Cossacks in World War 1812 of the year. Part I, pre-war
World War 1812 of the year was the apotheosis of the era of the Napoleonic wars. These wars themselves were the culmination of a long era of Anglo-French geopolitical rivalry. Anglo-French confrontation had a turbulent centuries-old history. Wars went on almost continuously and for a long time, there was even a Hundred Years War between them. Once again, the confrontation was greatly aggravated in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
Before that, the British with difficulty crushed Spain from the pedestal of the mistress of the seas, by the way, not without the help of France, and on the way to world domination inevitably ran into a new political rival on the continent. In addition, England turned into an industrial power and sought to expand its overseas colonies to expand colonial trade. Since the days of Louis XIV, this rivalry for colonial reasons has become even more acute, the Anglo-French wars then went on almost continuously and were very bloody. Abundant bloodshed did not add credibility to the authorities on both sides, and after the Seven Years' War, rivalry began to take on predominantly hypocritical, submissive and Jesuit forms. At that time, unexpected, sophisticated, insidious, and treacherous mutual blows in the asylum and in the troubled became especially popular. The French succeeded in this first. With the help of the disgraced British prince Henry (younger brother of the English king) they found a weak link in the long chain of British colonies. The French ideologically, morally and financially generously sponsored by the insurgents of the North American colonies. In the army of insurgents, French "volunteers" fought in abundance, including in high command positions. For example, General Lafayette was the head of the headquarters of the rebel army, and Colonel Kostyushko commanded the sapper units. Numerous "volunteers" were in such a hurry to render international assistance that they did not bother to arrange a resignation, or at least a vacation, i.e. were active officers of the French army. In order to hush up this scandal, their former commanders, in absentia and in hindsight, issued them "indefinite leave ... for personal reasons ... with salary”. The rebels were rampant in rebellious states almost with impunity and frantically, and when there was a threat of retribution, they hid abroad and sat out in Quebec, France. After several years of struggle, Britain was forced to recognize the independence of the North American states. It was a ringing slap. The new British government solemnly promised the parliament and the king to create an asymmetric response to the French, from whom it will not seem to them much. And they completely succeeded. The British generously and indiscriminately sponsored a motley, heterogeneous and multi-vector French opposition, nurtured by the power itself in the muddy waters of the French Enlightenment (read Perestroika) and created such a bouza in France itself, that the descendants would call this distemper just like the Great French Revolution. Of course, in both of these cases, internal causes and prerequisites were central, but the influence on these events by agents, sponsors and ideologists of geopolitical rivals was enormous.
The desire to put a geopolitical rival on the steps, cutting or stretching, to help him go mad, stink, shizanutsya with the help of some adjustment or reformation, slip, or even better to tip over and fly off a cliff upside down, and by consensus solely on their own, this is international life is quite by concepts and practiced from the creation of the world. In relations between England and France, numerous foreign and domestic agents, sponsors and volunteers, walked around the rebel provinces like at home, stirred up and sponsored countless insurrections and riots, fought in illegal armed groups, and sometimes it came to direct military intervention. The revolution in France further intensified the Anglo-French enmity. An ideological struggle added to the political, colonial and trade struggle. England looked at France as a country of unrest, Jacobins, anarchists, debauchees, Satanists and atheists, she supported emigration and blocked France in order to limit the spread of revolutionary ideas. And France looked at England as a “colossus on clay feet,” holding onto the soap bubbles of usury, lending, bank accounts, national egoism and a rough material calculation. England for France has become a "Carthage", which was necessary to destroy. But in the muddy waters of this great French distemper, English agents, sponsors and volunteers began to play so hard that they missed and underestimated the coming to power of Bonaparte. From him to the British were only trouble. While taking the position of first consul, Napoleon received a mandate from the chairman of the Convention Barassa: “Pompey did not hesitate, destroying pirates on the seas. More than the Roman fleet - unleash the struggle on the seas. Go and punish England in London for her crimes that remained unpunished for a long time. ”
Fig. 1 First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte
At first glance, such an interpretation of the origins and causes of the Napoleonic wars may seem simplistic and monochrome. Indeed there is a lack of color, emotion and pseudo-science. But as the classic taught us, in order to understand the true essence of the picture, you need to mentally drop the palette and present the plot drawn by the creator on canvas with coal in it. Now, if we proceed from this method and discard demagogy, idealism and pseudo-science, then it will turn out just right, one naked and naked, though cynical truth. Even in the most distant times, colorful diplomatic clothes — special language, protocol and etiquette — were invented to adorn the natural nature of politics and to cover up this cynical truth. But for the analyst, these politesses are deeply purple, for they can only stir up, and not clarify the situation, he is obliged to see the naked truth. His task and duty is to expose the plot, unravel the tangle of hypocrisy, hypocrisy and controversy, free the truth from the shackles of science, and, if necessary, dissect its body and soul mercilessly, decompose it into molecules and make it accessible for the simplest understanding. And then everything will be just right. But back to the Napoleonic wars.
The struggle at sea ended in the defeat of the French Nelson fleet under Trafalgar, and the project of a campaign in India was not feasible. The continental blockade imposed by Bonaparte did not lead to an undermining of the British economy. At the same time, Bonaparte’s military successes on the continent made all European people completely dependent on him. Austria, Prussia, Italy, Holland, Spain and the German principalities were completely dependent. The kings of many countries were placed Napoleon's brothers: in Westphalia - Jerome, in the Netherlands - Luis, in Spain - Joseph. Italy was turned into a republic, whose president was Napoleon himself. Marshal Murat, married to Napoleon’s sister, was appointed king of Naples. All these countries constituted a continental alliance directed against England. The boundaries of their possessions were arbitrarily changed by Napoleon, they had to supply troops for the wars of the empire, ensure their maintenance and make contributions to the imperial treasury. As a result, dominance on the mainland began to belong to France, dominance on the seas remained with England.
