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| A worthy student of Suvorov |
| 2023-10-06 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Article available only through a VPN. by Vladimir Sosnitsky “Extensive combat experience and experience in military service developed his powerful military talent. Through the hard work of a Russian combat officer, unparalleled personal courage, discipline and talent, Kutuzov achieved success, which marked his life’s path” - these words of the historian Nikolai Korobkov from his book “Field Marshal Kutuzov” very accurately characterize the worthy student of Suvorov. On September 16 (September 5, old style), 1745 (according to other sources, 1747), the future great commander and talented diplomat Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov was born in St. Petersburg. In the electronic collections of the Presidential Library, as part of the special collection “Patriotic War of 1812,” the field marshal is given a significant place; a lot of little-known materials are presented concerning the history of his life and military victories. Mikhail Illarionovich's father, a military engineer, lieutenant general and senator, had a great influence on the education and upbringing of his son. Mikhail Kutuzov graduated with honors from the Noble Artillery School, in 1761 he was promoted to ensign and appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, headed by Colonel Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. In the fall of 1790, Kutuzov commanded a separate corps, participating in Suvorov’s assault on the Izmail fortress. In the above-mentioned book by Nikolai Korobkov we read: “Suffering heavy losses, Kutuzov asked Suvorov for support, but received the answer that a report on the capture of Izmail had already been sent to Russia, and he appointed Kutuzov himself commandant of Izmail. Kutuzov, having gathered the grenadier and rangers, led them to the bastion for the third time. His troops paved their way to the fortress with bayonets.” The victory was complete, although “there was no stronger fortress, no more desperate defense than Ishmael. Only once in a lifetime can one launch such an assault,” said Suvorov. Subsequently, Kutuzov asked Suvorov what his appointment as commandant of Izmail at the time of the assault meant. “Nothing,” he replied. – Kutuzov knows Suvorov, and Suvorov knows Kutuzov. If Izmail had not been taken, Suvorov would have died under its walls and Kutuzov too.” At the end of the war with the Turks, Kutuzov, promoted to lieutenant general, was summoned to St. Petersburg. From this time on, a long period of his diplomatic and military-administrative service began. Thanks to his intelligence, education, breadth of outlook and ability to win over people, Kutuzov achieved outstanding success in the diplomatic field. Ensign Mikhail Kutuzov began his officer service in an infantry regiment commanded by Colonel Alexander Suvorov In October 1792, Mikhail Illarionovich was appointed ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary in Constantinople. “This mission was considered the most difficult, because complex conflicting interests of a number of European states were intertwined in Turkey,” notes the collection “Field Marshal Kutuzov.” “Kutuzov had to consolidate with the art of diplomacy what was won on the battlefields.” He completed the assignment brilliantly. “He impressed the Turks with the pomp and splendor of the embassy, and his courtesy and courtesy gained him the favor of the Sultan, the vizier and Turkish dignitaries.” The ambassador strengthened the authority and influence of the Russian state in the East, and most importantly, supplied Suvorov with the most reliable reports to Russia. At a time when the Generalissimo was told that the Porte supposedly intended to declare war on Russia in three months, Kutuzov wrote to the capital: “...According to my notes, I do not believe that the break with us is so close. Its fortresses, which have collapsed everywhere, have not been brought into a completely defensive state; Its fleet is not yet strong.” And the forecast came true. “Turkey never decided to declare war on Russia,” says the publication “Field Marshal Kutuzov.” In 1795, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of all ground forces, flotillas and fortresses in Finland, at the same time governor-general of Kazan and Vyatka and director of the Imperial Land Nobility Cadet Corps. From 1806 to 1812, Russia waged war with Turkey. In 1811, Kutuzov surrounded the 70,000-strong Turkish army, pressing the Grand Vizier's troops to the Danube. Next, the commander, using his experience as a diplomat, skillfully brought the matter to the signing by the Turks of the Bucharest Peace Treaty, which was beneficial for Russia, where Turkey was not taken into account as an enemy of Russia at the critical moment of the outbreak of the war with Napoleon. At the beginning of the 1812 campaign against the French, Kutuzov was in St. Petersburg as commander of the Narva Corps, then the St. Petersburg militia, and on August 8 (20) of the same year, Alexander I appointed him commander-in-chief of the 1st and 2nd united armies. “When leaving for the army in 1812, to the question of one of his relatives: “Do you, uncle, really hope to defeat Napoleon?” - he replied: “Break? No! But I hope to deceive,” says the author of books on military history, Esper Zhelyabuzhsky, in his essay “The Patriotic War of 1812 and Kutuzov.” “The strategic consequences of the Battle of Borodino were enormous,” writes military historian Nikolai Korobkov in the preface to the collection “Kutuzov in 1812.” – But since the enemy’s forces were only broken here, Kutuzov, for the sake of the interests of Russia, decided to temporarily sacrifice Moscow, to turn it into a disastrous trap for the enemy. The decision... required from the commander such confidence in his foresight, such a sense of responsibility towards his historical mission and such faith in the people that it was much more difficult to decide on this step than to give the enemy battle under the walls of the capital, as demanded by the tsar, society, headquarters and army". “During the war, the meaning of Kutuzov’s actions remained unclear to the winner of Europe; even the Russian generals did not understand this simple and ingenious plan, in which retreat was the beginning of the path to victory,” notes the publication “Kutuzov in 1812.” In response to the peace proposal brought by Lauriston, Kutuzov could calmly answer: “You’re kidding, Mr. Marshal. Have you forgotten that until now all we have done is retreat? The war is just beginning for us.” The same publication says: “How correct Kutuzov’s calculations were is shown by the numbers: Napoleon’s 100,000-strong army that left Moscow after Dorogobuzh numbered only 50 thousand people, and after Smolensk - barely 36 thousand. When the frosts began - the last of the factors taken into account by Kutuzov - only a small part of the “great army” survived.” |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 A hefty tome and bit of heavy reading. N.B. even the Russian forces following the 'Grande Armee' in its retreat suffered from the effects of winter. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-10-06 07:07 |