Patriotic War of 1812 August 26. Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills

Already in Moscow, that this war would turn out for him not as a brilliant victory, but as a shameful flight from Russia distraught soldiers of his once great army that conquered all of Europe? In 1807, after the defeat of the Russian army in the battle with the French near Friedland, Emperor Alexander I was forced to sign the unprofitable and humiliating Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon. At that moment, no one thought that in a few years the Russian troops would drive the Napoleonic army to Paris, and Russia would take a leading position in European politics.

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Causes and course of the Patriotic War of 1812

Main reasons

1. Violation by both Russia and France of the terms of the Tilsit Treaty. Russia sabotaged the continental blockade of England, which was unprofitable for itself. France, in violation of the treaty, deployed troops in Prussia, annexing the Duchy of Oldenburg.
2. The policy towards European states pursued by Napoleon without taking into account the interests of Russia.
3. An indirect reason can also be considered the fact that Bonaparte twice made attempts to marry the sisters of Alexander the First, but both times he was refused.

Since 1810, both sides have been actively training to war, accumulating military forces.

Beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812

Who, if not Bonaparte, who conquered Europe, could be sure of his blitzkrieg? Napoleon hoped to defeat the Russian army even in border battles. Early in the morning of June 24, 1812, the Great French Army crossed the Russian border in four places.

The northern flank, under the command of Marshal MacDonald, advanced in the direction of Riga - St. Petersburg. Main a group of troops under the command of Napoleon himself advanced towards Smolensk. To the south of the main forces, the offensive was developed by the corps of Napoleon's stepson, Eugene Beauharnais. The corps of the Austrian General Karl Schwarzenberg was advancing in the Kiev direction.

After crossing the border, Napoleon failed to maintain a high pace of advance. Not only the huge Russian distances and the famous Russian roads were to blame. The local population had a slightly different reception for the French army than in Europe. Sabotage food supplies from the occupied territories became the most massive form of resistance to the invaders, but, of course, only the regular army could put up serious resistance to them.

Before joining Moscow the French army had to participate in nine major battles. In a large number of battles and armed skirmishes. Even before the occupation of Smolensk, the Great Army lost 100 thousand soldiers, but, in general, the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812 was extremely unsuccessful for the Russian army.

On the eve of the invasion of the Napoleonic army, Russian troops were dispersed in three places. The first army of Barclay de Tolly was near Vilna, the second army of Bagration was near Volokovysk, and the third army of Tormasov was in Volhynia. Strategy Napoleon was to break the Russian armies apart. Russian troops begin to retreat.

Through the efforts of the so-called Russian party, instead of Barclay de Tolly, M. I. Kutuzov was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief, to whom many generals with Russian surnames sympathized. The retreat strategy was not popular in Russian society.

However, Kutuzov continued to adhere to tactics retreat chosen by Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon sought to impose on the Russian army the main, general battle as soon as possible.

The main battles of the Patriotic War of 1812

bloody battle for Smolensk became a rehearsal for the general battle. Bonaparte, hoping that the Russians would concentrate all their forces here, prepares the main blow, and pulls up an army of 185,000 to the city. Despite the objections of Bagration, Baklay de Tolly decides to leave Smolensk. The French, having lost more than 20 thousand people in battle, entered the burning and destroyed city. The Russian army, despite the surrender of Smolensk, retained its combat capability.

news about surrender of Smolensk overtook Kutuzov near Vyazma. Meanwhile, Napoleon advanced his army towards Moscow. Kutuzov found himself in a very serious situation. He continued to retreat, but before leaving Moscow, Kutuzov had to give a general battle. The protracted retreat made a depressing impression on the Russian soldiers. Everyone was full of desire to give a decisive battle. When only a little more than a hundred miles remained to Moscow, on the field near the village of Borodino, the Great Army collided, as Bonaparte himself later admitted, with the Invincible Army.

Before the start of the battle, the Russian troops numbered 120 thousand, the French were 135 thousand. On the left flank of the formation of Russian troops were Semenov flushes and parts of the second army Bagration. On the right - the battle formations of the first army of Barclay de Tolly, and the old Smolensk road was covered by the third infantry corps of General Tuchkov.

At dawn, on September 7, Napoleon inspected the positions. At seven o'clock in the morning the French batteries gave the signal for the start of the battle.

The weight of the first blow was taken by the grenadiers of Major General Vorontsova and 27th Infantry Division Nemerovsky near the village of Semyonovskaya. The French broke into the Semenov flushes several times, but under the pressure of Russian counterattacks they left them. During the main counterattack, Bagration was mortally wounded here. As a result, the French managed to capture the flushes, but they did not receive any advantages. They failed to break through the left flank, and the Russians retreated in an organized manner to the Semyonov ravines, taking up a position there.

A difficult situation developed in the center, where the main blow of Bonaparte was directed, where the battery fought desperately Rayevsky. To break the resistance of the defenders of the battery, Napoleon was already ready to commit his main reserve into battle. But this was prevented by Platov's Cossacks and Uvarov's cavalrymen, who, on the orders of Kutuzov, made a swift raid into the rear of the left flank of the French. This stopped the French advance on Raevsky's battery for about two hours, which allowed the Russians to bring up some reserves.

