MILITARY LEADERS OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY OF 1812
Military leaders of the Russian army of 1812 [Text]: information-bibliogr. allowance / MBUK "CBS"; Central City Hospital named after. M. Gorky; comp. N.V.Malyutina. - Bataysk, 2012.

In 2012, a glorious date is celebrated - the 200th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Thanks to the Presidential Decree Russian Federation dated December 28, 2007 No. 1755 “On the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the Patriotic War of 1812,” the memory of the twelfth year acquired state status.

This significant date is of great importance for the education of patriotism and citizenship. The information and bibliographic manual “Military Leaders of the Russian Army of 1812” is dedicated to the heroes Patriotic War, largely thanks to which Russia managed to win this difficult victory over the enemy.

The manual also presents a calendar of the main events of the War of 1812, statements of great people about the War of 1812, which will help in designing exhibitions and holding events, writing essays, etc.

The manual is supplemented by a list of literature and scenarios devoted to both individual personalities and events, and the war as a whole.

The manual is addressed to high school students, students, and managers children's reading and everyone who is interested in the topic of the Patriotic War of 1812.
Generals of the twelfth year

You, whose wide greatcoats

Reminds me of sails

And whose eyes are like diamonds

A mark was cut out on the heart -

Charming dandies

Years past.

With one fierce will

You took the heart and the rock, -

Kings on every battlefield

And at the ball.

All heights were too small for you

And soft is the staleest bread,

Oh young generals

Your destinies!

Oh, how - it seems to me - you could

With a hand full of rings,

And caress the curls of the maidens - and the manes

Your horses.

In one incredible leap

You have lived your short life...

And your curls, your sideburns

It was snowing.

Three hundred won - three!

Only the dead did not rise from the ground.

You were children and heroes,

You could do everything.
What is so touching is youth,

How are your mad army?..

You, golden-haired Fortune

She led like a mother.

You have won and loved

Love and sabers' edge -

And they crossed merrily

Into oblivion.

M. Tsvetaeva
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

(1761 -1818)

Barclay de Tolly - Russian commander, field marshal general. Minister of War Russian Empire in 1810-1812.

Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly came from an old Scottish noble family, whose ancestors moved to the city of Riga in the 17th century. When Livonia became part of the Russian Empire, people from Scotland quickly became Russified and turned into ordinary Russian nobles, whose family vocation was military service.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, which began on the night of June 12, Infantry General M.B. Barclay de Tolly met at the post of commander of the largest Russian army, the 1st Western. It consisted of six infantry, two cavalry and one Cossack corps with a total number of almost 130 thousand people with 558 guns, and was located in the region of Rossiena, Vilna, Grodno and covered a 220-kilometer section of the western border of Russia. The 1st Army was superior to the combined 2nd Western Army and the 3rd Reserve, or Observation, Army of General A.P. Tormasova.

The neighboring, Bagrationov's 2nd Western Army was also subordinate to Barclay de Tolly (until the appointment of M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov as commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the field). In conditions of significant superiority of the Napoleonic army, Barclay de Tolly managed to carry out the withdrawal of two Russian armies to Smolensk, thereby thwarting the plan of the French emperor to defeat them separately. However, most contemporaries condemned such actions of the Russian Minister of War.

Retreat of Russian troops from state border and Barclay de Tolly’s reluctance to give the enemy army a general battle caused discontent among the general public, and above all in the ranks of the army itself. The authority of the Minister of War fell, and he could no longer lay claim to the supreme command in the war that had begun. However, his undoubted merit was that he managed to preserve the Russian army for the Battle of Borodino.

Initially, the 1st Russian Western Army retreated to Drissa to take up defense in the fortified camp built there according to Fuhl's plan. Because of this, the distance between the 1st and 2nd armies increased significantly. In addition, the unsuitability of the camp for defense was obvious. The enemy could bypass him, surround him and force the Russian army to surrender.

The Minister of War ordered his army to leave Drissa and retreat to join the army of General Bagration in the direction of Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk. Barclay de Tolly near Vitebsk skillfully avoided a general battle with Napoleon. To protect the St. Petersburg direction, General Wittgenstein's corps of 23 thousand people was allocated from the army.

The retreat of the 1st Western Army took place with constant rearguard battles, the most fierce of which took place near the village of Ostrovno. Only after this did Emperor Napoleon realize that he would not be able to defeat the enemy’s main forces in the border area and that he should develop another plan for the war against Russia.

Two Russian armies united under the walls of ancient Smolensk. On June 20, the 1st Western Army approached the city, the 2nd Army the next day. The victory won by the Russians in the Battle of Smolensk raised the spirit of the retreating people. But Smolensk was not prepared for defense, and the forces of the French Grand Army were still significantly superior to the Russian forces. The Minister of War ordered to continue the retreat into the interior of Russia. Avoiding a premature general battle, Barclay de Tolly is gradually preparing for the inevitable decisive battles. Not giving in to persuasion and pressure from outside, against the imperial will and contrary to Bagration's mood, he continued to retreat. While on the march, he was caught by a message from St. Petersburg that on August 5, infantry general M.I. had been appointed commander-in-chief of all Russian armies. Golenishchev-Kutuzov.

Only the 1st Western Army remained under the command of the Minister of War. It outnumbered Bagration's army, so in the Battle of Borodino, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov assigned Barclay de Tolly to command the center and right flank of the Russian troops. His army on the day of the battle consisted of three corps: generals Baggovut, Osterman-Tolstoy and Dokhturov. Everyone who saw Barclay de Tolly on the day of Borodin unanimously notes the fearlessness of the army commander. He appeared in the most dangerous places battles in the center of the Russian position. It was even rumored that he was looking for death. Four horses fell under him. All the adjutants accompanying him, with the exception of one, were killed or wounded, but the army commander remained unharmed.

On August 26, 1812, the infantry general showed great skill and personal courage in repelling the onslaught of Napoleonic troops. For his services in the Battle of Borodino, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree.

At the military council in Fili, the commander of the 1st Western Army supported M.I.’s proposal. Kutuzov to leave Moscow, although most military leaders were against it and wanted a new general battle under the walls of the city. In September 1812, Barclay de Tolly left the active army due to illness and resigned as Minister of War. He did not participate in the expulsion of the French from Russia.

He returned to the troops again only in January 1813, when he was appointed by the highest order the commander of the 3rd Russian Army and, together with it, made a campaign in Europe, which Russian troops, together with their allies, were liberating from the French conquerors. After the death of the liberator of the Fatherland, Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, Emperor Alexander I, with the consent of other allied monarchs, appointed infantry general M.B. Barclay de Tolly at the head of the united Russian-Prussian army.

Bagration Petr Ivanovich

(1765 – 1812)

Oh, throw me into battle, you, experienced in battles,

The death of enemies is a foreboding cry, -

Heroic leader, great Bagration.

(D. Davydov)

General Bagration came from an ancient family Georgian kings Bagratidov, his grandfather, Tsarevich Alexander, moved to Russia in 1757, had the rank of lieutenant colonel. Pyotr Bagration at the age of 17 was assigned by G. Potemkin to the Caucasian Musketeer Regiment.

In August 1811, Pyotr Ivanovich was appointed commander of the Podolsk Army, located from Bialystok to the Austrian border and renamed in March 1812 the 2nd Western Army. Anticipating a clash between Russia and Napoleon, he presented Alexander I with his plan for a future war, based on the idea of ​​an offensive. But the emperor gave preference to the plan of the Minister of War Barclay de Tolly, and the Patriotic War began with the retreat of the 1st and 2nd Western armies and their movement to unite. Napoleon directed the main attack of his troops on Bagration's 2nd Western Army with the goal of cutting it off from Barclay de Tolly's 1st Western Army and destroying it. Bagration had to move with great difficulty, making his way through battles at Mir, Romanovka, Saltanovka. Breaking away from the troops of the French Marshal Davout, he crossed the Dnieper and on July 22 finally united with the 1st Army near Smolensk.

Brought up in Suvorov's offensive spirit, Bagration found it very difficult morally during the period of retreat. “It’s a shame to wear a uniform,” he wrote to the chief of staff of the 1st Army A. Ermolov. “I don’t understand your wise maneuvers. My maneuver is to search and hit!” He was indignant at Barclay: “There’s no way I can work together with the Minister of War. And the whole main apartment is filled with Germans so that it’s impossible for a Russian to live and there’s no point.” Near Smolensk, Bagration offered to give Napoleon a general battle, but the retreat continued.

On August 26, the 1st and 2nd armies, under the leadership of Kutuzov, who became commander-in-chief, entered the battle with the French near Borodino. This day turned out to be fatal in the glorious life of Bagration. His troops were located on the left flank, near the village of Semenovskaya with three earthen fortifications built in front of it - “Bagration flushes”. The left flank turned out to be hot. For 6 hours at Semenovskaya there was a fierce, furious battle, which took place with varying degrees of success. The French twice captured Bagration's flushes, and were knocked out twice. During the next enemy attack, Prince Peter raised his troops in a counterattack, and at that moment (about 12 noon) he was seriously wounded: a grenade fragment crushed his tibia. The commander, removed from his horse, still continued to lead his troops, but after losing consciousness he was carried from the battlefield.
Wittgenstein Petr Khristoforovich

(1768 – 1843)

Field Marshal Peter Christianovich (Ludwig Adolf Peter) Wittgenstein came from a German count family.

By the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Pyotr Khristianovich was already a lieutenant general and commanded the 1st Infantry Corps, which stood on the right flank of Barclay de Tolly’s 1st Army. After Napoleon crossed the Neman, the corps, like the entire army, avoiding major battles, moved back, participating in the systematic withdrawal of Russian troops. When the decision was made to leave the Drissa fortified camp, Wittgenstein was entrusted with a combat mission of particular importance - to cover the roads leading to the capital, St. Petersburg. After Barclay de Tolly's 1st Army left Drissa for Vitebsk, Wittgenstein's corps became, in fact, a small independent army defending the entire north.

Napoleon, having sent his main forces after the armies of Barclay de Tolly and Bagration retreating to Smolensk, moved the corps of Marshals Oudinot and MacDonald against Wittgenstein. On June 14, Oudinot occupied Polotsk and launched an attack on Sebezh and Pskov; MacDonald began moving north towards Riga. The commander of the Russian corps correctly assessed the situation; he abandoned defensive actions along the entire 600-verst road from Dvinsk to St. Petersburg and decided to break up the French corps separately. In mid-July, he moved towards Oudinot and on Belarusian soil, near Klyastitsy and Yakubovo, he entered into a three-day battle with him. The vanguard detachment of General Ya. Kulnev was the first to attack the enemy and achieved success, defeating the advanced detachments of Marshal Oudinot, 900 prisoners and a convoy were taken. Pursuing the enemy, Kulnev met Oudinot’s main forces and died, but soon the French marshal’s troops suffered a crushing blow from Wittgenstein and retreated, losing up to two thousand prisoners. During the battle, Pyotr Khristianovich was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield.

The victory at Klyastitsy-Yakubovo eased fears in St. Petersburg, where preparations for evacuation had already begun. Count Wittgenstein was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, received the name “Savior of St. Petersburg” and became known throughout Russia. After Oudinot's defeat, MacDonald's French corps suspended its attack on Riga, and Napoleon was forced to send Saint-Cyr's corps to the Dvina, thereby weakening the main army. At the same time, the French emperor gave an order to his three marshals: stop offensive actions against Wittgenstein and, holding on to the banks of the Dvina, guard the communications routes of the main army.

