On June 24 (June 12, old style), 1812, the Patriotic War began - liberation war Russia against Napoleonic aggression.

The invasion of the troops of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte into the Russian Empire was caused by the aggravation of Russian-French economic and political contradictions, the actual refusal of Russia to participate in the continental blockade (the system of economic and political measures used by Napoleon I in the war with England), etc.

Napoleon aspired to world domination, Russia interfered with the implementation of his plans. He hoped, inflicting the main blow on the right flank of the Russian army in the general direction of Vilna (Vilnius), to defeat it in one or two pitched battles, capture Moscow, force Russia to capitulate and dictate a peace treaty to her on favorable terms.

On June 24 (June 12, old style), 1812, Napoleon's "Great Army" crossed the Neman and invaded the Russian Empire without declaring war. It numbered over 440 thousand people and had a second echelon, in which there were 170 thousand people. The "Great Army" included in its composition the troops of all the countries of Western Europe conquered by Napoleon (French troops accounted for only half of its strength). She was opposed by three Russian armies, far apart from each other, with a total number of 220-240 thousand people. Initially, only two of them acted against Napoleon - the first, under the command of General of Infantry Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, covering the St. Petersburg direction, and the second, under the command of General of Infantry Pyotr Bagration, concentrated on the Moscow direction. The third army of cavalry general Alexander Tormasov covered the southwestern borders of Russia and began hostilities at the end of the war. At the beginning of hostilities, the general leadership of the Russian forces was carried out by Emperor Alexander I, in July 1812 he transferred the main command to Barclay de Tolly.

Four days after the invasion of Russia, French troops occupied Vilna. On July 8 (June 26, old style) they entered Minsk.

Having figured out Napoleon's plan to separate the Russian first and second armies and defeat them one by one, the Russian command began a systematic withdrawal of them for connection. Instead of a phased dismemberment of the enemy, the French troops were forced to move behind the elusive Russian armies, stretching communications and losing superiority in forces. Retreating, the Russian troops fought rearguard battles (a battle undertaken with the aim of delaying the advancing enemy and thus ensuring the retreat of the main forces), inflicting significant losses on the enemy.

To help the army to repel the invasion of the Napoleonic army on Russia, on the basis of the manifesto of Alexander I of July 18 (July 6, according to the old style), 1812 and his appeal to the inhabitants of the "Mother-throne capital of our Moscow" with a call to act as initiators, temporary armed formations began to form - people's militia. This allowed the Russian government to mobilize large human and material resources for the war in a short time.

Napoleon sought to prevent the connection of the Russian armies. On July 20 (July 8, according to the old style), the French occupied Mogilev and prevented the Russian armies from connecting in the Orsha region. Only thanks to stubborn rearguard battles and the high skill of the maneuver carried out by the Russian armies, which managed to frustrate the enemy's plans, did they unite near Smolensk on August 3 (July 22, old style), keeping their main forces combat-ready. This is where the first big battle took place. Patriotic War 1812. Smolensk battle it took three days: from August 16 to 18 (from August 4 to 6, according to the old style). The Russian regiments repulsed all the attacks of the French and retreated only on orders, leaving the burning city to the enemy. Almost all the inhabitants left it with the troops. After the battles for Smolensk, the united Russian armies continued to withdraw in the direction of Moscow.

Unpopular neither in the army nor in Russian society the retreat strategy of Barclay de Tolly, leaving a large territory to the enemy forced Emperor Alexander I to establish the post of commander-in-chief of all Russian armies and on August 20 (August 8, old style) to appoint General of Infantry Mikhail Golenishchev-Kutuzov, who had extensive combat experience and was popular both among the Russian army and among the nobility. The emperor not only put him at the head of the army in the field, but also subordinated to him the militias, reserves and civil authorities in war-affected provinces.

Based on the requirements of Emperor Alexander I, the mood of the army, eager to give the enemy a fight, the commander-in-chief Kutuzov decided, relying on a pre-selected position, 124 kilometers from Moscow, near the village of Borodino near Mozhaisk, to give the French army a general battle in order to inflict as much damage as possible on it and stop the advance on Moscow.

By the beginning of the Battle of Borodino, the Russian army had 132 (according to other sources 120) thousand people, the French - about 130-135 thousand people.

It was preceded by a battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt, which began on September 5 (August 24, old style), in which Napoleon's troops, despite more than threefold superiority in strength, managed to capture the redoubt only by the end of the day with great difficulty. This battle allowed Kutuzov to unravel the plan of Napoleon I and to strengthen his left wing in a timely manner.

The battle of Borodino began at five o'clock in the morning on September 7 (August 26, old style) and lasted until 20 o'clock in the evening. Napoleon did not succeed in the whole day either to break through the Russian position in the center, or to go around it from the flanks. The private tactical successes of the French army - the Russians retreated from their original position by about one kilometer - did not become victorious for her. Late in the evening, the disorganized and bloodless French troops were withdrawn to their original positions. The Russian field fortifications they took were so destroyed that there was no longer any point in holding them. Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian army. In the Battle of Borodino, the French lost up to 50 thousand people, the Russians - over 44 thousand people.

Since the losses in the battle turned out to be huge, and the reserves were used up, the Russian army left the Borodino field, retreating to Moscow, while conducting rearguard battles. On September 13 (September 1, according to the old style), at the military council in Fili, the decision of the commander-in-chief "for the sake of preserving the army and Russia" to leave Moscow to the enemy without a fight was supported by a majority of votes. The next day, Russian troops left the capital. Most of the population left the city with them. On the very first day of the entry of French troops into Moscow, fires began, devastating the city. For 36 days, Napoleon languished in the burned-out city, waiting in vain for a response to his proposal to Alexander I for peace, on favorable terms for him.

The main Russian army, leaving Moscow, made a march maneuver and settled in the Tarutinsky camp, reliably covering the south of the country. From here, Kutuzov launched a small war with the forces of army partisan detachments. During this time, the peasantry of the Great Russian provinces, engulfed in war, rose to a large-scale people's war.

Napoleon's attempts to enter into negotiations were rejected.

October 18 (October 6, old style) after the battle on the Chernishna River (near the village of Tarutino), in which the avant-garde was defeated " great army"Under the command of Marshal Murat, Napoleon left Moscow and sent his troops towards Kaluga to break into the southern Russian provinces, rich in food resources. Four days after the French left, the advance detachments of the Russian army entered the capital.

After the battle of Maloyaroslavets on October 24 (October 12, old style), when the Russian army blocked the enemy's path, Napoleon's troops were forced to begin a retreat along the devastated old Smolensk road. Kutuzov organized the pursuit of the French along the roads south of the Smolensk tract, acting as strong vanguards. Napoleon's troops lost people not only in clashes with their pursuers, but also from partisan attacks, from hunger and cold.

To the flanks of the retreating French army, Kutuzov pulled troops from the south and north-west of the country, who began to actively operate and inflict defeat on the enemy. Napoleon's troops actually found themselves surrounded on the Berezina River near the city of Borisov (Belarus), where on November 26-29 (November 14-17, old style) they fought with Russian troops who tried to cut off their escape routes. The French emperor, having misled the Russian command with a false crossing, was able to transfer the remnants of the troops along two hastily built bridges across the river. On November 28 (November 16, old style), Russian troops attacked the enemy on both banks of the Berezina, but, despite the superiority of forces, due to indecision and incoherence of actions, they were not successful. On the morning of November 29 (November 17, old style), by order of Napoleon, the bridges were burned. Convoys and crowds of lagging behind French soldiers (about 40 thousand people) remained on the left bank, most of whom drowned during the crossing or were captured, and the total losses of the French army in the battle of the Berezina amounted to 50 thousand people. But Napoleon in this battle managed to avoid complete defeat and retreat to Vilna.

The liberation of the territory of the Russian Empire from the enemy ended on December 26 (December 14, old style), when Russian troops occupied the border cities of Bialystok and Brest-Litovsky. The enemy lost up to 570 thousand people on the battlefields. The losses of the Russian troops amounted to about 300 thousand people.

The official end of the Patriotic War of 1812 is considered to be a manifesto signed by Emperor Alexander I on January 6, 1813 (December 25, 1812 according to the old style), in which he announced that he had kept his word not to stop the war until the enemy was completely expelled from the territory of Russia. empire.

The defeat and death of the "Great Army" in Russia created the conditions for the liberation of the peoples of Western Europe from Napoleonic tyranny and predetermined the collapse of Napoleon's empire. The Patriotic War of 1812 showed the complete superiority of Russian military art over the military art of Napoleon, and caused a nationwide patriotic upsurge in Russia.

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The fire of European wars more and more covered Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia was also involved in this struggle. The result of this intervention was the unsuccessful foreign wars with Napoleon and the Patriotic War of 1812.

