Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, from 1812 His Serene Highness Prince Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky. Born September 16, 1745 in St. Petersburg - died April 28, 1813 in Bolesławiec (Poland). Russian commander, field marshal general from the Golenishchev-Kutuzov family, commander-in-chief of the Russian army during the Patriotic War of 1812. The first full knight of the Order of St. George.
Father - Illarion Matveevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1717-1784), lieutenant general, later senator.
Mother - Anna Illarionovna, belonged to the Beklemishev family, however, the surviving archival documents indicate that her father was a retired captain Bedrinsky.
Until recently, 1745, indicated on his grave, was considered to be the year of Kutuzov's birth. However, the data contained in a number of official lists of 1769, 1785, 1791 and private letters indicate the possibility of referring his birth to 1747. It is 1747 that is indicated as the year of birth of M.I. Kutuzov in his later biographies.
From the age of seven, Mikhail studied at home, in July 1759 he was sent to the Artillery and Engineering Noble School, where his father taught artillery sciences. Already in December of the same year, Kutuzov was given the rank of conductor of the 1st class with swearing in and the appointment of a salary. A capable young man is recruited to train officers.
In February 1761, Mikhail graduated from school and, with the rank of ensign engineer, was left with her to teach mathematics to pupils. Five months later, he became the adjutant wing of the Reval Governor-General Prince Holstein-Beksky.
Quickly managing the office of Holstein-Becksky, he quickly earned the rank of captain in 1762. In the same year, he was appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, which at that time was commanded by Colonel A.V. Suvorov.
Since 1764, he was at the disposal of the commander of the Russian troops in Poland, Lieutenant General I. I. Weimarn, commanded small detachments operating against the Polish confederates.
In 1767, he was recruited to work on the "Commission for the drafting of a new Code", an important legal and philosophical document of the 18th century, which consolidated the foundations of an "enlightened monarchy". Apparently, Mikhail Kutuzov was involved as a secretary-translator, since it is written in his certificate that he “speaks and translates French and German quite well, he understands the author’s Latin.”
In 1770, he was transferred to the 1st Army of Field Marshal P. A. Rumyantsev, located in the south, and took part in the war with Turkey that began in 1768.
Great importance in the formation of Kutuzov as a military leader, he had combat experience accumulated during the Russian-Turkish wars of the 2nd half of the 18th century under the leadership of commanders P. A. Rumyantsev and A. V. Suvorov. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Kutuzov took part in the battles of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and Cahul. For distinction in battles he was promoted to Prime Major. In the position of chief quartermaster (chief of staff) of the corps, he was assistant commander and for success in the battle of Popesty in December 1771 he received the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In 1772, an incident occurred that, according to contemporaries, had a great influence on the character of Kutuzov. In a close comradely circle, the 25-year-old Kutuzov, who knew how to imitate the manner of behavior, allowed himself to mimic the commander-in-chief Rumyantsev. The field marshal found out about this, and Kutuzov was sent by transfer to the 2nd Crimean Army under the command of Prince V. M. Dolgorukov. Since that time, he developed restraint and caution, he learned to hide his thoughts and feelings, that is, he acquired those qualities that became characteristic of his future military activity. According to another version, the reason for the transfer of Kutuzov to the 2nd Army was the words of Catherine II repeated by him about the Most Serene Prince G. A. Potemkin, that the prince was brave not with his mind, but with his heart.
In July 1774, Devlet Giray landed in Alushta, but the Turks were not allowed to go deep into the Crimea. On July 23, 1774, in the battle near the village of Shuma, north of Alushta, a three-thousand-strong Russian detachment defeated the main forces of the Turkish landing force. Kutuzov, who commanded the grenadier battalion of the Moscow Legion, was seriously wounded by a bullet that pierced his left temple and exited near his right eye, which “squinted”, but his vision was preserved, contrary to popular belief.
In memory of this wound in the Crimea there is a monument - the Kutuzovsky fountain. The Empress awarded Kutuzov with the military Order of St. George 4th class and sent him to Austria for treatment, taking on all the expenses of the trip. Kutuzov used two years of treatment to replenish his military education. During his stay in Regensburg in 1776 he joined the Masonic lodge "To the Three Keys".
Upon returning to Russia in 1776, he was again in military service. At first he formed parts of the light cavalry, in 1777 he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Lugansk pike regiment, with whom he was in Azov. He was transferred to the Crimea in 1783 with the rank of brigadier and was appointed commander of the Mariupol Light Horse Regiment.
In November 1784 he received the rank of major general after the successful suppression of the uprising in the Crimea. Since 1785 he was the commander of the Bug Chasseur Corps formed by him. Commanding the corps and teaching rangers, he developed new tactical methods of struggle for them and outlined them in a special instruction. He covered the border along the Bug with his corps when the second war with Turkey broke out in 1787.
On October 1, 1787, under the command of Suvorov, he took part in the battle of Kinburn, when the 5,000th Turkish landing force was almost completely destroyed.
In the summer of 1788, with his corps, he took part in the siege of Ochakov, where in August 1788 he was again seriously wounded in the head. This time the bullet went almost through the old channel. Mikhail Illarionovich survived and in 1789 accepted a separate corps, with which Akkerman occupied, fought near Kaushany and during the assault on Bendery.
In December 1790, he distinguished himself during the assault and capture of Izmail, where he commanded the 6th column, which was marching on the attack. he described the actions of General Kutuzov in a report: “Showing a personal example of courage and fearlessness, he overcame all the difficulties he encountered under heavy enemy fire; jumped over the palisade, warned the aspiration of the Turks, quickly flew up to the ramparts of the fortress, captured the bastion and many batteries ... General Kutuzov walked on my left wing; but was my right hand.
According to legend, when Kutuzov sent a messenger to Suvorov with a report about the impossibility of staying on the ramparts, he received a response from Suvorov that a messenger had already been sent to Petersburg with news to Empress Catherine II about the capture of Ishmael.
After the capture of Izmail Kutuzov, he was promoted to lieutenant general, awarded George of the 3rd degree and appointed commandant of the fortress. Having repelled the attempts of the Turks to take possession of Izmail, on June 4 (16), 1791, he defeated the 23,000-strong Turkish army at Babadag with a sudden blow. In the Machinsky battle in June 1791, under the command of N.V. Repnin, Kutuzov dealt a crushing blow to the right flank of the Turkish troops. For the victory at Machin, Kutuzov was awarded the Order of George 2nd degree.
In 1792, Kutuzov, commanding a corps, took part in the Russian-Polish war and the following year was sent as an extraordinary ambassador to Turkey, where he resolved a number of important issues in favor of Russia and significantly improved relations with her. While in Constantinople, he was in the Sultan's garden, a visit to which men was punishable by death. Sultan Selim III chose not to notice the audacity of the powerful ambassador.
Upon his return to Russia, Kutuzov managed to flatter himself with the all-powerful favorite at that time, P. A. Zubov. Referring to the skills acquired in Turkey, he came to Zubov an hour before he woke up in order to brew coffee for him in a special way, which he then carried to the favorite in front of many visitors. As a result, Kutuzov in 1795 was appointed commander-in-chief of all ground forces, flotilla and fortresses in Finland and at the same time director of the Land Cadet Corps. He did a lot to improve the training of officer cadres: he taught tactics, military history and other disciplines. Catherine II daily invited him to her society, he spent with her the last evening before her death.
Unlike many other favorites of the Empress, Kutuzov managed to hold on under the new Tsar Paul I and remained with him until the last day of his life (including having dinner with him on the eve of the assassination). In 1798 he was promoted to general of infantry. He successfully completed a diplomatic mission in Prussia: during his two months in Berlin, he managed to attract her to the side of Russia in the fight against France. On September 27, 1799, Paul I appointed commander of the expeditionary force in Holland instead of General of Infantry I.I. German, who was defeated by the French at Bergen and taken prisoner. He was awarded the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. On the way to Holland, he was recalled back to Russia. He was the Lithuanian military governor (1799-1801). On September 8, 1800, on the day of the end of military maneuvers in the vicinity of Gatchina, Emperor Paul I personally presented Kutuzov with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Upon the accession of Alexander I, he was appointed military governor of St. Petersburg and Vyborg (1801-1802), as well as the manager of the civil part in these provinces and an inspector of the Finnish inspection.
In 1802, having fallen into disgrace with the tsar, Kutuzov was removed from his post and lived on his estate in Goroshki (now Volodarsk-Volynsky, Ukraine, Zhytomyr region), continuing to be on active duty as the chief of the Pskov Musketeer Regiment.
In 1804 Russia entered into a coalition to fight against Napoleon, and in 1805 the Russian government sent two armies to Austria; Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of one of them. In August 1805, the 50,000-strong Russian army under his command moved to Austria. The Austrian army, which did not have time to connect with the Russian troops, was defeated in October 1805 near Ulm. Kutuzov's army found itself face to face with the enemy, who had a significant superiority in strength.
Saving the troops, Kutuzov in October 1805 made a retreat march 425 km long from Braunau to Olmutz and, having defeated I. Murat near Amstetten and E. Mortier near Dürenstein, withdrew his troops from the impending threat of encirclement. This march went down in the history of military art as a remarkable example of a strategic maneuver. From Olmutz (now Olomouc), Kutuzov proposed to withdraw the army to the Russian border, so that, after the approach of Russian reinforcements and the Austrian army from Northern Italy, to go on the counteroffensive.
Contrary to the opinion of Kutuzov and at the insistence of the emperors Alexander I and the Austrian Franz II, inspired by a small numerical superiority over the French, the allied armies went on the offensive. On November 20 (December 2), 1805, the Battle of Austerlitz took place. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the Russians and Austrians. Kutuzov himself was wounded by a shrapnel in the cheek, and also lost his son-in-law, Count Tizenhausen. Alexander, realizing his guilt, publicly did not blame Kutuzov and awarded him in February 1806 with the Order of St. Vladimir of the 1st degree, but he never forgave him for the defeat, believing that Kutuzov deliberately framed the king. In a letter to his sister dated September 18, 1812, Alexander I expressed his true attitude towards the commander: "according to the recollection of what happened at Austerlitz because of the deceitful nature of Kutuzov."
In September 1806 Kutuzov was appointed military governor of Kyiv. In March 1808 he was sent as a corps commander to the Moldavian army, however, due to disagreements that arose over the further conduct of the war with the commander-in-chief, Field Marshal A. A. Prozorovsky, in June 1809 Kutuzov was appointed Lithuanian military governor.
In 1811, when the war with Turkey came to a standstill, and the foreign policy situation required effective action, Alexander I appointed Kutuzov commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army instead of the deceased Kamensky. In early April 1811, Kutuzov arrived in Bucharest and took command of the army, weakened by the recall of divisions to defend the western border. He found in the entire space of the conquered lands less than thirty thousand troops, with whom he was supposed to defeat one hundred thousand Turks located in the Balkan mountains.
In the Ruschuk battle on June 22, 1811 (15-20 thousand Russian troops against 60 thousand Turks), he inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy, which marked the beginning of the defeat of the Turkish army. Then Kutuzov deliberately withdrew his army to the left bank of the Danube, forcing the enemy to break away from the bases in pursuit. He blocked the part of the Turkish army that had crossed the Danube near Slobodzeya, and in early October he himself sent the corps of General Markov across the Danube in order to attack the Turks who remained on the southern bank. Markov attacked the enemy base, captured it and took the main camp of Grand Vizier Ahmed Agha across the river under fire from the captured Turkish guns. Soon famine and disease began in the encircled camp, Ahmed-aga secretly left the army, leaving Pasha Chaban-oglu in his place. Even before the capitulation of the Turks, by a personal Imperial Decree, dated October 29 (November 10), 1811, the commander-in-chief of the army against the Turks, general of infantry, Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, was elevated, with his descending offspring, to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire. On November 23 (December 5), 1811, 1811, Chaban-oglu surrendered to Count Golenishchev-Kutuzov a 35,000-strong army with 56 guns. Türkiye was forced to enter into negotiations.
Concentrating his corps to the Russian borders, Napoleon hoped that the alliance with the Sultan, which he concluded in the spring of 1812, would bind the Russian forces in the south. But on May 16 (28), 1812, in Bucharest, Kutuzov made peace, according to which Bessarabia with part of Moldavia passed to Russia (Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1812). It was a major military and diplomatic victory that shifted the strategic situation for Russia for the better by the beginning of World War II. At the conclusion of peace, Admiral Chichagov headed the Danube army, and Kutuzov was recalled to St. Petersburg, where, by decision of the emergency committee of ministers, he was appointed commander of the troops for the defense of St. Petersburg.
At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Kutuzov was elected in July the head of the St. Petersburg, and then the Moscow militia. At the initial stage of the Patriotic War, the 1st and 2nd Western Russian armies were under pressure from the superior forces of Napoleon. The unsuccessful course of the war prompted the nobility to demand the appointment of a commander who would enjoy the confidence of Russian society. Even before the Russian troops left Smolensk, Alexander I appointed Infantry General Kutuzov commander-in-chief of all Russian armies and militias. 10 days before the appointment, by a personal Imperial Decree, dated July 29 (August 10), 1812, Infantry General Count Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov was elevated, with his descendants, to the princely dignity of the Russian Empire, with the title of lordship. The appointment of Kutuzov caused a patriotic upsurge in the army and the people. Kutuzov himself, as in 1805, was not in the mood for a decisive battle against Napoleon. According to one of the testimonies, he put it this way about the methods by which he would act against the French: “We will not defeat Napoleon. We will deceive him."
On August 17 (29), Kutuzov received the army from Barclay de Tolly in the village of Tsarevo-Zaimishche, Smolensk province.
The great superiority of the enemy in forces and the lack of reserves forced Kutuzov to retreat inland, following the strategy of his predecessor, Barclay de Tolly. Further withdrawal meant the surrender of Moscow without a fight, which was unacceptable both politically and morally. Having received insignificant reinforcements, Kutuzov decided to give Napoleon a pitched battle, the first and only one in the Patriotic War of 1812. battle of Borodino, one of the largest battles of the era of the Napoleonic Wars, took place on August 26 (September 7). During the day of the battle, the Russian army inflicted heavy losses on the French troops, but according to preliminary estimates, by the night of the same day, it lost almost half of the personnel of the regular troops. The balance of power obviously did not shift in favor of Kutuzov. Kutuzov decided to withdraw from the Borodino position, and then, after a meeting in Fili (now a Moscow region), he left Moscow. Nevertheless, the Russian army proved to be worthy at Borodino, for which Kutuzov was promoted to field marshal on August 30 (September 11).
