicle. pre-revolutionary Russia. A man in the overcoat of a German Wehrmacht general got out of the car and introduced himself as the head of the Liechtenstein border guard. Major General Holmstrom-Smyslovsky, commander of the First Russian National Army: “We crossed the border to ask for political asylum. With us in one of the cars is the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich and his retinue.” Russian troops in German uniform disarmed and were granted the right of temporary asylum.”

Count Boris Alekseevich Smyslovsky was born into the family of Guards Artillery General Alexei Smyslovsky. At the age of 18, he found himself at the front of the First World War, and in 1918 he joined General Denikin’s Volunteer Army. In March 1920, his unit was interned in Poland, and Boris Smyslovsky moved to Berlin, where he began working in the Abwehr, the military intelligence of the German army, under the leadership of Admiral Canaris.

Boris Smyslovsky turned out to be the only Russian who not only graduated from the Academy of German General Staff, but also those who worked there. What made Smyslovsky make the tragic choice and fight on the side of the Germans? His widow, 88-year-old Irina Nikolaevna Smyslovskaya, says: “There, in Russia, if it comes to this, that the Germans win the war, we cannot allow the Germans to give us their Gauleiters, they must be Russians, who are one hundred percent pure. And he believed that it was necessary to leave even the Soviet system so that everything would not collapse. Everything should remain as it is. Of course, other people are at the top... the people must free themselves, the concentration camps must cease to exist, life must go on, and then, when we have already passed this perestroika, then we can begin to push the Germans away. The Germans will not swallow us, he always said. When he began his work in the east, my husband said: no, if my soldiers go, only to the east, I have nothing against England, I won’t fight against France, I’m not at war with Russia either, I’m at war with Stalin.”

The outbreak of the war against the Soviet Union found Smyslovsky on the northern sector of the front in Poland. With the rank of major in the Wehrmacht, he was engaged in front-line reconnaissance. According to the rules of the German Abwehr, he had to work under a pseudonym and bore the surname von Regenau. At the beginning of 1943, the Germans organized a special purpose division “Russland” from Soviet prisoners of war and Colonel von Regenau, aka Smyslovsky, was appointed its commander. From the very beginning, its chief establishes connections with detachments of the Polish Regional Army and formations of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, as is known, on two fronts - both with the Germans and with the Red Army. This is what led to the arrest of Colonels von Regenau (Smyslovsky) by the Gestapo in December 1943 and the disbandment of the Russland division. Smyslovsky was charged with communication with the enemies of the Reich, refusal to hand over to the Gestapo one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who had come to his headquarters, and refusal to sign the appeal of General Vlasov, who called on the Russian people to fight in the east against the communists, and in the west against Western plutocrats and capitalists. An investigation was conducted for six months, during which Boris Smyslovsky was under arrest, and only the intervention of Admiral Canaris led to his release. A few months before the end of the war, the Nazi elite, who did not fully trust Smyslovsky, allowed him to create an independent German Wehrmacht, an army under the national Russian flag. This army, which numbered 6,000 people, lasted only three months. By the time of the last breakthrough - crossing the Austrian-Liechtenstein border - no more than 500 people remained in Smyslovsky’s army. The tiny principality with a population of 12 thousand people turned out to be the only country that subsequently refused to extradite Russian soldiers who fought on the German side. This was required from the allies by a secret annex to the Yalta Treaty.

Smyslovsky died on September 5, 1988 at the age of 91 in Liechtenstein. “He was not a democrat, he was absolutely for sovereign monarchical power. He even thought that some a short time there must be a military dictatorship. Not to persecute people, but to maintain order so that everything does not collapse,” says widow Irina Smyslovskaya.

In 1980, on the 35th anniversary of the internment of General Smyslovsky's army in Liechtenstein, a simple monument was erected in the principality high in the mountains, which became a symbol of a tragic and cruel time.

