Grand Duke Nicholas Commits Suicide

"Your Imperial Highness, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich has stated that he will fully cooperate with our operation.

"Now, the only troops left in Moscow are those of the Petersburg Military District.

"Not all of them are die-hard loyalists of Grand Duke Nicholas, either.

"Once we enter Moscow, they will surely come over to our side in droves, or even turn their guns on him!"

General Brusilov was full of confidence in the coming battle.

Grand Duke Mikhail nodded. He too believed the outcome was settled.

Although Grand Duke Nicholas was the commander of the Petersburg Military District,

he had appointed himself to the post after Nicholas II's death.

In the army of the Tsarist Russian Empire, the tsar generally served as commander of the Petersburg Military District in person.

It was easy to imagine that many of the Petersburg Military District's officers and soldiers were probably not truly willing to pledge allegiance to Grand Duke Nicholas. They had merely been swept along.

If the course of the war favored Grand Duke Nicholas, they would readily pledge him their loyalty.

But once the fighting turned against him, they would probably scramble to jump ship and save themselves.

That was human nature: utterly practical.

On June 1, the Caucasus Military District's troops launched a major assault on Moscow.

Just then, large numbers of troops passed straight through the defensive zones of the units under the Mosk Military District and entered Moscow.

Moreover, even the units under the Mosk Military District turned their guns on the other side.

They not only opened a passage but also attacked the Petersburg Military District troops with whom they had once fought side by side.

This turn of events left the Petersburg Military District's troops completely stunned.

Many had already had little will to fight, and at that moment they broke down altogether.

"God! We've been betrayed!"

"We've lost. We've already lost! The rebels have entered the city."

"I surrender! I surrender! I don't want to die here. My mother is still waiting for me to come home!"

"My dear Atasha is still waiting for me. I don't want to die!"

More and more soldiers of the Petersburg Military District gave up resisting.

They threw down their weapons and dropped to their knees in surrender.

As a result, the Petersburg Military District's defensive lines collapsed one after another in a very short time.

The chain reaction this caused led even more Petersburg Military District troops to give up resisting.

There were even officers and generals beginning to lead their troops directly into surrender.

Under these circumstances, Grand Duke Nicholas's original plan to fight on to the bitter end fell apart.

The fighting throughout Moscow became entirely one-sided.

The Petersburg Military District's troops surrendered almost at the mere sight of the enemy.

Apart from a handful of units, most gave up resisting.

A few units controlled by Grand Duke Nicholas's trusted subordinates chose to fight to the bitter end. But surrounded and attacked by troops from the Caucasus and Mosk Military Districts, they simply could not hold out.

This was especially true of the Mosk Military District's troops, who had turned their guns on their former allies this time.

But before that, they had been on Grand Duke Nicholas's side.

To leave a good impression on Grand Duke Mikhail, the future tsar, they needed to prove themselves in the fighting that followed.

Once Grand Duke Mikhail became tsar, what would they do if he settled accounts with them afterward?

What was more, the generals of the Mosk Military District also longed to climb to higher positions in the future.

So they had all the more reason to perform well in this war.

Under these circumstances, the fighting throughout Moscow could almost be described as a gale sweeping away the clouds.

By this point in the civil war, there was no longer any doubt about the outcome.

The top ranks of the Tsarist Russian Empire, led by Grand Duke Nicholas, were certain to lose this war.

Their scheme to prevent Grand Duke Mikhail from ascending the throne, for which they had racked their brains and tried every possible means, had ultimately failed.

In the Kremlin, before the tsar's throne.

Grand Duke Nicholas stood quietly in front of it.

How he had longed to be crowned here and then sit upon the throne, becoming tsar of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

He had thought the tsar's throne was only a single step away.

But now it seemed that single step was an uncrossable chasm.

"Your Imperial Highness, it's over. Everything is over! Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich has betrayed us and gone over to Grand Duke Mikhail.

"The Mosk Military District's troops turned their guns on us, and our defensive lines have completely collapsed.

"Our units have lost their will to fight as well.

"Many units have already given up resisting and chosen to surrender.

"All of Moscow will soon fall into the rebels' hands."

General Nikolai Obruchev, the chief of the general staff, was extremely anxious.

"I know!" Grand Duke Nicholas looked calm, as though he had anticipated this outcome all along.

"Your Imperial Highness, while the rebels haven't yet taken all of Moscow, let's leave at once. We can escape back to Petersburg first and think of something else afterward," General Nikolai Obruchev suggested.

Grand Duke Nicholas shook his head.

"Even if we escape back to Petersburg, what good would it do? The entire Petersburg Military District's army is here. Even if we made it back to Petersburg, Mikhail's pursuers would be right on our heels."

"Your Imperial Highness, that would still be better than waiting here to die! If there's really no other way, Your Imperial Highness can take Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna out of the Tsarist Russian Empire and go into exile overseas."

General Nikolai Obruchev offered another suggestion.

Without a doubt, after his defeat in this civil war, Grand Duke Nicholas no longer had a place to stand in the country.

It went without saying that Mikhail would never let Grand Duke Nicholas off.

If he escaped abroad, there was still a sliver of hope for survival.

He might even gain the support of hostile nations.

Those hostile nations would surely be willing to see the Tsarist Russian Empire split apart.

They would readily support Grand Duke Nicholas as well.

Grand Duke Nicholas shook his head again.

"Forget it. A man who wagers must accept his loss. Since I lost this war, I must take responsibility for it." Grand Duke Nicholas had made up his mind.

Seeing this, General Nikolai Obruchev could only say no more.

Grand Duke Nicholas suddenly stepped toward the tsar's throne.

Then he plopped straight down on it.

"So this is what it feels like to be tsar!" A faint smile appeared on Grand Duke Nicholas's face.

General Nikolai Obruchev stared in astonishment. He had not expected Grand Duke Nicholas to do such a thing.

But the next second, he saw Grand Duke Nicholas draw a pistol and aim it at his own head.

"Bang!"

The shot rang out, and the bullet pierced Grand Duke Nicholas's head.

His body slumped sideways on the tsar's throne.

This outcome came as a surprise to General Nikolai Obruchev.

But then he gave orders for all the soldiers still resisting to lay down their weapons and surrender.