Causes of the war

After the defeat of the Fourth Anti-French Coalition by Napoleon on June 25, 1807, the Treaty of Tilsit was concluded between France and Russia. The conclusion of peace forced Russia to join the participants in the continental blockade of England. However, none of the countries was going to comply with the terms of the treaty.

The main causes of the War of 1812:

• The peace of Tilsit was economically unprofitable for Russia, so the government of Alexander I decided to trade with England through neutral countries.
• The policy pursued by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte towards Prussia was to the detriment of Russian interests, the French troops concentrated on the border with Russia, also contrary to the points of the Tilsit Treaty.
• After Alexander I did not agree to give his consent to the marriage of his sister Anna Pavlovna with Napoleon, relations between Russia and France deteriorated sharply.

At the end of 1811, the bulk of the Russian army was deployed against the war with Turkey. By May 1812, thanks to the genius of M. I. Kutuzov, the military conflict was settled. Türkiye curtailed military expansion in the East, and Serbia gained independence.

The beginning of the war

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1812-1814, Napoleon managed to concentrate up to 645 thousand troops on the border with Russia. His army included Prussian, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Polish units.

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Russian troops, despite all the objections of the generals, were divided into three armies and located far from each other. The first army under the command of Barclay de Tolly numbered 127 thousand people, the second army, led by Bagration, had 49 thousand bayonets and cavalry. And finally, in the third army of General Tormasov, there were about 45 thousand soldiers.

Napoleon decided to immediately take advantage of the mistake Russian emperor, namely, with a sudden blow to break the two main armies of Barclay de Toll and Bagration in border battles, preventing them from connecting and moving on an accelerated march to defenseless Moscow.

At five in the morning on June 12, 1821 french army(about 647 thousand) began to cross the Russian border.

Rice. 1. Crossing the Napoleonic troops across the Neman.

The numerical superiority of the French army allowed Napoleon to immediately take the military initiative into his own hands. There was still no universal military service in the Russian army, and the army was replenished with obsolete recruiting kits. Alexander I, who was in Polotsk, on July 6, 1812 issued a Manifesto with a call to gather a general people's militia. As a result of the timely implementation of such domestic policy Alexander I, various sections of the Russian population began to rapidly flock to the ranks of the militia. The nobles were allowed to arm their serfs and join with them in the ranks of the regular army. The war immediately began to be called "Patriotic". The manifesto also regulated the partisan movement.

The course of hostilities. Main events

The strategic situation required the immediate merging of the two Russian armies into a single entity under common command. Napoleon's task was the opposite - to prevent the connection Russian forces and defeat them as quickly as possible in two or three frontier battles.

The following table shows the course of the main chronological events of the Patriotic War of 1812:

date	Event	Content
June 12, 1812	Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire	Napoleon seized the initiative from the very beginning, taking advantage of the serious miscalculations of Alexander I and his General Staff.
June 27-28, 1812	Clashes near Mir	The rearguard of the Russian army, which consisted mainly of Platov's Cossacks, collided with the vanguard of the Napoleonic forces near the town of Mir. For two days, Platov's cavalry units were constantly pestering Poniatowski's Polish lancers with small skirmishes. Denis Davydov, who fought as part of a hussar squadron, also participated in these battles.
July 11, 1812	Battle of Saltanovka	Bagration with the 2nd Army decides to cross the Dnieper. In order to gain time, General Raevsky was instructed to draw the French units of Marshal Davout into the oncoming battle. Raevsky completed the task assigned to him.
July 25-28, 1812	Battle near Vitebsk	The first major battle of the Russian troops with the French units under the command of Napoleon. Barclay de Tolly defended himself in Vitebsk to the last, as he was waiting for the approach of Bagration's troops. However, Bagration could not get through to Vitebsk. Both Russian armies continued to retreat without connecting with each other.
July 27, 1812	Battle of Kovrin	The first major victory of the Russian troops in the Patriotic War. Troops led by Tormasov inflicted a crushing defeat on the Saxon Klengel brigade. Klengel himself was captured during the battle.
July 29-August 1, 1812	Battle of Klyastitsy	Russian troops under the command of General Wittgenstein pushed back the French army of Marshal Oudinot from St. Petersburg during three days of bloody battles.
August 16-18, 1812	Battle for Smolensk	The two Russian armies managed to unite, despite the obstacles placed by Napoleon. Two commanders, Bagration and Barclay de Tolly, decided to defend Smolensk. After the most stubborn battles, the Russian units left the city in an organized manner.
August 18, 1812	Kutuzov arrived in the village of Tsarevo-Zaimishche	Kutuzov was appointed the new commander of the retreating Russian army.
August 19, 1812	Battle at Valutina Mountain	The battle of the rearguard of the Russian army covering the retreat of the main forces with the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. Russian troops not only repelled numerous French attacks, but also moved forward
August 24-26	battle of Borodino	Kutuzov was forced to give a general battle to the French, since the most experienced commander wanted to save the main forces of the army for subsequent battles. The largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 lasted two days, and neither side achieved an advantage in the battle. During the two-day battles, the French managed to take the Bagrationov flushes, and Bagration himself was mortally wounded. On the morning of August 27, 1812, Kutuzov decided to retreat further. Russian and French losses were terrible. Napoleon's army lost about 37.8 thousand people, the Russian army 44-45 thousand.
September 13, 1812	Council in Fili	In a simple peasant hut in the village of Fili, the fate of the capital was decided. Never supported by the majority of the generals, Kutuzov decides to leave Moscow.
September 14-October 20, 1812	Occupation of Moscow by the French	After the battle of Borodino, Napoleon was waiting for messengers from Alexander I with requests for peace and the mayor of Moscow with the keys to the city. Without waiting for the keys and parliamentarians, the French entered the deserted capital of Russia. On the part of the invaders, robberies immediately began, and numerous fires broke out in the city.
October 18, 1812	Tarutinsky fight	Having occupied Moscow, the French put themselves in a difficult position - they could not calmly leave the capital to provide themselves with food and fodder. The partisan movement, which developed widely, fettered all the movements of the French army. Meanwhile, the Russian army, on the contrary, was restoring its strength in the camp near Tarutino. Near the Tarutino camp, the Russian army unexpectedly attacked Murat's positions and overturned the French.
October 24, 1812	Battle of Maloyaroslavets	After leaving Moscow, the French rushed towards Kaluga and Tula. Kaluga had large food supplies, and Tula was the center of Russian arms factories. The Russian army led by Kutuzov blocked the way to the Kaluga road to the French troops. During the fierce battle, Maloyaroslavets changed hands seven times. In the end, the French were forced to retreat and begin a retreat back to the borders of Russia along the old Smolensk road.
November 9, 1812	Battle near Lyakhovo	The French brigade of Augereau was attacked by the combined forces of partisans under the command of Denis Davydov and the regular cavalry of Orlov-Denisov. As a result of the battle, most of the French died in battle. Augereau himself was taken prisoner.
November 15, 1812	Fight under Krasny	Taking advantage of the stretch of the retreating French army, Kutuzov decided to strike at the flanks of the invaders near the village of Krasny near Smolensk.
November 26-29, 1812	Crossing at the Berezina	Napoleon, despite the desperate situation, managed to transport his most combat-ready units. However, no more than 25 thousand combat-ready soldiers remained from the once “Great Army”. Napoleon himself crossed the Berezina, left the location of his troops and departed for Paris.

Rice. 2. French troops crossing the Berezina. Januarius Zlatopolsky..

Napoleon's invasion caused enormous damage to the Russian Empire - many cities were burned, tens of thousands of villages were turned into ashes. But a common misfortune brings people together. The unprecedented scope of patriotism rallied the central provinces, tens of thousands of peasants signed up for the militia, went into the forest, becoming partisans. Not only men, but also women fought the French, one of them was Vasilisa Kozhina.

The defeat of France and the results of the war of 1812

After the victory over Napoleon, Russia continued the liberation of European countries from the oppression of the French invaders. In 1813, a military alliance was concluded between Prussia and Russia. The first stage of the foreign campaigns of the Russian troops against Napoleon ended in failure due to the sudden death of Kutuzov and the inconsistency of the actions of the allies.

• However, France was extremely exhausted by incessant wars and sued for peace. However, Napoleon lost the fight on the diplomatic front. Against France rose another coalition of powers: Russia, Prussia, England, Austria and Sweden.
• In October 1813, the famous Leipzig battle. At the beginning of 1814, Russian troops and allies entered Paris. Napoleon was deposed and in early 1814 exiled to the island of Elba.

Rice. 3. The entry of Russian and allied troops into Paris. HELL. Kivshenko.

• In 1814, a Congress was held in Vienna, where the victorious countries discussed questions about the post-war structure of Europe.
• In June 1815, Napoleon fled from the island of Elba and again took the French throne, but after only 100 days of reign, the French were defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena.

