How the Russian army first took Berlin

Capture of Berlin Soviet troops in 1945 put a winning point in the Great Patriotic War. The red flag over the Reichstag, even decades later, remains the most striking symbol of the Victory. But the Soviet soldiers marching on Berlin were not pioneers. Their ancestors first stepped into the streets of the surrendered German capital two centuries before ...

The Seven Years' War, which began in 1756, was the first full-scale European conflict in which Russia was drawn.

The rapid strengthening of Prussia under the rule of the militant King Frederick II worried the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and forced her to join the anti-Prussian coalition of Austria and France.

Frederick II, not inclined to diplomacy, called this coalition "an alliance of three women", referring to Elizabeth, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and the favorite of the French king, the Marquise de Pompadour.

War with an eye

Russia's entry into the war in 1757 was rather cautious and indecisive.

The second reason according to which the Russian military leaders did not seek to force events, there was a deteriorating state of health of the empress. It was known that the heir to the throne, Pyotr Fedorovich, was an ardent admirer of the Prussian king and a categorical opponent of the war with him.

Frederick II the Great

First major battle Russians with the Prussians, which happened at Gross-Jägersdorf in 1757, to the great surprise of Frederick II, ended with the victory of the Russian army. This success, however, was offset by the fact that the commander of the Russian army, Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin, ordered a retreat after a victorious battle.

This step was explained by the news of the serious illness of the empress, and Apraksin was afraid of angering the new emperor, who was about to take the throne.

But Elizaveta Petrovna recovered, Apraksin was removed from his post and sent to prison, where he soon died.

Miracle for the King

The war continued, more and more turning into a struggle of attrition, which was unprofitable for Prussia - the country's resources were significantly inferior to the enemy's reserves, and even the financial support of allied England could not compensate for this difference.

In August 1759, at the Battle of Kunersdorf, the allied Russian-Austrian forces utterly defeated the army of Frederick II.

Alexander Kotzebue. "Battle of Kunersdorf" (1848)

The king's condition was close to despair.“In truth, I believe that all is lost. I will not survive the death of my Fatherland. Goodbye forever", Friedrich wrote to his minister.

The road to Berlin was open, but a conflict arose between the Russians and the Austrians, as a result of which the moment for capturing the Prussian capital and ending the war was lost. Frederick II, taking advantage of the sudden respite, managed to raise a new army and continue the war. The delay of the Allies, which saved him, he called "the miracle of the House of Brandenburg."

Throughout 1760, Frederick II managed to resist the superior forces of the allies., which were hampered by inconsistency. At the Battle of Liegnitz, the Prussians defeated the Austrians.

Unsuccessful assault

The French and Austrians, concerned about the situation, urged the Russian army to step up their actions. Berlin was proposed as a target for her.

The capital of Prussia was not a powerful fortress. Weak walls, turning into a wooden palisade - the Prussian kings did not expect that they would have to fight in their own capital.

Frederick himself was distracted by the fight against the Austrian troops in Silesia, where he had an excellent chance of success. Under these conditions, at the request of the allies, the Russian army was given a directive to carry out a raid on Berlin.

The 20,000th Russian corps of Lieutenant General Zakhar Chernyshev advanced to the Prussian capital with the support of the 17,000th Austrian corps of Franz von Lassi.

Count Gottlob Kurt Heinrich von Totleben

The Russian avant-garde was commanded by Gottlob Totleben, a born German who lived in Berlin for a long time and dreamed of the sole glory of the conqueror of the Prussian capital.

Totleben's troops arrived in Berlin before the main forces. In Berlin, they hesitated as to whether it was worth holding the line, but under the influence of Friedrich Seydlitz, the commander of Frederick's cavalry, who was treated in the city after being wounded, they decided to fight.

The first assault attempt ended in failure. The fires that started in the city after the shelling by the Russian army were quickly extinguished, out of the three attacking columns, only one managed to break through directly to the city, but they also had to retreat due to the desperate resistance of the defenders.

victory with scandal

Following this, the Prussian corps of Prince Eugene of Württemberg came to the aid of Berlin, which forced Totleben to retreat.

In the capital of Prussia, they rejoiced early - the main forces of the allies approached Berlin. General Chernyshev began to prepare a decisive assault.

On the evening of September 27, a military council met in Berlin, at which a decision was made - due to the complete superiority of the enemy, the city should be surrendered. At the same time, the parliamentarians were sent to the ambitious Totleben, believing that it would be easier to negotiate with a German than with a Russian or an Austrian.

Totleben really went to meet the besieged, allowing the surrendered Prussian garrison to leave the city.

At that moment, when Totleben entered the city, he met with Lieutenant Colonel Rzhevsky, who arrived to negotiate with the Berliners on the terms of surrender on behalf of General Chernyshev. Totleben told the lieutenant colonel to tell him that he had already taken the city and received symbolic keys from it.