After leaving Moscow, Kutuzov secretly carried out the famous Tarutino flank maneuver, leading the army to the village of Tarutino by the beginning of October. Once to the south and west of Napoleon, Kutuzov blocked his path of movement to the southern regions of the country.
Having failed in his attempts to make peace with Russia, on October 7 (19) Napoleon began to withdraw from Moscow. He tried to lead the army to Smolensk by the southern route through Kaluga, where there were food and fodder supplies, but on October 12 (24) in the battle for Maloyaroslavets he was stopped by Kutuzov and retreated along the devastated Smolensk road. The Russian troops launched a counteroffensive, which Kutuzov organized so that Napoleon's army was under flank attacks by regular and partisan detachments, and Kutuzov avoided frontal battle with large masses of troops.
Thanks to Kutuzov's strategy, the huge Napoleonic army was almost completely destroyed. Kutuzov in the pre-Soviet and post-Soviet times was criticized more than once for his unwillingness to act more decisively and aggressively, for his preference to have a certain victory at the expense of loud glory. Prince Kutuzov, according to contemporaries and historians, did not share his plans with anyone, his words to the public often diverged from his orders in the army, so the true motives for the actions of the illustrious commander make it possible various interpretations. But the end result of his activities is undeniable - the defeat of Napoleon in Russia, for which Kutuzov was awarded the Order of St. George of the 1st degree, becoming the first full St. George Knight in the history of the order. By personal decree of the Highest, dated December 6 (18), 1812, Field Marshal General His Serene Highness Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov was granted the name "Smolensky".
Napoleon often spoke contemptuously about the generals opposing him, while not embarrassed in expressions. Characteristically, he avoided giving public assessments of Kutuzov's command in the Patriotic War, preferring to lay the blame for the complete destruction of his army on the "harsh Russian winter." Napoleon's attitude towards Kutuzov can be seen in a personal letter written by Napoleon from Moscow on October 3, 1812 with the aim of starting peace negotiations: “I am sending one of My Adjutant Generals to you to negotiate on many important matters. I want Your Grace to believe what he tells you, especially when he expresses to you the feelings of respect and special attention that I have long had for you. Having nothing else to say with this letter, I pray the Almighty to keep you, Prince Kutuzov, under his sacred and good cover..
In January 1813, Russian troops crossed the border and reached the Oder by the end of February. By April 1813 the troops reached the Elbe. On April 5, the commander-in-chief caught a cold and fell ill in the small Silesian town of Bunzlau (Prussia, now the territory of Poland).
According to a legend refuted by historians, Alexander I arrived to say goodbye to a very weakened field marshal. Behind the screens, near the bed on which Kutuzov lay, was the official Krupennikov, who was with him. The last dialogue of Kutuzov, allegedly overheard by Krupennikov and transmitted by the chamberlain Tolstoy: “Forgive me, Mikhail Illarionovich!” - "I forgive, sir, but Russia will never forgive you for this." The next day, April 16 (28), 1813, Prince Kutuzov passed away. His body was embalmed and sent to St. Petersburg.
The journey was long - through Poznan, Riga, Narva - and took more than a month. Despite such a margin of time, it was not possible to bury the field marshal in the Russian capital immediately upon arrival: they did not have time to properly prepare everything necessary for burial in the Kazan Cathedral. Therefore, the illustrious commander was sent "for temporary storage" - the coffin with the body stood for 18 days in the middle of the church in the Trinity - Sergius Hermitage, a few miles from St. Petersburg. The funeral in the Kazan Cathedral took place on June 11, 1813.
They say that the people were dragging a wagon with the remains of a national hero. The emperor kept Kutuzov's wife full content husband, and in 1814 he ordered the Minister of Finance Guryev to issue more than 300 thousand rubles to pay off the debts of the commander's family.
During his lifetime, he was criticized for obsequiousness, manifested in an obsequious attitude towards the royal favorites, and for excessive predilection for the female sex. They say that while Kutuzov was already seriously ill in the Tarutino camp (October 1812), Chief of Staff Bennigsen reported to Alexander I that Kutuzov did nothing and slept a lot, and not alone. He brought with him a Moldavian woman dressed as a Cossack who “warms his bed”. The letter ended up in the military department, where General Knorring imposed the following resolution on it: “Rumyantsev drove them four at a time. It's none of our business. And what sleeps, let it sleep. Every hour [sleep] of this elder inexorably brings us closer to victory.”
Kutuzov family:
noble family The Golenishchev-Kutuzovs are descended from the Novgorodian Fyodor, nicknamed Kutuz (XV century), whose nephew Vasily had the nickname Golenishche. The sons of Vasily were in the royal service under the surname "Golenishchev-Kutuzov". The grandfather of M. I. Kutuzov rose only to the rank of captain, his father already to the lieutenant general, and Mikhail Illarionovich earned hereditary princely dignity.
Illarion Matveyevich was buried in the village of Terebeni, Opochetsky District, in a special crypt. Currently, there is a church on the burial site, in the basement of which a crypt was discovered in the 20th century. The expedition of the TV project "Searchers" found out that the body of Illarion Matveyevich was mummified and, thanks to this, was well preserved.
Kutuzov got married in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Golenishchevo, Samoluk volost, Loknyansky district Pskov region. Today, only ruins remain of this church.
The wife of Mikhail Illarionovich, Ekaterina Ilyinichna (1754-1824), was the daughter of Lieutenant General Ilya Alexandrovich Bibikov and the sister of A. I. Bibikov, a major statesman and military figure (marshal of the Legislative Commission, commander in chief in the fight against the Polish confederates and in the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion , a friend of A. Suvorov). She married a thirty-year-old colonel Kutuzov in 1778 and gave birth to five daughters in a happy marriage (the only son, Nikolai, died of smallpox in infancy, was buried in Elisavetgrad (now Kirovograd) on the territory of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin).
1. Praskovya (1777-1844) - wife of Matvey Fedorovich Tolstoy (1772-1815);
2. Anna (1782-1846) - wife of Nikolai Zakharovich Khitrovo (1779-1827);
3. Elizabeth (1783-1839) - in the first marriage, the wife of Fyodor Ivanovich Tizenhausen (1782-1805); in the second - Nikolai Fedorovich Khitrovo (1771-1819);
4. Ekaterina (1787-1826) - wife of Prince Nikolai Danilovich Kudashev (1786-1813); in the second - Ilya Stepanovich Sarochinsky (1788/89-1854);
5. Daria (1788-1854) - wife of Fyodor Petrovich Opochinin (1779-1852).
Lisa's first husband died fighting under the command of Kutuzov, Katya's first husband also died in battle. Since the field marshal left no offspring in the male line, the name of Golenishchev-Kutuzov in 1859 was transferred to his grandson, Major General P. M. Tolstoy, son of Praskovya.
Kutuzov also related to the imperial house: his great-granddaughter Daria Konstantinovna Opochinina (1844-1870) became the wife of Evgeny Maximilianovich Leuchtenberg.
Kutuzov's awards:
M. I. Kutuzov became the first of 4 full Knights of St. George in the entire history of the order.
Order of St. George 4th class. (11/26/1775, No. 222) - “For courage and courage shown during the attack of the Turkish troops, who made a landing on the Crimean coast near Alushta. Being detached to take possession of the enemy retragement, to which he led his battalion with such fearlessness that the numerous enemy fled, where he received a very dangerous wound "
- Order of St. George 3rd class. (03/25/1791, No. 77) - “In respect for the diligent service and excellent courage shown during the capture of the city and fortress of Izmail with the extermination of the Turkish army that was there”
- Order of St. George 2nd class. (03/18/1792, No. 28) - “In respect for diligent service, brave and courageous deeds, with which he distinguished himself in the battle of Machin and the defeat of the Russian troops under the command of General Prince N.V. Repnin, a large Turkish army”
- Order of St. George 1st class. bol.cr. (12/12/1812, No. 10) - "For the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia in 1812"
- Order of St. Anne 1st class. - for distinction in the battles near Ochakovo (04/21/1789)
- Order of St. Vladimir 2nd class. - for the successful formation of the corps (06.1789)
- Order of St. Alexander Nevsky - for battles with the Turks near Babadag (07/28/1791)
- Order of St. John of Jerusalem Grand Cross (04.10.1799)
- Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (09/08/1800)
- Order of St. Vladimir 1st class. - for battles with the French in 1805 (02/24/1806)
- Portrait of Emperor Alexander I with diamonds to wear on the chest (07/18/1811)
- Golden sword with diamonds and laurels - for the battle of Tarutino (10/16/1812)
- Diamond signs to the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (12/12/1812)
- Holstein Order of St. Anne - for the battle with the Turks near Ochakov (04/21/1789)
- Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa 1st class. (02.11.1805)
- Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 1st class.
- Prussian Order of the Black Eagle (1813)
FIRST LOVE KUTUZOV
This happened in the "sacred memory of the twelfth year", shortly after the Battle of Borodino.
One September day, a young lieutenant galloped to Krasnaya Pakhra. He was looking for Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, who had just been granted the rank of Field Marshal for the victory over the French in the battle of Borodino.
In Krasnaya Pakhra, the rate was from 9 (21) to 15 (27) September. In the documents it was called: "The main apartment is the village of Krasnaya Pakhra."
The lieutenant was pointed to the house in which the headquarters was located, and, having entered the upper room, he turned to one of the adjutants:
- Report me to the commander-in-chief, I have a need for him.
– What? You can announce it through me.
- I can’t, I need to speak to him myself and without witnesses; do not deny me this indulgence ...
The adjutant went into Kutuzov's room and a minute later, opening the door, said: "Come."
The lieutenant entered the commander-in-chief, entered, as he later recalled, "not only with due respect, but even with a sense of reverence" to "the gray-haired hero, venerable old man, great commander."
Here are these memoirs, subsequently published and made famous:
"What do you want, my friend?" Kutuzov asked, looking at me intently.
“I would like to have the happiness of being your orderly throughout the campaign and have come to ask you for this favor.”
“What is the reason for such an extraordinary request, and even more so the way in which you offer it?”
The following lines of memories reveal the secret of the image of the hero of our story:
“I told (this is not a mistake - I just told) what made me accept this determination, and, being carried away by the memory .., I spoke with feeling, fervor and in bold expressions; among other things, I said that, having been born and raised in the camp, I love military service from the day of my birth, that I have dedicated my life to it forever, that I am ready to shed all my blood, defending the benefit of the Sovereign, whom I honor as God, and that, having such a way of thinking and a reputation as a brave officer ... "
I stopped, both from the fullness of feelings, and from some confusion: I noticed that at the word "brave officer" a slight grin appeared on the face of the commander-in-chief. It made me blush; I guessed his thought and, in order to justify myself, I decided to say everything.
“In the Prussian campaign, Your Excellency, all my commanders praised my courage so much and so unanimously, and even Buxgevden himself called it unparalleled, that after all this I consider myself entitled to be called brave, without fear of being considered self-praise.”
"To the Prussian campaign! did you serve then? what year are you? I thought you were no older than sixteen."
I said that I was twenty-three years old and that during the Prussian campaign I had served in the Konnopole regiment.
"What's your last name?" asked the Commander-in-Chief hastily.
"Alexandrov!" - Kutuzov stood up and hugged me, saying:
“How glad I am to finally have the pleasure of knowing you personally! I've heard about you for a long time. Stay with me if you like; I will be very pleased to bring you some relief from the burden of the labors of the military ... "
Kutuzov's joy and the remark that he had long heard about Lieutenant Aleksandrov are not accidental. In front of him was the famous Nadezhda Durova, known in history as the “cavalry girl”, the first female officer who became the prototype of Shurochka Azarova in the famous film “The Hussar Ballad”.
We will not go into detail about all the stages of the biography of this extraordinary woman, since in past years the magazine has already talked about her. We will touch only on those without which it is difficult to continue a coherent narrative and those that directly relate to its topic.
Nadezhda Durova really participated in the Russian-Prussian-French war of 1806-1807 as part of the Konnopolsky Lancers Regiment, in which she was enrolled due to the fact that she called herself a seventeen-year-old noble son. She distinguished herself more than once in battles, and for saving a wounded officer in the battle of Friedland, she received the rank of non-commissioned officer and the St. George Cross.
But her secret was revealed. No, not in the active army. She opened because before the battle, which promised to be bloody, she wrote a letter to her father, telling where she was and who. The father used all his connections to search for his daughter, wanting to bring her back home, but before he found her, the Emperor found out about the extraordinary heroine and ordered her to be delivered to him. Nadezhda Durova was immediately found, limited, as she herself recalled, her freedom and accompanied by those who were sent to the capital.
The emperor accepted her, talked with her for a long time, was struck by the difficult fate and extraordinary patriotism, as a result, left her in the army, granting the rank of second lieutenant. Well, whatever the relatives could not find, and the rumors about the female cavalrymen subsided, he transferred to the Mariupol hussar regiment, moreover, under the name of Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov.
After the transfer, only the Emperor himself, the new Minister of War Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly and Kutuzov, to whom a special secret dispatch was sent, were privy to the secret. That is why Mikhail Illarionovich was delighted when he saw the one about which he received the message from the Emperor.
And now we come to the most important thing ...
Talking about herself, Nadezhda Durova also mentioned that her father was a hussar officer, and her mother was from the Poltava region.
Kutuzov noticed that he had happened to be in the Poltava region, that he served there during the years of his officer youth, and then he heard and excited his answer.
The cavalry girl reported that she knew that he had been in the native lands of her mother, Nadezhda Ivanovna, nee Alexandrovich ...
Kutuzov was agitated: it means that the memory of him is alive .... It can be seen the family tradition has evolved.
He hurried to send an amazing interlocutor:
"Now go to the duty general Konovnitsyn and tell him that you are my permanent orderly."
Nadezhda Durova said in her Notes:
“I was about to go, but he called me again:
“Are you limping? why is this?
I said that in the battle of Borodino I received a shell shock.