Summing up the results of the Patriotic War of 1812, it should be noted that the influence it had on the progressive people of Russian society was limitless. Based on this war, great writers and poets wrote many great works. The post-war order of the world was short-lived, although the Congress of Vienna gave Europe a few years of peaceful life. Russia acted as the savior of occupied Europe, however historical meaning Patriotic War Western historians decided to underestimate.

What have we learned?

The beginning of the 19th century in the history of Russia, studied in grade 4, is marked bloody war with Napoleon. Briefly about the Patriotic War of 1812, what was the nature of this war, the main dates of hostilities are described in a detailed report and the table “Patriotic War of 1812”.

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It is interesting that simultaneously with the war that began on June 22, 1812 in Russia, in North America on June 18, 1812, a no less mysterious war also began, for which there will be a separate investigation (it, as if by accident, also ended in 1814).

The war of 1812 in Russia seems to be well described, even in excessively obtrusive detail, and all the attention of researchers is automatically concentrated on chewing on the details of memoirs about battles. The official, well-established history of the war of 1812 in Russia only at first glance seems smooth, especially if knowledge is limited to two extremely publicized episodes “the battle of Borodino” and “the fire of Moscow”.

If we ignore the strongly imposed point of view, for example, by imagining that there are no memoirs-witnesses, or we do not trust them, because “he is lying like an eyewitness” and check on the actual circumstances, then a completely unexpected picture is revealed:

As a result of the war of 1812 in Russia, the troops of Alexander-1, in alliance with Napoleon-1, conquered the territories of the Moscow-Smolensk Upland, or, figuratively speaking, "Petersburg defeated Muscovy."

It has already been verified, many have the first reaction of rejection "the author is delirious." Starting the test of the spurious illumination hypothesis in official history goals of the war of 1812 in Russia, I myself was quite skeptical about it, but the confirmations rained down as if from a cornucopia, I do not have time to describe them. Everything is slowly coming together into a perfectly logical picture, which is summarized on this index page. Links to detailed description researched facts will appear as relevant articles are written.

Especially for those who are unable to read multi-book pages, by popular demand, an explanation was made on the fingers without a finger (I advise beginners not to immediately rush to follow the rest of the links, but first read the general picture presented below, otherwise you risk getting confused in a sea of ​​​​information).

And those who are highly experienced in history can try to clearly answer the simplest questions for themselves:

— why Napoleon-1 went to conquer Smolensk and Moscow, and not the capital - Petersburg?

— why the capital of the Russian Empire was St. Petersburg located "on the edge of the earth"(big red dot) rather than the ones marked in green are much more suitable for metropolitan city status (left to right) Kyiv, Smolensk, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan?

Seaport cities are marked in red. Top left to right Riga, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, bottom - Kherson and Rostov-on-Don

The real history of the Russian Empire becomes extremely clear, logical and easily understood, if viewed from the correct point of view, from the Baltic.

1. Let's start with well-known facts: the capital of the Russian Empire was St. Petersburg, the ruling dynasty was the Romanovs.

2. "Romanovs" is a local pseudonym for the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the Oldenburg dynasty, who ruled the Baltic Sea.

3. Petersburg was chosen by the Oldenburgs aka "Romanovs" as the capital as the most convenient springboard for penetration from the Baltic Sea into the Volga basin isolated from all seas in order to expand the scope of their economic influence(See more details Part 1 motivational Stupid Petersburg + Part 2 basic Petersburg irreplaceable ")

4. The main vector of the conquest and development of the territories of Russia by the Romanovs is directed from St. Petersburg (Baltic Sea) inland, to the Volga basin along the waterways, naturally to pump out useful resources. This part of the story of the Romanovs' gradual conquests has been disguised as various "internal" events to create the illusion of old possession (previous index page "The E-2 Wars Are Noticeable")

5. At the same time, additional vectors of the Romanovs' actions were sent there, to the Volga basin, from the Black and Azov Seas. This part of history is well known as the continuous wars of the Romanovs with Turkey.

Now let's look at the situation before the war of 1812. During the time of Catherine II, significant efforts were already made to penetrate the Volga basin (see the page "E-2 wars are noticeable"). And still, as of the beginning of the 19th century, St. Petersburg was categorically isolated from the Moscow-Smolensk Upland, there was not a single normal direct waterway (only the unsuccessfully made Vyshnevolotsk system, somehow working to descend to St. Petersburg). In those days, of course, there were no airplanes, no railways, no highways, only waterways along rivers and short land sections - “portages” between river routes. And if there are no normal means of communication along which goods, troops, etc. can move, then there is no transport connection, without which there can be no statehood. Couriers with decrees can get there, but without the economic and power components - these decrees are worthless.

Shortly before the war of 1812, St. Petersburg had almost all the same waterways with land sections "portages" that the Novgorod merchants had long before the emergence of St. Petersburg:

That is why the Moscow-Smolensk Upland, located in the upper reaches of the Volga and Dnieper basins, at that time was almost entirely out of the reach of St. Petersburg, which could be content to feed only the same as ancient Novgorod.

The absence of direct waterways is an objective, key point for understanding what was happening, a kind of "alibi in reverse" for St. Petersburg - it had nothing to do with Moscow and Smolensk.

Skeptics can carefully examine the map of Europe from the very first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1771 and make sure that Russia (Russia) is not at all Moscow Tartaria (Muscovite Tartarie), which I call for brevity simply Muscovy or the Old Power, on the right, the toponyms of interest from this map are indicated on a fragment of the Shokalsky map from the Brockhaus dictionary, the watershed of the Baltic river basins is marked with a red line (maps are clickable):

In other words, I don’t need to invent some new reality, I just explain why these territories used to be different states and how St. Petersburg Oldenburg-“Romanovs” conquered Moscow Tartaria, and then called their possessions the Russian Empire, that is, they extended the name Russia to the conquered earth. There is nothing offensive in this (well, except for those who consider themselves a descendant of the rulers of Tartaria ;-), on the contrary, the result was a very powerful state, so I personally have no complaints about the conquerors.

I repeat once again: in order to understand the ENTIRE history of the Russian Empire, it is very important to read: Part 1 Stupid St. Petersburg irreplaceable (why St. Petersburg is in this place and why it became the capital).

The main city controlling the transport hubs of the Moscow-Smolensk Upland at that time was the "key-city" Smolensk, located in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, where the chain of portages began, connecting the river routes "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and "from the Varangians to the Persians" at the intersection trade routes from the Dnieper, West Dvina, Volkhov, Volga and Oka river basins.

A simple military conquest of the cities of the Moscow-Smolensk Upland without including them in the zone of economic interests is meaningless, and therefore preparations for war began at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries with the large-scale construction of direct waterways from St. The construction of the Berezinsky water system ensured the capture of both the trade flows of Smolensk and the city itself. Naturally, the war began only when the enumerated routes for the invasion of troops were ready, which we have to make sure of.

Red indicates the direction of movement of the Oldenburgs in the Baltic. Blue - the main rivers of the European part of Russia. Green - direct waterways formed after the construction of the St. Petersburg Oldenburgs ("Romanovs") of water systems (from left to right, from bottom to top): Berezinsky, Vyshnevolotskaya, Tikhvinskaya, Mariinskaya:

Simultaneously with the construction of direct waterways, other large-scale and thorough preparations were carried out for a military invasion and the post-war arrangement of the occupied territory:

In 1803, the task of ideological preparation for a future war was set in advance: the creation new history conquered territories - entrusted to N. Karamzin, who was appointed by personal decree "Russian historiographer" (there was never such a position either before or after Karamzin). Also in 1803, a decision was made to create a monument to the winners (responsible - comrade Martos).

1804, June - the introduction of preliminary censorship, it was forbidden to print, distribute and sell anything without the consideration and approval of the censorship authorities. via

1804-1807 — Horse Guards Manege for all-season and all-weather training of riders is being built in St. Petersburg via

In 1805, the Berezina water system was completed, as a first approximation, connecting the Western Dvina with the tributary of the Dnieper by the Berezina River in the Vitebsk region. A continuous waterway appeared “from the Varangians to the Greeks” from the Baltic Sea up the Western Dvina (Daugava), then through the locks of the Berezina system down the Berezina River to the Dnieper and further downstream to the Black Sea.

1805 - unification of artillery - "Arakcheev" system via

1807 - Alexander and Napoleon in Tilsit sign a peace treaty and a secret offensive and defensive alliance. The famous top-secret negotiations between the two emperors strictly alone on a raft in the middle of the Neman.

1808 - Another meeting of Alexander and Napoleon took place in Erfurt, where a secret convention was signed.

