If the figures of Denikin, Wrangel, and Kolchak are well-known and studied, there are many "secondary characters" who played a crucial role in the events of the Russian Civil War, White emigration, and collaborationism with Nazi Germany. This is the case of Alexei von Lampe (1885–1967). A lieutenant colonel with no significant roles during the First World War, von Lampe was able to become pivotal in the White movement. Starting from 1918, when he successfully organized a secret volunteer army center in Kharkov, von Lampe was able to connect different people inside a very divided White movement, and to represent first Denikin and then Wrangel. During the 1920s–1930s, von Lampe became a leading officer of the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS, Russkii obshchevoinskii soiuz), heading its Berlin section in the 1930s. He acted as one of the links between the old White guard and the Nazi regime, as well as with the collaborationist Russian Liberation Army led by General Vlasov.

From Kharkov to the Exile: Von Lampe's Civil War

Born in 1885 into a family with German descent (his great-grandfather came from Hamburg during the Napoleonic wars and served in the ranks of the Russian Imperial Army), von Lampe had no ties with German culture, and he had to learn the language of his ancestors during his time in Berlin. Nevertheless, von Lampe was baptized as Lutheran, and his family was always devoted to the memory of this German ancestor who served against Napoleon. Studying at the First Cadet Corps and at the prestigious Nikolaevsk Engineering Institute, [1] von Lampe took part in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905, fighting in Manchuria at the age of 19.[2] After various reassignments to the railway and engineering regiments, the young officer was finally enrolled in the prestigious Semyonov Regiment, thanks to his father's connections, and then at the Nikolaevsk Academy of the General Staff.[3]

This picture illustrates a section on youth