After bloody battles, the Russians in an organized manner withdrew from the Raevsky battery, and again took up defense. The battle, which had been going on for twelve hours, gradually subsided.

During Battle of Borodino the Russians lost almost half of their personnel, but continued to hold their positions. Twenty-seven of the best generals were lost by the Russian army, four of them died, and twenty-three were wounded. The French lost about thirty thousand soldiers. Of the thirty out of action French generals, eight died.

Brief results of the battle of Borodino:

1. Napoleon could not defeat the Russian army and achieve the complete surrender of Russia.
2. Kutuzov, although he greatly weakened Bonaparte's army, could not defend Moscow.

Despite the fact that the Russians formally failed to win, the Borodino field has forever remained in Russian history as a field of Russian glory.

Having received information about the losses near Borodino, Kutuzov I realized that the second battle would be disastrous for the Russian army, and Moscow would have to be left. At the military council in Fili, Kutuzov insisted on the surrender of Moscow without a fight, although many generals were against it.

September 14 Russian army left Moscow. The Emperor of Europe, observing the majestic panorama of Moscow from Poklonnaya Hill, was waiting for the city delegation with the keys to the city. After military hardships and hardships, Bonaparte's soldiers found long-awaited warm apartments, food and valuables in the abandoned city, which the Muscovites, who for the most part left the city with the army, did not have time to take out.

After massive robberies and looting fires broke out in Moscow. Due to the dry and windy weather, the whole city flared up. Napoleon, for security reasons, was forced to move from the Kremlin to the suburban Petrovsky Palace, on the way, getting lost, he almost burned himself.

Bonaparte allowed the soldiers of his army to plunder what was still not burned. The French army was distinguished by defiant disregard for the local population. Marshal Davout arranged his bedroom in the altar of the Archangel Church. Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin the French used it as a stable, and in Arkhangelsk they organized an army kitchen. The oldest monastery in Moscow, St. Danilov Monastery, was equipped for slaughtering cattle.

This behavior of the French outraged the entire Russian people to the core. Everyone burned with vengeance for the desecrated shrines and the desecration of the Russian land. Now the war has finally acquired the character and content domestic.

The expulsion of the French from Russia and the end of the war

Kutuzov, withdrawing troops from Moscow, committed maneuver, thanks to which the French army lost the initiative before the end of the war. The Russians, retreating along the Ryazan road, were able to march on the old Kaluga road, and entrenched themselves near the village of Tarutino, from where they were able to control all directions leading from Moscow to the south, through Kaluga.

Kutuzov foresaw what exactly Kaluga land unaffected by the war, Bonaparte will begin a retreat. All the time while Napoleon was in Moscow, the Russian army was replenished with fresh reserves. On October 18, near the village of Tarutino, Kutuzov attacked the French units of Marshal Murat. As a result of the battle, the French lost more than four thousand people, and retreated. Russian losses amounted to about one and a half thousand.

Bonaparte realized the futility of his expectations of a peace treaty, and the very next day after the Tarutino battle, he hastily left Moscow. The great army now resembled a barbarian horde with plundered property. Having made complex maneuvers on the march to Kaluga, the French entered Maloyaroslavets. On October 24, Russian troops decided to drive the French out of the city. Maloyaroslavets as a result of a stubborn battle, it changed hands eight times.

This battle became a turning point in the history of the Patriotic War of 1812. The French had to retreat along the ruined old Smolensk road. Now the once Grand Army considered its successful retreats victories. Russian troops used the tactics of parallel pursuit. After the Vyazma battle, and especially after the battle near the village of Krasnoye, where the losses of Bonaparte's army were comparable to those at Borodino, the effectiveness of such tactics became obvious.

In the territories occupied by the French, they actively acted partisans. Bearded peasants, armed with pitchforks and axes, suddenly appearing from the forest, which led the French into a stupor. The elements of the people's war captured not only the peasants, but all classes of Russian society. Kutuzov himself sent his son-in-law, Prince Kudashev, who led one of the detachments, to the partisans.

The last and decisive blow was dealt to Napoleon's army at the crossing over Berezina river. Many Western historians consider the Berezinsky operation almost a triumph of Napoleon, who managed to save the Great Army, or rather, its remnants. About 9 thousand French soldiers were able to cross the Berezina.

Napoleon, who, in fact, did not lose a single battle in Russia, lost campaign. The great army ceased to exist.

Results of the Patriotic War of 1812

1. In the vastness of Russia, the French army was almost completely destroyed, which affected the balance of power in Europe.
2. The self-awareness of all strata of Russian society has grown extraordinarily.
3. Russia, coming out of the war as a winner, has strengthened its position in the geopolitical arena.
4. The national liberation movement intensified in the European countries conquered by Napoleon.

At dawn on June 24 (12, old style) June 1812, Napoleon's troops crossed the Neman River without declaring war and invaded Russia. Napoleon's army, which he himself called the "Great Army", numbered over 600,000 people and 1,420 guns. In addition to the French, it included the national corps of European countries conquered by Napoleon, as well as the Polish corps of Marshal Yu. Poniatovsky.