“Concussion from the core! And you are not cured! Now tell the doctor to examine your leg."
However, everything else related to further events relates specifically to the combat officer life of the glorious cavalry girl, and we will return to the elderly commander-in-chief, who could not help but be flooded with memories ...
Yes, indeed, after the fighting with the Polish confederates, in which he showed himself to be a brave and commanding officer, he was assigned to the army of Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev, to the theater of military operations of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1770.
He arrived at Rumyantsev in 1770, when the war was in full swing. But wars at that time did not consist entirely of continuous hostilities. The troops were withdrawn to rest, became winter quarters.
So the regiment in which Kutuzov was assigned ended up in the Poltava region.
In 1885, in the historical publication "Kyivskaya Starina" a small material was placed, which began with such an interesting fact ...
“When M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, the future Prince of Smolensky, was still in a small rank with the regiment in Piryatin, he met the Alexandrovich family and began to visit them often on their farm Velikaya Krucha (now a village). He liked the beautiful Ulyana, he fell in love with him, and he wanted to marry her .... "
Ulyana! Ulyana Ivanovna Alexandrovich! This is her niece, the daughter of Ulyanina's own sister Nadezhda, who has just been with the commander in chief.
So what happened? Why didn't she become the wife of a young officer, Mikhail Kutuzov.
The parents of the sisters Ulyana and Nadezhda were harsh, very harsh.
Here is how Nadezhda Durova recalled in her notes:
“My mother, nee Alexandrovich, was one of the most beautiful girls in Little Russia. At the end of her fifteenth year from birth, the suitors appeared in a crowd to seek her hand. Of all their multitude, my mother's heart gave preference to the hussar captain Durov; but, unfortunately, this choice was not the choice of her father, the proud, power-hungry Pan of Little Russia. He told my mother to get rid of the chimerical idea of marrying a Muscovite, and especially a military one. My grandfather was the greatest despot in his family; if he ordered anything, it was necessary to obey blindly, and there was no way either to propitiate him or to change the intention he had once adopted. The consequence of this immoderate severity was that one stormy autumn night my mother, who was sleeping in the same room with her older sister, got up quietly from bed, dressed, and, taking a cloak and a hood, in nothing but stockings, holding her breath, crept past her sister's bed. , quietly opened the door to the hall, quietly shut it, quickly ran across it and, opening the door to the garden, flew like an arrow along the long chestnut avenue, ending at the very gate. My mother hurriedly unlocks this small door and throws herself into the arms of the captain, who was waiting for her with a carriage drawn by four strong horses, which, like the wind that was then raging, carried them along the Kiev road.
In the first village they got married and went straight to Kyiv, where Durov's regiment lodged. Although my mother’s act could be excused by the youth, love and virtues of my father, who was the most beautiful man, who had a meek disposition and captivating treatment, it was so disgusting to the patriarchal customs of the Little Russian region that my grandfather in the first outburst of anger cursed his daughter.
Probably, knowing the tough temper of her parents, Ulyana, who also fell in love with an officer, and also a “Muscovite”, was afraid to tell her parents about it.
However, the meetings continued. And suddenly... Ulyana fell ill, broken by a strong and not entirely clear illness. She seemed to be a beloved daughter. Mother could not find a place for herself. No matter what measures were taken.
Alexandrovichi were not poor by the standards of those places. Here is what is said about them in the issue of Kievan Antiquity, mentioned above:
“In the second half of the past (written in 1885 - N.Sh.) century, the Alexandrovich family lived in the Piryatinsky povet. His ancestors occupied various ranks in the hetmanate.
The then representative of this family, the bunchuk comrade, Ivan Ilyich Alexandrovich was first the Lubensk subcommissariat, and then the Prilutsk regimental clerk.
Ivan Ilyich had many children: two sons - Bartholomew and Porfiry - and five daughters, the youngest of them was called Ulyana.
What parents did not do to cure their youngest Ulyana. But nothing helped. And in the courtyard was the eighteenth century, faith in God in Russia has not been shaken, especially in the outback.
Often, turning in prayers to the Creator, people made vows - promises that if the Almighty Provider helps, dedicate their life or the life of the one for whom they asked, to serve him.
Ulyana's mother prayed fervently and sincerely. Yes, once she made a vow in prayer, “that if her daughter recovers, she will remain a virgin all her life.”
This is the kind of service to God she chose for her daughter... This may surprise some now, but then it was quite understandable, because it is known that the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans taught that “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Well, and, therefore, on the contrary - a woman should not touch a man. Without forbidding marriage, he said further: “... I wish that all people were like me (they did not communicate carnally and were celibate); but each has his own gift from God, one this way, the other another. To the unmarried and the widowed I say: it is good for them to remain like me.”
That is, the preservation of virginity was also considered a service to God.
And imagine, Ulyana went on the mend.
The Kievskaya Starina further reports that “at the same time, the mutual love young people".
But what about lovers? Ulyana decided to talk to her mother first, but she, having heard about the fiancé, "announced to Ulyana what she owes, in her opinion, to salvation from death."
Mikhail Kutuzov and Uliana Aleksandrovich had something to think about. Give up the thought of being together? And love?
And they still decided to ask for blessings for marriage. True, they did not dare to go to their father right away. Went to mother.
The magazine says: “The mother tried to dissuade, fearing the punishment of God, but then she still did not interfere with the happiness of her beloved daughter.”
Here, too, the father seemed to relent. Apparently, the escape of the eldest daughter taught me something. Everything seemed to go right. But as soon as the wedding day was appointed, Ulyana was struck by a terrible fever.
The Kievan Antiquity says:
“The groom was in terrible despair and took all measures to save the unfortunate bride - she did not die, but the paralysis that struck her made her crippled forever.”
Relatives and friends attributed this blow of the disease to the finger of Providence. And how else could they explain this?
True, Kutuzov himself, even despite the paralysis that broke the bride, continued to insist on marrying her.
The author of the article concluded from this, “that all these concepts about the finger of Providence, vows to God, salvation sent from God through such prayers and vows, and disasters for their violation, he did not recognize all this at all, in the bud, otherwise he would be afraid that with a new disobedience, a new attempt to marry her, God will hit Ulyana with something else.
However, now the beloved herself has already opposed. She, as stated in the article, "did not want to" tie him light. It can be seen that the traces left by the disease were serious.
Well, the war continued, and Kutuzov expected new battles, new exploits. Well, after the end of hostilities, and he received swipe Providence - a mortal wound in the battle near Alushta, after which, according to doctors, it was impossible to survive. But he survived, and the Empress, who was informed of all the circumstances of the incident, granted him the Order of St. George and funds for treatment abroad. She said: “Take care of Kutuzov. He will be my great general.”
It just so happened that in those years he had no chance to visit the Poltava region. The treatment was long, long and the trip abroad, after which he married the daughter of General Bibikov Ekaterina Ilyinichna, who became his beloved wife and good friend. Biographers call the marriage successful, adding that "five daughters were born in a happy marriage."
Well, what about Ulyana Alexandrovich?
The author of the article in Kievskaya Starina, who signed briefly and cryptically "S-ov", pointed out:
“She (Ulyana - A.Sh.) began to constantly pray and kept a quiet, holy affection and good memory for her beloved until last days her own (passed away in 1836). Kutuzov constantly corresponded with her; when Uliana Ivanovna died, she ordered Kutuzov's letters to her to be placed in a coffin under her head.
It remains only to add that history has preserved some information about one of Ulyana's brothers, who in the next Turkish war (1787-1791), served in the rank of major with Suvorov. Who knows, perhaps he happened to meet with the failed husband of his younger sister Ulyana, because he participated in the siege of Ochakov right up to the second, also fatal, wound, and in the assault on Ishmael he especially distinguished himself, also under the command of Suvorov, only in higher ranks.
By the way, after a second head wound, almost similar to the first, one of the doctors prophetically declared: “One must think that Providence saves this man for something extraordinary, because he was healed of two wounds, of which each is fatal.”
Well, with Ulyana's brother, Porfiry, there was such a funny story related to Suvorov:
Porfiry Ivanovich Alexandrovich served in that war in the Suvorov corps. And then one day, during a break between battles, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov appointed a review of the corps. At that time, the corps stood on the Black Sea coast. The review was scheduled on a very hot day. Parts built. But Suvorov is not. Porfiry Alexandrovich decided to swim, believing that he would have time before Suvorov arrived. But as soon as he took a swim, enjoying the coolness of the sea, he heard Suvorov's voice from the shore:
“What are you doing there, Major Aleksandrovich?”
How to be here, what to answer. The major found himself and cheerfully reported:
- I measure the depth of the sea.
Suvorov laughed and advised to hurry to the ranks.
From this it can be seen that Suvorov personally knew the brother of the failed wife of Kutuzov.
This is the story of Kutuzov's first love. Thus, our great commander, a student of the unforgettable Suvorov, could well become the husband of the aunt of a famous cavalry girl in the future.
Everything seems to be known about Kutuzov. Even under Stalin, a giant six-volume collection of documents about him was published, and in recent decades several editions of letters and notes have appeared. But not all materials about Kutuzov's life were included in these collections. For example, most of the letters of a military leader to his wife, which were published only once at the end of the 19th century, are not there.
HOBBIES OF THE GENERAL
They were not faithful to each other. She loved men very much (and the gentlemen reciprocated). He, always being with the army, was not a stranger to "simple" girls. The spouses were united by five daughters, growing debts from year to year and a great penchant for "palace diplomacy". 33-year-old Colonel Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov married 24-year-old Ekaterina Ilyinichnaya Bibikova on April 27, 1778. The future field marshal came from a poor noble family. The only one close relative, brother - a cavalry major shabby in campaigns - and he soon went crazy. Kutuzov's wife, on the contrary, grew up in St. Petersburg salons and from childhood did not know anything from refusal: neither in money, nor in fans. But unlike many of the men who surrounded Bibikov, Mikhail Illarionovich had a reputation as an avid warrior and favorite of Suvorov. In addition, Kutuzov turned out to be a subtle master of intrigue, in which Ekaterina Ilyinichna was also very successful. On this they agreed.
The Kutuzovs led a fairly free lifestyle, which in those days was not considered something reprehensible: free love was widespread in the Russian aristocratic world of the XVIII - first half of XIX centuries. Kutuzov often went to the army, and his wife was not shy about spending time the way she liked. The fleeting returns of the future field marshal usually ended with the birth of another daughter, and then everything fell into place again.
Were there quarrels and quarrels due to adultery? This history is unknown. Judging by the correspondence between the spouses, Kutuzov only occasionally hinted at the missus about too much extravagance, which caused the appearance of gigantic debts. Balls, receptions, outfits from Paris, providing for daughters, and finally, young fans - all this required money and placed a heavy burden on Kutuzov's shoulders. Here is what one of the heroes of the war of 1812 recalled about Ekaterina Ilyinichna's hobbies:
“Recently, I have completely stopped visiting the house of Mrs. Kutuzova, who did not deserve such an indifferent attitude towards her, treating me with participation; she even did me the honor of visiting me once when I was ill, and in general showed me constant attention.
Kutuzova was an extremely intelligent woman; she spoke perfect French, but with a very original accent.
In her youth, she had many admirers, it was noticeable that she could hardly put up with the fact that time took its toll.
Very condescending to the mistakes of others and kind to those who looked after her daughters, she attacked husbands who were jealous of them.
I don't know why she had the fantasy to show in her intimate circle that I was her lover. Since this did not please me at all and might hurt me in the eyes of young women, I decided to expose her fiction, but I did it rather rudely.
Mrs. Kutuzova invited, without ceremony, two of her friends, Princess K., Countess Z., and me, to dinner.
These two ladies were famous for their light morals; each of them obviously had a lover, one of the young guards officers, whom they generously endowed with money. Therefore, I was extremely surprised to find myself in the company of these three ladies.
It immediately occurred to me that Madame Kutuzova wanted to show by this that I was to her what the aforementioned guards officers were to these ladies. I was not bad-looking and enjoyed success with women, so it might be pleasant for her, but not for me.
LONG-SUFFERING ESTATES
In order to somehow pay off the exorbitant debts, in the fall of 1802, General Kutuzov was forced to leave the army and go to his estates Goroshki and Raygorodok - villages located in the present Zhytomyr region. Mikhail Illarionovich was going to seriously engage in agriculture and earn some money from it.
The future field marshal took up his farm with army energy: he started a plant, ordered seeds of rare oilseeds from India and Egypt, actively traded in hemp, flax, hay, and was even going to build a sewer. But burned out.
In 1803-1804, there was a crop failure, then Raygorodok was almost completely burned out, and then the housekeeper ran away, taking with him 5 thousand hard-earned money. Only three years later, the Kutuzov estates began to give a small (compared to debts) income. But - at what cost! To fix financial condition, Mikhail Illarionovich had to return to the army again. At the same time, he continued to take care of his estates.
By the way, when Kutuzov was appointed to various positions, it was Ekaterina Ilyinichna who played the primary role. The closest friend of the mistress of Alexander I Naryshkina, the owner of the salon, which was visited by the wives of all the largest dignitaries of the Russian Empire, she could convey the wishes of her husband to the right ears. Naturally - through their girlfriends. Well, which of the husbands or lovers will refuse their ladies?
For example, at the end of 1806 (after Kutuzov fell into disgrace due to the defeat at Austerlitz), Mikhail Illarionovich wrote to his wife from Kiev: “I am sending, my friend, a request to the sovereign to leave me to Petersburg. I would like the sovereign to call me himself, it would be more pleasant in the reasoning of the public, but if you don’t wait for that, then I send you a request sealed to the sovereign; if you see that they will not call, then tell them to give it through someone, even through Lieven; I am enclosing a copy of the request.
WIRELESS TELEGRAPH
The appointment of Kutuzov in 1812 as commander-in-chief of the Russian army also did not go without the participation of his dearest wife. Indeed, to be completely accurate, at that time Alexander I had at least two commanders more successful than Kutuzov: Bennigsen and Barclay de Tolly. But one was German, the other was Scottish. And in the war against the “twelve languages”, a Russian was needed ... And then neither one nor the other had such a talented wife-diplomat as Mikhail Illarionovich had.