Russia, being a continental power, could not stay away from the Napoleonic wars, although at first it was counting on it. Neither England nor France were ever sincere friends and allies of Russia, so when they clashed among themselves in a mortal fight, Mother Catherine acted purely out of her favorite consideration: “And what is the use of Russia from this?”. And the benefit was, and it was in the plane of Russian-Polish relations. The zigzags of Russian-Polish relations cannot be considered without regard to the peculiarities of the Polish mentality. In terms of mentality, Poles are a unique people, even by the standards of unlimited European bigotry, hypocrisy and political prostitution. They fiercely hate all their neighbors, and the Russians, contrary to our common opinion, are far from the first place in this hatred. It is very difficult and very dangerous for them to live in such an environment; therefore, for their safety, they traditionally seek sponsors and patrons overseas, overseas. Under their patronage and patronage, the Poles furiously and with impunity spoil all their neighbors, causing them no less fierce dislike. But life is striped, the strip is light, the strip is black. And in the period of the black band, when their then main sponsor and protector France fell into a terrible turmoil, the neighbors of Poland, namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, quickly forgot about their mutual troubles for a while and began to be friends against Poland. This friendship ended in two sections of Poland. Let me remind you that back in 1772, Russia, Austria and Prussia, picking the right moment, already produced the first partition of Poland, with the result that Russia received eastern Belarus, Austria - Galicia, and Prussia - Pomerania. In the 1793 year, thanks to the French distemper, a new opportune moment arrived and a second partition of Poland took place, according to which Russia received Volyn, Podolia and Minsk province, Prussia - Danzig region. Polish patriots rebelled. In Warsaw, the Provisional Government was formed, the king was arrested, and the war of Russia and Prussia was declared. At the head of the Polish troops stood T. Kosciusko, against the rebels, A.V. Suvorov. Russian troops stormed the suburb of Warsaw - Prague, Kosciusko was captured, Warsaw capitulated, the leaders of the uprising fled to Europe. Russian-Prussian troops occupied all of Poland, then the final destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth followed. The king refused the throne, and Russia, Austria and Prussia produced the third partition of Poland in 1795. Russia received Lithuania, Courland and western Belarus, Austria - Krakow and Lublin, and Prussia received the whole of northern Poland and Warsaw. With the annexation of the Crimean and Lithuanian possessions to Russia, the centuries-old struggle for the Horde inheritance ended, with wars that continued for centuries. With the conquest of the Black Sea and the Crimea, the borders with Turkey were established in the west along the Dniester line, in the east along the Kuban and Terek lines. The Polish-Lithuanian state, which had claimed leadership in the Slavic world for several centuries, disintegrated, the long struggle ended in victory for Russia. But with the solution of some problems there were others. With the division of Poland, Russia entered into direct contact with the peoples of the German race, a potentially no less dangerous adversary than the Poles. Pan-Slavism is now inevitably contrasted with Pan-Germanism. With the division of Poland, one of the largest in the world, at that time, the Jewish diaspora with Zionism in its depths also fell into Russia. As the subsequent history showed, this diaspora turned out to be a no less persistent and stubborn opponent of the Russian world than the Poles or the Germanic race, but much more sophisticated, insidious and hypocritical. But at that time it seemed a trifle compared with the centuries-old Russian-Polish confrontation. The epistemological basis of this Russian-Polish antagonism and then and now is a keen rivalry in the Eastern European geopolitical field for the right of leadership in the Slavic world. It is based on the so-called Polish messianism. According to him, the Poles are assigned the role of leader among the Slavs, i.e. nation superior to the other Slavic peoples on a number of criteria. Major role in the messianic concept is played by superiority in matters of religion. It is the suffering Polish people who redeem the "original sin" of Byzantium, while preserving true Christianity (Catholicism) for posterity. It also ideologically supports the hatred of the Poles for the Protestant Germans. In the second place is the struggle with the Russian Slavophilism, for the Russian Slavophiles refuse Poles to call themselves "true Slavs", which again is connected with the belonging of the Poles to the Catholic religion. The Poles, in the opinion of the Slavophils, yielding to the spiritual influence of the West, changed the Slavic cause. In response to this, Polish historians and thinkers constantly exaggerate the theme of the not entirely Slavic (Mongolian, Asian, Turanian, Finno-Finnish, etc.) origin of the Russian people. At the same time, the thousand-year-old Polish history is presented as the continuous defense of Europe against the wild hordes of Tatars, Muscovites and Turks. In the opposition of the Russian people to the Polish, the Poles are constantly attributed to more ancient origins, greater purity of race and faith, higher moral principles of life.
- tendency to aggression, great power and expansion
- Asian woman with her inherent irresponsibility, resourcefulness, a tendency to lie, greed, bribery, cruelty and licentiousness
- a penchant for drunkenness, alcoholism and idle amusements
- extraordinary bureaucratization of public consciousness and state-political system
- intolerance towards Uniates and the very idea.
Here is a typical Polish view of Russians: “Mosk-kal is always different, depending on what day of the week, what people around him, abroad, or at home. A Russian has no concept of responsibility, his own profit and convenience are driven by his behavior. Russian people are very petty and picky, but not because they want to do for the good of their homeland, but because they are trying for their own benefit, to receive a bribe or to distinguish themselves before the authorities. In Russia, everything is devoted to benefit and convenience, even the Fatherland and Faith. Mosk-cal, even when stealing, pretends to do a good thing. ” However, having crushed Rzeczpospolita at the end of the 18th century, the Russians actually proved that, despite all their features and shortcomings, if properly managed, they alone are worthy of claiming leadership in the Slavic world. Thus, Mother Catherine very worthily and in the interests of the empire used this regular Anglo-French svara at the end of the 18th century.
Fig. 2 Sections of Poland
6 November 1796, Empress Catherine the Great died. In the 18th century, in the history of Russia, 2 reigning faces turned the Muscovite state into a world power. For these reigns, the historical struggle in the west for dominance in the Baltic and in the south for the possession of Black Sea was successfully completed. Russia was turned into a powerful state, whose forces became a decisive factor in European politics. However, a large military tension was strongly reflected in the internal situation of the country. The treasury was exhausted, finances were in disarray, arbitrariness and abuses reigned in the administration. In the army, the personnel did not correspond to reality, the recruits did not reach the regiments and were in private jobs with the commanding staff, the majority of nobles in the army were listed only on lists. The new emperor Pavel Petrovich was hostile to the order that existed under his mother. He outlined extensive plans to raise the prestige of the supreme power, limit the rights of the nobility, reduce labor service and improve the life of the peasantry, put in full dependence on the arbitrariness of the landowners. But for the implementation of these plans were needed not only decrees and orders, but above all the sequence of their implementation and the authority of the ruler. But Paul had neither the one nor the other. He did not inherit from his mother and great-grandfather the character that led people into obedience, and the fickleness of his mood created the greatest confusion. In foreign policy, Paul decided to cease hostilities and give the country the necessary rest. But the country was already tightly woven into European politics and the international situation did not allow the empire to relax. In European politics, the French revolutionary government had an increasing influence. Emperor Paul tried not to interfere in the European squabbles and took measures against the spread of contagious revolutionary ideas. Borders were closed to foreigners, Russian was forbidden to communicate with them, the import of foreign books, newspapers and even notes was prohibited. It was forbidden to study in foreign universities.