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 invading enemy was opposed by 220 - 240 thousand Russian soldiers with 942 guns - 3 times less than the enemy had. In addition, 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 kilometers from Lithuania to Grodno in Belarus; The 2nd Western Army, led by General of Infantry P.I.Bagration (45 - 48 thousand people with 216 guns) occupied a line up to 100 kilometers east of Bialystok; The 3rd Western Army of Cavalry General A.P. Tormasov (46,000 men with 168 guns) stood in Volhynia near Lutsk. On the right flank of the Russian troops (in Finland) was the corps of Lieutenant General F.F. Shteingel, on the left flank - the Danube Army of Admiral P.V. Chichagov.

Taking into account the huge size and power of Russia, Napoleon planned to complete the campaign in three years: in 1812, to capture the western provinces from Riga to Lutsk, in 1813 - Moscow, in 1814 - in 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.

But realizing that it was impossible to resist by scattered units, the Russian command began to retreat inland. And this thwarted Napoleon's strategic plan. Instead of a phased dismemberment of Russia, Napoleon was forced to follow the elusive Russian armies deep into the country, stretching communications and losing superiority in forces.

FIRST STAGE OF THE WAR: THE RETREAT

Retreating, the Russian troops fought rearguard battles, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. The main task was to combine the forces of the 1st and 2nd Western armies. Particularly difficult was the position of Bagration's 2nd Army, which was threatened by encirclement. It was not possible to break through to Minsk and connect with Barclay's army there: the path was cut off. Bagration changed the direction of movement, but the troops of Jerome Bonaparte overtook him. On July 9 (June 27, according to the old style), near the town of Mir, a battle took place between the rearguard of the Russian troops (it was the Cossack cavalry of Ataman M.I. Platov) and the French cavalry. The French were defeated and retreated in disarray. The next day there was another battle, and again the French were defeated. On July 14 (2), near the town of Romanovo, the Cossacks of Platov held back the French for a day in order to allow the army carts to cross the Pripyat. Platov's successful rearguard battles allowed the 2nd Army to reach Bobruisk without hindrance and concentrate its forces, stretched until that moment. All attempts to surround Bagration failed. Napoleon was furious; he accused his brother Jérôme of being slow and handed over the command of his corps to Marshal Davout.

From Tarutino, Kutuzov launched a "small war" with the forces of army partisan detachments. Particularly successful were the detachments of D.V. Davydov, A.N. Seslavin, A.S. Figner, I.S. Dorokhov, N.D. Kudashev, I.M. Vadbolsky. Kutuzov sought to expand the peasant partisan movement, merging it with the actions of army detachments. Some of the peasant detachments numbered several thousand people. For example, the detachment of Gerasim Kurin consisted of 5,000 people. The detachments of Yermolai Chetvertakov, Fyodor Potapov, Vasilisa Kozhina were widely known.

The actions of the partisans inflicted heavy human and material losses on the enemy, and disrupted his connection with the rear. In just six weeks of autumn, the partisans destroyed about 30,000 enemy soldiers.

On October 18 (6) on the Chernishna River, Russian troops defeated the strong vanguard of the French army, commanded by Marshal Murat. This victory marked the beginning of the counteroffensive of the Russian army.

In the same days, active operations of the 3rd Western Army began. On October 17 (5), the battle for Polotsk began, in which, in addition to the soldiers of the Wittgenstein corps, the soldiers of the Novgorod and Petersburg militia took an active part. By the morning of October 20, Polotsk was liberated. In the southwestern direction, Admiral Chichagov threw back the troops of Schwarzenberg and Rainier beyond the Southern Bug, within the Duchy of Warsaw, and moved towards Minsk.

All this prompted Napoleon to take action. On October 19 (7), the French set out from Moscow to Tarutin, hoping to take Kutuzov by surprise, defeat him and break through to Kaluga. The ancient capital of Russia was burned and plundered. The French tried to blow up the Kremlin, but fortunately the destruction was not too great. Napoleon's new plans were again ruined. The partisan detachment of Seslavin discovered the Napoleonic army near the village of Fominskoye and transmitted information about this to Kutuzov's headquarters. The Russian army set out from the Tarutinsky camp and moved towards the French. On October 24 (12), a fierce battle took place between the advanced units of both armies for Maloyaroslavets. The city changed hands 8 times. And although in the end the French captured the city, Napoleon had to give up hope of breaking through to Kaluga: the approaching main forces of the Russian army took up strong positions near Maloyaroslavets. Napoleon gave the order to begin a retreat to Mozhaisk and further to the old Smolensk road devastated by the war.

Having finally wrested the strategic initiative from the hands of the enemy, Kutuzov launched a general counteroffensive. It was of an active nature and set as its goal, while preserving the army, not only to drive out, but to completely destroy the enemy. A huge role in the persecution of the French was played by army and peasant partisan detachments, as well as mobile Cossack units of Ataman Platov.