Reinforced by the St. Petersburg and Novgorod militias and other reinforcements, Wittgenstein, on the day of the Tarutino offensive battle of the Russian army near Moscow (October 6), also moved forward and drove the troops of Saint-Cyr and Oudinot out of Polotsk. On October 19, at Chashniki, the troops of the Russian general (up to 30 thousand people) defeated the corps of Oudinot and Victor (about 46 thousand) and occupied Vitebsk on the 26th. Then, fulfilling the plan of Alexander 1 to encircle the Napoleonic army on the Berezina, Wittgenstein moved towards Borisov, approaching Chichagov’s 3rd Army, which was approaching from the south. However, in a rapidly changing situation, he, like Chichagov, was unable to correctly calculate his actions, which allowed Napoleon with the bulk of his troops to cross the Berezina and continue the retreat, which turned into flight. The failure at Berezina did not shake the authority of the “savior of St. Petersburg.”

Gorchakov Andrey Ivanovich

(1779 – 1855)

After the outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812, he was assigned to the 2nd Western Army. Before the Battle of Borodino, he was entrusted with command of the troops (N.D. Neverovsky’s division, militia and cavalry; about 11 thousand people in total) defending positions near the village of Shevardino. Aug 24 (Sept. 5) attacked by the corps of General I. Poniatowski (about 35 thousand people). Withstood all attacks, and only by midnight the division of General J. Compan broke into the redoubt. After this, by order of Kutuzov, he left his positions, gaining the time necessary for the Russian army to deploy to the Borodino positions. In the Battle of Borodino on August 26 (Sept. 7) he was seriously wounded during a counterattack on Bagration's flushes. For distinction he was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree.

Davydov Denis Vasilievich

(1784 – 1839)

Barbel. With his mind and pen he is as sharp as a Frenchman,

But the French are afraid of the saber...

Like a whirlwind, like a fire, on the cannons, on the carts,

And at night, like a brownie, he disturbs the enemy’s camp!

But in his verses he gives roses to his dear ones:

Davydov! It's you, poet and partisan!

(from the poem “Partisan Davydov” by F. Glinka)

Lieutenant General, ideologist and leader of the partisan movement, participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian poet of the “Pushkin galaxy”.

At the beginning of the war of 1812, Davydov was a lieutenant colonel in the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment and was in the vanguard troops of General Vasilchikov. On August 21, 1812, in sight of the village of Borodino, where he grew up, where his parents’ house was already being hastily dismantled into fortifications, five days before the great battle, Denis Vasilyevich proposed an idea to Bagration partisan detachment. He borrowed this idea from the guerrillas (Spanish partisans). Napoleon could not cope with them until they united into a regular army. The logic was simple: Napoleon, hoping to defeat Russia in twenty days, took provisions with him. And if you take away carts, fodder and break bridges, this will create big problems for him. Bagration's order to create a flying partisan detachment was one of his last before the Battle of Borodino, where he was mortally wounded. On the very first night, Davydov’s detachment of 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks was ambushed by peasants and Denis almost died. The peasants had little understanding of the details of military uniforms, which were similar among the French and Russians. Moreover, the officers spoke, as a rule, French. After this, Davydov put on a peasant’s caftan and grew a beard (in the portrait by A. Orlovsky (1814) Davydov is dressed in Caucasian fashion: a checkmen, a clearly non-Russian hat, a Circassian saber). With 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks in one of the forays, he managed to capture 370 French, while capturing 200 Russian prisoners, a cart with ammunition and nine carts with provisions. His detachment grew rapidly at the expense of peasants and freed prisoners.

His rapid successes convinced Kutuzov of the advisability of guerrilla warfare, and he was not slow to give it wider development and constantly sent reinforcements. The second time Davydov saw Napoleon was when he and his partisans were in ambush in the forest, and a dormez with Napoleon drove past him. But at that moment he had too little strength to attack Napoleon’s guards. Napoleon hated Davydov fiercely and ordered Denis to be shot on the spot during his arrest. For the sake of his capture, he allocated one of his best detachments of two thousand horsemen with eight chief officers and one staff officer. Davydov, who had half as many people, managed to drive the detachment into a trap and take him prisoner along with all the officers.

One of Davydov’s outstanding feats during this time was the case near Lyakhov, where he, along with other partisans, captured General Augereau’s two-thousand-strong detachment; then, near the city of Kopys, he destroyed the French cavalry depot, scattered the enemy detachment near Belynichi and, continuing the search to the Neman, occupied Grodno. The awards for the 1812 campaign to Denis Davydov were the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, and St. George, 4th degree - “Your Grace! While the Patriotic War continued, I considered it a sin to think about anything other than the extermination of the enemies of the Fatherland. Now I am abroad, I humbly ask your Lordship to send me Vladimir 3rd class and Georgy 4th class,” Davydov wrote to Field Marshal M. Kutuzov after crossing the border.

After crossing the border, Davydov was assigned to the corps of General Wintzingerode, participated in the defeat of the Saxons near Kalisz and, having entered Saxony with an advanced detachment, occupied Dresden. For which he was put under house arrest by General Wintzingerode, since he took the city without permission, without orders. Throughout Europe, legends were made about Davydov’s courage and luck. When Russian troops entered a city, all the residents went out into the street and asked about him in order to see him.

For the battle on the approach to Paris, when five horses were killed under him, but he, together with his Cossacks, still broke through the hussars of the Jacquinot brigade to the French artillery battery and, having chopped up the servants, decided the outcome of the battle - Davydov was awarded the rank of major general.
Ermolov Alexey Petrovich

(1777 – 1861)

Praise be to the companions - the leaders;

Ermolov, young knight,

You are the brother of the warriors, you are the life of the regiments,

And your fear is Perun.

(V. Zhukovsky)

General from infantry, general from artillery. General Ermolov was one of the most famous and popular people in Russia's first half of the 19th century V. He achieved this glory through his participation in three wars with Napoleon, his activities in governing the Caucasus, his statesmanship, his independent and noble character.

With the outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812, Ermolov was appointed chief of staff of Barclay de Tolly's 1st Western Army. Like the commander of the 2nd Western Army P. Bagration, Alexei Petrovich was burdened by the retreat and Barclay’s plan, but still humbled his pride “for the benefit of the fatherland.” At Alexander's personal request, I wrote to him about everything that was happening. As chief of staff, he did a lot to smooth relations between Barclay de Tolly and Bagration and to successfully unite the two armies near Smolensk; He was the organizer of the defense of this city, then successfully led the troops in the battle of Lubin, and was promoted to lieutenant general. In the battle of Borodino, Ermolov was with the commander-in-chief M. Kutuzov. At the height of the battle, Kutuzov sent him to the left flank, to the 2nd Army, where Bagration was seriously wounded, and Ermolov helped overcome the confusion of the troops there. Seeing that Raevsky's central battery had been taken by the French, he organized a counterattack, recaptured the battery and led its defense until he was shell-shocked by grapeshot.
Konovnitsyn Petr Petrovich

(1764 – 1822)

Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, infantry general. He came from an old noble family of Konovnitsyn.

At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Konovnitsyn’s 3rd Division became part of the 1st Western Army of M. Barclay de Tolly. On July 14, at Ostrovny, the division entered into its first battle with the French; Having replaced the tired corps of General A.I. Osterman, she held back the enemy’s onslaught all day, ensuring the withdrawal of the main forces of the army. On August 5 he defended Smolensk, remaining wounded in the ranks, and on August 6 he fought at Lubin. In Smolensk, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division took Smolensk icon Mother of God, which was brought to Moscow and carried in front of the Russian troops on the day of the Battle of Borodino.

Soon after leaving Vyazma, he was entrusted with leading the rearguard of the 1st and 2nd Western armies, and, repelling the attacks of Marshal Murat, being in continuous battles, he ensured the withdrawal of Russian troops to Borodino. Under his command were troops numbering up to 30 thousand people. The composition of the participants in the battles was comparable to the general battles of the 18th century. He will receive awards for these fights after Borodino.

On the day of the Battle of Borodino, Konovnitsyn’s division took up defensive positions on the old Smolensk road, but when the main direction of Napoleon’s attack was revealed - against the Russian left flank, the division was hastily sent to help Bagration. Arriving at the Bagration flushes at 10 o’clock in the morning, Konovnitsyn drove the French out of there with a bayonet strike. After Bagration was seriously wounded and carried away from the battlefield, Konovnitsyn led the defense of the left flank. The temporary confusion of the 2nd Army, which had lost its commander, led to the loss of flushes, and Pyotr Petrovich was forced to withdraw the troops 300-400 meters back - beyond the Semenovsky ravine, where, using the heights, he organized a strong defense. Infantry General Dokhturov, who arrived to lead the 2nd Army, approved all his orders. When repelling the last attacks of the French, Pyotr Petrovich was shell-shocked twice by flying close cannonballs, his uniform was torn by shell fragments that showered him, but the general calmly continued the battle. The day after the battle, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov appointed Konovnitsyn commander of the 3rd Corps (instead of the mortally wounded N.A. Tuchkov). At the military council in Fili, Pyotr Petrovich voted for a new battle near Moscow. He, like most other generals, took the decision of the commander-in-chief to leave Moscow with pain.

After the retreat from Moscow, Kutuzov appointed Konovnitsyn as duty general of the Russian army headquarters. This appointment was not accidental: Mikhail Illarionovich, given the general confusion after the loss of Moscow, needed a balanced and firm person nearby. In addition, honest Konovnitsyn, unlike Bennigsen, who formally held the position of chief of staff, did not intrigue against Kutuzov. From that time on, Pyotr Petrovich became the first speaker for the commander-in-chief; all of Kutuzov’s combat correspondence with his subordinate military leaders passed through him.

Helping Kutuzov, Konovnitsyn devoted all his efforts to restoring and strengthening the army. In the Tarutino camp, he was responsible for the reception and distribution of reinforcements, supervised their training and preparation, and slept no more than three to four hours a day. Despite his illness (before Tarutin he was tormented by a severe fever) and the promise given to Kutuzov: not to risk his life, Pyotr Petrovich took part in the hot Tarutin battle and almost died.

In the position of general on duty, Konovnitsyn was under Kutuzov throughout the persecution of the Napoleonic army until the occupation of Vilno (Vilnius) by Russian troops. His military activity in 1812 was marked by the Golden Sword “For Bravery” with diamonds, the Order of St. Vladimir 2nd degree, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. George 2nd Art. and the rank of adjutant general.

Kulnev Yakov Petrovich

(1763-1812)

Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. Hussar. Major General.

With the outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812, he was entrusted with leading a 5,000-strong cavalry detachment as part of the corps of P. X. Wittgenstein. The corps covered the routes to St. Petersburg, and Kulnev’s detachment was invariably entrusted with the most difficult task - to act in the vanguard or rearguard, the first to attack and the last to retreat.

Skillfully acting against the pressing French, Kulnev inflicted a number of significant defeats on them. On July 18-19, at Klyastitsy and Yakubovo, he defeated the vanguard of the French corps of Marshal Oudinot, capturing nine hundred prisoners and a large convoy of the enemy. On July 20, Kulnev crossed the Drissa, again attacked the French and overthrew them. Carried away by the pursuit, he did not notice the approach of the main forces of the French corps, which brought down heavy artillery fire on his detachment. Breaking back, Yakov Petrovich closed the retreat of his detachment, and at that moment an enemy cannonball struck him down, and both his legs above the knees were torn off with grapeshot. Last words of the dying hero were: "Friends, do not yield a single step to the enemy native land. Victory awaits you!"

