"General Forward". How Suvorov smashed the Polish Confederates
Delivery of the Krakow Castle. French officers give swords to A. V. Suvorov. Engraving by R.V. Küfner after a drawing by I.D.
The military achievements of Alexander Suvorov were so great that during his lifetime his allies and opponents spoke of him with admiration. The Austrians nicknamed him "General Forward", celebrating Suvorov's swift and always successful tactics.
Hero of the Nations
"Hero of all ages and all peoples"
- said the Austrian general Tsakh about him.
"Suvorov has enemies, but not rivals"
- noted the Italian General Saint-Andre.
It is known that the great French commander Napoleon admired the Russian genius of war. He considered Suvorov the best in military affairs and studied with him. In fact, he adopted the methods of Suvorov's military art:
"Eye, speed and onslaught."
Napoleon himself, in letters to the Directory from Egypt, noted that Suvorov could not be stopped on the path of victories until his arts of war were comprehended and his own rules were opposed to him.
Alexander Vasilyevich had a special gift for finding and enhancing talents. In this he resembled the person he had been equal to since childhood - Peter the Great. And on another great commander and ruler of France - Napoleon.
“Talent in a person,” Suvorov said, “is a diamond in clay. Having found it, one must immediately cleanse it and show its brilliance. Talent, snatched from the crowd, surpasses many others, for it owes not to breed, not to teaching, and not to seniority, but to itself. Seniority is the lot of mediocre people who do not get promoted, but live up to the officials. "
Suzdal regiment
In 1763, Alexander Suvorov was given command of the Suzdal Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in Novaya Ladoga. Here the colonel was able to turn around, actively introduced his method. He turned the regiment into a real combat unit.
At that time it was believed that all the best and the most advanced appeared in Europe. In the Russian elite, there was an admiration for an enlightened Europe. The Prussian king Frederick, with whom Russia fought for seven years and beat the "invincible" Prussian army, was now considered the ideal commander. And the Prussian system was recognized as the best in Europe and the world.
The landlord officers especially liked the cane system. The Prussian army adhered to the most severe discipline, for any disobedience and mistakes the soldiers were brutally beaten. Therefore, Russian officers, like the rest of Europe, imitated Frederick. (Although the Russian army beat the vaunted Prussian army). According to the Prussian model, uniforms were sewn and their hair was curled, according to the Prussian system, soldiers were chased to the parade ground all day, beaten with sticks. The soldiers were tortured so that everything was smooth and beautiful, in one line. Made to polish endlessly weapon, whiten belts, comb and powder your hair. As a result, the troops could march beautifully. Their combat capability did not increase from this.
Alexander Vasilievich taught his soldiers real combat. Made of them fighters - "miracle heroes", before whom there were no obstacles. At the same time, they did not hate their commander, but adored, loved. The soldiers reciprocated the commander. Suvorov loved and took care of his soldiers. He delved into every little detail of a soldier's life, tried to improve it. I always tried to avoid unnecessary losses. He called to fight not by number but by skill. Said:
“It's hard to learn - easy to hike! Easy to learn - hard to hike! "
Colonel Suvorov made sure that the soldiers observed cleanliness (the basis of health), so that they knew how to quickly load and shoot accurately. He didn’t force me to march pointlessly and do exercises on the parade ground all day long. But he could at any time (at night and in the rain, in any bad weather) raise a battalion or regiment and, without carts, start a march for several days. The troops made quick crossings, forced rivers, gapped swamps, made night attacks, stormed fortifications.
Suvorov taught the soldier to fight in real life and not stop at any obstacle, to be brave, decisive and disciplined. I put fighting spirit in the first place:
"Forward! God is with us! The Russian army is invincible! "
Or used to say:
"We are Russians and therefore we will win."
Suvorov was a real patriot, a statesman:
“Nature has produced only one Russia. She has no rivals. We are Russians, we will overcome everything. "
This was taught to officers and soldiers. And his miracle heroes worked real miracles.
Thus, if in all the regiments of the Russian army soldiers were then being prepared for the parade, Colonel Suvorov was preparing the Suzdal people for battle. His regiment marched 100 miles in two days (an ordinary regiment traveled no more than 10 miles per day). His soldiers knew what they were doing. The colonel used to say:
"Every soldier must know his own maneuver."
The training with Colonel Suvorov usually ended with a through bayonet attack - two battalions went with bayonets against each other. This is how the Suvorovites appeared in the army - miraculous heroes, ready for a fierce battle and anywhere, in the field, in the fortress or in the mountains. People who were not afraid of death and solved the most difficult combat missions.
Portrait of A. V. Suvorov. N. Utkin. 1818
Krasnoselskie exercises
During the command of the Suzdal regiment, Suvorov drew up a "Regimental institution" - an instruction that contained the main provisions and rules for the education of soldiers, internal service and combat training of troops.