In the battles near Vyazma and Dorogobuzh, the enemy fleeing to the west lost about 13,000 people killed, wounded and captured. In the battle near Lyakhovo, the partisans surrounded and forced to surrender an entire enemy division led by General Augereau. Leaving Moscow, Napoleon had an army of 107,000 men. He managed to bring only about 60,000 people to Smolensk, counting with replenishment.

In mid-November, Russian troops surrounded the Napoleonic army near the Berezina River. However, due to the inconsistency of the actions of the Russian corps, Napoleon managed to cross the Berezina near the village of Studyanki. However, only about 9,000 people crossed to the western coast. The rest either died or were taken prisoner. After the Berezina, Napoleon fled to Paris. To the question "What is the position of the army?" he replied: "The army is no more."

On November 28, according to the old style, Russian troops occupied Vilna. On December 2, about 1,000 enemy soldiers crossed the Neman near Kovno. These were the last remnants of Napoleon's main forces. In total, about 30,000 people escaped from the 600,000-strong "Great Army". The war, as Kutuzov wrote, "ended with the complete extermination of the enemy."

“No matter how critics speak of individual moments of the persecution, one must attribute the energy with which this persecution was carried out to the fact that the French army was completely destroyed, and a greater result cannot be imagined,” wrote the German military theorist and historian Karl Clausewitz. "

As a result of the defeat of the Napoleonic army in Russia, the national liberation movement intensified in Europe. The patriotic upsurge of 1812 had a huge impact on the growth of self-consciousness of the peoples of Russia.

1812, June 12 - the beginning of the Patriotic War. Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The invasion of the Napoleonic armies into Russia (which he learned about while in Vilna) was perceived by Alexander not only as the greatest threat to Russia, but also as a personal insult, and Napoleon himself became from now on a mortal personal enemy for him. Not wanting to repeat the experience of Austerlitz and submitting to the pressure of his entourage, Alexander left the army and returned to St. Petersburg.

During the whole time, while Barclay de Tolly carried out a retreat, which provoked sharp criticism from both society and the army, Alexander almost did not show his solidarity with the commander. After Smolensk was abandoned, the emperor gave in to the general demands and appointed M. I. Kutuzov to this post. With the expulsion of the Napoleonic troops from Russia, Alexander returned to the army and was in it during the foreign campaigns of 1813–1814.

The victory over Napoleon strengthened the authority of Alexander, he became one of the most powerful rulers of Europe, who felt like a liberator of its peoples, who was entrusted with a special mission determined by God's will to prevent further wars and devastation on the continent. He also considered the tranquility of Europe a necessary condition for the realization of his reformist plans in Russia itself.

To ensure these conditions, it was necessary to maintain the status quo, determined by the decisions of the Congress of Vienna (1815), according to which the territory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was ceded to Russia, and the monarchy was restored in France, and Alexander insisted on the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in this country, which should have served as a precedent for the establishment of similar regimes in other countries.

The Russian emperor, in particular, managed to enlist the support of his allies for his idea of ​​introducing a constitution in Poland. As a guarantor of compliance with the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, the emperor initiated the creation of the Holy Alliance (September 14, 1815) - the prototype of international organizations of the 20th century. Alexander was convinced that he owed his victory over Napoleon to the providence of God, his religiosity was constantly increasing. Baroness J. Krudener and Archimandrite Photius had a strong influence on him. According to some reports, his faith acquired an ecumenical character, and he himself gradually became a mystic.

Alexander was directly involved in the activities of the congresses of the Holy Alliance in Aachen (September - November 1818), Troppau and Laibach (October - December 1820 - January 1821), Verona (October - December 1822). However, the strengthening of Russian influence in Europe provoked opposition from the allies. In 1825, the Holy Alliance essentially collapsed.

In Russia, they understood that the Tilsit and Erfurt agreements were only a temporary respite before a new military conflict with France. Napoleon's desire for world domination was obvious, and only Russia interfered with the implementation of his plans. Napoleon hoped to deprive Russia of her world influence, to force her to sign a humiliating peace treaty.

On the other hand, the continental blockade destroyed trade relations with England, which had a negative impact on the economic situation in Russia. With the rupture of Russian-English agreements, the influx of loans and subsidies from London ceased. Holland and Genoa, which had large banking houses, were in the power of Napoleon, who did not give permission to issue loans to Russia. The Russian government was looking for a way out in expanding trade relations with neutral countries. On December 31, 1810, Russia adopted a new customs tariff, and the next day - the "Regulations on Neutral Trade", according to which obstacles to entry into Russian ports of all ships, except those carrying the English flag, were eliminated. This was the first clash between Russia and France - so far only in the field of trade. The Tilsit agreements ceased to be fulfilled, preparations for war began. Petersburg knew about Napoleon's plans and also prepared for it. The rearmament of the Russian army began, the strengthening of the western borders, the construction of new border fortresses, and the construction of new ammunition depots. A.A. Arakcheev and M.B. Barclay de Tolly.

The diplomatic tactics of the government of Alexander I in relation to France on the eve of the war of 1812 was not to give rise to a break in relations between the powers and not to allow themselves to be considered the instigator of a military clash.