But they failed to sit in isolation, and European policy itself came to Russia anyway. The imprudent decision of the emperor to become the master of the Maltese order forced Paul to join the anti-French coalition in 1798. This happened after Bonaparte on the way to Egypt, in passing, captured Malta. Paul was furious with this act and went to war with France. A.V. was appointed head of the Austro-Russian troops during a campaign in Italy. Suvorov, and when his body was 10 Don regiments. Despite the brilliant Suvorov victories, the campaign against the French because of the double-dealing of the Austrians and the British ended on the whole miserably. Having dealt with the betrayal of such unreliable allies and led by the unpredictable variability of his character, Paul entered into an alliance with France and declared war on England. In accordance with the strategy of the Franco-Russian alliance, Napoleon and Paul outlined a joint campaign in India through Central Asia and Afghanistan. The starting point was assigned Astrakhan. Due to difficulties in Italy, General Moreau’s French corps did not arrive in Astrakhan on time, and Paul ordered one of the Don Troops to go on a campaign. February 24 1801 campaigns were launched: 41 Don regiment, two companies of horse artillery, 500 Kalmyks. Total 22507 people. The army was commanded by Don Ataman Orlov, the first brigade of the 13 regiments was commanded by M.I. Platov. 18 March, the regiments crossed the Volga and continued on their way. But, thank God, this disastrous adventure for the Cossacks did not come true.
Emperor Paul by nature possessed uncommon abilities and good spiritual qualities, was an excellent family man, but had a great disadvantage - lack of self-control and a tendency to fall into psychopathic states. His temper showed up to individuals regardless of their rank and position, and they were subjected to cruel and degrading insults in the presence of others and even before the eyes of their subordinates. The arbitrariness of the emperor caused general discontent and there was a conspiracy among the courtiers to eliminate it. In the first place, the conspirators began to remove from the emperor those loyal to him and replace them with conspirators. The bodyguards of Pavel, officers of the Life Guards Cossack regiment and the brothers Gruzinov, were specified and convicted. The arrest of the ataman Platov after an evil slander belongs to this time, but he was released and sent to the Don on the occasion of a campaign against India. The Don Army’s march to India alarmed England, and the British ambassador to St. Petersburg began to actively help the conspirators.
They used the complex relationship of the emperor and heir to the throne, Alexander Pavlovich. Their relationship was ruined during the life of Empress Catherine, who intended to transfer the throne to her grandson, bypassing her son. Relations have become aggravated so much that the nephew of the empress (Paul's wife) Prince of Württemberg arrived in Petersburg, whom the emperor had promised to bring to a position that would “amaze everyone”. In such circumstances, the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich was also involved in the plot. On the night of March 11 on 12, Emperor Paul was killed. Alexander's accession to the throne throughout Russia was greeted with joy.
Upon accession to the throne, the first manifesto was an amnesty for all victims of Paul the First. Those turned out to be: 7 thousands planted into the fortress, thousands sent to different places - 12 thousands. The campaign to India was canceled, the Cossacks were ordered to return to the Don. The regiments to 25 April returned safely to Don without a loss in people. The new emperor, brought up in the ideas of liberalism, set out to improve the life of the people. To implement these ideas, a secret committee was created and reforms began. But in relation to the Cossacks, at first there was no change, and the government kept the order indicated by the field commander Marshal Prozorovsky in his time as the commander of the Azov region: historically developed techniques. " But life demanded reforms in Cossack life. After the death of Ataman Orlov, from 1801, M.I. Platov and he began reforms.
Fig. 3 Ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov
By decree of 29 September 1802, the military office, which was chaired by the ataman, was divided into 3 expeditions: military, civil and economic. The whole land of the Don Cossacks was divided into 7 counties, called investigative authorities. Members of detective bosses served at the option of 3 of the year. Former towns were called villages, and villages hamlets. The police was established in Cherkassk, the police chief was confirmed by the Senate on the proposal of the ataman. The military reform established headquarters and ober-officer ranks on the 60 regiments. Their resignation was allowed no earlier than 25 years of service. Each Cossack received a plot of land and did not pay any taxes to the state, taxes, and must always be ready for service, having his own weapon, clothes and two horses. The Cossack, who in turn was to go to the service, could hire another for himself. Among the benefits of the Don Cossacks were duty-free fishing in the Don rivers, salt extraction in the Manych lakes and smoking of wine. September 1 On the nomination of Platov, a “trade Cossacks” was instituted. Cossacks, engaged in trade and industry on a large scale, were exempt from serving military service and paid annually to the treasury for 1804 rubles for the duration of their peers' service. By Decree 100, December 31, due to annual flooding, moved the capital of the Army from Cherkassk to Novocherkassk. The Cossacks finally turned into a military estate, the entire internal life and social structure was reduced to the development and maintenance of the fighting properties of light field cavalry. In terms of tactics and combat, this was a complete legacy of nomadic peoples. The main structure of the battle order remained lava, which was once a component of the main power of the Mongolian cavalry. In addition to the direct lava, there were several of its subspecies: an angle forward, a back angle, a ledge to the right and a ledge to the left. In addition, other traditional methods of nomadic cavalry were used: ambush, hinterland, raid, detour, reach and penetration.
Fig. 4 Cossack lava
The Cossacks were armed with the same peaks and sabers, but with the development of firearms instead of bows with arrows - rifles and pistols. The form of the Cossack saddle had nothing to do with the saddles of the Russian and European cavalry and was inherited from the cavalry of the Eastern peoples. The military organization and training of the military system was conducted according to the centuries-old customs and skills of the nomadic peoples, and not according to the regulations of the cavalry. For the Russian government, the Cossack cavalry, in addition to its excellent fighting qualities, had another feature — its low cost of maintenance. Horses, weapons and equipment were purchased by the Cossacks themselves, and the maintenance of parts of the military treasury. The reward from the government for the service of the Cossacks was military land, thirty dessiatines per Cossack, starting from the 16 summer age. Taking advantage of the power, Cossack officials and commanders obtained vast lands on the western borders of the Army and quickly became major landowners. For tillage and care of livestock, labor was required and they were purchased by buying peasants within Russia and at fairs within the Don that turned into real slave markets. The largest trading place of slave-serfs was the village of Uryupinskaya, where landowners of the Russian provinces sent peasants and peasant women to sell to the Don Cossacks at the price of 160-180 rubles. Despite the survey carried out under Catherine II, the land was distributed very unevenly, the mass of the Cossack people was suppressed by need. The poor begged for weapons and equipment in the villages. By decree 1806 of the year, this disgrace was discontinued and land was taken from some large landowners in favor of the Cossacks, and some of the serfs were forced into Cossacks.