Radio Liberty journalist Alexander Gostev has been studying military history World War II:

Soviet historical propaganda called former Soviet prisoners of war and emigrants Vlasovites, which is absolutely incorrect. The term “Vlasovites” does not give an idea of ​​the scale of those armed forces, the so-called “eastern formations”, of the hundreds of thousands of fighters who served in the Wehrmacht under one banner or another. General Vlasov's open letter with a call to fight against the Stalinist regime appeared in March 1943, despite the fact that the first units formed from citizens of the former Soviet Union or from white emigrants entered into battle for the first time in July 1941. These were very different units, different both politically and militarily. There were the so-called “Caucasian legions”, there was the Russian liberation people's army Bronislav Kaminsky, was at the end of the war, after all, the Russian Liberation Army of Vlasov had already appeared. The so-called “Vlasovites,” the Russian Liberation Army, were formed by the end of the war from precisely the other units that I mentioned, that is, they were actually part of these so-called “Eastern formations” that fought mainly on the Eastern Front or fought with the partisans.

What place did the division, then the army of General Smyslovsky, occupy in the German armed forces?
- This is a special unit within the Wehrmacht. First there was the “Russland” division, a special purpose division, then it was called the “Green Army”, at the very end of the war it became the First Russian National Army. It consisted mainly of emigrants White movement and from converted Soviet prisoners of war. What was she doing? Reconnaissance and sabotage activities behind the front line and the fight against partisans. Smyslovsky, leading the fight against partisans in the occupied territories, the man who led such units and was noted by the leadership of the Wehrmacht, clearly understood who he served, how he served, this man was the head of the Wehrmacht punitive unit that fought the partisans.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

An ancient noble Austrian family of Liechtenstein, the most famous representatives of which were the Minnesinger and hero of knightly tournaments Ulrich von Lichtenstein and the Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, brother Cuno (Conrad) von Lichtenstein, who died in the battle with the Polish-Lithuanian army at Tannenberg in 1410. , built in early XVII V. to the dignity of the imperial princes (Reichsfürsts), along with large lands in Austria and Moravia, also acquired the possessions of Schellenberg (in 1699) and Vaduz (in 1712), subordinate directly to the Roman-German (and in fact, the Austrian) Emperor. the upper reaches of the Rhine Valley, united in 1719 and proclaimed, with the sanction of the Emperor, the Principality of Liechtenstein. In 1806-1813, the Principality of Liechtenstein was part of the Rhineland Union of German states - puppets of the "Corsican monster" - vassal to the French Empire of Napoleon I Bonaparte. In 1815-1866, Liechtenstein was a member of the German (German) Confederation. In 1878-1918, the Principality of Liechtenstein was a single customs and tax territory with the Austrian “crown land” of Vorarlberg. During the Great (First World) War, Liechtenstein remained neutral.

During its time as a member of the German Confederation (this quasi-state entity, which was a kind of successor to the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation,” included 39 sovereign states and cities, including part of the possessions of the King of Denmark - as the ruler of the German duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, the King of the Netherlands - as the ruler of the German Duchy of Luxembourg, and even the King of England - as the ruler of German Hanover!) the Principality of Liechtenstein was obliged to supply a small military contingent to the allied armed forces. In the 30s XIX century The Liechtenstein contingent consisted of a platoon of snipers ("sharfshützen") and auxiliary units, a total of 80 soldiers and officers. During the period of the German bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1848-1849, a combined light battalion of the principalities of Hohenzollern and Liechtenstein, which were part of the “German Union,” took part in battles with the republican Baden revolutionary army in 1849. During the Austro-Italian War of 1866 (which coincided with Since the “intra-German” Austro-Prussian War, which ended with the defeat of the coalition of South German states led by Austria by the Prussians and their allies and the exclusion of the latter from the “German Union”), Liechtenstein troops took part in protecting the border of Austrian South Tyrol.

After the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1868, the armed forces of the principality were disbanded. However, despite the dissolution of the standing army, universal conscription was not abolished in Liechtenstein. Article 44 of the Liechtenstein Constitution of 1921 (as of 10/01/1998) states:

“1) Everyone capable of bearing arms is obliged to defend the Fatherland until the age of 60, if necessary.

2) Apart from this case, it is permitted to create and maintain armed formations only if this seems necessary for the performance of police service and for the maintenance of internal order. More detailed provisions in this regard are contained in the legislation."

During the Second World War, 85 citizens of the Principality of Liechtenstein volunteered to join the ranks of the German Waffen-SS (SS troops). The 40 Liechtenstein Waffen-SS veterans who survived the war and returned to their homeland were not subjected to any reprisals. The percentage of Waffen-SS volunteers in the total population was the highest in Liechtenstein of any European state.