Chernyshev arrived in the city beside himself with rage - Totleben's amateur performance, backed up, as it turned out later, by a bribe from the Berlin authorities, categorically did not suit him. The general gave the order to begin the pursuit of the outgoing Prussian troops. The Russian cavalry overtook the units retreating to Spandau and defeated them.

“If Berlin is destined to be busy, then let it be the Russians”

The population of Berlin was horrified by the appearance of the Russians, who were described as absolute savages, but, to the surprise of the townspeople, the soldiers of the Russian army behaved with dignity, not committing excesses against civilians. But the Austrians, who had personal scores with the Prussians, did not restrain themselves - they robbed houses, passers-by on the streets, smashed everything they could reach. It got to the point that the Russian patrols had to reason with the allies with the help of weapons.

The stay of the Russian army in Berlin lasted six days. Frederick II, having learned about the fall of the capital, immediately sent an army from Silesia to help the main city of the country. The battle with the main forces of the Prussian army was not part of Chernyshev's plans - he completed his task of distracting Friedrich. Having collected trophies, the Russian army left the city.

Russians in Berlin. Engraving by Daniel Chodovetsky.

The King of Prussia, having received a report of minimal destruction in the capital, remarked: "Thanks to the Russians, they saved Berlin from the horrors with which the Austrians threatened my capital." But these words of Friedrich were intended only for the immediate environment. The monarch, who highly appreciated the power of propaganda, ordered his subjects to be informed about the monstrous atrocities of the Russians in Berlin.

However, not everyone wanted to support this myth. The German scientist Leonid Euler wrote in a letter to a friend about the Russian raid on the Prussian capital: “We had a visit here that would have been extremely pleasant under other circumstances. However, I always wished that if Berlin was ever destined to be occupied by foreign troops, then let it be Russians ... "

What Frederick is salvation, Peter is death

The departure of the Russians from Berlin was a pleasant event for Frederick, but it was not of key importance for the outcome of the war. By the end of 1760, he completely lost the opportunity for a qualitative replenishment of the army, driving prisoners of war into its ranks, who very often ran across to the side of the enemy. offensive operations the army could not lead, and the king increasingly thought about abdicating the throne.

The Russian army took full control East Prussia, whose population has already sworn allegiance to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

At this very moment, Frederick II was helped by the "second miracle of the House of Brandenburg" - the death of the Russian Empress. Peter III, who replaced her on the throne, not only immediately made peace with his idol and returned to him all the territories conquered by Russia, but also provided troops for the war with yesterday's allies.

Peter III

What turned out to be happiness for Frederick cost Peter III dearly. The Russian army and, first of all, the guard did not appreciate the broad gesture, considering it insulting. As a result, the coup, soon organized by the emperor's wife Ekaterina Alekseevna, went like clockwork. Following this, the deposed emperor died under circumstances not completely clarified.

But the Russian army firmly remembered the road to Berlin, laid in 1760, in order to return whenever needed.

ALWAYS POSSIBLE

The capture of Berlin militarily was not particularly successful, but it had a great political resonance. All European capitals quickly flew around the phrase uttered by the favorite of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Count I.I. Shuvalov: “You can’t reach Petersburg from Berlin, but you can always get from Petersburg to Berlin.”

COURSE OF EVENTS

The dynastic contradictions of the European courts in the 18th century resulted in a bloody and long war "for the Austrian inheritance" of 1740-1748. Military fortune was on the side of the Prussian king Frederick II, who managed not only to expand his possessions by taking away the rich province of Silesia from Austria, but also to increase the foreign policy weight of Prussia, turning it into a powerful Central European power. However, this state of affairs could not suit other European countries, and especially Austria, which was then the leader of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Friedrich II that the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and the court of Vienna would strive to restore not only the integrity of their state, but also the prestige of the state.

The confrontation between the two German states in Central Europe led to the emergence of two powerful blocs: Austria and France opposed the coalition of England and Prussia. In 1756, the Seven Years' War began. The decision to join Russia to the anti-Prussian coalition was made by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna in 1757, since the numerous defeats of the Austrians threatened the capture of Vienna, and the excessive strengthening of Prussia was in conflict with the foreign policy of the Russian court. Russia also feared for the position of its newly annexed Baltic possessions.

Russia acted successfully in the Seven Years' War, more successfully than all the other sides, won brilliant victories in key battles. But she did not take advantage of their fruits - in any case, Russia did not receive territorial acquisitions. The latter stemmed from internal court circumstances.

At the end of the 1750s. Empress Elizabeth was often ill. They feared for her life. Elizabeth's heir was her nephew, the son of Anna's eldest daughter - Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy, his name was Karl Peter Ulrich. Almost immediately after birth, he lost his mother, was left without a father in childhood and took his father's Holstein throne. Prince Karl Peter Ulrich was the grandson of Peter I and great-nephew of the Swedish King Charles XII. At one time he was being prepared to become the heir to the Swedish throne.