After Alexander's accession to the throne, the policy towards France was gradually revised and Russia again took part in anti-French coalitions. During these military campaigns, Napoleonic troops met with the Cossacks, but they did not impress them. And Napoleon himself, who met the Cossacks for the first time in the battle of Preussish-Eylau, did not appreciate and did not understand their tactics. Moreover, looking at them, he declared that it was “the shame of the human race.” Short European campaigns did not allow the French to feel all the danger that Cossacks may pose. However, soon the 1812 war of the year corrected this annoying gap in the French military knowledge. After the unsuccessful participation of Russia in several coalitions against France, Napoleon again forced Russia to participate in the continental blockade of Britain and peace and alliance in Tilsit was concluded.
Fig. 5 Napoleon and Emperor Alexander I meet in Tilsit
But the peaceful relations established by the Treaty of Tilsit not only provoked moral protest from the masses, this treaty laid a heavy burden on the country's economy. The continental blockade deprived Russia of the possibility of trade with the vast British Empire, which had a severe effect on the economy and finances of the country and led to a rapid decline in the Russian banknotes. All this was a new cause for discontent Alexander in all classes of the state. This dissatisfaction was skilfully maintained in society by English agents and French émigrés. In addition, the Russian Mediterranean squadron did not have time to go into Russia, and was captured by the British in Lisbon. The benefits derived from the alliance with Napoleon — his consent to Finland’s accession and neutrality in the war with Turkey — could not compensate for the losses imposed on the country. Therefore, the conditions imposed by the contract could not be fulfilled by Russia in good faith, and this provision sooner or later should have led to a rupture. The reasons for cooling the political order were added and the reasons of a personal nature, such as the refusal to marry the sister of Emperor Alexander to Napoleon. Under the influence of economic and political reasons, popular discontent and opposition to the emperor’s entourage, Russia began to violate the conditions of the Treaty of Tilsit and both sides began to prepare for war. In an effort to use force to force Alexander to comply with the conditions of the continental blockade, Napoleon began to concentrate troops in the Duchy of Warsaw. Russia also concentrated its armed forces on the western borders. In the army, changes were made in the management. Instead Arakcheeva military minister was appointed Barclay de Tolly.
The era of Napoleon militarily constituted a transitional stage from the linear tactics of the 18th century to fighting in columns with a wide maneuver when approaching the battlefield. This form of war provided ample opportunities for the use of light Cossack cavalry, using its mobility. This allowed the use of a wide maneuver, to act on the enemy’s flanks and rear. The basis of the tactics of the use of Cossack cavalry masses were the old methods of nomadic cavalry. These techniques were able to keep the enemy under threat of attack, penetration into the flanks and in the rear, ready to attack on a broad front, encirclement and complete destruction of the enemy. The Cossack cavalry was still alien to the authorized construction of the closed formations, inactive masses of the cavalry of European nations. The 1812-1813 war against Napoleon was one of the last in which the Cossacks could display the highest qualities of the light cavalry of the obsolete nomadic world. Favorable conditions for the actions of the Cossack cavalry in this war were also the fact that there were still Cossack commanders who retained the ability to use light horse masses in the best way, and also that the Cossack units were distributed not only between individual armies or corps, but kept in large units under by the power of one military leader. The Russian troops before the war were: General Barclay de Tolly had 10 Cossack regiments (Platov corps) in the First Western Army, General Bagration had 8 Cossack regiments (Ilovaisky corps) in the Second Western Army, 5 Cossack regiments in the third Observational Army , in the Danube army of Admiral Chichagov, there were 10 Cossack regiments distributed in different corps; the corps of General Wittgenstein, who was covering Petersburg, included the 3 Cossack regiment. In addition, the 3 Cossack regiment were in Finland, the 2 regiment in Odessa and the Crimea, the 2 regiment in Novocherkassk, the 1 regiment in Moscow. Special conditions were required to protect the Caucasian Front. In addition to the two infantry divisions, the defense of the Caucasian line was assigned mainly to the Cossack troops. They carried a heavy cordon service against the highlanders of Terek, Kuban and Georgia and were divided into separate troops: Terek, Kizlyar, Grebensk and settled regiments: Mozdok, Volga, Khoper and others. Among these troops were all the time 20 of the Don Regiments of the Line Troops. Thus, by the beginning of the Patriotic War with Napoleon in 1812, the Don Army set up the 64 regiment, the Urals 10 and the troops of the Caucasian line were assigned the task of guarding and defending the border across the Terek, Kuban and Georgia borders. By the beginning of the summer of 1812, the mobilization and concentration of the Great Army of Napoleon (Grande Armee) in Poland and Prussia was over, and the war was becoming inevitable. Emperor Alexander had excellent intelligence; it suffices to recall that Talleyrand himself denounced him, and from this awareness he strongly panicked. There is a correspondence between Tsar Alexander and the Moscow mayor F.V. Rostopchin, dated winter 1811-12 of the year. Alexander wrote to Moscow’s head that Napoleon was already almost mobilized, gathered a huge army from all over Europe, and as always, we are very bad. Plans for the mobilization and procurement of arms and property are disrupted, only pima and sheepskin coats are plentiful. To which the shrewd mayor answered the king: “Your Majesty is not so bad.
- this is the vast expanses of your empire
- and extremely harsh climate.
As the enemy moves inland, his head will weaken, and his resistance will increase. Your army will be helpless near Vilna, terrible near Moscow, terrible at Kazan and invincible near Tobolsk.
In addition, at any price, the campaign should be tightened until winter, while at any price, the enemy should be left without fuel, apartments, provisions, and fodder for the winter. And if, Your Majesty, these conditions are met, then I assure you that no matter how numerous and formidable the invasion army would be, by the spring there will be only mosles left of it. ”
And so thought and acted many people were responsible for the strategy. Not excluding the possibility of an enemy breaking through into the country, a program was being carried out to create weapons-duplicate factories in Izhevsk, Zlatoust and other places. The hour "Ch" inexorably approached. But that's another story.
