Hero Borodino General Alexander Ivanovich Kutaisov
"... And you, Kutaisov, the young leader ...
Where are the charms? Where is youth?
Alas! He can see the soul
He was beautiful as joy;
Whether in armor, formidable, spoke
Threw death peruny;
E harp strings hit
The strings were animated ... "
These are lines from the poem "The Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors",
written by the lieutenant of the Moscow militia Vasily
Andreevich Zhukovsky in September 1812, during
stay of the Russian army in the camp Tarutinsky
Where are the charms? Where is youth?
Alas! He can see the soul
He was beautiful as joy;
Whether in armor, formidable, spoke
Threw death peruny;
E harp strings hit
The strings were animated ... "
These are lines from the poem "The Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors",
written by the lieutenant of the Moscow militia Vasily
Andreevich Zhukovsky in September 1812, during
stay of the Russian army in the camp Tarutinsky
By the era of Napoleonic artillery became a kind of troops, often deciding the outcome of the battles. It is clear how much responsibility lay on those who commanded the most destructive weapons that time. Count Alexander Ivanovich Kutaisov was a commander and administrator, whose talent was unquestionably recognized by both Russians and French.
It would be wrong to start the story about Alexander Kutaisov without a brief insight into the biography of his father.
Ivan Pavlovich Kutaisov was captured as a child when the Turkish fortress Bender was captured. 11-year-old Turkish woman was presented by Catherine II to his son Pavel. At baptism, he received the name of Ivan. Subsequently, growing up, Ivan Pavlovich Kutaisov became close to the ascended the throne of Paul I and made a dizzying career in a short four years, rising to the second class according to the Table of Ranks - a real secret adviser. During the 3 months, Kutaisov receives baronial, and then count of dignity, and with it the hereditary nobility. The flow of orders and ranks was followed by much more material awards: estates, serfs, cash awards ... By 1800, Ivan Pavlovich owned a huge fortune in 5000 souls and more than 50000 tithes of land in the Duchy of Courland.
Portrait of Alexander Ivanovich Kutaisov
workshop by George Doe. Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)
workshop by George Doe. Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)
Of course, all this could not but affect the career of the children of the Kutaisov family. January 6 1793, the year Alexander Ivanovich 9 was enrolled in the Life Guards Mounted Regiment, in 15, already a colonel, began active service in the first separate artillery unit - the Life Guards Artillery Battalion. Most likely, the appointment did not occur without the participation of Uncle Kutaisov Jr. - D. P. Rezvoi.
Alexander Kutaisov, having received a high position at a young age, behaved completely atypically for a representative of noble (read: “golden”) youth. Despite the patronage, he began to actively comprehend military science in general and artillery craft in particular, seeking to comply with the post.
Natural talent and curiosity allowed the young Kutaisov to quickly master the necessary knowledge. Impeccable service as an adjutant at Arakcheev himself, who liked to say that his worst enemy was the one who did not perform his duties well, became an excellent school for Alexander. In addition, the fact that he remained an adjutant of the new artillery inspector (Arakcheev was removed by Paul I) by General A.I. Korsakov speaks in favor of the young officer.
In 1801, Alexander Kutaisov was inducted into the military commission headed by Count Arakcheev. She had to chart ways to reform the army. The subcommission in which Kutaisov worked involved, as you might guess, artillery. With the direct participation of Alexander Ivanovich, a complex artillery supply system was developed. From the unified production of tools to the training of calculations.
Two years later, Kutaisov was transferred to the 2 Artillery Regiment, commanded by Dmitry Petrovich Rezvoy - Uncle Kutaisov. The 1805 regiment arrived in the army, a few days late for the battle of Austerlitz. The troops returned to Russia, but the world with Napoleonic France was not signed.
11 September 1806 of the year Kutaisov receives the rank of major general and becomes the chief of an artillery regiment, who, as part of the corps of General Buksgevden, performed in Prussia. Here, under Golimine, Count Kutaisov was baptized in battle. In the first battle, he proved himself an excellent commander, coolly and confidently directing artillery fire.
The next significant, but sometimes ambiguous episode of Kutaisov’s military career was the battle of Preussis-Eylau. Observing the battle in the center, Kutaisov quickly found his way around the situation and guessed Napoleon’s maneuver - to tie up the center with a fight, and with the main forces to strike the left flank of the allies, before the Prussian corps of General Lestok approached. Davout's superior forces quickly abandoned the Osterman-Tolstoy infantry corps and practically went to the rear of the Allied troops, but in time, the three equestrian artillery companies that came to the rescue saved the situation, stopping the French offensive with accurate fire. At the end of the battle, the decision to transfer these weapons from the right flank was attributed to Kutaisov. However, Yermolov, in his "Notes", claims that his company and company of Major General Bogdanov arrived on their own initiative, and Kutaisov drove onto his battery "out of sheer curiosity ...". The most neutral version, I think, is closest to the truth. It consists in the fact that the artillery Yermolov and Bogdanov arrived on their own, and the company of Colonel Yamshvil strengthened their positions by the order of Kutaisov. Because of this confusion, Yermolov was dissatisfied with the fact that instead of him to the Order of St. George 3 degree was presented to Alexander Kutaisov, while Yermolov himself was awarded only the Order of St.. Vladimir 3 degree. Subsequently, when Kutaisov was subordinate to General Yermolov, their relationship improved, and Alexey Petrovich spoke of the young graph only positively.