The young duke of Holstein was brought up with exceptional mediocrity. The main pedagogical tool was the rod. This took a toll on the boy, whose natural abilities were thought to be limited. When in 1742 the 13-year-old Holstein prince was discharged to St. Petersburg, he made a depressing impression on everyone with his underdevelopment, bad manners and contempt for Russia. The ideal of Grand Duke Peter was Frederick II. As Duke of Holstein, Peter was a vassal of Frederick II. Many feared that he would be a "vassal" of the Prussian king, and take the Russian throne.

The courtiers and ministers knew that if Peter III came to the throne, Russia would immediately end the war as part of the anti-Prussian coalition. But still the reigning Elizabeth demanded victories over Frederick. As a result, the military leaders sought to inflict defeat on the Prussians, but "not fatal."

In the first major battle between the Prussian and Russian troops, which took place on August 19, 1757 near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, our army was commanded by S.F. Apraksin. He defeated the Prussians, but did not pursue them. On the contrary, he withdrew himself, which allowed Frederick II to put his army in order and transfer it against the French.

Elizabeth, having recovered from another illness, removed Apraksin. His place was taken by V.V. Fermor. In 1758, the Russians captured the capital of East Prussia, Koenigsberg. Then followed a bloody battle near the village of Zorndorf, both sides suffered heavy losses, but did not defeat each other, although each side declared its "victory".

In 1759 at the head Russian troops P.S. stood up in Prussia. Saltykov. On August 12, 1759, the Battle of Kunersdorf took place, which became the crown of Russian victories in the Seven Years' War. 41,000 Russian soldiers, 5,200 Kalmyk cavalry and 18,500 Austrians fought under Saltykov. The Prussian troops were commanded by Frederick II himself, with 48,000 men in service.

The battle began at 9 o'clock in the morning, when the Prussian artillery dealt a crushing blow to the Russian artillery batteries. Most of the gunners died under the buckshot, some did not even have time to make a single volley. By 11 o'clock in the afternoon, Friedrich realizes that the left flank of the Russian-Austrian troops is extremely weakly fortified, and attacks it with superior forces. Saltykov decides to retreat, and the army, keeping the order of battle, retreats. At 6 pm, the Prussians captured all the artillery of the allies - 180 guns, of which 16 were immediately sent to Berlin as war trophies. Friedrich celebrated the victory.

However, Russian troops continued to hold two strategic heights: Spitzberg and Judenberg. An attempt to capture these points with the help of cavalry failed: the inconvenient terrain of the area did not allow Frederick's cavalry to turn around, and they all died under a hail of buckshot and bullets. A horse was killed near Frederick, and the commander himself miraculously escaped. Frederick's last reserve, life cuirassiers, was thrown into Russian positions, but the Chuguev Kalmyks not only stopped this attack, but also captured the cuirassier commander.

Realizing that Frederick's reserves were depleted, Saltykov ordered a general offensive, which threw the Prussians into a panic. Trying to flee, the soldiers crowded on the bridge over the Oder River, many drowned. Frederick himself admitted that the defeat of his army was complete: out of 48 thousand Prussians after the battle, only 3 thousand were in the ranks, and the guns captured at the first stage of the battle were repulsed. Frederick's despair is best shown in one of his letters: “From an army of 48,000, I don’t have even 3,000 left at this moment. Everything is running, and I no longer have power over the army. In Berlin, they will do well if they think about their safety. A cruel misfortune, I will not survive it. The consequences of the battle will be even worse than the battle itself: I have no more means, and to tell the truth, I consider everything lost. I will not survive the loss of my fatherland."

One of the trophies of Saltykov's army was the famous cocked hat of Frederick II, which is still kept in the museum in St. Petersburg. Frederick II himself almost became a prisoner of the Cossacks.

The victory at Kunersdorf allowed the Russian troops to occupy Berlin. The forces of Prussia were so weakened that Frederick could only continue the war with the support of the allies. In the campaign of 1760, Saltykov hoped to capture Danzig, Kolberg and Pomerania, and from there proceed to capture Berlin. The plans of the commander were realized only in part because of the inconsistency of actions with the Austrians. In addition, the commander-in-chief himself fell dangerously ill at the end of August and was forced to surrender command to Fermor, who was replaced by A.B., the favorite of Elizabeth Petrovna, who arrived in early October. Buturlin.

In turn, the building of Z.G. Chernyshev with the cavalry of G. Totleben and the Cossacks made a trip to the capital of Prussia. On September 28, 1760, the advancing Russian troops entered capitulated Berlin. (It is curious that when in February 1813, pursuing the remnants of Napoleon's army, the Russians occupied Berlin for the second time, Chernyshev was again at the head of the army - but not Zakhar Grigoryevich, but Alexander Ivanovich). The trophies of the Russian army were one and a half hundred guns, 18 thousand firearms, almost two million thalers of indemnity were received. 4.5 thousand people who were in German captivity Austrians, Germans and Swedes.