Materials used:
Gordeev A.A. History of the Cossacks
Before that, the British with difficulty crushed Spain from the pedestal of the mistress of the seas, by the way, not without the help of France, and on the way to world domination inevitably ran into a new political rival on the continent. In addition, England turned into an industrial power and sought to expand its overseas colonies to expand colonial trade. Since the days of Louis XIV, this rivalry for colonial reasons has become even more acute, the Anglo-French wars then went on almost continuously and were very bloody. Abundant bloodshed did not add credibility to the authorities on both sides, and after the Seven Years' War, rivalry began to take on predominantly hypocritical, submissive and Jesuit forms. At that time, unexpected, sophisticated, insidious, and treacherous mutual blows in the asylum and in the troubled became especially popular. The French succeeded in this first. With the help of the disgraced British prince Henry (younger brother of the English king) they found a weak link in the long chain of British colonies. The French ideologically, morally and financially generously sponsored by the insurgents of the North American colonies. In the army of insurgents, French "volunteers" fought in abundance, including in high command positions. For example, General Lafayette was the head of the headquarters of the rebel army, and Colonel Kostyushko commanded the sapper units. Numerous "volunteers" were in such a hurry to render international assistance that they did not bother to arrange a resignation, or at least a vacation, i.e. were active officers of the French army. In order to hush up this scandal, their former commanders, in absentia and in hindsight, issued them "indefinite leave ... for personal reasons ... with salary”. The rebels were rampant in rebellious states almost with impunity and frantically, and when there was a threat of retribution, they hid abroad and sat out in Quebec, France. After several years of struggle, Britain was forced to recognize the independence of the North American states. It was a ringing slap. The new British government solemnly promised the parliament and the king to create an asymmetric response to the French, from whom it will not seem to them much. And they completely succeeded. The British generously and indiscriminately sponsored a motley, heterogeneous and multi-vector French opposition, nurtured by the power itself in the muddy waters of the French Enlightenment (read Perestroika) and created such a bouza in France itself, that the descendants would call this distemper just like the Great French Revolution. Of course, in both of these cases, internal causes and prerequisites were central, but the influence on these events by agents, sponsors and ideologists of geopolitical rivals was enormous.
The desire to put a geopolitical rival on the steps, cutting or stretching, to help him go mad, stink, shizanutsya with the help of some adjustment or reformation, slip, or even better to tip over and fly off a cliff upside down, and by consensus solely on their own, this is international life is quite by concepts and practiced from the creation of the world. In relations between England and France, numerous foreign and domestic agents, sponsors and volunteers, walked around the rebel provinces like at home, stirred up and sponsored countless insurrections and riots, fought in illegal armed groups, and sometimes it came to direct military intervention. The revolution in France further intensified the Anglo-French enmity. An ideological struggle added to the political, colonial and trade struggle. England looked at France as a country of unrest, Jacobins, anarchists, debauchees, Satanists and atheists, she supported emigration and blocked France in order to limit the spread of revolutionary ideas. And France looked at England as a “colossus on clay feet,” holding onto the soap bubbles of usury, lending, bank accounts, national egoism and a rough material calculation. England for France has become a "Carthage", which was necessary to destroy. But in the muddy waters of this great French distemper, English agents, sponsors and volunteers began to play so hard that they missed and underestimated the coming to power of Bonaparte. From him to the British were only trouble. While taking the position of first consul, Napoleon received a mandate from the chairman of the Convention Barassa: “Pompey did not hesitate, destroying pirates on the seas. More than the Roman fleet - unleash the struggle on the seas. Go and punish England in London for her crimes that remained unpunished for a long time. ”
Fig. 1 First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte
At first glance, such an interpretation of the origins and causes of the Napoleonic wars may seem simplistic and monochrome. Indeed there is a lack of color, emotion and pseudo-science. But as the classic taught us, in order to understand the true essence of the picture, you need to mentally drop the palette and present the plot drawn by the creator on canvas with coal in it. Now, if we proceed from this method and discard demagogy, idealism and pseudo-science, then it will turn out just right, one naked and naked, though cynical truth. Even in the most distant times, colorful diplomatic clothes — special language, protocol and etiquette — were invented to adorn the natural nature of politics and to cover up this cynical truth. But for the analyst, these politesses are deeply purple, for they can only stir up, and not clarify the situation, he is obliged to see the naked truth. His task and duty is to expose the plot, unravel the tangle of hypocrisy, hypocrisy and controversy, free the truth from the shackles of science, and, if necessary, dissect its body and soul mercilessly, decompose it into molecules and make it accessible for the simplest understanding. And then everything will be just right. But back to the Napoleonic wars.
The struggle at sea ended in the defeat of the French Nelson fleet under Trafalgar, and the project of a campaign in India was not feasible. The continental blockade imposed by Bonaparte did not lead to an undermining of the British economy. At the same time, Bonaparte’s military successes on the continent made all European people completely dependent on him. Austria, Prussia, Italy, Holland, Spain and the German principalities were completely dependent. The kings of many countries were placed Napoleon's brothers: in Westphalia - Jerome, in the Netherlands - Luis, in Spain - Joseph. Italy was turned into a republic, whose president was Napoleon himself. Marshal Murat, married to Napoleon’s sister, was appointed king of Naples. All these countries constituted a continental alliance directed against England. The boundaries of their possessions were arbitrarily changed by Napoleon, they had to supply troops for the wars of the empire, ensure their maintenance and make contributions to the imperial treasury. As a result, dominance on the mainland began to belong to France, dominance on the seas remained with England.