At the same time, the international situation on the eve of the War of 1812 was not easy. The confrontation with France was reflected in Russia's relations with other European states - England, Sweden, Prussia. One of the major successes of Russian diplomacy was that it managed to neutralize Napoleon's efforts to create a pan-European anti-Russian coalition. So, despite the fact that the Napoleonic Marshal J. Bernadotte became the king of Sweden in 1810, Russian diplomacy managed, using his disagreements with Napoleon, to sign an alliance treaty with Sweden in April 1812. At the same time, negotiations began on the resumption of Russian-English relations, which were finally restored in July 1812. This alliance of three powers served as the beginning of the formation of a new anti-Napoleonic coalition, which finally took shape already during the war of 1812.

In February-March 1812, Napoleon concluded allied treaties with Prussia and Austria, but these countries continued to maintain informal relations with Russia, and their armies did not take an active part in the war.

By the spring of 1812, Napoleon completed preparations for the invasion of Russia, concentrating about 640 thousand soldiers on its borders, with the French making up only half of the army, and the rest of it was staffed by representatives of other European peoples (Poles, Italians, Germans, Austrians, etc.) .

Alexander I expressed his determination to fight Napoleon to the end. So, on June 22, 1812, after the invasion of Napoleon's army, the Russian emperor wrote to the Swedish king Bernadotte: "Once the war has begun, my firm decision is not to pump it, even though I had to fight on the banks of the Volga."

INVASION

On June 12 (24), 1812, Napoleon's "great army" crossed the Neman River - the western border of the Russian Empire. Four days later, French troops occupied the city of Vilna. The Russian army began to retreat, avoiding a major battle.

Initially, two Russian armies acted against Napoleon: the 1st, under the command of M.B. Barclay de Tolly, numbering about 128 thousand people, covering the St. Petersburg direction, and the 2nd, under the command of P.I. Bagration, consisting of 52 thousand people, focused on the Moscow direction. The rest of the military units are the army of A.P. Tormasov and the Danube army P.V. Chichagov covered the southwestern borders of Russia and began hostilities at the end of the war.

Typically, Napoleon's wars were reduced to one or more major battles, which decided the outcome of the entire campaign. And this time, Napoleon hoped to defeat the dispersed Russian armies one by one, planning to end the war within one to two months. To this end, Napoleon began to rapidly move inland, trying to prevent the Russian armies, the gap between which was about 100 kilometers, from connecting.

FORCES OF THE PARTIES

In addition to the French, Italians, Poles, Germans, Dutch, and even Spaniards mobilized by force also took part in the campaign. Austria and Prussia allocated corps (30 and 20 thousand, respectively) against Russia under allied agreements with Napoleon. 450 thousand of his soldiers entered Russia.

Napoleon had the following reserves: about 90,000 French soldiers in the garrisons of central Europe (of which 60,000 were in the 11th reserve corps in Prussia) and 100,000 in the French National Guard, which, by law, could not fight outside France.

Spain, having connected about 200 thousand French soldiers with partisan resistance, provided great assistance to Russia. England provided material and financial support, but its army was involved in the fighting in Spain, and the strong British fleet could not influence land operations in Europe, although it was one of the factors that tilted Sweden's position in favor of Russia.

Russia had a large army, but could not quickly mobilize troops due to poor roads and vast territory. The blow of Napoleon's army was taken over by the troops stationed on the western border: the 1st Army of Barclay and the 2nd Army of Bagration, a total of 153 thousand soldiers and 758 guns. Even further south in Volhynia (north-west of Ukraine), the 3rd Army of Tormasov (up to 45 thousand, 168 guns) was located, which served as a barrier from Austria. In Moldova, the Danube army of Chichagov (55 thousand, 202 guns) stood against Turkey. In Finland, the corps of the Russian general Steingel (19 thousand, 102 guns) stood against Sweden. In the Riga area there was a separate Essen corps (up to 18 thousand), up to 4 reserve corps were located away from the border. According to the lists, irregular Cossack troops numbered up to 110 thousand light cavalry, but in reality up to 20 thousand Cossacks took part in the war.

NAPOLEON'S CALL TO THE ARMY

Soldiers! The second Polish war began. The first ended in Friedland and in Tilsit. At Tilsit, Russia swore to be in eternal alliance with France and at war with England; now she is breaking her vows! She does not want to give any explanation for her strange actions until the French eagles move beyond the Rhine and thus leave their allies to her will.

Russia is passionate about rock. Her fate must be fulfilled. Doesn't she think we've been reborn? Or are we no longer soldiers of Austerlitz? It places us between dishonor and war. The choice cannot be questioned. Let's go ahead, cross the Neman, let's bring the war into its borders.

The second Polish war will be as glorious for French arms as the first; but the peace that we shall conclude will bring with it a guarantee for ourselves and put an end to the disastrous influence of Russia, which for fifty years has exerted on the affairs of Europe.