After staying in the city for four days, the Russian troops left it. Frederick II and his Great Prussia were on the verge of destruction. Corps P.A. Rumyantsev took the fortress of Kolberg ... At this decisive moment, the Russian Empress Elizabeth died. Having ascended the throne, Peter III stopped the war with Frederick, began to offer help to Prussia and, of course, broke off the anti-Prussian alliance with Austria.

Have any of those born in the world heard,
So that the triumphant people
Surrendered into the hands of the vanquished?
Oh shame! Oh, strange twist!

Thus, M.V. Lomonosov about events Seven Years' War. Such an illogical end to the Prussian campaign and the brilliant victories of the Russian army did not bring Russia any territorial gains. But the victories of Russian soldiers were not in vain - the authority of Russia as a powerful military power has grown.

Note that this war became a military school for the outstanding Russian commander Rumyantsev. For the first time, he showed himself at Gross-Jägersdorf, when, leading the infantry of the vanguard, he fought his way through the thicket of the forest and hit the bayonets of the discouraged Prussians, which decided the outcome of the battle.

Do you know that our troops took Berlin three times?! 1760 - 1813 - 1945.

Without even diving into the depths of centuries, when the Prussians and Russians sang, prayed and cursed in the same (or very similar) language, we find that in the campaign of 1760, during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the commander-in-chief Field Marshal Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov captured Berlin, at that time only the capital of Prussia.

Austria just quarreled with this northern neighbor and called for help from a powerful eastern neighbor - Russia. When the Austrians were friends with the Prussians, they fought together with the Russians.

It was the time of gallant conquering kings, the heroic image of Charles XII had not yet been forgotten, and Frederick II was already trying to surpass him. And he, like Karl, was not always lucky ... It took only 23 thousand people to march on Berlin: the corps of General Zakhar Grigorievich Chernyshev with the attached Don Cossacks Krasnoshchekov, Totleben's cavalry and Austrian allies under the command of General Lassi.

The Berlin garrison, numbering 14 thousand bayonets, was protected by the natural border of the river Spree (Schpree), Kopenick Castle, flushes and palisades. But, not counting on his wards, the commandant of the city decided to immediately "make his feet" and, if it were not for the militant chiefs Lewald, Seydlitz and Knobloch, the battle would not have happened at all.

Ours tried to cross the Spree, but the Prussians forced them to take a sip of water, it did not work out on the move to seize a bridgehead for the assault. But soon the stubbornness of the attackers was rewarded: three hundred Russian grenadiers, renowned masters of bayonet fighting, burst into the Gali and Cottbus gates. But, not having received reinforcements in time, they lost 92 people killed and were forced to retreat from the Berlin Wall. The second assault detachment, commanded by Major Patkul, retreated without loss at all.

TO berlin wall troops from both sides flocked: the regiments of Chernyshev and the prince of Wirtenberg. The Prussian cuirassiers of General Gulsen - armored vehicles of the eighteenth century - wanted to come out of Potsdam and crush the Russians near the town of Lichtenberg. Ours met them with shrapnel volleys of horse artillery - the prototype of the Katyushas. Not expecting anything like this, the heavy cavalry faltered and was overturned by Russian hussars with cuirassiers.

The morale of the troops was very high. This factor was valued in those days when they fought exclusively in the fresh air. The division of General Panin, having covered 75 versts in two days with only knapsacks on their backs and without ammunition and convoys, was in in full force from generals to privates is full of desire "to carry out this attack in the most perfect way."

It is difficult to say what would have happened to the Berlin garrison, but even the most belligerent of the Prussian generals decided not to take risks and evacuate the capital under cover of night. They chose Totleben, who was less eager to fight than others, and surrendered to him. Without consulting with Chernyshev, Totleben accepted the surrender, letting the Prussians through their positions. It is interesting that on the Russian side this surrender, not unconditional, but quite acceptable to the Germans, was accepted by Messrs. Totleben, Brink and Bachmann. From German - negotiations were conducted by gentlemen Wigner with Bachman - our namesake.

One can imagine how Commander-in-Chief Chernyshev felt when he learned that the Prussians were "surrendered" and he was deprived of a valiant victory. He rushed in pursuit of the slowly and culturally retreating enemy columns and began to crumble their orderly rows into cabbage.

Behind Totleben, on the other hand, they established covert supervision and soon received irrefutable evidence that he was connected with the enemy. They wanted to shoot a high-ranking double-dealer, but Catherine took pity on Totleben, who was fed by Friedrich. Their own people. The surname Totlebenov in Rus' was not interrupted, during Crimean War military engineer Totleben built beautiful fortifications around Sevastopol.

STORM NAMED AFTER BENKENDORFF

Another Berlin operation happened when the Russians were driving Napoleon's army from under the walls of the fire-damaged Moscow. We did not call the Patriotic War of 1812 the Great, but the Russians nevertheless visited the capital of Prussia.

Lieutenant General Pyotr Khristianovich Wittgenstein commanded the Berlin direction in the 1813 campaign, but Chernyshev could not do without the surname: Cossack partisans under the command of Major General Prince Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev on February 6 raided Berlin, defended by French troops under the command of Marshal Augereau.