Thus, just a few days short of his forty-ninth birthday, the glorious warrior of the Suvorov school, Yakov Petrovich Kulnev, died. He was buried at the site of his death near the village of Sivoshino. Subsequently, the brothers transported his ashes to their estate Ilzenberg, Vitebsk province (now the village of Brezgale, Latvia), and a monument was erected at the site of Yakov Petrovich’s death. On its front side there is an excerpt from V.A. Zhukovsky’s poem “The Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors”:

Where is our Kulnev, destroyer of forces,

Fierce flame of battle?

He fell - he bowed his head on his shield

And he clutched the sword in his hand...
Platov Matvey Ivanovich

(1751 - 1818)

General of the cavalry. Ataman Platov, the hero of the Don, was born in Starocherkassk into the family of a military foreman, who gave him his initial education and taught him military affairs. With the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Matvey Ivanovich headed the Cossack corps, which was part of the 1st Army of Barclay de Tolly, but due to its location covered the retreat of Bagration’s 2nd Western Army. Near the town of Mir on June 27 - 28, Platov’s corps defeated 9 regiments of the advancing enemy, bringing the Russian army the first victory in the war of 1812. The Cossacks successfully acted against the vanguard French detachments at Romanovka, Saltanovka, near Smolensk.

During the difficult period of retreat, a misfortune almost happened to Platov. At Semlevo, his rearguard allowed the French to advance, and Barclay de Tolly removed him from command of the rearguard. Barclay believed that the chieftain “slept through” the French due to drunkenness, and besides, he did not like Platov for criticizing him in connection with the continuous retreat. Matvey Ivanovich, who had already left for the Don, was returned to the troops by the new commander-in-chief M. Kutuzov (he had known Platov since 1773). In the Battle of Borodino, ten Cossack regiments of Platov fought on the right flank. At one of the critical moments of the battle, they took part in a cavalry raid behind enemy lines, disrupting their ranks.

At the military council in Fili, which decided the fate of Moscow, the brave Don chieftain spoke out in favor of a new battle with Napoleon, but the wise Kutuzov took it upon himself to give the order to retreat. Platov was the initiator of additional mobilization on the Don, and at the end of August 22 thousand Cossacks arrived at the Tarutino camp, where the Russian army was gathering forces. The chieftain was entrusted with leading the newly arrived Cossack regiments. On October 7, the retreat of the French army from Moscow began, and Platov’s Cossack cavalry took an active part in the pursuit and defeat of the enemy along the Smolensk road, leading successful fighting near Vyazma, Smolensk, Krasny. At the request of Kutuzov, by the tsar's decree of October 29, the leader of the Cossacks was promoted to count.

Raevsky Nikolai Nikolaevich

(1771 – 1829)

Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, cavalry general.

On the night of June 24, 1812 " Grand Army» Napoleon invaded Russian territory. Raevsky at this time headed the 7th Infantry Corps of the 2nd Western Army of General P.I. Bagration. From near Grodno, Bagration's 45,000-strong army began to retreat to the east for subsequent connection with the army of M. B. Barclay de Tolly. In order to prevent the connection of the two Russian armies, Napoleon sent the 50,000-strong corps of the “Iron Marshal” Davout to cross Bagration. On July 21, Davout occupied the city of Mogilev on the Dnieper. Thus, the enemy got ahead of Bagration and found himself northeast of the 2nd Russian Army. Both sides did not have accurate information about the enemy’s forces, and Bagration, approaching the Dnieper 60 km south of Mogilev, equipped Raevsky’s corps to try to push the French away from the city and take a direct road to Vitebsk, where, according to plans, the Russian armies were supposed to unite.

On the morning of July 23, a fierce battle began near the village of Saltanovka (11 km down the Dnieper from Mogilev). Raevsky's corps fought for ten hours with five divisions of Davout's corps. The battle went on with varying degrees of success. Raevsky himself was wounded in the chest by buckshot, but his heroic behavior brought the soldiers out of confusion, and they, rushing forward, put the enemy to flight. According to legend, his sons were walking next to Nikolai Nikolaevich at that moment: 17-year-old Alexander and 11-year-old Nikolai. However, Raevsky himself later objected that although his sons were with him that morning, they did not go on the attack. However, after the battle of Saltanovka, the name of Raevsky became known to the entire army. He became one of the most beloved generals by soldiers and all the people. On this day, Raevsky, having withstood a fierce battle, managed to withdraw the corps from the battle completely combat-ready. By evening, Davout, believing that Bagration's main forces would soon arrive, ordered the battle to be postponed until the next day. And Bagration, meanwhile, with his army successfully crossed the Dnieper south of Mogilev at Novy Bykhov and quickly marched towards Smolensk to join Barclay’s army. Davout found out about this only a day later. Napoleon was enraged by the news of the rescue of Bagration's army from seemingly inevitable defeat.

On August 29, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov took command of the Russian army. On September 7, 120 km from Moscow on the Borodino field, a battle was fought under his leadership, which became the central event of the entire war. The Borodino field was located at the junction of two roads - the old Smolenskaya and the new Smolenskaya. In the center of the Russian army, Kurgan Height rose, dominating the area. The 7th Corps of General Raevsky was entrusted with protecting it, and it went down in history as “Raevsky’s battery.” All day before the battle, Raevsky’s soldiers built earthen fortifications on Kurgan Heights. At dawn, a battery of 18 guns was located here. At 5 o’clock in the morning on September 7, the French began shelling the left, less powerful, flank of the Russian army, where Bagration’s flushes were located. At the same time, a stubborn struggle began on Kurgan Heights. The French, concentrating forces to storm the heights, transported two infantry divisions across the Kolocha River. At 9:30 a.m., after artillery barrage, the enemy rushed to attack. And although by this time eight battalions of the 7th Corps were already fighting in flushes, Raevsky still managed to stop the French advance on the battery. After some time, three French divisions launched an assault. The situation on the battery has become critical. In addition, a shortage of shells began to be felt. The French rushed to the heights and a fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued. The situation was saved by the soldiers of the 3rd Ufa Regiment, led by General A.P. Ermolov, who came to the rescue and drove back the French. During these two attacks, the French suffered significant losses, three generals were wounded, one was captured. Meanwhile, the Cossack regiments of Platov and the cavalry corps of Uvarov struck the French left flank. This stopped the French attacks, and made it possible for Kutuzov to pull up reserves to the left flank and to Raevsky’s battery. Seeing the complete exhaustion of Raevsky’s corps, Kutuzov withdrew his troops to the second line. The 24th Infantry Division of P. G. Likhachev was sent to defend the battery. Throughout the second half of the day there was a powerful artillery fire. The battery was hit by fire from 150 French guns, and enemy cavalry and infantry simultaneously rushed to storm the heights. Both sides suffered huge losses. The wounded General Neverovsky was captured, the French General Auguste Caulaincourt died. Raevsky's battery received the nickname "the grave of the French cavalry" from the French. And yet the enemy’s numerical superiority had its effect: at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon the French captured the battery. However, after the fall of the battery, there was no further advance of the French into the center of the Russian army. As darkness fell, the battle stopped. The French retreated to their original lines, leaving all the Russian positions they had occupied at the cost of huge losses, including Raevsky’s battery. At the military council in Fili, held on September 13, Raevsky spoke in favor of leaving Moscow. M.I. Kutuzov also shared a similar opinion. On September 14, the Russian army left Moscow, and on the same day it was occupied by the French. However, a month later Napoleon was forced to leave the burned city. October 19 french army began a retreat towards Kaluga. October 24 took place major battle near Maloyaroslavets. The 6th Infantry Corps of General D.S. Dokhturov put up stubborn resistance to the enemy, the city changed hands several times. Napoleon brought more and more units into battle, and Kutuzov decided to send Raevsky’s corps to help Dokhturov. Reinforcements came in handy, and the enemy was driven away from the city. As a result, Maloyaroslavets remained with the Russian army. The French were unable to break through to Kaluga, and were forced to continue their retreat along the Smolensk road, which they had already destroyed. Raevsky was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree, for his actions near Maloyaroslavets. The forces of the French, rapidly retreating to the western borders of Russia, were melting every day. In November, during the three-day battle of Krasnoye, Napoleon lost about a third of his army. In this clash, Raevsky’s corps actually finished off the remnants of Marshal Ney’s corps, with whom he had to face more than once during the campaign. Soon after the battle of Krasnoye, Nikolai Nikolaevich was forced to leave the army. The constant overexertion of forces, as well as numerous shell shocks and wounds, took their toll.
Tormasov Alexander Petrovich

(1752 – 1819)

Count, cavalry general. During the Patriotic War of 1812, he commanded the 3rd Western Army on the southern flank.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, Tormasov commanded the 3rd Observation Army (54 battalions, 76 squadrons, 9 Cossack regiments, 43 thousand in total), designed to contain Austria. First Schwarzenberg was sent against Tormasov, then Rainier, with the Saxon corps. On July 1, Tormasov, leaving Osten-Sacken’s corps to guard Volyn and for communication with the Danube army, and Major General Khrushchev (dragoon brigade and 2 Cossack regiments) in Vladimir-Volynsky, to secure the borders from Galicia and the Duchy of Warsaw, himself, with with the main forces, moved against the flank and rear of the French troops advancing from Brest to Pinsk against Bagration. Rainier's corps was scattered over a large area (Slonim - Pruzhany - Brest - Kobrin - Yanovo - Pinsk). On July 24, part of Tormasov’s army captured Brest. On the 27th, the Saxon detachment was defeated and laid down its arms in the battle near Kobrin (General Klengel, 66 officers, 2200 lower ranks, 8 guns); after that Tormasov occupied Pruzhany. This victory had important psychological significance as the first success during the retreat of the Russian armies. For her, Tormasov received the Order of St. George, 2nd class, on July 28, 1812.

Rainier, having gathered his troops and united with Schwarzenberg, attacked Tormasov at Gorodechno. On August 1, Russian troops retreated first to Kobrin, and then to Lutsk, to join the Danube army, which was marching to Russia after the conclusion of the Bucharest Peace with the Ottoman Porte.

In September, the armies united and forced Schwarzenberg to hastily retreat to Brest. Soon, command of the united armies passed to Admiral Chichagov, and Tormasov was recalled to the main headquarters, where he was entrusted with internal management troops and their organization. Tormasov took part in the battles of Maloyaroslavets, Vyazma, Krasny and crossed the border of the empire with the main army in December 1812. During the Patriotic War of 1812, the only holder of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called was General A.P. Tormasov for his distinction in the Battle of Krasnoe. When Kutuzov, due to illness, remained in Bunzlau, Tormasov temporarily took over the main command of the army.
Main events of 1812

August 4-6 (16-18) - Battle of Smolensk, Napoleon's unsuccessful attempt to defeat the main forces of the Russian troops;

September-October - Kutuzov conducts the Tarutino March-Maneuver, forcing the French to leave Moscow and retreat along the Old Smolensk Road; the deployment of guerrilla warfare;

November-December - the death of the French army;

Poems and quotes about the Patriotic War of 1812

“I will not lay down my weapons until not a single enemy warrior remains in my kingdom.”

Alexander I

"New Russia begins in 1812."

A. I. Herzen

“The destruction of Napoleon’s huge army during the retreat from Moscow served as a signal for a general uprising against French rule in the West.”

F. Engels

“We will stand with our heads for our Motherland.”

M. Yu. Lermontov

“...Everyone was burning with zeal. Everyone excelled themselves."

A. P. Ermolov, general, participant in the War of 1812

“Well, it was a day! Through the flying smoke

The French moved like clouds..."

