"Hurray! Field Marshal Suvorov!"
Commander A. V. Suvorov. Lithograph by A. Grevedon
"I'm not German, but a natural Russian!"
The exact year of birth of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov is unknown. Suvorov himself sometimes indicated one or another year of his birth (1729 and 1730). Apparently, he himself did not know exactly. Therefore, the 295th anniversary of the great Russian commander can be celebrated two years in a row - in 2024 and 2025. Alexander Vasilyevich was born on November 13 (24), 1729 (or 1730).
There is a well-known textbook case from the childhood of the future commander, when an old friend of Vasily Ivanovich, "Peter the Great's blackamoor" and the emperor's godson, General Abram Petrovich Gannibal, came to their country estate. They had known each other since their youth from their service with the tsar. Both, by the way, were Peter's godsons and the emperor's orderlies (officers for assignments).
Abram Petrovich went into little Sasha's room and, to his surprise, found the "sickly and weak-health child," as he was told, playing with soldiers, and a serious game at that, in accordance with all the rules of military tactics on the battlefield. After questioning the boy, the general learned that he had already read the works of Western European military historians, knew about the campaigns of Caesar and Hannibal, and knew about the glorious victories of Maurice of Saxony and Raymond Montecuculli, famous European commanders. Well, Alexander's father told him about the deeds of Peter the Great and his great achievements. The surprised Abram Hannibal returned to the living room to the hosts and told them that their son was now hosting "glorious guests," and predicted a military career for the boy.
Having relatively weak health, Suvorov constantly hardened himself physically. He doused himself with cold water. He fasted. He avoided luxury and led a Spartan lifestyle.
At the age of 12, Alexander was enrolled in the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, one of the oldest Russian regiments stationed in St. Petersburg. But he arrived there only at the beginning of 1748, that is, at the age of 17 or 18. He began his real service as a corporal of the guard, and before that he was on formal leave and studied. He learned several languages. For a long time, he served in low ranks, carried out diplomatic missions.
But he dreamed of war, so he did not go into diplomacy or army supply, as his father wanted. At the same time, under his father's patronage, Suvorov quickly advanced in the service and in 1758 was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
He gained his first combat experience in the Seven Years' War. At first, he served at the headquarters of various military leaders in this war. He personally observed the famous Battle of Kunersdorf, even led mounted dragoons into the attack, and was present at the storming of the Kolberg fortress. He commanded separate cavalry units. During numerous skirmishes with the Prussians, he showed himself to be a brave cavalry commander.
Drawing by an unknown artist "Suvorov with soldiers at a halt"
Science win
In 1762, Suvorov was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, then from 1763 to 1769 he commanded the Suzdal Infantry Regiment in Novaya Ladoga. He compiled the "Regimental Institution" - an instruction containing the basic provisions and rules for the education of soldiers, internal service and combat training of troops.
In June 1765, the Suzdal regiment took part in large maneuvers that regularly took place in Krasnoe Selo. Suvorov was commended in the order following the maneuvers. From 1768, brigadier.
At this time, Alexander Vasilyevich became a real "father to the soldiers." He understood the soul of a simple man, a soldier, and began to enjoy their complete trust and love. The commander was always with the soldiers, on the march, at rest, and in battle. He took care of them like a family member. He taught the soldiers not to be afraid of death. He always made sure that the officers treated the soldiers humanely, and not like slaves and serfs.
Future The great commander persistently studied himself and trained his soldiers and officers. He said: "War is the strictest teacher, and it gives good marks only to the diligent and skillful." Suvorov studied not only military affairs very well. He knew a lot about stories, geography, mathematics and philosophy.
At critical moments, when the enemy's superior forces began to gain the upper hand, Suvorov immediately appeared in the front ranks. He joked and cursed, encouraged the soldiers. He inspired them: "Heroes, the enemy trembles before you!"
"A soldier must be healthy, brave, firm, decisive, fair, pious. Pray to God! Victory comes from him. Miracle heroes! God leads us - he is our general!"
"Brothers! Strike with the bayonet, stab with the butt! Don't linger: move quickly forward! Whoa, swing! Shake your head, forward, brothers! Miracle heroes, forward! We are Russian!»
And his miracle heroes performed miracles. They took "impregnable" positions and fortresses, drove away hordes of enemies.
As a result, the Suvorov cadets, soldiers and officers who served under the command of Alexander Vasilyevich were ready to follow him through fire and water.
So The Suvorov military school, the most advanced one, was formed. Suvorov, ahead of his time, was able to develop and enrich the best traditions of military art. They were embodied in the famous Suvorov manual - the book "The Science of Victory", written by him in 1796.