A few words about the attackers. At one time, military historians made an average portrait of an officer who participated in the Battle of Borodino. He turned out to be like this: age - thirty-one years, not married, since it is difficult to feed a family on one salary, in the army - more than ten years, a participant in four battles, knows two European languages, unable to read and write.

At the forefront of the main troops was Alexander Benckendorff - the future gendarmerie chief, the oppressor of free-thinking writers. He did not know then and hardly thought about it later, that only thanks to the writers will the pictures of peaceful life and battles be preserved in the memory of the people.

Unpretentious Russians drove the "cultural" enemy at an indecent speed for the latter. The Berlin garrison outnumbered the 1760 garrison by a thousand men, but the French were even less willing to defend the Prussian capital. They retreated to Leipzig, where Napoleon was concentrating his troops for a decisive battle. The Berliners opened the gates, the townspeople greeted the Russian soldiers-liberators. http://vk.com/rus_improvisation Their actions were contrary to the convention of the French, concluded by them with the Berlin police, obliged to inform the Russians about the enemy's retreat - not earlier than ten o'clock in the morning of the next day after the retreat.

The campaign of the thirteenth year had its own May 9th. Let us quote once again the "Letters of a Russian officer" F.N. Glinka:

"May 9 we had a common big battle, about which detailed description you will read in the newspapers and then in the magazine about the actions of a large army, when it is composed. I do not expand even in the description of the excellent actions of the left flank, which covered itself today with the most brilliant glory, commanded by the commander Count Miloradovich ... At the beginning of the case, Count Miloradovich, circling the regiments, said to the soldiers: remember that you are fighting on St. Nicholas Day! This saint of God has always given the Russians victories and now looks down on you from heaven!.."

VICTORY BANNER IN WOMEN'S HANDS

It is unlikely that in the spring of 1945, many in the warring armies knew that the Russians had already been near Berlin. But since they acted there in a completely businesslike way, the idea comes that the genetic memory of generations still exists.

The allies hurried as best they could to the "Berlin pie", against their powerful eighty divisions on the western front of the Germans there were only sixty German ones. But the Allies did not succeed in taking part in the capture of the "lair", the Red Army surrounded it and took it on its own.

The operation began with the fact that thirty-two detachments were sent to the city for reconnaissance in force. Then, when the operational situation was more or less clarified, guns rumbled, 7 million shells fell on the enemy. “Several machine-gun bursts crackled from the side of the enemy in the first seconds, and then everything calmed down. It seemed that there was no living creature left from the side of the enemy,” wrote one of the participants in the battle.

But it just seemed. Having dug in defense in depth, the Germans resisted stubbornly. The Seelow heights were especially difficult for our units, Zhukov promised Stalin to capture them on April 17, they took them only on the 18th. It was not without mistakes, after the war, critics agreed that it would be better to storm the city with a narrower front, perhaps one reinforced Belarusian one.

But be that as it may, by April 20, long-range artillery began to shell the city. And four days later the Red Army broke into the suburbs. It was not so difficult to pass them, the Germans were not preparing to fight here, but in the old part of the city the enemy again came to his senses and began to desperately resist.

When the Red Army men were on the banks of the Spree, Soviet command already appointed the commandant of the dilapidated Reichstag, and the battle went on. We must pay tribute to the elite SS units who fought for real and to the last ...

And soon a banner of the colors of the winner flew over the Reich Chancellery. Many people know about Yegorov and Kantaria, but for some reason they didn’t write about the one who raised the banner over the last stronghold of resisting fascism - the imperial office, and this person turned out to be a woman - an instructor in the political department of the 9th rifle corps Anna Vladimirovna Nikulina.

How the Russian army first took Berlin

The capture of Berlin by Soviet troops in 1945 marked the end of the Great Patriotic War. The red flag over the Reichstag, even decades later, remains the most striking symbol of the Victory. But the Soviet soldiers marching on Berlin were not pioneers. Their ancestors first stepped into the streets of the surrendered German capital two centuries before ...

The Seven Years' War, which began in 1756, was the first full-scale European conflict in which Russia was drawn.

War with an eye

Russia's entry into the war in 1757 was rather cautious and indecisive.

Frederick II the Great

The first major battle between the Russians and the Prussians, which took place at Gross-Jägersdorf in 1757, to the great surprise of Frederick II, ended with the victory of the Russian army. This success, however, was offset by the fact that the commander of the Russian army, Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin, ordered a retreat after a victorious battle.

This step was explained by the news of the serious illness of the empress, and Apraksin was afraid of angering the new emperor, who was about to take the throne.

But Elizaveta Petrovna recovered, Apraksin was removed from his post and sent to prison, where he soon died.

Miracle for the King

In August 1759, at the Battle of Kunersdorf, the allied Russian-Austrian forces utterly defeated the army of Frederick II.

Alexander Kotzebue. "Battle of Kunersdorf" (1848)

The king's condition was close to despair.“In truth, I believe that all is lost. I will not survive the death of my Fatherland. Goodbye forever", Friedrich wrote to his minister.