In accordance with the Treaty of Accession to the Customs Union with Switzerland in 1923, Swiss border guards took over the protection and control of the Liechtenstein border with Vorarlberg. In the spring of 1945, the police corps of the Principality of Liechtenstein was assigned to assist their reinforced unit.

The night from May 2 to 3, 1945 turned out to be especially stormy, when the marching column of soldiers fighting in the German Wehrmacht of the anti-Stalinist 1st Russian National Army of Major General Boris Alekseevich Smyslovsky (1897-1988), a former officer of the Finnish Life Guards regiment and veteran The White movement, also known under the pseudonym "Arthur Holmston", or "von Regenau", crossed the Liechtenstein border in the area of ​​​​the Ginterschellenberg customs post. The border guards even opened fire, but stopped it after learning that the Locum Tenens of the Russian Imperial Throne, His Imperial Highness, was in the column of General Smyslovsky’s troops Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov.

Major General B.A. Smyslovsky asked the Liechtenstein authorities for political asylum for himself and his people. Asylum was provided, Smyslovsky’s troops (500 in number - despite the fact that the entire population of the Principality of Liechtenstein at the time described was 12,000 people!) were disarmed and interned. The firm and uncompromising position of the then head of the Liechtenstein state, Prince Franz Joseph II, played a decisive role in granting political asylum to Russian refugees. Since then in Liechtenstein state museum the white-blue-red silk banner of the 1st Russian National Army is kept. In 1980, a memorial obelisk was erected in Liechtenstein to commemorate these events.

In French dedicated to the episode we described feature film“The Wind from the East”, which generally quite accurately reproduces the events, does not include Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich at all (although from the book of the Russian emigrant historian Dmitry Nikolaevich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky “Victims of Yalta” and from other sources it is known for sure that the Liechtenstein border guards in 1945 ., as mentioned above, they stopped firing at the soldiers of General Smyslovsky only after the driver of the Grand Duke’s car shouted to them: “Don’t shoot, the heir to the Russian Imperial Throne is with us!”, and not: “Don’t shoot, there’s a Russian general here!” , like in a movie).

Something else is more interesting. In his interview with the authors of the Russian television film “Ghosts of the House of Romanov,” another Russian emigrant, Baron Eduard Alexandrovich von Falz-Fein, who lived in Liechtenstein, who knew Vladimir Kirillovich well, said that by special order of Adolf Hitler, the Grand Duke was assigned personal security.

When Falz-Fein met the Heir Russian Throne in the spring of 1945 in Liechtenstein, on the Grand Duke, according to the baron, “there was no longer a German military uniform, because wearing it at the time described was no longer safe for him.” This means that until the spring of 1945, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov wore a German military uniform and did not consider it reprehensible! But this is true, by the way...

On the 45th anniversary of the Liechtenstein epic of Count Smyslovsky, the Russian representative of the Association of the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps named after General Helmut von Panwitz awarded His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein with the memorial cross "Lienz 1945-2000", as a sign of gratitude and respect for the courage of his father, the Prince Franz Joseph II, who gave shelter and political asylum to the Locum Tenens of the Russian Throne, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, and the troops of Major General Count Smyslovsky. In response, Prince Hans-Adam II sent the leadership of the Russian representative office of the Partnership thank you letter the following content:

Mr. Wolfgang Akunov

Dear Mr. Akunov!

Thank you very much for your letter of January 10, which you wrote to me in your capacity as a representative and trustee of the Association of the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps named after General Helmut von Panwitz. It is a great joy and honor for me to be awarded by you, in memory of my late father, with the memorial cross "Lienz 1945-2000". With a feeling of great admiration for my late father, who then showed a lot of courage and strength and, using all available means, saved the lives of the men of Major General Count Holmston-Smyslovsky of the First Russian National Army, and in recognition of his services, I willingly accept this award.

With friendly greetings

Hans-Adam II

Prince of Liechtenstein."

It is curious that not a word was said in the letter of the head of the Liechtenstein state about the presence in the ranks of the troops of General Smyslovsky, who received asylum in Liechtenstein, of the Heir to the Russian Imperial Throne, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich...