Kutuzov thanked his wife a hundredfold. How - this is a whole story that made fun of the whole of St. Petersburg. The Russian field marshal regularly sent his wife detailed letters about events in the theater of war. Moreover, these letters were delivered along with the official courier, who carried dispatches from the army to the court. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, the first thing the courier did was not to the palace, but ... to Kutuzova. Therefore, she learned about all the news much earlier than in the Winter Palace, and already from her this news instantly spread throughout the capital.
Moreover, through Ekaterina Ilyinichna, one could inquire about the health of relatives and friends, the fate of abandoned estates, the prices of fodder for the army, and much more - Kutuzov answered all his wife's letters very punctually. He didn't forget, good tradition, send to St. Petersburg and all his salary, now - the commander in chief. And even when in January 1813 Kutuzov was brought a sword, a snuffbox and other things studded with diamonds, he also did not hesitate to send them to his wife. In return, Mikhail Illarionovich received warm stockings, tea and other small household items from his caring wife.
The correspondence of the Kutuzovs contains a lot of interesting things. Here is what the field marshal wrote about the self-sacrifice of Alexander I: “Thank God, I am healthy, and above all, thank God that the sovereign is completely healthy; only he doesn’t take care: sometimes he goes to hospitals, where the French lie in thousands in rotten fevers and in Antonov’s fire (typhoid. - Approx. Ya.T.). We ask him; but he doesn’t listen ... ”Naturally, rumors about the letter immediately spread throughout St. Petersburg, and it was from then on that Alexander I began to be called blessed ...
The younger brother of the sovereign, the future Russian emperor Nikolai, who remained behind the elder in St. Petersburg, tried to somehow fight Princess Kutuzova and her "wireless telegraph". The heir to the throne could not put pressure on Ekaterina Ilyinichna herself, and therefore he decided to set up posts around the city in order to intercept all the courier. The very first courier who came across on the Moscow highway was found to have both letters from Kutuzov and a combat journal, which the wife of the field marshal also preferred to look through before Nikolai Pavlovich.
The courier was detained and escorted to the guardhouse, but Ekaterina Ilyinichna somehow found out about this and raised a scandal. Nikolai Pavlovich had to back down and let the courier go - along with letters, but without a magazine. The princess's indignation at such "arbitrariness" had no limits: the future "executioner of Europe" had to apologize and come to terms with the fact that Madame Kutuzova would find out about everything before he, the emperor's brother.
The last letter of the field marshal to his wife is dated April 11, 1813. It was again about money, debts and daughters: “I am writing to you, my friend, for the first time with someone else’s hand, which will surprise you, and maybe even frighten you. An illness of such a kind that the sensation of the fingers in the right hand was taken away. Dishkanets (army treasurer. - Approx. Ya.T.) did not go for a long time, and therefore it was impossible to make a calculation in money; and now I am sending 10 tons. for the payment of debts, 3 tons - Annushka and 3 tons - Parashenka - everyone, it seems, according to needs; You can ask me for more. I lagged behind the sovereign; he is already in Dresden, and I am 17 miles away ... Forgive me, my friend.”
Two days later, Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, His Grace Prince Smolensky, died. In order to somehow help the widow, Alexander I ordered to appoint Ekaterina Ilyinichna a life pension of 86 thousand rubles a year (as much as Kutuzov's salary was assigned during the Foreign campaign) and pay all her debts - another 150 thousand.
The princess and lady of state Kutuzova outlived her husband by more than ten years. She died on July 23, 1824 and was buried in the famous bedchamber of the Russian aristocracy - the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Name: Mikhail Kutuzov
Age: 67 years old
Place of Birth: Saint Petersburg
A place of death: Boleslawiec, Poland
Activity: Russian commander, field marshal general
Family status: was married
Mikhail Kutuzov - biography
Contemporaries considered him a cunning, prudent and very secretive person, and Napoleon called him "the old fox of the North." But it was these qualities that helped the commander to win. Since 1812, the Most Serene Prince Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky was called.
The young Mikhail Kutuzov graduated from the noble engineering school with honors and was left there as a teacher of mathematics. Soon he was offered the post of adjutant of the Revel Governor-General. Having proven himself there, the officer became a company commander in Alexander Suvorov's regiment. He was only 15 years old.
Kutuzov was thoughtful and reserved. Not only on the battlefield, but also in secular intrigues. But he did not become such immediately. The impetus for a change in thinking was the case.
At one of the feasts, 25-year-old Kutuzov, at the request of his colleagues, parodied the commander-in-chief - Count Rumyantsev. This was reported to the field marshal. Soon, from the calm Moldavian army, the parodist was sent to the 2nd Crimean army, which fought with the Turks. From that moment, Kutuzov began to hide his true feelings under the guise of courtesy ...
Mikhail Kutuzov - biography of personal life
In between battles, when his regiment was stationed in the town of Piryatin, Mikhail met the nobleman Aleksandrovich, and later his daughter Ulyana. The beauty reciprocated, the couple was going to get married. But suddenly the girl became seriously ill. The mother prayed for her salvation and promised the Lord that if she recovered, her daughter would take a vow of celibacy. The disease receded, but the assertive groom did not.
Reluctantly, the parents reconciled, but on the morning of the wedding, Ulyana again fell ill. Parents finally refused the groom ... Ulyana survived, but she never got married. All her life she kept a good memory of the failed spouse - as he did about her. They even exchanged letters. And when her term came up, Ulyana asked to put Mikhail's letters in her coffin.
But life takes its toll, and at the age of 33, Kutuzov got married. The choice fell on the 24-year-old general's daughter Ekaterina Bibikova. His wife bore him b children, but his only son died of smallpox in infancy. The spouses saw each other infrequently, Catherine was content with letters and money sent. The general's salary went down quickly, sponsoring actresses and spending money on outfits. Already being elderly, she caused gossip by dressing like a young girl. There was no question of fidelity: Mrs. Kutuzova led a free lifestyle, and her husband, while in the army, was not a stranger to “simple” girls. Both were quite happy with the situation.
The myth of the black band
The war with the Turks was developing successfully for Russia, but death was very close by. She spared Kutuzov twice.
In 1774, in a battle with a Turkish landing near the village of Shumy, a bullet, having pierced Kutuzov's left temple, came out near the right eye. In 99% of cases, such a wound meant death, but the lieutenant colonel survived without even losing his sight. Catherine II awarded him the Order of St. George and sent him to Austria for treatment. During the 2 years of his stay there, Mikhail Illarionovich took a number of officer courses and became a member of the Masonic lodge "To the Three Keys".
During the capture of Ochakov, in 1788, he received a second wound in the head, almost losing his left eye. But, contrary to popular belief, he never wore an eye patch. The actor Aleksey Dikiy put it on the commander, playing him in the film "Kutuzov" (1943).
Mikhail Illarionovich distinguished himself during the capture of Izmail. His unit overcame the ramparts and entrenched in position. When the young general sent a messenger to Suvorov with a request for reinforcements or permission to withdraw, he replied: he would not give either, for he had already sent a message to the empress about the capture of Ishmael. There was nowhere to go - only to take the fortress.
For Ishmael Kutuzov received another rank, a new "George" and the post of commandant of the fortress. When the Turks tried to recapture it, he not only repelled the attack, but also defeated the 23,000-strong army of Ahmet Pasha. For this, the Empress granted Mikhail Illarionovich another "George" and sent him to negotiate with Sultan Selim. It was necessary to force Turkey to come to terms with the loss of the Crimea and allow Russian ships to pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
Arriving in Constantinople, the ambassador realized that it was almost impossible to persuade the Sultan. One of the Turks even told him: “It’s easier for a Russian diplomat to get into the Sultan’s harem than to open the straits for his ships!” This joke led Kutuzov to a daring thought. Having learned that the beloved concubine and mother of the heir Mihri Shah has influence on the Sultan, he decided to see her, knowing that any man would be executed for entering the harem.
Having paid a lot of money to the head of the guard, Kutuzov met in the garden with Mikhrishah and her daughter (from Sultan Selim), as well as the Frenchwoman Nakhshi-dil, the favorite concubine of the late father of the Sultan. He stated his arguments in Turkish (which he had learned back in the Crimea) and French. Flattery and logic worked, and the women persuaded the Sultan to agree to the Russians' terms. Interestingly, when the Sultan asked the head of the guard how the Russian entered the harem, he replied that Kutuzov was the chief eunuch of the Russian court. Selim preferred to pretend to believe...
Catherine II favorably treated the commander. Spiteful critics claimed that the reason for this was not so much his military merits as his ability to please. He brought an original way of brewing coffee from Turkey and served it to the young favorite of the empress. The reception worked: Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, navy and fortresses in Finland. Under Paul I, who could not stand his mother's favorites, Mikhail Illarionovich also managed to maintain his position.
How Kutuzov deceived Napoleon
Alexander I, who ascended the throne, “wrote off” Kutuzov, sending him in 1802 to the family estate of Goroshki (now Khoroshev, Ukraine). But, when the threat of Napoleon's capture of Europe arose, he immediately remembered the experienced warrior. The Russian-Austrian coalition was supposed to stop the Corsican. Alexander I and the Austrian emperor Franz II were eager to beat the French near Austerlitz, while Kutuzov suggested a retreat. The monarchs insisted on their own, as a result, the armies of the allies fell into the trap of Bonaparte.
In June 1812 the French entered Russia. Under their onslaught, the Russians retreated, and the public demanded that Kutuzov be appointed commander in chief. Alexander I did not immediately, but signed the corresponding decree. Having taken command, Mikhail Illarionovich continued to retreat: “We will not defeat Napoleon. We will deceive him."
Still, a general battle was unavoidable. On August 26 (September 7), the armies converged near the village of Borodino. The battle did not reveal a winner, but the losses on both sides were colossal. Kutuzov, wanting to save the army, retreated, and after 6 days in Fili he decided to leave Moscow. The sly fox knew what he was doing. Having made the Tarutinsky maneuver, which hid the location of the army from the enemy, he cut off the French from the areas untouched by the war. Napoleon had to return along the devastated Smolensk road. He lost here both the army and the glory of the invincible.
Kutuzov did not approve of Alexander's order to pursue the French outside Russia. He believed that the defeat of France would lead to the strengthening of England, but he obeyed. In the Prussian Bunzlau, he fell ill and died on April 16 (28), 1813. The emperor ordered the body to be embalmed and sent to Petersburg.
The field marshal was brought to the capital only after a month and a half - everywhere people wanted to say goodbye to the commander and bow to him. Mikhail Kutuzov found his last refuge in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Mikhail Illarionovich
Battles and victories
Great Russian commander. Count, Most Serene 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. Personal courage brought him not only many awards, but also two wounds to the head - both were considered fatal. The fact that he survived both times and returned to duty seemed like a sign: Golenishchev-Kutuzov was destined for something great. The answer to the expectations of contemporaries was the victory over Napoleon, the glorification of which by descendants elevated the figure of the commander to epic proportions.
In the military history of Russia, perhaps, there is no such commander, whose posthumous glory fanned his lifetime deeds as much as Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov. Immediately after the death of the field marshal, his contemporary and subordinate A.P. Ermolov said:
Our benefit compels everyone to imagine him above the ordinary. The history of the world will place him among the heroes of the annals of the Fatherland - among the deliverers.
The scale of the events in which Kutuzov was a participant left an imprint on the figure of the commander, raising him to epic proportions. Meanwhile, Mikhail Illarionovich represented a personality very characteristic of the heroic time of the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. There was practically not a single military campaign in which he would not have taken part, there was no such delicate assignment that he would not have fulfilled. Feeling great on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov remained a mystery to posterity, which has not yet been fully disclosed.
Monument to Field Marshal Kutuzov Smolensky in St. Petersburg
Sculptor B.I. Orlovsky
The future Field Marshal and Prince Smolensky was born in St. Petersburg in the family of Illarion Matveevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, a famous military and political figure of the times of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II, a representative of an old boyar family, whose roots go back to the 13th century. The father of the future commander was known as the builder of the Catherine Canal, a participant in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, who distinguished himself in the battles of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and Cahul, who became a senator after his resignation. The mother of Mikhail Illarionovich came from ancient family Beklemishevs, one of whose representatives was the mother of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.
Early widowed and not remarried, the father of little Mikhail raised his son together with his cousin Ivan Loginovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, admiral, future mentor of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich and president of the Admiralty College. Ivan Loginovich was known throughout St. Petersburg for his famous library, within the walls of which his nephew liked to spend all his free time. It was the uncle who instilled in young Mikhail a love of reading and science, which was rare for the nobility of that era. Also, Ivan Loginovich, using his connections and influence, determined his nephew to study at the Artillery and Engineering School in St. Petersburg, determining the future career of Mikhail Illarionovich. At school, Mikhail studied at the artillery department from October 1759 to February 1761, successfully completing her course.
It is interesting to note that the curator of the school at that time was General-in-Chief Abram Petrovich Gannibal, the famous “Arap of Peter the Great”, great-grandfather of A.S. Pushkin on the maternal side. He noticed a talented cadet and, during the production of Kutuzov, to the first officer rank, ensign engineer introduced him to the court of the emperor Peter III. This step also had a great influence on the fate of the future military leader. Kutuzov becomes not only a commander, but also a courtier - a typical phenomenon for a Russian aristocrat of the second half of the 18th century.
Emperor Peter appoints the 16-year-old ensign as adjutant to Field Marshal Prince P.A. F. Holstein-Beksky. During his short service at court from 1761 to 1762, Kutuzov managed to attract the attention of the young wife of the Emperor Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine II, who appreciated the young officer's intelligence, education and diligence. Immediately upon accession to the throne, she makes Kutuzov a captain and transfers him to serve in the Astrakhan musketeer regiment stationed near St. Petersburg. Around the same time, the regiment was headed by A.V. Suvorov. That's how we first crossed life paths two great generals. However, a month later Suvorov was transferred as a commander to the Suzdal regiment and our heroes parted for a long 24 years.