Throughout 1760, Frederick II managed to resist the superior forces of the allies., which were hampered by inconsistency. At the Battle of Liegnitz, the Prussians defeated the Austrians.

Unsuccessful assault

The French and Austrians, concerned about the situation, urged the Russian army to step up their actions. Berlin was proposed as a target for her.

The capital of Prussia was not a powerful fortress. Weak walls, turning into a wooden palisade - the Prussian kings did not expect that they would have to fight in their own capital.

The 20,000th Russian corps of Lieutenant General Zakhar Chernyshev advanced to the Prussian capital with the support of the 17,000th Austrian corps of Franz von Lassi.

Count Gottlob Kurt Heinrich von Totleben

The Russian avant-garde was commanded by Gottlob Totleben, a born German who lived in Berlin for a long time and dreamed of the sole glory of the conqueror of the Prussian capital.

victory with scandal

Following this, the Prussian corps of Prince Eugene of Württemberg came to the aid of Berlin, which forced Totleben to retreat.

In the capital of Prussia, they rejoiced early - the main forces of the allies approached Berlin. General Chernyshev began to prepare a decisive assault.

Totleben really went to meet the besieged, allowing the surrendered Prussian garrison to leave the city.

“If Berlin is destined to be busy, then let it be the Russians”

Russians in Berlin. Engraving by Daniel Chodovetsky.

What Frederick is salvation, Peter is death

The departure of the Russians from Berlin was a pleasant event for Frederick, but it was not of key importance for the outcome of the war. By the end of 1760, he completely lost the opportunity for a qualitative replenishment of the army, driving prisoners of war into its ranks, who very often ran across to the side of the enemy. The army could not conduct offensive operations, and the king was increasingly thinking about abdicating the throne.

The Russian army took full control of East Prussia, whose population had already sworn allegiance to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.

Peter III

But the Russian army firmly remembered the road to Berlin, laid in 1760, in order to return whenever needed.

The Seven Years' War was one of the first wars in history that can actually be called a world war. Almost all significant European powers were involved in the conflict, and fighting conducted on several continents at once. A series of complex and intricate diplomatic combinations served as a prelude to the conflict, resulting in two opposing alliances. At the same time, each of the allies had their own interests, often contradicting the interests of the allies, so relations between them were far from cloudless.

The immediate cause of the conflict was the dramatic rise of Prussia under Frederick II. Once a provincial kingdom skillful hands Frederick sharply increased, which became a threat to other powers. In the middle of the 18th century, the main struggle for leadership in continental Europe was between Austria and France. However, as a result of the War of the Austrian Succession, Prussia managed to defeat Austria and take away from her a very tasty morsel - Silesia, a large and developed region. This led to a sharp strengthening of Prussia, which began to cause concern Russian Empire for the Baltic region and the Baltic Sea, which at that time was the main one for Russia (there was no access to the Black Sea yet).

The Austrians were looking for revenge for their failure in the recent war when they lost Silesia. Skirmishes between the French and English colonists led to the fact that a war broke out between the two states. As a deterrent to the French on the Continent, the British decided to use Prussia. Frederick loved and knew how to fight, while the British had a weak land army. They were ready to give Friedrich money, and he was happy to put up soldiers. England and Prussia made an alliance. France took this as an alliance against itself (and rightly so) and made an alliance with its old rival, Austria, against Prussia. Frederick was sure that England would be able to keep Russia from entering the war, but in St. Petersburg they wanted to stop Prussia until she became too serious a threat, and it was decided to join the alliance of Austria and France.

Frederick II jokingly called this coalition the union of three skirts, since Austria and Russia were then ruled by women - Maria Theresa and Elizaveta Petrovna. Although France was formally ruled by Louis XV, his official mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour, had a huge influence on all French politics, through whose efforts an unusual alliance was created, which Frederick, of course, knew about and did not fail to prick the opponent.

The course of the war

Prussia had a very large and strong army, but the military forces of the allies in the aggregate greatly exceeded it, and Frederick's main ally, England, could not help militarily, limited only to subsidies and support at sea. However, the main battles unfolded on land, so Frederick had to rely on surprise and his skills.

At the very beginning of the war, he carried out a successful operation, capturing Saxony and replenishing his army with forcibly mobilized Saxon soldiers. Frederick counted on breaking the allies piecemeal, expecting that neither the Russian nor the French armies would be able to move quickly to the main theater of war and that he would have time to defeat Austria while she fought alone.

However, the Prussian king was unable to defeat the Austrians, although the forces of the parties were roughly comparable. But he managed to crush one of the French armies, which caused a serious drop in the prestige of this country, because its army was then considered the strongest in Europe.