1809 - Prince George of Oldenburg, who arrived from England, leads the "Expedition of water communications", which, together with him, moves from St. Petersburg as close as possible to Muscovy - to Tver, which Alexander called "our third capital". For service in the expedition, a "corps of engineers" was established under martial law. A special "Police Team" was assigned to streamline shipping and supervise it. On the Tvertsa River, the construction of a towpath for the movement of barge haulers was completed, and the deepening of the Ladoga Canal began, the Vyshnevolotsk system was brought into working condition in both directions. Karamzin periodically in Tver read out to Prince Georgy of Oldenburg the “History of the Russian State” created by him.

In 1809, the mentioned Institute of Railway Corps Engineers was opened in Russia. Its first issue took place in 1812; One group of graduates voluntarily went to combat units, and 12 people went to the disposal of the commander in chief of the armies. Thus, already at the beginning of the campaign of 1812, engineers of the corps of communications were seconded to the active army, in fact, military engineering troops were created, for some reason there was no need for them before. ()

In 1809-1812. in St. Petersburg, 5 albums for standard construction are published: "A collection of facades, highly approved by His Imperial Majesty for private buildings in the cities of the Russian Empire." All five albums contained about 200 residential, commercial, industrial, commercial and other buildings and over 70 designs of fences and gates. Only one principle was rigidly pursued: to preserve the unchanging stylistic unity of all the buildings included in the albums. via

Since 1810, on behalf of Alexander-1, Arakcheev has been testing the technology of organizing military settlements on the basis of the Prussian landwehr, which will be required in the future when colonizing the occupied lands - the troops remain to live in the occupied territory, which solves several problems at once: there is no need to solve the problems of their export and subsequent deployment , the troops are at least self-sufficient, they maintain order, the natural loss of men during the war is replenished, etc. "Military settlements - the system of organizing troops in Russia in 1810-1857, combining military service with employment in productive labor, primarily agricultural. via

about the military settlements of Arakcheev from the magazine "World Illustration" 1871

Also in 1810, an independent government department was created - the Main Directorate of Spiritual Affairs of various (foreign) confessions with the right to create or liquidate churches, appoint heads of monastic orders, approve heads of confessions, etc. via

1810 - the Mariinsky water system began to work. From 1810 to 1812, an additional reconstruction of the Berezinsky water system was carried out under the guidance of the famous engineer Devolant.

From 1810 to 1812, by decree of Alexander-1, two new most modern fortresses were built with incredible speed - Dinaburg on the Western Dvina and Bobruisk on the Berezina, the existing fortress at the mouth of the Dvina - Dinamunde was being modernized, all the fortresses on the waterway Western Dvina - Dnieper were perfectly armed, replenished with ammunition and food supplies.

1811 - the Ministry of Police is created, among the powers of "censorship control" - supervision of the censorship committee and publications already passed for printing and distribution, i.e. censorship has become double. To avoid terminological confusion, it should be clarified that the Ministry of the Interior, created in 1802, belonged to the economic department, the main task of which was the development of industry, agriculture, domestic trade, post, construction and maintenance of public (public) buildings. During the war of 1812 and the subsequent hostilities of 1813–1814, the Ministry of Police was entrusted with the task of providing the army with food (!?), recruiting and forming a militia, and the Ministry of the Interior organized the supply of troops with uniforms and equipment. via

1811 - To restore order after the war in the vast occupied territories, Alexander-1 for the first time world history creates a special organization "Internal Guard Corps" with the tasks of escorting prisoners and arrested persons, liquidating mass riots, and for the first time in history, the use of weapons for civilian population. This corps, being part of the army, simultaneously carried out the order of the Minister of Police. Functionally, the "Internal Guard Corps" corresponds to the modern Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

1811 - the Tikhvin water system was put into operation

By 1812, the reconstruction of the Berezinsky water system was completed, and from that moment on, all waterways were ready for the invasion army.

The most important figure of silence: the sea and river fleet in the war of 1812, about the actions of which there is shockingly scarce information, although the effective movement of troops and supplies between the chain of fortresses on the Western Dvina - Berezinsky system - Dnieper waterway could only be provided by water transport: A huge invasion river fleet was discovered in the War of 1812

Expressing the importance of the fleet in the war, the first Lord of the English Admiralty, Sir John Fisher, considered ground army just like a projectile, a cannonball fired at the enemy by a fleet. In contrast, the prevailing stereotype of depicting the war of 1812 in Russia depicts only land battles, cavalry, wagons and infantry. It turns out something like this: since Leo Tolstoy did not write about the fleet, therefore the fleet did not exist in 1812 ... One gets the impression that the mention of the fleet and any water transport was prohibited by censorship.

May 1812 - Kutuzov signed a peace treaty with Turkey, the southern group of troops was freed, now everything is ready for the invasion of Muscovy, the troops begin to move towards Smolensk.

1812, June - Napoleon's troops arrive on the Neman, Alexander is waiting for him in Vilna, part of Alexander's troops has already arrived by water from St. Petersburg.

1812 - Napoleon's troops, instead of immediately rushing along the shortest strategic corridor along the sea to St. Petersburg, which was "protected" by one of Wittgenstein's infantry corps, it is now clear why they prefer to move in a friendly "wake column" after Alexander's troops.

1812, August - all the troops of both Alexander and Napoleon, clearly on schedule, united near Smolensk, which was a key point on the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks."

Little attention is generally paid to the battle of Smolensk, although an elementary question arises - why at Borodino, in an open field, the “Bagrationov flushes” were built, and here the fortress built already under Boris Godunov holds the defense, but “neither the walls nor the fortifications had the necessary fortifications to accommodate artillery, so defensive battles took place mainly in the suburbs. By the way, it was after Smolensk that Kutuzov emerged from the shadows, who, for some reason, suddenly received the title of the Most Serene Prince of Smolensky, although according to the official version, at that time he was in charge of the assembly of the people's militia (a very worthy occupation for a military leader of this rank ;-). (See Some riddles of Smolensk in 1812 and Why is Kutuzov Prince of Smolensky and not Borodinsky?)

The battle of Borodino, which at first was perceived by me as a kind of artificially created symbol and the world's first museum historical reconstruction, formed on the initiative of Emperor Nicholas-1 since 1839, unexpectedly turned out to be really major event at the fork of the waterways. see “Borodino. Oddities and mysteries of battle.

Instead of using the maps of historians helpfully drawn with arrows, you can put only the places of battles on an empty map as the main reliably established facts, then we will see a completely clear turn. traces of blood just after Borodino to the south, to Kaluga:

"Fire in Moscow" - the second extremely publicized virtual an episode of the war (see the comic thriller "The Great Virtual Fire of Moscow of 1812") to explain the 30 years of construction that followed the war (allegedly "restoration"), because from the point of view of waterways at that time there could not be anything significant, but from the point of view of land road and rail traffic in a straight line from St. Petersburg necessarily through Tver, then the big Moscow should have been built in this place:

If, however, to argue from the point of view of classical history, it was as if opponents, and not allies, fought, then after the withdrawal of the troops of Alexander-1 to the south, towards Kaluga, Napoleon has a Second Strategic Chance, in my opinion the only one in world history when it was possible to capture three capitals: the "old capital" Moscow, the "third capital" Tver and " new capital» Petersburg! But we now understand why Napoleon did not do this, but, according to a predetermined plan, followed Alexander's troops in order to jointly crush the remnants of Muscovy's troops in the upper reaches of the Oka basin. (see "Why Napoleon did not go to ...").

"The Flight of Napoleon's Army" - the third highly publicized virtual a large episode of the war is made as follows: the real battles marked on the diagram shown earlier are dated “dotted line, through one” - part during the offensive, and part during the alleged “retreat”, so that there would not be even a shadow of the thought that the occupying army conquered and remained. Mass death from frost and other factors, as it were, writes off a greatly overestimated number, that is, at the same time answers are given to the question: "Where did such a huge army of Napoleon go if it did not return to Europe." Here "Peace death of Napoleon's army" is considered the visualization of the army's decline according to the testimony of memoirists. Anyone who is not lazy can read various memoirs regarding the chosen city and marvel at how “confused in the testimony” they are, it can be seen that the manual for writing memoirs was corrected several times, or the “eyewitness memoirists” were inattentive, but this is imperceptible to the general reader, he also perceives generalized stories in school textbooks and has no doubts about the reliability of the primary sources of his knowledge.

1812, November 14 - The highest rescript of Emperor Alexander-1 on the production by specially authorized military officials of the search for abandoned and hidden weapons and property in those territories where hostilities were fought. Of the 875 artillery pieces found and brought to Moscow by January 10, 1819, a symbolic stupid Tsar Bell was cast and so on. (see "The Moscow Tsar Bell was cast in the 19th century")

1812, December 6 - following the results of the war in Muscovy, Kutuzov was granted the title "Smolensky". December 25 - formally and symbolically on Christmas, the war is over, Napoleon, practically without troops, seems to be going home, although in fact the occupying troops remained to clean up the area and form military settlements. Alexander issues a decree on the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (the first temple in history dedicated specifically to Christ!)