As for Captain Kutuzov, in addition to routine service, he also carried out responsible assignments. So, from 1764 to 1765. he was sent to Poland, where he gained experience in commanding individual detachments and baptism of fire, fighting against the troops of the "Bar Confederation", which did not recognize the election of Stanislav-August Poniatowski, a supporter of the Commonwealth, to the throne of the Commonwealth. Then, from 1767 to 1768, Kutuzov took part in the work of the Legislative Commission, which, by decree of the Empress, was to prepare a new, after 1649, unified code of laws of the empire. The Astrakhan regiment carried the internal guard during the meeting of the Commission, and Kutuzov himself worked in the secretariats. Here he had the opportunity to learn the basic mechanisms government controlled and get acquainted with the outstanding statesmen and military figures of that era: G.A. Potemkin, Z.G. Chernyshov, P.I. Panin, A.G. Orlov. It is significant that A.I. Bibikov is the brother of the future wife of M.I. Kutuzov.
However, in 1769, due to the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774), the work of the Commission was curtailed, and the captain of the Astrakhan regiment M.I. Kutuzov was sent to the 1st Army General P.A. Rumyantsev. Under the leadership of this famous commander, Kutuzov proved himself in the battles of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and in the famous battle on the Kagul River on July 21, 1770. After these victories, P.A. Rumyantsev was promoted to field marshal general, granted the title of count with an honorary prefix to the surname "Zadunaisky". Not left without awards and captain Kutuzov. For bravery in hostilities, he was promoted by Rumyantsev to the "chief quartermaster of the prime ministerial rank", that is, having jumped over the rank of major, he was appointed to the headquarters of the 1st Army. Already in September 1770, sent to the 2nd Army P.I. Panin, who besieged Bendery, Kutuzov distinguished himself during the storming of the fortress and was confirmed in the prime ministership. A year later, for success and distinction in cases against the enemy, he receives the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Service under the command of the famous P.A. Rumyantseva was a good school for the future commander. Kutuzov gained invaluable experience in commanding military units and staff work. Mikhail Illarionovich acquired another sad but no less valuable experience. The fact is that from a young age, Kutuzov was distinguished by his ability to parody people. Often, during officer feasts and gatherings, colleagues asked him to portray someone of a nobleman or general. Once, unable to resist, Kutuzov also parodied his boss - P.A. Rumyantsev. Thanks to one kindness, a careless joke became known to the Field Marshal. Having just received the title of count, Rumyantsev was angry and ordered the joker to be transferred to the Crimean army. From that time on, still cheerful and sociable, Kutuzov began to restrain the impulses of his wit and remarkable mind, to hide his feelings under the guise of courtesy with everyone. Contemporaries began to call him cunning, secretive and distrustful. Oddly enough, it was precisely these qualities that later rescued Kutuzov more than once and became one of the reasons for the success of the commander in chief in wars with the best commander in Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the Crimea, Kutuzov was given the task of taking by storm the fortified village of Shumy, near Alushta. When, during the attack, the Russian detachment faltered under enemy fire, Lieutenant Colonel Golenishchev-Kutuzov, with a banner in his hand, led the soldiers into the attack. He managed to drive the enemy out of the village, but the brave officer was seriously wounded. The bullet, "having hit him between the eye and the temple, went straight through in the same place on the other side of the face," the doctors wrote in official documents. It seemed that after such a wound it was already impossible to survive, but Kutuzov miraculously not only did not lose his eye, but also survived. For the feat near the village of Shumy, Kutuzov was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree and received a year's leave for treatment.
Kutuzov must be protected, he will be my great general.
- said Empress Catherine II.
Until 1777, Kutuzov underwent a course of treatment abroad, after which he was promoted to colonel and appointed to command the Lugansk pike regiment. In peacetime between the two Turkish wars, he received the ranks of brigadier (1784) and major general (1784). During the famous maneuvers near Poltava (1786), during which the troops restored the course of the famous battle of 1709, Catherine II, turning to Kutuzov, said: “Thank you, Mr. General. From now on, you are considered between me the best people among the most excellent generals.
With the beginning of the 2nd Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. Major General M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, at the head of a detachment of two regiments of light cavalry and three battalions of chasseurs, is sent to the disposal of A.V. Suvorov to defend the Kinburn fortress. Here, on October 1, 1787, he participates in the famous battle, during which a 5,000-strong Turkish landing detachment was destroyed. Then, under the command of Suvorov, General Kutuzov is among the army of G.A. Potemkin besieging the Turkish fortress Ochakov (1788). On August 18, while repelling a sortie by the Turkish garrison, Major General Kutuzov was again wounded by a bullet in the head. The Austrian prince Charles de Ligne, who was at the headquarters of the Russian army, wrote about this to his sovereign Joseph II: “This general was again wounded in the head yesterday, and if not today, then surely he will die tomorrow.”
Masso, the chief surgeon of the Russian army, who operated on Kutuzov, exclaimed:It must be assumed that fate appoints Kutuzov to something great, for he remained alive after two wounds, fatal according to all the rules of medical science.
After a secondary wound to the head, Kutuzov's right eye was damaged, he began to see even worse, which gave contemporaries a reason to call Mikhail Illarionovich "one-eyed." It was from here that the legend began that Kutuzov wore a bandage over his wounded eye. Meanwhile, in all lifetime and first posthumous images, Kutuzov is drawn with both eyes, although all portraits are made in the left profile - after being wounded, Kutuzov tried not to turn his right side to his interlocutors and artists. For distinction during the siege of Ochakov, Kutuzov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 1st degree, and then the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree.
Upon recovery, in May 1789, Kutuzov took command of a separate corps, with which he participated in the battle of Kaushany and in the capture of Akkerman and Bendery. In 1790, General Golenishchev-Kutuzov took part in the famous assault on the Turkish fortress of Izmail under the command of A.V. Suvorov, where he first showed best qualities military leader. Appointed as the head of the sixth assault column, he led the attack on the bastion at the Kiliya gates of the fortress. The column reached the ramparts and sat down in it under the furious fire of the Turks. Kutuzov sent a report to Suvorov about the need to retreat, but received in response an order to appoint Ismail as commandant. Having collected a reserve, Kutuzov takes possession of the bastion, tears off the gates of the fortress and scatters the enemy with bayonet attacks. “I won’t see such a battle for a century,” the general wrote to his wife after the assault, “the hair stands on end. Whom in the camp I will not ask, either died or is dying. My heart bled and burst into tears."
When, after the victory, having assumed the position of commandant Izmail, Kutuzov asked Suvorov what his order for the post meant long before the capture of the fortress. "Nothing! - was the answer of the famous commander. - Golenishchev-Kutuzov knows Suvorov, and Suvorov knows Golenishchev-Kutuzov. If Izmail had not been taken, Suvorov would have died under its walls, and Golenishchev-Kutuzov too! According to Suvorov, Kutuzov was awarded the insignia of the Order of St. George of the 3rd degree for his distinction under Izmail.
The next year, 1791 - the last in the war - brought Kutuzov new distinctions. On June 4, commanding a detachment in the army, General-in-Chief Prince N.V. Repnin, Kutuzov defeated the 22,000th Turkish corps of the serasker Reshid Ahmed Pasha at Babadag, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. On June 28, 1791, the brilliant actions of the Kutuzov corps ensured the victory of the Russian army over the 80,000-strong army of vizier Yusuf Pasha in the Battle of Machin. In a report to the Empress, the commander, Prince Repnin, noted: "The quickness and quick wits of General Kutuzov surpass all my praise." This assessment was the reason for awarding Golenishchev-Kutuzov with the Order of St. George, 2nd degree.
Kutuzov meets the end of the Turkish campaign as a holder of six Russian orders with the rank of lieutenant general and with a reputation as one of the best military generals in the Russian army. However, assignments not only of a military nature await him.
In the spring of 1793, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire. He is given the difficult diplomatic task of strengthening Russian influence in Istanbul and persuading the Turks to conclude an alliance with Russia and others. European countries against France, in which the revolution took place. Here, the qualities of a general, which others noticed in him, came in handy. It was thanks to Kutuzov's cunning, secrecy, courtesy and caution necessary in the conduct of diplomatic affairs that it was possible to achieve the eviction of French subjects from the Ottoman Empire, and Sultan Selim III not only remained neutral to the second partition of Poland (1793), but also inclined to join into a European anti-French alliance.
With the Sultan in friendship, i.e. in any case, he allows praise and compliments to reach me ... I made sure that he was pleased. At the audience, he ordered me to do courtesy, which no ambassador has ever seen.
Kutuzov's letter to his wife from Constantinople, 1793
When in 1798-1799. Türkiye will open a passage through the straits for the ships of the Russian squadron of Admiral F.F. Ushakov and join the second anti-French coalition, this will be the undoubted merit of M.I. Kutuzov. This time, the general's reward for the success of his diplomatic mission will be the award of nine estates and over 2,000 serfs in the lands of former Poland.
Catherine II highly appreciated Kutuzov. She was able to see in him not only the talents of a commander and diplomat, but also pedagogical talents. In 1794, Kutuzov was appointed director of the oldest military educational institution - the land gentry corps. While in this position during the reign of two monarchs, the general showed himself to be a talented leader and teacher. He improved the financial condition of the corps, updated the curriculum, and personally taught tactics and military history to the cadets. During the leadership of Kutuzov, the future heroes of the wars with Napoleon - generals K.F. Tol, A.A. Pisarev, M.E. Khrapovitsky, Ya.N. Sazonov and the future "first militia of 1812" S.N. Glinka.
On November 6, 1796, Empress Catherine II died, and her son Pavel Petrovich ascended the Russian throne. Usually the reign of this monarch is drawn in rather gloomy colors, but in the biography of M.I. Kutuzov, no tragic changes can be traced. On the contrary, thanks to his official zeal and leadership talents, he falls into the circle of persons close to the emperor. December 14, 1797 Kutuzov receives one of the first orders, the implementation of which draws the attention of the emperor to him. The director of the cadet corps is sent on a mission to Prussia. Its main purpose is to present congratulations to the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III on the occasion of his accession to the throne. However, during the negotiations, Kutuzov had to persuade the Prussian monarch to participate in the anti-French coalition, which he brilliantly fulfilled, as in Istanbul. As a result of the Kutuzov trip, some time later, in June 1800, Prussia signed an alliance treaty with the Russian Empire and joined the fight against the French Republic.
The success of the Berlin trip put Kutuzov among the confidants of Emperor Paul I. He was granted the rank of infantry general, and Kutuzov was appointed commander of the ground forces in Finland. Then Kutuzov was appointed Lithuanian governor-general with the award of the highest orders of the empire - St. John of Jerusalem (1799) and St. Andrew the First-Called (1800). Pavel's boundless trust in the talented general is confirmed by the fact that when he proposed to the monarchs to resolve all political contradictions with a knightly tournament, Pavel chose Kutuzov as his second. Mikhail Illarionovich was among the few guests who were present at the last dinner with Paul I on the fateful evening from March 11 to 12, 1801.
Yesterday, my friend, I was with the sovereign and talked about business, thank God. He ordered me to stay for dinner and continue to go to lunch and dinner.
Kutuzov's letter to his wife from Gatchina, 1801
Probably, proximity to the late crowned bearer was the reason for Kutuzov's unexpected resignation from the post of St. Petersburg governor-general in 1802, given to him by the new ruler Alexander I. Kutuzov leaves for his Volyn estates, where he lives for the next three years.
At this time, at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, all of Europe lived in shock from the events that contemporaries called the Great French Revolution. Having overthrown the monarchy and sent the king and queen to the guillotine, the French, without expecting it, opened a series of wars that swept all European lands in a short time. Having broken off all relations with the rebellious country that declared itself a republic under Catherine, the Russian Empire entered into an armed struggle with France under Paul I as part of the second anti-French coalition. Having won significant victories on the fields of Italy and in the mountains of Switzerland, the Russian army under the command of Field Marshal Suvorov was forced to return because of the political intrigues unfolding in the ranks of the coalition. The new Russian monarch - Alexander I - was well aware that the growth of French power would cause constant instability in Europe. In 1802, the first consul of the French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, was proclaimed ruler for life, and two years later he was elected emperor of the French nation. On December 2, 1804, during the solemn coronation of Napoleon, France is proclaimed an empire.
These events could not leave European monarchs indifferent. With the active participation of Alexander I, the Austrian Emperor and the British Prime Minister, a third anti-French coalition is formed, and in 1805 a new war begins.
Taking advantage of the fact that the main forces of the French Grand Army (La Grande Armee) are concentrated on the northern coast to invade the British Isles, the 72,000-strong Austrian army of Field Marshal Karl Mack invaded Bavaria. In response to this action, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte begins a unique operation to transfer corps from the English Channel coast to Germany. In unstoppable streams, seven corps for 35 days, instead of the 64 planned by the Austrian strategists, move along the roads of Europe. One of the Napoleonic generals described the state of the French armed forces in 1805 as follows: “Never in France was there such a powerful army. Although the brave men, eight hundred thousand of whom in the early years of the war for freedom (war french revolution 1792-1799 - N.K.) rose at the call "The Fatherland is in danger!" were endowed with great virtues, but the soldiers of 1805 had more experience and training. Each in his rank knew his business better than in 1794. The imperial army was better organized, better supplied with money, clothing, weapons and ammunition than the army of the republic.
As a result of maneuvering actions, the French managed to surround the Austrian army near the city of Ulm. Field Marshal Mack capitulated. Austria turned out to be unarmed, and now the Russian detachments had to face the well-functioning mechanism of the Great Army. Alexander I sent two Russian armies to Austria: the 1st Podolsk and the 2nd Volyn, under the general command of General of Infantry M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov. As a result of the unsuccessful actions of Mack, the Podolsk army found itself face to face with a formidable, superior enemy.
Kutuzov in 1805
From a portrait of the artist S. Cardelli
In this situation, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov made the only right decision, which later would help him out more than once: exhausting the enemy with rearguard battles, retreat to join the Volyn army deep into the Austrian lands, thus stretching the enemy’s communications. During the rearguard battles near Krems, Amstetten and Shengraben, the rearguard detachments of the Russian army managed to hold back the advance of the advanced French divisions. In the battle at Shengraben on November 16, 1805, the rear guard under the command of Prince P.I. Bagration during the day held back the onslaught of the French under the command of Marshal Murat. As a result of the battle, Lieutenant-General Bagration was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, and the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment was awarded the St. George Standard. This was the first collective award in the history of the Russian army.