For Russia, the war developed very successfully. The troops under the leadership of Apraksin occupied East Prussia and defeated the enemy in the Gross-Egersdorf battle. However, Apraksin not only did not develop success, but also began to urgently retreat, which pretty much surprised the Prussian opponents. For this, he was removed from command and arrested. During the investigation, Apraksin claimed that his rapid retreat was due to problems with fodder and food, but it is now believed that it was part of a failed court intrigue. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna at that moment became very ill, it was expected that she was about to die, and Peter III, who was known as a passionate admirer of Frederick, was the heir to the throne.

According to one version, in connection with this, Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin (famous for his complex and numerous intrigues) decided to carry out palace coup(he and Peter mutually hated each other) and put his son, Pavel Petrovich, on the throne, and Apraksin's army was needed to support the coup. But in the end, the Empress recovered from her illness, Apraksin died during the investigation, and Bestuzhev-Ryumin was sent into exile.

Miracle of the Brandenburg House

In 1759, the most important and most famous battle of the war took place - the Battle of Kunersdorf, in which the Russian-Austrian troops led by Saltykov and Laudon defeated the army of Friedrich. Friedrich lost all the artillery and almost all the troops, he himself was on the verge of death, the horse under him was killed, and he was saved only by a preparation (according to another version - a cigarette case) lying in his pocket. Fleeing along with the remnants of the army, Friedrich lost his hat, which was sent to St. Petersburg as a trophy (it is still kept in Russia).

Now the allies had only to continue the victorious march on Berlin, which Frederick could not actually defend, and force him to sign a peace treaty. But the allies quarreled at the very last moment and separated their armies, instead of pursuing the fleeing Frederick, who later called this situation the miracle of the House of Brandenburg. The contradictions between the allies were very great: the Austrians wanted the reconquest of Silesia and demanded that both armies move in that direction, while the Russians were afraid to stretch communications too much and offered to wait for the capture of Dresden and go to Berlin. As a result, the inconsistency did not allow reaching Berlin at that time.

Capture of Berlin

The following year, Frederick, who lost a large number of soldier, switched to tactics of small battles and maneuvers, exhausting his opponents. As a result of such tactics, the Prussian capital again turned out to be undefended, which both Russian and Austrian troops decided to take advantage of. Each of the parties was in a hurry to be the first to arrive at Berlin, since this would allow them to take the laurels of the conqueror of Berlin for themselves. Large European cities were not captured in every war, and, of course, the capture of Berlin would have been an event of a pan-European scale and would have made the military leader who carried it out the star of the continent.

Therefore, both Russian and Austrian troops almost ran to Berlin in order to get ahead of each other. The Austrians so wanted to be the first to be in Berlin that they walked for 10 days without rest, covering more than 400 miles during this period (that is, on average they walked about 60 kilometers a day). The Austrian soldiers did not grumble, although they did not care about the glory of the winner, they were simply aware that a huge contribution could be collected from Berlin, the thought of which drove them forward.

However, the Russian detachment under the command of Gottlob Totleben managed to arrive the very first to Berlin. He was a famous European adventurer who managed to serve at many courts, leaving some of them with great scandal. Already during the Seven Years' War, Totleben (by the way, an ethnic German) found himself in the service of Russia and, having proven himself well on the battlefield, rose to the rank of general.

Berlin was very poorly fortified, but the garrison stationed there was sufficient to defend against a small Russian detachment. Totleben attempted an assault, but eventually retreated and laid siege to the city. In early October, a detachment of the Prince of Württemberg approached the city and forced Totleben to retreat with battles. But then the main Russian forces of Chernyshev (who exercised overall command) approached Berlin, followed by the Austrians of Lassi.

Now the numerical superiority was already on the side of the allies, and the defenders of the city did not believe in their strength. Not wanting unnecessary bloodshed, the Berlin leadership decided to surrender. The city was surrendered to Totleben, which was a cunning calculation. Firstly, he was the first to arrive at the city and the first to begin the siege, which means that the honor of the conqueror belonged to him, secondly, he was an ethnic German, and the inhabitants expected him to show humanism to his compatriots, thirdly, the city it was better to hand it over to the Russians, and not to the Austrians, since the Russians in this war had no personal accounts with the Prussians, but the Austrians entered the war, guided by a thirst for revenge, and, of course, would have plundered the city cleanly.

One of the richest merchants in Prussia, Gochkovsky, who participated in the negotiations on the surrender, recalled: “There was nothing left to do but try, if possible, to avoid disaster through humility and persuasion with the enemy. Then the question arose of who to give the city to, the Russians or the Austrians. They asked my opinion , and I said that, in my opinion, it is much better to negotiate with the Russians than with the Austrians; that the Austrians are real enemies, and the Russians only help them; that they first approached the city and formally demanded surrender; which, as you can hear, in number they are superior to the Austrians, who, being notorious enemies, will deal with the city much more cruelly than the Russians, and these can be better negotiated. This opinion was respected. The governor, Lieutenant General Von Rochov, joined him, and thus the garrison surrendered to the Russians " .