In fact, Suvorov's basic principles of military art are "eye, speed and onslaught" – were perfectly mastered and brought to life by another great commander of that era, Napoleon Bonaparte.
"Brothers! Hit with a bayonet, stab with a rifle butt!"
The numerous wars waged by Russia contributed to Suvorov's rise. During the war with the Bar Confederation (1769-1772), Alexander Vasilyevich, in the rank of brigadier general, inflicted a number of heavy defeats on the troops of the Polish lords. The Confederate troops, armed by Polish magnates who fought against Russia's ally King Stanislav Poniatowski, hoped for help from Turkey and France.
The French even sent military advisers, including the famous General Dumouriez, considered an experienced strategist. Suvorov met this commander at the fortress of Landskrona and completely defeated his entire Polish-French army.
Then the Russian commander defeated Hetman Oginsky's corps at Stolovichi and forced the enemy garrison in Krakow to capitulate. Suvorov's actions significantly influenced the outcome of the campaign. The Bar Confederation was routed. Russia regained part of Western Rus' during the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Surrender of the Krakow Castle. French officers give A. V. Suvorov their swords. I. Schubert
Suvorov gained great fame as a commander in the wars with the Ottomans, where he fought first under the command of Pyotr Rumyantsev, then the most serene prince Grigory Potemkin. Empress Catherine II began to single him out, calling him "my general." And to complaints she responded: "Winners are not judged!"
Turtukai, Girsovo, Kozludzhi. Suvorov's successes became one of the determining factors in the victory of the Russian army in the war of 1768-1774. The talented general was thrown against Pugachev, whose rebellion almost caused new unrest. But the impostor had already been defeated by Colonel Mikhelson. He participated in suppressing unrest and strengthening defensive lines in the south of the empire, in the development of Novorossiya. He contributed to the annexation of Crimea and the pacification of local peoples.
During the new war with Turkey in 1787-1791, he made a decisive contribution to Russia's victory. In a fierce battle, he threw the enemy's landing force into the sea at Kinburn. For the defense of Kinburn, Suvorov received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and was wounded twice in battle. He crushed the enemy at Focsani, and destroyed the strongest army of the great Turkish vizier Yusuf Pasha on the Rymnik River. For this, he was awarded the title of Count of Rymnik.
One of the most famous victories was the capture of the "impregnable" Turkish fortress of Izmail on the Danube in December 1790, when Suvorov with a smaller Russian army routed a larger Turkish army, which was also sitting behind the powerful walls of the fortress. He routed and completely destroyed it in one day of an unprecedented assault! At the same time, before Suvorov, other generals could not take the fortress.
“My first shot is already captivity, an assault is death,” Suvorov wrote to the commandant of the fortress, to which he received the famous answer that “the sky would sooner fall to the earth and the Danube would flow backwards than Izmail would surrender.”
For this feat, Suvorov did not receive any awards (except for the honorary title of lieutenant colonel of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment), and generally fell into disgrace, was removed from the southern theater of military operations and sent to inspect fortresses in Finland.
"Hooray! Warsaw is ours!
After the death of Potemkin, who envied Suvorov's glory, he was appointed commander of the troops in Novorossiya in 1792. At that time, Russia was preparing the Constantinople operation - the capture of the Strait zone and Tsargrad-Constantinople.
The Kosciuszko Uprising in Poland distracted Russia. Suvorov was again sent to pacify the Poles. Suvorov's corps inflicted several defeats on the enemy and reached Warsaw.
On November 4, 1794, Suvorov's cadets stormed Prague, a fortified suburb of the Polish capital. They covered the pits with wattle fences and ladders, filled the ditches with fascines, climbed the rampart with ladders or drove in bayonets. They knocked down the Poles on the rampart with bayonet blows, fought with rifle butts, sabres and knives. Suvorov demanded not to shoot unnecessarily, not to waste time, "to beat and drive the enemy with a bayonet; to work quickly, swiftly and bravely, in the Russian way!"
The Poles fought fiercely. According to von Kluge (Klugin), a participant in the storming of Warsaw, the Poles "wouldn't say that they fought with ferocity, no - they fought with rage and without any mercy... In my life I have been to hell twice - during the storming of Izmail and during the storming of Prague... It's scary to remember!"
The Poles were unable to stop Suvorov's "miracle heroes". One of the inspirers of the Polish defense, General Zajączek, received a bullet in the stomach and was taken to the other bank of the Vistula at the very beginning of the battle. General Wawrzecki tried to organize a defense, but, realizing that the matter was lost, he fled across the bridge before Lassi's column encircled the Prague garrison.