M. Yu. Lermontov

“And we promised to die,

And they kept the oath of allegiance

We are going to the Borodino battle."

M. Yu. Lermontov

“And prevented the cannonballs from flying

A mountain of bloody bodies."

M. Yu. Lermontov

“Russia is not lost with the loss of Moscow.”

M. I. Kutuzov

“The twelfth year was a great era in the life of Russia...”

V. G. Belinsky

“The Russian campaign of 1812 placed Russia at the center of the war. Russian troops formed the main core, around which only later the Prussians, Austrians and others grouped.”

F. Engels

“The enemy experienced a lot that day,

What does Russian fighting mean?

M. Yu. Lermontov

"Guys! Isn't Moscow behind us?

We'll die near Moscow,

How our brothers died!

M. Yu. Lermontov

“Not a holiday, not a receiving gift,

She was preparing a fire

To the impatient hero."

A. S. Pushkin

“The earth shook like our breasts;

Horses and people mixed together,

And volleys of a thousand guns

Laughed into a long howl..."

M. Yu. Lermontov

If I take Kyiv,

I will grab Russia by the legs.

If I take possession of St. Petersburg,

I'll take her by the head.

Having occupied Moscow, I will strike her in the heart.”

Napoleon

“In Russia, the bitterness of the people against the invading enemy grew every month... The desire to defend Russia and punish the daring and cruel conqueror - these feelings gradually gripped the entire people.”

E. V. Tarm, writer.

“The most terrible of all my battles is the one I fought near Moscow.”

Napoleon

“The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.”

Napoleon

The twelfth year is a folk epic, the memory of which will pass on to centuries and will not die as long as the Russian people live.

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin

“This glorious year has passed, but the great deeds and exploits committed in it will not pass and will not fall silent...”

M. Kutuzov

Raevsky, the glory of our days, Praise! In front of the ranks He is the first chest against swords with brave sons.

V. A. Zhukovsky
1812 on the Internet

1812 - Internet project http://www.museum.ru/1812/index.html

Website "Project 1812". The project library contains 45 full-text electronic books: memoirs and diaries (A. Ermolov, D. Davydov, N. Durova, F. Glinka, F. Rostopchin, A. Caulaincourt, Rustam, K. Mitternich), letters (Alexandra I, M A. Volkova and others), works of art("Burnt Moscow" by G.P. Danilevsky, "Roslavlev or the Russians in 1812" by M.N. Zagoskin, a collection of poems and songs about the Patriotic War of 1812, a number of works by modern authors), historical works (Clausewitz, Stendhal, Tarle, Vernet, etc.). All books are annotated and supplied in three formats: html, txt and zip archive. The publications are richly illustrated

Patriotic War of 1812 http://www.patrio.ru/index.htm

This site is dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. It contains unique information that describes the historical events of that time and gives a complete picture of the events taking place. For more convenient navigation, the site is divided into several sections, which are located in the left menu, go to chronological order and describe individual historical periods from the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812 to its completion.

The Battle of Borodino is examined in most detail. The chronology of the Battle of Borodino is presented with sufficient frequency and the course of the battle can be followed by the clock.

A separate section is devoted to the partisan war of the Russian people against the French occupation on the territory of the Russian Empire. This section provides information about the formation and operation of the partisan detachments of Denis Davydov and other Russian partisans.

The section on the results of the War of 1812 provides a historical analysis of the war and examines its significance for the further development of Russia.

In addition, the site presents biographies of personalities who in one way or another relate to the War of 1812. These are, first of all, outstanding commanders, rulers of the countries participating in the war and their allies, as well as other outstanding personalities. Also on the site you can find excerpts from historical documents of that period, which unambiguously describe historical events and reflect the essence of individual decisions.

1812 through the eyes of contemporaries http://militera.lib.ru/db/1812/pre.html

Military literature. Diaries and letters.

Hussars in wars http://www.kulichki.com/gusary/istoriya/polki

1812 in Russian poetry

http://www.museum.ru/1812/Library/poetry/index.html

Collection of poems and songs about the Patriotic War of 1812

Participants in the Napoleonic Wars

http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_n/1812menu.php

The most famous generals and officers who participated in military conflicts of 1799-1815 are named as participants in the so-called Napoleonic wars in the index of names given here.

battle of Borodino

http://www.warstar.info/borodino_pruntsov/borodino.htm

The popular essay “Battle of Borodino” contains detailed description Battle of Borodino 1812:

day of the Battle of Borodino by the hour;

scheme of the Battle of Borodino;

heroes of the Battle of Borodino.

Moscow buildings restored after the fire of 1812

http://www.protown.ru/russia/city/articles/4630.html

"Award medal of a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 as a monument to the era"

http://medalirus.narod.ru/Tools/bartosh_1.htm

The history of the silver medal, established in 1813 to reward direct participants in the Patriotic War.

The Battle of Borodino in the paintings of artists

http://www.museum.ru/1812/Painting/Borodino

Museum-reserve "Borodino Field"

http://www.borodino.ru

Website of the State Borodino Military Historical Museum-Reserve.

Literature:

Alekseev, A. “It’s not for nothing that all Russia remembers...” [Text] / A. Alekseev // Science and life. – 2010. – No. 9. – P. 81-87.

Alekseev, A. “It’s not for nothing that all Russia remembers...” [Text] / A. Alekseev // Science and life. – 2010. – No. 10. – P. 90-94.

Bezotosny, V. Vikhor-ataman [Text]/ V. Bezotosny // Motherland. – 2004. – No. 5. – P. 43 - 47. - About the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Matvey Ivanovich Platov.

Bessonov, V. ...Not counting the ballers [Text]: the number of prisoners of war in 1812 in Russia / V. Bessovnov // Motherland. - 2002. - N 8. - P. 55-59.

Vasiliev, A. The Adventurer’s Crafty Number [Text]: real and imagined losses / A. Vasiliev // Motherland. - 1992. - N 6/7. - P. 68.

Heroes of 1812: collection [Text] / [comp. V. Levchenko]. – M.: Mol. Guard, 1987. – 608 p., l. ill. – (Life of wonderful people).

Dementyev, A. “...Fulfilled all duties as the bravest and most worthy general” [Text]: [Dmitry Petrovich Neverovsky (1771-1813)] / Anatoly Dementyev // Science and Life. - 2004. - N9. - pp. 114-122.

Durov, V. Awards of 1812 [Text]/ V. Durov // Motherland. - 2002. - N 8. - P. 103-109.

Ermolov, A. Characteristics of the commanders of 1812 [Text] / A. Ermolov // Motherland. - 1994. - N 1. - P. 56-60.

Zemtsov, V. The art of dying correctly [Text]: in the name of what did French soldiers go to their deaths / V. Zemtsov // Motherland. - 2002. - N 8. - P. 26-29.

Ivchenko, L. “Prince Bagration, known to you” [Text] / L. Ivchenko // Motherland. - 1992. - N 6/7. - P. 40-43.

Ivchenko, L. Who translated clockwise? [Text]/ L. Ivchenko // Motherland. – 2002. – No. 8. – P. 40-46: ill.-Chronology of the great battle on the Borodino field.

Kuharuk, A. Non-round date [Text]/ A. Kuharuk // Motherland. – 2002. – No. 8. – P. 134-136: ill.- Opening of the monument on the Borodino field in 1839.

Lobachev, V. Features national war. Murat and Miloradovich [Text] / V. Lobachev // Science and religion. - 2002. - N 9. - P. 6-9.

Podmazo, A. Russian army in June 1812 [Text]/ A. Podmazo // Motherland. - 2002. - N 8. - P. 60-70.

Sapozhnikov, A. “...and was driven through the village of Chertanovka” [Text] / A. Sapozhnikov // Motherland. – 2010. –No. 4. –P. 42-44: ill.- Historical facts about the military battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 on the territory of modern Moscow.

Tretyakova, L. Three days of Borodin [Text] / L. Tretyakova // Around the world. - 2001. - N 8. - P. 26-33.

Chinyakov, M. “The Thunderstorm of the Twelfth Year” [Text]: (to the 190th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812) / M. Chinyakov // OBZh. Basics of life safety. - 2002. - N 6. - P. 39-41.

Sheremetyev, O. "Roll your greatcoats, gentlemen!" [Text]/ O. Sheremetyev // Motherland. – 2006. – No. 6. – P.53-59: ill.- O appearance Russian army from Borodino to Paris.

Sheremetyev, O. Squadron of flying hussars [Text]: the world of light cavalry of Alexander’s reign / Oleg Sheremetyev // Motherland. - 2008. - N 5. - P. 71-75.

Shishov, A. “Having rendered immortal services to Russia” [Text]: full Knight of St. George Barclay de Tolly / A. Shishov // Fundamentals of life safety. - 2005. - N 6. - P. 61-64.

Shishov, A. “Provided new experiences in art and courage” [Text]: Kutuzov is the first full Knight of St. George in Russia / A. Shishov // Fundamentals of life safety. - 2005. - N 5. - P. 51-55.

Shishov, A. Breakthrough through the Balkans [Text]: Field Marshal Ivan Ivanovich Dibich-Zabaikalsky / A. Shishov // Fundamentals of life safety. - 2006. - N 4. - P. 60-64.

Ekshtut, S. A. Nikolai Raevsky [Text] / S.A. Ekshtut // Motherland. - 1994. - No. 3-4.

Scenarios

Bobrova, L.V. Hussars - dashing knights... [Text]: an evening of honor dedicated to the officers of Russia, the heroes of 1812/L. V. Bobrova // Read, study, play. -2000. - No. 7. - P. 40-51.

Druzhinina, T.V. “Hero of the twelfth year, indomitable partisan...” [Text]: literary evening dedicated to D. Davydov. // Read, study, play. – 2004. – No. 4. – P.51-55.

Evdokimova, K.V. Commander and hero of the War of 1812 [Text]: a history lesson dedicated to the life of P. Bagration // Read, learn, play. – 2007. – No. 10. – P.75-78.

Zarkhi, S.B. Confession of the heart [Text]: an evening dedicated to the life and work of the poet D. Davydov // Read, learn, play. – 2009. – No. 4. – P.13-30.

Zarkhi, S.B. We kept the oath of allegiance [Text]: literary music evening // Read, study, play. – 2007. – No. 6. – P.17-26.

Nevolina, G. Brave guys - mustache hussars [Text]: knowledgeable. quiz game for adult audience// Scripts and repertoire. – 2007. – No. 9. – P. 14-27.

Norkina, L. “Cavalry guards, you have gained glory” [Text]: an evening of courage, glory and honor for students of grades 7-11. // Read, study, play. – 2009. – No. 9. – P. 49-55.

Oparina, N. History lesson [Text]: script for the event for the anniversary of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 // Scenarios and repertoire. – 2005. -No. 2. – P.16-22.

Khlupina E. A. Hussar ballad[Text]: historical evening for students in grades 7–11 / E. A. Khlupina // Read, learn, play. - 2009. - N 6. - P. 92-96. - The event is dedicated to the life of N. A. Durova, the first female officer in Russia.

An outstanding commander and ideologist of the partisan movement during the Patriotic War of 1812, lieutenant general of the Russian army, hussar and poet. He was brave, reckless and incredibly lucky on the battlefield, he amazed with his charm and wit... The man is a symbol of 1812.

Battles and victories

Russian commander and statesman, General Field Marshal, Count of Erivan, His Serene Highness Prince of Warsaw. Paskevich was perhaps the most prominent military figure of the reign of Nicholas I.
Enjoying the unlimited trust of the emperor, for a quarter of a century - from the Polish campaign to Crimean War– he was the complete master of the Russian armed forces. All his life the Emperor called him “father commander,” and the opinion of Ivan Fedorovich in the eyes of Nicholas I was decisive.