Andreas Kiber (1844-1939) from the town of Mauren went down in history as “the last Liechtenstein soldier”. A photograph taken in 1930 has been preserved, which shows Kieber armed with a Wilda sniper gun made at the Royal Württemberg Arms Factory (located in Oberndorf am Neckar), similar to the Baden Jaeger gun of the 1843 model and which received its name from the name of the Swiss engineer Johannes Wild (1814-1894). Kiber's headdress was the Bavarian Jaeger helmet introduced into the Liechtenstein army in 1859 - "Raupenhelm" (lit.: "helmet with a caterpillar") of the 1845 model with a black hair crest ("caterpillar"), a small green plume and a heraldic shield with coat of arms of the Principality of Liechtenstein. In conclusion, it should be noted that in the photograph there is attached to his gun a long straight bayonet-dagger, which is not suitable for a Jaeger gun, while for some reason the scimitar bayonet suitable for this gun (made at a weapons factory in the Saxon city of Suhl) hangs on the side of the “last Liechtenstein soldier”...

Here is the end and glory to our Lord!

ARMY OF THE PRINCIPALITY OF LICHTENSTEIN

An ancient noble Austrian family of Lichtenstein (the two most famous representatives of which were the Minnesinger and hero of the knightly tournaments Ulrich von Lichtenstein and the Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, brother Cuno von Lichtenstein, who died in the battle with the Polish-Lithuanian army near Tannenberg in 1410), erected at the beginning of the 17th century. to the dignity of the imperial princes (Reichsfürst), along with large lands in Austria and Moravia, also acquired the possessions of Schellenberg (in 1699) and Vaduz (in 1712), subordinate directly to the Roman-German (actually Austrian) Emperor, in the upper reaches the Rhine valley, united in 1719 and proclaimed, with the sanction of the Emperor, the Principality of Liechtenstein. In 1806-1813, the Principality of Liechtenstein was part of the Rhineland Union of German states - puppets of the "Corsican monster" - vassal to the French Empire of Napoleon I Bonaparte. In 1815-1866, Liechtenstein was a member of the German (German) Union (German: Deutscher Bund). In 1878-1918, the Principality of Liechtenstein was a single customs and tax territory with the Austrian “crown land” of Vorarlberg. During the Great (First World) War, Liechtenstein remained neutral.

During his time as a member of the German Confederation (a very loose quasi-state formation - a kind of heir to the medieval “Holy Roman Empire of the German nation -”, which included 39 sovereign states and cities with a permanent congress of representatives - the Bundestag; members of the German Confederation were, by the way, the King of Denmark - as the ruler of German Schleswig-Holstein, the king of the Netherlands - as the ruler of the German Duchy of Luxembourg, and even the king of England - as the ruler of German Hanover!) the Principality of Liechtenstein was obliged to supply military contingents to the allied armed forces. In the 30s XIX century The Liechtenstein contingent consisted of a platoon of snipers ("scharfschützen") and auxiliary units, a total of 80 soldiers and officers (the illustration below shows an officer and a rifleman of the contingent of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the armed forces of the German Confederation in 1840). During the period of the German bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1848-1849. the combined light battalion of the principalities of Hohenzollern and Liechtenstein took part in the battles with the Baden revolutionary army in 1849. During the Austro-Italian War of 1866 (which coincided in time with the “intra-German” Austro-Prussian War, which ended with the defeat of the coalition of South German states led by the Prussians Austria and the latter's exclusion from the German Confederation), Liechtenstein troops took part in protecting the border of Austrian South Tyrol.

After the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1868, the armed forces of the principality were disbanded. However, despite the dissolution of the standing army, universal conscription was not abolished in Liechtenstein. Article 44 of the Liechtenstein Constitution of 1921 (as of 10/01/1998) states:

“1) Everyone who is able to wear it is obliged to defend the Fatherland until the age of 60, if necessary.

2) Except in this case, it is permitted to create and maintain armed formations only if this seems necessary for the performance of police service and for the maintenance of internal order. More detailed provisions in this regard are contained in the legislation."

During World War II, 85 citizens of the Principality of Liechtenstein volunteered to join the Waffen SS. The 40 SS veterans who survived the war and returned to their homeland were not subjected to any repression.

In accordance with the Treaty of Accession to the Customs Union with Switzerland in 1923, Swiss border guards took over the protection and control of the Liechtenstein border with Vorarlberg. In the spring of 1945, the police corps of the Principality of Liechtenstein was assigned to assist their reinforced unit.