1813, January - a branch of the British Bible Society is created in St. Petersburg, renamed in 1814 into the Russian Bible Society. The official task is to translate the Bible into the languages ​​of the peoples (was it not relevant before?), The total circulation of published books is at least half a million copies. The most interesting thing is that the Bible was eventually translated into ordinary Russian only at the end of the 19th century. What were they really doing there?

2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the military-historical patriotic event - the Patriotic War of 1812, which is of great importance for the political, social, cultural and military development of Russia.

The beginning of the war

June 12, 1812 (old style) Napoleon's French army, having crossed the Neman near the city of Kovno (now it is the city of Kaunas in Lithuania), invaded the Russian Empire. This day is recorded in history as the beginning of the war between Russia and France.

In this war, two forces clashed. On the one hand, Napoleon's half-million army (about 640,000 men), which consisted of only half the French and included, in addition to them, representatives of almost all of Europe. An army intoxicated with numerous victories, led by famous marshals and generals, led by Napoleon. The strengths of the French army were large numbers, good material and technical support, combat experience, faith in the invincibility of the army.

She was opposed by the Russian army, which at the beginning of the war represented one-third of the French army. Before the start of the Patriotic War of 1812, the Russian-Turkish war 1806-1812. The Russian army was divided into three groups far apart from each other (under the command of Generals M. B. Barclay de Tolly, P. I. Bagration and A. P. Tormasov). Alexander I was at the headquarters of Barclay's army.

The blow of Napoleon's army was taken over by the troops stationed on western border: 1st Army of Barclay de Tolly and 2nd Army of Bagration (total 153 thousand soldiers).

Knowing his numerical superiority, Napoleon pinned his hopes on a blitzkrieg war. One of his main miscalculations was the underestimation of the patriotic impulse of the army and the people of Russia.

The beginning of the war was successful for Napoleon. At 6 am on June 12 (24), 1812, the vanguard of the French troops entered the Russian city of Kovno. The crossing of 220 thousand soldiers of the Great Army near Kovno took 4 days. After 5 days, another grouping (79 thousand soldiers) under the command of the Viceroy of Italy, Eugene Beauharnais, crossed the Neman to the south of Kovno. At the same time, even further south, near Grodno, the Neman was crossed by 4 corps (78-79 thousand soldiers) under the general command of the King of Westphalia, Jerome Bonaparte. In the northern direction, near Tilsit, the Neman crossed the 10th Corps of Marshal MacDonald (32 thousand soldiers), which was aimed at St. Petersburg. On southbound from Warsaw through the Bug, a separate Austrian corps of General Schwarzenberg (30-33 thousand soldiers) began to invade.

The rapid advance of the powerful French army forced the Russian command to retreat inland. The commander of the Russian troops, Barclay de Tolly, evaded the general battle, saving the army and striving to unite with Bagration's army. The numerical superiority of the enemy raised the question of an urgent replenishment of the army. But in Russia there was no universal military service. The army was completed by recruiting sets. And Alexander I decided on an unusual step. On July 6, he issued a manifesto calling for the creation of a people's militia. Thus the first appeared partisan detachments. This war united all segments of the population. As now, so then, the Russian people are united only by misfortune, grief, tragedy. It didn't matter who you were in society, what wealth you had. Russian people fought unitedly, defending the freedom of their homeland. All people became a single force, which is why the name "Patriotic War" was determined. The war became an example of the fact that a Russian person will never allow freedom and spirit to be enslaved, he will defend his honor and name to the end.

The armies of Barclay and Bagration met near Smolensk at the end of July, thus achieving the first strategic success.

Battle for Smolensk

By August 16 (according to the New Style), Napoleon approached Smolensk with 180 thousand soldiers. After the connection of the Russian armies, the generals began to insistently demand a general battle from the commander-in-chief Barclay de Tolly. At 6 am August 16 Napoleon launched an assault on the city.

In the battles near Smolensk, the Russian army showed the greatest stamina. The battle for Smolensk marked the unfolding of a nationwide war between the Russian people and the enemy. Napoleon's hope for a blitzkrieg collapsed.

Battle for Smolensk. Adam, circa 1820

The stubborn battle for Smolensk lasted 2 days, until the morning of August 18, when Barclay de Tolly withdrew troops from the burning city in order to avoid a big battle with no chance of victory. Barclay had 76 thousand, another 34 thousand (Bagration's army).After the capture of Smolensk, Napoleon moved to Moscow.

Meanwhile, the protracted retreat caused public discontent and protest among most of the army (especially after the surrender of Smolensk), so on August 20 (according to the new style), Emperor Alexander I signed a decree appointing M.I. Kutuzov. At that time, Kutuzov was in his 67th year. The commander of the Suvorov school, who had half a century of military experience, he enjoyed universal respect both in the army and among the people. However, he also had to retreat in order to gain time to gather all his forces.

Kutuzov could not avoid a general battle for political and moral reasons. By September 3 (according to the New Style), the Russian army retreated to the village of Borodino. Further retreat meant the surrender of Moscow. By that time, Napoleon's army had already suffered significant losses, and the difference in the size of the two armies was reduced. In this situation, Kutuzov decided to give a pitched battle.

To the west of Mozhaisk, 125 km from Moscow near the village of Borodina August 26 (September 7, New Style), 1812 there was a battle that went down in the history of our people forever. - the largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 between the Russian and French armies.

The Russian army numbered 132 thousand people (including 21 thousand poorly armed militias). The French army, pursuing her on the heels, 135,000. Kutuzov's headquarters, believing that there were about 190 thousand people in the enemy's army, chose a defensive plan. In fact, the battle was an assault by French troops on the line of Russian fortifications (flashes, redoubts and lunettes).

Napoleon hoped to defeat the Russian army. But the steadfastness of the Russian troops, where every soldier, officer, general was a hero, overturned all the calculations of the French commander. The fight went on all day. Losses were huge on both sides. The Battle of Borodino is one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century. According to the most conservative estimates of cumulative losses, 2,500 people died on the field every hour. Some divisions lost up to 80% of their composition. There were almost no prisoners on either side. French losses amounted to 58 thousand people, Russian - 45 thousand.

Emperor Napoleon later recalled: “Of all my battles, the most terrible is what I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory in it, and the Russians - to be called invincible.

Cavalry fight

On September 8 (21), Kutuzov ordered a retreat to Mozhaisk with the firm intention of preserving the army. The Russian army retreated, but retained its combat capability. Napoleon failed to achieve the main thing - the defeat of the Russian army.

September 13 (26) in the village of Fili Kutuzov held a meeting on a further plan of action. After the military council in Fili, the Russian army, by decision of Kutuzov, was withdrawn from Moscow. “With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not yet lost, but with the loss of the army, Russia is lost”. These words of the great commander, which went down in history, were confirmed by subsequent events.

A.K. Savrasov. The hut in which the famous council in Fili was held

Military Council in Fili (A. D. Kivshenko, 1880)

Capture of Moscow

In the evening September 14 (September 27, new style) Napoleon entered deserted Moscow without a fight. In the war against Russia, all the plans of Napoleon were consistently destroyed. Expecting to receive the keys to Moscow, he stood for several hours in vain on Poklonnaya Hill, and when he entered the city, he was met by deserted streets.

Fire in Moscow on September 15-18, 1812 after the capture of the city by Napoleon. Painting by A.F. Smirnova, 1813

Already on the night of 14 (27) to 15 (28) September, the city was engulfed in fire, which increased so much by the night of 15 (28) to 16 (29) September that Napoleon was forced to leave the Kremlin.

On suspicion of arson, about 400 townspeople from the lower classes were shot. The fire raged until September 18 and destroyed most of Moscow. Of the 30 thousand houses that were in Moscow before the invasion, after Napoleon left the city, "hardly 5 thousand" remained.

While Napoleon's army was inactive in Moscow, losing combat effectiveness, Kutuzov retreated from Moscow, first to the southeast along the Ryazan road, but then, turning to the west, went to the flank of the French army, occupied the village of Tarutino, blocking the Kaluga road. gu. The foundation was laid in the Tarutino camp final defeat"Great Army"

When Moscow was on fire, bitterness against the invaders reached its highest intensity. The main forms of the war of the Russian people against the invasion of Napoleon were passive resistance (refusing to trade with the enemy, leaving bread unharvested in the fields, destroying food and fodder, going into the forests), partisan warfare and mass participation in militias. To the greatest extent, the course of the war was influenced by the refusal of the Russian peasantry to supply the enemy with food and fodder. The French army was on the verge of starvation.