Battles and victories

Russian Emperor, winner of Napoleon. Alexander I gracefully declined official command of the Russian forces: “All people are ambitious; I admit frankly that I am no less ambitious... But when I think how little experience I have in the art of war... despite my ambition, I am ready to willingly sacrifice my glory for the good of the army.” And after the victory over Bonaparte, he summarized: “God sent me power and victory so that I could bring peace and tranquility to the universe.”
Not as a commander, but as the initiator of a steady, inexorable struggle and the organizer of victory over the greatest commander of the era - this is how Alexander I sought to go down in history.

Battles and victories

An outstanding Russian military leader and statesman, participant in many wars of the Russian Empire. Unlike many friends of his contemporaries, General Ermolov was not just a soldier of the empire. He felt cramped in this role. He was the bearer of the imperial spirit and became a legendary figure for his contemporaries.

Battles and victories

Russian infantry general (1809), participant in Suvorov's campaigns, the War of 1812, military governor of St. Petersburg, a man of great personal courage, holder of many Russian and European orders.

Military General Miloradovich forever remained an example of selfless service to Russia, and his unexpected death at the hands of the Decembrists became a bitter reproach to the Russians for internal strife.

Battles and victories

Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, cavalry general (1813).
« A witness of the Catherine century, a monument of the twelfth year, a man without prejudice, with a strong character and sensitivity, he involuntarily attracts to himself everyone who is worthy of understanding and appreciating his high qualities“- Pushkin said about him. In the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1819, the creation of the “Military Gallery” began, where portraits of over three hundred generals who participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 were placed. They were painted by the English artist Dow and his assistants. A. S. Pushkin spoke about her in the following lines:

Battles and victories

Great Russian commander. Count, His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensk. Field Marshal General. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army during the Patriotic War of 1812.
His life was spent in battles. His personal bravery earned him not only many awards, but also two wounds to the head - both considered fatal. The fact that he survived both times and returned to duty seemed a sign: Golenishchev-Kutuzov was destined for something great. The answer to the expectations of his contemporaries was the victory over Napoleon, the glorification of which by descendants raised the figure of the commander to epic proportions.

Battles and victories

Outstanding Russian commander, Minister of War, Field Marshal General, commander of the Russian army at the initial stage of the Patriotic War of 1812 and commander of the united Russian-Prussian army in the foreign campaign of 1813-1814. His strategy was appreciated by his descendants, but did not find understanding among his contemporaries. Under Borodin, Barclay de Tolly commanded the right flank of the Russian army, and his desire was to die on the battlefield...

Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich (Golenishchev-Kutuzov)

Kutuzov (Golenishchev-Kutuzov, His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensk), Mikhail Illarionovich - famous commander (1745 - 1813). He was brought up in the artillery and engineering corps (now the 2nd cadet corps). Distinguished himself during the 1st Turkish war in the battles of Ryaboya Mogila, Larga and Kagul. In 1774, during an attack on the village of Shumy (near Alushta), he was seriously wounded (a bullet hit the left temple and exited near the right eye). During the 2nd Turkish War, during the siege of Ochakov, Kutuzov was again seriously wounded (1788). In 1790, participating under the command of Suvorov in the assault on Izmail, Kutuzov at the head of the column captured the bastion and was the first to break into the city. He also distinguished himself in the battles of Babadag and Machny. In 1792, Kutuzov, commanding the left-flank column in the army of General Kakhovsky, contributed to the victory over the Poles at Dubenka. In 1793, he successfully completed a diplomatic mission from Catherine II in Constantinople. In 1795 he was appointed director general of the land gentry corps. Upon the accession of Alexander I to the throne, Kutuzov received the post of St. Petersburg military governor, but in 1802 he displeased the sovereign with the unsatisfactory state of the St. Petersburg police and was dismissed to his estates. In 1805 he was placed at the head of the Russian army sent to help Austria. Constrained by the orders of the Austrian military council, he could not come to the rescue of Mack, but successfully took his army to Bohemia, where he united with Buxhoeveden. Responsibility for the Austerlitz defeat cannot be attributed to Kutuzov: in fact, he did not have the power of commander-in-chief, and the battle was not fought according to his plan. Nevertheless, Emperor Alexander I, after Austerlitz, forever retained his dislike for Kutuzov. In 1808, Kutuzov was sent to Wallachia to help the elderly Prince Prozorovsky, but due to disagreements with the commander-in-chief, he was recalled and appointed military governor of Vilna. In 1811, Kutuzov took command of the army operating on the Danube. A number of his successful operations led to the conclusion of peace with the Turks, which was necessary for Russia in view of the impending French invasion. Kutuzov, however, continued to be out of favor and at the beginning of the Patriotic War remained out of work. Public opinion treated him differently: they looked at him as the only leader who could be entrusted with the leadership of the Russian armies in the decisive struggle against Napoleon. A sign of public respect for Kutuzov was the unanimous election of him by the St. Petersburg nobility to head the zemstvo militia of the province. As the French succeeded, dissatisfaction with Barclay increased in society. The decision on the appointment of a new commander-in-chief was entrusted to a special committee, which unanimously pointed the sovereign to Kutuzov. The Emperor conceded common desire. Arriving at the army on August 17, Kutuzov raised its spirit, but, like Barclay, he recognized the need to retreat into the interior of the country in order to preserve the army. This was achieved by lengthening the enemy’s line of communication, weakening his forces and bringing him closer to his own reinforcements and supplies. The Battle of Borodino was a concession from Kutuzov to public opinion and the spirit of the army. Kutuzov's further actions reveal his outstanding strategic talents. The transfer of the Russian army from the Ryazan road to the Kaluga road was a deeply thought-out and skillfully executed operation. With this maneuver, Kutuzov put his army in the most advantageous position relative to the enemy, whose messages became open to attacks from our army. The French army was gradually encircled and pursued by partisan detachments. Having forced the French to retreat along the Smolensk road, devastated by the previous campaign, Kutuzov considered his main task to expel the enemy from the borders of Russia and continued to spare his army, leaving the difficult spontaneous conditions of retreat to complete the destruction of the enemy. The plan to capture Napoleon himself and his army did not belong to him; During Napoleon's crossing of the Berezina, he did not act energetically. Awarded the title of His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensky and the rank of Field Marshal General, Kutuzov did not sympathize with the transfer of the war outside Russia; according to his conviction, Russian blood should not have been shed for the liberation of Europe. He soon died in the Silesian city of Bunzlau. His ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and rest in the Kazan Cathedral, on the square of which a monument was erected to him. Kutuzov had a clear and subtle mind, a strong will, deep military knowledge and extensive combat experience. As a strategist, he always tried to study his enemy, was able to take into account all the elements of the situation and steadily strived to achieve the intended goal. The main feature of his military talent is caution. Deeply thinking about his every step, he tried to use cunning where the use of force was inappropriate. The balance of his clear mind and unwavering will was never disturbed. He knew how to be charming in his manner, understood the nature of the Russian soldier, knew how to raise his spirit and enjoyed the boundless trust of his subordinates. For literature, see the article Patriotic War.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Barclay de Tolly, a count, then a princely family, originating from Scotland, from where he moved to Livonia in the 17th century. By a personal Highest Decree, on December 29, 1814, the Infantry General, Field Marshal Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly, “in commemoration of his exploits on the battlefield and the special services he rendered to the Throne and the Fatherland,” was elevated to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire; and by decree - on August 15, 1815, he was elevated to the dignity of prince of the Russian Empire.

Barclay de Tolly, Mikhail Bogdanovich, prince, famous Russian commander, of Scottish origin. During the turmoil of the 17th century, one of the members of this family left the fatherland and settled in Riga; his descendant was B. He was born in 1761, as a child he was enrolled in the Novotroitsk cuirassier regiment and in 1778 he was promoted to cornet. In 1788, B., as an adjutant of the Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, took part in the assault on Ochakov, and in 1789 - in the defeat of the Turks near Causeni and in the capture of Ackerman and Bendery. In 1790, B., together with the prince, participated in cases against the Swedes, and in 1794 - in military operations against the Poles. During the campaign of 1806, B. especially distinguished himself in the battles of Pułtusk, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree, and at Gough, where he withstood the pressure of almost the entire army of Napoleon; near Preussisch-Eylau he was wounded in the right arm with a broken bone. In the Swedish War of 1808, B. first commanded a separate detachment, but due to a disagreement with General Buxhoeveden, he left Finland; in 1809 he was sent there again, made the famous crossing of Kvarken and captured the mountains. Umeå, the consequence of which was the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Promoted to infantry general, B. was appointed governor-general of Finland and commander of the Finnish army, and on January 20, 1810, he took the post of minister of war. Under him, an “Institution for the management of a large active army” was drawn up and significant improvements were introduced in different industries military administration, which turned out to be especially useful in view of the impending war with Napoleon: the army was almost doubled; New fortresses were put into a defensive state and armed, food supplies were stockpiled, arsenals were replenished, and ammunition parks were established. Before the start of the Patriotic War, B. took command of the 1st Western Army. He clearly foresaw that the war would be “most terrible in intention, unique in its kind and most important in its consequences,” but for the sake of caution, he did not consider it possible to “previously warn the public about the critical situation of the fatherland” and preferred to endure insults and attacks, “calmly awaiting justification from the very consequences.” ". Napoleon's forces turned out to be so great that it was impossible to wage, as previously assumed, even a defensive war. B.’s brilliant plan to retreat and “having lured the enemy into the bowels of the fatherland itself, force him at the cost of blood to acquire every step, every means of reinforcement and even his existence, and, finally, having exhausted his strength with as little shedding of his blood as possible, inflict on him “a decisive blow” was not understood, and reproaches even for treason were heard at the commander’s address; even those who understood the plan sometimes echoed the public voice. As a result, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the armies, but he was forced to follow his predecessor's plan and retreat. In the Battle of Borodino, B. commanded the right wing of the army and appeared, as if seeking death, in the most dangerous places; he personally led the regiments into the attack, and they enthusiastically greeted him, as if instinctively realizing their previous wrong. All the insults and unrest he experienced affected B.’s health, and he left the army in the Tarutino camp. He returned to the troops already in 1813, accepting first the 3rd and then the Russian-Prussian army. On May 8 and 9, near Bautzen, he repelled Napoleon's main attacks; On August 18, near Kulm, he completed the defeat of Vandam (awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree), and in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig he was one of the main culprits of the victory; for this campaign B. was elevated to the rank of count. During the campaign of 1814, the battles of Brienne, Arcy-on-Aube, Fer-Champenoise and Paris brought B. a field marshal's baton. In 1815, B., being the commander-in-chief of the 1st Army, again entered France, where, after a review at Vertue, he was elevated to princely dignity. Upon returning to Russia, B. continued to command the 1st Army. Having gone abroad due to poor health, he died on the way in the city of Insterburg; his body was brought to Russia and buried on May 14, 1818 in the town of Bekgof, in Livonia. B. built a monument in St. Petersburg; The 4th Nesvizh Grenadier Regiment is still called after him. - Wed: Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, "War Gallery Winter Palace".