The eccentric colonel interested the capital. Empress Catherine II wanted to see the Suzdal regiment, which everyone was talking about. The empress liked what she saw: the Suzdal men were loading their guns almost twice as fast as the guards rangers, marching merrily, cheerfully and soon, almost at a run, fenced perfectly with bayonets. Catherine thanked Suvorov and said that the Suzdal regiment is a school for the entire army.
However, Alexander Vasilyevich received neither a promotion nor a new appointment. The possible favorite of the Empress was looked at with envy. By this time, the colonel had lost his former patrons, but did not acquire new ones.
His father's star was on the wane. Hannibal by Peter III was dismissed. After the Seven Years War, Fermor was removed from military service and became a senator (it was an honorary pension). Elderly Buturlin has lost its former influence.
They tried to denigrate the Suzdal colonel. There were rumors in the capital that he was exhausting the soldiers with backbreaking work. He built a school for soldiers' children and a church with their hands, and planted a garden. The commander himself teaches at the school, he himself wrote a textbook. He arranges performances for the soldiers, and the officers act out plays. That is, the regiment commander was engaged in the education of soldiers (former peasants). The eccentric colonel was again talked about. The governor came to check. He examined the regiment, its facilities, and attended the performance. I was satisfied with everything.
The nods to Suvorov were dispelled in the summer of 1765 after great exercises in Krasnoe Selo. The camp houses 17 infantry and 7 cavalry regiments (30 thousand people). Field Marshal Buturlin's Guards Division, Golitsyn's 2nd Division and Panin's 3rd Finnish Division. The troops were divided into two armies under the command of Catherine and Panin. The second army consisted of Buturlin's guards and Golitsyn's regiments. The Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment from Buturlin received Suvorov the father (Vasily Ivanovich). Catherine, with her army, formed a light corps: it included cavalry, a battalion and grenadier companies of the Suzdal regiment. This corps conducted reconnaissance of the enemy location (Panin's division). The cavalry pushed the enemy forward patrols. Panin held a strong position. He adhered to linear tactics: two thin lines, defense of important points. On the heights, cannons with cover. Suvorov saw that this line could be broken anywhere, as long as the forces were concentrated.
And Suvorov led the Suzdal people into a swift attack on the artillery positions. The grenadiers distracted the enemy with a false attack, and the battalion rushed into a decisive attack. The artillerymen managed to fire one volley. But this did not stop the Suvorovites, in Novaya Ladoga their commander more than once led them to attack the guns. Suvorov's musketeers overturned the infantry cover and saddled the guns. Suvorov was already turning the guns to open fire on Panin's infantry, but he was stopped by Catherine's order. The Empress liked the colonel's quickness and activity, but his decisiveness frightened, went beyond the accepted rules of the game. Suvorov was ordered to withdraw. They expected that after such a brilliant performance of Suvorov, a promotion and high appointment awaited. In the order for maneuvers, Suvorov, the only colonel, was mentioned with praise along with the generals. However, the expectation did not come true. Suvorov returned to Novaya Ladoga without a promotion.
How Suvorov took Krakow
In the 1760s, Rzeczpospolita was at the stage of complete decomposition. Warsaw's foreign policy was subordinate to the neighboring great powers - Russia, Austria and Prussia. Petersburg was able to plant the pro-Russian king Stanislav II Augustus on the Polish throne. At the same time, most of the lords still looked to the West.
Although it was Catherine II who at that time did not want the partition of Poland, preferring to keep the Polish state as a buffer between Russia and Prussia, Austria. When the threat of another Russian-Turkish war arose, Russia's opponents in Poland became more active. They created the Bar confederation, started a war against the king and supporters of the alliance with the Russian Empire. The Polish lords hoped for help from France, Austria, Turkey and the Crimean Khanate. Rzeczpospolita plunged into the chaos of a civil war.
In this war, government and Russian troops fought the rebels. Austria gave refuge to Confederate troops. They were based in Silesia and Hungary. France sent experienced commanders, including Colonel Dumouriez. Also, the French pushed Turkey to a war against the Russians, which in the end they did.
The guerrilla war went on with varying success. Polish mounted militias were usually unable to withstand Russian regular troops. But the best Russian units were in the war with Turkey, and there was no way to crush the enemy in numbers (also because of the war with the Turks). The Russian army could not carry out large-scale operations to cleanse entire areas from the Confederates, and at the same time protect cities and important points. Therefore, this war has become a whole series of skirmishes. Russian (usually small) detachments pursued the enemy and crushed the Poles. The rebels maneuvered, tried to intercept small units and transports. When threatened with destruction, they fled to Austria.
It was in Poland that the brigadier Alexander Suvorov acquired his first loud military glory. In November 1768, he, together with the Suzdal regiment, set out from Novaya Ladoga and arrived in Smolensk in December. The regiment covered 927 km in a month. In May 1769 he received a brigade of the Suzdal, Smolensk and Nizhny Novgorod infantry regiments. He began to teach the regiments to act like Suvorov.