From June to August 1812, Napoleon's army, pursuing the retreating Russian armies, traveled about 1,200 kilometers from the Neman to Moscow. As a result, her communication lines were greatly stretched. Given this fact, the command of the Russian army decided to create flying partisan detachments for operations in the rear and on the enemy’s communication lines, in order to prevent his supply and destroy his small detachments. The most famous, but far from the only commander of the flying detachments was Denis Davydov. Army partisan detachments received comprehensive support from the spontaneous peasant partisan movement. As the French army moved deep into Russia, as violence from the Napoleonic army grew, after the fires in Smolensk and Moscow, after the decrease in discipline in Napoleon's army and the transformation of a significant part of it into a gang of marauders and robbers, the population of Russia began to move from passive to active resistance to the enemy. Only during their stay in Moscow, the French army lost more than 25 thousand people from the actions of the partisans.

The partisans constituted, as it were, the first ring of encirclement around Moscow, occupied by the French. The second ring was made up of militias. Partisans and militias surrounded Moscow in a dense ring, threatening to turn Napoleon's strategic encirclement into a tactical one.

Tarutinsky fight

After the surrender of Moscow, Kutuzov apparently avoided major battle the army was gathering strength. During this time in Russian provinces(Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula, Kaluga, Tver and others) a 205,000th militia was recruited, in Ukraine - 75,000. By October 2, Kutuzov led the army south to the village of Tarutino closer to Kaluga.

In Moscow, Napoleon found himself in a trap, it was not possible to spend the winter in the city devastated by fire: foraging outside the city was not successful, the stretched communications of the French were very vulnerable, the army was beginning to decompose. Napoleon began to prepare for a retreat to winter quarters somewhere between the Dnieper and the Dvina.

When the "great army" retreated from Moscow, its fate was sealed.

Battle of Tarutino, October 6th (P. Hess)

October 18(according to the new style) Russian troops attacked and defeated near Tarutino Murat's French corps. Having lost up to 4 thousand soldiers, the French retreated. The battle of Tarutino became a landmark event, marking the transition of the initiative in the war to the Russian army.

Napoleon's retreat

October 19(according to the new style) the French army (110 thousand) with a huge convoy began to leave Moscow along the Old Kaluga road. But the road to Kaluga to Napoleon was blocked by Kutuzov's army, located near the village of Tarutino on the Old Kaluga road. Due to the lack of horses, the French artillery fleet was reduced, large cavalry formations practically disappeared. Not wanting to break through a fortified position with a weakened army, Napoleon turned in the area of ​​the village of Troitskoye (modern Troitsk) onto the New Kaluga Road (modern Kiev highway) in order to bypass Tarutino. However, Kutuzov transferred the army to Maloyaroslavets, cutting off the French retreat along the New Kaluga road.

Kutuzov's army by October 22 consisted of 97 thousand regular troops, 20 thousand Cossacks, 622 guns and more than 10 thousand militia warriors. Napoleon had at hand up to 70 thousand combat-ready soldiers, the cavalry practically disappeared, the artillery was much weaker than the Russian one.

October 12 (24) took place battle near Maloyaroslavets. The city changed hands eight times. In the end, the French managed to capture Maloyaroslavets, but Kutuzov took a fortified position outside the city, which Napoleon did not dare to storm.On October 26, Napoleon ordered a retreat north to Borovsk-Vereya-Mozhaisk.

A. Averyanov. Battle for Maloyaroslavets October 12 (24), 1812

In the battles for Maloyaroslavets, the Russian army solved a major strategic task - it thwarted the plan for the French troops to break through to Ukraine and forced the enemy to retreat along the Old Smolensk road he had devastated.

From Mozhaisk, the French army resumed its movement towards Smolensk along the same road along which it had advanced on Moscow.

The final defeat of the French troops took place at the crossing of the Berezina. The battles of November 26-29 between the French corps and the Russian armies of Chichagov and Wittgenstein on both banks of the Berezina River during the crossing of Napoleon went down in history as battle on the Berezina.

The retreat of the French through the Berezina on November 17 (29), 1812. Peter von Hess (1844)

When crossing the Berezina, Napoleon lost 21 thousand people. In total, up to 60 thousand people managed to cross the Berezina, most of them civilian and non-combatant remnants of the "Great Army". Unusually severe frosts, which hit even during the crossing of the Berezina and continued in the following days, finally destroyed the French, already weakened by hunger. On December 6, Napoleon left his army and went to Paris to recruit new soldiers to replace those who died in Russia.

The main result of the battle on the Berezina was that Napoleon avoided complete defeat in the face of a significant superiority of Russian forces. In the memoirs of the French, the crossing of the Berezina occupies no less place than the largest Battle of Borodino.

By the end of December, the remnants of Napoleon's army were expelled from Russia.

"Russian campaign of 1812" was over December 14, 1812.

The results of the war

The main result of the Patriotic War of 1812 was the almost complete destruction of Napoleon's Great Army.Napoleon lost about 580,000 soldiers in Russia. These losses include 200 thousand killed, from 150 to 190 thousand prisoners, about 130 thousand deserters who fled to their homeland. The losses of the Russian army, according to some estimates, amounted to 210 thousand soldiers and militias.

In January 1813, the "Foreign campaign of the Russian army" began - fighting moved to Germany and France. In October 1813, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Leipzig, and in April 1814 he abdicated the throne of France.

The victory over Napoleon, as never before, raised the international prestige of Russia, which played a decisive role in Congress of Vienna and in subsequent decades had a decisive influence on the affairs of Europe.

Main dates

June 12, 1812- The invasion of Napoleon's army into Russia across the Neman River. 3 Russian armies were at a great distance from each other. Tormasov's army, being in Ukraine, could not participate in the war. It turned out that only 2 armies took the blow. But they had to retreat in order to connect.

August 3rd- the connection of the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly near Smolensk. The enemies lost about 20 thousand, and ours about 6 thousand, but Smolensk had to be left. Even the united armies were 4 times smaller than the enemy!

8 August- Kutuzov was appointed commander in chief. An experienced strategist, wounded many times in battles, Suvorov's student fell in love with the people.

August, 26th- The Battle of Borodino lasted more than 12 hours. It is considered a pitched battle. On the outskirts of Moscow, the Russians showed mass heroism. The losses of the enemies were greater, but our army could not go on the offensive. The numerical superiority of the enemies was still great. Reluctantly, they decided to surrender Moscow in order to save the army.

September October- Seat of Napoleon's army in Moscow. His expectations were not met. Failed to win. Kutuzov rejected requests for peace. The attempt to move south failed.

October December- the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Russia along the destroyed Smolensk road. From 600 thousand enemies, about 30 thousand remained!

December 25, 1812- Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto on the victory of Russia. But the war had to continue. Napoleon had armies in Europe. If they are not defeated, then he will attack Russia again. The foreign campaign of the Russian army lasted until victory in 1814.

Prepared by Sergey Shulyak

INVASION (animated film)

The agreement between Russia and France, concluded in Tilsit in 1807, was of a temporary nature. The continental blockade of Great Britain, to which Russia was forced to join in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, undermined the country's economy, which was oriented towards export trade. The export turnover decreased from 120 million to 83 million rubles, imports exceeded exports and created conditions for a surge in inflationary processes. In addition, exporters suffered from high duties imposed by France, which made foreign trade unprofitable. The economic downturn and the precariousness of peace with Napoleon forced Alexander I to prepare for war. For Bonaparte, Russia was an obstacle that stood in his way to world domination.

Thus, the causes of the Patriotic War of 1812 were:

1. the desire of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French bourgeoisie supporting him to establish world hegemony, which was impossible without the defeat and subjugation of Russia and Great Britain;

2. aggravation of contradictions between Russia and France, which intensified both as a result of Russia's non-compliance with the conditions of the continental blockade, and Napoleon's support of anti-Russian sentiments in Poland, supporting local magnates in their aspirations to recreate the Commonwealth within their former borders;

3. the loss of Russia as a result of the conquests of France of the former influence in Central Europe, as well as the actions of Napoleon aimed at undermining its international authority;

4. the growth of personal hostility between Alexander I and Napoleon I, caused both by the refusal of the Russian side to marry the French emperor, Grand Duchesses Catherine, then Anna, as well as Napoleon's hints about Alexander's involvement in the murder of his father, Emperor Paul I.

The course of hostilities (the retreat of the Russian army).

Napoleon's army, which he himself called the "Great Army", consisted of over 600,000 people and 1,420 guns. In addition to the French, it included the national corps of the European countries conquered by Napoleon, as well as the Polish corps of Prince Jozef Anton Poniatowski.