Russia, being a continental power, could not stay away from the Napoleonic wars, although at first it was counting on it. Neither England nor France were ever sincere friends and allies of Russia, so when they clashed among themselves in a mortal fight, Mother Catherine acted purely out of her favorite consideration: “And what is the use of Russia from this?”. And the benefit was, and it was in the plane of Russian-Polish relations. The zigzags of Russian-Polish relations cannot be considered without regard to the peculiarities of the Polish mentality. In terms of mentality, Poles are a unique people, even by the standards of unlimited European bigotry, hypocrisy and political prostitution. They fiercely hate all their neighbors, and the Russians, contrary to our common opinion, are far from the first place in this hatred. It is very difficult and very dangerous for them to live in such an environment; therefore, for their safety, they traditionally seek sponsors and patrons overseas, overseas. Under their patronage and patronage, the Poles furiously and with impunity spoil all their neighbors, causing them no less fierce dislike. But life is striped, the strip is light, the strip is black. And in the period of the black band, when their then main sponsor and protector France fell into a terrible turmoil, the neighbors of Poland, namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, quickly forgot about their mutual troubles for a while and began to be friends against Poland. This friendship ended in two sections of Poland. Let me remind you that back in 1772, Russia, Austria and Prussia, picking the right moment, already produced the first partition of Poland, with the result that Russia received eastern Belarus, Austria - Galicia, and Prussia - Pomerania. In the 1793 year, thanks to the French distemper, a new opportune moment arrived and a second partition of Poland took place, according to which Russia received Volyn, Podolia and Minsk province, Prussia - Danzig region. Polish patriots rebelled. In Warsaw, the Provisional Government was formed, the king was arrested, and the war of Russia and Prussia was declared. At the head of the Polish troops stood T. Kosciusko, against the rebels, A.V. Suvorov. Russian troops stormed the suburb of Warsaw - Prague, Kosciusko was captured, Warsaw capitulated, the leaders of the uprising fled to Europe. Russian-Prussian troops occupied all of Poland, then the final destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth followed. The king refused the throne, and Russia, Austria and Prussia produced the third partition of Poland in 1795. Russia received Lithuania, Courland and western Belarus, Austria - Krakow and Lublin, and Prussia received the whole of northern Poland and Warsaw. With the annexation of the Crimean and Lithuanian possessions to Russia, the centuries-old struggle for the Horde inheritance ended, with wars that continued for centuries. With the conquest of the Black Sea and the Crimea, the borders with Turkey were established in the west along the Dniester line, in the east along the Kuban and Terek lines. The Polish-Lithuanian state, which had claimed leadership in the Slavic world for several centuries, disintegrated, the long struggle ended in victory for Russia. But with the solution of some problems there were others. With the division of Poland, Russia entered into direct contact with the peoples of the German race, a potentially no less dangerous adversary than the Poles. Pan-Slavism is now inevitably contrasted with Pan-Germanism. With the division of Poland, one of the largest in the world, at that time, the Jewish diaspora with Zionism in its depths also fell into Russia. As the subsequent history showed, this diaspora turned out to be a no less persistent and stubborn opponent of the Russian world than the Poles or the Germanic race, but much more sophisticated, insidious and hypocritical. But at that time it seemed a trifle compared with the centuries-old Russian-Polish confrontation. The epistemological basis of this Russian-Polish antagonism and then and now is a keen rivalry in the Eastern European geopolitical field for the right of leadership in the Slavic world. It is based on the so-called Polish messianism. According to him, the Poles are assigned the role of leader among the Slavs, i.e. nation superior to the other Slavic peoples on a number of criteria. Major role in the messianic concept is played by superiority in matters of religion. It is the suffering Polish people who redeem the "original sin" of Byzantium, while preserving true Christianity (Catholicism) for posterity. It also ideologically supports the hatred of the Poles for the Protestant Germans. In the second place is the struggle with the Russian Slavophilism, for the Russian Slavophiles refuse Poles to call themselves "true Slavs", which again is connected with the belonging of the Poles to the Catholic religion. The Poles, in the opinion of the Slavophils, yielding to the spiritual influence of the West, changed the Slavic cause. In response to this, Polish historians and thinkers constantly exaggerate the theme of the not entirely Slavic (Mongolian, Asian, Turanian, Finno-Finnish, etc.) origin of the Russian people. At the same time, the thousand-year-old Polish history is presented as the continuous defense of Europe against the wild hordes of Tatars, Muscovites and Turks. In the opposition of the Russian people to the Polish, the Poles are constantly attributed to more ancient origins, greater purity of race and faith, higher moral principles of life.
- tendency to aggression, great power and expansion
- Asian woman with her inherent irresponsibility, resourcefulness, a tendency to lie, greed, bribery, cruelty and licentiousness
- a penchant for drunkenness, alcoholism and idle amusements
- extraordinary bureaucratization of public consciousness and state-political system
- intolerance towards Uniates and the very idea.
Here is a typical Polish view of Russians: “Mosk-kal is always different, depending on what day of the week, what people around him, abroad, or at home. A Russian has no concept of responsibility, his own profit and convenience are driven by his behavior. Russian people are very petty and picky, but not because they want to do for the good of their homeland, but because they are trying for their own benefit, to receive a bribe or to distinguish themselves before the authorities. In Russia, everything is devoted to benefit and convenience, even the Fatherland and Faith. Mosk-cal, even when stealing, pretends to do a good thing. ” However, having crushed Rzeczpospolita at the end of the 18th century, the Russians actually proved that, despite all their features and shortcomings, if properly managed, they alone are worthy of claiming leadership in the Slavic world. Thus, Mother Catherine very worthily and in the interests of the empire used this regular Anglo-French svara at the end of the 18th century.
Fig. 2 Sections of Poland
6 November 1796, Empress Catherine the Great died. In the 18th century, in the history of Russia, 2 reigning faces turned the Muscovite state into a world power. For these reigns, the historical struggle in the west for dominance in the Baltic and in the south for the possession of Black Sea was successfully completed. Russia was turned into a powerful state, whose forces became a decisive factor in European politics. However, a large military tension was strongly reflected in the internal situation of the country. The treasury was exhausted, finances were in disarray, arbitrariness and abuses reigned in the administration. In the army, the personnel did not correspond to reality, the recruits did not reach the regiments and were in private jobs with the commanding staff, the majority of nobles in the army were listed only on lists. The new emperor Pavel Petrovich was hostile to the order that existed under his mother. He outlined extensive plans to raise the prestige of the supreme power, limit the rights of the nobility, reduce labor service and improve the life of the peasantry, put in full dependence on the arbitrariness of the landowners. But for the implementation of these plans were needed not only decrees and orders, but above all the sequence of their implementation and the authority of the ruler. But Paul had neither the one nor the other. He did not inherit from his mother and great-grandfather the character that led people into obedience, and the fickleness of his mood created the greatest confusion. In foreign policy, Paul decided to cease hostilities and give the country the necessary rest. But the country was already tightly woven into European politics and the international situation did not allow the empire to relax. In European politics, the French revolutionary government had an increasing influence. Emperor Paul tried not to interfere in the European squabbles and took measures against the spread of contagious revolutionary ideas. Borders were closed to foreigners, Russian was forbidden to communicate with them, the import of foreign books, newspapers and even notes was prohibited. It was forbidden to study in foreign universities.