In July his regiments were in Poland, in August in the outskirts of Warsaw ꟷ Prague. For a month, the brigade walked 850 miles in Poland, having lost only a few people sick. At the end of August, Brigadier Suvorov received an order to eliminate a large enemy detachment, commanded by Kazimir and Franz Pulawski.
On August 31, Suvorov arrived in Brest. With a small detachment, he immediately began to search for the enemy. On September 2 (13), he overtook the enemy near the village of Orekhovo. The Confederates had 2 thousand fighters, Suvorov had 320 (based on the Suzdal grenadier company). The Russian commander crushed the enemy with a decisive attack. In the Russian unit, only a few people were killed and wounded. The Poles lost several hundred people killed and captured. One of the best commanders of the Confederates, Franz Pulawsky, was killed. The next day, a detachment of Colonel Renne (Kargopol Carabinieri Regiment) finished off a Polish detachment in the battle at Lomza. For the battle at Orekhov in January 1770, Suvorov was awarded the rank of major general and the Order of St. Anna, then was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree.
Suvorov was given a new task - to clean up the Lublin area. It was a serious task - a road passed through Lublin that connected Warsaw with the army at the Danube Theater. While crossing the Vistula, Alexander Vasilyevich fell and broke his chest. He was treated for several months. Meanwhile, the French adventurer Charles Dumouriez gathered a strong detachment and with a sudden blow captured Krakow. Soon the Poles occupied the entire Krakow region.
Then Suvorov was sent against him. On May 23, 1771, Suvorov defeated a detachment of the Frenchman Dumouriez near Lyantskorona (there were 3,5 thousand Russians, about 4 thousand Poles). The Poles relied on a strong position, a head-on assault could lead to heavy losses. Suvorov was not embarrassed and attacked. The speed and surprise of the attack demoralized the Poles and the French. They fled, losing several hundred people killed and captured. Dumouriez, enraged by the mediocrity and self-will of the Poles, left Poland.
However, the Confederates still resisted. Kazimir Pulawski tried to take the Zamoć fortress. He was able to capture the advanced fortifications and suburb. Suvorov drove the Poles out of the outskirts of the fortress.
The defeat of the uprising in Lithuania
While Suvorov was beating Dumurie and Pulavsky, the great Lithuanian hetman Mikhail Oginsky rebelled. Suvorov immediately moved towards him. The Suvorovites walked about 4 miles in 200 days and suddenly hit the Lithuanian gentry. On September 13 (24), 1771, in the battle at Stolovichi, Suvorov's detachment (about 900 people) utterly defeated Oginsky's corps (4-5 thousand people). The entire Lithuanian corps was destroyed and scattered - hundreds of killed and captured, all the artillery and baggage were captured. The hetman at the beginning of the battle slept calmly and barely managed to escape. Oginsky went into hiding abroad. Russian losses - over 100 people.
The uprising in Lithuania is suppressed. For the defeat of the Lithuanian hetman, Suvorov was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. In general, Suvorov's successes in Poland contributed to the defeat of the rebels, which became the basis of the First partition of the Commonwealth.
Siege of Krakow Castle
A new batch of French officers and non-commissioned officers arrived in Poland. The military mission was led by General de Viomenil. The French and Poles decided to recapture Krakow to give new impetus to the uprising.
In January 1772, the Confederates and the French, under the command of Brigadier Choisy, captured Krakow Castle. They took advantage of the oversight of the new commander of the Suzdal regiment, Colonel Stackelberg (the regiment was stationed in Krakow). Stackelberg was dancing at the ball when the enemy made a surprise attack and was barely able to escape. The Suzdalians tried to recapture the castle, but were driven back. The castle was well fortified. Soon Suvorov returned with a detachment of Russian troops and several regiments of the crown troops (loyal to the king) of Count Branitsky. The siege of Krakow Castle began. Field guns were dragged to the upper floors of the tall buildings of the city and opened fire on the castle. But their fire was ineffective, and there were no siege weapons.
On February 2, the besieged made a sortie and set fire to the outskirts of Krakow. Suvorov personally led his soldiers into a counterattack and drove the enemy back to the castle. On February 18, Russian troops tried to take the fortress by storm, but without success. Several times the detachments of the Confederates tried to come to the aid of the besieged garrison, but were repulsed by Branitsky's cavalry and Suvorov's infantry.
At the beginning of April, siege artillery arrived, and mine galleries began to be led under the walls. Food supplies were running low. Resistance has become meaningless. Suvorov offered Shuazi an honorable surrender.
On April 15 (26), 1772, the castle garrison surrendered.
The Russian commander treated the brave Frenchman with respect and returned his sword (like other French officers).
To be continued ...
- Alexander Samsonov
- https://ru.wikipedia.org/
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