The night from May 2 to May 3, 1945, was especially stormy, when a marching column of soldiers fighting as part of the German Wehrmacht of the anti-Stalinist 1st Russian National Army (1897-1988), a veteran of the White movement, also known under the pseudonym "Arthur Holmston", crossed the Liechtenstein border in the area of ​​the Ginterschellenberg customs post. The border guards even opened fire, but stopped it when they learned that the Locum Tenens of the Russian Imperial Throne, His Imperial Highness Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov, was in the column of troops.

He asked the Liechtenstein authorities for political asylum for himself and his people. Asylum was provided, the troops (in the amount of 500 people - despite the fact that the entire population of the Principality of Liechtenstein at the time described was 12,000 people!) were disarmed and interned. The decisive and uncompromising head of the Liechtenstein state, Prince Franz Joseph II, played a decisive role in granting political asylum to Russian refugees. Since then, the white-blue-red silk of the 1st Russian National Army has been kept in the Liechtenstein Historical Museum. In 1980, a memorial obelisk was erected in Liechtenstein to commemorate these events.

In the French feature film “Wind from the East” dedicated to the episode we described, which generally accurately reproduces the events, Vladimir Kirillovich does not appear at all (although from the book of the Russian emigrant historian D.N. Tolstoy-Miloslavsky “Victims of Yalta” and from other sources it is precisely known that the Liechtenstein border guards in 1945, as mentioned above, stopped firing at the soldiers of General Smyslovsky only after the driver of the Grand Duke’s car shouted to them: “Don’t shoot, the heir to the Russian Imperial Throne is with us!”).

Something else is more interesting. In his interview with the authors of the Russian television film “Ghosts of the House of Romanov,” another Russian emigrant living in Liechtenstein, Eduard Falz-Fein, who knew Vladimir Kirillovich well, said that by special order of Adolf Hitler, the Grand Duke was assigned personal security.

When Falz-Fein met the Heir to the Russian Throne in the spring of 1945 in Liechtenstein, the Grand Duke, according to the words, “no longer had a German military uniform, because wearing it at the time described was no longer safe for him.” This means that until the spring of 1945, Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov wore a German military uniform and did not consider it reprehensible! But this is true, by the way...

On the 45th anniversary of Smyslovsky's Liechtenstein epic, the Russian representation of the Association of the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps named after General Helmut von awarded His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein with the memorial cross "Lienz 1945-2000", in gratitude to the courage of his father, Prince Franz Joseph II , who gave shelter and political asylum to the Locum Tenens of the Russian Throne and Smyslovsky’s troops. In response, Prince Hans-Adam II sent the leadership of the Russian representative office of the Partnership a letter of gratitude with the following content:

Mr. Wolfgang Akunov

Dear Mr. Akunov!

Thank you very much for your letter of January 10, which you wrote to me in your capacity as a representative and trustee of the Association of the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps named after General Helmut von. It is a great honor and joy for me to be awarded by you, in memory of my late father, with the memorial cross "Lienz 1945-2000". It is with a feeling of great admiration for my late father, who then showed great courage and strength and, using all available means, saved the lives of the men of Holmston-Smyslovsky of the First Russian National Army, and in recognition of his services, I gladly accept this award.

With friendly greetings

Hans-Adam II

Prince of Liechtenstein ".

Not a word was said in the letter from the head of the Liechtenstein state about the presence of the Locum Tenens of the Russian Imperial Throne, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, among the troops... However, enough about that.

Andreas Kiber (1844-1939) from the town of Mauren went down in history as “the last Liechtenstein soldier”. A photograph taken in 1930 has been preserved, which shows Kieber armed with a Wilda sniper rifle made at the Royal Württemberg Arms Factory (located in Oberndorf am Neckar), similar to the Baden Jaeger rifle of the 1843 model and which received its name from the name of the Swiss engineer Johannes Wild (1814-1894). Kiber's headgear was the Bavarian Jaeger helmet introduced into the Liechtenstein army in 1959 - "Raupenhelm" (lit.: "helmet with a caterpillar") of the 1845 model with a black hair crest ("caterpillar"), a green plume and a heraldic shield with a coat of arms Principality of Liechtenstein (see illustration above). In conclusion, it seems necessary to note that in the photograph there is attached to his gun a long straight bayonet-dagger, which is not suitable for a Jaeger gun, while for some reason the scimitar bayonet suitable for this gun (made at an arms factory in the Saxon city of Suhl) hanging on the side of the “last Liechtenstein soldier”...

Here is the end and glory to our Lord!