In places the Poles counterattacked, but their attacks were repelled. The Polish defense collapsed. But the Poles continued to fight in separate bastions, fortifications and houses. Only a small part of the Polish garrison managed to escape by boat or by swimming (about 1 thousand people). Many drowned. The rest were killed or captured.
The Russian soldiers, enraged by the stubborn resistance of the Poles and memories of the Warsaw Matins, tried not to take prisoners. Civilians also suffered. According to von Kluge, when they shot from houses, our soldiers, breaking into them, spared no one. Suvorov did not continue the battle and ordered the bridge to the other bank to be burned.
The fierce battle ended in 9 hours. In just a few hours, the Polish garrison of Prague was almost completely destroyed. Everywhere there were piles of corpses. Suvorov ordered to leave them before the arrival of the Warsaw delegation, in order to have a psychological impact on her. In a report from Suvorov on November 7, it was reported that they had counted the killed Poles of 13340, the prisoners of 12860, sank more than 2 thousand people. Among the prisoners were three generals (Mayen, Gesler and Krupsinsky) and 442 officers, and among the dead were four generals (Yasinsky, Korsak, Kvasnevsky and Grabovsky). The Russian army lost 1,5 thousand people.
It must be said that in the wars of that time this was a common practice. The same Poles, or Ottomans, and the French often acted even more harshly than the Russian army. Suvorov was always cruel to the resisting enemy and merciful to those who had collapsed. weaponDuring the storming of Izmail, the Russian army acted in a similar manner.
Following his usual practice towards an already defeated enemy, Suvorov ordered the release of up to 6 captured militiamen. Then, at the request of the Polish king, Suvorov also released the captured officers. This gesture of goodwill greatly elevated the Russian commander in the eyes of the Poles. Suvorov also took responsibility and declared an amnesty in the name of the empress. Those who laid down their arms were promised "freedom and oblivion of everything that had happened."
Shocked by the instantaneous death of the entire Praga garrison, the inhabitants of Warsaw demanded that the command surrender the capital. Suvorov dictated the terms of capitulation to the delegates. Soon the Russian army entered Warsaw. The uprising in Poland was suppressed. The rebels surrendered and went home, fled abroad.
Catherine II awarded the great commander the title of Field Marshal General. This was done in the manner characteristic of the Empress. To Suvorov's report: "Hurray! Warsaw is ours!" the Empress responded: "Hurray! Field Marshal Suvorov!" This happened when Alexander Vasilyevich was already 65 years old.
Field Marshal Suvorov was appointed commander of all Russian troops in Poland, then commander-in-chief in Novorossiya.
The Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm sent the Russian commander the Order of the Red Eagle and the Great Black Eagle. The Austrian Emperor Franz presented Suvorov with his portrait, strewn with diamonds.
A. Orlovsky, Storm of Prague, 1797
"Here lies Suvorov"
After Catherine's death in 1796, her son Paul I ascended the Russian throne, who had his own vision of foreign policy and the army. Suvorov fell into disgrace again and went to his estate Konchanskoye. But after the military-political situation in Europe worsened and the French army succeeded, the old commander was remembered and returned to service. A series of brilliant victories over the French in Italy followed.
At the same time, the great commander had to "defeat" our allies, the Austrians, who were afraid of the successes of the Russian army. Although it was Russia that saved the Austrian Empire from complete defeat.
The crowning achievement of the field marshal's military leadership was the Swiss campaign of 1799 and the famous crossing of the Alps. In essence, the Austrians had betrayed Russia and the Russian army. The Russians were supposed to die in battle with the superior forces of the French or die freezing in the mountains. But Alexander Vasilyevich saved the army.
For this miracle he was granted the highest military rank – Generalissimo. Paul I, seeing the intrigues of Austria and England, refused an alliance with them.
Prince of Italy, Count of the Russian Empire Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Count of the Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and naval forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops - Suvorov was awarded all the Russian orders of his time, as well as many foreign military orders.
Suvorov never lost a single battle, and all of them were won despite the enemy’s numerical superiority.
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov died upon arrival in St. Petersburg on May 6 (18), 1800, and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. When the hearse with his body approached the gates of the Lavra, it did not fit through the gates. Then Suvorov's soldiers, who were carrying the hearse, raised it on bayonets above the gates and, shouting: "It will pass, I have passed everywhere!", carried it to the place of its final burial. On the slab of his grave it is written: "Here lies Suvorov."
"Suvorov's Crossing of the Alps". Painting by Vasily Surikov
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