Napoleon

WITHOUT RESISTANCE

Two days after his appeal, on the night of June 24, 1812 (June 12, O.S.), Napoleon ordered a crossing over the Neman, and 300 Poles of the 13th regiment were the first to cross to the other side of the river. On the same day and in the coming days, the entire old guard, the entire young guard, then Murat's cavalry, and behind them one marshal after another with their corps, in a continuous succession, crossed to the eastern bank of the Neman. The French did not see a single soul in the entire boundless space beyond the Neman until the very horizon, after the guard Cossacks disappeared from view on the morning of June 24. “Before us lay a desert, a brown, yellowish land with stunted vegetation and distant forests on the horizon,” recalls one of the participants in the campaign, and the picture seemed “ominous” even then.

Napoleon did not notice any ominous signs. As always during the war, he was much livelier and more cheerful. The most grandiose of his wars so far was beginning, and judging by the way he prepared for it, he himself fully understood this. It might well have been that this war would have been the last of his European wars and the first of his Asiatic ones; it could also happen that for the first time it would be necessary to end the campaign in Smolensk and postpone the continuation (ie, Moscow and St. Petersburg) to the next year. He foresaw these two hypotheses: about the Ganges and India, he spoke with Narbonne, about a stop in Smolensk - with the marshals.

Surrounded by marshals and a huge retinue, preceded by the entire cavalry, Napoleon walked the direct road to Vilna, nowhere meeting any signs of resistance.

WHICH ROAD CAN I GO TO MOSCOW?

After Vilna was occupied by French troops, Alexander I sent General Balashov to Napoleon with a proposal to negotiate if the French army returned back beyond the Neman. Napoleon replied to Balashov: “Do you really think that I brought my troops only to look at the Neman? In vain you rely on your soldiers, they were once invincible, and now, as you know, my troops will beat them. Expecting to sign peace in Moscow, the French emperor asked Balashov: "What road can you take to Moscow?" - “There are many roads,” Balashov answered, “Charles XII went there through Poltava!” After Balashov's departure from Vilna, all relations between the Russian and French governments ceased.

SOLOVIEV ON THE COMMANDERS OF THE RUSSIAN ARMIES

“The commander-in-chief of the first army was Minister of War Barclay de Tolly, an experienced general, knowledgeable in his field. The desire to eliminate the shortcomings and abuses that existed in management prompted him to reforms that brought undoubted benefits, but caused displeasure and anger of his strong predecessor, Count Arakcheev, who tried to harm him in any case. Distrust, one of the main features in Barclay's character, forced him to do what he could entrust to his subordinates, and made it difficult to manage the troops. Moreover, Barclay was dry; he lacked the ability to speak with Russian soldiers, the army and the people considered him a foreigner, which was a misfortune in a people's war.

“The commander-in-chief of the second army was Prince Bagration, a favorite, a favorite of the troops; being always in sight, entering the battle first and leaving it last, Bagration did not know fatigue in the war; yielding to Barclay in education and administrative experience, Bagration surpassed him in his ability to inspire troops and speak with Russian soldiers.

Soloviev S.M. Educational book of Russian history. Works. Book XVIII. M., 1995.

Start of the Patriotic War of 1812

12 June 1812Napoleon's "Great Army" (640 thousand people), crossing the Neman, invaded the Russian Empire. The Russian army consisted 590 thousand people, but against Napoleon it was possible to put up a little more 200 thousand. It 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. "I will not lay down my arms, he said, until not a single enemy warrior remains in the kingdom mine."

Napoleon waited in vain...
About how Russian intelligence outplayed its French counterparts two hundred years ago

Russia won the war of 1812 against France long before the Grand Army crossed the Niemen. The fact is that the Russian special services brilliantly outplayed the cunning intelligence of the French emperor. This conclusion was made by the chief researcher of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences Petr Cherkasov. With a conversation with this famous researcher, Itogi continues a series of materials dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the historical event.

- In what historical context did the confrontation between France and Russia unfold two and a half centuries ago?

- By defeating five European coalitions, France has become a superpower. Napoleon had no rivals other than Great Britain. The Corsican did not take Alexander I seriously and counted on the support of Russia, which he repeatedly defeated on the battlefield, in the implementation of the complete isolation of the British. In 1807, in Tilsit, Napoleon literally imposed a peace treaty on Alexander. It had two main conditions - the recognition of all the conquests of the French emperor, his full titles and the accession of Russia to the continental blockade of Great Britain. The humiliating peace of Tilsit did not suit Russia in any way. Alexander, realizing that the ban on trade with Great Britain was causing huge financial damage to his empire, tried to ignore the blockade. He was haunted by the shadow of his father. After all, Emperor Pavel was an ally of Napoleon and was preparing to attack India with him: the marching ataman Matvey Platov with the Cossacks had already reached Orenburg when a palace coup took place in St. Petersburg ... Napoleon saw that the Russian Tsar was violating the Tilsit Treaty, and decided to punish Alexander with a short war. Defeat him in several decisive frontier battles and make the Russian emperor an obedient toy for the French. But this plan failed even before the planned blitzkrieg began. Napoleon did not gain the glory of the new Austerlitz, and was forced to go deep into the Russian territory, which he was not going to do at first.