Bagrationi

Bagrations, princes. The most ancient and one of the most famous families of Georgia, which produced many Armenian and Georgian kings. It originates from Athanasius Bagratidas, whose son Ashod Kuropalat, who died in 826, was the king of Georgia. The line of Georgian kings continued from Ashod. Queen Tamara (the Great), died in 1211, was in her first marriage to the Russian Prince Yuri, nephew of Andrei Bogolyubsky, and in her second to the Ossetian Prince Davyd, the son of Prince Janderon from his first marriage. Some Georgian chroniclers consider Janderon to be the grandson of Prince Davyd, grandson of King George I, who fled to Ossetia. If these legends are true, then the current princes of B., Georgian and Mukhrani are descendants in the direct male tribe of the ancient Bagratids; if the testimony of the chroniclers is erroneous, then in this case the Bagratid clan ceased in 1184, with the death of King George III, and then the origin of these clans should be considered to be from the Ossetian rulers. From the Bagration family, some members became kings of Imereti, Kartalin and Kakheti. One of the Imeretian kings (whose descendants reigned in Imereti before its annexation to Russia in 1810), Mikhail, died in 1329, is considered the ancestor of the Imeretian kings, as well as the princes Bagrationi-Imereti and Bagrationi-Davydov; the latter were recognized as princes on December 6, 1850. From Prince Teimuraz, the ruler (batoni) of Mukhrani, descended from the former Georgian royal family Bagratidov, traces his genealogy and the branch of the Bagrationi-Mukhransky princes. The ancient inheritance of the Mukhrani princes was in Kartaliniya. The former Georgian royal house is divided into 4 branches: 1) the senior branch, whose ancestors reigned in Kartalinia until 1724; 2) princes B., the junior branch of the previous branch; 3) princes of B.-Mukhran - a branch that separated from the common root in the 17th century and before early XIX centuries, who owned the Mukhrani inheritance; 4) the younger branch, whose ancestors reigned in Kakheti and Kartalinia until 1800. The second branch was included in the number of Russian-princely families in 1803. The grandson of Tsar Vakhtang VI, Prince Ivan Vakhushtovich B., served under Catherine II as lieutenant general and commanded the Siberian division. His nephew, Tsarevich Alexander Jesseevich, the ancestor of the current princes of B., left for Russia in 1757 and served as a lieutenant colonel in the Caucasian division. His son, Prince Kirill, was a senator.

The grandson of Alexander Jesseevich B., Prince Peter Ivanovich, was born in 1765, in 1782 he entered the service as a sergeant; participated in the cases of 1783 - 90 against the Chechens and was seriously wounded; in 1788 he was at the capture of Ochakov; in 1794 he took part in almost all cases against the Confederates and attracted the attention of Suvorov. In 1798, he was appointed chief of the 6th Jaeger Regiment and with him a year later, with the rank of major general, he set out on the Italian campaign. In this campaign, as well as in the famous crossing of the Alps, B. took a brilliant part, receiving the most responsible and difficult assignments from Suvorov; affairs at Puzzolo, Bergamo, Lecco, Tidone, Trebia, Nura and Novi are associated with his name. When entering Switzerland, B. commanded the vanguard; On September 13, he attacked and drove back the French who occupied St. Gotthard; On September 14, he crossed the Devil's Bridge and pursued the enemy to Lake Lucerne; On September 16, in the Mutten Valley, he surrounded and captured a strong French detachment; On September 19 and 20, he withstood a successful battle near the village of Kloptal, where he received a severe shell shock, and then commanded the rearguard, covering our retreat from Switzerland. Upon returning from the campaign, B. was appointed chief of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Battalion and reorganized it into a regiment. During the campaign of 1805 and in the war of 1806-07, B. participated in almost all battles and, often being in a dangerous situation, constantly showed courage and stewardship. B. distinguished himself in affairs at Lambach, Enz and Amstetten, at Rausnitz, Wischau and in the battle of Austerlitz, especially at the village of Schöngraben, where he, with a detachment of 6,000 people, held off the strongest enemy for a whole day, who was crossing our path of retreat, for which he received the Order of St. George 2nd degree. IN Swedish war 1808 - 09 B. became famous for the occupation of the Åland Islands. In August 1809, B. was appointed commander-in-chief of the army against the Turks; under him, Machin, Girsov, Brailov, Izmail were taken and the Turks were defeated at Rassevat, but the siege of Silistria, the garrison of which was almost equal to the besieging army, was not successful. In 1810, B. was replaced by Kamensky. During the Patriotic War, B. commanded the second Western army. During the initial retreat of our armies, B. had to make a difficult roundabout march under pressure from a superior enemy to join the army of Barclay de Tolly; having united near Smolensk, B., being older than Barclay de Tolly, who had previously been under his command several times, nevertheless submitted to him for the sake of unity of command, bearing in mind that Barclay, as Minister of War, was more familiar with the wishes of the sovereign and the general plan actions. During a further retreat, when public opinion rebelled against Barclay, B., although he understood all the benefits of such a course of action, also condemned it. During the Battle of Borodino, B. was wounded in the leg by a grenade fragment, causing bone fragmentation; from the dressing station, realizing that he was wrong before Barclay, he sent an adjutant to tell him that “the salvation of the army depends on him.” The wound, which at first seemed harmless, brought him to the grave on September 12, in the village of Simakh, Vladimir province; Now his ashes rest on the Borodino field. In memory of B., the 104th Ustyug Infantry Regiment bears his name.

Davydov Denis Vasilievich

Davydov, Denis Vasilievich - famous partisan, poet, military historian and theorist. Born into an old noble family, in Moscow, July 16, 1784; Having been educated at home, he entered the cavalry regiment, but was soon transferred to the army for satirical poetry, to the Belarusian Hussar Regiment (1804), from there he transferred to the Hussar Life Guards (1806) and participated in campaigns against Napoleon (1807), the Swedish (1808) ), Turkish (1809). He achieved wide popularity in 1812 as the head of a partisan detachment, organized on his own initiative. At first, the higher authorities reacted to Davydov’s idea with some skepticism, but the partisan actions turned out to be very useful and brought a lot of harm to the French. Davydov had imitators - Figner, Seslavin and others. On the great Smolensk road, Davydov more than once managed to recapture military supplies and food from the enemy, intercept correspondence, thereby instilling fear in the French and raising the spirit of the Russian troops and society. Davydov used his experience for the wonderful book “The Experience of the Theory of Guerrilla Action.” In 1814, Davydov was promoted to general; was chief of staff of the 7th and 8th army corps (1818 - 1819); In 1823 he retired, in 1826 he returned to service, participated in the Persian campaign (1826 - 1827) and in the suppression of the Polish uprising (1831). In 1832, he finally left service with the rank of lieutenant general and settled on his Simbirsk estate, where he died on April 22, 1839. - The most lasting mark left by Davydov in literature is his lyrics. Pushkin highly valued his originality, his unique manner of “twisting verse.” A.V. Druzhinin saw in him a writer “truly original, precious for understanding the era that gave birth to him.” Davydov himself speaks about himself in his autobiography: “He never belonged to any literary guild; he was a poet not by rhymes and footsteps, but by feeling; as for his exercise in poetry, this exercise, or, better to say, the impulses of it they consoled him like a bottle of champagne "... "I am not a poet, but a partisan, a Cossack, I sometimes visited Pinda, but in a hurry, and carefree, somehow, I set up my independent bivouac in front of the Kastal current." This self-assessment is consistent with the assessment given to Davydov by Belinsky: “He was a poet at heart, for him life was poetry, and poetry was life, and he poeticized everything he touched... His wild revelry turns into a daring but noble prank ; rudeness - into the frankness of a warrior; the desperate courage of another expression, which is no less than the reader himself is surprised to see himself in print, although sometimes hidden under dots, becomes an energetic outburst of a powerful feeling. .. Passionate by nature, he sometimes rose to the purest ideality in his poetic visions... Of particular value should be those poems by Davydov, the subject of which is love, and in which his personality is so chivalrous... As a poet, Davydov decisively belongs to the most bright luminaries of the second magnitude in the firmament of Russian poetry... As a prose writer, Davydov has every right to stand alongside the best prose writers of Russian literature "... Pushkin valued his prose style even higher than his poetic style. Davydov did not shy away from oppositional motives; his satirical fables are imbued with them, epigrams and the famous "Modern Song", with proverbial caustic remarks about the Russian Mirabeau and Lafayette. - Davydov's works were published six times (the last edition, edited by A.O. Krugly, St. Petersburg, 1893); the best edition - 4th, Moscow, 1860. His "Notes" were published in 1863. The bibliography is listed in Vengerov, "Sources of the Dictionary of Russian Writers", volume II. See V.V. Gervais, "Partisan-poet Davydov" (St. Petersburg , 1913); B. Sadovsky, "Russian Kamena" (Moscow, 1910). N.L.

During the negotiations, the French envoy Lauriston complained to Kutuzov that the war was being waged against the Napoleonic army “not according to the rules.” Indeed, a real people's, patriotic war was flaring up in Russia, which did not recognize any “rules.” The War of 1812 is called “Patriotic” precisely because it involved not only the regular army, but also the entire people. The brightest thing is the people's character...

The Russian patriot was unshakable. And he was shot. There were many examples of such perseverance and heroism of Smolensk residents in the fight against foreign invaders in the Patriotic War of 1812. On the captured Smolensk land, from the first days of the war, the flame of partisan warfare began to flare up. The Smolensk region became the birthplace of a powerful partisan movement. “The people’s war,” testified F.N. Glinka, “is hour by hour...

Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich (Golenishchev-Kutuzov)