On October 9, 1760, members of the city magistrate brought to Totleben a symbolic key to Berlin, the city came under the commandant of Bachmann, appointed by Totleben. This aroused the indignation of Chernyshev, who was in charge of the overall command of the troops, and whom he did not inform about the acceptance of the surrender. Because of Chernyshev's complaints about such arbitrariness, Totleben was not awarded an order and was not promoted, although he had already been nominated for an award.

Negotiations began on an indemnity, which the conquered city paid to the side that captured it and in exchange for which the army refrained from ruining and plundering the city.

Totleben, at the insistence of General Fermor (commander-in-chief of the Russian troops), demanded 4 million thalers from Berlin. Russian generals knew about the wealth of Berlin, but such a sum was very large even for such a rich city. Gochkovsky recalled: “The mayor of Kirkheisen fell into complete despair and almost lost his tongue from fear. The Russian generals thought that the head was pretending to be drunk or drunk, and indignantly ordered him to be taken to the guardhouse. that the mayor has been suffering from attacks of vertigo for several years."

As a result of tedious negotiations with members of the Berlin magistrate, the amount of spare money was reduced several times. Instead of 40 barrels of gold, only 15 plus 200 thousand thalers were taken. There was also a problem with the Austrians, who were late to the division of the pie, as the city had surrendered directly to the Russians. The Austrians were unhappy with this fact and now demanded their share, otherwise they were going to start looting. Yes, and the relationship between the allies was far from ideal, Totleben wrote in his report on the capture of Berlin: “All the streets were full of Austrians, so I had to appoint 800 people to protect against robbery by these troops, and then an infantry regiment with Brigadier Benckendorff, and place all the equestrian grenadiers in the city. Finally, since the Austrians attacked my guards and beat them, I ordered to shoot at them. "

Part of the money received was promised to be transferred to the Austrians in order to stop them from plundering. After receiving the indemnity, the city property remained intact, but all the royal (that is, personally owned by Frederick) factories, shops and manufactories were ruined. Nevertheless, the magistrate managed to keep the gold and silver manufactories, convincing Totleben that, although they belong to the king, the income from them does not go to the royal treasury, but to the maintenance of the Potsdam orphanage, and he ordered the factories to be deleted from the list to be ruined.

After receiving indemnity and the ruin of Friedrich's factories, the Russian-Austrian troops left Berlin. At this time, Frederick and his army were moving towards the capital to liberate it, but there was no point in holding Berlin for the allies, they had already received everything they wanted from him, so they left the city after a few days.

The stay of the Russian army in Berlin, although it caused understandable inconvenience to the local residents, was nevertheless perceived by them as the lesser of evils. Gochkovsky testified in his memoirs: “I and the whole city can testify that this general (Totleben) acted with us more like a friend than an enemy. What would happen with another commander? "And what would happen if we fell under the rule of the Austrians, in order to curb them, from robbery in the city, Count Totleben had to resort to shooting?"

The Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburg

By 1762, all the participants in the conflict had exhausted their resources to continue the war, and active hostilities had practically ceased. After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter III became the new emperor, considering Frederick one of the the greatest people of his time. His conviction was shared by many contemporaries and all descendants, Frederick was indeed unique and known at the same time as the king-philosopher, the king-musician and the king-commander. Thanks to his efforts, Prussia turned from a provincial kingdom into a center for the unification of German lands, all subsequent German regimes, from the German Empire and the Weimar Republic, continuing with the Third Reich and ending with modern democratic Germany, honored him as the father of the nation and German statehood. In Germany, since the birth of cinema, a separate genre of cinema has even emerged: films about Friedrich.

Therefore, Peter had reason to admire him and seek an alliance, only this was not done very thoughtfully. Peter concluded a separate peace treaty with Prussia and returned East Prussia to her, the inhabitants of which had already sworn allegiance to Elizaveta Petrovna. In return, Prussia pledged to help in the war with Denmark for Schleswig, which was to be transferred to Russia. However, this war did not have time to start due to the overthrow of the emperor by his wife, who, however, left the peace treaty in force without resuming the war.

It was this sudden and so happy for Prussia death of Elizabeth and the accession of Peter that was called by the Prussian king the second miracle of the House of Brandenburg. As a result, Prussia, which did not have the opportunity to continue the war, having withdrawn the most combat-ready enemy from the war, was among the winners.

The main loser of the war was France, which lost almost all North American possessions, which passed to Britain, and suffered heavy casualties. Austria and Prussia, which also suffered huge losses, maintained the pre-war status quo, which was in fact in the interests of Prussia. Russia did not gain anything, but did not lose pre-war territories either. In addition, her military losses were the smallest among all the participants in the war on the European continent, thanks to which she became the owner of the strongest army with rich military experience. It was this war that became the first baptism of fire for the young and unknown officer Alexander Suvorov, the future illustrious military leader.

The actions of Peter III laid the foundation for the reorientation of Russian diplomacy from Austria to Prussia and the creation of a Russian-Prussian alliance. Prussia became a Russian ally for the next century. The vector of Russian expansion gradually began to shift from the Baltic and Scandinavia to the south, to the Black Sea.