The main forces of Napoleon were deployed in two echelons. The first (444,000 people and 940 guns) consisted of three groups: the right wing, led by Jerome Bonaparte (78,000 people, 159 guns) was supposed to move on Grodno, diverting as many Russian forces as possible; the central grouping under the command of Eugene Beauharnais (82,000 people, 208 guns) was supposed to prevent the connection of the 1st and 2nd Russian armies; the left wing, led by Napoleon himself (218,000 people, 527 guns), moved to Vilna - he was assigned the main role in the entire campaign. In the rear, between the Vistula and the Oder, the second echelon remained - 170,000 people, 432 guns and a reserve (corps of Marshal Augereau and other troops).

The "Great Army" was opposed by 220 - 240 thousand Russian soldiers with 942 guns. In addition, as noted above, the Russian troops were divided: the 1st Western Army under the command of the Minister of War, General of Infantry M.B. Barclay de Tolly (110 - 127 thousand people with 558 guns) stretched over 200 km from Lithuania to Grodno in Belarus; 2nd Western Army led by Infantry General P.I. Bagration (45 - 48 thousand people with 216 guns) occupied a line up to 100 km east of Bialystok; 3rd Western Army of General of the Cavalry A.P. Tormasova (46,000 people with 168 guns) stood in Volyn near Lutsk. On the right flank of the Russian troops (in Finland) was the corps of Lieutenant General F.F. Steingel (19 thousand people with 102 guns), on the left flank - the Danube Army of Admiral P.V. Chichagov (57 thousand people with 202 guns).

Taking into account the huge size and power of Russia, Napoleon planned to complete the campaign in three years: in 1812, to seize the western provinces from Riga to Lutsk, in 1813 - Moscow, in 1814 - St. Petersburg. Such gradualness would allow him to dismember Russia, providing the rear and communications of the army operating in vast areas. The conqueror of Europe did not count on a blitzkrieg, although he was going to quickly defeat the main forces of the Russian army one by one even in the border areas.

On the evening of June 24 (11), 1812, a patrol of the Life Guards of the Cossack Regiment under the command of the cornet Alexander Nikolaevich Rubashkin noticed suspicious movement on the Neman River. When it got completely dark, a company of French sappers crossed the river from the elevated and wooded Polish coast to the Russian coast in boats and ferries, with which there was a shootout. It happened three versts up the river from Kovno (Kaunas, Lithuania).

At 6 am on June 25 (12), the vanguard of the French troops had already entered Kovno. The crossing of 220 thousand soldiers of the Great Army near Kovno took 4 days. The river was crossed by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd infantry corps, guards and cavalry. Emperor Alexander I was at a ball with Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen in Vilna, where he was informed about Napoleon's invasion.

On June 30 (17) - July 1 (June 18), near Prena, south of Kovno, the Neman crossed another group (79 thousand soldiers: the 6th and 4th infantry corps, cavalry) under the command of the Viceroy of Italy, Napoleon's stepson, Eugene Beauharnais. Almost simultaneously on July 1 (June 18) even further south, near Grodno, the Neman crossed 4 corps (78-79 thousand soldiers: 5th, 7th, 8th infantry and 4th cavalry corps) under the general command of the king of Westphalia, brother Napoleon, Jerome Bonaparte.

In the northern direction, near Tilsit, the Neman crossed the 10th Corps of Marshal Etienne Jacques Macdonald. In the southern direction from Warsaw through the Bug, a separate Austrian corps of General Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg (30-33 thousand soldiers) began to invade.

On June 29 (16) Vilna was occupied. Napoleon, having arranged state affairs in occupied Lithuania, left the city following his troops only on July 17 (4).

The French emperor aimed the 10th corps (32 thousand people) of Marshal E.Zh. Macdonald to Petersburg. Previously, the corps was to occupy Riga, and then, connecting with the 2nd corps of Marshal Charles Nicolas Oudinot (28 thousand people), move on. The basis of MacDonald's corps was 20 thousand Prussian soldiers under the command of General Yu.A. Engraver.

Marshal MacDonald approached the fortifications of Riga, however, having no siege artillery, he stopped at the distant approaches to the city. The military governor of Riga, General Ivan Nikolaevich Essen, burned the suburbs and prepared for defense. Trying to support Oudinot, MacDonald captured the abandoned city of Dinaburg (now Daugavpils in Latvia) on the Western Dvina River and stopped active operations, waiting for siege artillery from East Prussia. The Prussian military from MacDonald's corps avoided active combat clashes in a foreign war for them, however, they offered active resistance and repeatedly beat off the attacks of the defenders of Riga with heavy losses.

Marshal Oudinot, having occupied the city of Polotsk, decided to go around from the north a separate corps of General Pyotr Khristianovich Wittgenstein (17 thousand people with 84 guns), allocated by the commander-in-chief of the 1st Army M.B. Barclay de Tolly during the retreat through Polotsk to defend the St. Petersburg direction.

Fearing a connection between Oudinot and MacDonald, P.Kh. Wittgenstein, unexpectedly for the enemy, attacked Oudinot's corps near Klyastitsy.

On July 29 (16), near the town of Vilkomir, 3 French cavalry regiments (12 squadrons) were unexpectedly attacked by 4 squadrons of the Grodno Hussars under the command of Major General Yakov Petrovich Kulnev and Don Cossacks Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Platov 4th (nephew of M.I. Platov) , Major Ivan Andreevich Selivanov 2nd, Colonel Mark Ivanovich Rodionov 2nd. Despite their numerical superiority, the French were overwhelmed, their advance stopped for several hours. Then, while on reconnaissance, near the village of Chernevo, hussars and Cossacks Ya.P. Kulnev struck at parts of the cavalry division of General Sebastiani. The enemy suffered heavy losses.

At the same time, Marshal Oudinot occupied the village of Klyastitsy, having 28 thousand soldiers and 114 guns available against the Russian 17 thousand. However, General P.Kh. Wittgenstein decided to attack, taking advantage of the extended French forces. The avant-garde of Ya.P. Kulnev (3700 horsemen, 12 guns), he was followed by the main forces of P.Kh. Wittgenstein (13 thousand soldiers, 72 guns).

On July 31 (18) at 2 p.m., the Russian avant-garde under the command of Ya.P. Kulneva encountered the French avant-garde near the village of Yakubovo. The oncoming battle continued until the end of the day. Ya.P. Kulnev tried to oust the French from the village, but after a series of fierce battles, the French kept this settlement.

On August 1 (July 19), the main Russian forces entered the battle, and after several attacks and counterattacks, Yakubovo was captured. Oudinot was forced to retreat to Klyastitsy.

To continue the attack on Klyastitsy, it was necessary to force the Nishcha River. Oudinot ordered the construction of a powerful battery and ordered the destruction of the only bridge. While the detachment of Ya.P. Kulnev was crossing the ford to bypass the positions of the French, the 2nd battalion of the Pavlovsky Grenadier Regiment attacked right across the burning bridge. The French were forced to retreat.

General Ya.P. Kulnev continued the pursuit with 2 cavalry regiments together with the Cossacks I.I. Platov 4th, I.A. Selivanov 2nd, M.I. Rodionov 2nd, infantry battalion and artillery battery. After crossing the Drissa River on August 2 (July 20), he was ambushed near the village of Boyarshchino. The artillery of the French shot the detachment of Ya.P. Kulnev from the dominant heights. He himself was mortally wounded.

Pursuing the Russian avant-garde, the division of the French General Jean Antoine Verdier, in turn, ran into the main forces of General P.Kh. Wittgenstein and was completely destroyed. P.H. Wittgenstein was slightly wounded.

Marshal Oudinot retreated beyond the Dvina, leaving the fortified Polotsk behind him. Thus, the French attack on Petersburg failed. Moreover, fearing the actions of General P.Kh. Wittgenstein on the supply routes of the Great Army, the French emperor was forced to weaken the main grouping of troops by sending the corps of General Gouvillon Saint-Cyr to the aid of Oudinot.

On the main - the Moscow direction, the Russian troops, retreating, fought rearguard battles, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. The main task was to combine the forces of the 1st and 2nd Western armies. The position of the 2nd Army of Bagration, which was threatened by encirclement, was especially difficult. It was not possible to break through to Minsk and connect with the army of Barclay de Tolly there, because. the path was cut off. Bagration changed the direction of movement, but the troops of Jerome Bonaparte overtook him. On July 9 (June 27), near the town of Mir, a battle took place between the rearguard of the Russian troops, the basis of which was the Cossack cavalry of Ataman M.I. Platov with the best part of the Napoleonic cavalry - the Polish cavalry regiments. The Polish lancers, who fell into the Cossack vent, were defeated and hastily retreated. The next day there was a new battle, and again the Don people won.