Kutuzov (Golenishchev-Kutuzov, His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensk), Mikhail Illarionovich - famous commander (1745 - 1813). He was brought up in the artillery and engineering corps (now the 2nd cadet corps). He distinguished himself during the 1st Turkish War in the battles of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and Kagul. In 1774, during an attack on the village of Shumy (near Alushta), he was seriously wounded (a bullet hit the left temple and exited near the right eye). During the 2nd Turkish War, during the siege of Ochakov, Kutuzov was again seriously wounded (1788). In 1790, participating under the command of Suvorov in the assault on Izmail, Kutuzov at the head of the column captured the bastion and was the first to break into the city. He also distinguished himself in the battles of Babadag and Machny. In 1792, Kutuzov, commanding the left-flank column in the army of General Kakhovsky, contributed to the victory over the Poles at Dubenka. In 1793, he successfully completed a diplomatic mission from Catherine II in Constantinople. In 1795 he was appointed director general of the land gentry corps. Upon the accession of Alexander I to the throne, Kutuzov received the post of St. Petersburg military governor, but in 1802 he displeased the sovereign with the unsatisfactory state of the St. Petersburg police and was dismissed to his estates. In 1805 he was placed at the head of the Russian army sent to help Austria. Constrained by the orders of the Austrian military council, he could not come to the rescue of Mack, but successfully took his army to Bohemia, where he united with Buxhoeveden. Responsibility for the Austerlitz defeat cannot be attributed to Kutuzov: in fact, he did not have the power of commander-in-chief, and the battle was not fought according to his plan. Nevertheless, Emperor Alexander I, after Austerlitz, forever retained his dislike for Kutuzov. In 1808, Kutuzov was sent to Wallachia to help the elderly Prince Prozorovsky, but due to disagreements with the commander-in-chief, he was recalled and appointed military governor of Vilna. In 1811, Kutuzov took command of the army operating on the Danube. A number of his successful operations led to the conclusion of peace with the Turks, which was necessary for Russia in view of the impending French invasion. Kutuzov, however, continued to be out of favor and at the beginning of the Patriotic War remained out of work. Public opinion treated him differently: they looked at him as the only leader who could be entrusted with the leadership of the Russian armies in the decisive struggle against Napoleon. A sign of public respect for Kutuzov was the unanimous election of him by the St. Petersburg nobility to head the zemstvo militia of the province. As the French succeeded, dissatisfaction with Barclay increased in society. The decision on the appointment of a new commander-in-chief was entrusted to a special committee, which unanimously pointed the sovereign to Kutuzov. The emperor yielded to the general desire. Arriving at the army on August 17, Kutuzov raised its spirit, but, like Barclay, he recognized the need to retreat into the interior of the country in order to preserve the army. This was achieved by lengthening the enemy’s line of communication, weakening his forces and bringing him closer to his own reinforcements and supplies. The Battle of Borodino was a concession from Kutuzov to public opinion and the spirit of the army. Kutuzov's further actions reveal his outstanding strategic talents. The transfer of the Russian army from the Ryazan road to the Kaluga road was a deeply thought-out and skillfully executed operation. With this maneuver, Kutuzov put his army in the most advantageous position relative to the enemy, whose messages became open to attacks from our army. The French army was gradually encircled and pursued by partisan detachments. Having forced the French to retreat along the Smolensk road, devastated by the previous campaign, Kutuzov considered his main task to expel the enemy from the borders of Russia and continued to spare his army, leaving the difficult spontaneous conditions of retreat to complete the destruction of the enemy. The plan to capture Napoleon himself and his army did not belong to him; During Napoleon's crossing of the Berezina, he did not act energetically. Awarded the title of His Serene Highness Prince of Smolensky and the rank of Field Marshal General, Kutuzov did not sympathize with the transfer of the war outside Russia; according to his conviction, Russian blood should not have been shed for the liberation of Europe. He soon died in the Silesian city of Bunzlau. His ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and rest in the Kazan Cathedral, on the square of which a monument was erected to him. Kutuzov had a clear and subtle mind, a strong will, deep military knowledge and extensive combat experience. As a strategist, he always tried to study his enemy, was able to take into account all the elements of the situation and steadily strived to achieve the intended goal. The main feature of his military talent is caution. Deeply thinking about his every step, he tried to use cunning where the use of force was inappropriate. The balance of his clear mind and unwavering will was never disturbed. He knew how to be charming in his manner, understood the nature of the Russian soldier, knew how to raise his spirit and enjoyed the boundless trust of his subordinates. For literature, see the article Patriotic War.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Barclay de Tolly, a count, then a princely family, originating from Scotland, from where it moved to Livonia in the 17th century. By a personal Highest Decree, on December 29, 1814, General of the Infantry, Field Marshal Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay-d-Tol, “in commemoration of his exploits on the battlefield and the special services he rendered to the Throne and the Fatherland,” was elevated to the dignity of count of the Russian Empire ; and by decree - on August 15, 1815, he was elevated to the dignity of prince of the Russian Empire.

Barclay de Tolly, Mikhail Bogdanovich, prince, famous Russian commander, of Scottish origin. During the turmoil of the 17th century, one of the members of this family left the fatherland and settled in Riga; his descendant was B. He was born in 1761, as a child he was enrolled in the Novotroitsk cuirassier regiment and in 1778 he was promoted to cornet. In 1788, B., as an adjutant of the Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, took part in the assault on Ochakov, and in 1789 - in the defeat of the Turks near Causeni and in the capture of Ackerman and Bendery. In 1790, B., together with the prince, participated in cases against the Swedes, and in 1794 - in military operations against the Poles. During the campaign of 1806, B. especially distinguished himself in the battles of Pułtusk, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree, and at Gough, where he withstood the pressure of almost the entire army of Napoleon; near Preussisch-Eylau he was wounded in the right arm with a broken bone. In the Swedish War of 1808, B. first commanded a separate detachment, but due to a disagreement with General Buxhoeveden, he left Finland; in 1809 he was sent there again, made the famous crossing of Kvarken and captured the mountains. Umeå, the consequence of which was the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Promoted to infantry general, B. was appointed governor-general of Finland and commander of the Finnish army, and on January 20, 1810, he took the post of minister of war. Under him, an “Institution for the Management of a Large Active Army” was drawn up and significant improvements were introduced in various branches of military administration, which turned out to be especially useful in view of the impending war with Napoleon: the army was almost doubled; New fortresses were put into a defensive state and armed, food supplies were stockpiled, arsenals were replenished, and ammunition parks were established. Before the start of the Patriotic War, B. took command of the 1st Western Army. He clearly foresaw that the war would be “most terrible in intention, unique in its kind and most important in its consequences,” but for the sake of caution, he did not consider it possible to “previously warn the public about the critical situation of the fatherland” and preferred to endure insults and attacks, “calmly awaiting justification from the very consequences.” ". Napoleon's forces turned out to be so great that it was impossible to wage, as previously assumed, even a defensive war. B.’s brilliant plan to retreat and “having lured the enemy into the bowels of the fatherland itself, force him at the cost of blood to acquire every step, every means of reinforcement and even his existence, and, finally, having exhausted his strength with as little shedding of his blood as possible, inflict on him “a decisive blow” was not understood, and reproaches even for treason were heard at the commander’s address; even those who understood the plan sometimes echoed the public voice. As a result, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the armies, but he was forced to follow his predecessor's plan and retreat. In the Battle of Borodino, B. commanded the right wing of the army and appeared, as if seeking death, in the most dangerous places; he personally led the regiments into the attack, and they enthusiastically greeted him, as if instinctively realizing their previous wrong. All the insults and unrest he experienced affected B.’s health, and he left the army in the Tarutino camp. He returned to the troops already in 1813, accepting first the 3rd and then the Russian-Prussian army. On May 8 and 9, near Bautzen, he repelled Napoleon's main attacks; On August 18, near Kulm, he completed the defeat of Vandam (awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree), and in the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig he was one of the main culprits of the victory; for this campaign B. was elevated to the rank of count. During the campaign of 1814, the battles of Brienne, Arcy-on-Aube, Fer-Champenoise and Paris brought B. a field marshal's baton. In 1815, B., being the commander-in-chief of the 1st Army, again entered France, where, after a review at Vertue, he was elevated to princely dignity. Upon returning to Russia, B. continued to command the 1st Army. Having gone abroad due to poor health, he died on the way in the city of Insterburg; his body was brought to Russia and buried on May 14, 1818 in the town of Bekgof, in Livonia. B. built a monument in St. Petersburg; The 4th Nesvizh Grenadier Regiment is still called after him. - Compare: Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, “Military Gallery of the Winter Palace”.

Bagrationi

Bagrations, princes. The most ancient and one of the most famous families of Georgia, which produced many Armenian and Georgian kings. It originates from Athanasius Bagratidas, whose son Ashod Kuropalat, who died in 826, was the king of Georgia. The line of Georgian kings continued from Ashod. Queen Tamara (the Great), died in 1211, was in her first marriage to the Russian Prince Yuri, nephew of Andrei Bogolyubsky, and in her second to the Ossetian Prince Davyd, the son of Prince Janderon from his first marriage. Some Georgian chroniclers consider Janderon to be the grandson of Prince Davyd, grandson of King George I, who fled to Ossetia. If these legends are true, then the current princes of B., Georgian and Mukhrani are descendants in the direct male tribe of the ancient Bagratids; if the testimony of the chroniclers is erroneous, then in this case the Bagratid clan ceased in 1184, with the death of King George III, and then the origin of these clans should be considered to be from the Ossetian rulers. From the Bagration family, some members became kings of Imereti, Kartalin and Kakheti. One of the Imeretian kings (whose descendants reigned in Imereti before its annexation to Russia in 1810), Mikhail, died in 1329, is considered the ancestor of the Imeretian kings, as well as the princes Bagrationi-Imereti and Bagrationi-Davydov; the latter were recognized as princes on December 6, 1850. From Prince Teimuraz, the ruler (batoni) of Mukhrani, descended from the former Georgian royal family of the Bagratids, the branch of the Bagrationi-Mukhrani princes traces their ancestry. The ancient inheritance of the Mukhrani princes was in Kartaliniya. The former Georgian royal house is divided into 4 branches: 1) the senior branch, whose ancestors reigned in Kartalinia until 1724; 2) princes B., the junior branch of the previous branch; 3) the princes of B.-Mukhrani - a branch that separated from the common root in the 17th century and until the beginning of the 19th century owned the Mukhrani inheritance; 4) the younger branch, whose ancestors reigned in Kakheti and Kartalinia until 1800. The second branch was included in the number of Russian-princely families in 1803. The grandson of Tsar Vakhtang VI, Prince Ivan Vakhushtovich B., served under Catherine II as lieutenant general and commanded the Siberian division. His nephew, Tsarevich Alexander Jesseevich, the ancestor of the current princes of B., left for Russia in 1757 and served as a lieutenant colonel in the Caucasian division. His son, Prince Kirill, was a senator.

Grandson of Alexander Iesseevich B., Prince Peter Ivanovich , born in 1765, entered the service as a sergeant in 1782; participated in the cases of 1783 - 90 against the Chechens and was seriously wounded; in 1788 he was at the capture of Ochakov; in 1794 he took part in almost all cases against the Confederates and attracted the attention of Suvorov. In 1798, he was appointed chief of the 6th Jaeger Regiment and with him a year later, with the rank of major general, he set out on the Italian campaign. In this campaign, as well as in the famous crossing of the Alps, B. took a brilliant part, receiving the most responsible and difficult assignments from Suvorov; affairs at Puzzolo, Bergamo, Lecco, Tidone, Trebia, Nura and Novi are associated with his name. When entering Switzerland, B. commanded the vanguard; On September 13, he attacked and drove back the French who occupied St. Gotthard; On September 14, he crossed the Devil's Bridge and pursued the enemy to Lake Lucerne; On September 16, in the Mutten Valley, he surrounded and captured a strong French detachment; On September 19 and 20, he withstood a successful battle near the village of Kloptal, where he received a severe shell shock, and then commanded the rearguard, covering our retreat from Switzerland. Upon returning from the campaign, B. was appointed chief of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Battalion and reorganized it into a regiment. During the campaign of 1805 and in the war of 1806-07, B. participated in almost all battles and, often being in a dangerous situation, constantly showed courage and stewardship. B. distinguished himself in affairs at Lambach, Enz and Amstetten, at Rausnitz, Wischau and in the battle of Austerlitz, especially at the village of Schöngraben, where he, with a detachment of 6,000 people, held off the strongest enemy for a whole day, who was crossing our path of retreat, for which he received the Order of St. George 2nd degree. During the Swedish War of 1808-09, B. became famous for the occupation of the Åland Islands. In August 1809, B. was appointed commander-in-chief of the army against the Turks; under him, Machin, Girsov, Brailov, Izmail were taken and the Turks were defeated at Rassevat, but the siege of Silistria, the garrison of which was almost equal to the besieging army, was not successful. In 1810, B. was replaced by Kamensky. During the Patriotic War, B. commanded the second Western army. During the initial retreat of our armies, B. had to make a difficult roundabout march under pressure from a superior enemy to join the army of Barclay d Tolly; having united near Smolensk, B., being older than Barclay de Tolly, who had previously been under his command several times, nevertheless submitted to him for the sake of unity of command, bearing in mind that Barclay, as Minister of War, was more familiar with the wishes of the sovereign and the general plan actions. During a further retreat, when public opinion rebelled against Barclay, B., although he understood all the benefits of such a course of action, also condemned it. During the Battle of Borodino, B. was wounded in the leg by a grenade fragment, causing bone fragmentation; from the dressing station, realizing that he was wrong before Barclay, he sent an adjutant to tell him that “the salvation of the army depends on him.” The wound, which at first seemed harmless, brought him to the grave on September 12, in the village of Simakh, Vladimir province; Now his ashes rest on the Borodino field. In memory of B., the 104th Ustyug Infantry Regiment bears his name.