"Why did you do it anyway?"

- Counted on military superiority. Napoleon gathered on the borders with Russia an unprecedented army: 650 thousand people! Of these, the French made up no more than forty percent. The rest were Saxons, Poles, Austrians, Prussians, Spaniards, Italians ... They were opposed by the Russian army, divided into three parts, which covered the three main directions of a possible strike: St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kyiv. Almost twice inferior to the French in terms of strength, our intelligence had complete information about the enemy, which Napoleon did not have in relation to the Russian army. More precisely, the French emperor had a very rough idea of ​​​​the deployment of Russian units and their composition.

“Isn't that strange? Despite the fact that Napoleonic intelligence was brilliantly staged under the Minister of Police Joseph Fouche and that such detective masters as, say, Karl Schulmeister, who became a legend during his lifetime, worked for France ...

- It was one thing for Napoleon's agents to spy in Europe, quite another - in Russia with its national specifics. In addition, at the beginning of 1810, Russian military intelligence was created in St. Petersburg on the initiative of the Minister of War Mikhail Barclay de Tolly. The premonition of war was already in the air, and special agents were sent to our embassies in Europe. Before these young officers the goal is to collect information "on the number of troops, on the structure, weapons and spirit of them, on the state of fortresses and reserves, the abilities and virtues of the best generals, as well as on the welfare, character and spirit of the people." These military agents are as adjutants to ambassadors or as employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The names of these brave people are forever covered with glory: Major Viktor Prendel in Dresden, Lieutenant Pavel Brozin in Kassel, and then in Madrid, Colonel Robert Rennie in Berlin, Lieutenant Pavel Grabbe in Munich, Colonel Fedor Theil von Seraskerken in Vienna ... And, of course, captain Alexander Chernyshev, who operated in Paris itself.

One of the heroes of the intelligence war at the beginning of the 19th century was Alexander Chernyshev, our resident in Paris. "Portrait of Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev" George Dow

- That same Chernyshev - a handsome man and a rake, about whom the series “Adjutants of Love” was shown on our television not so long ago? Next to this guy, James Bond is resting...

- Yes, in this adventurous and amorous picture, the main character is my absolute namesake: Pyotr Cherkasov ... But in fact, Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev, who quickly rose to the rank of colonel, is the first Russian professional military intelligence officer. He, acting in Paris from the special office of the quartermaster of the main headquarters created in St. Petersburg, managed to gain personal confidence in Napoleon and create an effective network of informants in France.

Chernyshev is at the court of Napoleon from 1809 to 1811 as a personal representative of Alexander I, participates in the campaign of France against Austria. In battles, he shows personal courage and receives the Order of the Legion of Honor from the hands of Bonaparte. Napoleon likes to talk in an informal setting with a witty young man, brought up by a French émigré abbot, and unwittingly becomes Chernyshev's main source of information. The Parisian nobility learns about the warm meetings between the Russian officer and the emperor and begins to seek acquaintance with the lucky man.

But his fame reaches its apogee after the famous fire in the winter of 1810 in the mansion of the Austrian ambassador, Prince Karl Schwarzenberg. He gave a magnificent ball on the occasion of the marriage of Napoleon with the Austrian Archduchess Marie-Louise, when a fire started in the palace due to the awkwardness of a footman. If not for the courage of the Russian guardsman, there would have been many victims among the European nobility gathered at the ball. And so Chernyshev not only organized a team of volunteers who managed to extinguish the panic that had arisen, but he himself carried people out of the fire. Including the wives of marshals Ney and Duroc, as well as the sisters of the emperor himself - Caroline Murat and Pauline Borghese. Naturally, the messenger of the Russian Tsar became the very next day after the fire the most popular figure in secular Paris.

And how did he take advantage of this fame?

- A year before the invasion of Russia by the Great Army, Chernyshev managed to report to Alexander about Napoleon's plans. The Russian intelligence officer managed to create an extensive network of informants in Paris. No funds were spared to pay for their services. When there was not enough money, Chernyshev generously invested his own. The most valuable agent was a member of the French War Ministry, a certain Michel. He was part of a group of officials who compiled twice a month the so-called brief statement - an analytical report on the state and deployment of the French armed forces. The summary was performed in one copy - personally for Napoleon. True, there was one but: Michel made a copy of a secret document, which, through secret channels, was promptly delivered to the table of the Russian sovereign. “Why don’t I have more ministers like this young man,” the tsar wrote in the margins of one of Alexander Chernyshev’s reports.

Did the French know nothing about it?

- Chernyshev managed to gain confidence even in the director of Napoleon's topographical office, which prepared military maps for the imperial army. Such an active activity of a Russian officer could not go unnoticed by the French police. Chernyshev was under constant surveillance, which he, of course, noticed. They did not dare to arrest him - he was a diplomat. But they could arrange any provocation, kill somewhere on the street, finally. Polina Fures, a former passion of Napoleon, who was in love with him, told Chernyshev that he needed to run away. All night Alexander Ivanovich burned papers in the fireplace that could somehow compromise him, and in the morning he left hastily for St. Petersburg. The flight was so swift that Chernyshev did not bother to check whether some random piece of paper had rolled into the corner. During a search of the mansion of a Russian officer, the French police found a note from Michel under the carpet. The official was interrogated with passion and after his confession was sent to the guillotine.