But they failed to sit in isolation, and European policy itself came to Russia anyway. The imprudent decision of the emperor to become the master of the Maltese order forced Paul to join the anti-French coalition in 1798. This happened after Bonaparte on the way to Egypt, in passing, captured Malta. Paul was furious with this act and went to war with France. A.V. was appointed head of the Austro-Russian troops during a campaign in Italy. Suvorov, and when his body was 10 Don regiments. Despite the brilliant Suvorov victories, the campaign against the French because of the double-dealing of the Austrians and the British ended on the whole miserably. Having dealt with the betrayal of such unreliable allies and led by the unpredictable variability of his character, Paul entered into an alliance with France and declared war on England. In accordance with the strategy of the Franco-Russian alliance, Napoleon and Paul outlined a joint campaign in India through Central Asia and Afghanistan. The starting point was assigned Astrakhan. Due to difficulties in Italy, General Moreau’s French corps did not arrive in Astrakhan on time, and Paul ordered one of the Don Troops to go on a campaign. February 24 1801 campaigns were launched: 41 Don regiment, two companies of horse artillery, 500 Kalmyks. Total 22507 people. The army was commanded by Don Ataman Orlov, the first brigade of the 13 regiments was commanded by M.I. Platov. 18 March, the regiments crossed the Volga and continued on their way. But, thank God, this disastrous adventure for the Cossacks did not come true.
Emperor Paul by nature possessed uncommon abilities and good spiritual qualities, was an excellent family man, but had a great disadvantage - lack of self-control and a tendency to fall into psychopathic states. His temper showed up to individuals regardless of their rank and position, and they were subjected to cruel and degrading insults in the presence of others and even before the eyes of their subordinates. The arbitrariness of the emperor caused general discontent and there was a conspiracy among the courtiers to eliminate it. In the first place, the conspirators began to remove from the emperor those loyal to him and replace them with conspirators. The bodyguards of Pavel, officers of the Life Guards Cossack regiment and the brothers Gruzinov, were specified and convicted. The arrest of the ataman Platov after an evil slander belongs to this time, but he was released and sent to the Don on the occasion of a campaign against India. The Don Army’s march to India alarmed England, and the British ambassador to St. Petersburg began to actively help the conspirators.
They used the complex relationship of the emperor and heir to the throne, Alexander Pavlovich. Their relationship was ruined during the life of Empress Catherine, who intended to transfer the throne to her grandson, bypassing her son. Relations have become aggravated so much that the nephew of the empress (Paul's wife) Prince of Württemberg arrived in Petersburg, whom the emperor had promised to bring to a position that would “amaze everyone”. In such circumstances, the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich was also involved in the plot. On the night of March 11 on 12, Emperor Paul was killed. Alexander's accession to the throne throughout Russia was greeted with joy.
Upon accession to the throne, the first manifesto was an amnesty for all victims of Paul the First. Those turned out to be: 7 thousands planted into the fortress, thousands sent to different places - 12 thousands. The campaign to India was canceled, the Cossacks were ordered to return to the Don. The regiments to 25 April returned safely to Don without a loss in people. The new emperor, brought up in the ideas of liberalism, set out to improve the life of the people. To implement these ideas, a secret committee was created and reforms began. But in relation to the Cossacks, at first there was no change, and the government kept the order indicated by the field commander Marshal Prozorovsky in his time as the commander of the Azov region: historically developed techniques. " But life demanded reforms in Cossack life. After the death of Ataman Orlov, from 1801, M.I. Platov and he began reforms.
Fig. 3 Ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov
By decree of 29 September 1802, the military office, which was chaired by the ataman, was divided into 3 expeditions: military, civil and economic. The whole land of the Don Cossacks was divided into 7 counties, called investigative authorities. Members of detective bosses served at the option of 3 of the year. Former towns were called villages, and villages hamlets. The police was established in Cherkassk, the police chief was confirmed by the Senate on the proposal of the ataman. The military reform established headquarters and ober-officer ranks on the 60 regiments. Their resignation was allowed no earlier than 25 years of service. Each Cossack received a plot of land and did not pay any taxes to the state, taxes, and must always be ready for service, having his own weapon, clothes and two horses. The Cossack, who in turn was to go to the service, could hire another for himself. Among the benefits of the Don Cossacks were duty-free fishing in the Don rivers, salt extraction in the Manych lakes and smoking of wine. September 1 On the nomination of Platov, a “trade Cossacks” was instituted. Cossacks, engaged in trade and industry on a large scale, were exempt from serving military service and paid annually to the treasury for 1804 rubles for the duration of their peers' service. By Decree 100, December 31, due to annual flooding, moved the capital of the Army from Cherkassk to Novocherkassk. The Cossacks finally turned into a military estate, the entire internal life and social structure was reduced to the development and maintenance of the fighting properties of light field cavalry. In terms of tactics and combat, this was a complete legacy of nomadic peoples. The main structure of the battle order remained lava, which was once a component of the main power of the Mongolian cavalry. In addition to the direct lava, there were several of its subspecies: an angle forward, a back angle, a ledge to the right and a ledge to the left. In addition, other traditional methods of nomadic cavalry were used: ambush, hinterland, raid, detour, reach and penetration.
Fig. 4 Cossack lava
The Cossacks were armed with the same peaks and sabers, but with the development of firearms instead of bows with arrows - rifles and pistols. The form of the Cossack saddle had nothing to do with the saddles of the Russian and European cavalry and was inherited from the cavalry of the Eastern peoples. The military organization and training of the military system was conducted according to the centuries-old customs and skills of the nomadic peoples, and not according to the regulations of the cavalry. For the Russian government, the Cossack cavalry, in addition to its excellent fighting qualities, had another feature — its low cost of maintenance. Horses, weapons and equipment were purchased by the Cossacks themselves, and the maintenance of parts of the military treasury. The reward from the government for the service of the Cossacks was military land, thirty dessiatines per Cossack, starting from the 16 summer age. Taking advantage of the power, Cossack officials and commanders obtained vast lands on the western borders of the Army and quickly became major landowners. For tillage and care of livestock, labor was required and they were purchased by buying peasants within Russia and at fairs within the Don that turned into real slave markets. The largest trading place of slave-serfs was the village of Uryupinskaya, where landowners of the Russian provinces sent peasants and peasant women to sell to the Don Cossacks at the price of 160-180 rubles. Despite the survey carried out under Catherine II, the land was distributed very unevenly, the mass of the Cossack people was suppressed by need. The poor begged for weapons and equipment in the villages. By decree 1806 of the year, this disgrace was discontinued and land was taken from some large landowners in favor of the Cossacks, and some of the serfs were forced into Cossacks.