Thanks to the chosen strategy, Kutuzov managed to withdraw the Podolsk army from the enemy's attack. On November 25, 1805, Russian and Austrian troops united near the city of Olmutz. Now the Allied High Command could think of a pitched battle with Napoleon. Historians call the Kutuzov retreat ("retirade") "one of the most remarkable examples of a strategic march maneuver", and contemporaries compared it with the famous "Anabasis" of Xenophon. A few months later, for a successful retreat, Kutuzov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree.
Thus, by the beginning of December 1805, the armies of the two opposing sides found themselves facing each other near the village of Austerlitz and began to prepare for a general battle. Thanks to the strategy chosen by Kutuzov, the united Russian-Austrian army numbered 85 thousand people with 250 guns. Napoleon could oppose his 72.5 thousand soldiers, while having an advantage in artillery - 330 guns. Both sides were eager for battle: Napoleon sought to defeat the allied army before the arrival of Austrian reinforcements from Italy, the Russian and Austrian emperors wanted to receive the laurels of the winners of the hitherto invincible commander. Of the entire allied generals, only one general opposed the battle - M.I. Kutuzov. True, Mikhail Illarionovich took a wait-and-see attitude, not daring to directly express his opinion to the sovereign.
Alexander I about Austerlitz:I was young and inexperienced. Kutuzov told me that he should have acted differently, but he should have been more persistent.
The dual position of Mikhail Illarionovich can be understood: on the one hand, by the will of the autocrat, he is the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, on the other hand, the presence on the battlefield of two monarchs with supreme power fettered any initiative of the commander.
Hence the famous dialogue between Kutuzov and Alexander I at the very beginning of the battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805:
- Mikhailo Larionovich! Why don't you go ahead?
I am waiting for all the troops of the column to gather.
After all, we are not in the Tsaritsyn Meadow, where they don’t start the parade until all the regiments come up.
Sovereign, that's why I don't start, because we're not in the Tsarina's Meadow. However, if you order!
As a result, on the hills and in the ravines of Austerlitz, the Russian-Austrian army suffered a crushing defeat, which meant the end of the entire anti-French coalition. Allied losses - about 15 thousand killed and wounded, 20 thousand prisoners and 180 guns. French losses were 1,290 killed and 6,943 wounded. Austerlitz was the first defeat of the Russian army in 100 years.
Monument to Kutuzov in Moscow
Sculptor N.V. Tomsk
However, Alexander highly appreciated the work of Golenishchev-Kutuzov and his diligence shown in the campaign. After returning to Russia, he is appointed to the honorary position of the Kyiv Governor-General. In this post, the infantry general showed himself to be a talented administrator and an active leader. Remaining in Kyiv until the spring of 1811, Kutuzov did not stop closely following the course of European politics, gradually becoming convinced of the inevitability of a military clash between the Russian and French empires.
The “storm of the twelfth year” was becoming inevitable. By 1811, the clash between the hegemonic claims of France, on the one hand, and Russia and its partners in the anti-French coalition, on the other, made another Russo-French war likely. The conflict between Russia and France over the continental blockade made it inevitable. In such a situation, the entire potential of the empire should have been directed to preparing for the coming clash, however, another war with Turkey that dragged on in the south in 1806-1812. diverted military and financial reserves.
You will render Russia the greatest service by hastily concluding peace with Porto, - Alexander I wrote to Kutuzov. - I most convincingly urge you to love your homeland to pay all your attention and efforts to achieve your goal. Glory to you will be eternal.
Portrait of M.I. Kutuzov
Artist J. Doe
In April 1811, the tsar appointed Kutuzov commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army. The 60,000-strong corps of the Grand Vizier of Turkey, Ahmed Reshid Pasha, acted against her - the very one whom Kutuzov defeated in the summer of 1791 at Babadag. On June 22, 1811, having only 15 thousand soldiers, the new commander-in-chief of the Moldavian army attacked the enemy near the town of Ruschuk. By noon, the grand vizier pleaded defeated and retreated to the city. Kutuzov, contrary to popular belief, decided not to storm the city, but withdrew troops to the other side of the Danube. He sought to inspire the enemy with the thought of his weakness and force him to start crossing the river, in order to then defeat the Turks in a field battle. The blockade of Ruschuk undertaken by Kutuzov reduced the food supplies of the Turkish garrison, forcing Ahmed Pasha to take decisive action.
Further, Kutuzov acted in the Suvorov style "not by number, but by skill." Having received reinforcements, the infantry general, with the support of the ships of the Danube flotilla, began crossing to the Turkish coast of the Danube. Ahmed Pasha found himself under double fire from the Russians from land and from the sea. Ruschuk's garrison was forced to leave the city, and the Turkish field troops were defeated in the battle of Slobodzeya.
After these victories, lengthy diplomatic negotiations began. And here Kutuzov showed the best qualities of a diplomat. With the help of tricks and cunning, he managed to achieve the signing of a peace treaty in Bucharest on May 16, 1812. Russia annexed Bessarabia, and the 52,000-strong Moldavian army was released to fight Napoleon's invasion. It was these troops that in November 1812 would inflict a final defeat on the Berezina on the Great Army. On July 29, 1812, when the war with Napoleon was already underway, Alexander elevated Kutuzov with all his descendants to the dignity of a count.
The new war with Napoleon, which began on June 12, 1812, put the Russian state before a choice: win or disappear. The first stage of hostilities, marked by the retreat of the Russian armies from the border, caused criticism and indignation in the dignitary society of St. Petersburg. Dissatisfied with the actions of the commander in chief and Minister of War M.B. Barclay de Tolly, the bureaucratic world discussed the possible candidacy of his successor. Created by the king for this purpose, the Extraordinary Committee of the highest ranks of the empire determined its choice of a candidate for commander-in-chief, based on "known experiences in the art of war, excellent talents, as well as seniority itself." It was on the basis of the principle of seniority in the rank of a full general that the Extraordinary Committee chose the 67-year-old M.I. Kutuzov, who at his age turned out to be the most senior general from infantry. His candidacy was proposed to the king for approval. To his adjutant general E.F. Komarovsky, regarding the appointment of Kutuzov, Alexander Pavlovich said the following: “The public wanted him to be appointed, I appointed him. As for me, I wash my hands." On August 8, 1812, the highest rescript was issued on the appointment of Kutuzov as commander-in-chief in the war against Napoleon.
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Kutuzov arrived at the troops when the main strategy of the war had already been worked out by his predecessor Barclay de Tolly. Mikhail Illarionovich understood that the retreat deep into the territory of the empire had its positive aspects. First, Napoleon is forced to act in several strategic directions, which leads to the dispersion of his forces. Secondly, the climatic conditions of Russia mowed down the French army no less than the battles with the Russian troops. Of the 440,000 soldiers who crossed the border in June 1812, by the end of August, only 133,000 were active in the main direction. But even such a balance of power forced Kutuzov to be careful. He understood perfectly well that true military leadership is manifested in the ability to force the enemy to play by his own rules. In addition, he did not seek to take risks, not having an overwhelming superiority in manpower over Napoleon. Meanwhile, the commander was also aware that he had been appointed to a high post with the hope that a general battle would be given, which was demanded by everyone: the tsar, the nobility, the army, and the people. Such a battle, the first during the command of Kutuzov, was given on August 26, 1812, 120 km from Moscow near the village of Borodino.
With 115 thousand fighters on the field (not counting the Cossacks and the militia, but in total - 154.6 thousand) against Napoleon's 127 thousand, Kutuzov adopts a passive tactic. Its goal is to repel all attacks of the enemy, inflicting as many losses on him as possible. In principle, she gave her result. In attacks on the Russian fortifications, which were abandoned during the battle, the French troops lost 28.1 thousand people killed and wounded, including 49 generals. True, the losses of the Russian army were significantly superior - 45.6 thousand people, of which 29 were generals.
In this situation, a repeated battle directly at the walls of the ancient Russian capital would result in the extermination of the main Russian army. On September 1, 1812, a historic meeting of the Russian generals took place in the village of Fili. Barclay de Tolly was the first to speak, expressing his opinion on the need to continue the retreat and leave Moscow to the enemy: “Having saved Moscow, Russia is not saved from the war, cruel and ruinous. But having saved the army, the hopes of the Fatherland are not yet destroyed, and the war can continue with convenience: the prepared troops will have time to join from different places beyond Moscow. The opposite opinion was also expressed about the need to give a new battle directly at the walls of the capital. The votes of the higher generals were divided approximately equally. The opinion of the commander in chief was decisive, and Kutuzov, giving everyone the opportunity to speak, supported Barclay's position:
I know that responsibility will fall on me, but I sacrifice myself for the good of the Fatherland. I command you to retreat!
Mikhail Illarionovich knew that he was going against the opinion of the army, the tsar and society, but he was well aware that Moscow would become a trap for Napoleon. On September 2, 1812, French troops entered Moscow, and the Russian army, having made the famous march, broke away from the enemy and settled in a camp near the village of Tarutino, where reinforcements and food began to flock. Thus, the Napoleonic troops stood for about a month in the captured but burned Russian capital, and Kutuzov's Main Army was preparing for a decisive battle with the invaders. In Tarutino, the commander-in-chief begins to form partisan parties in large numbers, which blocked all roads from Moscow, depriving the enemy of provisions. In addition, Kutuzov dragged out negotiations with the French emperor, in the hope that time would force Napoleon to leave Moscow. In the Tarutino camp, Kutuzov prepared the army for the winter campaign. By mid-October, the balance of power in the entire theater of war had changed dramatically in favor of Russia. By this time, Napoleon in Moscow had about 116 thousand, and Kutuzov - 130 thousand regular troops alone. Already on October 6, near Tarutino, the first offensive battle of the Russian and French avant-gardes took place, in which victory was on the side Russian troops. The next day, Napoleon left Moscow and tried to break through in a southerly direction along the Kaluga road.
On October 12, 1812, near the city of Maloyaroslavets, the Russian army blocked the path of the enemy. During the battle, the city changed hands 4 times, but all French attacks were repulsed. For the first time in this war, Napoleon was forced to leave the battlefield and begin a retreat towards the Old Smolensk Road, the area around which was devastated during the summer offensive. From this moment begins The final stage Patriotic war. Here Kutuzov applied a new tactic of pursuit - the "parallel march". Surrounding the French troops with flying partisan parties, which constantly attacked the carts and stragglers, he led his troops parallel to the Smolensk road, preventing the enemy from turning off it. The catastrophe of the "Great Army" was supplemented by early frosts unusual for Europeans. During this march, the Russian avant-garde collided with the French troops at Gzhatsk, Vyazma, Krasny, causing great damage to the enemy. As a result, the number of combat-ready troops from Napoleon was reduced, and the number of soldiers who abandoned their weapons, who turned into gangs of marauders, grew.
On November 14-17, 1812, on the Berezina River, near Borisov, the last blow was dealt to the retreating French army. After crossing and fighting on both banks of the river, Napoleon had only 8,800 soldiers left. This was the end of the "Great Army" and the triumph of M.I. Kutuzov as a commander and "savior of the fatherland". However, the labors incurred in the campaign and the great responsibility that constantly hung over the commander-in-chief had a negative impact on his health. At the beginning of a new campaign against Napoleonic France, Kutuzov died in the German city of Bunzlau on April 16, 1813.
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Contribution of M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov in the art of war is now evaluated differently. However, the most objective is the opinion expressed by the famous historian E.V. Tarle: “The agony of the Napoleonic world monarchy lasted an unusually long time. But the Russian people inflicted a mortal wound on the world conqueror in 1812. An important remark should be added to this: under the leadership of M.I. Kutuzov.
KOPYLOV N.A.
Literature
M.I. Kutuzov. Letters, notes. M., 1989
Shishov A. Kutuzov. M., 2012
Bragin M. M.I. Kutuzov. M., 1990
Savior of the Fatherland: Kutuzov - without textbook gloss. Motherland. 1995
Troitsky N.A. 1812. Great year of Russia. M., 1989
Gulyaev Yu.N., Soglaev V.T. Field Marshal Kutuzov. M., 1995
Commander Kutuzov. Sat. Art., M., 1955
Zhilin P.A. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov: Life and military activity. M., 1983
Zhilin P.A. Patriotic War of 1812. M., 1988
Zhilin P.A. The death of the Napoleonic army in Russia. M., 1994
Internet
Readers suggested
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, Supreme Commander. Brilliant military leadership of the USSR in World War II.
Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich
One of the most talented Russian generals of the First World War. Hero of the Battle of Galicia in 1914, savior of the Northwestern Front from encirclement in 1915, chief of staff under Emperor Nicholas I.
General of Infantry (1914), Adjutant General (1916). Active participant in the White movement in the Civil War. One of the organizers of the Volunteer Army.
Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich
October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of a Russian military figure, commander of the Caucasian Front, hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzurum (due to the complete defeat of the 90,000th Turkish army of Russia, Constantinople and the Bosphorus with the Dardanelles retreated), the savior of the Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, holder of the three orders of George and the highest order of France, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich.
Prince Svyatoslav
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
For the highest art of military leadership and boundless love for the Russian soldier
Ushakov Fedor Fedorovich
A man whose faith, courage, and patriotism defended our state
Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich
In the conditions of the decomposition of the Russian state during the Time of Troubles, with minimal material and human resources, he created an army that defeated the Polish-Lithuanian invaders and liberated most Russian state.
Gorbaty-Shuisky Alexander Borisovich
Hero of the Kazan War, the first governor of Kazan
Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich
He defeated the Khazar Khaganate, expanded the boundaries of Russian lands, successfully fought with the Byzantine Empire.
Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich
Commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern fronts. The fronts under his command in the summer and autumn of 1942 stopped the advance of the German 6 field and 4 tank armies on Stalingrad.
In December 1942, the Stalingrad Front of General Eremenko stopped the tank offensive of the group of General G. Goth on Stalingrad, in order to unblock the 6th army of Paulus.
Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich
Outstanding commander of the second half of the XVI century. Oprichnik.