14 (2) - 15 (3) July, near the town of Romanovo, the Cossacks M.I. Platov held back the French for 2 days in order to allow army carts to cross the Pripyat. Platov's successful rearguard battles allowed the 2nd Army to reach Bobruisk without hindrance and concentrate its forces. All attempts to surround Bagration failed. Napoleon was furious that the Cossacks M.I. Platov was destroyed by the 1st Cavalry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Pshependovsky and the squadron of the 12th Lancers Regiment, as well as other units of the corps of General Latour-Maubourg. And his officers and soldiers were surprised and delighted that their wounded comrades who were captured (there were 360 ​​prisoners in total, including 17 officers) received medical care and care and were left in Romanov.

Bagration decided to advance to Mogilev. And in order to occupy the city before the approach of the French, he sent the 7th Infantry Corps of Lieutenant General N.N. Raevsky and the brigade of Colonel V.A. Sysoev, which consisted of 5 Don Cossack regiments. But the corps of Marshal Davout entered Mogilev much earlier. As a result, on July 23 (11) N.N. Raevsky had to repel the offensive of superior enemy forces between the villages of Saltanovka and Dashkovka. N.N. Raevsky personally led the soldiers into battle. Both sides suffered heavy losses; in furious bayonet attacks, the enemy was driven back, but the plan to break through Mogilev had to be abandoned. There was only one way left - to Smolensk. The furious resistance of the Russians misled Davout. He decided that he was fighting with the main forces of Bagration. The Napoleonic commander began to fortify himself near the village of Saltanovka, expecting a second Russian offensive. Thanks to this, Bagration gained time, managed to cross the Dnieper and break away from the French on the way to Smolensk.

At this time, the 3rd Western Army of Alexander Petrovich Tormasov operated very successfully. Already on July 25 (13), the Russians liberated the city of Brest-Litovsk, captured by French units. On July 28 (16), Tormasov captured Kobrin, capturing a 5,000-strong detachment of the Saxon Major General Klengel, led by himself.

August 11 (July 30) in the battle near Gorodechno, Lieutenant General E.I. Markov repulsed the attack of superior French forces. After these successes, the Southwestern Front stabilized. And here for a long time significant enemy forces were shackled.

Meanwhile, in the leadership of the Russian troops there were important changes. On July 19 (7), Emperor Alexander I, who was in the 1st Western Army with his entire retinue, which greatly hampered the normal staff and operational work of the army, left for St. Petersburg. Barclay de Tolly got the opportunity to fully implement his plan for waging war against Napoleon, developed by him in 1810-1812. In a generalized form, it boiled down to the following: first, to evade a general battle and retreat inland so as not to expose the army to the danger of defeat; secondly, to weaken the superior forces of the enemy and buy time to prepare fresh troops and militia.

Barclay de Tolly led the 1st Army to Vitebsk, where he hoped to wait for Bagration. The vanguard of the army under the command of A.I. Osterman-Tolstoy was sent to the village of Ostrovno to delay the advance of the French.

On July 24 (12) the battle with the advancing enemy began. The cavalry corps of Lieutenant General F.P. was sent to help Osterman-Tolstoy. Uvarov and the 3rd Infantry Division of Lieutenant General P.P. Konovnitsyn, who replaced the body of Osterman-Tolstoy. After 3 days of stubborn fighting with the superior forces of Marshal Murat, Konovnitsyn began to slowly, with fighting, retreat to the Luchesa River, where all Barclay's forces had already concentrated.

The fierce resistance of the Russians gave Napoleon the idea that they were ready to give the pitched battle he so wanted. The French emperor pulled his entire 150,000-strong group here (against 75,000 Russians). But Barclay de Tolly, having exposed the corps of Major General P.P. Palena, broke away from the French and moved to Smolensk. The troops of Marshals Ney and Murat were thrown on the flank and rear of the Russian army. In their vanguard, the division of General Horace Francois Sebastiniani was advancing, consisting of 9 cavalry and 1 infantry regiments. On July 27 (15), near the village of Molevo Boloto, they clashed in a fierce battle with 7 Cossack regiments and 12 guns of the Don horse artillery under the general command of Ataman M.I. Platov. The French were defeated and fled, pursued by the Don people, and the hussars P.P. who joined them at the end of the battle. Palena. About 300 privates and 12 officers were taken prisoner. In addition, the Cossacks seized the personal documents of O.F. Sebastiniani, the content of which indicated that the French command knew the plans of the leadership of the Russian army, i.e. Napoleonic spy settled in the headquarters of Barclay de Tolly.

On August 2 (July 21), near the city of Krasny, the troops of Marshals Ney and Murat fought with the 27th Infantry Division of Lieutenant General D.P. Neverovsky, which consisted of 7 thousand recruits not fired.

The whole day, lining up in a square and slowly moving towards Smolensk, this small detachment fought heroically, repelling 45 attacks of Murat's cavalry and numerous attacks of Ney's infantry.

The delay of the enemy near Krasnoye allowed Barclay de Tolly to bring the 1st Army to Smolensk. And on August 3 (July 22), the 2nd Army of Bagration approached Smolensk. As a result of all these efforts, Napoleon's plan to defeat the two Russian armies one by one collapsed.

For two days, August 4 and 5 (July 23 - 24), there were stubborn battles under the walls of Smolensk. On August 6 and 7 (July 25 - 26), the battle continued for the city itself.

But even here there was no general battle. Encouraged by the heroism of Russian soldiers and officers and private successes, many military leaders insisted on going on the offensive. However, Barclay de Tolly, having weighed everything, decided to continue the retreat. August 7 (July 26) Russian troops left Smolensk.

Napoleon threw his best forces after them - two infantry and two cavalry corps - about 35 thousand people. They were opposed by the rearguard of General Pavel Alekseevich Tuchkov, numbering 3 thousand people, half of which were Don Cossacks under the command of Major General A.A. Karpov and a company (12 guns) of the Don Horse Artillery.

Already on the morning of August 7 (July 26), Marshal Ney attacked the corps of P.A. Tuchkov near Valutina Gora (Battle of Lubinsk), but was driven back. However, the onslaught of the enemy increased. Our rearguard retreated a little and entrenched itself at the turn of the Stragan River. Chief of Staff of the 1st Army A.P. Ermolov strengthened P.A. Tuchkov the first cavalry corps, which included the Life Guards Cossack regiment and 4 hussar regiments. Now the forces of the Russian corps have grown to 10 thousand people. As the enemy attacks intensified, Barclay de Tolly strengthened Tuchkov's corps with new units. The 3rd Infantry Corps of General P.P. approached the village of Dubino. Konovnitsyn. After that, 15 thousand Russians opposed the corps of Ney, Murat and Junot who joined them. Cossacks and hussars under the command of Count V.V. Orlov-Denisov, using the "venter", was ambushed near the village of Zabolotye and inflicted great damage on Murat's cavalry.

In total, the enemy lost about 9 thousand people that day, and the Russians - more than 5 thousand people. During the night attack, General P.A. was seriously wounded and captured. Tuchkov.

But his troops resisted and made it possible for the 1st and 2nd armies to break away from the pursuit of the French troops.

Russian units retreated in three columns. They were covered by rearguard detachments: Southern - under the command of General K.K. Sievers, Central - under the command of General M.I. Platov, Severny - under the command of General K.A. Kreutz. But the main burden of the fighting fell on the M.I. Platov. It consisted of 8 incomplete Don Cossack regiments: Atamansky, Balabin S.F., Vlasov M.G., Grekov T.D., Denisov V.T., Zhirov I.I., Ilovaisky N.V., Kharitonova K.I. and one Simferopol equestrian Tatar.

On August 9 (July 28), Platov's fighters held back the onslaught of the French at the Soloviev crossing across the Dnieper. On August 10 (July 29), the enemy was detained at Pneva Sloboda, and in the meantime, 7 infantry battalions, 18 squadrons of hussars and lancers and 22 guns, including the Don horse artillery, arrived to reinforce them, under the command of Major General G.V. Rosen, took a comfortable position near the village of Mikhailovka. Where they fought off enemy attacks on August 11 and 12 (July 30 and 31). On August 13 (1), Napoleonic troops were detained for a whole day near the city of Dorogobuzh at the turn of the Osma River. On August 14 (2), the Cossacks and Tatars of Platov, fettered the offensive of the French avant-garde, remaining in their positions, providing an opportunity for the detachment of G.V. Rosen, withdraw and gain a foothold near the village of Belomirskoye. On August 15 (3) the battle here lasted from 11 am to 8 pm. On this day, the Cossacks rushed to attack the enemy 6 times and lost more killed and wounded than during the entire time since the beginning of the war.

On the evening of August 16 (4) M.I. Platov handed over command of the rearguard to General P.P. Konovnitsin and went to Moscow to resolve the accumulated issues: the formation and dispatch of the Don militia to the theater of operations - 26 regiments, the supply of regiments already fighting against the French army, and many others. The rearguard continued to carry out its assigned tasks. Thanks to this, the main forces of the Russian army retreated without heavy losses.