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Meeting of the emperors in Erfurt. Erfurt Congress Nicolas Gosse

- But the Napoleonic secret services, probably, were not inactive either?

- Yes, but the results of Russian intelligence in France were much richer. After all, our "number one agent" was not anyone, but Charles Maurice de Talleyrand himself, Napoleon's former foreign minister, one of the most influential people in France. Here is how it was. Napoleon's meeting with Alexander in Erfurt in September 1808 turned into a contest of diplomatic skill between the two emperors. Napoleon endlessly reproached the Russian tsar for insufficient observance of the continental blockade, while Alexander was very tired at these negotiations. And suddenly Talleyrand secretly appeared to him, whom Napoleon had the imprudence to take with him to Erfurt, and said: “Sire, only you can stop this man ...” Talleyrand, an unprincipled, but extremely perspicacious intriguer, foresaw the collapse of Napoleon, he realized that the Corsican got carried away. In recent years, in disgrace with Napoleon, Talleyrand offered to become an unspoken informant of Alexander I ...

Through our embassy in Paris, a secret correspondence was organized with Talleyrand, who was encrypted under many pseudonyms: Anna Ivanovna, Cousin Henri, Handsome Leandre ... St. Petersburg allocated up to 40 thousand francs for this spy "game". The money was huge in those days! Yes, Talleyrand was formally out of work, but he had great connections in Paris and in Europe. So, he used, as they say, in the dark Joseph Fouche, who in 1810 was dismissed by Napoleon from the post of Minister of Police of France and harbored a grudge against the emperor. Fouche in Russia had undercover aliases: Natasha and the President ... And this continued until Napoleon's attack on Russia.

Talleyrand was recruited by Russian intelligence at a meeting of emperors in Erfurt. "Charles Maurice Talleyrand-Périgord" Jean-Francois Garneret

- Yes, Talleyrand was not without reason awarded the highest Russian awards: the orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, Alexander Nevsky and Anna 1st degree ...

- And, mind you, not without Russian help, he again became Minister of Foreign Affairs after the restoration of royal power in France.

- Why did French intelligence attempts to find out Russia's military capabilities failed?

— I repeat: Russia is not Europe. “The emperor complained all the time that he could not get information about what was happening in Russia,” wrote General Armand de Caulaincourt. “In fact, nothing reached us from there, not a single secret agent dared to get there. Any direct communication was very difficult, even impossible. For no amount of money it was impossible to find a person who would agree to go to Petersburg. The French agents sent, despite all the difficulties, to our territory - up to forty in number - were timely, on the eve of the war, identified and neutralized. They acted under the guise of merchants, travelers, tutors. Not only the French, but also the Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Maltese... The Poles especially tried, especially in the border areas.

- How did the Russian counterintelligence manage to beat the special services of almost all of continental Europe?

— Suffice it to recall the story of David Sawan. This retired captain of the Russian army, a Frenchman by origin, ended up on Polish territory after the formation of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and was recruited by French intelligence. In 1811, Savannah was sent to the border zone to collect information about Russian units. How the captain began working for our special services is not known in detail. According to one version, he came with a confession to the headquarters of the Russian command in Vilna. The main thing is different: Savan was a typical double agent, thanks to which the Russian special services managed to identify almost the entire French intelligence network in the zone bordering the duchy. It is curious that our counterintelligence officers were in no hurry to detain the spies. They preferred to organize a disinformation game with the enemy, the purpose of which was to convince Napoleon of the desire of the Russian command to give the French and others like them a decisive battle right at the border with the forces of all three Russian armies. This is exactly what Napoleon wanted with all his southern passion.

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... And they drove the remnants of the great army along the Old Smolensk road. "Crossing the Berezina on November 29, 1812" W. Adam

- And the great commander believed in this misinformation?

Not right away, but I believed. For verification, he sent Count Louis de Narbonne-Lara to Vilna. This adjutant general of Napoleon met Alexander several times, most likely in order to offer peace to the tsar for the last time. But the official part was only a cover; in fact, Narbonne-Lara had clear instructions to divert attention from Bonaparte's military preparations with peaceful talk and at the same time actively conduct intelligence. In order to neutralize the nobleman and misinform Napoleon through him, Captain Savan was involved in the operation. By staging the role of a resident who lost contact with the center, David Sawan gained confidence in the count and told him "especially valuable" information. They were trained, of course, at the Russian headquarters. In particular, they very convincingly stated that the Minister of War, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, would do everything in his power to oppose the crossing of the Great Army across the border. Narbonne, taking all this at face value, hastened to please his emperor. But when Napoleon crossed the Neman in June 1812, he did not meet with serious resistance, the Russians retreated, waging rearguard battles. The great army had only to go deeper into the boundless country, where in a matter of months both the multilingual armada and the military happiness of Napoleon would melt ...