Genus. OK. 1520, died on August 7 (17), 1591. At the voivodship posts since 1560. A participant in almost all military enterprises during the independent reign of Ivan IV and the reign of Fedor Ioannovich. He has won several field battles (including: the defeat of the Tatars near Zaraisk (1570), the Battle of Molodinskaya (during the decisive battle he led the Russian troops in Gulyai-gorod), the defeat of the Swedes at Lyamits (1582) and not far from Narva ( 1590)). He led the suppression of the Cheremis uprising in 1583-1584, for which he received the boyar rank.
According to the totality of the merits of D.I. Khvorostinin is much higher than M.I. Vorotynsky. Vorotynsky was more noble and therefore he was more often entrusted with the general leadership of the regiments. But, according to the commander's talents, he was far from Khvorostinin.
Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich
He excellently commanded the Baltic Fleet in the campaigns of 1789 and 1790. He won victories in the battle of Eland (15/07/1789), in Revel (02/05/1790) and Vyborg (06/22/1790) battles. After the last two defeats, which were of strategic importance, the dominance of the Baltic Fleet became unconditional, and this forced the Swedes to make peace. There are few such examples in the history of Russia when victories at sea led to victory in the war. And by the way, the battle of Vyborg was one of the largest in world history in terms of the number of ships and people.
Senyavin Dmitry Nikolaevich
Dmitry Nikolaevich Senyavin (August 6 (17), 1763 - April 5 (17), 1831) - Russian naval commander, admiral.
for courage and outstanding diplomatic work shown during the blockade of the Russian fleet in Lisbon
Margelov Vasily Filippovich
Duke of Württemberg Eugene
Infantry general, cousin of the Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Served in the Russian Army since 1797 (enrolled as a colonel in the Life Guards Horse Regiment by the Decree of Emperor Paul I). Participated in military campaigns against Napoleon in 1806-1807. For participation in the battle near Pultusk in 1806 he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious 4th degree, for the campaign of 1807 he received a golden weapon "For Courage", distinguished himself in the campaign of 1812 (personally led the 4th Jaeger Regiment into battle in the battle of Smolensk), for participation in the Battle of Borodino he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 3rd degree. Since November 1812, the commander of the 2nd infantry corps in the army of Kutuzov. He took an active part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814, the units under his command especially distinguished themselves in the battle of Kulm in August 1813, and in the "battle of the peoples" at Leipzig. For courage at Leipzig, Duke Eugene was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree. Parts of his corps were the first to enter the defeated Paris on April 30, 1814, for which Eugene of Württemberg received the rank of general of infantry. From 1818 to 1821 was the commander of the 1st Army Infantry Corps. Contemporaries considered Prince Eugene of Württemberg one of the best Russian infantry commanders during the Napoleonic Wars. On December 21, 1825, Nicholas I was appointed chief of the Tauride Grenadier Regiment, which became known as the Grenadier Regiment of His Royal Highness Prince Eugene of Württemberg. On August 22, 1826, he was awarded the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1827-1828. as commander of the 7th Infantry Corps. On October 3, he defeated a large Turkish detachment on the Kamchik River.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The largest figure in world history, whose life and state activity left the deepest mark not only in the fate of the Soviet people, but also of all mankind, will be the subject of careful study of historians for more than one century. The historical and biographical feature of this personality is that it will never be forgotten.
During Stalin's tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the State Defense Committee, our country was marked by victory in the Great Patriotic War, massive labor and front-line heroism, the transformation of the USSR into a superpower with significant scientific, military and industrial potential, and the strengthening of our country's geopolitical influence in the world.
Ten Stalinist strikes - the common name for a number of major offensive strategic operations in the Great Patriotic War, carried out in 1944 by the armed forces of the USSR. Along with other offensive operations, they made a decisive contribution to the victory of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The commander-in-chief of the Red Army, which repelled the attack of Nazi Germany, liberated Evroppa, the author of many operations, including "Ten Stalinist strikes" (1944)
Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich
Known mainly as one of the secondary characters in the story "Hadji Murad" by L.N. Tolstoy, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov went through all the Caucasian and Turkish campaigns of the second half of the middle of the 19th century.
Having shown himself excellently during the Caucasian War, during the Kars campaign of the Crimean War, Loris-Melikov led intelligence, and then successfully served as commander-in-chief during the difficult Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, having won a number of important victories over the united Turkish troops and in the third once captured Kars, by that time considered impregnable.
Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich
Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945).
From 1942 to 1946 he was commander of the 62nd Army (8th Guards Army), which distinguished itself in the Battle of Stalingrad. He took part in defensive battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. From September 12, 1942 he commanded the 62nd Army. IN AND. Chuikov received the task of defending Stalingrad at any cost. The front command believed that Lieutenant General Chuikov was characterized by such positive qualities as decisiveness and firmness, courage and a broad operational outlook, high feeling responsibility and consciousness of one's duty. The army, under the command of V.I. Chuikov, became famous for the heroic six-month defense of Stalingrad in street battles in a completely destroyed city, fighting on isolated bridgeheads, on the banks of the wide Volga.
For unparalleled mass heroism and steadfastness of personnel, in April 1943, the 62nd Army received the guards honorary title of Guards and became known as the 8th Guards Army.
Commander-in-Chief during the Patriotic War of 1812. One of the most famous and beloved by the people of military heroes!
Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich
Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not look like real military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (20,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet charges, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian impudence
Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich
A person who combines the totality of knowledge of a naturalist, scientist and great strategist.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Paskevich Ivan Fyodorovich
Hero of Borodin, Leipzig, Paris (division commander)
As commander in chief, he won 4 companies (Russian-Persian 1826-1828, Russian-Turkish 1828-1829, Polish 1830-1831, Hungarian 1849).
Knight of the Order of St. George 1st class - for the capture of Warsaw (according to the statute, the order was awarded either for saving the fatherland or for taking the enemy capital).
Field Marshal.
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
according to the only criterion - invincibility.
Grand Duke Russian Mikhail Nikolaevich
Feldzeugmeister General (Commander-in-Chief of the Artillery of the Russian Army), the youngest son of Emperor Nicholas I, Viceroy in the Caucasus since 1864. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Caucasus in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 Under his command, the fortresses of Kars, Ardagan, and Bayazet were taken.
Sheremetev Boris Petrovich
Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich
Commander of the First Cavalry Army of the Red Army during the Civil War. The First Cavalry Army, which he led until October 1923, played an important role in a number of major operations of the Civil War to defeat the troops of Denikin and Wrangel in Northern Tavria and the Crimea.
Antonov Alexey Innokentievich
He became famous as a talented staff officer. Participated in the development of almost all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War since December 1942.
The only one of all the awarded Soviet military leaders with the Order of Victory in the rank of army general, and the only one soviet cavalier order, which was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Dovator Lev Mikhailovich
Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union. Known for successful operations to destroy German troops during the Great Patriotic War. The German command appointed a large reward for the head of Dovator.
Together with the 8th Guards Division named after Major General I.V. Panfilov, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of General M.E. Katukov and other troops of the 16th Army, his corps defended the approaches to Moscow in the Volokolamsk direction.
Istomin Vladimir Ivanovich
Istomin, Lazarev, Nakhimov, Kornilov - Great people who served and fought in the city of Russian glory - Sevastopol!
Denikin Anton Ivanovich
The commander, under whose leadership the white army with smaller forces for 1.5 years won victories over the red army and captured the North Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossia, Donbass, Ukraine, the Don, part of the Volga region and the central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of the Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his uncompromisingly anti-Soviet position
Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich
There are no outstanding military figures of the period from the Troubles to the Northern War on the project, although there were such. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
Descended from the family of Starodub princes.
Member of the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, he defeated the Poles near Gorodok (not far from Lvov), in November of the same year he fought in the battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of roundabout and headed the Belgorod category. In 1658 and 1659 participated in hostilities against the betrayed hetman Vygovsky and the Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky's troops withstood a heavy battle at the crossing over the Kukolka River). In 1664, he played a decisive role in repelling the invasion of 70 thousand army of the Polish king on the Left-Bank Ukraine, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was granted a boyar. In 1670, he acted against the Razintsy - he defeated the detachment of the ataman's brother, Frol. The crown of Romodanovsky's military activity is the war with the Ottoman Empire. In 1677 and 1678 troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. An interesting moment: both main defendants in the battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobessky with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.
Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich
The best Russian commander during the First World War. An ardent patriot of his Motherland.
Bennigsen Leonty Leontievich
Surprisingly, a Russian general who did not speak Russian, who made up the glory of Russian weapons at the beginning of the 19th century.
He made a significant contribution to the suppression of the Polish uprising.
Commander-in-Chief in the Battle of Tarutino.
He made a significant contribution to the campaign of 1813 (Dresden and Leipzig).
Romanov Mikhail Timofeevich
The heroic defense of Mogilev, for the first time all-round anti-tank defense of the city.
Kovpak Sidor Artemevich
Member of the First World War (he served in the 186th Aslanduz Infantry Regiment) and the Civil War. During the First World War, he fought on the Southwestern Front, a member of the Brusilov breakthrough. In April 1915, as part of the guard of honor, he was personally awarded the St. George Cross by Nicholas II. In total, he was awarded St. George's crosses III and IV degrees and medals "For Courage" ("George" medals) III and IV degrees.
During the Civil War, he led a local partisan detachment that fought in Ukraine against the German invaders together with the detachments of A. Ya. .Denikin and Wrangel on the Southern Front.
In 1941-1942, Kovpak's formation carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, in 1942-1943 - a raid from the Bryansk forests on the Right-Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr and Kiev regions; in 1943 - the Carpathian raid. The Sumy partisan formation under the command of Kovpak fought over 10 thousand kilometers in the rear of the Nazi troops, defeated the enemy garrisons in 39 settlements. Kovpak's raids played a big role in the deployment of the partisan movement against the German occupiers.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union:
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 18, 1942, for the exemplary performance of combat missions behind enemy lines, the courage and heroism shown in their implementation, Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the medal " Golden Star» (No. 708)
The second medal "Gold Star" (No.) Major General Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 4, 1944 for the successful conduct of the Carpathian raid
four Orders of Lenin (18.5.1942, 4.1.1944, 23.1.1948, 25.5.1967)
Order of the Red Banner (24.12.1942)
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class. (7.8.1944)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class (2 May 1945)
medals
foreign orders and medals (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia)
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The Soviet people, as the most talented, a large number of outstanding military leaders, but the main one is Stalin. Without him, many of them might not have been in the military.
Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich
The great commander of the ancient Russian period. The first Kiev prince known to us, having a Slavic name. The last pagan ruler Old Russian state. He glorified Rus' as a great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history". The prince freed the Slavic tribes from vassalage from the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 970, during the Russian-Byzantine war, Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arcadiopol, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns, he didn’t carry carts or cauldrons behind him, he didn’t cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or beast, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate like that; he didn’t have a tent , but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in their heads - the same were all the rest of his warriors... And sent to other lands [envoys, as a rule, before declaring war] with the words: "I'm going to you!" (According to PVL)
Kornilov Lavr Georgievich
KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08.18.1870-04.31.1918) Colonel (02.1905). Major General (12.1912). Lieutenant General (08.26.1914). Infantry General (06.30.1917). with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904 - 1905: headquarters officer of the 1st rifle brigade (at its headquarters). When retreating from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring the freedom of defensive combat operations of the brigade. Military attache in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded on 04.1915, was captured near the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Having changed into the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06.06.1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06.1916-04.1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04.1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04.24-07.08.1917. 05/19/1917 by his order introduced the formation of the first volunteer "1st strike force 8th Army" under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...
Ridiger Fedor Vasilievich
Adjutant general, cavalry general, adjutant general... He had three Golden sabers with the inscription: "For courage"... In 1849, Ridiger participated in a campaign in Hungary to suppress the unrest that arose there, being appointed head of the right column. On May 9, Russian troops entered the borders of the Austrian Empire. He pursued the rebel army until August 1, forcing them to lay down their arms in front of the Russian troops near Vilyaghosh. On August 5, the troops entrusted to him occupied the fortress of Arad. During the trip of Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich to Warsaw, Count Ridiger commanded the troops stationed in Hungary and Transylvania ... On February 21, 1854, during the absence of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich in the Kingdom of Poland, Count Ridiger commanded all the troops located in the area of the active army - as a commander separate corps and at the same time served as head of the Kingdom of Poland. After the return of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich to Warsaw, from August 3, 1854, he served as the Warsaw military governor.
Yulaev Salavat
The commander of the Pugachev era (1773-1775). Together with Pugachev, having organized an uprising, he tried to change the position of the peasants in society. He won several dinners over the troops of Catherine II.
Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich
On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, the Hagen division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense zone, it was opposed by the 39th German motorized corps.
After 7 days of fierce fighting, the battle formations of the division were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division flashed in the message of the German radio as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to break through the ring. Hagen led the division out of the encirclement with heavy weapons.
For the steadfastness and heroism shown during the Yelninskaya operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name "Guards".
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
from May 1943 to October 1944 - commander of the 57th Army,
from January 1945 - the 26th Army.
The troops under the leadership of N. A. Hagen participated in the Sinyavino operation (moreover, the general managed to break out of the encirclement with weapons in his hands for the second time), the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, battles in the Left-Bank and Right-Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Bulgaria, in Iasi-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. Member of the Victory Parade.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
The greatest commander of the Second World War. Two people in history were awarded the Order of Victory twice: Vasilevsky and Zhukov, but after the Second World War, it was Vasilevsky who became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. His military genius is unsurpassed by ANY military leader in the world.
Momyshuly Bauyrzhan
Fidel Castro called him a hero of World War II.
He brilliantly put into practice the tactics developed by Major General I.V. Panfilov of fighting with small forces against an enemy many times superior in strength, which later received the name "Momyshuly's spiral".
Baklanov Yakov Petrovich
An outstanding strategist and a mighty warrior, he earned respect and fear of his name from the invincible highlanders who forgot the iron grip of the "Thunderstorm of the Caucasus". At the moment - Yakov Petrovich, a model of the spiritual strength of a Russian soldier in front of the proud Caucasus. His talent crushed the enemy and minimized the time frame of the Caucasian War, for which he received the nickname "Boklu" akin to the devil for his fearlessness.
Stessel Anatoly Mikhailovich
Commandant of Port Arthur during his heroic defense. The unprecedented ratio of losses of Russian and Japanese troops before the surrender of the fortress is 1:10.
Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the second son of Emperor Paul I, received the title of Tsarevich in 1799 for participation in the Swiss campaign of A.V. Suvorov, retaining it until 1831. In the Battle of Austrlitz, he commanded the Guards Reserve of the Russian Army, took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and distinguished himself in the foreign campaigns of the Russian Army. For the "battle of the peoples" at Leipzig in 1813 he received the "golden weapon" "For courage!". Inspector General of the Russian Cavalry, since 1826 Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland.
Romanov Petr Alekseevich
Behind the endless discussions about Peter I as a politician and reformer, it is unfairly forgotten that he was the greatest commander of his time. He was not only an excellent rear organizer. In the two most important battles of the Northern War (the battles of Lesnaya and Poltava), he not only developed battle plans himself, but also personally led the troops, being in the most important, responsible areas.
The only commander I know of was equally talented in both land and sea battles.
The main thing is that Peter I created a national military school. If all the great commanders of Russia are the heirs of Suvorov, then Suvorov himself is the heir of Peter.
The Battle of Poltava was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) victory in Russian history. In all other great predatory invasions of Russia, the general battle did not have a decisive outcome, and the struggle dragged on, went to exhaustion. And only in the Northern War did the general battle radically change the state of affairs, and from the attacking side the Swedes became the defender, decisively losing the initiative.
I think that Peter I deserves to be in the top three in the list of the best commanders of Russia.
Kazarsky Alexander Ivanovich
Captain Lieutenant. Member of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-29. He distinguished himself in the capture of Anapa, then Varna, commanding the Rival transport. After that, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed captain of the Mercury brig. On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig "Mercury" was overtaken by two Turkish battleships "Selimiye" and "Real Bey". Having accepted an unequal battle, the brig was able to immobilize both Turkish flagships, one of which was the commander of the Ottoman fleet himself. Subsequently, an officer from Real Bey wrote: “In the continuation of the battle, the commander of the Russian frigate (the infamous Raphael, which surrendered without a fight a few days earlier) told me that the captain of this brig would not give up, and if he lost hope, then he would blow up the brig If in the great deeds of ancient and our times there are feats of courage, then this act should overshadow all of them, and the name of this hero is worthy to be inscribed in gold letters on the temple of Glory: he is called Lieutenant Commander Kazarsky, and the brig is "Mercury"
Muravyov-Karssky Nikolai Nikolaevich
One of the most successful commanders of the middle of the 19th century in the Turkish direction.
Hero of the first capture of Kars (1828), leader of the second capture of Kars (the biggest success of the Crimean War, 1855, which made it possible to end the war without territorial losses for Russia).
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
If someone has not heard, write to no avail
Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich
Outstanding Employee Russian Academy General Staff. The developer and executor of the Galician operation - the first brilliant victory of the Russian army in the Great War.
Saved from the encirclement of the troops of the North-Western Front during the "Great Retreat" of 1915.
Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 1916-1917
Supreme Commander of the Russian Army in 1917
Developed and implemented strategic plans for offensive operations in 1916-1917.
He continued to defend the need to preserve the Eastern Front after 1917 (the Volunteer Army is the basis of the new Eastern Front in the ongoing Great War).
Slandered and slandered in relation to various so-called. "Masonic military lodges", "conspiracy of generals against the Sovereign", etc., etc. - in terms of emigrant and modern historical journalism.
Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich
Colonel, Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment. He showed himself most clearly in the Persian Company of 1805; when, with a detachment of 500 people, surrounded by a 20,000-strong Persian army, he resisted it for three weeks, not only repelling Persian attacks with honor, but taking fortresses himself, and finally, with a detachment of 100 people, made his way to Tsitsianov, who was going to help him.
Minich Burchard-Christopher
One of the best Russian generals and military engineers. The first commander who entered the Crimea. Winner at Stavucany.
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
Well, who else if not him - the only Russian commander who did not lose, who did not lose more than one battle !!!
Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich
During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomin. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.
Blucher, Tukhachevsky
Blucher, Tukhachevsky and the whole galaxy of heroes of the Civil War. Don't forget Budyonny!
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
“As a military figure I.V. Stalin, I studied thoroughly, since I went through the whole war with him. I.V. Stalin mastered the organization of front-line operations and operations of groups of fronts and led them with complete knowledge of the matter, well versed in large strategic questions...
In leading the armed struggle as a whole, JV Stalin was assisted by his natural mind and rich intuition. He knew how to find the main link in a strategic situation and, seizing on it, to counteract the enemy, to carry out one or another major offensive operation. Undoubtedly, he was a worthy Supreme Commander"
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
Stalin from the first hours of the war exercised control over the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is the Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, the battles in the North Caucasus, the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Kursk, the battle of Leningrad and many others before the capture Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander.
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
He is a great commander who did not lose a single (!) Battle, the founder of Russian military affairs, brilliantly fought battles, regardless of its conditions.
Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich
Russian admiral who gave his life for the liberation of the Fatherland.
Scientist-oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, leader of the White Movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.
Uvarov Fedor Petrovich
At the age of 27 he was promoted to general. Participated in the campaigns of 1805-1807 and in the battles on the Danube in 1810. In 1812 he commanded the 1st artillery corps in the army of Barclay de Tolly, and later - the entire cavalry of the combined armies.
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
Hero of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813 At one time they called the Caucasian Suvorov. On October 19, 1812, at the Aslanduz ford across the Araks, at the head of a detachment of 2221 people with 6 guns, Pyotr Stepanovich defeated the Persian army of 30,000 people with 12 guns. In other battles, he also acted not by number, but by skill.
Ermak Timofeevich
Russian. Cossack. Ataman. Defeated Kuchum and his satellites. Approved Siberia as part of the Russian state. He devoted his whole life to military work.
Dragomirov Mikhail Ivanovich
Brilliant crossing of the Danube in 1877
- Creation of a tactics textbook
- Creation of the original concept of military education
- Leadership of the NAGSH in 1878-1889
- Huge influence in military matters for the whole 25th anniversary
Skobelev Mikhail Dmitrievich
A man of great courage, a great tactician, organizer. M.D. Skobelev possessed strategic thinking, saw the situation, both in real time and in perspective
The most important successes of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 are associated with his name. Winner in the battles of Palzig,
In the battle of Kunersdorf, having defeated the Prussian king Frederick II the Great, Berlin was taken by the troops of Totleben and Chernyshev.
Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich
(1745-1813).
1. GREAT Russian commander, he was an example for his soldiers. Appreciated every soldier. "M. I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov is not only the liberator of the Fatherland, he is the only one who outplayed the hitherto invincible French emperor, turning " great army"into a crowd of ragamuffins, saving, thanks to his military genius, the lives of many Russian soldiers."
2. Mikhail Illarionovich, being a highly educated person who knew several foreign languages, dexterous, refined, able to inspire society with the gift of words, an entertaining story, he served Russia as an excellent diplomat - ambassador to Turkey.
3. M. I. Kutuzov - the first to become a full cavalier of the highest military order of St. George the Victorious of four degrees. Konstantin
The great Russian naval commander, who won victories at Fedonisi, Kaliakria, at Cape Tendra and during the liberation of the islands of Malta (Ioanian Islands) and Corfu. He discovered and introduced a new tactic of naval combat, with the rejection of the linear formation of ships and showed the tactics of "alluvial formation" with an attack on flagship enemy fleet. One of the founders of the Black Sea Fleet and its commander in 1790-1792
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich
It's simple - It was he, as a commander, who made the greatest contribution to the defeat of Napoleon. He saved the army in the most difficult conditions, despite misunderstanding and heavy accusations of betrayal. It was to him that our practically contemporary of those events great poet Pushkin dedicated the verse "Commander".
Pushkin, recognizing the merits of Kutuzov, did not oppose him to Barclay. To replace the common alternative “Barclay or Kutuzov”, with the traditional resolution in favor of Kutuzov, Pushkin came to a new position: both Barclay and Kutuzov are both worthy of the grateful memory of their descendants, but everyone honors Kutuzov, but Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly is undeserved forgotten.
Pushkin mentioned Barclay de Tolly even earlier, in one of the chapters of "Eugene Onegin" -
Thunderstorm of the twelfth year
It has come - who helped us here?
The frenzy of the people
Barclay, winter or Russian god?...
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich
In front of the Kazan Cathedral there are two statues of the saviors of the fatherland. Saving the army, exhausting the enemy, the battle of Smolensk - this is more than enough.
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich
To a person to whom this name does not say anything - there is no need to explain and it is useless. To the one to whom it says something - and so everything is clear.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The youngest front commander. Counts,. that of the army general - but before his death (February 18, 1945) he received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
He liberated three of the six capitals of the Union Republics captured by the Nazis: Kyiv, Minsk. Vilnius. Decided the fate of Keniksberg.
One of the few who pushed back the Germans on June 23, 1941.
He held the front in Valdai. In many ways, he determined the fate of repelling the German offensive on Leningrad. He kept Voronezh. Freed Kursk.
He successfully advanced until the summer of 1943. Having formed the top of the Kursk Bulge with his army. Liberated the Left Bank of Ukraine. Take Kyiv. Repelled Manstein's counterattack. Liberated Western Ukraine.
Carried out the operation Bagration. Surrounded and captured by his offensive in the summer of 1944, the Germans then humiliatedly marched through the streets of Moscow. Belarus. Lithuania. Neman. East Prussia.
Suvorov, Count Rymniksky, Prince of Italy Alexander Vasilyevich
The greatest commander, a genius strategist, tactician and military theorist. Author of the book "The Science of Victory", Generalissimo of the Russian Army. The only one in the history of Russia that did not suffer a single defeat.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
He led the armed struggle of the Soviet people in the war against Germany and its allies and satellites, as well as in the war against Japan.
He led the Red Army to Berlin and Port Arthur.
Chapaev Vasily Ivanovich
01/28/1887 - 09/05/1919 life. Head of a division of the Red Army, participant in the First World War and the Civil War.
Cavalier of three St. George's crosses and the St. George medal. Cavalier of the Order of the Red Banner.
On his account:
- Organization of the county Red Guard of 14 detachments.
- Participation in the campaign against General Kaledin (near Tsaritsyn).
- Participation in the campaign of the Special Army against Uralsk.
- An initiative to reorganize the Red Guard detachments into two regiments of the Red Army: them. Stepan Razin and them. Pugachev, united in the Pugachev brigade under the command of Chapaev.
- Participation in battles with the Czechoslovaks and the People's Army, from whom Nikolaevsk was recaptured, renamed in honor of the brigade in Pugachevsk.
- Since September 19, 1918, the commander of the 2nd Nikolaev division.
- From February 1919 - Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Nikolaevsky district.
- From May 1919 - brigade commander of the Special Alexander-Gai Brigade.
- Since June - the head of the 25th Infantry Division, which participated in the Bugulma and Belebeev operations against Kolchak's army.
- The capture by the forces of his division on June 9, 1919 of Ufa.
- The capture of Uralsk.
- A deep raid by a Cossack detachment with an attack on the well-guarded (about 1000 bayonets) and located in the deep rear of the city of Lbischensk (now the village of Chapaev, West Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan), where the headquarters of the 25th division was located.
Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich
He made a great contribution to the strengthening of the fleet before the war; conducted a number of major exercises, became the initiator of the discovery of new maritime schools and marine special schools (later Nakhimov schools). On the eve of Germany's sudden attack on the USSR, he took effective measures to increase the combat readiness of the fleets, and on the night of June 22 he gave the order to bring them to full combat readiness, which made it possible to avoid the loss of ships and naval aviation.
Makhno Nestor Ivanovich
Over the mountains, over the valleys
waiting for your blues for a long time
wise father, glorious father,
our kind father - Makhno ...
(peasant song of the times civil war)
He was able to create an army, led successful military operations against the Austro-Germans, against Denikin.
And for * carts * even if he was not awarded the Order of the Red Banner, then this should be done now
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Soldier, several wars (including World War I and World War II). past way to Marshal of the USSR and Poland. Military intellectual. not resorting to "obscene leadership." he knew tactics in military affairs to the subtleties. practice, strategy and operational art.
Kosich Andrey Ivanovich
1. For your long life(1833 - 1917) A. I. Kosich went from non-commissioned officer to general, commander of one of the largest military districts Russian Empire. He took an active part in almost all military campaigns from the Crimean to the Russian-Japanese. He was distinguished by personal courage and bravery.
2. According to many, "one of the most educated generals of the Russian army." Left a lot of literary and scientific works and memories. He patronized the sciences and education. He has established himself as a talented administrator.
3. His example served the development of many Russian military leaders, in particular, Gen. A. I. Denikin.
4. He was a resolute opponent of the use of the army against his people, in which he disagreed with P. A. Stolypin. "The army should shoot at the enemy, not at its own people."
Golovanov Alexander Evgenievich
He is the creator of the Soviet long-range aviation (ADD).
Units under the command of Golovanov bombed Berlin, Koenigsberg, Danzig and other cities in Germany, attacked important strategic targets behind enemy lines.
Osterman-Tolstoy Alexander Ivanovich
One of the brightest "field" generals of the early 19th century. Hero of the battles of Preussisch-Eylau, Ostrovno and Kulm.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Stalin during the years Patriotic War exercised leadership of all the armed forces of our country and coordinated their combat operations. It is impossible not to note his merits in the competent planning and organization of military operations, in the skillful selection of military leaders and their assistants. Joseph Stalin proved himself not only as an outstanding commander who competently led all fronts, but also as an excellent organizer who did a great job of increasing the country's defense capability both in the pre-war and war years.
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
The commander, who over and over again was placed in the most difficult areas, where he either achieved success in the offensive or in defense, or brought the situation out of crisis, translated a seemingly inevitable catastrophe into non-defeat, a state of unstable balance.
G.K. Zhukov showed the ability to manage large military formations numbering 800 thousand - 1 million people. At the same time, the specific losses suffered by his troops (that is, correlated with the number) turned out to be lower over and over again than those of his neighbors.
Also G.K. Zhukov demonstrated remarkable knowledge of the properties of military equipment in service with the Red Army - knowledge that is very necessary for the commander of industrial wars.
Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin
Hero of the First and Second World Wars, a commander who symbolizes the path of our army from the double-headed eagle to the red banner ...