Kutaisov’s military talent was manifested more than once in the final battles of the war of the Fourth Coalition. 24 of May 1807 of the year Lomiten Alexander Ivanovich managed to provide effective artillery cover for the attacking units, the general leadership of which lay on D. S. Dokhturov. 29 May already under Heilsberg, skillfully organized fire, Count Kutaisov manages to stop the advance of the French in a dangerous area. In the last battle of the Fourth Coalition - the Battle of Friedland - the young count commanded the artillery of the entire right flank. Concentrated fire he managed to suppress the French batteries, which prevented the troops of Dokhturov from turning. And after it became clear that the battle was lost, Kutaisov organized and almost without a loss sent his troops across the river Allah.
The 1805-1807 campaigns of the year brought Alexander Ivanovich not only ranks and awards, but also deserved authority, both among officers and ordinary soldiers.
The European wars ended with the signing of the Peace of Tilsit, but it was clear to everyone that "the two emperors are crowded on the same continent." Both countries and both monarchs were preparing for a new war.
Alexander I began to actively reform the army. For artillery, this meant the final transition to the “1805 system” or, as it was also called, “arakcheev” - the result of the work of the commission of the 1801 of the year, which included Kutaisov. Illustrates the scale of the action and the fact that in the 1808, a special "Artillery Journal" began to be published, the regular subscriber of which was Alexander Ivanovich.
In 1809, the corps of S. P. Golitsyn, and the Kutaisov artillery regiment that consisted in it, went to war with Austria, fulfilling the terms of the contract with Napoleon. However, the corps was recalled before the first shots were fired. With the completion of this campaign, Alexander Ivanovich takes a long vacation and travels to Europe. For half a year in Vienna, Alexander Ivanovich managed to learn Turkish and Arabic. He spent the second half of 1810 a year in France, working in libraries, listening to lectures by leading professors at Paris universities, actively studying ballistics and fortification. In the evenings, Kutaisov talks with French artillery officers, assessing the organization and tactics of the past and future adversary.
Upon returning to his homeland, Alexander Ivanovich enthusiastically joins the work of the commission for drafting military regulations. The result of intense work was a document entitled "Establishment for the management of a large active army." Knowledge and experience of Kutaisov was reflected in the paragraphs on Field Artillery Control.
Just before the war, 1812 of the year, Kutaisov, composed the “General rules for artillery in a field battle”. Fundamental work gave recommendations for young officers on the most effective location of the guns, contained information about the target range and the optimal distribution of projectiles between the front end and the bulletin box, and much more that was important for an artillery man from the beginning of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the officers did not manage to get accustomed to work: the Patriotic War prevented. The manual was already round in battles.
By the beginning of the war, Kutaisov led the artillery of Barclay-de-Tolly’s entire 1 army and did a great job in ensuring the combat readiness of the assigned units. As soon as the retreat of the 1 of the Western Army began, Kutaisov often appeared in the rearguard, personally commanding the batteries. So, in the battle near the village of Kochergischki guns under the command of the count not only detained the French, but forced them to retreat. The next day after the battle, Barclay de Tolly, in a personal letter, asked Kutaisov to temporarily lead the entire rearguard of the 1 Army, without releasing the latter from the post of chief of artillery. Under the command of Alexander Ivanovich, the rearguard of the 5 day restrained the French in stubborn battles.
In late June, in connection with the re-formation, Kutaisov transfers command of the rearguard. To headquarters, however, is in no hurry, preferring to remain on the line of hostilities. On July 14, in a battle near the village of Kakuvyachina, Alexander Ivanovich was wounded in the leg, but the next day he was in the saddle and participated in the battle on the river Luchesa, which is not far from Vitebsk.
In the defense of Smolensk, the actions of artillery also led Kutaisov, accurate gunfire allowed to repel all attacks of the French. The bloody 2-day battle for Smolensk did not bring convincing success to the Napoleonic army, although it left the burnt-out city in its hands.
It is noteworthy that during the retreat from the city, Kutaisov and his artillerymen managed to save one of the main Orthodox shrines from the fire - the image of the Smolensk Mother of God Odigitria. This event was of great importance for the morale of the retreating troops.
In the battle of Borodino, Count Kutaysov was already charged with all the artillery of the Russian army. Understanding her role in the upcoming battle, Alexander Ivanovich first gave all the necessary orders to his subordinates. During the battle, the count personally toured positions and took command of the most difficult areas.
On one of the batteries happened such an episode. Above the servant’s head whistled through the core, people ducked, then Kutaisov said loudly: “It's a shame, guys, to bow.” But then the next core, released by the French, made the count himself bend down, but he was immediately found: “It doesn’t count. It is my friend, he was cast in front of me. ”
... By the middle of the day, the French had transferred the main blow to the center - to the Rayevsky battery. At the cost of huge losses, the French managed to seize the mound, but at that moment Ermolov and Kutaisov followed the left flank. Yermolov stopped the panic among the fleeing troops, and personally led the attack. Kutaisov, at this moment, left Levey and tried to cut off the path of the French cavalry, which was trying to help its infantry, which occupied the height ...
... In this attack, Count Kutaisov died. It is not known exactly how this happened. According to some data, he was struck by the core, on the other - he was hacked down by French riders.
One thing is clear, the Russian army and the entire Russian state lost this day a talented commander and a truly worthy nobleman.
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