Davydov Denis Vasilievich

Davydov, Denis Vasilievich - famous partisan, poet, military historian and theorist. Born into an old noble family, in Moscow, July 16, 1784; Having been educated at home, he entered the cavalry regiment, but was soon transferred to the army for satirical poetry, to the Belarusian Hussar Regiment (1804), from there he transferred to the Hussar Life Guards (1806) and participated in campaigns against Napoleon (1807), the Swedish (1808) ), Turkish (1809). He achieved wide popularity in 1812 as the head of a partisan detachment, organized on his own initiative. At first, the higher authorities reacted to Davydov’s idea with some skepticism, but the partisan actions turned out to be very useful and brought a lot of harm to the French. Davydov had imitators - Figner, Seslavin and others. On the great Smolensk road, Davydov more than once managed to recapture military supplies and food from the enemy, intercept correspondence, thereby instilling fear in the French and raising the spirit of the Russian troops and society. Davydov used his experience for the wonderful book “The Experience of the Theory of Guerrilla Action.” In 1814, Davydov was promoted to general; was chief of staff of the 7th and 8th army corps (1818 - 1819); In 1823 he retired, in 1826 he returned to service, participated in the Persian campaign (1826 - 1827) and in the suppression of the Polish uprising (1831). In 1832, he finally left service with the rank of lieutenant general and settled on his Simbirsk estate, where he died on April 22, 1839. - The most lasting mark left by Davydov in literature is his lyrics. Pushkin highly valued his originality, his unique manner of “twisting verse.” A.V. Druzhinin saw in him a writer “truly original, precious for understanding the era that gave birth to him.” Davydov himself speaks about himself in his autobiography: “He never belonged to any literary guild; he was a poet not by rhymes and footsteps, but by feeling; as for his exercise in poetry, this exercise, or, better to say, the impulses of it they consoled him like a bottle of champagne "... "I am not a poet, but a partisan, a Cossack, I sometimes visited Pinda, but in a hurry, and carefree, somehow, I set up my independent bivouac in front of the Kastal current." This self-assessment is consistent with the assessment given to Davydov by Belinsky: “He was a poet at heart, for him life was poetry, and poetry was life, and he poeticized everything he touched... His wild revelry turns into a daring but noble prank ; rudeness - into the frankness of a warrior; the desperate courage of another expression, which is no less than the reader himself is surprised to see himself in print, although sometimes hidden under dots, becomes an energetic outburst of a powerful feeling. .. Passionate by nature, he sometimes rose to the purest ideality in his poetic visions... Of particular value should be those poems by Davydov, the subject of which is love, and in which his personality is so chivalrous... As a poet, Davydov decisively belongs to the most bright luminaries of the second magnitude in the firmament of Russian poetry... As a prose writer, Davydov has every right to stand alongside the best prose writers of Russian literature "... Pushkin valued his prose style even higher than his poetic style. Davydov did not shy away from oppositional motives; his satirical fables are imbued with them, epigrams and the famous "Modern Song", with proverbial caustic remarks about the Russian Mirabeau and Lafayette. - Davydov's works were published six times (the last edition, edited by A.O. Krugly, St. Petersburg, 1893); the best edition - 4th, Moscow, 1860. His "Notes" were published in 1863. The bibliography is listed in Vengerov, "Sources of the Dictionary of Russian Writers", volume II. See V.V. Gervais, "Partisan-poet Davydov" (St. Petersburg , 1913); B. Sadovsky, "Russian Kamena" (Moscow, 1910). N.L.

IN The following took part in the Patriotic War of 1812:

- Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich

Bagration Petr Ivanovich -Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich -Davydov Denis Vasilievich

Uvarov Fedor Petrovich - Platov Matvey Ivanovich - Raevsky Nikolai Nikolaevich

Kutuzov (Golenishchev-Kutuzov) Mikhail Illarionovich (1745-1813)

At the beginning of the Patriotic War, Kutuzov was elected head of the St. Petersburg and Moscow militias. On August 8, 1812, Alexander I appointed Kutuzov commander-in-chief of the 1st and 2nd united armies. On August 26, the Battle of Borodino took place. Huge losses in the battle and the lack of reserves forced Kutuzov to retreat to Moscow. At the military council in Fili, he single-handedly made the responsible decision to sacrifice Moscow in order to preserve the army. After leaving Moscow, Kutuzov made a march maneuver, turning from the old Ryazan road to Kaluga, and stopped in Tarutino. The Tarutino camp played a huge role in replenishing and training Russian troops for the upcoming battles with Napoleonic army. On October 6, 1812, near Tarutino, the approaching corps of Napoleonic Marshal Murat was defeated, and on October 12. In a bloody battle, the Russian army near Maloyaroslavets blocked the path to the south of the main forces of Napoleon's army emerging from Moscow and forced him to retreat along the devastated Old Smolensk Road. In the subsequent battles of Vyazma (October 22), Krasny (November 3-6) and during the crossing of Napoleonic troops across the river. Berezina (November 14-16), the French army suffered significant losses.

On December 12, 1812, Napoleonic troops were expelled from Russia. 1 Jan In 1813, the Russian army under the command of Kutuzov crossed the border. During. January-March 1813, the Russian army successfully advanced, liberating Polish and Prussian cities from French troops. On February 26, Berlin was liberated.

Kutuzov died in the German town of Bunzlau. He was buried in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Bagration Petr Ivanovich

During the war of 1812, Bagration received a major appointment - commander of the 2nd Army. Under the command were two infantry and one cavalry corps - a total of about 50 thousand people and 180 guns. The army occupied a front of about 100 kilometers, between the Neman

and Bug. The 1st Army was commanded by Barclay de Tolly, with whom Bagration did not get along very well. When Napoleon's troops crossed the Russian border, Bagration had 6 divisions, against which the enemy sent eleven. Bagration received orders to retreat to join Barclay de Tolly in Minsk. On June 29, Bagration moved towards Minsk. Napoleon decided to destroy Bagration's army or take him prisoner. A 50,000-strong French army moved against Bagration. Bagration fell into pincers, it was necessary to escape. Skillfully maneuvering, Bagration escaped Napoleon's pincers. For a long time afterwards, the French generals made excuses before Napoleon, and Pyotr Ivanovich wrote to Ermolov in those days: “Forcibly

got out of hell! The fools let me go, now I’m going to Mogilev;

Maybe I’ll put them in pincers”. Going to Minsk without food supplies, through forests and swamps, was madness. And Bagration changes direction, but Napoleon was not going to let Bagration go. The enemy followed. During these difficult days, Bagration did not lose his presence of mind; he again changed direction and led troops to Smolensk, where on August 15 he united with Barclay’s army.

On August 16, Napoleon approached Smolensk. Smolensk was abandoned after a heroic battle under its walls. Napoleon sent Junot's corps with the goal of disrupting the connection of Russian armies. Junot made a big mistake by allowing the troops to rest.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich (1761-1818)

At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Barclay de Tolly served as Russia's Minister of War. He actually commanded the Russian army during the most difficult period of the war - at the time of the retreat from the western borders to Moscow. This operation required exceptional leadership, endurance and composure. Barclay de Tolly coped with his task brilliantly. He preserved the integrity and combat effectiveness of the army. But not everyone understood the need to retreat. Hot heads demanded an immediate battle, calling Barclay de Tolly a coward. It was completely unfair.

Barclay proved his courage on the battlefield when the Battle of Borodino raged. The 1st Army, which he commanded, occupied positions on the central and right sectors of the front. After stubborn battles with Bagration's army, the French threw their main forces to the central front. Here the Russian soldiers saw how fearless their commander was. The entire time the battle was going on, Barclay de Tolly was in a forward position, in close proximity to the enemy, on horseback. Bullets whistled, shells exploded, showering the commander with clods of earth. But the general did not try to take cover. After the next explosion, he shook off his uniform and continued to command the battle.

An honest and selfless officer, Barclay never sought an easy career. He fell in love with the Russian army and devoted his whole life to it. He more than once looked death in the eye and was not inferior to the French marshals either in courage, or in fortitude, or in the art of leading troops into battle.

Uvarov Fedor

Petrovich

IN Patriotic War of 1812 became commander of the 1st Reserve Cavalry Corps, which was part of the 1st Western Army of General Barclay de Tolly M.B. Troops of General Uvarov F.P. participated in one of the first battles of Ostrovno, near the Lithuanian city of Vilkomir, and in the Battle of Smolensk. In the battle at the Kolotsky Monastery, Uvarov supported the rearguard of General P.P. Konovnitsyn.

IN Battle of Borodino Uvarov's corps: 6 regiments and a horse artillery company, was part of the right wing of the Russian army. Uvarov F.P. building together with the Cossack corps Platov M.I. by order of Kutuzov M.I. was directed around the left flank Napoleonic army.

Napoleon attacked the center of the Russian position and the left flank. The attack by Uvarov and Platov caused confusion in parts of the left French flank, and the enemy was forced to retreat. But Uvarov received an order from Barclay de Tolly to return, so he did not continue pursuing the enemy.

Perhaps the inconsistency in the actions of the command affected, but, nevertheless, the attack of Uvarov and Platov forced Napoleon to lose two hours in inaction, and during this time our left flank was strengthened. Kutuzov was not satisfied with the results of the attack, and Uvarov and Platov were not nominated for awards for the Battle of Borodino.

During the retreat of the Russian army to Moscow, the corps of Uvarov F.P. was in the rearguard and on August 29, near the village of Krymsky, he decisively attacked the French cavalry, after which the French retreated. At the council in Fili he spoke out against the Russian army abandoning Moscow and in favor of conducting a new decisive battle. He took part in the battles of Vyazma and Krasny, thanks to the brilliant attacks of his cavalry, the French were forced to retreat.

Platov Matvey

Ivanovich

hero Patriotic War of 1812, cavalry general, ataman of the Don Army, count was born on August 6, 1753 in the village of Staro-Cherkasskaya in the family of a poor but honored military foreman, Ivan Fedorovich Platov. At the age of 13 he entered the Cossack army as a constable. Matvey did not have any special military education - he only knew how to read and write.

Start Patriotic War The almost 60-year-old ataman of the Don Army met near the border, not far from the city of Grodno. Platov's flying corps included 14 Cossack regiments. The cavalry corps was part of Bagration's 2nd Western Army.

Troops of Platov M.I. were in the rearguard of the army and had to cover the flanks, preventing the retreating units from being surrounded and holding back the enemy’s advance. The Cossacks attacked enemy convoys, exterminated the enemy's vanguard troops, and acted quickly, quickly disappearing, throwing the French into confusion.

At a critical moment Battle of Borodino, by order of Kutuzov, 9 Cossack regiments of Ataman Platov and the light cavalry of General Uvarov,

having crossed the Kolocha River, they quietly made their way to the enemy’s rear, struck his convoys and captured some of them, causing a great commotion in the enemy’s camp.

Having convinced the French that they were attacked by significant Russian forces, Platov and Uvarov forced them to suspend the offensive for two whole hours. Which gave the Russians time to bring in reinforcements and deploy reserve artillery.

In addition, they contributed to Napoleon’s decision to refuse to introduce the guard into battle.

At the famous council in Fili, General Platov, with his characteristic decisiveness, advocated giving Napoleon near Moscow decisive battle. However, the commander-in-chief decided otherwise

decision, and the Cossacks of Matvey Ivanovich Platov two days later were the last