After Alexander's accession to the throne, the policy towards France was gradually revised and Russia again took part in anti-French coalitions. During these military campaigns, Napoleonic troops met with the Cossacks, but they did not impress them. And Napoleon himself, who met the Cossacks for the first time in the battle of Preussish-Eylau, did not appreciate and did not understand their tactics. Moreover, looking at them, he declared that it was “the shame of the human race.” Short European campaigns did not allow the French to feel all the danger that Cossacks may pose. However, soon the 1812 war of the year corrected this annoying gap in the French military knowledge. After the unsuccessful participation of Russia in several coalitions against France, Napoleon again forced Russia to participate in the continental blockade of Britain and peace and alliance in Tilsit was concluded.
Fig. 5 Napoleon and Emperor Alexander I meet in Tilsit
But the peaceful relations established by the Treaty of Tilsit not only provoked moral protest from the masses, this treaty laid a heavy burden on the country's economy. The continental blockade deprived Russia of the possibility of trade with the vast British Empire, which had a severe effect on the economy and finances of the country and led to a rapid decline in the Russian banknotes. All this was a new cause for discontent Alexander in all classes of the state. This dissatisfaction was skilfully maintained in society by English agents and French émigrés. In addition, the Russian Mediterranean squadron did not have time to go into Russia, and was captured by the British in Lisbon. The benefits derived from the alliance with Napoleon — his consent to Finland’s accession and neutrality in the war with Turkey — could not compensate for the losses imposed on the country. Therefore, the conditions imposed by the contract could not be fulfilled by Russia in good faith, and this provision sooner or later should have led to a rupture. The reasons for cooling the political order were added and the reasons of a personal nature, such as the refusal to marry the sister of Emperor Alexander to Napoleon. Under the influence of economic and political reasons, popular discontent and opposition to the emperor’s entourage, Russia began to violate the conditions of the Treaty of Tilsit and both sides began to prepare for war. In an effort to use force to force Alexander to comply with the conditions of the continental blockade, Napoleon began to concentrate troops in the Duchy of Warsaw. Russia also concentrated its armed forces on the western borders. In the army, changes were made in the management. Instead Arakcheeva military minister was appointed Barclay de Tolly.
The era of Napoleon militarily constituted a transitional stage from the linear tactics of the 18th century to fighting in columns with a wide maneuver when approaching the battlefield. This form of war provided ample opportunities for the use of light Cossack cavalry, using its mobility. This allowed the use of a wide maneuver, to act on the enemy’s flanks and rear. The basis of the tactics of the use of Cossack cavalry masses were the old methods of nomadic cavalry. These techniques were able to keep the enemy under threat of attack, penetration into the flanks and in the rear, ready to attack on a broad front, encirclement and complete destruction of the enemy. The Cossack cavalry was still alien to the authorized construction of the closed formations, inactive masses of the cavalry of European nations. The 1812-1813 war against Napoleon was one of the last in which the Cossacks could display the highest qualities of the light cavalry of the obsolete nomadic world. Favorable conditions for the actions of the Cossack cavalry in this war were also the fact that there were still Cossack commanders who retained the ability to use light horse masses in the best way, and also that the Cossack units were distributed not only between individual armies or corps, but kept in large units under by the power of one military leader. The Russian troops before the war were: General Barclay de Tolly had 10 Cossack regiments (Platov corps) in the First Western Army, General Bagration had 8 Cossack regiments (Ilovaisky corps) in the Second Western Army, 5 Cossack regiments in the third Observational Army , in the Danube army of Admiral Chichagov, there were 10 Cossack regiments distributed in different corps; the corps of General Wittgenstein, who was covering Petersburg, included the 3 Cossack regiment. In addition, the 3 Cossack regiment were in Finland, the 2 regiment in Odessa and the Crimea, the 2 regiment in Novocherkassk, the 1 regiment in Moscow. Special conditions were required to protect the Caucasian Front. In addition to the two infantry divisions, the defense of the Caucasian line was assigned mainly to the Cossack troops. They carried a heavy cordon service against the highlanders of Terek, Kuban and Georgia and were divided into separate troops: Terek, Kizlyar, Grebensk and settled regiments: Mozdok, Volga, Khoper and others. Among these troops were all the time 20 of the Don Regiments of the Line Troops. Thus, by the beginning of the Patriotic War with Napoleon in 1812, the Don Army set up the 64 regiment, the Urals 10 and the troops of the Caucasian line were assigned the task of guarding and defending the border across the Terek, Kuban and Georgia borders. By the beginning of the summer of 1812, the mobilization and concentration of the Great Army of Napoleon (Grande Armee) in Poland and Prussia was over, and the war was becoming inevitable. Emperor Alexander had excellent intelligence; it suffices to recall that Talleyrand himself denounced him, and from this awareness he strongly panicked. There is a correspondence between Tsar Alexander and the Moscow mayor F.V. Rostopchin, dated winter 1811-12 of the year. Alexander wrote to Moscow’s head that Napoleon was already almost mobilized, gathered a huge army from all over Europe, and as always, we are very bad. Plans for the mobilization and procurement of arms and property are disrupted, only pima and sheepskin coats are plentiful. To which the shrewd mayor answered the king: “Your Majesty is not so bad.
- this is the vast expanses of your empire
- and extremely harsh climate.
As the enemy moves inland, his head will weaken, and his resistance will increase. Your army will be helpless near Vilna, terrible near Moscow, terrible at Kazan and invincible near Tobolsk.
In addition, at any price, the campaign should be tightened until winter, while at any price, the enemy should be left without fuel, apartments, provisions, and fodder for the winter. And if, Your Majesty, these conditions are met, then I assure you that no matter how numerous and formidable the invasion army would be, by the spring there will be only mosles left of it. ”
And so thought and acted many people were responsible for the strategy. Not excluding the possibility of an enemy breaking through into the country, a program was being carried out to create weapons-duplicate factories in Izhevsk, Zlatoust and other places. The hour "Ch" inexorably approached. But that's another story.
Materials used:
Gordeev A.A. History of the Cossacks
Information